Category: Recent Seminars (Last 3 Months)

Date: 28 January 2026, Wednesday Time: 10.30 – 11.30 Place: MA-330 "Why Do I Do What I Do? How Searching for Meaning at Work Can Facilitate the Spread of Unethical Conduct Through Organizations" by Marius Van Dijke RSM Abstract  Existing work has explained the trickling down of unethical leader behavior through organizations in terms of social learning or social exchange processes. We identify a key limitation of these explanations and propose a novel process to explain the trickling down of unethical leader behavior. We build on Baumeister’s (1991) account of meaning, which depicts it as a system of mental connections between objects and events. We propose that strongly (vs. weakly) searching for meaning at work strengthens trickle-down effects of unethical leadership from higher-level managers, via lower-level managers to employees. We…

Date: 19 January 2026, Monday Time: 10.30 – 11.30 Place: MA-330 " Digital Solutions to the Obesity Crisis: Evaluating the Impact of Online Grocery Delivery Services " by Alireza Golmohammadi Belk College of Business Abstract  Despite extensive efforts in developed nations to combat obesity, rates continue to rise, particularly in the U.S., with low-income populations being disproportionately affected. This study examines the potential of third-party online grocery delivery services (OGDS) to mitigate obesity. Utilizing a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we analyze the impact of OGDS’s entry on obesity rates. Our findings reveal that OGDS entry is associated with a significant reduction in obesity rates, averaging -.64%, which translates to an annual medical cost saving of $2.91 billion. However, the positive impact of OGDS entry is less pronounced in low-income areas, indicating…

Date: 07 January 2026, Wednesday Time:10.30 – 11.30 Place: MA-330 “Inclusive Exclusion: When Market Expansion Reinforces Exclusion” by Utku Ay University of Arizona Abstract  Firms often seek growth through inclusion, extending their brands to new consumer groups. Yet these initiatives frequently reproduce exclusionary structures rather than dismantle them. This study introduces inclusive exclusion, an empirically derived and theoretically grounded construct that explains how inclusionary marketing strategies can perform inclusion while sustaining exclusionary order. Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of football in Turkey, we identify three mechanisms of market participation that structure consumer inclusion and exclusion: consumer role assignment, consumption pathways, and infrastructural support. Inclusion emerges under conditions of role alignment, coherent pathways, and strong infrastructural support, which foster legitimate market participation. Conversely, when firms invite new consumers, but these mechanisms…

Date: 24 December 2025, Wednesday Time: 10.30 – 11.30 Place: MA-330 “Victimhood as a Currency: Observing Abusive Consumption Mobilizes Support for Misused Objects and Brands" by Evrim de Groot Glion Institute Abstract  Consumers typically buy bulk for their cost-saving benefits. Drawing on costly signaling theory, we argue that such commitments, however, serve as subtle unintentional signals of status. Although consumers buy bulk for cost saving purposes, observers consistently perceive bulk purchasers (long-term subscribers, clubhouse shoppers, loyalty card holders) as higher in status not only because they appear to possess greater financial resources, but also because they are seen as respected customers. Consequently, such customers are afforded a way of costly signaling where the risk of being labeled a show-off is minimized due to the low-cost disguise. Hence, bulk purchases essentially come…

Date: 23 December 2025, Tuesday Time: 13.30 – 14.30 Place: MA-330 "Time-Left Versus Future-Age: How Framing Life and Healthy Life Expectancy Shapes Perceived Time and Health Decisions" by David Faro London Business School Abstract  Statistics and predictions about life expectancy and healthy life expectancy feature on across a wide range of consumer-facing platforms, from retirement planning tools to health-tracking apps, wellness products, and insurance calculators. These are typically presented in future-age frame (e.g., ‘As a 50-year-old, you are expected to live until the age of 84’) or in time-left frame (e.g., ‘As a 50-year-old, you are expected to live for another 34 years’). Across seven online studies (N = 4103) and one field experiment (N = 14,422), we show that the time-left frame makes total life expectancy and healthy life…