Timely studies from Wharton professors available on topics including gift giving satisfaction, consumer location’s impact on shopping and the New Year “fresh start” effect
What: It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays with retailers hopeful, gift givers harried and resolution makers anxiously awaiting New Year’s. Wharton Media Relations can provide journalists with numerous holiday season research studies for potential story ideas. Examples, courtesy of Knowledge@Wharton analysis, include:
1. Prof. Barbara Mueller’s “The Psychology of Holiday Gift Giving: The Good, the Bad, the Irrational” (“women got greater total value than men from gift giving…givers who were more intimately tied to the recipient were, on average, able to add more value.”)
2. Prof. David Bell’s “Why Location is King for E-commerce, Too” (“Up to half of new [online] customers…got there because the information was shared from one customer to another in an offline environment.”)
3. Prof. Nancy Rothbard’s “The Unintended Consequences of Office Social Events” (“Rather than bringing people closer together, [holiday parties] can underscore our differences.”)
4. Prof. Katy Milkman’s “Need a Fresh Start? Here’s How to Begin” (“Fresh starts can create a sense of separation from our past selves and past failures”)
How: Faculty interviews are available via phone, TV remote studio, ISDN, Skype or (in some cases) in person. Contact Peter Winicov, Wharton Director of Media Relations at 215-746-6471 or winicov@wharton.upenn.edu or @WhartonSchoolPR.
Who: Wharton has among the largest research base of any business school with more than 200 professors, ten different academic departments and 20 research centers that analyze consumer behavior, retailing, decision making, negotiations and many other topics. For more information on the Wharton School visit www.wharton.upenn.edu
When: Holiday themed interviews are possible now through the New Year.
About the Wharton School:
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 93,000 graduates.
