Knowledge@wharton

Microsoft buys aQuantive; Google acquires DoubleClick for $3.1 billion; Yahoo purchases the 80% of Right Media it doesn’t already own and ad firm WPP gets 24/7 Real Media for $649 million. And that’s just in the last six weeks. The common thread: All the takeover targets are online advertising companies. The race to consolidate the online advertising industry is heating up at the same time that advertisers are demanding more return on their marketing dollars. Wharton professors and others analyze how this will play out for tech companies ad companies and consumers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

During the recent 2007 Wharton Economic Summit Knowledge at Wharton recorded nine podcasts with speakers and panelists at the event whose theme was ”Next Moves in a Global Economy.” The interviews are with Jeffrey R. Lurie owner of the Philadelphia Eagles Football Club; Shellye L. Archambeau CEO of MetricStream; Ramkrishan (Remi) Hinduja chairman of HTMT Global Solutions together with Sashi P. Reddi CEO of Applabs Technologies; Marc Utay managing director of Clarion Capital Partners; Kenneth Shropshire director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative; Shiv V. Khemka vice chairman  SUN Group; Clark Callander managing director of Savvian; Amy Errett CEO of Olivia and William L. Mack senior principal  Apollo Real Estate Advisors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On May 6 conservative Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential election defeating socialist Segolene Royal and taking over from Jacques Chirac who had held the positon for 12 years. The election drew a very high 85% turnout which many saw as a sign that French voters recognize the need to get out from under their economic stagnation and social unrest. Sarkozy is depicted as a friend but also a critic of the U.S.; as a supporter to some degree of the European Union; and as a reformer bent on changing France’s burdensome labor laws but also willing to meet with union leaders. Knowledge at Wharton asked Jeff Weintraub a visiting scholar with the University of Pennsylvania’s political science department to give us his views on the possible consequences of Sarkozy’s election. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The wireless broadband pieces appear to be falling in place: Sprint Nextel says its next-generation high-speed network will be launched in a few markets by the end of 2007. Intel plans to embed so-called ”WiMAX” enabled semiconductors in laptops by the end of 2008 and startups like Craig McCaw’s Clearwire hope to blanket much of the nation with WiMAX service. Other companies are supporting hybrid wireless networks so that devices can hop between technologies. Where is all this heading and what does it mean for the ”Anywhere Consumer”? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A key element of what has been called ”web 2.0” -- along with ideas such as user-generated content and social networks -- is the concept of ”rich Internet applications ” which use the web as a platform for innovative types of online experiences. A new generation of Internet-connected applications is beginning to emerge led by such companies as Adobe Systems. Knowledge at Wharton recently interviewed Adobe president and COO Shantanu Narayen about the company’s latest product introductions. In the second part of this interview published in India Knowledge at Wharton Narayen talks about the key role that India will play in the company’s global growth strategy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This spring Wharton and the Penn law school hosted 37 professional women from the Middle East for a four-week legal and business fellowship program funded by the U.S. Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative and supported by America-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST). The women studied management and business skills at Wharton executive education and legal skills at the law school. Knowledge at Wharton asked three women from the program to talk about their experiences in the U.S. as well as in their home countries including their views on such topics as workplace ethics business opportunities for women and the role of Islam in society. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a perfect world there would be faster computers less lower back pain more accurate ways to detect the warning signs of a heart attack and even better-fitting business attire for female executives. And that would mean more comfort and time to enjoy the sweet things in life like a gourmet chocolate bar. If the ”Eight Great” finalists in the 2006-2007 Wharton Business Plan Competition -- who recently competed for more than $70 000 in prize money -- are able to achieve their entrepreneurial schemes the world would indeed become such a place. Knowledge at Wharton summarizes the presentations and announces the winners. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The average person according to the experts makes 200 food-related choices a day. Actually make that 201 choices. Courtesy of a new campaign by a leading restaurant chain diners who are used to choices that make their meals bigger can now actually choose to order portions that are significantly smaller. This spring T.G.I. Friday’s announced what it called an ”unprecedented move in the casual dining industry” when the restaurant chain began offering smaller portions at lower prices for select dishes. The question now becomes: Will consumers bite? Or in this case bite less? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Homer’s poem ”The Odyssey ” Odysseus had a tough time finding his way home after the Trojan War what with all those monsters threatening to derail his journey. But Odysseus at least had left a wise and trusted fellow named Mentor to be the guardian and teacher of his son Telemachus. Modern employees need mentors as much as Telemachus especially in these times of upheaval. In fact mentoring is just as important as ever for younger workers -- and for organizations themselves -- according to experts at Wharton and elsewhere. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The sales associate noticing the approach of a customer is suddenly intent on restocking merchandise or discussing when she will take her next break -- anything to avoid actual contact with the shopper. It’s the type of behavior that dominates the list of complaints cited in the second annual Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study. The study conducted by Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative and the Verde Group found that disinterested ill-prepared and unwelcoming salespeople lead to more lost business and bad word-of-mouth than any other management challenge in retailing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The U.S. population is getting older as the ”age wave” of baby boomers nears retirement. Will their 60s 70s and 80s be happy years marked by prosperity good health and fulfilling activities? There’s every chance of that according to two keynote speakers at Wharton’s 2007 Economic Summit: Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel and Michael Milken head of The Milken Institute a non-partisan think tank. But both men cautioned that their optimism relies on taking steps to ensure among other things open markets and an educated healthy workforce. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blockbuster deals -- like YouTube’s recent sale to Google for $1.65 billion and Skype’s sale last year to eBay for $2.6 billion -- are giving venture investors new confidence in their ability to cash out said a group of venture capitalists who spoke on a panel at the 2007 Wharton Economic Summit. In addition new sectors like ”clean tech ” an umbrella term for environmentally friendly technologies and trends like the aging of populations in the developed world are creating promising investment opportunities. Even so times remain challenging for many venture capitalists the panelists warned. According to one participant ”15% of the firms have provided [about] 90% of the returns.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Venezuela President Hugo Chavez is threatening to take control of several major projects from American and European firms. In Russia the government recently strong-armed Royal Dutch Shell into relinquishing control of a large oil field. Across the oil-producing world governments are responding to higher petroleum prices by imposing new taxes on oil companies and forcing the renegotiation of contracts. According to speakers at the 2007 Wharton Economic Summit such developments augur a new age for oil producers where both the style and substance of doing business have changed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Globalization is pulling tens of millions of people out of poverty annually and creating worldwide wealth unimaginable a generation ago. But its benefits are being shared unequally resulting in widespread public dissatisfaction that business leaders ignore at their peril two top executives told participants at the 2007 Wharton Economic Summit. Stan O’Neal chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch and Rajat Gupta a senior worldwide partner with McKinsey both called on their colleagues to pay attention to their social responsibilities as assiduously as they watch their bottom lines. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While many Americans are worried that real estate prices have flattened and may even turn downward some of the country’s top commercial developers say there always is opportunity for those who manage their projects efficiently in a global market focus on areas with growing demand and have the staying power to wait out the downturns. This was the consensus of a 2007 Wharton Economic Summit real estate panel which included executives from Apollo Real Estate Advisors Sherwood Equities and Morgan Stanley’s Direct Investing Group. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The world of pro sports may look a lot more exciting than life in the office but in reality -- when you strip away the glamour and media attention -- the bottom line for success is not too different on the playing field than it is in the business world. Character is what counts the most whether you are scouting for a new quarterback in the NFL draft or hiring a young commodities trader. That was the message from top sports executives who participated in a 2007 Wharton Economic Summit panel called ”Leadership Lessons Learned from Sports ” sponsored by the Wharton Sports Business Initiative. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Although mammoth executive compensation packages at hedge funds -- hundreds of millions of dollars a year for some managers with a select few topping $1 billion -- have recently been disclosed in the business press public outrage over soaring CEO pay has been growing for years. Do executive compensation figures reflect an efficient market or a failed one? Are pay levels adequately disclosed? Should shareholders have more say? And if top executives are overpaid what’s to be done about it? Executive compensation was the subject of a panel at the 2007 Wharton Economic Summit. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Trying to predict the next hit -- whether it’s an independent horror film a new recording group or a popular video game -- entails a high amount of risk in an industry that has been turned upside down by the Internet and the reconfiguration of longstanding distribution channels according to panelists at the recent 2007 Wharton Economic Summit. For that reason they noted many of the most successful equity players in Hollywood tend to look for broad-based venues -- a comprehensive film library vs. one director’s avant-garde film for example -- as the best investment vehicles for an industry in transition. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Martin Varsavsky’s fans see him as a rebel who has often disrupted the telecommunications industry. An Argentine/Spanish entrepreneur who has launched seven companies in the past 20 years Varsavsky’s current venture is FON which he describes as a ”community-empowered company dedicated to building the world’s largest global WiFi network.” He has a few partners helping him get there -- Skype eBay and Google. In a podcast interview with Kevin Werbach a professor of legal studies and ethics at Wharton Varsavsky discusses how he invented the ”call back” (a cheap way of making international phone calls) the differences between American and European technology companies and several other issues. Varsavsky will speak at the Supernova conference that will be held in San Francisco on June 20-22. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act was signed into law in 2002 its goal was to protect investors through increased disclosure and tougher internal controls in the wake of accounting frauds at Enron WorldCom and other U.S. companies. But on April 4 2007 the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it will revisit some of SOX’s rules. The primary focus will be the financial costs of Section 404 which requires auditors of most publicly listed companies to verify the effectiveness of internal procedures for financial reporting. Knowledge at Wharton asked accounting experts for their opinions on possible SOX revisions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.