When it comes to starting businesses, some entrepreneurs are taking an alternative route to conventional venture capital fundraising – what industry calls “crowdfunding.” Crowdfunding, raising money from the public via online resources such as Kickstarter.com, is a relatively new phenomenon. Its potential to propel entrepreneurs to success has recently risen…Read More
Mack Center co-director Paul Schoemaker’s latest article for Inc. Magazine advises companies on how to ensure the most talented workers decide to work for them and not for the competition. Co-authored with with Thomas Johnston, CEO of PathSearch, the article prompts firms to evaluate their existing team, work environment, and…Read More
In a recent article for Quartz, author Jay Bhatti tackles the finicky issue of the MBA. Regarded as a step on the ladder toward corporate greatness, the MBA has long been considered a necessary degree for hopeful entrepreneurs. Lately, though, industry players have begun to question the true benefits of…Read More
Last year, Kevin Werbach organized Mack Center conferences on hyperconnectivity and IP-led communications. At the same time, the Wharton professor translated theory into practice, utilizing the internet’s rich potential and wide reach to teach an open, online course on gamification via Coursera.org. Over 8000 students completed the 6-week massive online…Read More
Mack Center Core Team member Karl Ulrich features in a Financial Times article on “massive open online courses” (MOOCs). The Wharton School has so far offered six open courses via Coursera.org. “Even if we never earned a dime from Coursera, it’s great value to reach so many people,” comments Ulrich,…Read More
When it comes to moving a business forward, the biggest gains are often a hair’s breadth away from the greatest risks—a truth reflected in discouraging change success rate statistics. A recent CNBC article highlights the even greater chance of defeat in the field of mergers and acquisitions, citing the Mack…Read More
Mack Center senior fellow Michael Mandel’s recent study on job creation in the mobile app industry found that more than 500,000 jobs have been developed nationwide since the Android Market and Apple iTunes application stores opened in 2008. “Mandel said banks provided one of the biggest growth areas for applications…Read More
The Knowledge and Innovation Group interviewed Mack Center Core Team member Sidney Winter. In the interview professor Sidney Winter discusses the role of productive knowledge, characteristics of routines, organizational change and replication of knowledge. This interview is the first in the Knowledge Foundations series held by the Knowledge & Innovation…Read More
The Y-Prize Competition Grand Finale, which took place Monday, February 4, saw the judging of the final four teams, whose challenge it was to suggest practical applications of robotic technology developed in the GRASP Lab at Penn.…Read More
Scott Snyder, a Mack Center Senior Fellow, explores why mobile customers’ expectations can only be met if companies use advanced analytics, in the article Mobility and Big Data: Why They Need Each Other to Thrive for Xconomy.com. Snyder’s thoughts integrate with the insights presented by other Mack Center Senior Fellows…Read More
Mack Center Senior Fellow Michael Mandel analyses the implications of the Federal Trade Commission’s settlement with Google for The Atlantic: The Google Way: How Washington Can Regulate Without Killing Growth. Mandel hails the FTC’s decision as proof that “regulatory agencies can be thoughtful about adopting pro-innovation, pro-growth policies without abandoning…Read More
CNN.com’s Shelley DuBois quotes Mack Center co-director George Day and managing director Michael Tomczyk in her article 5 Science Breakthroughs in 2012. The piece celebrates “five big ideas in science that could reshape the business world,” including gene therapy, biomimicry, and augmented reality via smartphones. Day commented on the potential…Read More
Paul Schoemaker’s latest article for Inc. Magazine, How to Know If a New Strategy Will Work, offers practical advice to help managers check the viability of new project plans. In the piece, the Mack Center research director shares a 12-point diagnostic exercise, designed to assess upfront if your strategy is…Read More
In April 2012, the Mack Center invited journalist David Spark to interview 20 leading scholars and industry figures on the implications of hyperconnectivity on business and daily life, as part of our day-long workshop After Broadband: Imagining Hyperconnected Futures. Their insights are recorded in 10-minute videos, freely accessible via the…Read More
Mack Institute Senior Fellow and Wharton Vice Dean of Innovation, Karl Ulrich, taught the free course Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society this semester, via nonprofit education site Coursera.org.
The Wharton School’s Knowledge for Action Lifelong Learning world tour recently featured two Mack Center faculty, speaking on innovation culture and moving business beyond the status quo.
Paul Schoemaker explains how to integrate the new wave of digital technologies into your workplace in his latest Inc. Magazine piece, “A Better Way to Work Technology into Your Business.” Co-written with Scott Snyder, author of The New World of Wireless, the article advises on best practices in three critical…Read More
Developing last week’s Inc. Magazine column on the risks of metaphor, Shoemaker’s latest article is titled, “Is Poker a Good Metaphor for Business?” In this piece, he turns a critical eye to the high-stakes game’s usage as a popular analogy for product development. Drawing upon his discussions of metaphor with…Read More
Businesspeople spend too much time worrying about the burdens brought by global warming — the possibility of carbon taxes and greater regulation of emissions — and ignoring the potential commercial upside, according to participants in a recent Wharton conference titled, “Winners and Losers in Green Technologies,” sponsored by the William…Read More
Whether it’s a faster way to move data, a cheaper way to power a car, or a cleaner way to sweep up dust bunnies, the right innovation can deliver huge profits to an organization. But given today’s fast-paced global marketplace and limited resources for research and development, companies often struggle…Read More
