Knowledge@Wharton Business Research Journal

Microfinance's Elusive Quest: Finding an Accurate Measure of Social Impact
For three decades, microfinance institutions have given out small loans to the world's poor -- mostly women -- and amassed thousands of case studies showing that the loans help alleviate poverty, improve health, increase education and promote women's empowerment. Skeptics, however, have argued there is not enough hard data to prove that microfinance transforms lives on a large scale, and they have called for more rigorous analysis. Two recent studies providing some of that analysis have sparked an intense debate over how and under what conditions the effects of microfinance can be calculated.

---

The Ultimate Risky Business: How Lloyd's of London Insures Its Own Future
As CEO of the venerable insurer Lloyd's of London, Richard Ward oversees $33 billion in premiums each year, underwriting such valuables as TV star Ugly Betty's smile, soccer player David Beckham's knees and singer Celine Dion's vocal cords. It's all part of the tradition at the 321-year-old Lloyd's, which is famous for insuring the first commercial air flight, the first commercial space flight, and all manner of bridges, oil rigs, fleets, real estate holdings in climactically dangerous regions and corporate investments in politically unstable countries. As Ward noted during a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, "Basically, what we do is insure things other people can't or won't."

---

Popularity Contests: Why a Company Embraces One Innovative Idea but Shuns Another
Multinational corporations have a lot of good things going for them. They have built up a rich store of knowledge over the years, allowing their subsidiaries to share ideas and best practices in ways that smaller companies can only dream of. They also exploit their vast global reach and on-the-ground knowledge to sniff out new concepts or products being used by rival companies in other parts of the world. But these processes aren't always as successful as they could be. Felipe Monteiro, a Wharton professor of management whose recent research looks at how and when new knowledge gets the thumbs up within firms, explains why.

---

Reel Time: The Incredible Shrinking Window for Movie Releases
A decade ago, movie fans who wanted to forgo paying theater admission waited an average of five months before they could watch a film in their own living rooms. Today, the window between theatrical releases and distribution via other channels like DVDs and cable television has shrunk to four months or less -- and in some cases has even disappeared, with films making their debuts simultaneously in multiple channels. According to Wharton faculty, declining DVD sales and other pressures mean that studios are likely to continue experimenting aggressively with movie release timing. Still, the pleasure of watching a movie in a darkened theater is not likely to go away any time soon, they say.

---

Tentatively and Sporadically, Real Estate Investing Makes a Comeback
Real estate is showing some early signs of recovery as an attractive investment, at least compared to some other opportunities like corporate debt. But capital markets must open further to revive normal deal flows, said panelists at the recent Zell Lurie Real Estate Center conference. And while glimmers of confidence are returning to some sectors, the positive signs are distributed unevenly. Panelists also discussed lessons learned from regulatory lapses, ways to fix them and growth drivers that might stimulate the economy.

---

Sole Mates: Looking for 'Profit with a Purpose' from Socially Conscious Footwear Customers
Creating an international company that sells shoes made in Africa has confronted Tal Dehtiar with a series of unexpected challenges. Among them: the color blue. "The only colors the factories are used to working with are black and brown," said Dehtiar, co-founder five years ago of the group MBAs Without Borders. But the biggest hurdle facing Dehtiar, who spoke at Wharton as part of the 2009 Levy Social Impact Lecture Series, may be the color green -- finding investors.

---

---

Knowledge@Wharton

Visit The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Return to Home Page

Special Sections

Podcasts

Sponsors

News Room

KnowledgeToday

Feedback

Home