General intelligence is an essential characteristic for good leadership. Research by John Antonakis and colleagues on the relationship between IQ and perceptions of effective leadership reveals that a leader’s optimal IQ level depends on the average intelligence of the group being led; too high or too low leader IQ may spell disaster for the leaders.
Could capital taxes on personal wealth be part of the solution to tackling growing inequalities in society? Unfortunately, there is little research evidence to support arguments for or against the imposition of wealth taxes. However, new research shows that use of wealth taxes in the battle against global inequality is far from straightforward.
5 min read Continue reading Tackling inequality: why wealth taxes may not be the answer
Some experts suggest that mandatory joint audits might help to improve the reliability of accounting numbers. But what are the additional costs involved and is the case for joint audits supported by the evidence?
4 min read Continue reading Do joint audits add up?
Vaccination programs have the potential to substantially reduce the health and economic burden of many common diseases. However, vaccine uptake is far from optimal. One suggested reason for this is a general fear and mistrust of vaccinations. In their paper ‘Learning to Trust Flu Shots’ Jürgen Maurer and Katherine Harris investigate how the consumer learning process can help build trust and improve influenza vaccination use.
Transparency is usually seen as integral to corporate responsibility best practice. It allows closer scrutiny of those firms claiming CR credentials. But, if we want optimal outcomes in terms of industry wide adoption of CR practices, it may pay to tolerate a little hypocrisy at times – rather than highlighting the difference between what a firm says about CR and what it actually does.
A common criticism of economics is that economic theory often fails to predict real world events, spectacularly so in some cases. More recently, however, a more empirical approach to economics has emerged that combines economic theory, psychology, and laboratory experimentation, in order to better understand decision making in real life situations.
When business and art collide, there are inevitably concerns that stakeholder interests will undermine creativity and artistic integrity. However, research by Anette Mikes and Felicitas Morhart shows that it is possible to reconcile commercialization with artistic and cultural activities.
The vast amount of data produced today provides business with significant opportunities to improve the consumer experience. For businesses and consumers to benefit fully, however, we need new ways of processing this information in its many forms.
5 min read Continue reading Making Sense of raw data: New techniques in product databasing
Much of the day-to-day criticism aimed at organizations on the internet and in the mainstream media may seem relatively innocuous. Yet new research suggests organizations would be wise to pay attention. Such criticism may well signal early strategic maneuvering as activists identify their targets for far more damaging actions, such as boycotts and campaigns.
As President Franklin D Roosevelt famously once observed: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. It is an aphorism that policymakers should take note of, given the findings of research by Philippe Bacchetta and Eric van Wincoop into the causes of the Great Recession.
5 min read Continue reading The economic cycle of fear: How panic fuelled a global recession
