Forefront

Thomas Stewart, executive director for the National Center for the Middle Market, said the current COVID-19 pandemic is the time for companies to "telescope," which means taking "that time to determine how you want the company to move forward when all of this ends."

Michael Knemeyer, professor of logistics at Fisher, says until companies are able to synchronize supply and demand, the current COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be problematic for global supply chains. 

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has placed never-before-seen focus and demand on global supply chains. Michael Knemeyer, professor of logistics at Fisher, says that while the disruption has been unprecedented, supply chains will become more resilient because of lessons learned from the pandemic.

This is not the first time the stock market has had to deal with a pandemic, and studying past pandemics, says Tod Schneider, a senior lecturer in finance, can provide important clues.

Two simple words can save the customer experience after a service failure -- and surprisingly they're not "I'm sorry." Xiaoyan Deng, assistant professor of marketing and logistics, and her colleagues find that saying "thank you" after a breakdown in service is more effective at restoring consumer satisfaction.

As personalized advertising continues to evolve, consumers are increasingly dictating what ads they want and when they see them. Rebecca Walker Reczek, the Dr. H. Lee “Buck” Mathews Professor of Marketing at Fisher, says the more options people have to choose their entertainment, the harder it gets for brands to reach a large audience all at once.

When a crisis occurs, people's survival instincts kick in; they go into a sort of panic mode and start hoarding — toilet paper? Yunhui Huang, assistant professor of marketing, weighs in on how external factors such as disease influence consumer decision making and preferences. 

Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate at Fisher, and his colleagues provide new evidence on what policymakers often call carbon leakage – where firms from highly regulated home countries locate their carbon dioxide-intensive activities abroad in countries where environmental regulation is less strict.

John Gray, professor of operations at Fisher, and his colleagues look at the policy solutions to fix the gaping deficiencies in global supply chains revealed anew by new coronavirus.

Seven years after California became the first U.S. state to implement a multi-sector cap-and-trade system to regulate all industrial greenhouse gas emissions, a team of researchers has examined the impact of the policy and revealed some of its unintended consequences.

The nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), a global leader in lean thinking and practice, announced the appointment of Peter Ward, a professor at Fisher College of Business who has developed graduate-level programs in lean management, as its chairman.

Research prowess by members of Fisher’s Department of Marketing and Logistics recently garnered national recognition from the American Marketing Association (AMA) and affiliated groups. Individual papers and cumulative work by Rebecca Walker Reczek and Greg Allenby were honored for advancing the field of marketing.

Our business environment is becoming much more complicated as a result of the connected global economy. In thinking about the road ahead in 2020, The Risk Institute has focused on what it believes to be the top five risks facing organizations.

As the popularity of Bitcoin, XRP and Ethereum rise, scammers may take advantage of investors looking to buy, sell and "mine" cryptocurrencies. One problem is market manipulation. Large holders of a cryptocurrency, called “whales,” can bid up the price of, say, Bitcoin, drawing in new investors eager to get in on the action. As the currency rises, the whales take their profits and leave new investors with losses, according to University of Texas professor John Griffin and Fisher's Amin Shams.

A new bill introduced in Ohio would strengthen Ohio's laws regarding the use of wireless devices, including smartphones, while driving. The Hands-Free Ohio bill, which was drafted based, in part, on research from The Risk Institute, would, with limited exceptions, make driving while handling any electronic wireless device a primary offense. 

As part of the “There’s a Better Way” podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with Dr. David Cohn, physician and chief medical officer at The James Cancer Center at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, about best practices involved with designing, sustainable empathetical care. Cohn further explains how enrollment in Fisher's Executive MBA program is helping him understand how to build effective healthcare strategies.

Two and a half years since Walmart began testing Jet black, its white-glove concierge shopping service dubbed, the retail giant said it will end the service. Fisher's Annibal Sodero says data sets gleaned from a Jet black venture would be rich for a retailer like Walmart.

According to the National Center for the Middle Market, hackers cost the global economy a staggering $350 billion each year. Three areas of focus can provide companies with a layered defense and help contribute to a strong cybersecurity strategy for a business.

Because of globalization, many Ohio companies rely on China, either for products or sales. If the Chinese economy is impaired long enough, Ohio’s economy could suffer too said Oded Shenkar, a global business management professor and expert on China at Fisher.

As part of the “There’s a Better Way” podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with former Ohio State and NFL football player, and recent MBOE graduate. Doss discusses his journey through sports, family, and education and places an emphasis on the importance of not only pressing on towards personal goals, but pushing others to pursue theirs as well.

How assertive should you be? Research by Fisher's Jasmine Hu showed that informal leaders were more liked and respected when they had “a moderate amount of assertiveness and warmth.”

Annibal Sodero, an assistant professor of marketing, says different strategies among the top e-commerce companies explains why a few of them seem to be gaining on Amazon, the industry leader.

The proliferation of Offices of Patient Experience at some of the nation’s top facilities and leading healthcare networks is designed to improve delivery of care and patient outcomes. But do these offices actually improve patient experience? Are there certain conditions that make these offices more important in some hospital settings, and less so in others? Research by Fisher's Elliot Bendoly, Aravind Chandrasekaran and a colleague provide some answers.

Follow these steps to run today’s businesses better while preparing for a changed tomorrow, says Thomas A. Stewart, executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market.

As part of the “There’s a Better Way” podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with Dr. Bernadette Melnyk, vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, and professor and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University, to discuss prioritizing health and wellness within an organization.