The impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities on bank's sustainability: Evidence from Chinese commercial banks.

The economic and environmental consequences of bad banking practices have aroused much attention. In China, banks are at the center of shadow banking activities through which they avoid regulation and support environmentally unfriendly businesses such as fossil fuel companies and other high-pollution enterprises. In this paper, we study the impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities on its sustainability by using annual panel data of Chinese commercial banks. The result shows that bank's engagement in shadow banking activities has a negative impact on its sustainability and the negative impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities is more pronounced for city commercial banks and unlisted banks which are less regulated and lack corporate social responsibility (CSR). Furthermore, we explore the underlying mechanism of our findings and prove that bank's sustainability is impeded because it transforms high-risk loan into shadow banking activities which are less regulated. Finally, by using difference-in-difference (DiD) approach, we find that bank's sustainability improved after the financial regulation on shadow banking activities. Our research provides empirical evidence that the financial regulation on bad banking practices is beneficial for bank's sustainability.

United in Big Data? Exploring scholars' opinions on academic-industry partnership and the use of corporate data in digital behavioral research.

The growing amount of data produced through digital technologies holds great promise for advancing behavioral research. Scholars worldwide now have the chance to access an incredible amount of personal information, thanks to the digital trace users continuously leave behind them. Private corporations play a crucial role in this scenario as the leading collectors of data on users, thus creating new incentives for partnerships between academic institutions and private companies. Due to the concerns that academic-company partnerships might raise and the ethical issues connected with Big Data research, our study explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the academic use of corporate data. We conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with academic scholars (professors, senior researchers, and postdocs) involved in Big Data research in Switzerland and the United States. We also investigated their opinions on using corporate data for scholarly research. Researchers generally showed an interest in using corporate data; however, they coincidentally shared ethical reservations towards this practice, such as threats to research integrity and concerns about a lack of transparency of companies' practices. Furthermore, participants mentioned issues of scholarly access to corporate data that might both disadvantage the academic research community and create issues of scientific validity. Academic-company partnerships could be a positive development for the advancement of scholarly behavioral research. However, strategies should be implemented to appropriately guide collaborations and appropriate use of corporate data, like implementing updated protocols and tools to govern conflicts of interest and the institution of transparent regulatory bodies to ensure adequate oversight of academic-corporate research collaborations.

Diseño de un Programa Virtual en Archivística e Inteligencia de Negocios para la Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá-Colombia / Design of a Virtual Program in Archiving and Business Intelligence for Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, Colombia

Se presenta la propuesta de diseño de un Programa Virtual en Archivística e Inteligencia de Negocios para la Universidad de La Salle, de Bogotá-Colombia. Dicha propuesta se asume como un ejercicio curricular disruptivo, debido a que se pretende generar articulaciones entre los conocimientos y las prácticas típicamente archivísticas-informacionales-organizacionales con el conocimiento, métodos y técnicas de la inteligencia de negocios y, con ello, formar un profesional desde un enfoque que potencie el carácter estratégico de la toma de decisiones en todo tipo de instituciones, en conexión con las necesidades socio-productivas. La comparación de programas de pregrado, el análisis de tendencias conceptuales y metódicas de ambos campos, la caracterización de la demanda académico-profesional para la modalidad virtual y los criterios técnico-curriculares-normativos del Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia, así como los lineamientos de la Universidad de La Salle fueron los elementos sustantivos de la metodología. Los principales resultados se traducen en el perfil profesional por competencias, resultados de aprendizaje, plan de estudios y aspectos de la gestión curricular del programa que se propone. Como conclusión se enfatiza en lo disruptivo como el elemento transversal que debe guiar el diseño y planeación de programas académicos en Ciencias de la Información, los cuales deben ofrecer alternativas que estén en sintonía con las demandas sociales, configuradas a partir de las transformaciones producidas por las tecnologías digitales, en articulación con procesos analíticos de alto valor agregado en las organizaciones(AU)

A design proposal of Virtual Program in Archiving and Business Intelligence is presented for Universidad de La Salle, in Bogotá, Colombia. Said proposal is assumed as a disruptive curricular exercise, since it is intended to generate articulations between typically archival-informational-organizational knowledge and practices with the knowledge, methods and techniques of business intelligence and, with this, training a professional from an approach that enhances the strategic nature of decision-making in all kinds of institutions, in connection with socio-productive needs. The comparison of undergraduate programs, the analysis of conceptual and methodical trends of both fields, the characterization of the academic-professional demand for the virtual modality and the technical-curricular-regulatory criteria of Colombia National Ministry of Education, as well as the guidelines from the Universidad de La Salle were the major methodological elements. The main results are translated into the professional profile by competencies, learning outcomes, study plan and aspects of the curricular management of the proposed program. In conclusion, disruption is emphasized as the transversal element that must guide designing and planning academic programs in Information Sciences, which must offer alternatives that are in tune with social demands, shaped from the transformations produced by the digital technologies, in coordination with analytical processes of high added value in organizations(AU)

Sales Representatives in the Operating Room: Conflict of Interest or Clinical Support?

BACKGROUND: The Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which became federal law in January 2012, mandated that medical device manufacturers must disclose any financial support provided to individual physicians on a publicly available Web site. The law reflects increasing concern about physician-industry relationships. METHODS: The connection between surgeon and sales representative creates possibilities for both financial and non-financial conflicts of interest (COIs). Indeed, COIs may be inherent when a sales representative is motivated by profit while also serving a critical role in many surgeries. RESULTS: The potential benefits and risks for patients, who may not even be aware of the sales representative's presence in the operating room, must be considered. CONCLUSIONS: This paper adds to the national discussion about neurosurgical physician-industry conflicts of interests and the issues relative to sales representatives in the operating room.

Public health and corporate social responsibility: exploratory study on pharmaceutical companies in an emerging market.

BACKGROUND: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is studied from many perspectives and has gained unprecedented importance in recent years, especially in emerging economies. Pharmaceutical companies play a very important role in a population's well-being and health through the CSR and corporate governance practices that they apply. METHODS: We used an exploratory approach to measure compliance with the Corporate Governance Code of pharmaceutical companies listed on the Romanian capital market and with practices declared through CSR. RESULTS: The results show that pharmaceutical companies are involved in actions that consider the well-being of society by offering financial support and managing various sustainable projects, targeting social and economic issues, leading public health awareness campaigns, and investing in health projects. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the increasingly important role played by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in pharmaceutical companies in improving public health in countries with emerging economies.

Affirmative action programs and network benefits in the number of board positions.

Whereas governments are increasingly considering affirmative action programs to increase corporate board diversity, the effect of such programs can be superficial as they do not address the underlying problem, which is women's access to and inclusion in relevant corporate networks. To address this issue, we study the relationship among affirmative action programs (binding gender quotas and non-binding gender targets), director networks, and the number of board positions individual directors hold given their gender. We use personal, professional, and network characteristics of 25,127 unique directors from 2,435 public firms in 32 European countries over the period of 2000 through 2017. We find that in the absence of affirmative action programs, women directors benefit less from their networks than men directors suggesting the existence of a gender gap in network benefits. After the passage of binding gender quotas, this gender gap in network benefits narrows between women and men directors. Overall, this research suggests that binding gender quotas make director networks a more salient tool for hiring women and may help in leveling the playing field in the way these networks are used for achieving top management positions.

Beyond Disclosure: Developing Law and Policy to Tackle Corporate Influence.

Corporate influence is one of the most pressing issues in public health. It cuts across many of our most intractable problems-from obesity to the opioid epidemic. Companies develop close relationships with public health agencies, research universities, academic medical centers, professional societies, and patient advocacy organizations-often funding medical research and public health interventions intended to address the very challenges these corporations are creating or exacerbating. How we view relationships with industry, including how these relationships are framed in ethical discourse, shapes our legal and policy responses to them. In recent years, fueled in part by the opioid epidemic, the ethical framing of industry relationships has begun to evolve in significant ways. But legal and policy responses have not yet caught up. In this article, I develop a temporal account of corporate influence, and legal and policy responses to corporate influence. This account clarifies the limitations and adverse effects of conflicts of interest disclosure, especially when implemented as the sole legal or policy response. Disclosure can illuminate corporate influence-but policymakers cannot and should not rely on disclosure to eliminate corporate influence or its effects. Nor should we allow disclosure to crowd out structural and systemic responses to corporate influence-including sequestration of and separation from private-sector entities.

[Transparency in relations between multinational R&D pharmaceutical companies' corporate social responsibility activities and patient organizations in the Europe, Japan, and the United States].

Objectives　Multinational R&D pharmaceutical companies operating in many countries and regions have deep ties with patient groups that are recipients of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR activities are diverse and range from direct funding (including donations and sponsorships) to indirect funding (such as expenses associated with company-sponsored lectures); there are rewards for CSR requests for patient groups (writing, supervision, and surveys), and labor is provided by company employees. In developing pharmaceutical products, R&D companies can provide greater benefits to patients by listening to them. It is therefore important for all stakeholders to ensure transparency regarding the relationship between companies and patient groups. This study aimed to identify trends in information disclosure toward ensuring transparency of relations between CSR activities and patient groups based on industry groups regulations in Japan, the United States, and Europe.Methods　The contents described in regulations by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) concerning such transparency were qualitatively and inductively analyzed in terms of four concepts: transparency, equal partnership, mutual benefit, and independence.Results　Most of the descriptions relate to transparency. The EFPIA regulation is the most detailed; it states that there should be no influence on patient groups' work or on events and activities organized by companies or patient groups. The rules of the three associations also impose the need to maintain records concerning the purpose and contents of financial support and activity items. However, information disclosure to secure transparency is not required in the PhRMA regulation. The JPMA regulation does not specify a clear update schedule; the EFPIA regulation requires disclosure information to be updated once a year. In terms of equal partnership, such terms as "mutual respect," "equal value," and "establishing a trust relationship" appeared in searches with all three regulations. None of the regulations referred to "mutual benefit." All the regulations either respected or validated the independence of patient groups.Conclusion　Each pharmaceutical association set its own regulations and recommended voluntary information disclosure by member companies; however, the extent of such disclosure differed with each association. The regulations of industry associations form the basis for the policies of member companies; thus, it is desirable that the contents and regulations related to mutual information disclosure be established in great detail worldwide.

Developing anti-counterfeiting measures: The role of smart packaging.

Counterfeiting of food and beverage products is rife and premium brands are often targeted by fraudsters. Such is the case with Scotch whisky, a global, reputable brand revered for its heritage and tradition. Using Scotch whisky as a case study, the aim of this paper is to review existing literature and industry information to determine the market and personal consequences of counterfeiting activities and consider the packaging related anti-counterfeiting measures that can be employed within a wider anti-counterfeiting strategy. A typology of counterfeiting activities is developed including: tear-down counterfeiting, product overruns, malicious activities and document counterfeiting. Anti-counterfeiting measures are used to deter, detect and control counterfeiting activities and different packaging related approaches include the use of smart covert and overt technology. Most smart packaging-related anti-counterfeit technologies are stand-alone systems and this presents a vulnerability. An integrated anti-counterfeiting measures strategy, employed by business, the supply chain and the government is required to reduce the risk of the sale of counterfeit food and beverage products.

Confronting the medical devices jungle.

The report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on the international medical device industry adds to the growing documentation of health scandals in India in recent years. A comprehensive picture emerges of manufacturers selling untested products at usurious rates; criminally negligent doctors and medical establishments; and a regulatory system focused on the industry's growth with little regard for patient safety.

Obligation and the Changing Nature of Publicly Funded Healthcare.

This article explores the relationship between obligation and publicly funded healthcare. Taking the National Health Service (NHS) as the focal point of discussion, the article presents a historical analysis of the shifting nature and function of obligation as it relates to this institution. Specifically, and drawing inspiration from recent literature that takes seriously the notion of the tie or bond at the core of obligation, the article explores how the forms of social relation and bonds underpinning a system like the NHS have shifted across time. This is undertaken via an analysis of Aneurin Bevan's vision of the NHS at its foundation, the importance today of the patient (and the individual generally) within publicly funded healthcare, and the role of contract as a contemporary governance mechanism within the NHS. A core feature of the article is its emphasis on the impact that a variety of economic factors-including privatisation, marketisation, and the role of debt and finance capital-are having on previously settled understandings of obligation and the forms of social relation underpinning them associated with the NHS. It is therefore argued that an adequate analysis of obligation in healthcare law and related fields must extend beyond the doctor-patient relationship and that of state-citizen of the classical welfare state in order to incorporate new forms of relation, such as that between creditor and debtor, and new actors, including private healthcare providers and financial institutions.

A Paradigm Shift in the Implementation of Ethics Codes in Construction Organizations in Hong Kong: Towards an Ethical Behaviour.

Due to the economic globalization which is characterized with business scandals, scholars and practitioners are increasingly engaged with the implementation of codes of ethics as a regulatory mechanism for stimulating ethical behaviours within an organization. The aim of this study is to examine various organizational practices regarding the effective implementation of codes of ethics within construction contracting companies. Views on ethics management in construction organizations together with the recommendations for improvement were gleaned through 19 semi-structured interviews, involving construction practitioners from various construction companies in Hong Kong. The findings suggested some practices for effective implementation of codes of ethics in order to diffuse ethical behaviours in an organizational setting which include; introduction of effective reward schemes, arrangement of ethics training for employees, and leadership responsiveness to reported wrongdoings. Since most of the construction companies in Hong Kong have codes of ethics, emphasis is made on the practical implementation of codes within the organizations. Hence, implications were drawn from the recommended measures to guide construction companies and policy makers.