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Case study
Publication date: 24 April 2024

Jared D. Harris, Samuel L. Slover, Bradley R. Agle, George W. Romney, Jenny Mead and Jimmy Scoville

In early 2014, recent Stanford University graduate Tyler Shultz was in a quandary. He had been working at Theranos, a blood-diagnostic company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a…

Abstract

In early 2014, recent Stanford University graduate Tyler Shultz was in a quandary. He had been working at Theranos, a blood-diagnostic company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford-dropout wunderkind, for almost a year. Shultz had learned enough about the company to realize that its practices and the efficacy of its much-touted finger-prick blood-testing technology were questionable and that the company was going to great lengths to hide this fact from the public and from regulators.

Theranos and Holmes were Silicon Valley darlings, enjoying positive press and lavish attention from potential investors and technology titans alike. Just as companies like PayPal had revolutionized the stagnant payments industry and Uber had upended the for-hire transportation sector, Theranos had been positioned as the latest technology firm to substantially disrupt yet another mature sector: the medical laboratory business. By the start of 2014, the company had raised more than $400 million in funding, and had an estimated market valuation of $9 billion.

Shultz's situation was exacerbated by the fact that his grandfather, the highly respected former US Secretary of State George Shultz, was on the Theranos board and was one of Elizabeth Holmes's biggest supporters.

But Tyler Shultz worried about the customers he was convinced were receiving highly unreliable and often inaccurate blood-test results. With so much at stake, Shultz wondered how he should proceed. Should he raise his concerns with the firm's investors? Blow the whistle externally? Report to industry regulators? Go away quietly?

This case and its subsequent four brief follow-up cases are based largely on interviews with Tyler Shultz, and outline the dilemma he faced and the various steps he would take both to extricate himself from his unsavory position and let the public know the full extent of the deception at Theranos.

Five optional handouts are available to instructors to further discussion after the case has been debriefed. The handouts serve as additional decision points for the students if your class time permits.

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2024

Cesar Omar Balderrama-Armendariz, Sergio Esteban Arbelaez-Rios, Santos-Adriana Martel-Estrada, Aide Aracely Maldonado-Macias, Eric MacDonald and Julian I. Aguilar-Duque

This study aims to propose the reuse of PA12 (powder) in another AM process, binder jettiinng, which is less sensitive to the chemical and mechanical degradation of the powder…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose the reuse of PA12 (powder) in another AM process, binder jettiinng, which is less sensitive to the chemical and mechanical degradation of the powder after multiple cycles in the laser system.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental process for evaluating the reuse of SLS powders in a subsequent binder jetting process consists of four phases: powder characterization, bonding analysis, mixture testing and mixture characteristics. Analyses were carried out using techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and stress–strain tests for tension and compression. The surface roughness, color, hardness and density of the new mixture were also determined to find physical characteristics. A Taguchi design L8 was used to search for a mixture with the best mechanical strength.

Findings

The results indicated that the integration of waste powder PA12 with calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH) generates appropriate particle distribution with rounded particles of PA12 that improve powder flowability. The micropores observed with less than 60 µm, facilitated binder and infiltrant penetration on 3D parts. The 60/40 (CSH-PA12) mixture with epoxy resin postprocessing was found to be the best-bonded mixture in mechanical testing, rugosity and hardness results. The new CSH-PA12 mixture resulted lighter and stronger than the CSH powder commonly used in binder jetting technology.

Originality/value

This study adds value to the polymer powder bed fusion process by using its waste in a circular process. The novel reuse of PA12 waste in an established process was achieved in an accessible and economical manner.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2024

Adedeji David Ajadi

This paper evaluates the risk-adjusted returns, selectivity, market timing skills and persistence of the performance of Nigerian pension funds.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper evaluates the risk-adjusted returns, selectivity, market timing skills and persistence of the performance of Nigerian pension funds.

Design/methodology/approach

Annual return data of 23 pension funds that operated in Nigeria between 2018 and 2022 were obtained from the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Risk-adjusted return was appraised using the Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio and Jensen alpha, while the Treynor–Mazuy and Henriksson–Merton multiple regression models were applied to decompose selective and timing skills. Performance persistence was assessed using the contingency table and rank correlation models.

Findings

Evidence shows that pension funds deliver excess risk-adjusted returns and exhibit selective skills. However, the evidence does not support the presence of timing skills, and there is overwhelming evidence that good (bad) performance does not repeat.

Practical implications

An evaluation of the investment performance of pension funds is crucial for ensuring the financial stability of retirees, maintaining economic stability and making informed investment decisions. It serves the interests of pensioners, pension fund managers, regulators and the broader economy. Our evidence that pension funds generate positive excess returns is a departure from most of the literature on managed funds. We recommend that more Nigerians should leverage the pension fund industry to grow their wealth and prepare for retirement.

Originality/value

This study, to our knowledge, is the first to appraise all the key facets of the investment performance of pension funds in the Nigerian context.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2023

Abraham Ato Ahinful, Abigail Opoku Mensah, Samuel Koomson, Felix Kwame Nyarko and Edmund Nkrumah

The “United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal” 9 seeks to “… foster innovation” in all sectors of an economy. Thus, this conceptual piece addresses the indirect effect of…

Abstract

Purpose

The “United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal” 9 seeks to “… foster innovation” in all sectors of an economy. Thus, this conceptual piece addresses the indirect effect of innovative behaviour (INB) between total quality management (TQM) and innovation performance (INP). It further explores the context-contingent effect of four external factors [government regulation (GOV), market dynamism (MKD), competitive intensity (CMP) and technological turbulence (TUR)] on the TQM–INB linkage.

Design/methodology/approach

By incorporating both theoretical and empirical works in the fields of strategic management, innovation and business performance, this conceptual piece constructs a conceptual model, using a systematic literature review, alongside suppositions that can be tested in further studies.

Findings

This conceptual piece puts forward that TQM will be favourably connected to INP, and this favourable association will be mediated by INB. Moreover, GOV, MKD, CMP and TUR will have a favourable context-contingent effect on the favourable direct connection between TQM and INB.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual piece affords suggestions for both practitioners and researchers alike in the areas of innovative and strategic decision-making in banking establishments for reinforcing INP by introducing TQM, INB, GOV, MKD, CMP and TUR as innovative-strategic tools. It also delivers suggestions for forthcoming academics to examine this conceptual piece, empirically, in diverse banking sites worldwide.

Practical implications

Practical lessons for managers, employees, customers and consultants within the banking sector for the superior advantage of all key stakeholders are deliberated.

Originality/value

This study provides a new model to demonstrate how TQM leads to INP by passing through INB of employees, and how TQM fosters INB under diverse degrees of GOV, MKD, CMP and TUR. It shows how internal factors (7 TQM dimensions) and external factors (GOV, MKD, CMP and TUR) interact to foster employee INB. It also underscores the theoretical authority of three theories utilised, both individually and in combination, by using them to explain new relationships.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2024

Ricky Y.K. Chan, Jianfu Shen, Louis T.W. Cheng and Jennifer W.M. Lai

This study aims at proposing and testing a model delineating how and when the quality of a special B2B professional service, investment relations (IR), would drive corporate…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at proposing and testing a model delineating how and when the quality of a special B2B professional service, investment relations (IR), would drive corporate intangible value.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a proprietary dataset on voting records of an annual investment relations (IR) awards event and the corresponding company-level archival data for analysis. Regression analysis is used to test hypotheses.

Findings

IR service quality not only directly enhances corporate intangible value, but also indirectly boosts it via information transparency. While competitive intensity does not moderate the relationship between IR service quality and corporate intangible value, its moderating effect on the relationship between information transparency and this value is negative.

Research limitations/implications

The findings advance academic understanding of the mechanism and boundary conditions underlying the complex and dynamic relationships among IR service quality, information transparency, corporate intangible value and competitive intensity. Future research endeavors to verify the present findings in other service and/or geographic settings would help establish their external validity.

Practical implications

The findings advise companies to expand the traditional role of IR by taking it as a powerful communication and relationship marketing tool to improve their visibility and attract investors.

Social implications

The findings suggest that superior IR service would strengthen the company’s social bonding with institutional investors and effectively signal to them its commitment to good corporate governance practices.

Originality/value

Matching a proprietary dataset on IR voting records with the corresponding company-level archival data over a five-year period to investigate the performance implications of IR service quality within the Hong Kong context rectifies methodological limitation and geographic confinement of prior IR research.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2022

Md Asadul Islam, Dieu Hack-Polay, Mahfuzur Rahman, Mosharrof Hosen, Abigail Hunt and Sujana Shafique

This study examines the relationship between HR practices and millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh. It investigates the moderating role of the work…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between HR practices and millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh. It investigates the moderating role of the work environment in the relationship between HR practices and employee retention in the industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers used non-probability judgemental sampling to collect 384 questionnaires through a survey of millennial employees. Partial least square-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.

Findings

The results reveal that HR practices included in this paper have significant relationships with millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh, except employee participation in decision-making. In addition, the results show that the work environment only moderates the relationship between two HR practices (compensation, training and development) and millennial employee retention.

Practical implications

The results suggest that managers in tourism organisations must develop HR practices and foster a positive work environment to retain millennials.

Originality/value

This is the only study that examines the moderating role of the work environment on the relationship between five selected HR practices (training and development, job security, performance appraisal, employee participation, compensation) and millennial employee retention. Previous studies used fewer HR variables.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Valerie Nesset, Elisabeth C. Davis, Nicholas Vanderschantz and Owen Stewart-Robertson

Responding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It…

Abstract

Purpose

Responding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It is asserted that APRD can mitigate or remove the hierarchical structures often inherent in the research process, thus allowing for equal contribution from all.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the bonded design (BD) methodology and informed by a scoping literature review conducted by the same authors, APRD is a human-centered research approach with the goal of empowering and valuing community partnerships. APRD originates from research investigating the use of participatory design methods to foster collaboration between two potentially disparate groups, firstly with adult researchers/designers and elementary school children, and secondly with university faculty and IT professionals.

Findings

To achieve this goal, in addition to BD techniques, APRD draws inspiration from elements of indigenous and decolonization research methodologies, particularly those with an emphasis on destabilizing power hierarchies and involving research participants as full partners.

Originality/value

APRD, which emerged from findings from previous participatory design studies, especially those of BD, is based on the premise of partnership, recognizing that each member of a design team, whether researcher or participant/user, has unique expertise to contribute. By considering participants/users as full research partners, APRD aims to flatten the hierarchies exhibited in some LIS participatory research methodologies, where participants are treated more like research subjects than partners.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2023

Fatma Hachicha

The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to develop a new measure of investor sentiment rational (ISR) of developing countries by applying principal component analysis (PCA), (2…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to develop a new measure of investor sentiment rational (ISR) of developing countries by applying principal component analysis (PCA), (2) to investigate co-movements between the ten developing stock markets, the sentiment investor's, exchange rates and geopolitical risk (GPR) during Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, (3) to explore the key factors that might affect exchange market and capital market before and mainly during Russia–Ukraine war period.

Design/methodology/approach

The wavelet approach and the multivariate wavelet coherence (MWC) are applied to detect the co-movements on daily data from August 2019 to December 2022. Value-at-risk (VaR) and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) are used to assess the systemic risks of exchange rate market and stock market return in the developing market.

Findings

Results of this study reveal (1) strong interdependence between GPR, investor sentiment rational (ISR), stock market index and exchange rate in short- and long-terms in most countries, as inferred from (WTC) analysis. (2) There is evidence of strong short-term co-movements between ISR and exchange rates, with ISR leading. (3) Multivariate coherency shows strong contributions of ISR and GPR index to stock market index and exchange rate returns. The findings signal the attractiveness of the Vietnamese dong, Malaysian ringgits and Tunisian dinar as a hedge for currency portfolios against GPR. The authors detect a positive connectedness in the short term between all pairs of the variables analyzed in most countries. (4) Both foreign exchange and equity markets are exposed to higher levels of systemic risk in the period of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Originality/value

This study provides information that supports investors, regulators and executive managers in developing countries. The impact of sentiment investor with GPR intensified the co-movements of stocks market and exchange market during 2021–2022, which overlaps with period of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 24 April 2024

Aaron Fernstrom, Mary Margaret Frank, Samuel A. Lewis, Pedro Matos and John G. Macfarlane

The case examines the development and launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on JUST Capital's socially responsible corporate ranking methodologies. The case provides a…

Abstract

The case examines the development and launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on JUST Capital's socially responsible corporate ranking methodologies. The case provides a market overview of Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and socially responsible investing (SRI), what has driven growth in those areas worldwide, and several best-practice investment approaches. Following the overview, the case describes the founding and development of JUST Capital, explores JUST Capital's ranking methodologies, and presents the decision point faced by the CEO: requisite selection of one of three strategies in order for JUST Capital to generate “self-sustaining” revenue.

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2024

Caitlin Brandenburg, Paulina Stehlik, Christy Noble, Rachel Wenke, Kristen Jones, Laetitia Hattingh, Kelly Dungey, Grace Branjerdporn, Ciara Spillane, Sharmin Kalantari, Shane George, Gerben Keijzers and Sharon Mickan

Clinician engagement in research has positive impacts for healthcare, but is often difficult for healthcare organisations to support in light of limited resources. This scoping…

Abstract

Purpose

Clinician engagement in research has positive impacts for healthcare, but is often difficult for healthcare organisations to support in light of limited resources. This scoping review aimed to describe the literature on health service-administered strategies for increasing research engagement by medical practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

Medline, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched from 2000 to 2021 and two independent reviewers screened each record for inclusion. Inclusion criteria were that studies sampled medically qualified clinicians; reported empirical data; investigated effectiveness of an intervention in improving research engagement and addressed interventions implemented by an individual health service/hospital.

Findings

Of the 11,084 unique records, 257 studies were included. Most (78.2%) studies were conducted in the USA, and were targeted at residents (63.0%). Outcomes were measured in a variety of ways, most commonly publication-related outcomes (77.4%), though many studies used more than one outcome measure (70.4%). Pre-post (38.8%) and post-only (28.7%) study designs were the most common, while those using a contemporaneous control group were uncommon (11.5%). The most commonly reported interventions included Resident Research Programs (RRPs), protected time, mentorship and education programs. Many articles did not report key information needed for data extraction (e.g. sample size).

Originality/value

This scoping review demonstrated that, despite a large volume of research, issues like poor reporting, infrequent use of robust study designs and heterogeneous outcome measures limited application. The most compelling available evidence pointed to RRPs, protected time and mentorship as effective interventions. Further high-quality evidence is needed to guide healthcare organisations on increasing medical research engagement.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

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