More than a decade ago, LinkedIn launched as a new type of recruitment and networking tool — a social network for professionals to post their resumes and grow their connections.
Now, with more than 530 million users in 200+ countries, LinkedIn has evolved into a leading B2B marketplace and publishing platform where users can share valuable industry insights and build powerful influence. More than 3 million unique writers publish on LinkedIn each week, and Wharton faculty are some of the standouts.
In fact, Wharton’s own Dean Geoffrey Garrett earned a spot on the inaugural LinkedIn Top Voices list in 2015, and this year, Gad Allon and Adam Grant made the list. Dean Garrett and Grant also have standing as LinkedIn Influencers, an invitation-only group of the world’s foremost thought leaders and innovators selected by LinkedIn.
Their articles range from informational to practical and offer different perspectives on the business world. Here is an overview of nine professors whose articles are worth reading:
1. Gad Allon
Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions; Director of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology
Allon analyzes operations strategies of firms ranging from a mattress startup to Tesla. He focuses mostly on the scalability issues these firms face and the ways they have addressed these challenges.
Must-Read: Mattress Upstart Casper Isn’t Losing Sleep Keeping up with Demand
Allon explains the success story of a startup mattress company, Casper. Using the three-lever triangle of operations theory, he explains how Casper was able to maintain and build its reputation when it faced serious inventory and capacity shortages after its unexpected popularity at the time of its launch.
2. Peter Cappelli
Professor of Management and Education; Director, Wharton Center for Human Resources
Cappelli writes about human resource practices and wage policies. His articles are a good resource for tips on issues ranging from proper workplace etiquette to minimum wage increases.
Must-Read: Why Are Household Incomes Rising But Not Wages?
This recent article on trends in income and wages argues that although household incomes have been rising for the past two years, wages have not followed suit. Cappelli explains that, since the Great Recession more people are working and working more hours. That keeps labor supply high and suppresses wages. Thus, he argues, people who are working full-time are not better off. On the contrary, the real earnings of men working full-time have even decreased and the same statistic for women has only slightly increased.
3. Peter Fader
Professor of Marketing
Fader writes about data-driven marketing strategies. Many of his articles advocate for the use of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), predicting the net profits gained from a specific customer and incorporating that data point into their marketing strategies.
Must-Read: Is Black Friday Fading to Black?
In this timely piece, Fader reveals his ultimate Christmas wish — the end of the Black Friday madness. He argues the futility of Black Friday campaigns and sales. He recommends that companies should avoid catering to hordes of deal-seekers who will likely not become regulars and instead seek out their highest-value customers.
4. Adam Grant
Professor of Management and Psychology; Co-director, Wharton People Analytics
The author of best-selling books like Originals and Give and Take, Grant talks about work, psychology and, as he told LinkedIn, “how can we find motivation and meaning, build productive and supportive cultures, and lead more generous and creative lives.”
Must-Read: How to Change a Selfish Person’s Stripes
Recounting his own experience as “the nice guy who finished last,” Grant shares insights he’s gained from studying the behavior of Givers and Takers in the workplace. He also offers three tips for those who are stuck working with a selfish taker.
5. Katherine Milkman
Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions
Milkman’s articles discuss how behavioral science can be applied to business practices to generate higher success. She also writes about external factors that influence our decisions and explains how these factors lead us to behave in ways we otherwise would not.
Must-Read: How to Get Better Tips: An Economist Explains
Milkman argues that our tipping practices can be easily manipulated by practices that raise our mood or stress the social expectation to tip. She uses research data to show that friendly gestures and other mood-changing factors are an important component of the tipping decision.
For example, a study discovered that tips increase on average when a waiter introduces themselves by name. Similarly, she shows that incorporating tip suggestions into payment systems increases tips only if the suggested tips are not too high, in which case they induce an opposite response.
6. Olivia Mitchell
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy; Executive Director, Pension Research Council
Mitchell writes about public policy and retirement. Her articles analyze saving and investment practices and suggest methods we can use to decrease bankruptcy among the elderly.
Must-Read: Redefining Retirement
Mitchell outlines the issues regarding retirement and savings that need urgent attention in the 21st century and gives advice on how to financially better prepare for retirement. She also advocates for the need for lifelong learning options that train people in the latest innovations in technology and new ways of thinking.
7. Americus Reed II
Professor of Marketing
Reed writes about the successes and failures of branding and marketing strategies. His articles discuss marketing theory in a variety of different situations ranging from celebrity endorsements gone wrong to Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest.
Must-Read: When Doves Cry: How Research could have helped avoid Brand In-authenticity
Reed discusses why a marketing campaign by Dove, which intended to promote positive body image by selling its products in different human-shaped bottles, backfired.
8. Kent Smetters
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy; Director, Penn Wharton Budget Model
Smetters offers key takeaways on personal finance topics ranging from budget traveling to saving for college. He also writes about practical advice from people whom he has interviewed for his radio show “Your Money” on SiriusXM 111.
Must-Read: Why Millennials Should Care About Financial Planning
Smetters recalls an interview with Alan Moore, co-founder of the XY Planning Network, a network of financial advisors working with younger clients. Smetters discusses Moore’s 3 crucial financial planning suggestions for millennials that everyone should follow.
— Elis Pill
Posted: December 15, 2017
