Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses
By: Michael Walschots, Postdoctoral Fellow, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study. In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned restaurants. As professors who study digitization, inequality and the economics of technology, we were interested in understanding its […]
‘Buying Canadian’ is an opportunity to reflect on the ethics of consumerism
By: Michael Walschots, Postdoctoral Fellow, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Ever since Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, everyday citizens have retaliated by pledging to “Buy Canadian.” Even though the tariffs were later postponed, the damage was already done. The Buy Canadian movement is broad: people are not only […]
Why restaurant self-service kiosks can actually result in customers ordering less food
By: Lu Lu, Associate Professor of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University and Wangoo Lee, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University When restaurant customers order from a self-service kiosk while a line forms behind them, they feel rushed, prompting them to buy less and stick to familiar items instead of browsing for something new, […]