With an average of 20 new residents a day, Durham, North Carolina is booming. And no wonder. The boarded-up storefronts and abandoned warehouses of decades past have been transformed into trendy eateries and gleaming high-rises. A vibrant cultural scene, a burgeoning commercial district and a reputation for hipness have turned the city’s downtown area into the very picture of urban success.
Like anyone trying to get something done with limited time and resources, economic developers have a lot of options to weigh when formulating a strategy to attract and retain businesses in their local economy. Over the years, economic development researchers have espoused a succession of theories as they’ve learned more about the many factors that influence economic growth. Historically, practitioners have tended to respond by focusing their efforts around what they perceive as the latest and greatest thinking, often at the expense of previously favored approaches. In practice, this has led to waves in which economic developers have focused on recruiting large, established companies or on fostering home-grown start-ups—but rarely both.
Discussions at the forum, sponsored by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, ranged from the federal Opportunity Zones program to making the transition from angel to institutional investing.
North Carolina is a migration magnet. In 2018 alone, more than 87,000 people moved into the state. Perhaps the most stunning example of how migration has transformed the state is the city of Durham, a once-gritty town that made its name in tobacco and textile manufacturing.
This symposium will bring together 100 of North Carolina’s leading software executives and investors for a half-day session of discussions and insights on the challenges and opportunities facing participants in the Triangle’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.
A women-owned food hub for local pasture-raised meat farmers and an advisor for an energy and utility industry management consulting firm are the recipients of the 2019 UNC Sustainability Awards, presented Sept. 5 at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill.
The award, which recognizes the top project among all of this year’s award winners, was presented at the 2019 UEDA Annual Summit in Reno, Nevada on Oct. 1.
Please join us for a talk by Josh Lerner, a Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow, who will be discussing the unprecedented explosion of venture capital activity worldwide and what was behind this dramatic surge of activity.
The institute's Distinguished Fellows comprise an exemplary set of global scholars leveraging their individual expertise to further the institute’s efforts to examine and drive solutions to issues facing business and the economy today.
Join leaders from the Kenan Institute and its affiliated centers for two virtual information sessions.
In a continuing effort to examine the business sector's contributions to inclusive economic growth, join us April 10-11 for two days of discussions and exploration during the third annual Conference on Market-Based Solutions for Reducing Wealth Inequality.
From romance to finance and from the media to markets, data can help answer questions faster and provide critical insights to make smarter decisions. Data is power. Knowing how to read data can help identify patterns to end labor trafficking or to provide more affordable housing. Analyzing peaks and troughs can lead to game changing technological breakthroughs and new business opportunities. In the current error of ‘fake news’, how confident are you in your ability to read, work with, analyze and argue with data and assess facts? Join us at this interactive session and learn just how data literate you are.
Welcome, Opening Plenary and Panel Discussion Conference Interviews...
In spite of widespread buzz about corporate sustainability, research shows that, for many companies, sustainability is still mostly a public relations exercise. UNC Kenan-Flagler Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Center for Sustainable Enterprise Faculty Director Olga Hawn discusses new research from colleagues Caroline Flammer (Boston University Questrom), Bryan Hong (NYU Stern) and Dylan Minor (Northwestern University Kellogg) which found that companies that adopt corporate social responsibility contracting have a greater and more pervasive focus on sustainability, are better able to track their ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance and are more likely to achieve their social and environmental goals.
When large firms are in search of new leadership, oftentimes a former leader is the answer. These are commonly referred to in business as "boomerang CEOs." There have been many high-profile examples of boomerang CEOs being both resounding successes and spectacular failures. So what do the numbers say? Are boomerang CEOs good or bad on average? This is the question Kenan Institute Grant Recipient Travis Howell and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship Chris Bingham addressed in their latest study.
Lecturer, Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University
This week our panelists examined the myriad ways the entrepreneurial community is driving innovation and delivering stories of hope in the face of COVID-19. This briefing features UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship Mahka Moeen, UNC Entrepreneurship Center Faculty Director Ted Zoller, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Pharm.D. candidate Diana Lee and UNC Applied Physical Science Department Professor and Chair Rich Superfine.
Small businesses are an undeniable engine of growth for the United States, comprising 99 percent of all U.S. firms and driving nearly half our total economic activity. Yet small business owners across the country lack sufficient capital to succeed, grow and scale. The Kenan Institute has conducted a new analysis on the role of the Small Business Administration’s SBIC program in providing capital to the often-overlooked small businesses operating outside of metropolitan centers, as well as those owned by women and underrepresented minorities. You can access an overview of our findings, as well as key takeaways for business and policy leaders, by clicking below.
Analogies can help people make sense of technological change and other innovations. Using them effectively relies on recognizing both their benefits and pitfalls.
Backhanded compliments seem like praise but can leave a sting. This study explores the psychology of backhanded compliments. Flatterers deploy backhanded compliments to garner liking while conveying social status. Recipients view praise of this kind as strategic put-downs and penalize would-be flatterers even as the backhanded compliment undermines their motivation and perseverance.