The results of the latest National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS), which shows the on-demand economy continuing to flourish, were featured in the April 14, 2016 Harvard Business Review. The on-demand economy is driven by companies with technology platforms that allow them to cater to consumer needs by immediately providing goods and services. Examples include established companies, such as eBay and Etsy, and recent startups, such as Uber and Airbnb.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — It's college decision time for many high school seniors. But the process that students and their families use to choose where they'll enroll is far from optimal.

A coffee startup that emerged through the University of Maryland (UMD) has captured the 2016 Cupid’s Cup Competition. Javazen, which blends coffee with teas and superfoods for “a healthier caffeine boost,” topped five other entries in the 11th annual competition, established by Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank -- in collaboration with his alma mater and founding "university partner," UMD.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Conventional wisdom in strategy holds that companies need to choose between cost-cutting or revenue growth. Pursuing both strategies at the same time can result in incoherence — or getting stuck in the middle, some argue.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Remember the Avon Lady? Back when neighbors still talked to each other face to face, she waited until the men went to work and then came calling with cosmetics and perfumes.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — When it comes to display advertising — especially online — simpler can be better. That's the implication of new research from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, at the University of Maryland.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — For years, soda servings have been ballooning. For its first half-century, Coke's main product was a 6.5 ounce bottle. Later came the reign of the 12-oz. can. In recent years, you couldn't get anything smaller than a 20-oz. behemoth-bottle from many vending machines.

Giving Day returns to the University of Maryland on Thursday, March 3, giving all members of the Robert H. Smith School of Business community the opportunity to boost their contributions through several hourly contests held across campus. From noon until 2 p.m., the Smith faculty and staff’s donations will be eligible for an extra $3,000 prize to be awarded to the Smith School - if they can donate the most money of any on-campus unit within that timeframe.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — In the most inflammatory chapter yet in the war between the government and tech companies over encryption, a federal magistrate judge has ordered Apple to create software that would help the government defeat the security mechanisms on an iPhone 5c owned by Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino, in December.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Though it was Leo Van Munching Sr. who introduced Heineken to the United States, it was his son who brought the company’s marketing strategy into the modern age. “While his father felt that Heineken was a serious brand for serious beer drinkers, Van Munching Jr.