New research by UVA Darden’s Manel Baucells and Yael Grushka-Cockayne explores how mental accounting affects project management decisions. Their findings show the key lies in balancing rational models with behavioral insights — a strategy that can turn challenges into opportunities for success.
Expert
Manel Baucells
Lynch Family Associate Professor of Business Administration
Insights
How do individuals make decisions in situations involving risk? How do we instinctually trade off the potential for a gain with the potential for loss? Most individuals fear losses more than they like gain, and the choice of reference point shifts our perception of gains and losses. Can we better understand the way we make choices?
Everything really is better in moderation: Research shows that once a person hits the satiation point, consuming more of something means enjoying it less. A new study by Professor Manel Baucells offers a model charting where that point is and what to do about it — with implications for business as well as optimizing your own personal experiences.
The psychology of the set list: How can we increase enjoyment of an experience in the moment and in our memories? And how can this be used in business? After all, memory drives good reviews, return business and lasting satisfaction. Luckily, there’s a mathematical model for it.
There are no shortages of linkages between overwork and both workplace and personal problems. But on-the-job pressure to produce more, and more quickly, may leave people feeling unable to take the time for breaks, either vacations or workday breaks.
By all appearances, resting seems unproductive. But it turns out that resting may be one of the most productive things we do in any given day.
In new research, Darden Professor Manel Baucells argues that retailers can grow profits by cutting prices sooner and more deeply than conventional modeling suggests.
From a gym membership to a sandwich at the airport, it turns out the question “What are people willing to pay?” is complex. A new model will help companies and managers better account for the most prominent anomalies in consumer behavior.
