Blog

Author: neilbendle

  • What Is Tobin’s Q Useful For?

    I am not a fan of Tobin’s q (as it is currently used). I have a Marketing Science paper on the misuse of Tobin’s q in marketing. As such, I was fascinated to see a SSRN working paper with a very similar title in the field of finance/economics. The authors Robert Bartlett and Frank Partnoy,…

  • SKUs, Market Share And Distribution

    An interesting question in marketing concerns the distribution that any particular SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) will receive. Generally, more distribution is better. Distribution simply allows more people the opportunity to buy your product. As such managers will fight for distribution. What then do we know about the relationship between SKUs, market share and distribution? Distribution…

  • What Do Business People Think Research Rigor Is?

    A common theme in this blog is the problem of the connection between practitioners and research rigor. So what do business people think research rigor is? The Academic/Practitioner Divide It is hard not to notice that what academics do doesn’t seem to impact managers much. Indeed rigorous research often doesn’t seem to have any obvious…

  • In Defense Of A Really Silly Idea

    One the silliest things that academics do is compare the number of ‘A’ publications people have. Who thinks that a career can be summarized by a single number? It is clearly an absurd idea. Even if research publications are all that count (and I think that is obviously nonsense) ‘A’ publications aren’t all the same.…

  • Transformative Innovations, An Important Part of the Puzzle

    I value grand intellectual sweeps. if you are a tenured professor it seems wrong not to try and give the world your grand vision. So what can we say about transformative innovations? Transformative Innovations Tellis and Rosenzweig take a grand sweep in examining the role of transformative innovations in world history. The book moves from…

  • Is Sustainable Competitive Advantage A Useful Goal

    I must confess to being a bit dubious about the idea of sustainable competitive advantage. It seems designed to allow people to pontificate with a pronouncement that sounds meaningful. Yet, speaking about sustainable competitive advantage often requires little actual evidence given the underlying idea is a bit vague. Sustainable Competitive Advantage A competitive advantage isn’t…

  • Misunderstanding Economics

    Leiser and Shemesh consider the problem that the public makes a lot of judgments that rely on economic knowledge. Still, it isn’t always clear that the decisions are made with great knowledge of economics. Indeed I would go as far as to say that the authors are disappointed in the rest of us. They show…

  • Mathematical Thinking, Cons, And Finding Results

    Jordan Ellenberg tells us how to use mathematical thinking to “not be wrong”. He tells us about mathematical thinking, cons, and finding results. Good Advice The advice is often very good. If he wants to call it as a result of mathematics that works for me. Following his advice will help us have better judgment.…

  • Fixing Marketing’s Perception Problem

    Thomas Barta discusses marketing’s perception problem. He is interested in fixing marketing’s perception problem. Unaccountable Not Sleazy By the problem, Barta means more an internal perception problem within firms than an external view (of marketers as sleazy). Internally marketing is seen as unaccountable, it is a bit of a black hole for funds. As marketers,…

  • Who Thinks Brands Should be Involved in Social Issues?

    YouGov is a survey firm and [in 2018] they uncovered what consumers think of firms getting involved in social issues. What was the result? Who thinks brands should be involved in social issues? Political Involvement From Brands I think this is a fascinating topic. I would expect more and more political involvement from brands. If…

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