The W. P. Carey School, through its pioneering Center for Services Leadership, has been at the leading edge of research concerning the services sector, which now accounts for 75 to 80 percent of the U.S. economy.

Strategies for recovering from service failures can have a dramatic impact on profitability, according to research conducted at the W. P. Carey School of Business. That's because most business profit comes from keeping current customers satisfied, not from developing new accounts.

When it comes to consumer contentment, managers and executives should not mistake silence for satisfaction. Most unhappy customers never say a word; they just take their business elsewhere.

Indifferent employees alienate shoppers, run off clients and botch deals with a shoulder-shrug. They don't care, and that message acts like static on a bad telephone connection, canceling out any lucrative communication. How to turn that attitude around?

A well-executed business blog is a 24-hour opportunity to interact with customers, impress Wall Street, spark business-to-business opportunities, track industry trends, spot brand deterioration and spook competitors, all maintained at a low-rent cyber address. Does your company have one?

The ability to persuade others is critical to success, whether you are selling cars or a new corporate strategy. Psychology and marketing Professor Robert Cialdini has examined the component parts of influence, in the lab and on the street.

Most people want to give back to people who do something nice for them. In fact, social mores dictate that a favor should be returned in kind, and we apply pejoratives to those who do not: ingrates, moochers.

The passion of fans for their teams is the stuff of family lore and Hollywood scripts, and it's that emotional charge that makes the business of sports distinct. What other business can claim that its customers are in love with its product?

Social psychologists have long known that human beings often make choices about what to think, and what to do, based on the thoughts and actions of others. Simply stated: We like to follow the crowd.

Professional sports are a multimillion dollar industry — an industry that is increasingly playing by rules that don't apply to other businesses.