Retailers routinely allow consumers to negotiate a discount off the posted price for big-ticket items such as home appliances and automobiles, and on online platforms such as Amazon and eBay. The profitability of such a strategy, relative to selling only at posted prices, depends on consumers’ willingness to initiate a negotiation and ability to negotiate a discount. In this article, the authors incorporate consumers’ decision of whether to negotiate into a demand model.
We examine firms' technological investments during an industry's incubation stage—the period between a technological breakthrough and the first instance of its commercialization. We develop stylized findings regarding knowledge evolution preceding product evolution in an industry's life cycle, and highlight the importance for managers to think about “success” and “failure” across multiple yardsticks of performance, rather than only as product commercialization.
We consider an online retailer facing heterogeneous customers with initially unknown product preferences. Customers are characterized by a diverse set of demographic and transactional attributes. The retailer can personalize the customers' assortment offerings based on available profile information to maximize cumulative revenue. To that end, the retailer must estimate customer preferences by observing transaction data.
The Kenan Scholars program congratulates two graduating students for their receipt of the Kenan Institute’s two highest honors. Kenan Scholar Chris Dean Karras received the John Kasarda Research Excellence Award and Sarah Muneton, Kenan Scholars program assistant, was awarded the Kenan Institute Impact Award.
The tremendous growth in cryptocurrency trading has included frequent pump-and-dump (P&D) schemes. The resulting volatility has raised both excitement and concern about exploitation and fraud. Unlike the stock market, where P&D schemes can last for months, in the cryptocurrency market the price and volume inflations last just minutes, making it is almost impossible for those not in the pump group to participate. P&Ds are organized through pump groups who communicate through heavily encrypted message platforms. Investors learn about the groups through ads on social media. Our research examines 500 cryptocurrency P&D schemes to better understand their timing, characteristics and impact. As cryptocurrency exchanges think about regulating P&Ds, our researchers seek to understand who is currently benefiting and what these “cryptobloggers” do to the health of the cryptocurrency market.
The health and economic data from this past week brought both good and bad news about the state of affairs in North Carolina. Health data suggest the growth in new cases is slowing, that hospital capacity remains available and that we might be getting a better handle on identification. While this is certainly encouraging in the battle against the pandemic, a similar levelling off in business activity does not bode as well for the economy. In this week’s commentary we seek to unpack some of the details in the data to understand what may be a new plateau.
Increased consumer demand for healthier product options and looming regulation have prompted many consumer goods brands to adjust the amount of sugar content in their product lines, including adding products with reduced sugar content or smaller package sizes. Even as brands adopt such practices, little guidance exists for how they should do so to protect or enhance their brand performance. This paper studies whether and when sugar reduction strategies affect sales.
There is growing recognition that justice enactment is a complex activity and that managers face significant contextual and situational roadblocks when attempting to enact justice. However, research has not fully examined how managers, in the course of their jobs, can (a) identify and respond to justice-related issues and (b) assemble and synthesize relevant information required to act in a manner consistent with justice rules.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Mark McNeilly discusses how ChatGPT and other AI tools will change the workplace - as well as how workers can best prepare themselves for these changes.
In the past decade, coworking spaces have emerged as a new and promising phenomenon within entrepreneurship. Due to its prevalence, popularity and potential for disruptive change, coworking is increasingly relevant to theory, practice and policy in entrepreneurship, yet its implications are largely unstudied given its rapid rise.
While the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for many, research shows its impact was not felt equally. Black Americans experienced disproportionate health and economic ramifications, which compounded the financial, social and psychological strain many felt pre-pandemic, and have contributed to growing inter-generational wealth disparities. In today’s Kenan Insight, our experts explore whether the multi-trillion dollar “Build Back Better” plan proposed by the Biden administration holds the potential to begin closing pervasive gaps in American society.
During this webinar, Mr. Allen will give a 30-minute presentation sharing his expert insights on U.S.-China relations and what it means for U.S. firms.
Kenan Institute Senior Faculty Fellow Anusha Chari’s work, which was highlighted at the American Economic Association (AEA) meeting on Jan. 6., was cited in a recent article in The Economist. Chari also spoke recently about her findings with The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Companies today are looking to diversify their workforce – and one way in which they’re attracting more women is by providing generous paid maternity leave.
As AI and related technologies – such as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and computer vision – rapidly evolve, it's necessary to examine their limitations and ethical complexities.
On Oct, 25, four special Kenan Scholars program mentors – Adam Mersereau, Bill Bell, Caroline Lindley and Mike Norona – shared advice and wisdom with junior Kenan Scholars.
Venture capital has existed since the 1970s, expanding and becoming more institutionalized year after year. But its growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis has been unprecedented.
This intro-to-research session is for those students who would like to learn more about research at KFBS, including those who plan to pursue the honors thesis. It is for students who are either curious about research opportunities at Kenan-Flagler, intend to conduct research, or who just want to learn more about the research process.
A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar examining the massive implications the COVID-19 market disruption has, and will continue to have, on small business employment, including a projected 11.5 percentage point addition to the overall U.S. unemployment rate by small business layoffs. They will also examine the role relief legislation can and should play in mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic. Join tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31, at 11 a.m. EDT.