Fisher Research and Insights

Forefront

Headshot of Itzhak Ben-David
December 3, 2025
Barron's

Star-powered ETFs are luring investors. But a big name doesn’t guarantee big returns.

Research co-authored by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, cautions investors that attention-grabbing ETFs may not always be sound investments. The 2022 study showed that thematic funds lost about 30% of their risk-adjusted value five years after launching.
Students seated in Schoenbaum Hall listening to a professor presenting slides on a projector screen. Many students have laptops open and are taking notes.
November 25, 2025
PBS News

How artificial intelligence is reshaping college for students and professors

Ohio State isn’t just wrestling with generative-AI in classrooms — it’s embracing it. With its ambitious AI Fluency initiative, every Buckeye (eventually) will graduate AI-savvy and AI-responsible, taught not only by research teams but by leaders like Lori Kendall, a senior lecturer at Fisher.
Rene Stulz with former students and current Georgetown University professors, Rohan Williamson, and Lee Pinkowitz.
November 25, 2025
The Ohio State University

Sharpening generations of legal and business minds

From business to law, the Reese family's support of The Ohio State University is boundless. Learn more about their impact and how Fisher faculty member René Stulz is upholding this strong tradition through his work as a world-renowned finance scholar.
A graphic showing the faculty selected for chairs and professorships.
November 24, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

Fisher announces new appointments to endowed chairs and distinguished professorships

Fisher celebrates eight faculty leaders appointed to endowed chairs, professorships and distinguished honors — recognition of their outstanding research, teaching and service that continue to strengthen Fisher’s academic excellence and impact across business education and industry partnerships.
John Gray is seated in a modern glass-walled office, engaged in a conversation with a notepad visible in the foreground.
November 19, 2025
WJLA

Deadly consequences of U.S. reliance on Indian-made drugs

Research by John Gray, the Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Operations at Fisher, found a 54% higher likelihood of "severe adverse events," including hospitalization, disability and death, tied to generic drugs made in India versus in the U.S. He's advocating for more transparency on where medicines are manufactured and by whom.
A headshot of Doug Farren
October 31, 2025
Middle Market Growth

What new research says about PE’s impact on midmarket businesses

A special report from the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) dispels some myths about private equity’s impact on middle-market businesses and offers some hard data on how PE-backed companies perform compared to their counterparts. NCMM’s Executive Director Doug Farren talks about the research findings, and what it means for both middle-market companies and the PE firms that hope to invest in them.
A black and white photo of two senators next to a prescription pill bottle.
October 27, 2025
ProPublica

Senators propose sweeping changes to generic drug oversight

A study by John Gray, the Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Operations at Fisher, found that some Indian-made generic drugs are linked to more adverse events than U.S. versions. It prompted calls for increased FDA testing and alerts when foreign manufacturers with safety issues are allowed to ship to U.S. hospitals.
Provost Ravi Bellamkonda delivers welcome remarks at the AI in Business Conference
October 14, 2025
The Ohio State University

AI’s growing impact in education, business focus of Ohio State conference

Fisher's inaugural event brought together academic researchers and practitioners to explore how successful adoption of AI technology will rely heavily on how it intersects with human thought.
Two hamburgers with lettuce and tomato on sesame seed buns.
October 13, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

From burgers to diamonds: How challenges nudge us toward ethical choices

Ethics alone won’t convince consumers to choose sustainable products. Research by a trio of Fisher faculty, led by Senior Lecturer Maria Landekhovskaya, reveals that challenging consumers to spot the difference in products is a strong incentive to try — and buy.
Jeff Dotson gestures to a projector screen in a classroom.
October 10, 2025
Columbus Business First

On AI, Ohio State goes for bold

A look at the bold, wide-ranging effort to ensure all Ohio State students are AI fluent by the time they graduate, including all the ways Fisher is building on a strong foundation of AI adoption.
A smiling woman wearing pink headphones works on a computer in a bright, modern office with several coworkers collaborating and talking in the background.
October 9, 2025
Success

Music at work: When it helps and when it hurts

Music in the workplace is more than just background noise. When it aligns, it can boost focus and morale — but when it misfires, it drains energy and saps attention, according to new research by Kathleen Keeler, assistant professor of management and human resources.
Warren Buffett gestures at a microphone.
September 15, 2025
MarketWatch

Private equity in your 401(k): Who is the big winner? Probably not you.

A recent study of the investment performance of individuals who had invested in private-equity funds found that, if anyone made out like a bandit from this industry, it was the investors who were already rich. The study, co-authored by Assistant Professor of Finance Petra Vokata, found that these individuals either got into the best funds, or they had the best advisers, or both.
A world map made of pills on a blue background.
September 14, 2025
Radio Health Journal

Cheap drugs have a high cost: The safety issues of generic prescriptions

John Gray, the Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Operations at Fisher, discusses his research into regulatory differences between the production of pharmaceuticals domestically and internationally ― and the safety issues they raise for consumers.
White pills spill from an orange pill bottle.
September 9, 2025
Newsweek

Product recalls are on the rise, top causes revealed

John Gray, professor of operations and business analytics at Fisher, says oversight of foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers could be one reason for the recent surge of medicine recalls.
Collage of ten new faculty headshots
August 25, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

Introducing Fisher's new 2025 faculty

Meet the newest faculty members who are bringing their research, business backgrounds and teaching experience to Fisher students for the 2025 academic year.
Hand on cue stick ready to strike the cue ball on a billiards tablel
August 22, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

What can billiards teach us about business competition?

Like a cue ball that transfers energy to other balls in billiards, a dominant player in business can reshape a market. Research by Professor Richard Makadok uses the “cue-ball effect” to illustrate how companies with a competitive advantage can impact an entire industry.
A man checks his phone in front of a blue monitor that says "Hire Local!"
August 19, 2025
The New York Times

Economic data has taken a dark turn. That doesn’t mean a crash is near

Inflation is up and job creation down, but the U.S. economy could still pull through without too much pain. The next few months will be pivotal in illustrating whether actions taken by companies will reflect data gathered by the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) showing that business leaders were anticipating the lowest revenue and employment growth of the post-pandemic period.
A Wall Street sign is displayed in front of American flags
August 18, 2025
MarketWatch

Is Nvidia a Republican or a Democrat? These political ETFs have voted.

ETFs that combine investing and politics are tapping into investors’ polarized views. But should they get your vote? Research by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, says no. Ben-David suspects that specialty ETFs focus on narrow investment themes such as politically niche offerings primarily for marketing purposes to justify their high expense ratios.
A graphic with middle market company logos laid over an office building.
July 10, 2025
TIME

America’s best midsize companies of 2025

Who better to provide context about top middle market companies than Doug Farren, the executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market? Farren explains the middle market's outsized influence on the U.S. economy, areas that are surging and challenges faced by middle market companies.
Army tank rolling over barbed wire with bar graph in background
June 25, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

Exploring a century of global conflicts and their impact on financial assets

Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East conflicts, a trio of Fisher faculty are providing insights into how geopolitical uncertainty shapes financial assets ― and how markets are driven not just by what happens, but by what investors fear might happen.
Red compact car parked in front of Buc-ee's store at sunset.
June 24, 2025
WOSU

How have gas stations grown and affected our current way of life?

Brian Hipsher, senior lecturer in marketing and logistics, discusses the proliferation and impact of convenience stores such as Buc-ee's, Sheetz and Wawa.
People in business attire seated around a conference table during a meeting, with a large screen or blackboard in the background.
June 18, 2025
The Ohio State University

Credit scores of corporate executives may reveal their decisions

A new study conducted in partnership with the National Center for the Middle Market reveals just how influential personal credit scores of corporate executives are in their overall decision making and risk tolerance. The research was published by a Noah Dormady and Yiseon Choi at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
A view of Fisher Hall against a blue sky.
June 13, 2025
Max M. Fisher College of Business

Research productivity drives Fisher’s rise in key rankings and measures

Fisher College of Business climbed in global research rankings, placing 25th in the world, 23rd in North America and 11th among public universities according to new rankings released by UT-Dallas. Fisher's research productivity among Financial Times journals, as well as among top American Marketing Association journals also increased.
A black and white photo of trench warfare in during World War I.
June 4, 2025
Barron's

The best way to respond to a geopolitical crisis

Working research from Fisher's Andrei Gonçalves, Alessandro Melone and Andrea Ricciardi is offering investors better insights on how to respond to geopolitical crises, such as war and military conflict.
A hand dropping circles meant to signify coins against a green backdrop.
June 1, 2025
Business Insider

One of the most attractive — and sometimes secretive — ways the wealthy donate money could soon get even more popular

A provision in President Trump's tax bill could make donor-advised funds (DAFs) an even more popular form of giving, but they're not without potential problems. Fisher Professor and Nonprofit Expert Brian Mittendorf and his colleague, Helen Flannery, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, found through a study that DAFs distribute grants to politically engaged organizations 1.7 times more than other funders.

Media contact & inquiry

Joe Arnold | Phone: 614-292-3380 | Email: arnold.974@osu.edu