Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Business

Business Photo of by M. Teresa Cardador, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Paper: Women bear ‘status-leveling burden’ in male-dominated occupations

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The challenges faced by women interacting with men in male-dominated occupations are well documented, but little attention has been paid to workplace dynamics between women at different levels in the organizational status hierarchy who collaborate with one another. New research examines the “status-leveling burden” women in male-dominated occupations face when they collaborate […]

Business Photo of Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois and the director of the Labor Education Program in Chicago.

Will unionization push among retail workers continue in 2022?

In a potential watershed moment for organized labor and fast food workers, employees at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, voted 19-8 to form a labor union – the first such union in the coffee chain’s 50-year history. Robert Bruno is a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and […]

Business Photo of Carlos Torelli

Paper: Activating a collectivistic orientation conducive to curbing COVID‐19

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new paper co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts in cross-cultural consumer behavior finds a key cultural factor that promotes behavior aimed at curbing the spread of COVID‐19. The activation of a collectivistic orientation – in which people construe the self as interdependent with others and are motivated […]

Business Photo of Maria A. Rodas

Paper: ‘Paradox brands’ hold strong appeal for bicultural consumers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bicultural consumers such as Asian Americans or Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., and one of the challenges marketers face is how to build brands that resonate with consumers who have assimilated norms from different cultures and are able to code-switch between behaviors in response to social cues. […]

Business Photo of Ravi Mehta, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois.

Paper: Engaging donors in creative acts can boost charitable fundraising

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Charitable fundraising remains a major challenge for nonprofit organizations, with many charities unable to secure and sustain the funding needed to deliver their services. Marketers, in turn, are constantly seeking new and more effective ways to solicit donations, including through nontraditional approaches and fundraising events – ice-cream socials, silent auctions, trivia nights […]

Business Photo of by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts Yijue Liang, left, and YoungAh Park.

Co-worker interventions can moderate customer sexual harassment in service industry

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Although the #MeToo movement raised public awareness of sexual harassment in Hollywood and other high-profile industries, comparatively little attention has been paid to the rampant sexual harassment experienced by frontline service workers such as waitresses, baristas, bartenders and retail clerks. A new paper co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign […]

Business Two distinct types of help-seeking at work have differing interpersonal costs and benefits for employee competency measures, says new research co-written by Yihao Liu, right, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois, and graduate student Fan Xuan Chen.

Paper: ‘Autonomous help-seeking’ on the job pays dividends for workers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In the modern workplace, the mechanics of seeking help on the job aren’t clearly understood by managers or employees, especially regarding its interpersonal benefits and costs. A new paper co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts who study occupational well-being says distinct types of help-seeking can be activated by […]

Business Photo of Yihao Liu, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois.

Paper: Perception of COVID-19 vulnerability hurts job prospects

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the job market in ways policymakers couldn’t have predicted 18 months ago. Among them is the creation of numerous job search hurdles for the unemployed, who also may be saddled with extrafamilial responsibilities at home that could potentially interfere with their ability to conduct a successful job […]

Business Photo of Eunmi Mun, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Merit-based employment practices contribute to gender pay gap, study says

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Rather than reducing gender-based pay inequality by limiting managers’ reliance on factors such as gender bias and favoritism, a shift to performance bonuses and other meritocratic employment practices may actually widen the gap by preserving the status quo, according to research co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert who studies labor […]

Agriculture Business Life Sciences Photo of Yilan Xu, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at Illinois

Study: Domestic control of COVID-19 takes priority over international travel bans

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Since COVID-19 reached global pandemic status, many countries have faced containment pressures from both domestic and international transmission after experiencing multiple epidemic waves. But according to a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and environmental economics expert, taming domestic transmission of the novel coronavirus ought to be prioritized […]

Business Photo of Unnati Narang, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business.

Study: Idea sharing increases online learner engagement

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sharing ideas in an online learning environment has a distinct advantage over sharing personal details in driving learner engagement in massive open online courses, more commonly known as MOOCs, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert who studies the intersection of marketing and digital environments. Online learning engagement […]

Expert viewpoints Photo of Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois and the director of the Labor Education Program in Chicago.

Are generous unemployment benefits to blame for worker shortages?

With the COVID-19 pandemic waning, worker shortages at restaurants, retail stores and hotels have slowed the recovery of some sectors of the U.S. economy. Will workers eventually come back to those industries in higher numbers when extended unemployment benefits expire? Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, […]

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