Business

The Wharton School’s Jonah Berger discussed Instagram’s new focus on e-commerce. “They're trying to make money off of something that’s already happening on the platform,” said Berger.

The Wharton School’s Robert Meyer explained the psychology behind people who refuse to evacuate in the face of catastrophic weather. He attributes those choices to a number of psychological biases, including over-optimism, a herd mentality, short-sightedness, historical amnesia, inertia, and over-simplification.

Michael Useem of the Wharton School recommended that growing companies should be open to recruiting new leaders. “The Tesla CEO and board would be wise to find the right multiplier now,” he said.

Michael Kearns of the School of Engineering and Applied Science discussed the closing of Prediction Company, a hedge fund. “Prediction was certainly far ahead of its time in realizing that many aspects of trading could be made not just quantitative but algorithmic,” said Kearns.

Mauro Guillén of the Wharton School discussed efforts by American retailers to break into Indian e-commerce. Guillen predicts that the market will reach $100 billion by 2020.

Stephanie Creary of the Wharton School weighed in on what many Amazon employees felt was an underwhelming response to the defacement of LGBT Pride posters in the company’s elevators. “When companies fail to call out biased behavior against members of LGBT communities,” said Creary, “they can actually further perpetuate the marginalization of these communities.”

Maurice Schweitzer of the Wharton School discussed the phenomenon of “elastic justification,” in which people may exaggerate traits or skills that are hard to quantify, like language proficiency.

Tom Baker of the Law School discussed 3D printing manufacturers’ liability with regard to the creation of homemade guns.

The Law School’s Jill Fisch commented on Darden’s sudden sale of Red Lobster to Golden Gate Capital, saying management had effectively spat in the faces of the activist shareholders.