Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Dynamic Disclosure: An Exposé On The Mythical Divide Between Voluntary And Mandatory Esg Disclosure, Lisa Fairfax

All Faculty Scholarship

In March 2022, for the first time in its history, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed rules mandating disclosure related to climate change. The proposed rules are remarkable because heretofore many in the business community, including the SEC, vehemently resisted climate-related disclosure, based primarily on the argument that such disclosure is not material to investors. This resistance is exemplified by the current lack of any SEC disclosure mandates for climate change. The proposed rules have sparked considerable pushback including allegations that the rules violate the First Amendment, would be too costly, and focus on “social” or “political” issues …

Why Corporate Success Requires Dealing With The Past, Sarah Federman, Judith Schrempf-Stirling

School of Peace Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Customers, employees, and citizens expect companies to address historic transgressions and work toward a positive legacy.

Businesses’ past involvement or complicity in atrocities and human rights abuses such as slavery and genocide is a pressing concern for stakeholders today. Managers who meaningfully engage with their companies’ past actions can address historic harms while simultaneously contributing to their companies’ future success. The authors examine the factors that are pushing companies to take action now, and they offer guidance to help leaders begin the process of moving forward.

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Doing Good: Navigating The Csr Maze In India – Review Of Book By Meena Raghunathan, Ruchi Tewari, Aatman Shukla

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Cybercrime In The Developing World, David A. Ghelerter, John E. Wilson, Noah L. Welch, John-David Rusk

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

This paper attempts to discover the reasons behind the increase in cybercrime in developing nations over the past two decades. It discusses many examples and cases of projects to increase internet access in developing countries and how they enabled cybercrime. This paper examines how nations where many cybercrimes occurred, did not have the necessary resources or neglected to react appropriately. The other primary focus is how cybercrimes are not viewed the same as other crimes in many of these countries and how this perception allows cybercriminals to do as they please with no stigma from their neighbors. It concludes that …

Microtransactions And Gambling In The Video Game Industry, Christopher L. Antepenko, Samuel R. Rickey, Angel L. Hibbets, John-David Rusk

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The beginning of the 21st century has had a drastic effect on the video game industry. The advent of almost universal Internet access, the release of inexpensive broadband-enabled consoles, and the availability of mobile gaming have led to game developers and publishers heavily relying on premium in-game currencies, exclusive paid items, and loot boxes to subsidize or even replace profits from traditional video game business models. By 2020, in-game purchases made up a market of $92.6B worldwide and, in the US, experienced growth of over 30%.[1] In this highly lucrative market, the legal and ethical landscape is constantly bubbling with …

Social Media Platforms And Responsibility For Disinformation, Matt T. Figlia, Brandon M. Henschen, Joseph T. Sims, John-David Rusk

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Researchers are paying closer attention to the rise of disinformation on social media platforms and what responsibility, if any, the companies that control these platforms have for false information being spread on their websites. In this paper, we highlight the recent growth in concern regarding online disinformation, discuss other works regarding the use of social media as a tool for spreading disinformation, and discuss how coordinated disinformation campaigns on social media platforms are used to spread propaganda and lies about current political events. We also evaluate the reactions of social media platforms in combatting disinformation and the difficulty in policing …

Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic Connects To Iu Ventures, Strengthens Reach In Venture Capital, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic has strengthened its connection with a university affiliate designed to help students, faculty, staff, and alumni advance startups and new companies.

Professor Mark E. Need, director of the Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, has been appointed a Venture Legal Analyst-in-Residence with IU Ventures. Through the Executive in Residence Program, which IU Ventures launched last year, experts in a variety of startup areas help accelerate the development of new ventures by sharing insights and real-world experience with the founders and leaders of companies in the IU Ventures portfolio. They …

Is The 340b Hospitals Battle At The Supreme Court Over?, Casey W.. Baker, Susan W. Lanham, Alberto Coustasse

Accounting Faculty Research

Under the Federal 340B Program, hospitals and eligible health care clinics that serve low income or rural populations can qualify for federally negotiated manufacturer discounts on purchases of prescription drugs. Approximately 50,000 entities participate in the 340B program, where pharmaceutical manufacturers are instructed to supply outpatient medications to participating providers at discounted rates of 20% to 50%. Participating hospitals depend on profits from the differential between their reimbursement for these drugs and the discounted rates they disburse to finance affordable patient care in underserved communities. On June 15, 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled that major cuts to 340B payments …

Social Performance Feedback And Firm Communication Strategy, Heli Wang, Ming Jia, Yi Xiang, Yang Lan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although corporate social performance has become an important measure of firm performance, there is little understanding about how firms respond to social performance feedback and how impression management may function as an important firm response to the feedback. Building upon and extending the literature on the behavioral theory of the firm and the strategic use of language, we examine how discrepancies between firms’ social performance and their aspiration levels affect how firms use visual expressions in their CSR reports. In addition, we argue that the relationship between social performance discrepancies and the use of visual expressions in CSR reports is …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility (Scr) In The South African Shipping Industry: Focusing On Private Companies' Social And Economic Dimensions Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sizwe Sandile Dlamini

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Does An Initial Public Offering (Ipo) Issuer's Securities And Exchange Commission Registration Fee Calculation Method Predict Pricing Revisions And Ipo Underpricing?, Patrick Corrigan

Journal Articles

This paper proposes a new proxy for the ex ante expectations of issuers and their underwriters about the direction of pricing revisions during the roadshows of an initial public offering (IPO): the way issuers elect to calculate the registration fees owed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consistent with fee-minimizing decision-making, I find that the choice of fee calculation method is associated with pricing revisions and IPO underpricing. This relationship suggests that issuers or their advisors may not incorporate economically significant private valuation information into the initial pricing range estimate and initial public offering price. The results provide empirical support …

A Covid-Related Fraud At Applied Biosciences Corp: What Are The Lessons?, Scott Jackson, Paul Ordyna, Srinivasan Ragothaman

Mountain Plains Business Conference

No abstract provided.

Unintended Consequences: Impact Of Covid Relief Payments On Families And The Housing Industry, Tami J. Moore, Jared Burgoon

Mountain Plains Business Conference

Proposed as a Panel event exploring the unintended consequences of the Covid Relief Payments made during the pandemic on families, housing, and supply chain.

Nevada Workforce Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Study 2022, Jan Jones Blackhurst, Becky Harris

International Gaming Institute Faculty Publications

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metrics enable organizations to set concrete goals and self-monitor their performance. In 2021, Nevada’s legislature passed Senate Bill No. 267 (SB267), authorizing the University Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to study DEI benchmarks in the State. The study is designed to produce actionable results capable of informing policy and employer best practices in Nevada. This study was piloted in 2021, with study participation taking place between January 3-April 30, 2022.

The questions in the study were crafted based on DEI public policy considerations as well as metrics for gauging the scope of offerings available to women …

The Influence Of A Company's Inherent Values On Its Sustainability: Case Study Of Portuguese Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Charlie Lynch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

SMEs are a significant portion of global corporations and, while individually might not compare to larger corporations in total emissions, holistically have significant impact. Therefore, understanding how a company's inherent values influence its ability to be sustainable is necessary to help inform the field. Thus, the project was focused on the influence of social, environmental, and economic values on the sustainability of a company. The study compared founder and company profiles generated from an interview with the founder and triangulated through secondary sources. The study found that the inherent values of Veganism, Ethical Drive, and Ecological Consciousness influenced mainly the …

Doing Well By Doing Good: Analyzing The Dynamics And Effectiveness Of Corporate Engagement, Gillian Meyers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sustainable investing and corporate climate action have grown exponentially in the last decade, generating a simultaneous need for customers, investors, and policymakers to determine when companies are genuinely achieving positive impact related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors. As a result, investors are increasingly employing ESG engagement, which typically takes the form of direct communication with holdings to determine and positively shape their impacts on their stakeholders. In this paper, I explore the reasoning for conducting ESG engagement and refute arguments against it. I fill an existing research gap by analyzing the benefits of ESG engagement to both …

Ethical Branding In A Divided World: How Political Orientation Motivates Reactions To Marketplace Transgressions, Thomas Allard, Brent Mcferran

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In today's marketplace, users (e.g., purchasers, influencers) are increasingly the “face” of brands to potential consumers, increasing the risk for brands should these users act poorly. Across seven studies, we document that political orientation moderates the desire for punishment toward users of ethical (vs. conventional) brands who commit moral transgressions. In response to identical marketplace transgressions, we observe that liberals punish ethical brand users less than conventional brand users. In contrast, conservatives punish the same users of ethical brands more than conventional brand users. We document that this bias stems from how people interpret the inconsistency between the ethical branding …

The Implications Of Fraud On Non-Shareholder Stakeholders, Chasen P. Spicer

Senior Theses

Popular news outlets such as The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal frequently release articles detailing the financial losses incurred by shareholders of a company that have recently been publicly exposed for their fraudulent activities (Shumsky, 2018; Whitmire, 2005). Given that shareholders are visibly impacted by fraud, it is also reasonable to believe that other stakeholders experience repercussions from the fraudulent activities carried out by the company (Velikonja, 2013). To provide more insight into the implications of fraud incurred by non-shareholder stakeholders, I conduct a case study analysis of HealthSouth’s various fraudulent activities between the years of 1997 …