Better Business Podcast

Guests: Jason Borrelli, senior principal for operations at EQT Exeter and member of Smeal Board of Visitors and Eva Steiner, associate professor of real estate and King Family Early Career Professor at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

We’re exploring the economic costs of climate change– specifically in the commercial real estate market. From intensifying storms to rising sea levels, If you’re an investor, a business owner or tasked with expansion efforts at your company, you’ll want to hear from our guests on what they have to say about the financial toll climate change is taking on the industry, the role of ESG in commercial real estate as well as the role of regulation in improving sustainability and affordability.

Guests: Charles Callahan, managing partner at Triangle Venture Partners, LLC and Jeanette Miller, assistant clinical professor of entrepreneurship and associate director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Startup and new venture funding is having a moment. A quiet moment, as recession fears, a softening tech stock market and an uncertain economic future drive new investment capital to a screeching halt. A Crunchbase report reveals that in the final 3 months of 2022, startup investments in North America dropped more than 60%, compared to the same quarter in 2021. Industry analysts say this isn't a time to panic, but a time to pause and reassess. My guests today are here to provide us with access to what’s going on behind the scenes and how entrepreneurs can navigate the current shakeout.

Guests: Steve French, chief operating officer at Natural Marketing Institute and Karen Winterich, professor of marketing and Gerald I. Susman Professor in Sustainability at the Penn State Smeal College of Busienss.

As we attempt to eliminate waste and slow down climate change, we’re seeing a shift to a circular economy or circular business model where products and materials are repurposed in new cycles. This has become a higher priority across the globe but the endeavor is not simple. And it’s far from becoming the norm. Only 8.6% of our world is circular, according to the 2020 Circularity Gap Report.

Today, we’ll discuss the power of the circular economy and how it can meet the needs of countries, businesses and communities with vastly fewer materials and emissions.

Guest: Aparna Joshi, Arnold Family Professor of Management at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Women have historically been underrepresented in the C-suite. For years, fewer women have ascended to leadership positions because of the so-called broken rung at the first step of management. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many more women out of the workforce -- more than men – and the overturning of Roe v. Wade means more women are at risk of advancing in the workforce. A recent study by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company revealed that women leaders are leaving their companies at higher rates than ever before. And, the study indicated that for every woman at the director level who gets promoted, two women directors choose to leave their company.

Today, we’ll examine the leadership trajectory of women and how COVID, Roe v. Wade and other obstacles have brought new challenges to a longstanding struggle.

Guest: Forrest Briscoe, professor of management and Frank and Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

From racial justice to labor reforms to environmental protections, social activists have for a long-time targeted businesses to make an impact and influence society. A recent case was when: TKTKTK. Sometimes the activism is launched from within a company…Other times it’s from the outside… today, we’re taking a closer look at the functions of social activism at the intersection of business and commerce. What are the implications of social activism within an organization. How effective are these campaigns and how should business leaders engage to demands while maintaining the interests of their workers and own stakeholders?

Guests: Pierre Cohade, independent director, advisor and an expert in China relations and Terrence Guay, clinical professor of international business, associate dean of international programs, and director of the Center for Global Business Studies at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

What is the future of globalization? There are many challenges threatening the current international trade flow – from supply chain disruptions to political roadblocks, climate threats and more. Given these challenges, how can business leaders best strategize for future growth and leverage the opportunities that come with connecting with international partners?

Guests: Halla Thomasdottir, chief executive officer of The B-Team—a global collective of business and civil society leaders driving a better way of doing business for people and planet—and Don Hambrick, Professor of Management and Evan Pugh University Professor at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Once absent from social and political debates, CEOs have abandoned the traditional norm of staying silent on controversial issues.

So, what happens when the boss brings politics to work? We’ll examine the trend of CEO activism and the implications for employees, shareholders and other company stakeholders.

Guests: Andrew Moses, vice president and head of business development at MorganFranklin Consulting and Margaret Luciano, associate professor of management and organization and BNY Mellon Faculty Fellow at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

As the pandemic set in around the world, employees of organizations large and small left the office and retreated to their homes to perform their daily work. Years later, many are now demanding that those temporary work arrangements become permanent. For companies striving to retain top talent in a tight labor market, this trend has compelled many executives to re-think the work environment.

What is the future of work, and how can managers increase flexibility without losing productivity?

Guests: Jerome Griffith, chief executive officer of Lands’ End and Brent Mortiz, associate professor of supply chain management at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

The pandemic spurred widespread disruption in the global supply chain, dramatically slowing shipments, causing shortages of essential products, and creating inflationary pressures that are pinching consumers at the pump and the cash register.

What’s behind all of it, and where do we go from here?

We’ll examine the current state of the supply chain, how corporations are dealing with the disruption and what all this means for the future of globalization.

Guests: Brian Dreibelbis, senior director of supply chain human resources and labor and employee relations at Land O’Lakes and Matt Gustafson, associate professor of finance and Stuart and Michele Rothstein Early Career Professor, at the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Despite the outcry from Americans across the political spectrum, the Federal minimum wage has not changed in 12 years. Many companies say they simply can’t afford to pay their employees more, while others assert that the status quo is too low a wage for anyone to live on.

Momentum has been building for more companies and states to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, or higher, which is more than twice as much as the current federal rate of $7.25.

We’ll examine the debate and how firms are balancing the political, financial and labor pressures of raising the minimum wage.