News Room

A team of five University of Maryland University College students in the Master of Science in Data Analytics (MSDA) program advanced to the final round of the INFORMS O.R. & Analytics Student Team Competition.

The two fatal accidents involving the Boeing 737 MAXX in five months have left airlines with an expensive problem: balancing passengers’ lack of trust in the Boeing 737 MAX carrier versus the cost of cancelling orders and/or reconfiguring their fleet. In their recent research in the INFORMS journal Organization Science, INFORMS member and INSEAD professor Henrich Greve, with colleague Vibha Gaba, have found that although successful airlines are generally ahead on the safety front, less profitable airlines are more likely to respond to aviation incidents by selling off aircraft and buying those perceived to be more reliable.

INFORMS member and INSEAD professor Henrich Greve, with colleague Vibha Gaba, discuss their upcoming research in the INFORMS journal Organization Science, which explores how airlines balance the often-conflicting imperatives of safety and profitability, and in particular, how financial performance affects an airline’s focus on safety. 

It happens all the time: a brand’s celebrity spokesperson finds him/herself at the center of a controversy, which unwittingly generates negative publicity for the endorsing brand. While currently one of marketers’ preferred avenues for driving brand awareness and boosting sales, celebrity endorsement remains a practice area also wrought with challenges, chief among them being the liabilities they present when celebrities behave poorly, and what disastrous effects these crises can have on a company’s reputation and stock returns. Now, new research in the INFORMS journal Management Science sheds some light on what economic effects a company’s reaction to these unforeseen events might have.