Kellogg School launches online research digest

Kellogg Insight provides business leaders with key findings in an accessible format

By Adrienne Murrill

The publication, available at insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu, showcases key research findings by Kellogg professors in a sophisticated yet accessible manner, through articles that explore an array of subjects, such as entrepreneurship, innovation, finance, international business, leadership, marketing and policy. The digest fuses theory with practice.

"Kellogg Insight summarizes research for businesspeople, students, educational peers and members of the media," said Kellogg School Dean Dipak C. Jain. "Whether visitors wish to secure tips for work or find food for thought, they will discover a topic that attracts their interest and sparks creativity."

Kathleen Hagerty, senior associate dean for faculty and research, said Insight addresses alumni requests for a resource conveying the knowledge that faculty members produce. The initiative also meets the needs of Kellogg students who wanted research highlighted more broadly, with the premise that great leaders have great insight.

The site is designed to share knowledge and establish an ongoing connection with its readers. In addition to providing a summary of faculty research, Insight goes behind the research to provide the context and motivation for the work.

"This initiative will continue to be supported by the Kellogg School and a team of dedicated PhD and MBA candidate writers and accomplished science writers who work with faculty to summarize their research in a concise, compelling manner," Hagerty said. Students who collaborated with the administration to develop the digest will remain as Kellogg Insight Scholars — MBA students who contribute summary articles.

"Kellogg Insight takes detailed, substantial research articles published primarily in academic journals — many of them more than 60 pages in length — and makes them accessible to the general reader," said Director of Publication Initiatives Sheila Duran. "The original articles contain terrific gems of insight for people of broad interests, but they are not easily available to the time-starved business leader."

The digest, which is updated monthly, presents diverse and meaningful issues in articles such as:

°  an analysis of when it is profitable for a startup to build a strategic alliance or outmaneuver an incumbent in "Compete or Cooperate?" an article based on Associate Professor Scott Stern's research;

°  an exploration of the role of trust in the marketplace in "Trust Required Here," a piece summarizing research by Associate Professor Kent Grayson;

°  a look at how the death of national leaders impacts the growth of their countries in "Do Leaders Matter?" based on Associate Professor Benjamin Jones' research;

°  an explanation of the white-black educational achievement gap as the outcome of rational choices in "'Acting White,' or Just Acting Rationally?" an article based on the research of Professor David Austen-Smith;

°  the shortcomings of auctions in determining the offer price for stock in an initial public offering are discussed in "Why Do IPO Auctions Fail?" based on Professor Ravi Jagannathan's work.

Kellogg Insight gives readers exposure to the diversity of faculty research, including economics, operations, psychology, sociology, systems engineering and political science. "Employers are increasingly seeking MBAs with strong analytical skills in addition to a broad understanding of business fundamentals," said Patricia Ledesma, director of research computing, who has been heavily involved in overseeing content production for the digest.

Through Kellogg Insight, faculty research is shared with the business world as students, alumni and other readers digest and apply it to their experiences.

The digest is expanding the school's research presence in an important way, and it also dovetails with related efforts by Kellogg professors such as David Dranove, the Walter J. McNerney Distinguished Professor of Health Industry Management. Dranove has begun an online blog with Cornell University Professor William White that is devoted to healthcare policy, the first of other planned faculty blogs. Readers interested in Kellogg Insight — which includes the Dranove article, "Are healthcare 'report cards' good for patients?" (co-authored with Kellogg Professor Mark Satterthwaite) — will find this conversation continued at Dranove's blog.

"I want to make this forum the place where the nation's top health economists have an opportunity to exchange their thoughts about current health policy issues," said Dranove. "The goal is to establish the intellectual leadership of Kellogg in a wide range of fields."

To learn more about the content available at Kellogg Insight, visit insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu, or begin the exploration on the following pages, which offer two excerpts from the online research digest.

When what you know is not enough
Expertise and gender dynamics in task groups
Based on the research of Melissa Thomas-Hunt and Katherine W. Phillips

"Are healthcare 'report cards' good for patients?"
More information may not always be better
Based on the research of David Dranove, Daniel Kessler, Mark McClellan and Mark Satterthwaite