Business and management

Spencer Buell of Boston magazine reports that Massachusetts colleges are among the best in the country according to U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings, with MIT being named the number three school in the country.

MIT was named one of the top three colleges in the country on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of the best colleges, reports Felicia Gans for The Boston Globe. Gans notes that, “MIT was also ranked first for best engineering programs.”

In an article for the Financial Times, John Gapper highlights a study by Prof. John Van Reenen examining the increasing concentration of industries. Van Reenen explains that globalization and new technology foster superstar companies because “network effects mean that small quality differences can tip a market to one or two players.”

Research Scientist Stephanie Woerner speaks with Forbes reporter Joe McKendrick about the best ways for companies to develop digital business models. "Companies have to develop new ways of working, really taking evidence into account when making decisions," Woerner explains.

A new study by Prof. John Van Reenen finds that differences in productivity, sales and wages between companies have contributed to growing income inequality, reports Paul Kiernan for The Wall Street Journal. Van Reenen explains that, “just about all of the increase in earnings inequality has happened between firms rather than within firms.”

In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Stuart Madnick writes about how companies can reduce their risk of cyberattacks by improving cybersecurity training and education among employees. “It’s crucial that support and enthusiasm for increasing cybersafety be visible at every level of the organization, from top executives and middle management to the individual,” explains Madnick.

In an article for the Financial Times, Michael Skapinker highlights a study by researchers from MIT and a number of other universities that examined whether living overseas helped people gain more personal insight. The researchers discovered that most people, “found living in another country a self-clarifying experience.”

Seb Murray writes for the Financial Times about the increasing importance of business plan competitions, like the MIT Launch competition. Prof. Bill Aulet, managing director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, stresses that winning a competition doesn’t guarantee success if winners “self-delude themselves into thinking they no longer need to evolve their business plans.”

Forbes Contributor Steve Banker highlights Prof. Yossi Sheffi’s new book, Balancing Green, which focuses on sustainability in business. As Sheffi explains, “many companies engage in sustainability initiatives to prevent them from having to react to a rising tide of sentiment,” writes Banker. “Getting ahead of these kinds of campaigns can be at the heart of a robust risk management program.”

Sloan Adjunct Associate Prof. Zeynep Ton is one of the “forward-thinking professors” to receive this year’s Ideas Worth Teaching Awards from the Aspen Institute, which “celebrate curricula that bring to life the promise of meaningful work in business,” reports Lila MacLellan for Quartz. Ton was recognized for teaching Management of Services: Concepts, Design, and Delivery.

In a commentary on CNBC, graduate student J. Daniel Kim and a co-author describe research with Prof. Pierre Azoulay and the U.S. Census Bureau on the average age of successful entrepreneurs. By working with the U.S. Census Bureau, they were able “to examine all businesses launched in the U.S. between 2007 and 2014, encompassing 2.7 million founders.”

In a Q&A with The Boston Globe’s Sarah Shemkus, Prof. Yossi Sheffi discusses his new book, Balancing Green, which examines “the challenges and benefits of ‘going green’ in a multilayered global economy.” Sheffi suggests green practices can be advantageous for companies because “certain things also cut costs and increase profit, like energy savings.”

The Boston Globe highlights some of the notable speakers who will deliver remarks at commencements across New England in the coming weeks, including Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, who will speak at MIT’s ceremony.

In an opinion piece for The Boston Globe, two Sloan students and their co-authors argue that “business school leaders, instructors, and students must bring workers’ perspectives into the MBA curriculum.” They caution that, “an economy that delivers gains only to the top will suffer ills far worse than inefficiency.”  

In this one-minute read for Fast Company, Michael Grothaus quips that “40 is the new 20,” based on a new working paper by Sloan Prof. Pierre Azoulay and graduate student Daniel Kim. They found that “when it comes to entrepreneurship, the average successful business founder is 42 years old,” reports Grothaus.