I see a parallel in the advertising agency world. The ad agency has an interest in "winning awards" with their work to increase their prestige in the industry a

I see a parallel in the advertising agency world. The ad agency has an interest in "winning awards" with their work to increase their prestige in the industry and win more clients. Winning awards is about innovation or art, and not tied to views, shares, or sales. While most ads you see on TV are about increasing sales, some ads are more about being innovative and catching the attention of other industry insiders to win an award. I see university research like that. The research part is about increasing the prestige of the university. If they can attract a big name like Dan Ariely with an offer to fund research (and teach one class per term), they can attract press, students, and prestige within their industry.