Can a one-time incentive induce workers to commit to short- and long-term training to remain competitively employable? A one-time offer of $60 was given to workers who finished two courses within 4 months. It had a remarkable, positive effect on training participation during this period, and a sustained effect beyond it, but this only occurred when two psychological techniques were used to increase commitment to training and to shape perceptions of the incentive. These results have practical implications for companies and governmental organizations wanting well-trained workforces to sustain growth in competitive environments.

New product innovation is a strategic business activity that involves significant financial resources and managerial attention. Most new product launches fail because existing methods are unable to forecast their commercial success accurately. Describes a market-based method to address this gap. This method capitalizes on the power of the "wisdom of crowds" by allowing people to interact in organized markets governed by well defined rules. These markets motivate people to share information freely through a price discovery process. Prediction markets seek information aggregation from a large group of diverse individuals by encouraging active participation. Demonstrates the power of the markets with real application examples from a wide variety of industries.

This article presents a perceived shopping utility framework for analyzing the impact of retail price format on store choice. Retail price format, in turn, determines three key performance metrics: number of shoppers, number of trips, and average spending per trip. When choosing a store, consumers evaluate both the fixed and variable utilities of shopping. The fixed utility does not vary from trip to trip whereas the variable utility depends on the size and composition of the shopping list. Summarizes prior findings on store choice, analyzes how retailers can improve their performance, and interprets the practices of leading retailers. Presents a framework that can accommodate situations where retailers face multiple segments of buyers with different sensitivities to fixed and variable utilities.