Why do Institutions Offer MOOCs?

Grit and intention: Why do learners complete MOOCs?

In recent years there has been considerable interest in how many learners complete MOOCs, and what factors during usage can predict completion. Others, however, have argued that many learners never intend to complete MOOCs, and take MOOCs for other reasons. There has been qualitative research into why learners take MOOCs, but the link between learner goals and completion has not been fully esta...

Content or platform: Why do students complete MOOCs?

The advent of massive open online courses (MOOCs) poses new learning opportunities for learners as well as challenges for researchers and designers. MOOC students approach MOOCs in a range of fashions, based on their learning goals and preferred approaches, which creates new opportunities for learners but makes it difficult for researchers to figure out what a student’s behavior means, and make...

Why Do Firms Offer Risky Defined Benefit Pension Plans?

Even risky pension sponsors could offer essentially riskless pension promises by contributing a sufficient level of resources to their pension trust funds and by investing those resources in fixed-income securities designed to deliver their payoffs just as pension obligations are coming due. However, almost no firm has chosen to fund its plan in this manner. We study the optimal funding choice ...

Why Do High-Tech Firms Offer Perks at Work?

Why do high-tech firms offer perks at work?

Using novel data collected from a career intelligence website, we study whether and why high-tech firms rely more heavily on non-wage benefits, such as free meals, transportation subsidies, and athletic facilities (“work-related perks”). We find that employers engaged in IT innovation are more likely to offer work-related perks, but not more traditional non-wage benefits such as health insuranc...