Mack Institute News

Creative Disruption? Innovations in Supply Chain Management

A large number of shipping containers on the deck of a cargo ship at sea, representing global trade and logistics. Executive Summary:  Our Spring ‘23 conference, “Creative Disruption? Innovations in Supply Chain Management,” highlighted the challenges and opportunities faced by global supply chains in the wake of unprecedented disruptions. Speakers from academia and industry discussed such themes as the balance between efficiency and resilience, the role of advanced technologies in…Read More

New Working Paper Finds ChatGPT A Better Innovation “Ideator” Than MBA Students

A laptop on a wooden table displays a webpage titled "100 ChatGPT audience building prompts." A cup of coffee sits nearby.

Earlier this year, Christian Terwiesch, Mack Institute co-director and Wharton Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, made headlines with his white paper showing that ChatGPT could easily pass a typical Wharton MBA exam. Now he and co-authors Karan Girotra, Lennart Meincke, and Karl T. Ulrich have released a new working…Read More

Doing Business in the Metaverse: Leveraging Innovations in Immersive Technology

A person wearing virtual reality glasses interacts with a futuristic transparent screen displaying various digital holographic data and icons.

Doing Business in the Metaverse: Leveraging Innovations in Immersive Technology by Shankar Parameshwaran Business use cases within the metaverse are rapidly expanding. The $200 billion global gaming industry empowers its enthusiasts to save the world by egg-bombing enemies or create their own islands. Restaurant chains allow patrons to cook virtual…Read More

WATCH: ChatGPT for Work, Training and Education

The image is a screenshot of a text conversation discussing innovation management. It describes innovation management as the process of managing and promoting new and creative ideas within an organization, involving activities like market research, idea generation, prototyping, testing, and evaluating innovations.

Will ChatGPT take my job? Does the rise of AI mean should I change my college major? We gathered together three of Wharton and Penn’s leading experts on artificial intelligence to discuss how LLMs like ChatGPT will impact the workplace and education in the future. Watch the full video above.…Read More

Introducing AV4EV: Our Initiative to Study Commercialization of Autonomous Driving

A busy highway at sunset with several cars, highlighted with digital overlays representing self-driving or connected vehicle technology.

The automotive industry is on the brink of a massive transformation as autonomous vehicles (AVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) are poised to experience widespread growth and adoption over the next several years. While these new technologies hold tremendous potential in reducing carbon emissions, improving safety, enhancing mobility, and increasing efficiency,…Read More

Research Spotlight: Serguei Netessine on the Entrepreneurs Bringing Light To Rural Rwanda

A rural landscape with a few people walking along a path surrounded by greenery in the foreground. In the background, there is a building with a peaked roof and a large mountain with a cloud-covered summit.

One tenth of the world’s population has no access to electricity — and eighty percent of that population lives in Africa, where half the continent is still unelectrified. Wharton’s Serguei Netessine together with co-authors recently published a paper studying an innovative new approach to bringing electricity to off-grid Rwandans via…Read More

Mack Institute to Explore Supply Chain Issues and Innovations at Spring Conference

Cargo ships loaded with colorful shipping containers docked at a port with large cranes in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

In recent years, events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and U.S. tensions with China have dramatically impacted global supply chains, drawing attention to their vulnerabilities and calling into question the widespread industry practice of prioritizing supply chain efficiency over resilience and crisis preparation. As firms continue to weather…Read More

Leveraging the Metaverse for Innovation: Key Takeaways from our Fall ’22 Conference

A person wearing a virtual reality headset and holding controllers in a classroom setting. Several other people are present, some also using VR devices. Emerging metaverse technologies have equally passionate evangelists and skeptics, making it hard to separate hype from reality. Facebook was the subject of buzzy media headlines when it rebranded to Meta, but now faces plummeting stock and mass layoffs. At the same time, investors continue to pour billions into metaverse-related technology…Read More

Announcing Collective Impact, A “Virtual Salon” For Management Scholars

A small group of people sitting at a wooden table, engaged in a discussion, with notebooks and pens visible on the table.

The Mack Institute is pleased to announce the launch of Collective Impact Virtual Salon, an initiative of Wharton Management Professors Lori Rosenkopf and Dan Levinthal.  Collective Impact is a knowledge-sharing and blogging initiative inspired by a series of faculty discussion groups convened by Rosenkopf and Levinthal during the pandemic. Collective Impact brings together top management scholars for…Read More

Would Chat GPT Get a Wharton MBA? New White Paper By Christian Terwiesch

A person in a suit and checkered shirt is smiling and standing in a hallway with large windows. The setting appears professional and modern.

GPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot from OpenAI, went viral soon after its launch, drawing attention to and raising questions about the future of generative AI. But is it smart enough to pass a final exam in a typical Wharton MBA course? Mack Institute Co-Director Christian Terwiesch published his findings in…Read More

Y-Prize 2022-23 Finalists Announced

A stylized "Y" logo with a red, white, and blue color scheme. The top of the "Y" resembles a burst or sunburst design.

Congratulations to the four student teams chosen as finalists for this year’s Y-Prize competition: AtrioFlow, Bubble, Equimeter, and VoluVision! The Y-Prize competition challenges students to build their entrepreneurial skills by creating business plans for technologies invented at Penn Engineering. The team with the best commercial application wins $10,000 to help…Read More

Fall ’22 Collaborative Innovation Program Kicks Off

A small group of people in a meeting room, collaboratively engaged in a presentation on a wall-mounted screen. Each semester, the Mack Institute’s Collaborative Innovation Program (CIP) brings Wharton and Penn students into some of the world’s top companies to solve organizational challenges. This Fall semester, 27 students from Wharton's Full-Time and Executive MBA Programs, plus Penn Engineering, are participating in this project-based course alongside seven different firms…Read More

Our Collaborative Innovation Program Experience: Developing A New AlcoBev Product

Five beverage cans with artistic labels featuring various abstract and colorful designs are standing in a row.

This past spring semester, Vishoka Balasubramanian WG’23, Shounak Mishra WG’22, Andres Ramirez WG’23, and Jordan Woodard WG’22 participated in the Mack Institute’s Collaborative Innovation Program (MGMT 892), a project-based course that brings Wharton students into real companies to help them solve problems and drive innovation strategies. The students in the…Read More

Decision-Making Expert Paul Schoemaker on Corporate Vigilance and Scenario Planning

Paul Schoemaker Why do some firms survive or even thrive during challenging times, while others fail? Paul Schoemaker, a pioneer in the field of decision science and former Mack research director, explains two of the key concepts that firms must master to anticipate problems, challenges, and competitors. Paul Schoemaker on Vigilance Paul…Read More

Insights From CIP: The Future of Leisure & Hospitality

A cozy cafe setting with vintage chairs in the foreground, a small group seated around a table in the background, and a staff member serving.

Each semester, the Mack Institute’s Collaborative Innovation Program (CIP) brings Wharton and Penn students into some of the world’s top companies to solve organizational challenges. This past semester (Spring 2022), students consulted on a diverse lineup of live business challenges in industries ranging from hospitality to crypto. The projects offer…Read More

Insights From CIP: Creating A Digital Supply Chain Sales Playbook

A large container ship loaded with colorful shipping containers on the water, accompanied by a small tugboat assisting in maneuvering.

Each semester, the Mack Institute’s Collaborative Innovation Program (CIP) brings Wharton and Penn students into some of the world’s top companies to solve organizational challenges. This past semester (Spring 2022), students consulted on a diverse lineup of live business challenges in industries ranging from hospitality to crypto. The projects offer…Read More