Are Companies Getting Big Data Wrong? – New York News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.
Columbia Business School Researchers Argue Future of Big Data Lies in Its Ability to Assess Consumers’ Mindset in Real Time – Columbia Business School News
Columbia Business School professors Sandra Matz and Oded Netzer recently published a new discussion paper in the Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences in which they “address the challenges and opportunities of using big data to benefit both business and consumers based on psychological profiles drawn from information posted on personal websites and discussion forums, and language used on Facebook and Twitter.”
Netzer writes, “Big data usage is quickly evolving. With technological advances in the collection, storage and analysis of large amounts of data, businesses can now gain valid insights on millions of consumers as they go about their daily lives.”
Matz adds, “One benefit of psychological profiling is that the pre-selection of ads based on psychological needs can alleviate the problem of choice overload. It can even help target highly neurotic individuals who display early signs of depression with ads that guide them to self-help pages or offer professional advice.”
You can read the full article here.
When Students Come First – BizEd
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, upwards of 30 percent of freshman in higher-education in the United States are the first members of their family to do so. However, there is also a direct correlation to dropout rates: first-gen students have a dropout rate that is four times that of non-first generation students. The research also found that only 11 percent of the first-gen students manage to secure a Bachelor’s degree within six years.
The statistics find that the reason for the dropout rates has less to do with personal decisions, and more with the “lack the financial, social, and emotional support they need to navigate college successfully,” says BizEd writer Tricia Bisoux. Several schools, including the Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, have altered the way they approach its first generation students.
“At Rutgers Business School (RBS) at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the key to supporting first-generation students is a suite of programs called RBS-PLUS (Pathways Leading to Undergraduate Success), launched in 2013. Delivered through the business school’s office of diversity, RBS-PLUS doesn’t just support its current first-generation and low-income undergraduates. It also reaches out to high school students to offer guidance just as they’re beginning their college preparation.”
You can find out more about the program here.
Facebook Is an ‘Extraordinary Failure in Leadership,’ NYU’s Galloway Says – Bloomberg
NYU Stern Marketing Professor Scott Galloway recently stopped by the Bloomberg television studios to talk about the ever-tumultuous Facebook galaxy, dishing out some heavy criticism of Mark Zuckerberg and the tech-giant company as a whole. Watch his interview with the Bloomberg panel here.
Columbia Finds Surprises That Hurt Advertisers, and More – New York City News
What’s going on in New York business schools this week?
Study by Columbia Business School Finds Search Tools Like Broad Match Can Hurt Advertisers More Than It Helps – Columbia Business School Blog
New research co-authored by Columbia Business School associate professor of business Kinshuk Jerath calls into question the efficacy of search tools like broad match, which automate the process of “figuring out all the possible keywords that consumers might search for.”
According to the article, paid search ad spending will reach nearly $40 billion in the U.S. alone by 2019. Jerath writes, “Tools like broad match have led to too many advertisers competing over the same keywords, because now bidding on keywords is so easy. The result is that the search engines are actually the only real winners.”
In a paper entitled Keyword Management Costs and “Broad Match” in Sponsored Search Advertising, Jerath and co-authors Wilfred Amaldoss from Duke Fuqua and Amin Sayedi of UW Foster found that “broad match is only effective to a point, a threshold driven largely by the accuracy of broad match that is controlled by the search engine, not the advertiser.”
“Anything that makes advertising cheaper creates more competition—and can ultimately hurt your return on investment. “
You can read more of the research here.
Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert to Lehigh Graduates: ‘Do What Hasn’t Been Done’ – Lehigh College Business and Economics Blog
Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert, Lehigh College Business and Economics ’86 graduate, used her recent commencement address to share three life lessons that stressed to graduates of Lehigh’s 150th Class the importance of “always remembering what matters to them most.”
Engelbert advised students to “do what hasn’t been done” and “find creative, impactful ways of using new technologies for good.” She said, “I encourage you to stay optimistic and play an active, key role in carving the path leveraging your uniquely human skills—like creativity, empathy, communication, and complex problem-solving.”
Her second piece of advice was to “schedule your personal updates,” just as one might update “various devices to ensure they are operating at peak performance.”
Engelbert’s third and “most important” lesson was to “stay anchored on what matters to you most.”
“I’m sure many of you have a purpose you’re passionate about. That doesn’t end today with graduation. You can carry that through whatever you’re going to do next … from graduate school to entering the workforce. There’s a push to come together as social issues grow in depth, severity and priority. I challenge you to take a bold stance and make a difference in your day-to-day work.”
Read the full commencement report here and footage from the ceremony below.
Professor Scott Galloway discusses how Walmart is positioning itself to compete with Amazon – NYU Stern News
NYU Stern School of Business professor of marketing Scott Galloway was recently interviewed as part of a CNNMoney piece on Walmart’s plan to take on Amazon as the country’s preeminent universal retailer, particularly when it comes to online grocery delivery. Galloway writes:
“Walmart is the only firm that has the management, capital and the scale to compete with Amazon. They’ve probably done as good a job of getting off their heels and on their toes as any retailer in the world.”
You can read the full story here.
