Research and Insights from Texas McCombs
How to Manage the Innovation Butterfly
All actions have unintended consequences and risks. This so-called ‘butterfly effect’ requires specific strategies for innovators. By Renee Hopkins Does…
Loyalty to a Leader Is Overrated, Even Dangerous
History is replete with tales of all-powerful leaders, but followers have an obligation to think for themselves and to speak…
Why Performance Rankings Can Backfire for Promotions
Ranking workers against one another can be good for business — except when they’re competing for a promotion. Based on the research…
Women Bring More Skills, Better Performance to the C-Suite
Data show that firms do better with female leaders in the mix. Based on the research of David Harrison, Laura Starks,…
Blockchain Innovation
McCombs takes a global role in research and development of groundbreaking new crypto-technology By Steve Brooks When the doors to…
Planning for Idle Time and Interruptions
If your workday is plagued by idle time and interruptions, new research shows how to turn them to your advantage…
Keeping Calm When You’re on the Clock
Stress limits thinking capacity and is harmful to health. Here are three ways to get back into the productive zone.…
Political Misfits in the Workplace
Being the only conservative or liberal political voice at work can determine how long employees stick around. Based on the research…
To Boost App Sales, Reconsider the Free Versions
Most mobile apps entice new users with free versions, hoping they’ll like them enough to buy paid versions. That strategy…
Improve Your Company’s Social Reputation, and Investors Will Notice
There’s good news for companies with bad reputations for social responsibility, finds a new study from Texas McCombs Based on…
How to Pitch An Idea Your Boss Will Like
Too often, workers get encouraged to make suggestions, only to have them fall on deaf ears Based on the research…
How to Handle Political Disputes With Co-Workers
Love your job, but can’t handle the political viewpoints from your colleagues? Four ways to cope when the discussion gets heated.…
How One App’s Buyout Can Boost Competitors
When Facebook bought Instagram, competing apps were expected to vanish. Instead, some actually gained users. Based on the research of Ashish Agarwal…
Supply Chains, Not Trade Agreements, Keep Tariffs Low
Based on the research of Kishore Gawande Look at the iPhone in your hand. From the outside, you might see a…
Tenure, Not Time, Predicts Client Loyalty
When agent Jerry Maguire learns he’s getting the boot from his sports management company, his SMI swan song is a…
Business Schools Need To Start Teaching Students How To Think Like Steve Jobs
UT entrepreneurship professor says future-focused imagination can be taught, and it’s high-time business schools started Based on the research of…
Your Co-Workers Are Computers
AI is changing how work gets done, with researchers forecasting both more efficiency and increased monitoring By Jeremy M. Simon…
Thanks, but No Thanks
Why we tend to withhold our gratitude, and why researchers say that needs to change. Based on the research of Amit Kumar…
Gleaning Fresh Ideas From Your Board Members or Franchisees
Companies invest significant resources to come up with innovative new products. Two new studies suggest less costly alternatives: franchisees and…
In E-commerce, Trust Is More Crucial Than Price
Facebook’s tribulations demonstrate what can happen when a company loses its users’ trust. New research finds key ingredients to creating…
Ethics Demystified
A free video-based ethics curriculum is putting a new face on an age-old problem—and helping educators light a better path…
More or Less: Why Timing is Key to Your Team’s Creative Success
For creative teams, knowing when to stop brainstorming is crucial By Jeremy M. Simon Senior marketing lecturer Stephen Walls steps…
Politicians Who Pass on PACs Get More From CEOs
Business PACs have gotten a bad name, but banning their campaign contributions could have worse side effects. Candidates who refused…
In Social Media Age, New Products Need New Marketing Ideas
Consumers often look to other consumers before deciding to try a new product. But in the world of social networks,…
To Sell Spicy Food, Appeal to Aggression
As Americans’ taste buds grow more adventurous, they’re getting fonder of spicy food. How can marketers more effectively appeal to…
Is Your Partner Wrecking Your Financial Literacy?
How relationship roles shape a lifetime of money know-how for better — or for worse Based on the research of Adrian Ward When…
Empathetic Cops Are Less Happy, Struggle More on the Beat
Police officers with a strict law-and-order ideology hold up better under public animosity than their more empathetic peers Based on…
America’s Ailing Healthcare System Needs a Transfusion of Ideas and Technology
The country’s healthcare delivery system remains stuck in the past. Will new solutions come from a team of experts skilled…
How Employers Can Catalyze Change in the Health Care Industry
Few employers have a strategic approach to health, says Elizabeth Teisberg, a leading figure in the value-based health care strategy…
Less is More
For consumers who aim to shop based on their values or political beliefs, deciding what products are safe to buy…
10 Questions Shareholders Should Ask at Annual Meetings
Sorry, CFOs. Here are the tough questions shareholders should ask at the annual shareholders meeting to make their attendance a…
The Role of the Investor Relations Officer
Investor relations officers play a low-key but crucial role in a firm’s image on Wall Street — and on its financial success.…
Embracing Crisis as Your Opportunity to Shine
Is your company in crisis? Lucky you. By John Daly A few years back I was chatting with a very senior…
Who Me, an Inside Trader? Four Ways to be Guilty of Illegal Stock Trading
Some argue that insider trading has its positives, but in most of the developed world, it is severely frowned upon…
Economics, not Regulations, are Killing Coal Plants
Despite government efforts to boost coal plants, a new UT study finds they’re on their way out, and the U.S.…
Our Electric Future
In a new multidisciplinary study, researchers find the answer to our electric future is blowing in the wind — and burning natural…
Q&A: New Study Finds Wind and Natural Gas Cheapest for New Power Plants
In a new multidisciplinary study, 23 UT researchers find the answer to our electric future is blowing in the wind — and…
Empowering Questions May Boost Employee Morale
Puts the focus on what works—not what’s not working. Based on the research of John Daly By Steve Brooks From classical…
Trump’s New Tax Plan Seeks to Avoid Hidden Costs of Amnesty
Research shows that one-time tax amnesties encourage more tax avoidance in the future. Will the new U.S. tax law change…
Desire to Declutter? Science Says Take a Picture First
Understanding our reluctance to let go of items with sentimental value may also benefit nonprofits that rely on a steady…
Bitcoin Is Hip, Cool, and Nothing New
Cryptocurrencies are technologically alluring and addictingly cool. History tells us neither quality makes bitcoin a wise investment — a lesson illustrated by…
3 Billion Rural Consumers — Can Marketers Profit From Them?
Texas McCombs Professor Vijay Mahajan has a powerful message for global marketers: “Rural does not mean poor” By Poornima Subramanian…
Digital Activism
Award-winning research examines how shaking up tactics led to more online engagement for advocacy groups. Illustration by Spur Design A few years…
Sarbanes-Oxley Is a Warning System for Fraud
Some on Wall Street argue Sarbanes-Oxley is costly, burdensome, and the reason why the number of public companies in the…
Is Your Smartphone Draining Your Brain?
Adrian Ward has dared to question everyone’s favorite tech device. His findings will doubtless open further inquiry and perhaps spur…
Tax Reform, Explained — Well, Some of It
Lawmakers are talking about tax reform, tax cuts, and something called budget reconciliation. Here’s what it means and where we stand.…
Q&A: Why Formula E Is Eyeing a New Market
In the race to engage millennials, Formula E didn’t bother to ask anyone what they wanted. So how has it…
How to be a Creative Genius
It may seem like an elusive thing, reserved for the likes of Picasso or even Elon Musk. But each of…