Behavioral Intervention Construal: A Framework for Understanding Inferences from Behavioral Interventions
Managers and policymakers frequently use behavioral interventions—including incentives and messaging campaigns—to influence people’s behavior. They often choose an intervention by asking whether it will make a desired behavior easier, cheaper, or more attractive. Our research suggests they should also ask a second question: “What could this intervention unintentionally communicate?” For instance, interventions can signal that an organization is self-interested or trying to control people’s choices.
Meet the Marketing Graduate Who Kept UMD’s Biggest Secret for Four Years
Luke Hanson ’26 secretly portrayed the University of Maryland mascot Testudo for four years while studying management and marketing. He applied classroom lessons to Testudo’s social media strategy and, after graduation, became Talon, Major League Soccer club D.C. United’s mascot.
MSI Appoints Smith’s P.K. Kannan and Wendy Moe as Co Executive Directors
Smith School marketing professors P.K. Kannan and Wendy Moe will become co-executive directors of the Marketing Science Institute in July 2026, leading research on artificial intelligence, analytics and marketing measurement while strengthening connections between academic scholarship and business practice.
From Classroom to Publication: Smith Tech Management Capstone Project Becomes Published Research
A collaboration between a unique nonprofit and a tireless group of Smith Technology Management students has resulted in the program’s first published research.
First-Party Content Production in a Competitive Media Market
Streaming platforms are pouring money into original content, but whether it pays off depends on two things: how much their content already overlaps with competitors and how flexible their pricing is. When prices are fixed (e.g., standard subscription tiers), platforms are more likely to invest in originals—especially if competitors offer similar libraries—because originals help differentiate. But when platforms can easily adjust prices, heavy content overlap actually reduces the incentive to invest in originals, since pricing can be used instead to compete.