Area: Strategy
Nursing Home Industry Profits Obscured by Related-Party Transactions
Management and real estate deals to owners’ firms siphon off most profits
Noncompete Agreements Reduce Worker Pay — and Overall Economic Activity
Researchers refute earlier claims
New Technology Lifted Pay, Especially for the Bosses
Top executives saw much larger gains after broadband adoption than the workers below them
Medicare Ratings Didn’t Predict Nursing Homes’ Initial COVID-19 Vulnerability
Rate of spread in the surrounding community was a bigger indicator of risk
Matching Incentives with the Right Relationship
The kind of reward matters less than the type of connection between giver and recipient
Mandated Disclosure of Clinical Trials Ignored — Especially for Competitive Drugs
Pharma companies less likely to disclose critical drug information than public institutions
Like Checking the Weather: Air-Quality App Charts Local Pollution
Information helps users decide when, and whether, to venture outside or exercise
Is Anyone Happy about the College Textbook Market?
Buyers find the tomes heavy, costly and too frequently revised, while sellers might like to kill the used book market entirely
In a Boom, Incumbent Firms Can Redeploy Workers to Rapidly Expand
Startups lack bench strength, a disadvantage in tight labor markets
How to Spur Capital Spending: Plan for Failure
Companies might invest more in new ventures if they could see in advance how to redeploy the assets if things don’t pan out
How Publicly Funded Research Leads to Cancer Drug Trials
Pharmaceutical companies are better able to identify promising new applications for existing drugs
How Nursing Homes Selectively Admit Patients for Optimal Profits
When beds are limited, turning away the sickest and poorest boosts margins
How Established Firms Get Disrupted by Allies
Suppliers, distributers, product extenders go from helper to competitor
How Diversified Companies Can Redeploy Workers to Enable Growth
Experienced hands help new business lines find their way
How Antitrust Thinking on Hospital Mergers Has Been Forced to Evolve
Matt Schmitt’s research shows hospital prices rise after acquisitions, even where local competition is unchanged
Household Energy Efficiency: Not All Upgrades Are Created Equal
Behavior, other factors influence which improvements are effective