The online MBA enrollment trend has been on the rise even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The pandemic further accelerated this shift, with more prospective students considering remote study options. This poses a challenge for universities in preparing faculty for online instruction, given that instructors often lack prior exposure to online learning. The emergence of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, introduces a new technological dimension, prompting concerns about academic integrity. The paper provides strategic and practical approaches and resources for teaching an asynchronous online MBA marketing strategy course, addressing common challenges faced by instructors. It offers valuable insights into course content, assignments, time management, and integrating generative AI in the course. It aims to help marketing and management educators proficiently develop and implement comparable courses, especially those transitioning from traditional to online instruction.

Does embracing a practice of mindfulness nurture and sustain ethical leadership skills in top managers? In this conceptual paper, an attempt has been made to address the question. In the aftermath of Covid-19, existing leadership practices need to be reevaluated and revitalized to meet the expectations of an increasingly interdependent, uncertain, and rapidly changing global business environment. The business environment needs top managers who are able to sustain their ethical leadership skillset, which involves strategic thinking, the capacity to learn, the capacity to change, and managerial wisdom (Boal & Hooijberg, 2001). Drawing on upper echelons theory, and the ethical leadership framework, first, the characteristics of ethical leaders are outlined. Next, drawing on the theories of social and cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, the importance of mindfulness to cultivate ethical leadership qualities is highlighted. Finally, mindfulness tools are offered for managers for sustained ethical leadership.

Sustainable development of the base-of-the-pyramid (BOP) is a critical issue in a global society. This study provides an ecosystem framework to develop the BOP segment, particularly in China and India. The BOP segment is the low-income household, mainly residing in rural areas. Traditionally, the BOP segment has been understood as a customer segment. We suggest that the BOP can be suppliers, employees, entrepreneurs, and customers. In other words, a BOP venture exists within an ecosystem and contributes to the ecosystem. This ecosystem includes shareholders, governments, the general public, communities, competitors, non-governmental organizations, special interest groups, employees, supply chain partners, and customers. Specifically, we explain how the BOP can play multiple roles, using the context of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in China and the telecommunications industry in India. To mitigate inequality within nations and enhance the standard of living, governments should also nurture the BOP ecosystem. This framework is applicable in other parts of the world.

This conceptual article explores how mindfulness can be successfully integrated in the strategy tool kit of organizations. The likely global reconstruction in the aftermath of COVID-19 can be effective if organizations reexamine their existing philosophies and business practices. Against this backdrop, mindfulness is a time-tested practice that has the potential to transcend all functions in a company’s value chain and to create a sustainable competitive advantage. This article uses a strategy lens to examine mindfulness in organizations, which has implications for researchers and practitioners. First, I discuss the theoretical frameworks of mindfulness, the performance improvements that individuals can expect from consistent practice, and how these improvements translate to organization-level performance. Next, I summarize the methods and tools for workplace application and the steps for implementing mindfulness strategies in organizations. Finally, I describe implementation challenges and offer assessment tools for mindfulness.

This study is a road map for effectively teaching online MBA courses. Using a case study approach, the authors describe the process in detail, in an online MBA course, titled, "Business in a Global Economy - The BRICS nations," which can be successfully implemented in other online MBA courses. The benefits to the key stakeholders from online programs - students, faculty, university, and the community - are highlighted in the study as well. Finally, the challenges for these stakeholders are presented.

Over the past three decades, the hospitality industry has experienced significant growth in both the US and Asia. US firms have increasingly pursued avenues for employing the business prowess of Asia and for managing strategic alliances and supply networks with their Asian partners. Likewise, Asian firms have sought to expand their presence in the US hospitality industry. Previous research studies on global cooperative strategies such as strategic alliances and supply networks have focused their attention primarily on understanding supplier selection processes in the manufacturing sectors. There are few studies on understanding cross-cultural differences between US and Asian supply chain management executives in the service industry. Without analyses of individual differences among executives in different cultures, theories on managerial decision-making in global cooperative strategies in the hospitality industry remain incomplete. This study is an attempt to better understand the cross-cultural differences between US and Chinese hospitality industry supplier selection practices.

ABSTRACT This paper presents an overview of the literature in management accounting and control systems (MACS) in the hospital industry. A unique feature of the hospital industry in several countries is not only the coexistence of different ownership forms (such as nonprofit, for-profit, and government), but also diversity within a specific form (such as religious, secular, and university nonprofit hospitals). Organizational objectives and the operating constraints faced by various types of hospitals differ in this “mixed” industry. As a result, one unifying or grand theory is unlikely to provide sufficient insights to understand hospital behavior, especially with respect to MACS design and outcomes. Additionally, the industry has witnessed a variety of regulatory changes, which are primarily aimed at reducing healthcare costs and increasing access. These regulatory changes influence every aspect of MACS. Finally, hospitals face institutional constraints, which have implications for MACS design and use. We review the MACS literature in the hospital industry and identify opportunities for future accounting research.

An extensive body of research supports that firms acquire other firms in order to innovate and/or become more sustainable. Extant theory posits that power in top management teams is among many determinants of success of acquisitions. This study focuses on and empirically investigates the relationship between power in top management teams and post-acquisition performance. Our results show that expert power and prestige power in the combined top management team are positively related to post-acquisition performance in both related and unrelated acquisitions. The study concludes with implications for future research and managerial practice.

Corporations increasingly pursue avenues for employing the manufacturing prowess of China and managing strategic alliance and supply networks with Chinese partners. While most studies addressing global cooperative strategies such as strategic alliances and supply networks analyse organisational and industrial characteristics, few theories incorporate explanations for cross-cultural differences between US and Chinese supply chain assessment practices. Without analyses of individual differences among executives in different cultures, theories on managerial decision-making in global cooperative strategies remain incomplete. This study is an attempt to better understand Chinese executives supply chain assessment practices.

It is important to understand supply chain partners’ ‘strategic intent’, particularly in global markets. Strategic intent provides information on potentially controllable strategic dimensions critical in arriving at decisions on global supply chain strategy. Based on past research we would expect supplier selection decision models to vary by country and within a particular country as well. This study examines the effects of industry and executive characteristics on global supply chain partners’ supplier selection decision models. The results show that the criteria used to make supplier selection decisions vary by industry, education and work experience. The resulting supplier selection decision frameworks provide information important for identifying the strategic intent of Korean supply chain partners for US firms.

Global supply chain management has emerged as central aspect of corporate strategic planning in many Japanese firms during this decade. As Japanese firms focus on enhancing core competence and developing global outsourcing/strategic alliances, they lend strong credence to Vokurka's observation that a new belief is that companies will no longer compete against companies, but rather supply will compete against supply chains (Vokurka et al., 2002: 14). Accordingly, numerous studies observe an increasing focus in organizations on their ability to control what happens in the value chain outside own boundaries (supply chain management), as it becomes critical source of strategic competence and competitiveness in business (Branch, 2008; Slone et al., 2010; Trent, 2007). Simchi-Levi et al. define supply chain management (henceforth SCM) as a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize system-wide costs while satisfying service level requirements (2007: 1). Effective supply chain management has several competitive advantages; besides aiding in the improvement of overall customer value, effective SCM can reduce development and procurement costs, spur innovation, increase flexibility and accelerate product development (Burt et al., 2003; Monczka et al., 2011; Simchi-Levi et al., 2007). In today's environment, among large firms such as Walmart or Dell, competition is focused on how effective supply are rather than at the overall firm level (Hult et al., 2007). Recent research has focused on supply chain assessment, an important domain of supply chain management (Fawcett et al., 2006; Lambert, 2008; Trent, 2007). Supply chain assessment involves the selection and management of suppliers and is described as one of the most challenging aspects of supply chain management (Burtet al., 2009; Simchi-Levi et al., 2007). Supplier selection and management strategies are perceived to be important strategic decisions in the uncertain, competitive environment. Therefore, proper selection and management of the right suppliers would allow the company to leverage its competencies and capabilities to further refine its supply chain flexibility (Jantan et al., 2006). Anecdotal examples to support the notion that effective supply chain management is source of sustainable competitive advantages for global firms abound in the popular business periodicals. For example, Henke and Zhang (2010) and Lincoln et al., (1998) argue that the success of Japanese firms such as Toyota and Honda in global competition came from unique supply chain assessment and management practices. Kumar and Keshan (2009) and Phillania (2008) also argue that effective supply chain management contributed to the global competitiveness of Tara Steel and Bharat Forge in India. Further, an examination of supply chain management practices among Chinese firms by Jiang and Prater (2002), Lihong and Goffin (2001), Chang and Ding (1995), and Mummalaneni et al., (1996) reveals the unique approach of Chinese managers to supply chain management practices and performance outcomes. In addition, an examination of supply chain management practices among U.S., Japanese, and Korean firms by Dyer and Chu (2011) and Dyer et al., (1998) reveals differences among the three nations. Whereas U.S. firms have historically adopted an arm's-length approach with suppliers, Korean firms have established strong partnerships with suppliers: By contrast, Japanese firms have utilized both the arm's-length and the partnership approaches in supply chain assessment and management practices. The results of Dyer and associates (Dyer et al., 1998; Dyer and Chu, 2011) studies show strong partnerships with suppliers can create and sustain collaborative advantages. …

Over the last several years, strategy researchers have analyzed organizational behavior using an institutional lens and argued that organizations respond strategically to institutional pressures (Child and Tsai, 2005; Delmas and Toffel, 2008; Goodrick and Salancik, 1996; Hitt et al., 2004), and that institutional factors may have even more influence on organizational choices than economic performance (Schaefer, 2007). Ruef and Scott (1998) posit that the match between the organization's mission and the logic of the institutional regime within which it operates determines an organization's legitimacy and consequently influences firm ownership form and strategic decisions such as mergers. While research in the economics of industrial organization views market power and/ or efficiency gains through scale economies as major motives for horizontal mergers (Martin, 1998), a stream of strategy research draws on the resource-based and institutional theories of the firm and proposes that firms use mergers as a strategic tool to redeploy resources, reconfigure their mix of products and services, and improve firms' ability to dominate attractive markets (Bowman and Singh, 1993; Capron et al., 1998; Karim and Mitchell, 2000). Mergers facilitate such product-mix reconfiguration by relaxing many institutional and organizational constraints on resource redeployment (Krishnan et al., 2004). This study uses the customer as the unit of analysis to extend and refine this stream of research analyzing post-merger outcomes. It uses insights from Meyer and Rowan (1977) to recognize that institutional constraints do not apply uniformly to all organizations, and that organizations are ordered along a continuum, with production organizations in strong technical environments at one end, and bureaucratic organizations with strong institutional environments at the other end. This study hypothesizes that the ownership form of the organization and the degree of institutional constraints on an organization are simultaneously determined by the match between the organization's mission and the logic of its institutional environment. The institutional constraints, including those on customer-mix decisions, are accordingly influenced by firms' ownership form. As a consequence, customer-mix changes following a merger differ qualitatively across firms depending on the ownership form. The U.S. hospital industry offers an attractive context to examine the effect of ownership form on post-merger customer-mix strategies because of the coexistence of firms of different ownership types, providing essentially same services and often competing with one another. In addition, the hospital industry experienced a flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the nineties. Hospitals claimed that the mergers were motivated by factors such as efficiency, excess capacity reduction, transaction cost reduction, expanding opportunities in local markets, and an increase in ability to bear risk (Brooks and Jones, 1997; Sinay and Campbell, 2002; Spang et al., 2001). Hospitals also argued that single ownership enabled by mergers and acquisitions facilitated more stringent cost-cutting measures (Bazzoli et al., 2002). Sinay and Campbell (2002) provide supporting empirical evidence showing that high-cost hospitals experienced cost reductions after a merger. However, prior research also shows that mergers in concentrated markets increase prices due to exercise of market power (Taylor, 2007; Zwanziger and Mooney, 2005). Bogue et al. (1995) find that hospitals use the merger as an opportunity to restructure their services. Similarly, Bazzoli el al. (2002) analyze hospital mergers occurring between 1983 and 1996 and find that substantial proportion of merging hospitals rearranged their services after a merger. This study draws on the extant literature on the institutional evolution in the U.S. hospital industry (Alexander and D'Aunno, 1990; D'Aunno et al. …

The issue of global corporate entrepreneurship has become the key factor in corporate success. Entrepreneurial executives should assume the strategic initiative in building and sustaining the competitiveness of their organisations in both domestic and international markets. This study builds a conceptual model of global corporate entrepreneurship.

ABSTRACT This research examines whether market participants are able to identify post-acquisition operating synergies at the time of the acquisition announcement. We examine the abnormal returns of the bidding firm and its major rival and relate equity gains or losses during acquisition announcements to subsequent post-acquisition operating performance. Empirical re sults suggest that the abnormal stock returns of the acquiring firm surrounding the announcement is positively associated with post-acquisition operating performance, and the abnormal stock returns of the major rival firm is negatively associated with post-acquisition operating performance of the combined firm. These results indicate that abnormal stock returns, that is, the variations in the stock price movements of the acquiring and rival firms in a given window following an acquisition announcement, reflect the potential synergies at the time of acquisition announcements. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.) INTRODUCTION Unlike the mergers and acquisitions (MA Roll, 1986; Trautwein, 1990), an increasing number of acquisitions in the 1990s, and in this decade, have been purportedly undertaken for synergistic reasons (Hitt, Harrison, & Ireland, 2001). Synergy has been defined in various ways such as, utilization of the resources that creates value for the combined entity (Chatterjee, 1986), as valuation of a combination of business which exceeds the sum of valuations for stand alone units (Davis & Thomas, 1993: 1334), and as increases in competitiveness and resulting cash flows beyond what the two companies are expected to accomplish independently (Sirower, 1997). The synergy motive for acquisitions states that by combining the resources of the two firms, economies of scale and scope are created, which in turn, creates value for the combined entity (Slusky & Caves, 1991). Both market and accounting measures have been used to measure the performance of firms engaged in synergistic acquisitions. Researchers using market measures have focused on the wealth gains to shareholders. The basic findings of these studies can be summarized as follows: (1) shareholders of target firms earn significant positive abnormal common stock returns immediately following the acquisition (Jensen, 1986; Jensen & Ruback, 1983), (2) irrespective of the extent of relatedness between the two firms, acquiring firms earn negative abnormal common stock returns in approximately 65% of the acquisitions (Berkovitch & Narayana, 1993; D atta, Pinches & Narayanan, 1 992; Loughran & Vijh, 1997; Lubatkin, 1987), and (3) bidding firms often overestimate the value of the target firms by underestimating the cost of exploiting relatedness with targets (Salter & Weinhold, 1979; Seth, 1990). Accounting measures to study the operating performance of the combined entity following the acquisition have also been extensively used. The basic findings of these studies can be summarized as follows: (1) acquisitions, on average, do not create value (Ravenscraft & Scherer, 1987), (2) the presence of synergies is not sufficient: effective integration of the two firms is essential to realize the synergies (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1 99 1 ; St. John & Harrison, 1 999), and (3) synergy is an elusive concept, difficult to define and measure and therefore firms often overestimate the perceived synergies between the two partners (Collis & Montgomery, 1995; Markides & Williamson, 1996; Martin & Eisenhardt, 2001). In this paper, we propose a novel method to identify and measure synergy using the efficient capital market theory. Past researchers of corporate strategy have attempted to measure synergy using several proxies such as relatedness in product/markets (Rumelt, 1974), relatedness in the underlying process and assets of the business (Markides & Williamson, 1994), presence of similarities (or differences) in the resource base of the two partners (Capron, 1999; Harrison, Hitt, Hoskisson & Ireland, 1991; Salter & Weinhold, 1979), opportunity to share or combine resources among businesses (Brush, 1996; Farjoun, 1998; Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991), or, as an outcome (abnormal returns) associated with acquisitions (Seth, 1990). …

A) represent a popular strategy used by firms for many years, but the success of this strategy has been limited. In fact, several reviews have shown that, on average, firms create little or no value by making acquisitions (Hitt, Harrison, & Ireland, 2001). While there has been a significant amount of research on mergers and acquisitions, there appears to be little consensus as to the reasons for outcomes achieved from them (King, Dalton, Daily, & Covin, 2004). Herein, we begin by reviewing some of the extant research on mergers and acquisitions, identifying the key variables on which the studies have focused. Thereafter, we summarize some of the major work on a primary reason for failure—paying too high a premium—and discuss why executives often delay too long the divestiture of poorly performing businesses that were acquired. Additionally, we examine research suggesting the importance of an acquisition capability based on organizational learning from the acquisitions and complementary science and technology for strategic renewal. Finally, we end with a discussion of the research on cross-border mergers and acquisitions which have become prominent in recent years.

Companies have recognized that one of the routes to sustainable competitive advantage is to invest in both marketing and RD Walwyn, 2005). Surprisingly, there is little research in the business discipline on the outcomes of investing in both these vital functions. Prior research in marketing and management has been confined to three sets of studies. In the first set of studies, researchers have focused on the impact of marketing and R&D integration on various organizational processes such as new product development, product life cycles, development time, and knowledge diffusion. The second set of studies has focused on the impact of marketing investments or R&D investments on the bottom line without considering the joint impact of these two vital functions (Lee and O'Neill, 2003). Third, earlier studies have been limited to single industries. For example, in a single industry study, Wright, Kroll, Chan and Hamel (1991) have argued that successful firms were those that were efficient marketers, or those which spend relatively heavily on R&D as well as marketing. Lin, Lee, and Hung (2006), likewise, have argued for the joint impact of R&D and commercialization efforts on performance in technology-intensive industries. In today's environment, with increased off-shoring of the manufacturing function by U.S.-based industries to other nations, marketing and R&D have emerged as key functions in the value chain for all major manufacturing and service industries. This study makes two notable contributions to the field. First, it is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the implications of the joint impact of marketing and R&D investments on organizational performance in a wide range of industries and, second, it employs lagged organizational performance to test the major hypothesis. Based on anecdotal evidence in this area, this study empirically tests the hypothesis that investments in both marketing and R&D are necessary for superior organizational performance. No company exemplifies this argument better than Procter & Gamble, the leading consumer products company. Procter & Gamble has a unique approach to innovation and has based its competitive advantage on understanding customers, acquiring, developing, and applying technology across its broad array of product categories and making connections between consumer wants and what technology can deliver (www.pg.com). Recently, to increase productivity in the R&D and marketing interface, the company has developed a new model for innovation entitled, connect and develop (Huston and Sakkab, 2006). A second company to base its competitive advantage on linking R&D and marketing is Silicon Graphics which obtained input from its customers to incorporate video conferencing into its successful desktop offerings (Andrews, 1999). …