Building on a Foundation

How John and Karen Arnold made Philanthropy a cornerstone of their success

Reviewing Reviews

Top reviews can help sway shoppers, but there are limits.

Role Modeling

When roles in life seem integrated, budgeting may be more flexible.

Ratings Game

Does reputation matter to rating agencies?

The Road to University Park

Penn State 2+2 students find success at Smeal

DEAN’s Perspective

The Future of Business Education

Introducing the Better Business Podcast

Hosted by Smeal alum Farnoosh Torabi, financial journalist and host of the podcast SO MONEY.

The Penn State Smeal College of Business has introduced a new podcast series that offers research-based insights and industry perspectives on the issues and trends shaping the world of business. Hosted by award-winning financial journalist and Smeal alum Farnoosh Torabi, the Better Business Podcast features Smeal alumni and faculty members as well as other high-achieving thought leaders in the world of finance, accounting, supply chain, marketing, management, real estate, and international business. Listeners can subscribe to or download episodes at most popular streaming services or at www.smeal.psu.edu/podcast.

With inflation, it is often all in our heads.

Episode 1

Raising the Minimum Wage:

How firms are balancing political, financial, and labor pressures. | Read More

What does inflation reveal about consumer preferences?

Episode 2

Supply Chain Disruption and the Future of Globalization:

Is Made in America back? | Read More

The impact of inflation on rent: It’s probably worse than you think.

Episode 3

The Future of Work:

How can managers increase flexibility without losing productivity? | Read More

News

Smeal Thought Leaders

Penn State Smeal faculty members and researchers are frequently asked to contribute to conversations about topics of importance to consumers and business leaders around the globe. Here are a few national media stories that featured insights from Smeal thought leaders:

Here’s how much some Eagles fans are spending to be in Phoenix for the Super Bowl

This article, which quotes Brett Christenson, assistant clinical professor of marketing and director of the Sports Business Program, appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb. 9.

“An airline or a hotel or the NFL, they’re incentivized to [increase prices] because their competitors are going to do it, and it’s what the market is demanding.”

What difference does it make? The art of quantifying research impact

This piece, which cites research conducted by Matt Gustafson, associate professor of finance and Stuart and Michele Rothstein Early Career Professor, was published in the Financial Times on Jan. 15.

“In an article in the Journal of Financial Economics, Asaf Bernstein and Ryan Lewis at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Matthew Gustafson at Pennsylvania State University explore the price discounts on seafront properties at risk of flooding — with implications for evaluating different climate change policies.”

Why you should avoid online returns, according to the experts

This article, which quotes Dan Guide, Smeal Chaired Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management, was featured on CNN.com on Dec. 15.

“Tech goods and office supplies can be resold as certified refurbished and fetch a discounted price, but used household appliances and furniture are met with disgust, says Guide. The disgust factor is a psychological construct that has a close relationship with disposal. ‘The higher you score on the disgust scale, the less likely you are to tolerate any form of remanufactured product like vacuum cleaners, coffee pots and hand mixers,’ Guide explains. ‘When you get to personal care items like Sonicare toothbrushes, the general attitude is, ‘Get the hell away from me.’”

Have we been measuring housing inflation all wrong?

Research conducted by Brent Ambrose, Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate and director of the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies, and Jiro Yoshida, associate professor of business and King Faculty Fellow, was cited in an analysis of the consumer price index that appeared in Bloomberg and reprinted in The Washington Post on Nov. 21.

“Does this truly represent market prices? That is, if you’re on a two-year lease, or you’re a long-term renter with a good relationship with your landlord, does the change (or lack of it) in your rent accurately reflect what’s going on with the cost of housing? Probably not, argued economists Brent W. Ambrose and Jiro Yoshida of Pennsylvania State University and N. Edward Coulson of the University of California at Irvine in a series of papers …”

An unpopular crusade against sustainable investing

Published in “The Long Game” newsletter in Politico on Dec. 8, this piece was based on a survey conducted by Penn State Smeal’s Center for the Business of Sustainability.

“The public tends to side with companies rather than legislators in the war on wokeism,” the report found. “Consensus sentiment among these voters centered on the notion that companies should be able to exercise their discretion regarding how they use their own funds and if companies wanted to invest in ESG initiatives that benefited society they should be allowed to freely do so without government interference.”

Rising interest rates hit bank’s bond holdings

This piece, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 11, included insights from Ed Ketz, associate professor of accounting.

“Sometimes, though, bondholders have to sell in ways unforeseen. Many U.K. pension funds last month, for example, were forced to sell government bonds to raise cash for collateral calls triggered by rapid increases in bond yields. ‘That’s the only justification for having held-to-maturity: It’s so the banks would not have all this volatility in earnings for something that is presumed to be transitory,’ said Ed Ketz, an accounting professor at Pennsylvania State University. ‘But ask the question, what if the inflation is not transitory? The numbers are huge, absolutely huge.’”

News BRIEFS

Mentoring program to open to one-year residential masters students.

With the evolution and growth of Penn State Smeal’s residential professional graduate program offerings, the Smeal undergraduate mentoring program will expand to serve one-year residential master’s students beginning in fall 2023. | Read More

Ghadar authors book about U.S. immigration

Fariborz Ghadar, William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Management, Policies and Planning, has written a book titled “The Danger of Devaluing Immigrants.” | Read More

Smeal ranked 6th in the world for SDG significance

Franklin Carter, the William A. Donan Clinical Professor of Marketing, received two awards at the 2022 American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference. | Read More

ISBM introduces 2nd edition of “Handbook of B2B Marketing”

Penn State Smeal’s Institute for the Study of Business Markets has introduced the second edition of its landmark “Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing.” | Read More

Marketing Influencer

Karen Winterich continues to make an impact on the field. | Read More

Alumni

Three Smeal graduates receive 2022 Alumni Fellow Award.

Since 1973, the Alumni Fellow Award, the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association, has been presented
to alumni who are considered leaders in their professional fields. | Read More

Smeal alumni provide transformational support for Penn State Commonwealth Campuses.

Alumni and friends gave a record-setting $116 million to benefit the Penn State Smeal College of Business during the University’s “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence” fundraising campaign. | Read More

Smeal Alumni Lifetime Giving

With more than 90,000 living alumni, the Penn State Smeal College of Business has one of the largest alumni networks among all U.S. business schools. | Read More

Investing in the Future of Fintech

Gift from Jeff and Wendy Gido aims to help Smeal students succeed in the rapidly growing industry. | Read More

Career coaching helps young alum make career pivot.

A year after graduating with a degree in accounting, Penn State Smeal alum Joe Kennedy found himself at a professional crossroads. | Read More

In Memoriam

Remembering Smeal Trailblazers: John Coyle and John M. “Jack” Stevens

Those who knew Penn State Smeal alum and faculty member John Coyle best, bypass his innovative, pioneering nature when they first share memories of him. Before he started his distinguished career in academia, Jack Stevens served for eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps. | Read More