Revenue Management with Minimal Demand Information
September 2008 |
|
Airlines want to sell their seats to the right customers at the right time
for the right price. The more fare classes or products they have, the more
difficult it is to optimize the revenue for each product. That is, airlines have
turned to complex mathematical models for revenue management.
|
|
|
|
|
The Mysteries of Mimicry
September 2008 |
|
Consumers often feel like they are in control of the purchasing process. But
in fact there are many ways in which consumer behavior is influenced without the
consumer’s knowledge and outside their control. Mimicry—that human tendency to
mirror the behavior of others around us—has some significant effects on consumer
choice and preference.
|
|
|
|
|
Managing Employee Silence
September 2008 |
|
When there is a problem in the workplace, employees have two options: remain
silent or speak up. Unfortunately, many employees choose to remain silent, to
the great detriment of the organizations for which they work.
|
|
|
|
|
Latest Stock Return Model Beats all Prior Prediction Methods
June 2008 |
|
Do stocks picked by skilled fund managers outperform those
picked by unskilled managers?
Russ Wermers,
associate professor of finance at Smith shows undeniable
evidence that they do. To this end, his award-winning
statistical model predicts – more accurately than any prior
model – the future performance of individual stocks based on how
heavily they are held or purchased by both successful and
unsuccessful fund managers. Even when adjusted for risk, Wermers’
model beats former methods by as much as eight percent per year.
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional Sales vs. New Media: Can Bundling Preserve Both?
June 2008 |
|
In an age of increasing Web-focused attention, the publishing industry is
struggling to maximize – and even maintain – hardcopy sales. The quandary: how
can publishers prevent digital content from cannibalizing the market for printed
material while still providing customers with new product options?
P.K. Kannan, Smith’s
Harvey Sanders Associate Professor of Marketing, helped the National Academies
Press (NAP) develop a strategy that successfully maximized revenue from both. |
|
|
|
|
Why
Outdoing Your Rivals is Really Doing Them Good
June 2008 |
|
Competition is the name-of-the-game when it comes to being a successful in
today’s fast-paced business world. Top players such as Southwest, Target and
Nike have successfully edged out rivals with fast implementation of cutting-edge
ideas. According to a study by
Ken Smith, Dean’s Chair and Professor of Management and
Organization, and Curt Grimm, Dean’s Professor of Supply Chain and Strategy,
such big players are actually aiding their biggest competitors. Coined the “Red
Queen” effect, the brutal pace of competition creates stronger and fitter
industries and firms as a whole. |
|
|
|
|
Finally:
Predictability in the Stock Market
March 2008 |
|
Recent Smith School research by Associate Professor of Finance
Steve Heston is the first to
show evidence of seasonality in one stock relative to other stocks. In a
forthcoming paper Heston models a permanent seasonal effect of expected returns
that is tied to the month of the year. Now, it may be possible to design an
investment strategy that captures the benefits of seasonal variation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Think eBay's
Online Feedback is Keeping You Safe? Think Again
March 2008
|
|
Online feedback mechanisms have become an important tool for consumers to gauge
the relative risk of dealing with people they may never meet in person. But
relying on these online mechanisms may leave us misinformed, as customers only
see what people are willing to report.
Chrysanthos Dellarocas, an
associate professor of information systems at the Smith School, allows users of
bidirectional feedback mechanisms to see a more reliable picture of what is
happening in private transactions by taking into account the response that never
gets posted -- silence. |
|
|
|
|
Emotional
Decision Making is Good for Business -- and Your Bottom Line
March 2008 |
|
Growing up, quickly we realize that emotions have no place in the workplace. In
fact, you were likely encouraged to ignore your feelings in favor of more
"logical and analytical behavior." However, according to
Myeong-Gu Seo, an assistant
professor of management and organization at the Smith School, people who are
able to more accurately describe their feelings performed better in stock
investing. Find out how understanding emotions can translate in to dollars and
cents in your pocket. |
|
|
