Experts Matter. Find Yours.
Connect for media, speaking, professional opportunities & more.
In the introduction to his new book, Greg Fisher and his co-authors note that strategy used to be the domain of only those at the very top of an organization. Many would attend management retreats and forget what was discussed soon afterward, much like unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions. “It used to be that strategy happened at off-site retreats, often coupled with golf, cigars and scotch. It used to be that strategy was only discussed as part of an annual planning cycle … was about grand, long-term plans that stretched way into the future,” they wrote. “Strategy was largely cerebral.” Fisher, the Larry and Barbara Sharpf Professor and an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the IU Kelley School of Business, says those days are over. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic began seemingly disrupting every aspect of life, including business processes, the rapid pace of social change meant that companies could no longer wait or slowly adjust. His book, “Strategy in 3D: Essential Tools to Diagnose, Decide & Deliver (Oxford University Press),” co-authored with two former Kelley School faculty members, presents insights into how companies can broaden and include more people in the strategic process. “Anyone with career ambition in the business world needs to become a strategist. We hope this book will serve as a useful resource for everyone willing to take that leap,” he wrote along with John Wisneski of Arizona State University’s W.P. Carrey School of Business and Rene Bakker of Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University. The first section of the book discusses strategic concepts and ideas and how they can be enacted in different ways and at different levels of an organization. Then they discuss the “three elements that are central to being strategic within a business – the 3Ds of diagnose, decide and deliver.” The second section outlines tools that should be part of any manager’s strategy toolbox. The authors see strategy as being about diagnosing a wide array of complex issues or opportunities facing organizations, deciding on solutions to address those challenges or opportunities and then taking action. But the process of forming such strategies is messy. “There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to applying tools in tandem,” they note in the book’s conclusion. “What does stand out, though, is that making combinations that ‘click’ with the specific problem in focus adds more value than simply adding tools in isolation.” The book’s 218 pages cover a great deal, but here are three important takeaways from Fisher, Wisneski and Bakker: Let the problem define the parameters – Preconceived preferences for certain tools or frameworks offer fewer useful insights than the application of tools developed to address specific issues. “In other words, start from the problem or question you face,” they said. Combine strategic tools that offer complementary insights – It makes sense to select tools that will investigate different sides of a problem, “making sure no stone is left unturned.” It makes sense to often include at least one external and internal strategic tool in tandem. “We want to know generally whether this new market is attractive, but the more important question is whether the market is also attractive for us,” they said. “Strategists are everywhere,” Fisher and his co-authors write. “We are aligned in our dismissal of the view of the chief executive as the almighty, all-knowing strategy designer.”
Volunteers receiving government aid while unemployed face scrutiny, bias from public
With the worldwide spike in unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people may turn to volunteerism as a way to pass their newly found free time. But new research suggests that volunteers who also receive government aid are often judged negatively as "wasting time" that could be used to find paid employment. "We found that aid recipients are scrutinized to a greater extent than those who are working, including the underemployed, with observers demonstrating a strong bias toward believing that aid recipients should be using their time to pursue employment opportunities above all else," said Jenny Olson, an assistant professor of marketing at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and corresponding author of the research forthcoming in the International Journal of Research in Marketing. "This is beyond education, personal leisure, and spending time with family and friends. "As a result, they are given less latitude in how they use their time, and can even be seen as more moral for choosing not to engage in prosocial behaviors, when such behaviors take time away from gaining paid employment," Olson added. "The simple act of volunteering among aid recipients -- versus not mentioning volunteering -- not only shapes judgments of the individual aid recipients, but this information can also impact views toward federal tax policy more broadly." Although volunteering is a positive activity that partially combats the negative stereotype of a welfare beneficiary, Olson and her colleagues found that it also sparks anger among observing consumers, with aid recipients being perceived as being "less moral for choosing to volunteer." Factors that minimize these judgments include being perceived as taking strides toward gaining employment via education and being perceived as unable to work. Other co-authors of the paper, "How Income Shapes Moral Judgments of Prosocial Behavior," are Andrea Morales of Arizona State University, Brent McFerran of Simon Fraser University in Canada and Darren Dahl of the University of British Columbia. The research was supported in part by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. According to a 2019 report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, public spending on government assistance averaged more than 20 percent across 36 countries in 2018. Many countries -- including those in Asia, Europe, and the Americas -- have seen a rise in the number of people receiving benefits over the years, a total now reaching into the billions. The extent to which the welfare state is supported depends, in no small part, on public sentiment. Previous research has shown that support for government spending on welfare programs is directly related to how the voting public perceives the beneficiaries. This is the first paper to document a link between prosocial behavior and support for federal spending on welfare programs. "Given that individuals perceive opportunity costs for their own time, it stands to reason that they perceive them for others as well," Olson said. "Because government programs are supported by 'their' taxpayer dollars, observers often feel justified in suggesting how aid recipients spend their time." The research shows that consumers prefer different patterns of tax redistribution as a function of viewing aid recipients making nonfinancial choices. Specifically, consumers support allocating fewer tax dollars toward supporting government assistance programs after hearing about an aid recipient who volunteers his time. Researchers conducted nine studies across three countries. They randomly presented participants with scenarios about hypothetical aid recipients and asked them to offer judgment about how the recipients used their time, such as engaging in volunteer activities or sending out resumes. Participants were asked how they viewed target individuals on a morality index and how they felt about them emotionally. For interviews with Jenny Olson, contact George Vlahakis at 812-855-0846 or vlahakis@iu.edu.
Six-wheeled robots independently navigating the streets and sidewalks on Georgia Southern’s Statesboro Campus may look a little strange. But it will soon be commonplace as these ground robots, which look like a cooler on wheels, have been mapping routes to campus locations in preparation for contactless food delivery this fall. Thanks to a partnership with Starship Technologies, Georgia Southern is the first university in the state to provide faculty, staff, and students with 20 autonomous delivery robots to deliver food from on-campus dining locations to designated pickup locations. Since August, Starship’s robots have been delivering food ordered on the Starship app from University dining facilities and places such as Starbucks, Market Street Deli and Sushi with Gusto to patrons around campus. The robots, which are energy efficient, can have their location and delivery time tracked by recipients through the app. They can also maneuver around obstacles such as pedestrians. “My hope is that it brings a sense of enhanced safety and convenience to our students,” said Clint Bridges, IT Business Owner at Georgia Southern University. “While we are all living through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hoping that the robots will allow for easier social distancing. The fact that students can order a meal from their residence hall room and have it delivered by an automated delivery vehicle keeps them close to home where they can feel the most at ease and still enjoy a meal from one of our dining locations on campus.” Starship Technologies officials say the robots have been proven to be popular. “Students are looking for ways to get food delivered in the safest and most convenient way possible at the moment,” said Ryan Tuohy, senior vice president of Business Development at Starship Technologies. “Our robots are fast, friendly and help make life a little bit easier, especially in these challenging times.” If you are journalist and would like to know more about how Georgia Southern is constantly innovating and discovering new ways to safely enhance the on-campus experience for students - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to learn more and arrange an interview today.
Georgia Southern University – is thinking BIG when it comes to entrepreneurs and small business
Through the CARES Act and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Georgia Southern University’s Business Innovation Group (BIG) has received $300,000 in grant funding to expand its services to the region in an effort to help communities and businesses respond to and recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “This will really allow us to help businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the entire state ideally get access to the skills, knowledge and services that Georgia Southern has to offer,” said Dominique Halaby, DPA, director of BIG. Over the next two years, BIG will use these funds to expand their services through the Georgia Enterprise Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GENIE). “We’re hoping that we can demonstrate to budding entrepreneurs and small business owners that Georgia Southern can help them develop and grow,” Halaby said. “We are hopeful that in two years’ time people are going to have a heightened aerial view of awareness for Georgia Southern and our Business Innovation Group services, but more importantly, that they are going to get the type of resources to be able to launch the business that they’ve always wanted to launch.” Halaby said offering these resources to the region is important for economic growth. “Any time that we have an ability to do something, we have a responsibility to do it,” Halaby said. “The needs of our community are great. Our ability to service those needs by connecting those with the resources on our campus and with the skills that we have fostered within BIG puts us in a very unique position. This way, we are able to provide services to help as many entrepreneurs and to help as many people looking for jobs as we possibly can.” BIG will also use part of the grant funding to work with Georgia Southern faculty to strengthen patent and licensing activity. “We’re working with our intellectual property committee and through the University to let faculty know that if they’ve got a concept, that BIG can help them flesh that out. We can work with them to do an analysis to see the marketability for their concept and determine if it’s patentable or licensable,” Halaby said. If you’re a journalist looking to know more about how Georgia Southern University is assisting regional businesses or its Business Innovation Group (BIG) – then let our experts help with your coverage. Dominique Halaby, DPA, is the Director of the Business Innovation Group (BIG) at Georgia Southern University. In 2015, BIG was recognized as a Gold Award Winner in Entrepreneurship by the International Economic Development Council. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero delivered a virtual State of the University fall 2020 address to faculty and staff, broadcast live from the Performing Arts Center on the Statesboro Campus on Aug. 12. Maxing out with 1,507 viewers at one point, University members tuned in from remote locations to hear the president discuss how Georgia Southern is successfully adapting during extraordinarily difficult times and will continue to be nimble during the fall semester. “We are being asked to be innovative, flexible, nimble and willing to adapt and change,” Marrero said after welcoming all back to the three campuses. “And I want to thank you. You all have been tremendous, remarkable, heroic even, as we made it through these times and as we navigate through these uncertain times.” Marrero touted the herculean efforts of faculty and staff, who maintained the integrity of the University’s five pillars — student success, teaching and research, inclusive excellence, operational efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability, and community engagement, in the midst of a pandemic that caused the University to move fully online in March. He cited specific examples of performance excellence since March with the following collective efforts: Moved more than 5,000 classes to fully online to complete the Spring 2020 Semester; Delivered summer term fully online while seeing credit-hour generation move up by more than 4%, compared to the Summer 2019 Semester; Moved 4,600 students out of housing and provided support for more than 100 students who remained on campus; Refunded almost $11 million in housing, dining and fees to students; Held virtual Spring 2020 Commencement, viewed by more than 100,000 worldwide; Provided more than $11 million in CARES Act grant funding directly to students; Developed and began implementation of Initial Return to Campus and Return to Campus Plans, based on input from more than 130 faculty staff across campus and public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Public Health; Modeled a 14% state budget reduction for FY21, then completed a 10% realized reduction, totaling $14.2 million; Developed and implemented flexible and remote work processes; Assessed and modified almost 5,000 courses for fall 2020; Prepared campus with signage, cloth face coverings, face shields, PPE, hand sanitizer stations; Formed and implemented the CARES Service Center; Continued communication, coordination and monitoring of community health care providers, public/private schools, municipalities and agencies. Marrero also presented August figures showing that fall 2020 enrollment looks strong compared to this same time last year, however, he was quick to note that the figures may fluctuate based on various factors throughout the semester. Final fall enrollment figures will be released in October. “We can continue to move forward,” he said. “We can continue to elevate and live our mission and our vision and our values even in these times. We will adapt, we’ll be nimble and we’ll ensure that every day that the public health and safety of our faculty, staff, students and our community is of paramount importance. “I am confident that we are ready as we can be and together we’ll assess and navigate the entirety of the fall semester with the goal and outcome of our students being successful. As a whole Georgia Southern University can make it through this together.” If you are journalist and would like to know more about Georgia Southern university and how it is succeeding during COVID-19, simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Impact of Masks on Social Interaction
In the midst of the current pandemic, wearing masks in public has become the norm. However, masks present challenges for in-person social interaction. The deaf community, in particular, has had to adapt to losing the ability to lipread and cues from facial expressions. According to Heidi Rose, PhD, professor and chair of Villanova University's Communication Department, "Most people take communication for granted." Simple things, such as seeing facial expressions, are crucial to fully understanding each other. "We get a lot of cues from voice (tone) [and] inflection, but the face communicates so much," said Dr. Rose. For instance, new relationships through face coverings may become difficult to develop. "If you don't know them, you miss a lot; in a classroom or work situation, until you know them well, it creates a big barrier." Not being able to see the face is a major barrier in understanding speech in the deaf community. Dr. Rose, who has written and researched communication in the deaf community, sees clear masks as a solution. "Now there's a market for them; they help facilitate facial expression; it helps you feel closer to someone," Dr. Rose said. These masks, which have clear plastic windows, allow for more understanding. The key, Dr. Rose emphasizes, is to positively adapt to new communication challenges. Clear masks could be a step toward shaping the future of communication. "Instead of lamenting the losses, focus more on adaptability—what we recognize as essential to good communication and how we overcome these barriers," she added. As history has proven, the way we communicate is constantly changing. "We always evolve in interesting ways," said Dr. Rose. "The invention of the telephone didn't stop neighbors from talking to each other."
What does Kamala Harris' candidacy for vice president mean for women of color in America?
It wasn’t necessarily a surprise to insiders, but Joe Biden’s announcement that Sen. Kamala Harris will be his running mate in the 2020 presidential election took America by storm. News outlets, pundits and posters to social media all took to different mediums to discuss the historical significance of a female woman of color being on the ballot and what this means for America. Harris has obviously broken through the glass ceiling that still existed for those seeking the office of the vice president in Washington, but she is refreshingly just one of several strong females from minority communities who are starting to make a difference and have an impact on the makeup of modern American politics. In many recent elections, black women voters have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, and had the highest turnout rate among all racial, ethnic and gender groups between 2008 and 2012, according to The New York Times. Women of color are an emerging force in politics, but is America ready to elect a woman of color to vice presidency? It will be an interesting campaign. With Biden and Harris in fact facing President Donald Trump and amid a global pandemic, this will be one of the most hotly followed and unconventional quests for the White House in history. If you are a journalist covering this topic – then let an expert from Augusta University help with your story. Dr. Mary-Kate Lizotte is an expert in political behavior and the implications of gender differences in public opinion, including society’s views of female candidates of color. She is available to talk about the upcoming election and all aspects surrounding each campaign. Click on her name to schedule an interview.
Digital Media Consumption in Canada is Being Dramatically Impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis
A Canadian perspective on Comscore’s ongoing special investigation into how the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to significant audience and consumer behaviour changes across digital platforms. Insights from our Analysis: News, news and more news: Canadians are consuming news at a record pace Social media and messaging: Canadians are staying ultra-connected with their communities Entertainment, music, and spirituality content: increased consumption seen as behaviours change Government: information from government websites are becoming top-of-mind Finance: increased focus on investments and payments Analysis of News & Information Category We have seen an explosion on engagement with news and information sites. In looking at the news categories and its subcategories, the week of Mar 9-15, 2020 saw big increases in engagement over the benchmark week of Dec 30, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020. As a trend, news consumption in general is also on the rise in Canada in terms of aggregate daily unique visitors and visits over time. Analysis of Social Media and Messaging Category As Canadians respond to the Coronavirus reality, we are seeing that their engagement with digital communication channels has increased significantly. When comparing daily engagement with email, instant messengers and social networking sites between the week of March 9-15, 2020 and the benchmark week of Dec 30, 2019 -Jan 5, 2020 as it relates to the % change in usage, we saw large increase in activity. The raw increase in numbers in social media provides greater detailsof the growth in usage: Analysis of Entertainment, Misc and Religious / Spiritual Category Content is Queen, King, Prince, and Princess – between the weeks of Dec 30– January 5 and March 9-15, greater amounts of time at home and the associated increased screen time drove incremental usage of the Entertainment category and the Religious/Spiritual subcategory. Driving the growth is the explosion of Entertainment – Music, which saw an increase of 32% in aggregate daily UV, a 33% increase in visits, and a 31% increase in minutes during this time. Analysis of Government Category Another category that has seen an explosion of visitation and engagement is government sites. Overall there has been huge audience and time spent with government-related content. Here is the build of visits and aggregate Daily UV over the past 10 weeks: We reviewed the Government category between week of Dec 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020 to March 9 – March 15, 2020 and looked at the % change in usage, which really showed a large increase in activity by Canadians. Based on this trend and growing global cases of Coronavirus, it is expected that Canadian audiences will continue to flock to the content from the government in these uncertain times. Analysis of Finance Category There is a saying that we hear in society – “Follow the Money”. The digital behavior of Canadians has been analogous in recent weeks as we have seen increased measures taken relating to the Coronavirus. Overall the Business/Finance category has seen some increased usage over the time period reviewed. Banking, Payments, Investments, and especially Taxes have seen high visitation. Between the week of Dec 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020 to March 9 – March 15, 2020 we saw an increase of +19% and +59%, respectively, in visits in the Investments and Payments subcategories. Additional insights from Comscore’s initial COVID-19 insights for Canada show that: Overall Digital Consumption across the Total Internet has increased. During the time period of this review visits have increased by 10% and time spent has increased by 14% In a time of crisis, people turn to News/Information Websites There have been significant increases in activity by Canadians on Social Media, Email, and Messaging pointing to the need for communication. Social distancing is safe on the internet. Interest soars for government information sources – where we see an explosion of usage. Increases in certain content Categories like Entertainment, Games, Music, Dating, and Religion/Spirituality have spiked Spikes in traffic are occurring for the e-commerce giants as social distancing and local restrictions impact in-store retail – with specific focus on Food and Supermarket Global movement restrictions lead to tumultuous traffic for travel sites
Canadian's Digital Behavioral Shifts in Relation to the The Coronavirus Pandemic
This article is part of a series of insights that reveal a Canadian perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior and significant audience shifts across digital platforms. Things are moving fast. Following our last update regarding digital media consumption during the Coronavirus pandemic, this article will highlight some of the major category changes reflected as of the week March 16 - 22, 2020. Key Insights from Our Analysis Digital consumption continues to grow: the visits and minutes curve is not flattening Key content categories such as news, social media, and government are being driven by higher engagement: metrics include visits and duration More engagement with news sites: sites categorized as local, business/finance, and general news are main drivers Categories that focus on entertaining, kids, food, financial advice, and children’s education are also seeing growth: growth comes from increases in aggregate unique visitors, visits and minutes Automotive manufacturers, real estate, sports and travel entities have seen decreases: however, they are poised for major increases and a bounce back. Mobile platforms are driving growth: some differences between desktop and mobile engagement Canadian's total digital consumption continues to grow When we analyzed Canadian total digital media consumption to compare the percentage change between the week of March 16, 2020 and the first weeks of January 2020, February 2020, and March 2020, we found that overall digital engagement is not flattening. Even comparing the beginning of March against mid-March, we can see visitation, visits, and engagement continuing to grow. Looking at the total digital consumption trend over time, we can see growth in total minutes spent online while total visits have remained relatively flat. Media Consumption Growth by Category There are several content categories that we are seeing major growth in each of the time periods: These digital categories of news/information, social media, entertainment, government and games are showing continuous growth. The need for ongoing news and information updates, government information, flocking to social media to bring community together and message, and the need to be entertained with visitation and engagement on Entertainment and Games Entities. News and Information Category Insights To look at the news/information category a bit closer – it is amazing to see the category growth over the past few weeks of Canadians going to news entities to get updates. The hockey stick growth from the start of March 2020 is very evident. The news and information growth is being driven by local news, general news, and business/finance news. That being said – technology, politics, and weather are also seeing growth. Through these time periods, we are also seeing some other categories that are showing significant growth. Many of the categories are a result of many Canadians being home bound and isolated, and with families with kids having the kids at home. Platform Variance for Media Consumption One of the areas that we have been asked most about is whether we find any variances between desktop and mobile platforms. When reviewing the data, there is greater engagement with mobile platforms in the week of March 16 compared to other weeks. Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing a significant increase in digital consumption amongst Canadian consumers. The data trends show Canadians are flocking online with significant growth in news entities, instant messaging, social media, government resources, entertainment, music destinations, video, and financial websites. What this means for marketers and advertisers is a significant opportunity to reach Canadians who are highly engaged and are looking for relevant and timely content. It comes down to delivering the right message, at the right time, in front of the right audience, in brand safe environments.
Insights and Analysis of Canadian Digital Media Consumption During the Coronavirus Pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, millions of Canadians are staying home and turning to their computers, smartphones, and tablets as a core source of news, information, education, and entertainment. This article is part of a series of insights that reveal a Canadian perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior and significant audience shifts across digital platforms. This week we will highlight some of the major category changes reflected as of the week March 23 - 29, 2020. Key Insights from Our Analysis: Digital consumption continues to grow, although at a slower pace Canadians are still consuming news at a record pace, but growth is slowing Sports and Real Estate declines are slowing Retail overall is stable but key categories like Toys, Apparel, and Books are increasing in consumption Canadian usage in Dating, Pets, Food, and Family & Youth Education on the rise Canada's Total Digital Population An analysis of Canadian Total Digital Media consumption looking at the percent change from week of March 23, 2020 to March 29, 2020 from the previous week of March 16, 2020 to March 22, 2020 showed continued increase of Unique Visitors (UVs), Visits, and Minutes, but does reveal that some increases are at a slower rate than previous weeks. Unique Visitors grew by +1%, Visits by +2%, and Minutes by +5%. At a top line that is still substantial growth, but throughout this release we will give insights into what is driving these increases, and in some cases highlight categories that are starting to show recovery. Analysis from the News and Information Category This category has been a huge focus over the past few releases given the amazing growth of Unique Visitors, Visits, and Minutes as COVID-19 became more prevalent in Canada. Canadians flocked to News/Information websites in record numbers driven by General News, Local News, Weather, and Politics. With that being said, during our latest week of data (week of March 23, 2020 to March 29, 2020) we have seen a lower percentage increase for the category. There is still growth, but the growth is at a slower rate. The category is still a huge area of focus and visitation and engagement are near record high levels. Analysis from the Retail Category The Retail category has also been a particular focus as bricks and mortar shopping has significantly changed, and in some places closed where they are deemed non-essential. Overall, the Retail category has seen a pretty flat line of growth in Unique Visitors, Visits, and Minutes. That being said, we have seen some sub-categories show growth that is greatly over-indexing. This growth in the Retail category is being driven by these subcategories: Toys, Books, Apparel, Sports/Outdoor, Department Stores/Malls. Toys is leading the charge with a 27% week-over-week growth in Unique Visitors. Analysis from Sports and Real Estate Categories The Sports and Real Estate categories have been two of several categories hit by major decreases in visitation and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. With live sports on hold for most of the major sports leagues in North America – there has been a decline across the board. That being said, during the week of March 23, 2020 to March 29, 2020 for the first time since our COVID-19 analysis began we have seen a decrease in the rate of decline in Visitation, and an in fact an increase in week-over-week Minutes. In terms of the Real Estate category, we have seen small week-over-week decreases with -3% in Unique Visitors, -7% in Visits, and -6% in Minutes – compared to the double-digit declines in the past few weeks. Insights from Other Categories of Interest There were a few other categories that hit our radar this week when looking at the data. These categories have seen week-over-week increases – that show Canadians are increasing Visitation and Engagement with this content. Many of these categories reflect the reality that people are isolated at home – with either kids (whom they must entertain and educate) or without kids or a partner – and they are looking to meet new people (Dating). The Pets category showed big increases, and Lifestyle – Food showed increases in activity. Canadians are apparently focused on love, kids, pets, and their tummies!