VSB Inspiring Minds Podcast

How can students and professionals keep pace with a workplace that’s evolving faster than ever? In this episode, Wen Mao, PhD, The Helen and William O'Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business, joins Senior Associate Dean Jonathan Doh, PhD, for a timely conversation on the future of work. Together, they explore the forces reshaping today’s professional landscape—from emerging technologies to...

What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond generating content and begins acting independently to complete tasks? In this episode, Nitin Joglekar, PhD, explores the rapidly emerging field of agentic AI and its implications for the workplace. Drawing on ongoing research and collaborations with faculty and students at the Villanova School of Business, Dr. Joglekar discusses how agentic AI...

Can good intentions alone close the gender pay gap? In this episode, David Anderson, PhD, associate professor of Economics, joins host Jonathan Doh, PhD, for a thoughtful conversation on how data analytics can reveal — and help fix — one of the workplace’s most persistent inequities. Dr. Anderson unpacks why some well-intentioned strategies for pay equity often fall short and how a more mathematic...

What happens when brands take a stand? In this episode, Professor Beth Vallen, PhD, and Tyler Milfeld, PhD, explore the complexities of purpose marketing—when brands take a stand on social or political issues. Based on Dr. Milfeld’s research, they discuss the unique challenges emerging brands face when they engage in purpose-driven marketing, why established brands often get more leeway and how co...

Is the “glass cliff” a myth? New research by Associate Professor Xiaoxiao Li, PhD, and Olivia Pfeiffer ’22 CLAS says yes. Listen as they dive into their groundbreaking findings that challenge the “glass cliff” phenomenon—the idea that women are more likely than men to be appointed to leadership roles in organizations facing crisis or decline. Their discussion unpacks the complexities of leadership...

Can the private sector alone tackle climate change? No, says Dr. Jonathan Doh, associate dean of Research and Global Engagement at the Villanova School of Business, and the Herbert G. Rammrath Endowed Chair in International Business. It will take partnerships with governments and individuals, either personally or as a collective civil society. And all of us will need to both innovate and adapt to...

In the first part of this conversation, Bernadette Goratowski talked with Dr. Steve Andriole, the Thomas G. Labrecque Endowed Chair in Business, about the role artificial intelligence could play in the business world. Here, they continue the conversation, discussing the future of professions like accounting, and how people should prepare for what’s to come.

It’s possible that some of the tasks that now take a business professional could soon be handed over to artificial intelligence systems, like Chat GPT. Dr. Steve Andriole, the Thomas G. Labrecque Endowed Chair in Business, talks about what that would look like, why emerging professionals should learn their way through this new world, and why businesses shouldn’t wait to prepare.

This episode of Inspiring Minds is about corporate social responsibility, how companies pay taxes, and whether there’s any relationship between the two. But it’s also about the value of returning to a question long after the research papers have been written, to see if the ideas hold true – and how Villanova’s mission demands that business leaders look at how their actions affect the communities a...

Economics doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s also about human rights, environmental rights, and people’s expectations of living a safe and prosperous life. Chris Jeffords, PhD, associate teaching professor, Economics, studies how these areas overlap. In this episode of Inspiring minds, he talks with Austin Glass ’22 VSB about his research and how to balance policies and ideas on paper, with their pra...

Millions of people have been working from home for many months due to the pandemic. The shift has drastically altered commuting habits, spending patterns and --for many -- workplace communication. People feel disconnected from their colleagues and cranky about perceived slights. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Jake Galgano ‘21 VSB talks with Manuela Priesemuth, PhD, Associate Professor, Manage...

In this episode of Inspiring Minds, alumni Chris Josephs '18 VSB and Ryan Mazzie '18 VSB talk with Assistant Professor of the Practice Keith Wright, Accounting & Information Systems, about their highly successful tech start-up and the mindset of younger investors, who are used to sharing their entire lives online, including what stocks they buy and how much they pay. In January of 2021, Wall Stree...

For many people, the path to success can seem hard to follow. Even high-achieving students and employees can find themselves unsure about which choice to make when they reach a fork in the road. Critical decisions can be easier to make with the help of a mentor. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Patrick Haley ‘21 VSB talks with Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, The Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the...

Payday lenders have few friends in the financial world. But without them, people who are unbanked would lose access to cash for necessary expenses. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Kelsea Wong ‘21 VSB talks with Father Craig McMahon, Assistant Professor, Economics, about the complicated realities of the payday loan market, including the viability of alternative lenders and the effects of econom...

When your flight arrives at gate K, how long will it take you to walk to gate C, where your connecting flight departs? What about a walk from your hotel on 37th street to a park on 45th? Cities and businesses label our journeys in myriad ways, and those labels have an effect on how we perceive distance. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Liz Ford ‘21 VSB talks with Shelly Rathee, PhD, Assistant P...

Many researchers have studied how abusive managers negatively affect their employees but what are the personal implications of their toxic behavior? In a previous episode of Inspiring Minds, Manuela Priesemuth, PhD, The Megan ’07 and Matthew ’06 Baldwin Assistant Professor, Management & Operations, shared her research into the effects of workplace abuse on those who witness it. Now Dr. Priesemuth...

Many companies make the decision to outsource some of their IT systems, such as payroll, because outsourcing can improve efficiency and reduce costs. But outsourcing contracts can also be used as an accounting trick, to make a company seem to be more profitable than it really is. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Susan Rykowski ‘20 VSB talks with Stephen Liedtka, PhD, associate professor, Accoun...

Typically, a management team runs a company and a board of directors monitors that team. Directors need to act in the best interest of shareholders, even if their decisions go against the management team. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Jacob Bank VSB talks with Tina Yang, PhD, Associate Professor, Finance about the impact of Directors and Officers Insurance on the effectiveness of board gover...

Closing the gender pay gap has become a goal for many companies -- and many countries. But the process isn’t as simple as giving every woman a raise. So how can companies adjust pay disparities while boosting morale and making themselves attractive to strong female candidates? In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Kelsea Wong ‘21 VSB talks with David Anderson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management...

In a globally connected world, societal challenges affect organizations across all sectors. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Nicole Anderson ‘19 VSB talks with Jonathan Doh, PhD, Associate Dean of Research, Herbert G. Rammrath Endowed Chair in International Business and Co-Faculty Director for The Elenore and Robert F. Moran Sr. Center for Global Leadership. Dr. Doh says governments, businesses...

Can you understand a company’s culture by crunching the numbers? In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Emily Brown ‘19 VSB talks with Jennifer Altamuro, PhD, Associate Professor, Accounting about a recent paper she co-authored that focuses on corporate culture in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Altamuro and her colleagues used data about compliance with federal regulations to gain an understanding...

The trade policies of the U.S. government has become a newsworthy issue in recent years. As the Trump administration renegotiate trade deals and levies tariffs on broad sectors of imports, how do those policy changes affect American producers and consumers? In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Chidinma Chioke ‘21 VSB talks with Michelle Casario, PhD, Co-Faculty Director for The Elenore and Robert F...

It seems the “Gig Economy” is here to stay. More people are working in nontraditional arrangements with employers than ever before. But are those workers happier -- and better off -- than salaried employees? In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Lucy Finnegan ‘18 VSB talks with Cheryl Carleton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Economics and Mary Kelly, PhD, Associate Chair, Economics about what factors con...

Compared to the heyday of manufacturing, the annual growth of the U.S. economy has slowed. Individual corporations perform well, but that performance doesn’t seem to lift all boats. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Lauren Cooper ‘19 VSB talks with Miron Wolnicki, PhD, Associate Professor, Economics about his ideas for boosting economic growth via a more robust influence of the federal governmen...

Nonprofit organizations do good work, but only if they can attract enough donors to support their mission. Donors crave information to help them make their donation decisions, and effective nonprofit organizations feed that craving with radical transparency. In this episode of Inspiring Minds, Manny Garcia ‘18 VSB talks with Erica Harris, PhD, The Andrew J. Melton Jr. ’42 Assistant Professor, Acco...