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Marketing
How shopping became a version of social impact
Wharton Professor of Marketing Patti Williams discusses how brands began to put their do-gooder ethos to the forefront of its value proposition.
A push for emergency texting services across the United States
Today, fewer than half of U.S. counties have this capability. Rising juniors Anthony Scarpone-Lambert and Kirti Shenoy want to change that with their nonprofit Text-911.
User-generated content: The medium impacts the message
Wharton’s Shiri Melumad discusses her research on how user-generated content changes in tone based on the type of device used to create it.
Nostalgia is not enough: Why consumers abandon legacy brands
Legacy brands like Sears, Payless ShoeSource, and Toys “R” Us are shuttering their doors as customers abandon longstanding consumer mainstays. Despite customers having emotional connections to certain stores, “It is more like these brands are breaking up with the customers,” says Santiago Gallino of the Wharton School.
New contracts rewrite the rules of digital fine print
In an article in the University of Chicago Law Review, Penn Law professor Dave Hoffman challenges widely held notions about the purpose and function of digital fine print.
The billion-dollar business of e-sports
With sold-out arenas, soaring revenues, and serious investment by traditional sports leagues and team owners, competitive video gaming has evolved from fringe hobby to a global, growing industry.
A bustling summer at the Pennovation Center
It was a season full of excitement, to kick off an academic year that will, undoubtedly, see even more fulfillment.
How ties to ethnic communities influence global firm expansion
When a company wants to expand beyond is own country’s borders, it often looks to areas populated by people of its nationality, a phenomenon studied in the banking industry by Exequiel Hernandez of the Wharton School.
The business of voting
The chaos that befell the 2000 election sparked a revamping of the election technology industry. Wharton experts have drafted a report detailing the business side of modernizing voting technology.
Is an apology an effective marketing campaign?
Companies have been issuing mea culpas to its customers for decades. But the quality, timing and audience for the corporate apology has to be nuanced in order to be effective. Wharton professors discuss the efficacy of the numerous corporate messages broadcast to the public.
In the News
That spare change you donate at checkout is adding up to millions for charities
Cait Lamberton of the Wharton School says that customers may feel manipulated and resentful when prompted for charitable donations at checkout.
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Retailers take on Amazon Prime with new subscription services
Raghu Iyengar of the Wharton School says that the average American has 12 subscriptions, which doesn’t leave much room for additional retail subscriptions.
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Philly shoppers have a ‘love/hate relationship’ with Amazon but can’t stop spending — as much as $2,000 a month
Peter Fader of the Wharton School says that customers aren’t necessarily busier but have gotten used to the convenience of Amazon, especially since the pandemic.
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Generative AI is having a throw-everything-at-the-wall moment
Stefano Puntoni of the Wharton School says that experimenting with different generative AI products will inevitably help the best rise to the top, while the worst will fall to the wayside.
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Consumers are tired of price increases. Big brands are paying attention
John Zhang of the Wharton School says that many companies are currently more inclined to swallow some of the cost increases they’re shouldering, rather than passing them on to consumers completely.
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To resist temptation, think short term
Research led by Marissa Sharif of the Wharton School found that small, regular rewards were more effective for cultivating long-term commitment to healthy behavior than large, occasional rewards.
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