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This case requires students to evaluate alternative dual-share-class corporate structures that allow companies and entrepreneurs to pursue profit with purpose. The case explores Impact Makers, an IT consulting company based in Richmond, Virginia. While original founders of the firm hold all voting rights, the cash flow rights belong to two nonprofits setting the stage for a Newman's Own model of management consulting. The case discusses whether and how the alternative corporate structure aids the firm's overall strategy to attract top-quality employees, pay them competitive salaries, and provide superior service to its clients while donating 100% of its lifetime value to charitable causes, largely through partnerships with various nonprofit organizations. More importantly, the case asks students to evaluate how such a dual-share-class and dual-purpose company can raise capital to fund continued growth.

The case opens with CEO Michael Pirron reminding himself of all the questions he had run through to execute a strategy to further grow Impact Makers' consulting business both through expanding a menu of services and through conquering new geographical markets. To do either, or both, the company needed a cash infusion. Internal cash was limited, as up to 40% of it flowed to charitable partners, demonstrating Impact Makers' commitment to its mission. Raising debt for a company without fixed assets was challenging and time consuming. Complicating it all was that being structured as a nonstock corporation rendered equity raising difficult. Could Impact Makers raise money to grow and stay true to community values at the same time?

The present study assesses the impact resistance of the shear thickening fluids-filled (STFs-filled) foam through drop-hammer impact tests.

The maximum residual impact load and specific impact energy absorption rate of STF-filled foam are studied with varying thickness (4–14 mm), densities (0.35–0.6 g/cm3) and hardness (40–50 Rockwell Hardness C Scale (HRC)) under different ambient temperatures (−20−20 °C) and impact energies (25–75 J).

The following conclusions are obtained from this study: (1) the higher the impact energy, the greater the maximum residual impact force and energy absorption efficiency of the material; (2) the impact resistance of STF-filled foam can be improved with the decrease of ambient temperature, achieving the highest energy absorption rate at −10?. (3) STF-filled foam substrate has the highest impact resistance, the lowest maximum residual impact force and the highest energy absorption coefficient when the density is 0.35  g/cm3, the hardness is 45HC and the thickness is 10 mm.

This is the first paper to analyze the impact of both environmental factors and material properties on the impact resistance of STF-filled foam. The results show that the decrease in temperature and the increase in hardness can enhance the impact resistance of STF-filled foam.

In Denmark, there has been, over decades, an intensified political focus on how humanities research and doctoral education contribute to society. In this vein, the notion of impact has become a central part of the academic language, often associated with terms like use, effects and outputs, stemming from neoliberal ideologies. The purpose of this paper is to explore how humanities academics are living with the impact agenda, as both experienced researchers and as doctoral supervisors educating the next generation of researchers in this post-pandemic era. Specifically, the authors are interested in the supervisor-researcher relationship, that is, the relationship between how the supervisors navigate the impact agenda as researchers and then the way they tell their doctoral students to do likewise.

The authors have studied how the impact agenda is accommodated by humanities academics through a series of qualitative interviews with humanities researchers and humanities PhD supervisors, encompassing questions of how they are living with the expectation of impact and how it is embedded in their university and departmental context.

The study shows that there is no link between how the supervisors navigate the impact agenda in relation to their own research work and then the way they tell their doctoral students to approach it. Within the space of their own research, the supervisors engage in resistance practices towards the impact agenda in terms of minimal compliance, rejection or resignation, whereas in the space of supervision, the impact agenda is re-inscribed to embody other understandings. The supervisors want to protect their students from this agenda, especially in the knowledge that many of them are not going to stay in academia due to limited researcher career possibilities. Furthermore, the paper reveals a new understanding of the impact agenda as having a relational quality, and in two ways. One is through a positional struggle, the reshaping of power relations, between universities (or academics) and society (or the state and the market); the other is as a phenomenon very much lived among academics themselves, including between supervisors and their doctoral students within the institutional context.

This study opens up the impact agenda, showing what it means to be a humanities academic living with the effects of the impact agenda and trying to navigate this. The study is mapping and tracking out the many different meanings and variations of impact in all its volatility for academics concerned about it. In current, post-pandemic times, when manifold expectations are directed towards research and doctoral education, it is important to know more about how these expectations affect and are dealt with by those who are expected to commit to them.

As after-hours technology-mediated work (ATW) becomes common in organizations, the increased workload and interference to life caused by ATW has induced employee turnover. This research develops a mediated moderation model to explain how employees' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for ATW affect their turnover intention through work–life conflict.

A survey was conducted to collect data of 484 employees from Chinese companies. Partial Least Square was used to perform data analysis.

The results show that intrinsic motivation for ATW has an indirect negative impact on turnover intention via work–life conflict, whereas extrinsic motivation for ATW has both a positive direct impact and a positive indirect impact (via work–life conflict) on turnover intention. This study also helps find that time spent on ATW can strengthen the positive impact of extrinsic motivation for ATW on turnover intention but has no moderation effect on the impact of intrinsic motivation for ATW. Furthermore, this study reveals that the interaction effect of time spent on ATW and extrinsic motivation on turnover intention is mediated by employees' perceived work–life conflict.

By discovering the distinct impact of employees' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for ATW on turnover intention, this research provides a contingent view regarding the impact of ATW and offers guidance to managers regarding how to mitigate ATW-induced turnover intention through fostering different motivations.

Given the relevance of female directors in the governance of any firm, this paper aims to examine their effect on firms’ financial performance by investigating their general impact and segregating the same into different subgroups based on Kanter’s theory.

To achieve the purpose, this study selects a sample of the top 100 listed Indian firms for the period of 2014–2018 and gathers the data pertaining to the variables under consideration from the respective firms’ annual report and corporate database Capitaline Plus. For undertaking the investigation, the authors have segregated the sample into three groups, i.e. firms with boards having less than 10% of female directors are called skewed boards; firms with boards having female directors that range from 10% to 20% are called as tilted board; and firms with boards having sizable representation of female directors of above 20%. To examine the performance impact of overall female directors and their different subgroups, the authors have used a generalized estimating equation model. For the robustness test, the authors have used the fixed-effect model.

The authors find a significant positive impact of the overall percentage of female directors on the financial performance of firms. Additionally, the results indicate that boards with a titled group of female directors and boards with a sizable representation of female directors significantly positively impact firms’ performance. However, the authors fail to extricate any significant performance impact of boards with a skewed group of female directors.

First, the study reveals that despite prevailing nepotism in India, female directors, owing to their core characteristics, can create a favorable perception of firms in the market. Second, it also works as an eye-opener for regulators by revealing the minimum threshold for female directors that a board should have to exploit the benefits of a gender quota rather than mere compliance with the requirements of the Companies Act, 2013. Third, it implies that more gender-diverse boards can improve a firm’s financial performance only if female directors range between the thresholds of 10% to 20%. Finally, the finding is significant for changing the business culture in India, where institutions are traditionally less supportive of women than in other emerging countries.

Departing from existing studies, which provide evidence on the performance impact of the overall percentage of female directors, the study unveils the differential impact of female directors on firms’ financial performance depending on their level of representation on the board. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the context of an emerging market to test Kanter’s theory.

This study aims to study the impact of corporate governance (CG) versus ethical investment on the firm performance. It takes into account the firms of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan for the purpose of the study. A composite variable of CG index and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) index is used to test the impact on the firm performance. Separate country wise and overall analysis is obtained. Regression analysis is used to obtain the results. Two measures of performance are used, one is return on assets (ROA) and other is Tobin Q. The findings of the study reveal that there is an impact of corporate governance index (CGI) on firm performance (overall and country wise) whereas ethical investment (EI) has an impact on firm performance when tested overall and no impact when checked for country wise results. The results further show that on country level, increase in CG measures may lead to positive results, but at the macro level, it may lower the performance. On the other hand, at the micro level, ethical finance may not show its impact; however, at the macro level, it has an impact. The study has implications for the investors and policymakers.

COVID-19 has affected the economies adversely from all sides. The sudden halt in production has impacted both the supply and demand sides. It calls for analysis to quantify the impact of the reduction in economic activity on the economy-wide variables so that appropriate steps can be taken. This study aims to evaluate the sensitivity of various sectors of the Indian economy to this dual shock.

The eight-sector open economy general equilibrium Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model has been simulated to evaluate the sector-specific effects of a fall in economic activity due to COVID-19. This model uses an economy-wide accounting framework to quantify the impact of a shock on the given equilibrium economy and report the post-simulation new equilibrium values.

The empirical results state that welfare for the Indian economy falls to the tune of 7.70% due to output shock. Because of demand–supply linkages, it also impacts the inter- and intra-industry flows, demand for factors of production and imports. There is a momentous fall in the demand for factor endowments from all sectors. Among those, the trade-hotel-transport and manufacturing sectors are in the first two positions from the top. The study recommends an immediate revival of the manufacturing and trade-hotel-transport sectors to get the Indian economy back on track.

The present study has modified the existing GTAP model accounting framework through unemployment and output closures to account for the impact of change in sectoral output due to COVID-19 on the level of employment and other macroeconomic variables.

This paper discusses the effectiveness of a consortium-based student mobility programme by investigating the impact of the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme. AIMS is a regional multilateral large-scale student mobility programme based on a consortium of 10 member countries and 87 member universities with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) as a facilitator. Over 6,000 students have participated in a semester-long intra-regional student exchange under AIMS since 2010.

The study employed questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews to investigate the impact of AIMS and its advantages as a consortium-based student mobility programme.

It was found that AIMS significantly impacted member universities by accelerating their internationalisation processes through increasing the number of inbound and outbound students and courses offered in English and so on. AIMS has promoted harmonisation among the members by developing common procedures and guidelines, providing platforms for mutual sharing of experiences and good practices and capacity building of international relations offices. AIMS has also had a significant impact on students by enhancing their regional identity and knowledge about the region of Asia, contributing to their development as future regional and global citizens. As advantages of AIMS, member universities efficiently built a foundation for international collaboration with common procedures and guidelines and shared their experiences through such venues as Annual Review Meetings. Students also feel supported by having clear guidance and find programmes prepared by host universities and SEAMEO RIHED useful.

This study is unique in that it empirically studies the impact of one of Asia’s largest student mobility programmes for the first time by analysing large-scale qualitative and quantitative data.

This study aims to investigate the influence of digital transformation on the overall financial performance of firms, with a specific focus on Chinese-listed companies from 2010 to 2021. It seeks to understand the impacts on various accounting and financial indicators in emerging economies such as China.

This study employs a text-mining approach to construct a digital transformation index based on the data sample of 11,814 firm-year observations from China’s A-share listed companies. This index serves as a proxy to measure the extent of digital transformation and its impact on financial performance and health.

The findings indicate that digital transformation significantly enhances overall financial performance and health, as evidenced by increased profitability, reduced operational costs, and lowered financial risks. The study reveals a time-lagged effect, where the benefits of digital transformation become more apparent after about one year. Further analysis shows that the value of digital transformation is more evident in a firm’s asset items. This raises the possibility of recognising the by-product, such as data resources, in the digital transformation process.

This research offers a unique contribution by linking digital transformation to financial performance using a large dataset from China's A-share listed firms. Doing so enhances our understanding of the tangible effects of digital transformation on corporate performance. Furthermore, this research provides valuable insights for the advancement of future accounting practices and the development of standards.

Considering rapid digitalization development, this study examines the impacts of digital technology innovation on social responsibility in platform enterprises.

The study applies the event study method and cross-sectional regression analysis, taking 168 digital technology innovations for social responsibility issued by 88 listed platform enterprises from 2011 to 2022 to study the impact of digital technology innovations for social responsibility announcements of different announcement content and platform attributes on the stock market value of platform enterprises.

The results show that, first, the positive stock market reaction is produced on the same day as the digital technology innovation announcement. Second, the announcement of the platform’s public social responsibility and the announcement of co-innovation and radical innovation bring more positive stock market reactions. In addition, the announcements mentioned above issued by trading platforms bring more positive stock market reactions. Finally, the social responsibility attribution characteristics of the announcement did not have a significant differentiated impact on the stock market reaction.

Most scholars have studied digital technology innovation for social responsibility through modeling rather than second-hand data to empirically examine. This study uses second-hand data with the instrumental stakeholder theory to provide a new research perspective on platform social responsibility. In addition, in order to explore the different impacts of digital technology innovation on social responsibility, this study has classified digital technology innovation for social responsibility according to its social responsibility and digital technology innovation characteristics.