Causation is a tricky thing. I remember discussing different conceptions of causality in undergrad and can’t say I’ve grasped it yet. In some ways, it seems like an easy question — we have lay theories of what causes something else everyday. Still, push harder and things get murky pretty quickly. Giving up isn’t an option…
Author: neilbendle
Neil is an Associate Professor Marketing at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. He investigates the measurement of marketing performance, the accounting/marketing interface, and the impact of non-standard decision making in commercial and political markets.
Neil is the Chair of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board advisors. He is co-author of Marketing Metrics: The Manager’s Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance (3rd edition) Wharton School Press and is co-author of a cartoon book: Behavioural Economics for Kids.
Agreeing And Disagreeing At The Same Time
A second post on Conscious Capitalism. Reading John Mackey and Raj Sisodia’s book I found myself agreeing and disagreeing at the same time. As I said in the last post, I agree with the general idea and found much to like about concepts in the book. That said, I have to say that the tone…
Conscious Capitalism As Stakeholder Management
John Mackey’s book, Conscious Capitalism (written with Raj Sisodia) gives some interesting stories. It has inspired a movement so that is wonderful. The core idea in the book, mainly that stakeholders matter, is a great message. Next post I’ll explain that some things Mackey says don’t work for me. That said, if it does persuade…
How To Make Your Company Relevant?
Some companies are successful and some brands play an integral part in their customers’ lives. What sets the successful apart from those that aren’t? Andy Colville, in her book of the same name, argues that it is relevance. The company/brand needs to break through the clutter and mean something to the customer. This leads to…
Environmental Strategy And Competitive Advantage
Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston’s Green To Gold is a detailed look at the link between environmental strategy and competitive advantage. It is an ambitious book, seeking to reframe green issues as a way for businesses to drive success. This contrasts with green choices being things that are done out of a sense of duty….
Lawyers Debating What Corporations Are For
Are you interested in lawyers debating what corporations are for? If so, I have just the historical reference for you. The Harvard Law Review in the early 1930s saw a series of debates about what firms are there to do. This was discussed by Joseph Weiner a generation later in the Columbia Law Review. It…
Are We Making Any Progress On Sustainability?
I recently discussed Christopher Marquis’s HBR article “In Defense of Degrowth”, see here. As seems to happen in work from a degrowth perspective, Marquis’ article spent some time implying that we aren’t making any progress on sustainability. It was pretty depressing stuff. The idea seems to be that to motivate radical change we need to…
An Ineffective Defense Of Degrowth
One of the most interesting divides in the sustainability field is around degrowth. The idea of degrowth is hard for many business people to embrace. I must confess, as you will see, I find that the logic of the degrowth people often eludes me. As such, I was interested to see what Christopher Marquis had…
Research Shows Not To Believe Claims That Science Shows
A second and final post on Alex Edmans’ May Contain Lies, looks at some advice he gives and highlights some of his useful stories. The key thing the general reader might want to take from the book is that claims such as ‘science shows’ are nonsense. Remember, research shows not to believe claims that science…
Understanding How We React To Evidence
We often like to see ourselves as objective observers of reality. This isn’t really how we see the world, nor is it how we describe the world to others. Alex Edmans has a book that helps us in understanding how we react to evidence. Evidence For The Benefits/Challenges Of Sustainable Business Alex Edmans is best…
