The Dean's Corner series provides a first-person, informative narrative of exciting and important happenings at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business. In this installment from Interim Dean Emery Trahan, he shares a few important events and happenings to be aware of this week. Please join us!
Surging oil and gas prices will spill over into the supply chains for just about everything that has to be carted around the world, says Nada Sanders, university distinguished professor of supply-chain management at Northeastern. In the case of bananas—which have a “very long” footprint—the story is a complicated one.
“I'm about to start a full-time position completely aligned with my career goals. I want to work in sustainability and impact the world. This is just the first step in my career, but it's already in the right direction.” says Malou de Kergret, MBA'22
“I never thought I would have the chance to do my master's. I'm proud to be the first person in my family to get a master's degree.” says Lauren Reilly, PlusOne MS in Accounting'22
The current Roux Institute Director of Entrepreneurship, two-time tech founder, and former IDEA CEO will take the helm as the Managing Director of the Northeastern University Center for Entrepreneurship Education (NUCEE) effective April 1, 2022.
In rapidly evolving emerging and transition economies such Russia, informal social networks between individuals, companies, and the government play a key role for companies' ability to gain access to information, knowledge, and power. While such informal networks help companies' profitability, they can also entail significant costs for businesses and society at large. Understanding the deep roots of today's corruption trends in Russia can help the survival of domestic and foreign companies operating in the country.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region displays distinct corporate governance trends. These differences are due, at least in part, to the influence of Sharia law and the region's varied political regimes. Research suggests that advancing gender diversity on boards, directing attention towards corporate social responsibility, increasing the transparency of corporate disclosures, and investigating different ownership models can help further align local companies with established global best practices in the corporate governance area.
China's approach to inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has remained remarkably consistent since the onset of its economic opening. While the rules governing IFDI have changed, the primary goal of improving the competitiveness of Chinese companies and the secondary goal of enhancing economic development have remained. As Chinese companies become more capable and as China declares more industries “strategic,” the space for foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) may narrow. To address this, FIEs need to demonstrate their full economic impact to make their case for continued access to the world's second largest economy.
Multinational companies from emerging markets should align their sustainability reports and actual impacts. Global expansion (especially to more economically advanced markets) can help emerging market multinationals learn best practices for aligning their sustainability communications (i.e., “talk”) and impacts (i.e., “walk”).
Multinational companies hold significant power and influence in the less economically advantaged countries in which they operate. For instance, when accused of contributing to human rights violations in Thailand, Nestlé responded by launching a training program and other initiatives to eliminate forced labor from their supply chain. This suggests that multinationals can, in fact, help address the developmental needs of the poorer countries where they have economic interests by promoting sustainable development practices in their operations.