Claremont's Drucker-Ito School of Management Makes Innovative Bid for VW Settlement Funds

CLAREMONT, Calif., Feb. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Everybody knows that electric cars are having a major impact on the environment. But could they also change both the thinking and the driving habits of the people who use them?

That's the $14 million question that researchers at Claremont Graduate University's Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito School of Management are hoping to answer with an innovative proposal for funding from Volkswagen AG's $800-million diesel emission settlement with the State of California.

Using car-crazy Southern California as the laboratory, Drucker Research Associate Professor Chris Langdon wants to partner with several municipalities, transportation agencies, employers and consumers to study how humans think about transportation.

Working with a pool of 100 VW electric vehicles, proprietary Drucker software and a controlled geographic environment, Langdon wants to see if the participants' thinking – and behavior – about transportation changes, and if so, how.

"Rethinking the concept of mobility is the next logical step in the evolution of modern transportation, particularly as we take into account the environment," Langdon says.

He is seeking a $13.7 million grant from Electrify America, the VW subsidiary formed last year to distribute money from a settlement over the sale of nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles in California that were equipped with special software to cheat on federal emissions tests.

As part of the settlement process with state and federal regulators, VW will submit bids like Drucker-Ito's to the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency. The agencies will select the winners later this month.

"Who is better positioned to do this than the Drucker School?" said Langdon. "This is standard scientific research. You ask questions, you conduct real-life experiments, you collect the data, and you analyze it to find the answers. This is what we do."

In addition to being on the faculty at the Drucker-Ito School, Langdon is president of Pacific Coast Research Inc., which specializes in predictive analytics and strategic simulations.

Ultimately, Langdon says, the successful result of the mobility experiment is "better, faster, cheaper ways for people to get where they need to go. That's the only way to get you out of your car and into a service like this."

About Drucker-Ito

From a foundation built on the management philosophy of Peter Drucker, one of the greatest thought leaders in business history, the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management offers a unique focus on the creative economy, creative industries, and creative management practices, with direct access to the dynamic environment of Los Angeles. Drucker-Ito also offers an outstanding Financial Engineering program, a new Supply Chain & Logistics track, and the ability to bundle an MBA degree with other master's degrees from Claremont Graduate University and partner institutions that are dedicated to preparing effective leaders in the new global economy.

SOURCE Drucker-Ito School of Management