This article was originally published in Strategic management Journal. To view the original article, click here.

A study by researchers from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University (OSU) explored the competitive advantage organizations gain when hiring key employees away from a competitor. The loss of a key employee can hinder organizational performance, even in superior organizations that have established advantageous routines via strategic initiatives that set them apart from their competitors, because the lost employees bring strategic knowledge with them to the hiring firm. The researchers further theorize that competitive advantage of the initially superior organization will be reduced as rival firms learn about their routines from the new employees and develop competitive responses. The findings are now available online and in print next month in Strategic Management Journal, published on behalf of the Strategic Management Society by Wiley-Blackwell.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- A team of graduate students working through the Oklahoma State University’s School of Entrepreneurship in conjunction with the Creativity Initiative have launched a competition to promote innovation and creativity in the OSU and Stillwater community.

Entrants can submit their ideas for the “Building a Creative Community” challenge by Feb. 26, 2010 to Kip Kelley at kip.kelley@okstate.edu. The winning ideas will be those that present unique approaches to solving community challenges or improving the community, Kelley said. The entries should be achievable, sustainable and have a defined purpose. The competition is open to anyone.

The top three submissions will be awarded Orange, Black and White ribbons with corresponding $1,500, $1,000 and $500 prizes. Winning contestants will be eligible to receive planning grants to help develop their “Building a Creative Community” ideas and put them into action.

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Spears School of Business inducted three Oklahoma State University alumni into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame and recognized three others as Outstanding Young Alumni at a ceremony on November 13.

Stan Clark, founder and president of Stan Clark Companies; Beverly Lancaster, retired president and CEO of Learjet; and Brad Williams, tax partner with Ernst & Young, were honored for their successful careers and contributions to OSU. The Spears School also honored Angela Courtin, Bruce Yee and Mita Young as Outstanding Young Alumni.

The annual Spears School Hall of Fame Banquet recognizes OSU graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers, displayed effective leadership, made exemplary contributions to their communities and freely given meritorious service to others. Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor the Spears School can bestow. In 2001, the Outstanding Young Alumni award was established to recognize Spears School alumni who have provided significant service and achievement early in their professional careers.

This article originally appeared in The Economist. Click here to view the original article.

In the lobby of a government building in Oklahoma City, several locals were telling a visitor about some of the assets of their state: the iconic old Route 66, the 39 Native American tribes, the furthest inland seaport in the United States (at Tulsa, on the Arkansas river). “You can send a bushel of wheat from Oklahoma to New Orleans for the cost of a postage stamp—no, a postcard!” said Shane Jett, a state legislator from Tecumseh. The state had not escaped the national downturn, they said; recently Mercury Marine, a motor manufacturer, had announced plans to close its plant in Stillwater with the loss of 450 jobs. “We can’t do much about that,” said Ron Duggins, a consultant based in that town. But the overall attitude, the two said, was optimistic. By coincidence, both are married to women from Brazil. Their wives say that Oklahoma could use a beach. Otherwise, they had no complaints.

This article originally appeared on the KSFM-TV Web site. Click here to view the original article.

OKLAHOMA CITY  — Two Oklahoma State University research economists are discussing the state's outlook for 2010 and beyond during a conference.

Russell Evans, the director of OSU's Center for Applied Economic Research, and Kyle Dean, the center's associate director, will talk about the state's current economic performance and the "2010 Oklahoma Economic Outlook" report on Tuesday.

The two will speak at a news conference being held during an economic outlook conference at the Moore Norman Technology Center's south Oklahoma City campus.

The Oklahoma Economic Outlook is an annual report compiled using an econometric model to provide information on the probable performance of the state's economy during the upcoming year. It's touted as Oklahoma's only large-scale econometric forecasting model.

STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State University students have a chance to win $40,000 in prize money by entering the first Riata Business Plan Competition. The campus-wide contest is hosted by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business.

“The top three competition winners – those who present the most viable businesses and the best investment opportunities – will be awarded prize money,” said Nola Miyasaki, Norman C. Stevenson chair and director of the Riata Center. “These will be the students who have best outlined a new venture and can convince the judges that the venture will be enormously successful. Importantly, the competition is open to all students across the OSU campus, including the campuses in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and any other OSU campus in the State.”

STILLWATER, Okla. – Two teams of Oklahoma State University graduate students received national recognition in the data mining shootout at the M2009 Data Mining Conference held Oct. 26-27 in Las Vegas.

More than 40 teams from many U.S. universities competed for honors in the contest. OSU students Vineet Jain, Syed Nawaz and Liz Garmendia received second place, and Ridhima Nerlekar, Snigdha Potluri, Murali Bolloju, Chatchawal Ngamchitroongruang, Yumiao Sun and Guangyu Lan received an honorable mention.

All students on the second-place team all enrolled via distance learning in the graduate certificate in business data mining program in the Spears School of Business. The students receiving honorable mentions are full-time master’s degree students from management information systems, MBA and industrial engineering disciplines, and all are enrolled in the data mining certificate program, which is a core component of the MIS degree.

This article originally appeared in the Journal Record. Click here to view the original article.

TULSA – Joe Picorale sees a promising future renting hot tubs.

And refurbishing houses.

And possibly, just possibly, in a cultural talk coffee shop.

And party float trips.

The fledgling Tulsa entrepreneur has experimented in many of these, sometimes with spectacular results. At one time his mobile Frosty Mixer disc jockey beat took in almost $1,200 a weekend. But while the 29-year-old Broken Arrow native demonstrated keen organizational skills and enthusiasm, he often skirted issues of profitability.

This article originally appeared in the Daily Oklahoman. Click here to view the original article.

The most recent annual shareholder meetings with one of Oklahoma’s largest banks and one of the world’s largest banks provided a stark contrast in the impact of the global financial meltdown on the institutions.

In Tulsa, BOK Financial Corp.’s meeting was lightly attended, and Chairman George Kaiser’s request for questions was met with silence.

"I hope this subdued meeting is not a reflection of the subdued economic environment,” said Kaiser, who owns more than 60 percent of the parent company’s stock.

This articule originally appeared in the Stillwater NewsPress. Click here to view the original article.

The Center for Applied Economic Research in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University will release the 2010 Oklahoma Economic Outlook report Nov. 17 at a conference from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Moore-Norman Career Tech South Penn Campus.

The Oklahoma Economic Outlook is an annual report compiled using the Oklahoma State Econometric Model to provide information on the probable performance of the Oklahoma economy in the upcoming year.