Every piece of academic research starts with a question to answer or puzzle to solve. Listen in as London Business School faculty describe how they set about making new discoveries on a subject they’re curious about, what their findings suggest, and discuss the current and potential future impact of their research for you and your business. A Think at London Business School podcast.
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Professor Francisco Gomes explains why today’s student loan systems place the greatest financial pressure on graduates exactly when they can least afford it and how a simple shift in repayment timing could transform economic wellbeing. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Francisco outlines how early career repayment forces young adults to juggle debt with low incomes, rising living costs and major life decisions. This pressure distorts career choices, reduces savings, increases default risk and ...
Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Elinor Flynn sits down with Katie Pisa, Senior Editor of Think, to explore why many employees support equality yet still resist gender diversity initiatives. Dive into how the everyday explanations people use to make sense of persistent gender gaps shape whether they see organisational action as fair, necessary or effective. Drawing on new research and real‑world workplace observations, Elinor explains why people act like “naïve scientists”, formin...
This episode explores new firm-level EEO-1 data, revealing significant drops in representation for racial minorities at middle management, a stark contrast to women's gaps appearing at the executive level. It uncovers that non-disclosure of diversity reports is often strategic, with companies performing poorly being less transparent, thus skewing public perception. The discussion emphasizes how internal firm culture, leadership practices, and accountability driven by transparency are more critical to diversity outcomes than industry or geography, advocating for honest reporting to build truly equitable workplaces.
Professor Isabel Fernandez-Mateo examines how generative AI is reshaping the hiring process and why organisations need to approach these changes thoughtfully. With automation increasing the number of applications employers receive, rejection rates are higher and influencing who continues to participate in the talent pipeline. Three key themes emerge from the conversation: Technology is reshaping hiring from the ground up, altering how roles are defined, who sees them and who chooses to apply. Th...
Is AI just a tool for efficiency – or a partner in better decision-making? Sir Andrew Likierman argues it’s time for a rethink. In this sharp and timely conversation, he explains why judgement – the ability to combine knowledge, experience and human qualities – is more critical than ever in an AI-driven world. Rather than seeing humans and machines as rivals, Likierman calls for nuance: recognising what AI does brilliantly, where it falls short, and why context, trust and empathy remain uniquely...
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, explores a seismic shift in the world of work with host Katie Pisa in this episode of The Why. Together, they discuss the rise of the freelance professional and why they might want your work but not your job. It is time to reframe the gig economy clichés. Today’s freelancers are highly skilled, deeply experienced, and choosing autonomy over the traditional nine-to-five. Gratton unpacks what this means for organisations na...
In this episode of The Why, host Katie Pisa welcomes Bukky Akinsanmi Oyedeji, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, to unpack why physical work environments still hold power in a hybrid world. Drawing on her research ‘Physical Work Environments: An Integrative Review and Agenda for Future Research’, Bukky explores how office design affects not only employee health and productivity but also a firm’s ability to attract talent, retain resources, and signal ...
In this special wrap-up episode of The Why Podcast, we revisit the most powerful insights from a season that explored identity, equity, power and culture through the lens of cutting-edge research. From Gillian Ku’s exploration of ‘social uncertainty’ and the courage it takes to be authentic at work, to Olenka Kacperczyk’s deep dive into the gender gap in entrepreneurship, the season revealed how invisible barriers shape real-world outcomes. Henri Servaes shared insights on how the #MeToo movemen...
In this episode of The Why Podcast , host Katie Pisa speaks with Professor Randall S Peterson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, about one of the most costly, time-consuming, and universal workplace issues: team conflict. Based on his research about conflict 4 Common Types of Team Conflict—and How to Resolve Them , Randall outlines a practical framework for diagnosing and managing interpersonal tensions that derail productivity and damage trust. Most of us avoid co...
In this episode of The Why Podcast , host Katie Pisa sits down with Henri Servaes , Professor of Finance at London Business School and Richard Brealey Professor of Corporate Governance, to explore how corporate culture—particularly around gender equality and inclusion—is reshaping investment decisions and boardroom dynamics. Drawing on his recent research, Sexism, Culture, and Firm Value: Evidence from the Harvey Weinstein Scandal and the #MeToo Movement , Henri unpacks how the #MeToo movement a...
In the latest episode of The Why podcast, host Katie Pisa met with Professor Olenka Kacperczyk, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School, to discuss her research on the gender gap in entrepreneurship. The two discuss this important question: Where are all the missing female entrepreneurs? Olenka sheds light on her research findings, the reasons are behind this gap and what businesses, leaders and societies can do to help narrow the gap. While women make up half the po...
In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Gillian Ku, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and Chair of the Organisational Behaviour Faculty at London Business School to discuss her recently published paper on how Black employees can feel more comfortable expressing their racial identity at work and how social uncertainty is a key factor that discourages Black employees from expressing their social identity. Gillian, along with her colleagues, have found that being able to ...
In the latest episode of The Why Podcast , Katie Pisa met with Paolo Surico, Professor of Economics at London Business School, and Joseba Martinez, Assistant Professor of Economics at London Business School to discuss their research titled “Corporate taxes, innovation and productivity”. Their findings offer valuable insights into how tax policies can be leveraged to promote innovation and drive economic growth. The two spent two and a half years working on this research after evidence showed the...
Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s one of five giant gyres in our oceans, where massive circular currents trap floating plastic. It’s three times the size of France, two times the size of Texas and it contains roughly 80,000 tonnes of waste that is polluting our oceans. The oldest bits in this gyre date back to the 1960s. In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, London Business School Senior Editor Katie Pisa met with Jean Pauphilet, Assistant Professor of Management Scienc...
The saying “nice guys finish last” is not always true, according to research. In the latest episode of The Why Podcast , Katie Pisa met with Jonathan Berman, Associate Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to talk about his research findings on prosocial behaviour and when doing good leads to looking good. “When do you hear about good deeds from someone and think better of them, and when do you think it’s not genuine?” asks Jonathan. There isn’t always a direct connection between doi...
How does buying luxury items make you feel? Do you love them or do they hang in your wardrobe for that special occasion, collecting dust? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast , Katie Pisa met with Dafna Goor, Assistant Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to talk about her research findings on imposter syndrome from luxury consumption. Buying luxury items can be a double-edged sword whereby it might yield status benefits for the consumer, but it can also make them feel inauthent...
How do you manage tension at work and better manage your time? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast, Katie Pisa met with Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, to talk about his research findings on this. How do you not get caught up in the urgent daily tasks and lose sight of the big picture? Dan shares tips and findings from his research on how to help restore the balance, sanity and productivity at work. Dan also discusses the benefits of giving employ...
How do you think of your future financial self? In the latest episode of The Why Podcast , Katie Pisa met with Simona Botti, Professor of Marketing, and David Faro, Associate Professor of Marketing at London Business School, to discuss what makes someone decide how they spend money now based on a future income. Some people borrow money from their richer future selves in order to live a more comfortable life. Others aren’t as likely to do this. We discuss this fascinating concept through their re...
In the latest episode of the Why podcast, Bryan Stroube discusses his findings on his latest research about how viewers evaluate films based on lead actors’ gender. His research experimented with AI-Generated movie plots and analysed nearly 400 million filmgoer ratings screened between 1992 and 2018. Bryan’s research sheds light on gender disparities -- with women only holding 28% of the leading roles -- and challenges stereotypes that still exist even years after the “Me Too” movement started. ...
In this episode of the Why podcast, London Business School’s Marcel Olbert discusses the role of taxation in companies and governments with Alenka Turnsek of EY. While there isn’t one global system of holding companies accountable for their sustainability efforts, there are several different country-wide efforts ongoing. Tax incentives seem to be working, for example, in the US where the Inflation Reduction Act has come into play. In Europe, there are other measures and relief being introduced -...
In this episode of the Why podcast, London Business School’s Anja Lambrecht and Xu Zhang discuss their recent research into how TV ads influence online sales for a major travel website, exploring how their findings challenge conventional views about their value. The research suggests that spikes in sales following an advert are not necessarily incremental sales, but instead an acceleration of sales that would have happened at a later time, an effect they term “intertemporal substitution”. They a...
How can public and private work together to increase innovation in oncology drug development? In this episode of the Why podcast, Sukhun Kang, an award-winning PhD student at London Business School, discusses his research into oncology drug development, a research project sponsored by the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. He explains how innovation in this field could be transformed and enhanced by greater collaboration – particularly between public bodies and the private sector. S...
Economists are interested in people’s beliefs because they drive their behaviour, which in turn impacts on the economy. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Jean-Pierre Benoît, Professor of Economics at London Business School, discusses research into how what people believe about themselves affects the choices they make. In the experiment he describes here, he investigated subjects’ self-confidence, exploring when they might bet on themselves vs leaving the outcome to fate by flipping a coin. Jea...
Most ventures fail – so what happens when an entrepreneur goes to investors seeking backing for their next new business? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Gary Dushnitsky describes how he set out to discover, in the context of equity crowdfunding, whether investors would shy away from failed entrepreneurs, or if they would take additional information into account when they considered whether to fund them anyway. Success takes skill and luck, he says; failure only needs error or misfortune. Gar...
In this episode of The Why Podcast, Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, discusses his recent paper ‘ The end of ESG ’. Its title was deliberately provocative and caused a stir – but the point he was making was that a fundamental part of understanding a company and its operations is understanding its impact on the environment and the world. ESG has been politicised and linked to identity but a more useful starting point might be to get beyond polarised opinions and instea...
Giving people autonomy over when and how they work has its advantages but it also brings challenges – from finding new ways to measure productivity to managing boundaries to avoid burnout. In this episode of The Why Podcast, bestselling author and future-of-work expert Lynda Gratton explores how flexible working might pan out, and suggests what leaders need to consider in order to get the best out of their teams. Lynda Gratton is Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, where ...
Entrepreneurs behave differently from the average businessperson – and, according to John Mullins, these behaviours can be learnt. In this episode of The Why Podcast, he explains the thinking and research behind his new book, Break the Rules! The 6 Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs – and suggests that forgetting some established behaviours could make all of us more entrepreneurial. John Mullins is Associate Professor of Management Practice and Entrepreneurship at London Business Sch...
When some horrific abuses came to light in religious care homes in the US, a lot of people wondered why nobody had spoken up earlier. What was at play here, and how could such situations be prevented? In this episode of The Why Podcast, Aharon Cohen Mohliver tells us how he embarked on a deep-dive statistical analysis and discovered that having a system in place is no guarantee of anything when humans are involved. You can read his paper here: pubsonline.informs.org/doi/pdf/10.12…nsc.2022.4350 A...
Negotiating situations can be tense. It’s often assumed you need to wield power, grab what you can and then get out. But it doesn’t have to be so: if you can build trust and work out what the other person cares about, you’re more likely to get a result that’s good for both parties. Empathy takes practice – and, before the other person even opens their mouth, you’ll have made a snap judgement about them based on their appearance. And that’s just the start of what can work against you and the like...
When the pandemic hit, managers reacted by becoming more inward-looking and task-focused. Relationships suffered and development opportunities withered. But there’s good news too. In this episode of The Why Podcast, Julian Birkinshaw investigates how managers’ behaviour changed and how they can reskill to lead effectively now. You can read his paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…81256211025823 Julian Birkinshaw is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. ...
