Knowledge at Wharton

Employees' ties outside of work – whether on corporate boards or committees, or even political party affiliations – can create conflict at work, research from The Wharton School professor Henning Piezunka uncovers: https://whr.tn/4kj3oUc We're resuming our monthly series with Marissa Solomon Shandell – a Wharton Management PhD student whose popular @ResearchDoodles Instagram account depicts management concepts that can apply to your professional or personal growth – with this illustration of external connections leading to internal issues. To investigate this phenomenon, Piezunka and his co-authors analyzed data from professional soccer matches, revealing that club teammates who faced off as World Cup rivals passed to each other 11% less often in their next club season. Applying that lesson to the workplace, competing outside of work could shape the way colleagues interact in their shared workplace, potentially reducing collaboration or even leading to distrust or defensiveness. To combat this, Piezunka says, organizations can reinforce team identity, set boundaries for external engagements, and foster a culture of collaboration. #management #managementresearch #workplaceculture #culture #collaboration

How would you define your leadership philosophy, and what experiences shaped it? Posed this question at an event for The Wharton School students, executive James Gorman stressed the importance of holding firm to who you are and the decisions you make. The chairman of The Walt Disney Company and chairman emeritus of Morgan Stanley explained that while criticism comes with the territory, leaders should avoid engaging with it and instead be prepared to accept judgement for their decisions. Watch the full conversation for more lessons from Gorman's career journey, reflections on the finance industry, and how to define success: https://whr.tn/3XZVRjl #Leadership #LeadershipAdvice #LeadershipDevelopment #MorganStanley #Disney

When foreign effective tax rates are significantly lower than those in the U.S., it makes international expansion relatively cheaper, causing U.S. firms to shift jobs overseas. The Wharton School professor Dan Garrett's research highlights this hidden "substitution effect," finding that such tax rate gaps directly lead to reduced domestic employment. The solution? Garrett's work suggests that closing the gap – making foreign and domestic tax rates more aligned –could help retain jobs in the U.S. and strengthen the local labor market. Learn more in his interview closing out our Ripple Effect podcast's three-part series on taxes: https://whr.tn/4iNCCC3 #Taxes #TaxPolicy #InternationalBusiness #Multinational

OpenAI's new "Deep Research" tool, which generates in-depth, cited reports on demand, shows the potential for AI models to automate white-collar work, professor Ethan Mollick told?WIRED?to lead this week's?The Wharton School?faculty in the news roundup. Swipe through for... 1?? Mollick on Deep Research:?https://whr.tn/4iw5a2T 2?? Barbara Kahn on retail after the pandemic:?https://whr.tn/41Yovmj 3?? Henning Piezunka on Disney's CEO search:?https://whr.tn/41QE4MR 4?? Santiago Gallino on Forever 21's bankruptcy:?https://whr.tn/4iAEoGA

Expressing pride in your accomplishments can sometimes make you seem less competent, especially if colleagues don’t view the achievement as significant, research from The Wharton School professor Rebecca Schaumberg finds: https://whr.tn/4immKq1 Her study shows that this fear of judgment may discourage employees from sharing successes – limiting learning, recognition, and morale in the workplace. To counter this, managers can foster a culture where all achievements, both large and small, are celebrated.

Allowing employees to evaluate their managers leads to better leadership, stronger team dynamics, a boost in productivity, and lower turnover, according to a study co-authored by The Wharton School professor Shing-Yi Wang: https://whr.tn/4ij3Z6W Over eight months of research, workers on production lines at a Chinese automaker evaluated their managers on key qualities like fairness, empathy, adaptability, and openness to suggestions. Managers in teams receiving feedback encouraged workers more and criticized them less, with improvements even continuing with workers who joined the firm after the experiment ended. “This lasting change points to a real shift in the norms in the workplace, and provides proof that better management doesn’t need constant oversight or other costly interventions to take root,” said Wang. #Management #Leadership #Feedback #HR #Evaluations

Do "sin taxes" on goods like soda, cigarettes, and alcohol actually impact purchasing habits? While the measures aim to reduce consumption and improve public health, they can also place a heavier financial burden on lower-income households that are more likely to purchase these products, The Wharton School professor Ben Lockwood shares. Lockwood continues our Ripple Effect podcast's three-part series on taxes by explaining his research into the implementation and effectiveness of sin taxes: https://whr.tn/4c32SFV #TaxPolicy #Economy #Taxes #BehavioralEconomics

How could tariffs impact the auto industry? Professor John Paul MacDuffie, director of Wharton's Program on Vehicle and Mobility Innovation, spoke with The Associated Press about how the effects will vary depending on automakers' supply chains. In this week's The Wharton School faculty in the news roundup... 1?? MacDuffie on tariffs' impact on the auto industry: https://whr.tn/41QGNFV 2?? John Zhang on tariffs' impact on e-tailers Shein and Temu: https://whr.tn/3FxxJ1e 3?? Barbara Kahn on The White Lotus' clothing collaborations: https://whr.tn/4itMPTZ 4?? Americus Reed II on consumer boycotts: https://whr.tn/4i7ttE8 #Wharton #UPenn #UniversityOfPennsylvania

What has the health care industry learned in the five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? The Wharton School professor Zeke Emanuel warns that while we learned valuable lessons about resource allocation, forecasting, and public health infrastructure, much of that knowledge has yet to be put into action: https://whr.tn/4ivkJaT The dismantling of global monitoring systems and lack of investment in hospital capacity and ventilation upgrades signal that the U.S. remains underprepared for future health crises, he says. With hospital admissions declining and burnout rising among medical staff, the health care system faces an uncertain future. #HealthCare #HealthCareIndustry #HealthCareManagement

Working moms face a 5% reduction in yearly earnings with each child they have, a study by The Wharton School professor Tiantian Yang found. One way they've worked to overcome this "motherhood penalty," according to the research? By turning to entrepreneurship. Our "Research Doodles" series with Wharton PhD student Marissa Solomon Shandell continues with this illustration of what Yang uncovered in analyzing employer/employee data from Sweden with co-authors, Olenka Kacperczyk (London Business School) and Lucia Naldi (J?nk?ping International Business School). Facing stalled career growth and pay discrimination, mothers with the right skills and networks are more likely to start their own businesses. "But they have to be very selective in terms of the businesses they are going to create,” Yang said. “They would need to create businesses that are going to be incorporated and hire employees. The downside could be that it might intensify work-family conflict.” Learn more: https://whr.tn/3XM9GSn #Entrepreneurship #WorkingMom #WomenEntrepreneurs #WomenInBusiness