Firms are increasingly launching initiatives with explicit social mandates. Often the business case for these initiatives is justified through one critical aspect of human capital management: employee retention. Although prior empirical studies have demonstrated a link between such corporate social initiatives and intermediate employee-related outcomes like motivation and identification with the firm, the relationship between employee participation in these initiatives and retention outcomes has not been investigated.
This article’s objective is to inspire and provide guidance on the development of marketing knowledge based on the theories-in-use (TIU) approach.
Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, ABC Insights
London Business School Professor Alex Edmans, a 2022 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow, followed up his recent virtual presentation on “The Power of Purposeful Business” by answering key questions from the audience. This week’s Kenan Insight offers a curated Q&A with a few of our favorites, with Professor Edmans tackling topics such as which issues government is best equipped to regulate and which may require shareholders to step in, the limits of using data in ESG measurement, and how best to encourage purposeful thinking throughout an organization.
Background: Influenza imposes heavy societal costs through healthcare expenditures, missed days of work, and numerous hospitalizations each year. Considering these costs, the healthcare and behavioral science literature offers suggestions on increasing demand for flu vaccinations. And yet, the adult flu vaccination rate fluctuated between 37% and 46% between 2010 and 2019.
Aim: Although a demand-side approach represents one viable strategy, an operations management approach would also highlight the need to consider a supply-side approach. In this paper, we investigate how to improve clinic vaccination rates by altering provider behavior.
Greater focus on social justice has brought systemic inequities in the corporate sector to light, leading companies to step up their efforts in attracting and retaining a diverse workforce – but many challenges remain in implementing those goals. Following a joint report between the Kenan Institute and EY, this week’s Kenan Insight breaks down some challenges companies may face while trying to reach their diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
Our 2025 Grand Challenge examines the skills gap – the difference between the skills that employers seek and those that workers possess – which is being driven by technological breakthroughs, demographic changes and cultural shifts in the workplace.
For small businesses, AI promises to handle financial and operational tasks, freeing up workers for other duties and creating new efficiencies. We offer seven focal points for small businesses planning for AI integration.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, institutions of higher education were under immense pressure to live up to their value propositions, with underlying tensions that have been developing for years posing an existential threat to their financial viability. As colleges and universities move classes and operations online in response to the pandemic, questions arise as to what such changes hold not just for now, but for the long-term success of higher education. Can ed tech provide a way forward? Find out in this week’s Kenan Insight.
Rumors are ubiquitous in the workplace, particularly regarding organizational changes. These rumors significantly influence worker behavior by introducing uncertainty, and thus, affect productivity and team performance. However, no studies have provided empirical evidence for these impacts due to data limitations on rumors and workers' behaviors in completing tasks.
Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are ushering in significant changes in how enterprises operate – and raising a host of questions for organizations. In this Kenan Insight, we explore how changing the organizational mindset to treat AI as an “employee” may pave the way to fully reaping the benefits of AI systems.
Kenan Scholars were able to learn more about research in the business world on Nov. 6 at the “What is Business Research?” workshop. In this second of a series of workshops taking place this year, students from the Kenan-Flagler Business School — including the newly admitted Kenan Scholars class of 2023 and MBA Kenan scholars class of 2022 — heard from professors Brad Hendricks and Breagin Riley, as well as PhD student Andre Martin and Postdoctoral Research Associate Ayana Younge about their experiences in research.
Each of the Kenan Institute's 2023 Distinguished Fellows has written a paper as part of their work to support our exploration of workforce disruption. Learn more about our fellows and read their papers, along with key takeaways from each.
Pressure to create bottom-line outcomes has dramatically increased in recent years. UNC Kenan-Flagler's Marie S. Mitchell sought to untangle the relationship between supervisors’ bottom-line focus and unethical behavior in new research.
As the unexpected increasingly becomes part of the everyday, Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow Kathleen M. Sutcliffe discusses the capabilities and processes that allow businesses to face their moments of truth with resilience.
As venture capital markets have surged in recent years, early access to capital remains highly localized. We examine changes that can help investors connect with underrepresented entrepreneurs outside traditional funding hubs, from innovative organizations to improvements in transportation.
What’s best for a local economy—recruiting big, established companies, or nurturing home-grown startups? It’s a question economic developers and researchers have grappled with for decades. In a new white paper and Economic Development Quarterly article, Kenan Institute Senior Faculty Fellow Maryann Feldman and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Nichola Lowe offer a new tack: Try both.
In this paper, we compare several approaches of producing multi-period-ahead forecasts within the GARCH and RV families – iterated, direct, and scaled short-horizon forecasts. We also consider the newer class of mixed data sampling (MIDAS) methods.
Firms continue to strive for greater representation on corporate boards. One California law, attempting to mandate such greater representation, has encountered a recent setback. Two experts discuss obstacles to more diverse corporate leadership and offer approaches for surmounting them.
As generative AI tools embed themselves into everyday society, all of us are trying to understand their short- and long-term impact on organizations. The Technology Applications and Implications Model can help.