It isn’t even Halloween, and some retailers already are putting out Christmas merchandise and promoting gift buying. Manufacturers and retailers often put out cards for Valentine’s Day, chocolate eggs for Easter and a plethora of pumpkin-spiced treats ahead of Halloween and Thanksgiving many weeks ahead of the holidays. But it’s not just about getting a...
Working alongside robots may contribute to job burnout and workplace incivility, but self-affirmation techniques could help alleviate fears about being replaced by these machines, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. Researchers found that workers in the U.S. and parts of Asia feel job insecurity from robots, even in industries where robots aren’t...
The list of best-sellers on Amazon is different day-to-day – and it is not merely new trends replacing old ones. Instead, it is brands that did not exist until very recently pushing out other newly-launched and short-lived brands in order to take the top spots. What do almost all of these brands have in common?...
A femme fatale who tries to con thousands through her lover’s insurance company. Jobless bikers on drug-fueled adventures in New Orleans. People smashing printers at work. Watching movies like “Double Indemnity,” “Easy Rider” and “Office Space,” you might think Americans had never heard of the Protestant work ethic – the spirit of sacrifice and delayed...
Many travelers say they would prefer to stay at eco-friendly hotels, but lodging facilities don’t benefit financially from acquiring certification for green business practices, new research shows. Researchers compared five years’ worth of financial data for hotels with and without third-party audits for practices like saving energy, conserving water and recycling. The green-certified hotels performed...
The bustling coastal city of Wenzhou made its mark early on Hao Zhang. “It is considered the birthplace of Chinese capitalism, and living there, with many relatives involved in startups, I was exposed to all kinds of business,” says Zhang, a rising fifth-year graduate student in political science. He also gained a close-up view of...
Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Dartmouth College, Babson College, and LUISS University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that shows how to de-escalate customer anger on social media sites by using language that signals active listening and empathy. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Complaint De-escalation Strategies on Social Media” and is authored by Dennis...
A new paper in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that many American businesses are willing to hire workers with criminal records. Such companies become even more interested in hiring such workers if offered crime and safety insurance. Employers are unlikely to interview or hire workers with criminal records compared to otherwise similar...
Personalized wine lists. Tailored clothing options. Unique experiences just for you. The world is awash in products and services that promise to provide custom experiences to every consumer. And it turns out our smartphones are pushing us to unconsciously prefer just these kinds of customized options. A new study from the University of Florida has...
If a supply chain scandal does hit, customers want companies they buy from to act – and a combination of actions, not limited to firing their supplier – is the best way to minimise lost consumers. Apologies are not enough. Professor Sabine Benoit from Surrey Business School said: “Our research shows that companies need to...
