Knowledge at Wharton
The Wharton School
The Knowledge at Wharton Network Acast feed serves as a curated showcase highlighting the best content from our podcast collection. Each week, we feature one standout episode from each show in the Wharton Podcast Network, giving listeners a comprehensive sample of our diverse business and academic content. This rotating selection allows audiences to discover new shows within our network while experiencing the depth and variety of Wharton's thought leadership across different topics and formats. It's your monthly gateway to explore the full spectrum of insights available through the Wharton Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 4, 2003 • 9min
Choosing the Wrong Pricing Strategy Can Be a Costly Mistake
Prices have been at the center of human interaction ever since traders in ancient Mesopotamia began keeping records. Who doesn’t love to guess what something costs – or argue about what something ought to cost? So it should come as no surprise that companies spend a lot of time figuring out how to price their products and services. But two professors in Wharton’s marketing department Jagmohan S. Raju and Z. John Zhang say firms do not always go about pricing the right way despite the huge impact that pricing strategy can have on a company’s profits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 4, 2003 • 7min
What Women Buy -- and Why
Women make or influence the purchase of more than 80% of all products and services. So you might think there would be nothing about women’s buying habits that American businesses don’t know. You would be wrong according to two new books entitled “Just Ask a Woman: Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy” and “Marketing to Women: How to Understand Reach and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market Segment.” The authors offer their observations on what women want when they set out to shop. Hint: Think “warmer ” not “winner.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 7, 2003 • 16min
Eight Great Business Plans: Who Is This Year’s Winner?
In a world of economic challenges, entrepreneurs showcase innovative business plans across diverse industries. The competition highlights struggles with seed capital and explores exciting concepts like a platelet delivery system, vibration energy harvesting, and a unique scheduling software. There are standout ideas like a pet health insurance model based on clinic data and a bioactive stent for better patient outcomes. Tune in to see which visionary project takes the crown among the eight remarkable finalists!
Apr 23, 2003 • 8min
What Makes Southwest Airlines Fly
How does Southwest Airlines keep making money? After all the airline industry overall is in a shambles. US Airways and United Air Lines are reorganizing in bankruptcy while American Airlines flirts with the same fate. As a group the nation’s biggest air carriers have lost billions of dollars over the past several years with no immediate recovery in sight. Yet the secret to its success said Southwest chairman Herb Kelleher during a talk at Wharton April 22 is available for anyone including its competitors to see. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 9, 2003 • 13min
The Wal-Mart Empire: A Simple Formula and Unstoppable Growth
For the second year in a row Wal-Mart topped Fortune magazine’s list of largest companies and is also the magazine’s most-admired firm the first time one company has shared both honors since the annual survey began in 1955. The giant retailer continues to expand worldwide planting giant supercenters as well as new neighborhood-scale markets in its attempt to offer more and more goods to a wider array of shoppers. But Wharton faculty and outside analysts note that Wal-Mart still faces a few challenges ranging from its own centralized operations to union opposition to problems with local zoning boards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 9, 2003 • 10min
Call Centers: Using Social Networks to Spur Staff Retention and Productivity
Call-centers are usually regarded as high-pressure workplaces where pay is often skimpy and turnover is rampant. Employee turnover rates in the industry range from 25% to 45% a year – which poses a problem for employers who invest substantial amounts in training workers only to see them leave. A new study by Emilio J. Castilla a professor of management at Wharton shows that if call-center operators want to reduce such high turnover rates improve worker retention and even increase employee productivity tapping into social networks could provide a possible solution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 26, 2003 • 11min
The Hidden Dangers - and Payoffs - of “Targeted Pricing”
Should your firm target your competitors’ customers with lower prices than the competition charges them? When might it make sense instead to offer discounts to your own customers? Under what conditions might this sort of approach – known as “targeted pricing” – backfire by driving everyone’s prices down too far? Recent research by Wharton marketing professor Z. John Zhang and several colleagues examines the complex dimensions of “targeted pricing” and suggests guidelines to help companies understand when “targeted pricing” might play an effective role in their marketing strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 12, 2003 • 8min
Can a Chinese Legend Go Global?
One of the world’s hottest PC companies has a balance sheet worth envying a dominant position in a fast-growing market and a history of good service and innovative technology. But if you haven’t heard of Legend Computer you can be excused; for the past 19 years the company has confined itself to China. As China transforms and opens though its No. 1 PC maker is coming into the spotlight and it hopes to become a global force to rival IBM Dell and HP. Experts at Wharton and elsewhere examine the prospects of Asia’s most successful computer maker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 12, 2003 • 9min
The Dell Model: How Well Will It Travel?
Is Dell doing everything right? In a sluggish PC market where global shipments only rose by 2.7% in 2002 Dell reported a 21% revenue growth year-over-year in the fourth quarter and their global market share jumped from 13.2% to 15.7%. Meanwhile Dell is a solid number one in the U.S. with 29.2% of the market. They have big plans in China and in printers. Is there any place this powerhouse is vulnerable? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 12, 2003 • 18min
Two Major Errors That Companies Make In Outsourcing Services
When companies outsource back-office services overseas one of the biggest challenges they face is measuring the results. Failure to monitor whether work is being performed correctly after it moves outside a company can result in massive and costly errors. How can companies protect themselves against such risks? Ravi Aron co-director with Jitendra Singh of a recent Wharton executive education program on business-process outsourcing offers some crucial insights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
