From the shuttered factories of the rust belt to the look-alike strip malls of the sun belt-and almost everywhere in between-America has been transformed by its relentless fixation on low price. This pervasive yet little examined obsession is arguably the most powerful and devastating market force of our time-the engine of globalization, outsourcing, planned obsolescence, and economic instability in an increasingly unsettled world.Low price is so...

"As we become a more digital society, the gains that have been made for the environment by moving toward a paperless world with more and more efficient devices will soon be or already have been offset by the number of devices in our lives that are always using energy. But many don't think about the impact on the environment of the "Internet of things." Whether it's a microwave connected to the internet, use of Netflix, or online shopping, these technological...

Summary, Analysis & Review of Jonah Berger's Contagious by Instaread Preview: Contagious: Why Things Catch On is a playbook for marketing in the internet age, when products and ideas live or die based on whether or not they can go viral. Author Jonah Berger describes six principles that, when applied together, can often predict whether an idea or product will spread. Any product or idea can go viral. It doesn't take a big advertising budget or a celebrity...

From Facebook to Talking Points Memo to the New York Times, often what looks like fact-based journalism is not. It’s advertising. Not only are ads indistinguishable from reporting, the Internet we rely on for news, opinions and even impartial sales content is now the ultimate corporate tool. Reader beware: content without a corporate sponsor lurking behind it is rare indeed. Black Ops Advertising dissects this rapid rise of “sponsored content,”...

This introduction to one of the key areas of behavioural economics – social preferences – explains in clear, nontechnical language how particular groups of experiments have been used by behavioural economists to shed light on the processes of economic decision making. These include bargaining games, trust games and public good games. The significance of determinants such as punishment, sanctioning, emotion, cooperation, reciprocity, leadership,...

Summary of Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely | Includes Analysis Preview: Predictably Irrational provides a data-driven window into the ways in which the human mind fails to make rational choices time and time again. While some of these irrational decisions are humorous or trivial, in many cases, these behaviors can have far-ranging implications for governments and health care systems. However, understanding that we, as humans, are predisposed...

The world is poised on the threshold of economic changes that will reduce the income gap between the rich and poor on a global scale while reshaping patterns of consumption. Rapid economic growth in emerging-market economies is projected to enable consumers worldwide to spend proportionately less on food and more on transportation, goods, and services, which will in turn strain the global infrastructure and accelerate climate change. The largest gains...

In the digital economy, businesses need to adapt quickly to satisfy customers' constant demands for new and updated products. But too many organizations are held back by antiquated IT mindsets that separate developmental groups from the rest of the team. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to embrace enterprise-wide thinking that gets everyone-from engineering to the C-suite-on the same page and speaking the same language. The Product Mindset...

Summary of Hooked by Nir Eyal with Ryan Hoover | Includes Analysis Preview: Hooked is a textbook for developers and designers who wish to build a product or app that will repeatedly engage its users. Today, more than ever, a product needs to be self-sustaining in its ability to keep its users loyal and active. In the past, companies could rely on advertising to remind users to purchase or interact with their product. Today, however, the most successful...

Environmental impacts in consequence of human activities mainly lead back to consumption. The overall research aim of this study is to estimate how sustainable consumption can be increased through sustainable innovation by mainly considering pro-environmental aspects. Relating to this, several objectives are pursued as the following examples show. For instants, the study aims to regard efficiency, consistency, and sufficiency as three strategic principles;...