OUR GAME THEORY PODCAST

In Game Changer, the podcast by TWS Partners, we want to share our enthusiasm and passion for game theory and its applications. Guests from industry and academia discuss the power of game theory in their profession and how they use it to make a difference. Along the way we strive to offer fun anecdotes, useful facts and valuable insights. Hear us out and find out that game theory is much more than a topic for ivory tower discussions.

 

(NUCLEAR) DETERRENCE AS A GAME THEORETIC CONCEPT | WITH FRANK ZAGARE
November 21, 2023
November 21, 2023

In this episode we are talking to Frank Zagare about deterrence. The term gained popularity in particular during the cold war to describe the role of nuclear weapons in Soviet-American relations and, in light of recent events, has surfaced again. Together with Frank we look at the concept from a Game Theoretic perspective and discuss the shortcomings of the classical way of modeling deterrence. Frank then walks us through his alternative theory, perfect deterrence theory. He explains to us how it differs from classical way of modeling and which insights it offers on the war in Ukraine.

 

Frank Zagare is UB Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University at Buffalo and author of several books like ‘The Dynamics of Deterrence’ and ‘Game Theory, Diplomatic History and Security Studies’ among others.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.
WOULD YOU RETURN A LOST WALLET? – ECONOMIST’S PERSPECTIVE ON HONESTY | WITH MICHEL MARÉCHAL
November 07, 2023
November 07, 2023

In this episode we are talking to Michel Maréchal about honesty from an economist’s perspective. He shares with us two studies he has conducted on honesty: Firstly, we talk about a mega-study in which Michel and his colleagues have tested in more than 300 cities around the globe with more than 17000 wallets whether people would rather return lost wallets if there were a higher or lower amount of money in them. Secondly, he shares a lab experiment in which he studied whether humans are more honest when interacting with other humans versus interacting with machines. Both studies give an understanding on human’s behaviour when being incentivized to being dishonest.  

 

Michel Maréchal is a Visiting Professor of Economics at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego and Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics from the University of Zürich. His research is interdisciplinary and lies at the intersections of economics, social psychology, criminology, political science and biology.

Here you can find Michel’s papers on civic honesty and honesty in the digital age. You can also check out his website for other research topics he is currently working on.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.
IN PLAIN SIGHT – WHY SIMPLICITY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN GAME THEORETIC CONCEPTS | WITH SHENGWU LI
October 24, 2023
October 24, 2023

In this episode we are talking to Shengwu Li about simplicity in game theoretic concepts. He explains to us, what simple means in this context, how this notion facilitates application of game theory to the “real world” and what an obviously dominant strategy is. We discuss how this understanding of game theory can be particularly helpful when conducting auctions and what practitioners need to know beyond that to harness game theory’s predictive powers.

 

Shengwu Li is Associate Professor of Economics at Harvard University. His research is focused on Microeconomic Theory, Market Design and Behavioral Economics.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.
PICKING UP SPEED – HOW COMPANIES CAN MAKE HEADWAY IN REACHING CO2 TARGETS | WITH DANIEL HELMIG
October 10, 2023
October 10, 2023

For many companies reaching their self-imposed CO2 targets has become quite a tall order. While procurement has tried to rise to the occasion progress is often slow. In this episode we are talking to Daniel Helmig who explains to us how companies can get unstuck and move forward in reaching their CO2 targets. We discuss what the past can teach us about possible solutions, which three important questions CEOs and other leaders should answer for an honest assessment of their situation and what gradual progress for companies could look like in the future.

 

Daniel Helmig is founder and Managing Director of the Helmig Advisory, which supports organizations in uncovering hidden potential in their supply chain, procurement, or operations area. Prior to this he held positions such as Corporate Transformation Leader, Group Head of Operations & Quality, Chief Procurement Officer, Senior Vice President, and Managing Director in five different industries.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.
CRACKING THE CODE: INCENTIVISING TEAMS IN NON-ROUTINE TASKS | WITH FLORIAN ENGLMAIER
September 26, 2023
September 26, 2023

In this episode, our guest Florian Englmaier explores the effectiveness of monetary incentives in driving team efficiency and innovation. He shares insights from an experimental study conducted in an escape room setting, uncovering surprising findings about the impact of incentives on non-routine tasks and the emergence of leadership dynamics within teams. 

Florian Englmaier is professor of organisational economics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. His main research interests lie in the fields of the economics of organisations and human resources, where he focuses on agency problems in organisations.

You can find the papers on his studies conducted in the escape room setting here and here.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.
LEARNING FROM A NEGOTIATION EXPERT – THE ROLE OF ‘TACTICAL EMPATHY’ | WITH CHRIS VOSS
September 12, 2023
September 12, 2023

In this episode we are talking to Chris Voss. He is a former FBI hostage negotiator and has written a bestselling book “Never split the difference”. We discuss with him, what we can learn from hostage negotiations about negotiations in other settings, especially in the business context. Chris shares his approaches to negotiations and compares the importance of “tactical empathy” with Game Theoretic approaches. He also gives concrete and tangible proposals on how the listeners can improve their negotiation skills.

 

Chris Voss is a former FBI lead hostage negotiator, and founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group, a company focused on negotiation skills trainings. He is author of the bestselling book “Never Split the Difference“.

Your current privacy settings do not allow loading shared content from Libsyn. Click here to change your settings and allow loading of Libsyn contents.