Layoffs, Feeling Connected, and a New Lehigh Grant – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
CEOs Paid Less Than Peers More Likely to Engage in Layoffs, Research Finds – Binghamton SOM Blog
According to new Personnel Psychology research coauthored by Binghamton Assistant Professor of Strategy Scott Bentley, “CEOs who are paid less than their peers are four times more likely to engage in layoffs.”
In a recent Binghamton SOM Blog entry, Bentley writes, “In terms of strategic decisions that a CEO can make that could lead to higher pay, layoffs are one of the easiest to do. In a way, CEOs are just like any other type of employee. They are going to compare their pay to those around them. The difference is that the average employee can’t make strategic decisions for the company that influences their own pay. Executives can.”
Bentley adds, “Right around the point where CEOs are paid equal to their peers, the effect kind of goes away. We found that there’s this huge drop off in the likelihood of announcing layoffs once your pay is relatively the same as, or more than, your peers.”
“Payoffs for layoffs? An examination of CEO relative pay and firm performance surrounding layoff announcements” is available here. You can read Bentley’s full article here.
New Research Finds the More Connected You Feel to Your Future Self the Healthier Choices You Make – Columbia Business School
New Columbia Business School research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology finds that “the more connected you feel to your future self, the more likely you are to adopt healthier habits today, tomorrow and thereafter.”
CBS Assistant Professor of Business Michael Slepian, on the school’s official website, says, “Our findings can help people circumvent the pitfalls of behavioral health changes. What the research shows is, if you can get people to think about their connection to their future selves, you can also get them to visualize the repeated health decisions they will need to make to improve their long-term health.”
According to the article, “it is possible that increasing future self-continuity would not only promote positive healthy behavior like exercising, but also prevent negative behaviors like overeating. The findings of this study could be applied to other behavioral health domains including skincare, such as sunscreen use and tanning salon use, dental care, such as regular flossing and routine dental visits, and road safety, such as texting while driving.”
The paper, “Future Self-Continuity Is Associated With Improved Health and Increases Exercise Behavior,” can be found here.
Philip Rauch’s Legacy Expands Through Family Foundation – Lehigh College of Business and Economics Blog
The Lehigh College of Business and Economics profiled Philip Rauch Jr. ’33, whose Rauch Foundation will “provide a generous grant to establish the Rauch Media and Communications Lab.”
Photo from the original Rauch Business Center groundbreaking on April 7, 1989 / Photo via lehigh.edu
Rauch Foundation President Nancy Rauch Douzinas writes of her uncle Philip’s commitment to Lehigh. “He was especially passionate about the power of clear communications as a means of working together effectively.”
“We know that he would be pleased that the Rauch Foundation will continue to support communications technology at Lehigh and ensure that the school keeps pace with the transformations driving business today.”
Dean Georgette C. Phillips explains it’s Lehigh’s responsibility to ensure that “today’s business professionals become more adept with multimedia and communication tools to communicate or introduce the next best idea.”
According to the school’s blog, “Students and faculty will use state-of-the-art technologies to develop presentations, videos, podcasts and other technologically based communications. Students will benefit from coaching and feedback in real-time with the learning laboratory.”
You can read the full article here.
Lehigh Explores Impacts of Paid Search Advertising on Sites Like Yelp
Yelp’s surprisingly durable platform continues to sway consumers’ decisions about who and where to patronize, with 163 million unique monthly visitors.
This is especially true with the advent of paid advertising that appears alongside search results. But what influence does it have on the production end? The Lehigh University College of Business and Economics recently discussed a new study that suggests “paid search advertising can be a profitable investment for small businesses.”
Despite the exponential growth of digital advertising in the past five years, research has uncovered that the effects are actually “limited for branded advertisers since consumers already know and intend to buy from the brand when they search.”
This fact sparked the imaginations of Lehigh economics professor Daisy Dai and Harvard Business School Administration professor Michael Luca who were both interested in understanding “the impact on small businesses whose names are less known and who may gain from an increase in visibility.”
The duo eventually found themselves at the helm of the “largest-scale search advertising experiment run on online platforms in terms of number of businesses involved.” Dai and Luca conducted an experiment in which they took a pool of 18,000 restaurants and randomly assigned free search advertising packages to 7,000 of them, most of which had “not actively advertised on Yelp prior to the experiment.”
According to the article, the researchers examined “page views of the business’ Yelp page, requests for directions, phone calls to the restaurants from Yelp’s mobile page or mobile app, and clicks on the restaurants’ URL on their Yelp page” and compared the “outcome of businesses that did or did not receive free advertising.” The experiment found that “Yelp advertising leads to a 25 percent increase in page views and a 9 to 18 percent increase in purchase intentions, such as direction requests, visits to the restaurant’s website and calls to the restaurant,” according to Dai.
Another insight was related to the number of Yelp reviews each business received, which grew by 5 percent, then “dropped to zero immediately after the advertising period, suggesting ads temporarily raised awareness of businesses that users otherwise would not discover.”
Dai concludes, “Our study finds that an average local restaurant can benefit from search advertising on Yelp. Unlike previous online advertising experiments that usually focus on a few big brands, we yield insights for small businesses.”
Lehigh Student Startup Kickstarts Ghanian Shea Industry
When it comes to startup companies, often the best route of success means going right to the source. For Lehigh University College of Business and Economics grad Miles J. Davis’ (’16), that meant traveling all the way from Bethlehem, PA, to West Ghana for the purest shea butter in the world.
Shea butter is famous for its cosmetic and skincare applications, as well as its uses in waterproofing waxes, cooking oils, wood preserving, toilet tissue, and candle-making. Shea butter is produced by extracting fat from the nut of the fruit of the shea tree, which is indigenous to the dry Sahel region of Africa, which spans northern Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In his master’s thesis, Davis outlined a plan to develop an ecologically, agriculturally, and financially sustainable production system for shea butter processing in Ghana.
“My dream for this project is to help develop a permaculture system that will have a collective positive impact,” Davis tells Lehigh. “Permaculture is a whole functioning system where everything coexists in balance. It requires a lot of observing and listening to learn how natural systems work and how to make human systems function just as organically and just as naturally.”
Davis’ research focuses on land-use policy. “Who owns the land? Who can get access to shea trees to make shea butter from the shea nuts? What policies are in place to protect these forests so people don’t cut down the trees to get firewood for their cook stoves? How do we develop better roads and transportation methods for people living in this region so they can get to the main market and sell their stuff?”
Superior Shea is just one small step in Davis’ vision for an economically emerging Ghana.“Ghana has one of the strongest economies in Africa. It is definitely on the rise. There’s a lot of potential for growth, in terms of sustainability through business, improved infrastructure and sanitation.”
You can read more of Kurt Pfitzer’s in-depth interview with Davis here and get more familiar with Superior Shea on Facebook.
The Best Part-Time New York City MBA Programs
Not everyone can afford to quit their job to go back to school full time for an MBA. Thankfully, you don’t have to. If you live in New York City, there are over half a dozen part-time MBA programs for you to choose from, but with such a large list it can be difficult to choose the best program for you.
That’s why we’ve outlined the best part-time New York City MBA programs to help you out. Each of these programs offers something that helps it stand out from the rest. Continue reading…
Lehigh Panel Surveys Future of Commercial Real Estate Industry
In late March, around 100 Lehigh College of Business and Economics students convened for a speaker series hosted by several esteemed Lehigh alumni, bringing together senior real estate executives and their children to unpack new developments in the commercial real estate industry.
5 Most Affordable New York MBA Programs
Trying to afford an MBA is, unfortunately, an endeavor for many. While the dividends from the degree itself are usually worth the investment, the initial payments can be trying—especially those who live in high-cost metros like New York City. Worry not, however: there are plenty of affordable New York MBA programs available.
