The ignored value
Value measurement is supposed to be one of the strengths of our metric dominated economies. And yet, the true value of things is often ignored, at the risk of ending up with catastrophes.
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Richard Davies discusses key insight from his recently published book ‘Extreme Economies’
Richard Davies is an economist based in London. He is a fellow at the London School of Economics and has held senior posts in economic policymaking and journalism. He has been Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers at HM…
To clear up a common misconception: shareholders do not get rich off dividends
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, dividends are the source of many debates and disagreements. On 24 March, the French Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, urged French companies to exercise the utmost restraint in paying dividends in 2020 and stated that companies in which the State is a shareholder would be asked not to pay dividends.
Discourse and Method
By reinventing our learning system, the SKEMA faculty is first of all giving learners the means to navigate a complex world (more broadly speaking, VUCA), by extending the school’s teaching beyond the disciplines of administration and management, and to develop their critical thinking abilities by exposing them to the realities of the world.
Thucydides Trap or endogenous oscillation? Through what interpretive should China-United States relations be viewed?
Godwin’s law asserts that “as an online discussion continues, the probability of a reference or comparison to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.” More generally speaking, the longer a debate goes on the higher the likelihood of using extreme analogies. It would seem that the current rivalry between China and the United States is no exception to this rule.
Experimenting with a career as an entrepreneur can cost you money
Ever thought about working for yourself, with your own business? Well, think before you act!
Public power in the time of the epidemic
It is not unusual to read that private players threaten state prerogatives. A detailed analysis of the situation, including through the prism of international investment agreements, gives this idea a certain credibility while shedding some new light on it.
Does studying abroad help students to become global citizens?
It is undeniable that studying abroad is a rich and valuable experience for our students, enabling them to adapt and work well in multicultural environments and encouraging greater open-mindedness and cultural awareness. However, we noticed that the students were often unable…
Consilience or “the unity of knowledge”: an approach to complexity, a critical compass, a course of action
In a complex world, it is no longer possible to content ourselves with deeper but disjointed knowledge. Consilience or “the unity of knowledge” is a way to approach the problems and challenges of our time by interconnecting fields of knowledge…
Can pay reporting help reduce the gender pay gap?
From the first week of November, women in the United States, Ireland, UK, and around the world are effectively working for free as the gender gap in average pay earnings accounts for remaining two months’ salary of the year. The gender pay gap has remained remarkably constant…
How narcissism prevents successful crowdfunding campaigns
The entrepreneur’s character and talent are an important factor for startup investors. But how does this play out in the crowdfunding setting? We show that the personality trait of narcissism can be an obstacle to fundraising by crowdfunding entrepreneurs. The…
How does playing esports promote the development of soft skills?
Isolation, deviant behaviour… Video games and esports tournaments don’t always get a good press. Although deviance and risk behaviours are very much present, this viewpoint too often eclipses the positive aspects of gaming and more particularly its educational value when…
Peer assessments… are they worth doing?
As a college freshman in 2002, I remember my first writing class where we had to hand in an essay every two weeks ...
The Justinianic plague through the lens of consilience
The coronavirus epidemic has generated an abundance of literature on past pandemics. In these publications, the Justinianic plague in the 6th century is often described as one of the deadliest in history. Yet a recent study challenges this idea by…
Hedging weather risk and coordinating supply chains
The weather affects sales of most products The sales of many products can be influenced by weather conditions, positively or negatively. The risk for manufacturers is to incur lower than expected sales because of adverse weather conditions. Moreover, the variability…
Repression of death or preservation of life?
In the current coronavirus pandemic, our societies are being confronted with a risk that many believed had been left in the past, at least in the West: mass death. What does this crisis tell us about our relationship to death?…
Efficiency and resilience – the resource allocation dilemma
To cope with the high influx of patients, European hospitals called for additional intensive care beds. What if this shortage, in this time of pandemic, was the consequence not of a lack of resources but rather of a dilemma caused…
How does the Sales Challenge impact student learning by offering a ‘learn-by-rising-to-the-challenge’ opportunity?
Interview with Peter Spier, Professor of Marketing at SKEMA Business School Peter, can you please tell us about the Sales Challenge and the programme it was developed in? The Sales Challenge is organised in the spring semester of the MSc…
Coronavirus reveals more than it equalizes
During the coronavirus pandemic, the virus has several times been called “the great equalizer”, indifferent to the social status or age of its victims. A more thorough analysis of the data reveals that this is not the case at all.…
Culminating events and time working together in top management teams
Top management teams (TMTs) – comprising the most influential executives in an organization – are important because of their influence over strategic choices and performance. Prior studies have shown that TMT characteristics such as age, education, and functional background affect…
Anticipating crises: the filters that hinder the analysis of weak signals
Before the COVID-19 crisis erupted, several signals warning of a possible pandemic had been emitted. Certain scientific studies, some of them published in prestigious journals , reported the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks and propagation, notably linked to SARS type viruses, as…
Effectual reasoning, a tool for tackling complexity
Organisations must contend with a staggering level of uncertainty: climate change, energy transition, Brexit, etc. Yet, the way we make decisions to act seems to disregard this new reality. Are we even conscious of the way we reason to make…
The war for talent: no competitive edge without attractiveness in the job market
In the early 2010s, a Geneva bank believed that the new banking regulations presented an opportunity for growth. Its strategic intent was to develop finance software that would enable it to comply with all rules imposed by the authorities, then…
Designing online contest game: how to motivate players to share personal information and to recommend the game
This article focuses on how companies can cope with online contest games to motivate consumers to share their personal information with the brand and to recommend the game to others. Research results show that pleasure and enjoyment obtained through the game increase players’ game forwarding and personal data sharing behaviors. The value of rewards also motivates…
Does the Great Recession imply the end of the Great Moderation? International evidence
Evolution in macroeconomic volatility Time-varying uncertainty about macroeconomic conditions, generally measured by the variance of its GDP growth (what we will call here macroeconomic volatility) has been shown to be harmful for economic activity in many countries. The main reason…
The globalisation of mistrust
Globalisation is underpinned by the trust that binds and connects its stakeholders. Yet the health crisis we are currently experiencing is creating a growing sense of mistrust between countries, resulting in increased risks for their populations. To counter the temptation…