A design award signals quality and boosts business-to-consumer sales. The payoffs are less obvious in business-to-business markets. But new Smith School research shows the economic value.

Social tags are the keywords that users create as they discuss or categorize topics on social media. And they can offer valuable insights into consumers’ perceptions of products and brands.

Upstarts lacking a proven track record can offset their disadvantage by explicitly promoting themselves as highly moral. Sympathetic consumers will respond.