Penn State Smeal College of Business

What makes a fluid team successful?

Research from Smeal's Suresh Muthulingam and co-author, Kumar Rajaram, explores how a team's history of success and failure influences performance.

Using data from more than 2,000 films released between 1999 and 2018, the study found that teams with a stronger history of success tended to produce more profitable movies, while teams with a stronger history of failure were associated with lower profitability.

Read more: https://ow.ly/1Ufg50ZeoKe

“The residency experience helps foster a sense of community and collaboration before the virtual classes for the semester begin. I felt more connected to my classmates and feel like my professors and program directors are more approachable following this in-person gathering.”

Before each semester begins, our Part-Time Hybrid MBA students come to University Park for residency, creating connections that carry into the virtual classroom. For Matt Silva '27, the experiences strengthen relationships with classmates and help make the Smeal community feel even more accessible.

Learn more about the program: https://hybridmba.smeal.psu.edu

Making summer count ☀️ 🗓️

As AI transforms the future of work, business schools are evolving to ensure students develop both technical expertise and the human skills that technology can't replace.

We're proud to see Smeal recognized for integrating AI literacy, critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and leadership development across the curriculum to prepare students for an AI-driven world.

Read the story: https://noah-news.com/business-schools-confront-ai-bias-as-they-redefine-leadership-skills/

Business schools confront AI bias as they redefine leadership skills As AI transforms core business functions, leading institutions are integrating AI literacy that emphasises critical judgment, ethics, and soft skills, challenging traditional models of graduate value.Business schools...

Emily Rivas is one of six Penn Staters selected through this year's Fulbright competition!

The recent OMBA alum will travel to South Korea as a recipient of the 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, a prestigious international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Read the full story: https://ow.ly/EcAa50ZbYY1

Six Penn Staters earn Fulbright U.S. Student Awards | Penn State University Six Penn Staters have received awards in the 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Student Program — five finalists and an alternate.

Alyssa Cotillo '20 FIN, Jesse Knapel '15 ACCTG, and Michael Liotta '23 OMBA are set to begin their terms on Smeal's Alumni Society Board on July 1! The mission of the Smeal Alumni Society Board is to provide opportunities for networking, volunteerism and lifelong engagement to its 96,000+ alumni community.

"Through their collective work histories, we feel our new members add a level of expertise and experience that will complement an already diverse collection of accomplished alumni.” – Jennifer Crispell, Director of Alumni Relations

Read the full story: https://ow.ly/Fufc50Zbjjm

The way you talk to AI matters, but not for the reasons you might think.

In a recent HuffPost article, Smeal's Akhil Kumar shared insights on how tone can influence AI-generated responses. His research and expertise suggest that extreme interactions, whether confrontational or overly complimentary, can reduce accuracy, while clear and direct prompts often lead to better outcomes.

Akhil also notes that more complex or emotional exchanges can increase the energy required to generate responses, highlighting an often-overlooked aspect of responsible AI use.

Read the full article: https://ow.ly/fY1g50Z9oTx

If You're Mean To AI Chatbots, Tech Experts Have Bad News For You Emotional messages and AI chatbots aren't a good match. Here's why.

Research from Smeal's Mihail Velikov and University of Rochester's Robert Novy-Marx highlights the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence in academic research and the implications for the future of scholarly publishing.

The study found that AI and LLM's can generate hundreds of publication-ready finance papers in a matter of hours, raising important questions about how research is produced, evaluated, and disseminated in the age of AI.

Read more: https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/ai-can-mass-produce-finance-research-papers-indistinguishable-human-work

AI can mass-produce finance research papers indistinguishable from human work | Penn State University A new study, co-authored by a Penn State Smeal College of Business professor, demonstrated that AI can mass-produce academic papers that look nearly indistinguishable from human-authored research, raising concerns about the potential impact on the academic community.

Johanna Amaya, assistant professor in supply chain & information systems, was recently featured in an Associated Press article examining whether clothing rental services are truly a sustainable alternative to fast fashion.

Drawing on her expertise, Amaya discussed the environmental impact of "last mile delivery," the final stage of moving a package from a fulfillment center to a customer's home, and how shipping and returns can influence the sustainability of clothing rental services.

Read the full story: https://ow.ly/WmVs50Z80N4