Drivers for ride-sharing companies, short-term renters, freelancers, and other one-off jobs are part of a growing market called the gig economy. The phenomenon is not new. It picked up steam in the early 2010s and carried it into the mid-2020s. Recently, researchers Spyros Lagaras, a professor of finance in Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, joined researchers Matt Denes from Carnegie Mellon University and Margarita Toutsoura from Washington University in St. Louis to take a closer look at how common it is for those who start these gigs, use them as a pathway to entrepreneurship. Their findings, which confirmed their suspicion, were published in the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER) Working Paper Series and the Journal of Financial Economics.

Is erasing medical debt from credit reports just a placebo? Gies Business economist Julia Fonseca and her coauthors found that withholding small medical debts from reporting had no impact on credit scores or decisions.

In studying 355 elite national soccer teams from around the globe, Gies Business Professor Mike Szymanski finds that teams led by multicultural managers enjoy an advantage in a sport where nations from every corner of the world collide. He has demonstrated that this same idea also applies to international business. One of his more recent projects extended this interest in diversity to the domain of language, exploring how non-native accents shape communication and perceptions in global teams.

A small scooter can have a big impact. Gies Business professor Unnati Narang digs into the surprising ripple effect of Chicago's 2019 e-scooter rollout - from rideshare jumps to bikeshare dips and hidden side effects for consumer mobility and safety.

Companies are walking a fine line between transparency and strategy when it comes to tax disclosures. In this episode, Gies Business professor Stefan Richter discusses his new research revealing how tax authorities are mining public information — from corporate filings to LinkedIn — and how companies subtly adapt their reporting to stay compliant while revealing as little as possible.

In today's hyper-connected world, we're constantly bombarded with messages and demands. But it goes beyond information overload; it's relational overload. In this episode, we chat with Gies Professor Pranav Gupta about his groundbreaking research on this phenomenon and discuss strategies for navigating this complex landscape.

In this episode, we dive deep into the power of product names with Gies Professor Olga Khessina. Her research reveals that the name of a product could be the difference between success and failure — especially in high-velocity industries where products come and go rapidly.

In this episode of Research Reverb, we're diving into the complexities of transparency in drug development and its surprising impact on innovation. Professor Hanu Tyagi explores the tension between openness and creativity in the pharmaceutical industry.

What if being too transparent is slowing down the next groundbreaking cure? In his research, Professor Tyagi finds that increased transparency in clinical trials has led to a 13.9% shift toward “safer” but less novel drug development strategies—equivalent to falling two years behind on the innovation curve.

Do you think loving a certain food makes you a better connoisseur? It might surprise you to learn that being passionate about food could actually dull your senses!

In our latest episode, Gies Professor Maria Rodas explains why "love" might just be blinding when it comes to taste. Her explores how chocoholics, cheese lovers, and coffee fans often miss subtle flavor differences in their favorites—simply because their deep attachment leads them to rely on shortcuts in their perception.

Ever felt extra motivated at work because you were part of a high-status team? Or maybe you’ve found yourself going the extra mile for your company because of the pride you felt for a specific project? New research reveals that group status within an organization is a major driver of how much effort we put in. In this episode of Research Reverb, Gies Business professor Jeff Lowenstein discusses his work on nested group dynamics, where we explore how our group’s standing (high or low) influences our choices and behaviors at work.