HEC in the press

The German media Capital.de wonders if premium memberships on professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn are really worth it or not. The article draws on a research led by Andreas Lanz, professor at HEC Paris Business School, which underlines the fact that a premium membership pays off for users who are particularly active on the platform.

With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, many multinationals have announced that they would scale back, suspend operations or withdraw completely from Russia. However, The Financial Times points out that the execution of such promises is more complicated than expected. Among many issues, one of them is that suspended operations could be seized by the Russian state. Alberto Alemanno, law professor at HEC Paris, comments that companies are currently "paying a lot of lawyers to assess what they can do about it in terms of protecting their investment."

Why is Meta declining? In an article pulished in Forbes, Assistant Professor of Quantitative Marketing at HEC Paris Business School Klaus Miller presents the results of his study which shows a strong rejection of ads and their monetization among the younger generations. However, his research also notices that using less ads can affect online news consumption behaviors positively.

As Poets & Quants reports business schools news, it highlights the launch of "Imagine Fellows" by HEC Paris Business School and the HEC Foundation. It is a scholarship program intended for students from war-torn countries and aims at building bridges between cultures by promoting peace and tolerance both on HEC Paris's campus and within society itself.

An op-ed published in Bloomberg Opinion advocates for more pay transparency willingly implemented by companies. To argue her point, the journalist refers to a research conducted by HEC Paris Business School professor Tomasz Obloj which shows that pay transparency leads to more pay equity and equality.

Since Vladimir Putin's military attack in Ukraine, the relationship between Russia and Germany under Angela Merkel appears in a new light. The former Chancellor maintained economic links and energy projects with Russia, despite the Crimea crisis in 2014. "By establishing an unnecessary relationship of interdependence with Vladimir Putin, Merkel’s Germany made him stronger while weakening the whole of Europe and NATO", commented law professor at HEC Paris Business School Alberto Alemanno.

Although many programmes already included courses on remote leadership, the coronavirus pandemic has made this subject more relevant and requested than ever. These classes are now also taught online, which not only enables more students to participate, but also recreates real-life situations. Florent-Emmanuel Okalla enrolled in HEC Paris Business School's executive masters in innovation and entrepreneurship. He explains to The Financial Times: "We were already working remotely and I was pleased we were studying online. If it had been campus-based, I wouldn’t have been able to do it or learn these skills in such a practical way."

The Financial Times notices that more companies feel pressured to take a stand on complex and sometimes sensitive political, social and moral issues. The tools for companies to position themselves politically are diverse, but one of them can be to spend in lobbying and fund politicians. However, this kind of expenses can be risky if they do not align with the company's public commitments, thus prompting a growing awareness among corporations when it comes to political spending. According to Alberto Alemanno, law professor at HEC Paris Business School, “this is the next frontier when it comes to corporate political power”.

As more and more criticism around short-term shareholder value arose in recent years, business schools had to reshape their teaching and incorporate business ethics. HEC Paris Business School is one of them and offers a module called Ethics and Sustainability. Benedicte Faivre Tavignot, professor of strategy and business policy at the school, went even further, stating in MiM Guide that "business ethics is becoming much broader than the question of good governance versus corruption. It questions our lifestyle, our production and consumption patterns".

According to professor at HEC Paris Business School's Doha campus Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, activism within the workplace is playing an increasing role in the corporate ecosystem. She explains to HR Magazine that this is the result of Generation Y's more agile and entrepreneurial mindset mixed with Generation Z's need to work for a company which brings more value and purpose into the world.