Publications

Three prominent research programmes in cognitive psychology would benefit from a stronger engagement with the cultural context of cognition: studies of poverty focused on scarcity and cognitive bandwidth, studies of dual-process morality and stud- ies of biases using the implicit association test. We address some limitations of these programmes and suggest research strat- egies for moving beyond an exclusive focus on cognition. Research on poverty using the cognitive bandwidth approach would benefit from considering the cultural schemas that influence how people perceive and prioritize needs. Dual-process morality researchers could explain variation by analysing cultural repertoires that structure moral choices. Research using the implicit association test can better explain implicit attitudes by addressing the variability in cultural schemas that undergird biases. We identify how these research programmes can deepen the causal understanding of human attitudes and behaviours by address- ing the interaction between internal cognition and supra-individual cultural repertoires.

The Canary Wharf development, built on abandoned docklands in London's East End, became a center of modern finance due to its large open floorplates and excellent infrastructure. Initially conceived to rival The City, the traditional heart of the UK's financial services, Canary Wharf thrived after the government connected it to London's subway network. By 2017, the project’s buildings boasted 16 million square feet for over 100,000 workers. However, significant challenges emerged, particularly due to Brexit and the rise of fintech companies. In addition, the initial concept of Canary Wharf did not consider residential or retail spaces, resulting in a district primarily centered around work rather than a holistic community. 

Canary Wharf's owners therefore faced two challenges: ensuring the area remained attractive to financial firms despite the geopolitical uncertainties posed by Brexit and fintech, and diversifying the district's appeal to make it a place where people not only worked but also lived and played.

Corporate sustainability reporting has begun to attract mainstream investor attention. While traditional socially responsible investors use Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance metrics to exclude “bad actor” companies from their portfolios, the new interest comes from those who hope to match or beat market performance benchmarks. The prevailing wisdom suggests, however, that corporate sustainability leadership only rarely translates into marketplace success and recent studies to disprove this wisdom have not yet resulted in a compelling case. This article assesses the factors that underlie the evidence and challenges the conclusion that sustainability and market success are not linked. It explains that a clearer conceptual “sustainability” framework and an improved ESG metrics methodology would position mainstream investors to connect ESG scores to financial performance – sharpening the business world’s focus on sustainability.

The Freemium business model, commonly used in digital products, has both a perpetually free but limited version and a premium version with enhanced features that requires a fee. These firms often have a referral program in which current customers get additional benefits (e.g., extra storage space) for referring friends to the firm. While this strategy allows a firm to acquire large user base at low cost, it needs to be balanced against revenue, and we examine how attractive a referral offer should be in order to encourage users to bring in new customers without dissuading them from upgrading. Since the majority of freemium customers are “free,” i.e. they do not pay, it is crucial to understand their long run value, which results from their future upgrades or upgrades by those they refer. We develop an empirical model from microfoundations, including both discrete and continuous choices, and investigate the dynamics of consumers’ plan choice, usage, and referral behavior using a novel panel data set from a leading cloud-based storage service. Using counterfactual analysis, we determine the optimal balance of growth and monetization, and quantify the value of free customers.