Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Role Of Ethical Leadership In Creating Meaningful Work Through Corporate Social Responsibility In Bhutan: A Conditional Mediation Model, Deki Choden, Mehran Nejati, Azadeh Shafaei, Ben Farr-Wharton, José L. Roldán

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This research investigated how ethical leaders drive employees to experience meaningfulness at work by influencing employees' perception of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It also examined if employees' skepticism towards CSR moderates these relationships. Conducted in Bhutan, where CSR is legally required but emerging, the study surveyed 797 employees from 15 companies using partial least squares path modeling. Findings confirmed that the perceived CSR mediates the positive link between ethical leadership and meaningfulness at work. Meanwhile, employees' skepticism towards CSR weakens both the positive impact of CSR perception on meaningfulness at work as well as the mediated path. The study highlights …

Assessing Environmental Performance Through Environmental Management Initiatives, Green Extrinsic And Intrinsic Motivation, And Resource Commitment In Malaysian Hotels, Ataul K. Patwary, S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh, Roslizawati C. Aziz, Muhammad U. Ashraf, Md Mahmudul Alam, Shafique U. Rehman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The level of dedication that an organization has toward the preservation of the natural environment is reflected in its environmental performance. This study evaluates the role of green extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and resource commitment on Malaysian hotel employees’ environmental performance. It also examines the mediating roles of green extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and resource commitment in the relationship between green management initiatives and hotel environmental performance. Data was collected from the Four- and five-star hotel employees and tested the models and hypotheses of this study by employing partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Green extrinsic and intrinsic motivation significantly influence …

Co-Opted Directors And Corporate Climate Risk Disclosure, Rashid Zaman, Ummara Fatima, Muhammad Bilal Farooq, Soheil Kazemian

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether and how the presence of co-opted directors (directors appointed after the incumbent CEO) influences corporate climate risk disclosure. Design/methodology/approach: This study comprehensively analyses 2,975 firm-year observations of US-listed companies, using ordinary least squares with industry and year-fixed effects. To confirm the reliability of the study results, the authors used several techniques, including propensity score matching, to address potential issues with functional form misspecification, analysed a subset of companies where co-option persisted over two consecutive years to mitigate concerns regarding reverse causality and difference-in-differences estimation, using the cheif executive officer’s (CEO’s) sudden death as …

A Democratic Participation Model For Corporate Governance, Grant M. Hayden, Matthew T. Bodie

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Corporate law is in the grip of a fundamental conundrum: whether corporations should seek only to serve shareholders or instead attend to the interests of all stakeholders. The doctrine of shareholder primacy, which focuses the corporation’s attention on the goal of maximizing shareholder wealth, has been startingly successful, capturing the theory and practice of corporate governance for roughly fifty years. But recently the costs of this monomaniacal focus on the financial interests of one set of corporate participants have become clearer. At a time when the original reasons for restricting the corporate franchise to shareholders have been shown to rest …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

The Financialization Of The American Dream: Private Equity’S Rise In The Single-Family Rental Market, Colby Sherwin

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis examines how private equity firms and other institutional investors are reshaping the single-family rental market in the United States, and what that shift means for homeownership, affordability, and community stability. What began as a short-term strategy to acquire foreclosed homes after the 2008 financial crisis has evolved into a long-term business model, with firms now owning hundreds of thousands of properties across the country. Leveraging their financial scale, these investors often outbid individual buyers, particularly in fast-growing cities. While proponents argue that institutional ownership brings professionalism and much-needed supply to tight housing markets, data shows that it has …

Criminal Investors, Andrew K. Jennings

Faculty Articles

This Article reassesses the culpability of those who invest in law-breaking firms. Prosecutors currently treat investors as victims of corporate wrongdoing rather than as actors who might bear responsibility for it. This Article observes, though, that investment can facilitate, and even cause, illicit corporate activity. When investors intentionally contribute to those effects, substantive criminal law imposes liability on them just the same as it does on accomplices, conspirators, or principals in other contexts. Despite this formal parity, however, investor criminal liability is more a theoretical proposition than a practical reality.

This Article questions that status quo by asking whether and …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Faculty Articles

In her important book, Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein illustrates the value of a comparative approach, drawing lessons from fights around the regulation of tobacco and ultra-processed food for the regulation of social media. Building on Bernstein’s work, this symposium contribution aims to draw additional insight from experience with drug and gambling regulation for the regulation of social media, video games, AI, and other potentially-addictive technologies.

Specifically, after introducing Bernstein’s book and the foundation it lays, we draw six lessons from the study of psychoactive drugs and gambling. As we elaborate below: Lesson one is that …

Beyond Jarkesy: Rethinking The Role Of Administrative Law Judges In Sec Administrative Proceedings, Mark T. Uyeda, Jaime Marinaro

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

The Federal Reserve’S Fight Against Covid-19: A Study Of The Corporate Bond Intervention, Noah Seilgson

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve (Fed) embarked on an unprecedented mission to stabilize the U.S. economy as businesses shut down. One emergency Fed facility, the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), was used to purchase corporate bonds and corporate bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the secondary market. This extraordinary measure, which injected liquidity into the corporate bond market, aimed to mitigate economic fallout for large companies. Purchasing corporate bonds marked a departure from previous Federal Reserve interventions, but the statutory authority was the same as had been used in past crises: Section 13(3) of the Federal …

Company Districts, C.J. Suglia

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Special districts that are owned or controlled by private entities and act almost uniformly like a company town can be dubbed a “company district.” These special districts, similar to historical company towns, have autonomy over the districts, control the local government, and only have to answer to the state government. Historical company towns like Pullman, Illinois and Hershey, Pennsylvania had almost canonical command over the land within their boundaries. Company districts operate their business similar to a company town—in a city that the private entity controls, but do not have employees living on-site. Company districts benefit by being immune to …

Alternatives To Delaware? Evaluating Corporate Law In Nevada, Texas, And Wyoming, Joseph Landau, Bailey Swartz, Anthony Rickey, Robert Ragazzo, Benjamin Edwards, George A. Mocsary

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Business Ethics: What Everyone Should Know, W. Michael Hoffman Center For Business Ethics

Ethics Publication

One of the most valuable things that the Hoffman Center brings to the Bentley community is the wisdom of its Business Advisory Board. Most members are current or former ethics and compliance officers with years of experience. In the hope of better preparing Bentley students for the workplace, the Center recently asked the group for clear, direct, practical, and specific answers to the question, “What has your experience told you about what students should learn about ethics before they start their first job? Here’s a compilation and summary of what we received.

Scienter Potentia Est: The Case For The Presumption Of Use Standard In Insider Trading, Audrey Nelson

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Is it possible to accidentally insider trade? The Supreme Court has held that scienter is a necessary element of all § 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 actions, but the federal appeals courts are split on how the scienter requirement applies to insider trading cases. In a non-insider- trading § 10(b) case, the Supreme Court stated that § 10(b) scienter requires intentional misconduct. Although the Supreme Court has not heard a case specifically about the scienter element in the context of insider trading, those who support a use requirement claim that the § 10(b) scienter element requires the plaintiff to show that …

Amending Regulation D'S Accredited-Investor Definition To Allow Natural Persons To Opt Out Of Unwanted Regulatory Protections, John L. Orcutt

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Color And Cultural Functionality, Felicia Caponigri

American University Law Review

Can a brand own a color? Trademark says yes, with some caveats. A brand can own a color so long as the color points to the brand as the origin of the goods and is non-functional. One of these caveats, functionality, is increasingly relevant because of color's value for our pop culture. Color is a common cultural resource, and whether it is a pink Barbiecore summer or a BRAT green summer, the colors brands remix to communicate the origins of their goods become a part of consumers' expressions of identity and their links to communities and help embody consumer values. …

Is Corporate Social Responsibility A Must Or A Plus? The Role Of National Culture, Liu Wang, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

This study examines the role of national culture in shaping corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and how CSR is valued by investors. In a multilevel study of 4998 firms across 34 nations, we find that firms in performance-based culture (PBC) are more likely to engage in explicit CSR activities, but performance-driven investors view such an effort as a drag on shareholder returns in PBC-oriented societies, resulting in lower valuation. In contrast, firms in socially supportive culture (SSC) tend to invest less in explicit CSR activities, but such an investment is viewed favorably by social-minded investors in SSC-oriented societies, and thus …

Instruments Of Radio Frequency Resource Management, Stanisław Piątek

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyse changes in the set of instruments used to manage radio frequency resources by the telecommunications regulator and frequency users.

Methodology: The research methods used include literature studies, analysis of documentation and results of selection procedures, EU and national program documents on frequency management and reports of operator organisations, taking into account the practical effects of regulation.

Results: The results of the analysis indicate a permanent centralisation of instruments concerning decisions on frequency allocation, marketisation of frequency allocation processes, liberalisation of the conditions for their disposal and expansion of …

The Csr Authenticity Crossroads: A Comparative Analysis Of Greenwashing In The Cosmetics And Food Sectors, Magdalena Klimczuk-Kochańska

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

Purpose: The article aims to investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies, manifestations of greenwashing, and their underlying motivations in selected companies from the cosmetics and food sectors.

Methodology: The study employs a qualitative, comparative case study methodology. Six companies (L’Oréal, Natura & Co., Bielenda, Nestlé, Maspex, and Tony’s Chocolonely) were analysed based on publicly available secondary data, including corporate reports, NGO analyses, and media coverage.

Findings: The study identifies and defines two distinct sectoral logics: companies in the cosmetics sector follow a ‘brand-centric logic’, where greenwashing manifests as product-level marketing claims. In contrast, firms …

Women On Boards Annual Monitoring Report 2024, Center For Entrepreneurship And Innovation

Faculty Books

The AUC Egypt women on boards monitoring report is issued annually to track and monitor the presence and representation of women on boards towards meeting the goal of having 30% women on boards by 2030. The importance of improving representation of women on boards stems from the fact that it is one of the good governance pillars, in addition to the positive impact on firm performance and profitability. The National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 has accordingly promoted for increasing the leadership roles of women and holding key positions in public institutions and companies, setting the target …

The Effects Of Brand Activism On Brand Performance, Lin Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Brand activism—the explicit demonstration of a brand’s sociopolitical beliefs—has become increasingly prevalent and consequential. Concurrently, consumers now hold higher expectations for firms to engage in sociopolitical conversations, driven by the rise of belief-drive purchase in consumers’ decision-making and the growing ideological polarization worldwide. The interaction of brand activism and consumer behavior presents unique potential for brands to gain competitive advantages while contributing to social welfare. This dissertation comprises three essays that examine the effects of brand activism through multiple understudied yet compelling perspectives.

Essay One investigates how brand activism influences consumer-brand relationships through both transactional and relational lenses. This research …

An Analysis Of Coal Ash Pollution In The State Of Georgia, Mick W. Etchison

Theses and Dissertations

This social science paper will explore the factors contributing to the prevalence of coal ash in specific regions of Georgia and its impact on local ecosystems and human health. It provides an analysis of the current environmental and political issues surrounding the containment and spread of coal ash throughout the State. Coal ash is primarily found in the central, southwestern, and northeastern regions where coal-fired power plants and coal ash storage sites are located. The paper will then discuss the political, economic, and legal reasons behind the lack of effective regulation and mitigation of coal ash spread. Coal ash illustrates …

Harvest Gold Distillery, Alexis Mackey, Alexander Grecco, Cole Smith, Maggie Patterson, Blake Benko

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of our research project is to establish and grow Harvest Gold Distillery: a corn-based liquor distillery in Ohio that aims to produce and sell high-quality spirits while offering unique services that enhance outreach in the community. The motivation behind this business venture is rooted in one of our team member’s family traditions; Alex’s family makes homemade liquors, which has fostered an in-depth understanding of the distillation process. Alex’s firsthand experience with the craft provides a solid foundation, yet we recognize that starting a distillery involves significant challenges and requires thorough research in several functions of business. This project …

Immersive And Generative Technology: New Tools For Marketing, New Tools For Consumer Response, David W. Stewart, Gabrielle Pizzi, Shashi Matta, Federica Caboni

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Immersive technologies, including AR, VR, XR, and generative technologies such as Gen‐AI, are reinventing marketing practice and consumer experience. In this article we provide an introductory review of how these technologies are (re)shaping consumer behavior in domains where the physical and digital converge, and consumers' response to them. Our review finds that while immersive technologies enhance engagement through personalization and multisensory feedback, they also raise concerns about accessibility, authenticity, and digital fatigue. Similarly, Gen‐AI, which is transforming many facets of marketing, including customer service, product development, marketing communications, and consumer research, raises new questions related to attribution, co‐creation, authenticity, and …

Effects Of Household Characteristics On Low-Income Family Businesses: Evidence From India, Madhubalan Viswanathan, Saravana Jaikumar, Shantanu Dutta, Arun Sreekumar

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Purpose: What are the effects of household characteristics on returns for entrepreneurs in low-income settings? Referred to as subsistence consumer–merchants or consumer–entrepreneurs in the marketing literature and necessity entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurship literature, such entrepreneurs run family businesses to survive and make ends meet. This paper aims to investigate how various household-level factors (education), individual-level factors (education and gender) and the type of enterprise (retail vs manufacturing) impact returns from low-income family businesses compared to high-income family businesses. Design/methodology/approach: Using panel data from the India Human Development Surveys (IHDS), the study uses a fixed-effects regression approach to analyze household-level and …

Transit-Oriented Development On Aquidneck Island: Considering The Costs And Benefits Of Restoring Passenger Rail Between Fall River, Massachusetts, And Newport, Rhode Island, Maeve M. Newton

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This thesis considers the costs and benefits of restoring historic infrastructure as transit-oriented development on Aquidneck Island, and its potential to bridge social and economic gaps between the urban communities of Newport, Rhode Island, and Fall River, Massachusetts. There is a direct need for more robust public transportation on Aquidneck Island along with environmentally friendly planning initiatives, and reinstating the Newport Secondary Rail Line for passenger rail service to the new Fall River MBTA station is one important way for historic preservation to be utilized for the improvement of sustainability and socioeconomic equity in the region. Original research will be …

America’S Hidden Heroine: The Revolutionary Experience Of Deborah Sampson, Rebecca A. Dawson

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This thesis explores the life of Deborah Sampson, a female soldier in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the American Revolution. The author discusses how and why Sampson joined the military, the challenges she had to overcome, and her experience as the first American woman to lead a public lecture tour. Sampson continues to serve as an embodiment of resilience, courage, and the Spirit of ‘76.

“Tw-Ironic": The Ironic Consumption Of Media Examined Through Twilight, Sydney J. Rooney

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

“It’s so bad it’s good” is a phrase often uttered in order to justify watching, reading, or listening to a piece of media with a poor reputation. In the 20 years since the first novel’s debut, the Twilight saga has become renowned for its massive level of popularity and influence. However, it has also faced a great deal of backlash and criticism for a variety of reasons, which affected the nature of the fan base. Through analysis of short-form content, the ironic consumption of Twilight media is observed in contemporary times.

A New Frontier In Political Communications: Analyzing The Electoral Influence Of The 1960 Televised Presidential Debates, Leah Spengler

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Although Kennedy’s success in the 1960 election is often attributed to his performance in the first televised presidential debates, I contend that the party affiliation of voters and proposed policies by Kennedy, specifically those targeting civil rights, held more weight in securing his victory. The Kennedy image had been carefully curated for over a decade prior to the election, and Kennedy’s performance in the first televised debates reinforced the calm and collected impression he wanted to make to the American people. While his debate performance held significance as it was the first to be televised and led to a discrepancy …