Professors Honored with Academy of Management Awards

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This week in faculty news: Babson’s thought leaders were honored for their papers, symposiums, and dissertations at the Academy of Management Awards, while others were featured for their expertise in The Boston Globe and Forbes.

Thought Leaders Honored with Academy of Management Awards

Three professors received Academy of Management Awards in Boston earlier this week.

The Future of Department Stores and Brands for the ‘Instagram Generation’

Associate Professor of Marketing Lauren Beitelspacher weighed in on two stories in The Boston Globe on the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Barneys New York and the rise of digital first makeup lines.

Barneys New York said earlier this month it will close 15 of its 22 stores, though the store’s Boston location will remain open. Beitelspacher said landlords could offer the store more appealing lease terms or other incentives for its remaining locations to avoid the possibility of spaces becoming vacant as the holiday season approaches.

Glossier, a pop-up makeup village, has opened in Boston’s Seaport District. A digital-first line, Beitelspacher said Glossier was established for the “Instagram generation,” which has embraced the brand as one of their own. “The legacy brands assumed they could follow a previous model: a mom would take the daughter to buy the same product she used,” she said. “That model doesn’t exist anymore because these kids can reach out and create their own relationships with brands.”

Revamping the Responsibilities of the Chief Data Officer

Professor of Information Technology and Management Tom Davenport explained in Forbes five ways the role of chief data officer could be improved.

Since Capital One appointed the first CDO in 2002, Davenport said the focus of the job has been to prevent breaches, privacy problems, and data quality issues within financial services. He recommended improving business decisions, performance, and customer satisfaction through analytics, delivering frequent reports of measurable value, and implementing new technology for data management.

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