Duke Fuqua Insights

Professor Kimberly Wade-Benzoni explains how reflecting on long-term impact shapes motivation, behavior, and decision-making Many people ask themselves, “does my work actually matter?” Concerns about engagement, burnout, and job satisfaction are common, and they relate to a basic need to feel that work has an impact not only today, but also in the future.  In this episode of Fuqua Insights Podcast...

Professor John Graham explores how AI is affecting productivity, hiring, and firm strategy based on new CFO survey data Artificial intelligence is everywhere—from automating routine tasks to generating insights in seconds. Yet despite the hype and anxiety, especially around job loss, the real impact of AI on companies may be more nuanced than headlines suggest. In this episode of Duke Fuqua Insigh...

Professor Jordan Etkin explains how “time-first budgeting” can help people improve performance and set smarter goals It’s a familiar pattern: You begin your morning with a lengthy to-do list and a plan to complete it, and somehow the day ends with unfinished tasks and a sense that time slipped away. Is there a better way? Professor Jordan Etkin, a consumer behavior scholar at Duke University’s Fuq...

Marketers are increasingly pessimistic about the economy, with sentiment reaching its lowest level since the pandemic in 2020. In response—and facing organizational pressures for returns—marketing activities are contracting, lowering spending and prioritizing existing customers over expansion opportunities. At the same time, companies are accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence, projectin...

Professor Christine Moorman on why keeping marketing secrets may cost more than letting them go Companies spend billions safeguarding their marketing secrets—from customer insights to pricing algorithms—assuming these secrets are key to competitive advantage. The global data loss prevention market is valued at an estimated $1.5 to $2 billion annually and continues to grow. But does locking down kn...

Professor Anna Cieslak explains how central bank communication shapes financial markets, even when rates stay the same When the Federal Reserve meets, markets obsess over one question: Will interest rates go up or down? But sometimes, market moves happen even when rates don’t change at all. In uncertain times, a subtle shift in tone can ripple across global financial markets. In this episode of Du...

Professor Elia Ferracuti explains how activist investors reshape corporate research, and why it matters for long-term innovation. Why would a company famous for breakthrough discoveries suddenly pull back from bold research in favor of safer bets? Research shows shareholder pressure plays a role. The tension between short-term financial pressure and long-term scientific progress is at the heart of...

Professor Simon Gervais explains how active managers can grow the economy, even when they don’t beat the market Many investors are told that active funds rarely outperform passive index funds after fees. So why bother paying for them?  In this episode of Duke Fuqua Insights podcast, Professor Simon Gervais , a financial economist at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business , challenges the narro...

Artificial intelligence promises massive productivity gains, but not everyone can immediately jump in to reap its benefits. While some firms and countries race ahead with new tools, others deliberately stick with older technologies, a choice may be entirely rational. In this episode of the Fuqua Insights podcast, Professor John Coleman of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business joins host Sarah...

Professor David Brown explains how simple strategies can guide better decisions even when information is incomplete  New job postings appear daily. Real estate markets update constantly with fresh listings. In an environment where alternatives continuously multiply and options can seem endless, the hardest decision is knowing when to stop searching and commit. In this episode, David Brown , the Sn...

A single decision improved by 1% might seem trivial. But make 300 small improvements over a year, and the compounding effect becomes transformative. A/B testing allows companies to systematically test different approaches and optimize performance, but research shows that the startups that could benefit most are the least likely to use it. In this episode, Professor Sharique Hasan of Duke Universit...

Professor Bill Mayew explores whether public companies have visibility into the macroeconomy to filter errors in GDP data—and what that means for economic forecasting Every quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its initial GDP estimate—a flagship measure of economic health that influences corporate boardrooms, Federal Reserve policy, and investor portfolios. But there’s a catch: t...

Professor Tong Guo explains how mandated transparency didn't reduce pharmaceutical payments to physicians—instead, it taught companies to optimize them. When the federal government mandated that pharmaceutical companies publicly disclose every payment to physicians—from conference sponsorships to consulting fees—policymakers expected transparency to reduce potential conflicts of interest. Ins...

Professor Ali Makhdoumi reveals why your friend's social media activity might be compromising your privacy, even when you share nothing at all   Every time your colleague shares their location data or a friend posts their workout routine, they're inadvertently exposing details about you–even if you've never agreed to share your data. This hidden web of data spillovers means companie...

Ronnie Chatterji, Professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Chief Economist at OpenAI, joins Jenny Laurence, MBA '26 to discuss his recent research paper analyzing over a million ChatGPT conversations to uncover patterns in where artificial intelligence is making impacts in our homes, our work, and our lives. Duke Fuqua Insights features digestible conversations with ou...

Trump's push to end quarterly reporting could reshape American business. Professor Rahul Vashishtha explains what research shows about the trade-offs.   When companies report earnings more frequently, they make different investment choices, often abandoning profitable long-term projects that don't pay off quickly. This behavioral shift sits at the heart of President Trump's renewed...

When a CEO speaks during an earnings call, investors typically focus on the numbers being reported. But studies suggest they should also be listening to how those numbers are delivered. The emotional undertones, vocal pitch, and subtle inflections that executives unconsciously broadcast may reveal as much about a company's future as the financial data itself. In this episode, Professor Bill M...

A casual conversation about a coworker's side business could be the spark that launches your own entrepreneurial journey. But whether that inspiration leads to action depends on factors you might not expect—including your race, gender, and workplace environment. In this episode, Professor Melanie Wallskog shares insights from her research into how workplace exposure to entrepreneurial coworke...

Our brains are wired to seek order when we feel out of control. A framed logo, an organized grocery store, and a well-designed website all provide unconscious signals of stability to consumers navigating uncertainty.    In this episode, Professor Keisha Cutright of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business discusses her research on how consumers respond to instability. In her widely cited paper,...

The next breakthrough drug or industry-disrupting innovation may come from a university lab funded by a federal grant. But a policy shift around how the government supports overhead costs could change which projects are pursued, and which institutions can afford to compete. When the federal government funds scientific research, universities negotiate overhead rates of 50 to 70% over the direct cos...

Before you mention that AI tool that's been helping you at work, consider how your colleagues might respond. In this podcast, Professors Richard Larrick and Jack Soll, along with PhD candidate Jessica Reif from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discuss their research into how artificial intelligence tools are reshaping workplace dynamics. Their findings highlight a key paradox: whil...