��ɫ��Ƶ News - Desautels Faculty of Management

Despite rapid rise of AI chatbots in customer service, customers prefer human agents

webfull — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:48:10 +0000

If it feels like customer service chatbots are everywhere, it’s because they are. The worldwide chatbot market has grown from US$370 million in 2017 to about US$2.2 billion in 2024. But customers trust human customer service representatives more than they trust AI chatbots, writes Vivek Astvansh, an Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics at ��ɫ��Ƶ Desautels.

Published: 29 August 2025

Rebranding of DEI initiatives is a reactive response to external pressures

webfull — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:45:44 +0000

The pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs gained momentum in the first half of 2025. And while some institutions are eliminating DEI initiatives, others are rebranding them. “The University of Alberta, for instance no longer has a vice-provost of equity, diversity and inclusion,” writes ��ɫ��Ƶ Desautels lecturer Simon Blanchette in The Conversation. “Instead, it now has an office for ‘access, community and belonging.’” But these rebranding efforts are mostly about appeasement and lack genuine community engagement.

Published: 29 August 2025

Stranded travellers should keep their cool

webfull — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:43:43 +0000

When 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike, more than 100,000 passengers were left stranded. For many of those affected, the experience has been an overwhelming one. For stranded passengers, the Air Canada strike combines three powerful stressors: uncertainty, lack of control and crowding, writes Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour Jean-Nicolas Reyt in The Conversation. Each of these factors is stressful on its own, and combined, they can overwhelm even the most patient travellers.

Published: 29 August 2025

Whether renting or buying, Canadians are exposed to risk

webfull — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:41:02 +0000

Buying a home can help you build household wealth, but renting has fewer overall costs, which allows you to save more of the money you earn. While the conventional wisdom has been that buying is the better financial decision for most people, sky-high real estate costs change the equation. Stock markets have also performed well in recent decades, and investing the surplus left over from renting can pad your personal finances in a big way—if you actually do it.

Published: 29 August 2025

Ambiversion can be a workplace superpower

webfull — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:18:57 +0000

Being an introvert or an extrovert isn’t an either-or proposition. People who fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum are called ambiverts, and ambiversion can be a beneficial trait in business leaders. Prof. Karl Moore estimates that about 20% of business leaders are true ambiverts. But ambiversion is a kind of superpower for a leader—it allows them to adapt with greater ease than people at either extreme of the spectrum.

Published: 15 August 2025

Companies are bringing employees back to the office, but over time, the trend could reverse

webfull — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:16:42 +0000

Large Canadian companies such as Rogers, RBC and BMO recently announced their employees will be required to spend more time in the office moving forward. Many employees aren’t happy about it at all. “Research tells us that employees are more productive when they can work the way they want to,” said Prof. Jean-Nicolas Reyt in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Les faits d’abord. When employees telecommute, they have a greater ability to focus and don’t spend so much time commuting to and from work.

Published: 15 August 2025

Punitive tariffs more about political leverage than trade

webfull — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:14:37 +0000

On August 1, a 35 per cent US tariff on Canadian goods came into effect. But these tariffs are less about trade and more about political leverage, says Vivek Astvansh, associate professor of quantitative marketing and analytics at ��ɫ��Ƶ Desautels.

Published: 15 August 2025

Reimagining legal frameworks for sustainability: The 2025 TBLSA Impact Paper

webfull — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 18:56:20 +0000

Earlier this summer, from May 4^th through May 9^th, ��ɫ��Ƶ’s Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) and Faculty of Law co-organised the 2025 ��ɫ��Ƶ SGI Transformative Business Law Summer Academy (TBLSA).

Published: 7 August 2025

��ɫ��Ƶ Law launches Transnational Business+Law Network

webfull — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 18:48:36 +0000

Business + Law is different from Business Law. With this framing in mind – and recognising the plethora of issues emerging at the intersection of law, business and finance in an age of rapid climate and technological change – ��ɫ��Ƶ’s Business Law Platform and the University's Sustainable Growth Initiative launched a new collaboration and graduate student mentorship project, under the leadership of the CIBC Office of Sustainable Fina

Published: 7 August 2025

Caisse de depot’s stake in UK nuclear project is a model to emulate

webfull — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:38:29 +0000

The Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec is taking a 20% stake in the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, England. It is the UK’s first new nuclear power plant since the 1990s, and Professor Sebastien Betermier credits the government there with creating the favourable circumstances for private investors like the Caisse to take part in infrastructure development. “In this particular project, I believe the U.K.

Published: 7 August 2025