FDA'S 'GOLD STANDARD' CRITICAL FOR BIOPHARMA R&D

Last week, eight prominent biotech industry executives publicly emphasized the importance of rigorous clinical research and complete study data to support any authorization or approval of a new covid vaccine or treatment. Hahn raises concerns These statements aim to offset fears that fda might soften its approval standards due to pressure from the White House to make available a covid vaccine in October. Continuing predictions from the White House about a vaccine being available in two months, and instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that state public health departments should be prepared to distribute a vaccine by the end of October, heightened concerns that political pressure will lead to some kind of authorization of a new vaccine before the Nov. 3 election.

A Little More Respect

According to research from GlobeScan, stakeholders have a tendency to believe that the pharma industry's reputation is poor, with a particularly negative environment seen in Canada and the United Kingdom caused by campaigns from nongovernmental organizations or films (2). Great effort required As pharma companies continue to forge ahead, collaborating with others that may be considered as competitors in a 'normal' situation, there is a chance that the overall reputation of the industry can be further improved. PatientView, "Pharma Reputation in 2018Among UK Patient Groups-Falls Due to Brexit and Other Factors," Press Release, 16 July 2019.

Transformative service research approaches for visitor experiences in major sporting events

PurposeThis research conceptualises the hallmark event, Melbourne Cup in Australia, as a major sporting brand experience. While numerous studies have explored consumer engagement and experiences in major sporting events, few research studies highlight the negative issues, such as alcoholism, gambling and violence, that may affect consumer engagement and experience. This article addresses the challenges and opportunities of providing immersive and transformative experiences through transformative service research (TSR) approaches when such negative issues are swirling around.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual. It uses the example of Melbourne Cup to illuminate aspects of the conceptual framework.FindingsThe article unpacks a myriad of positive and negative immersive brand experiences and contributes a conceptual framework to understand the sporting brand experience phenomenon and shows how authentically responsible marketing approaches can improve the sport spectator experience.Research limitations/implicationsInsights from the extended TSR framework presents implications for various organisations that are involved with strategic destination marketing approaches. It guides key stakeholders to engage in dialogue and collaborate in order to improve the attendee transformative experience. Inviting collaborators will facilitate the exchange of ideas that will improve event organisation. Consistent approaches among hospitality service providers would improve alcohol service and create a safe environment for attendees. The TSR framework guides players of the experience to engage in meaningful dialogue with a common goal to improve consumer wellbeing. Education and training therefore are key elements in the consumer sporting brand experience.Practical implicationsThe adapted TSR framework offers insights to destination marketers such as sporting agencies, tour operators and sporting organisations/clubs. Marketers may promote bigger sporting events and organise tours via travel agencies and ignore key elements that may influence attendee decision. Destination marketing organisations (DMOs) can use the framework to promote effective planning and the key initiatives that the iconic event is involved with. The framework can be used as a guide to manage similar international events. Events of major or mega size and international reputation need specific frameworks that address crowd behaviours of similar sizes.Originality/valueAn extended transformative service approach is being conceptualised for major sporting brand experiences. Practical implications are also highlighted for DMOs when raising the profile of city brands.

Empowering cultural change at North Manchester general hospital

ContextNorth Manchester General Hospital is a large District General Hospital in Greater Manchester, serving a relatively disadvantaged population. The overall culture change project involved practically all facets of a functioning medical organisation, including the Senior Medical Leadership Team (SMLT), Transformation team, Human Resources, Finance, and many more. However, one of the key aims of the change was to improve the experience of Junior Doctors working at NMGH. Therefore, postgraduate doctors in training have been key to all of the development, including the Medical Director's Leadership Fellow (MDLF), Junior Doctors' Leadership Group (JDLG), and every staff member that they represent.Issue/ChallengeHistorically, North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH) has had a reputation as a poor place to work;staff aimed to avoid the site. The hospital was unable to retain highly-skilled employees, and trainee experience was extremely low, impacting on patient safety metrics. The site was stuck in a continuous cycle of having this reputation, leading to an inability to attract permanent staff, causing a deficit in teaching and training opportunities, further diminishing the reputation.Rotational junior doctors are the most transient group of NHS healthcare workers (HCWs). Their experience is reflective of organisational culture and that of other, less vocal groups of HCWs. Prior to 2020, many junior doctors considered NMGH to be a ‘rite of passage' ‘ one to be avoided if possible, but if unavoidable, just get through it. On-call teams were chronically short-staffed, 3 services were in enhanced General Medical Council (GMC) monitoring, and GMC survey results were unsatisfactory. Teams were forced to be tenacious, lateral thinking, and resilient to cope with the stresses of work.2019 saw NMGH receive significant criticism from GMC and Health Education North West (HENW) monitoring visits. The General Surgery (GS) Department remained in ‘enhanced monitoring', and patient safety concerns were raised. These included inadequate ‘prescribing of admission medication', poor use of incident reporting systems, and challenges escalating sick patients. Trainees described ‘fire-fighting, not learning'. Improvement recommendations included addressing departmental culture, reinforcing the importance of incident reporting, and ensuring trainees had easy access to appropriate senior support at all times. Early in 2020, trainee experience further deteriorated in GS, due to a negative culture and deficiencies in support, education and training. This resulted in Foundation Year 1 doctors being removed from GS.The Senior Medical Leadership Team (SMLT) decided that enough was enough;the hospital culture needed a fundamental overhaul. There was a clear and urgent need to address staff experience.Assessment of issue and analysis of its causesThe Senior Medical Leadership Team (SMLT) set themselves an audacious goal: to support NMGH to transform into the best training and working experience for junior doctors in Greater Manchester. This goal was split into primary drivers, with each driver linked to specific future projects, and projects assigned to each leadership team member. These projects, identified through co-production with junior doctors, were aimed to improve employee experience, including facilitating access to breaks, improving supervision and support, and enhancing development opportunities â€' aiming to raise staff wellbeing and patient safety standards. Changes were made to General Surgery, resulting in huge investments in expanding the permanent junior doctor and consultant workforces.Several initiatives were implemented to help assess the scope of work required, including setting up a Junior Doctors' Leadership Group (JDLG), or ‘Shadow Board'. All hospital specialties are represented;some representatives sit on the SMLT, on Educational Board meetings, and the Clinical Leaders Forum. The SMLT join every JDLG meeting. Whilst acting as a conduit for rapid two-way communication between clinician and leadership teams (e.g. reliably informing doctors about last-minute changes to visiting policy during Covid surges, or effectively communicating crucial information to crash-call teams when building work closed part of the hospital), the group debates issues raised by junior doctor colleagues they represent, and feeds that back to the SMLT. Recent examples include raising patient safety concerns related to misinterpretation of the Emergency Department Referrals policy, and working collaboratively with junior doctors to address urgent staffing and patient safety risks related to the last wave of the pandemic.In addition to this, a Medical Director's Leadership Fellow (MDLF) role was established. This was fundamental in progressing projects related to the SMLT goal and ensuring appropriate input from junior doctors, Human Resources, the Communications and Transformation teams, and more. As a key member of the JDLG, the MDLF is a role designed in part to enhance junior doctor experience, foster better relationships between staff groups, and encourage feedback provision. The role has been vital in bridging the gap between doctors and hospital leaders, managers and executives – often a source of discontent amongst clinicians. Bridging this gap is important in developing the hospital's culture. Even though many projects are still ongoing, improvements are already being experienced.Impact2021 GMC Survey results showed improvement in 15/18 metrics compared to 2019. These included improvements in ‘Reporting Systems', ‘Workload', and ‘Clinical Supervision Out Of Hours'. 2020 Care Quality Commission inspection reports showed improvement in 11 individual aspects, including improvement to ‘outstanding' in 3 elements.HENW/GMC monitoring visits in 2021 reported ‘they have more robust teams to support the ward and on call workload', resulting from investment in clinicians. It also notes, ‘prescribing audits have shown improvements in prescribing of time critical medication', and demonstrable improvements in ‘use of incident reporting systems and sharing of lessons learnt'. Further comments note that there have been ‘significant improvements in culture in the [General Surgery] department over the past year';one doctor described the department as ‘the most supportive place he had worked'. The report summary noted, ‘through strong clinical leadership and oversight, and a concerted effort to improve departmental culture there have been significant improvements in General Surgical trainee experience with good support, supervision and education reported'. The department was subsequently removed from enhanced GMC monitoring.Although this rapid and impressive turnaround occurred within one department, benefits were seen elsewhere in the organisation.The efforts of the SMLT and JDLG have resulted in positive cultural changes. Surveys reflected: ‘friendly colleagues, less work-related stress, helpful management', and ‘thank you for your work to improve NMGH. I was worried about working at NMGH having heard ‘horror stories' about working there. However, these have not been reflected in reality at all, and NMGH has offered excellent training opportunities.InterventionThe JDLG helps ensure that important information is shared with the wider junior doctor group. Colleagues now feel that their voices are heard. The positives from the previous culture are still evident – leadership teams across the Trust have repeatedly recognised the ‘can-do attitudes' of NMGH staff, with the negative culture firmly in the past. Staff testimonials include: ‘there has definitely been an improvement over the years I have worked here;‘my supervisor was supportive and encouraged reflection through discussions about experiences;and ‘the senior staff are INCREDIBLE. They offer support, they teach, and they encourage us to learn new skills. I cannot be more thankful'. This is in contrast to historical Freedom To Speak Up (FTSU) submissions, which pointed to a culture of disregarding the opinions of NMGH staff.The ‘can-do' approach has been evident during the waves of Covid-19;members of the JDLG fed into management and governance structures to highlight problems in real time, increasing the organisation's responsiveness to challenges faced, working as a two-way conduit of information.During the 2021 HENW/GMC visit, the team reported that junior doctors knew the Medical Director and Director of Medical Education by first name, and felt able to raise concerns directly to them, evidencing a more flattened hierarchy. The visiting team reported being impressed by this positive change and were not aware of other organisations where this had been achieved to this extent.Having Postgraduate Doctors in Training play such a significant role within the Senior Leadership Team setup is relatively unique. As explained, empowering staff to feel they can raise any issues directly to the Medical Director or SMLT, or via the JDLG, has played a huge role in facilitating palpable cultural change through leadership structure additions. As a point of contact, the MDLF has acted as an extension of the JDLG, but works directly alongside the Medical Director and Associate Director of Medical Education, essentially enabling the SMLT to keep their ear to the ground, their fingers on the pulse of staff atmosphere and wellbeing.Examples of achievements of the MDLF include projects to introduce personalised theatre caps (benefits include enhanced communication, especially in emergencies, improving patient outcomes), formation of a Wellbeing group (representatives from all cohorts of staff across the site discuss wellbeing initiatives and colleagues' wellbeing concerns), and an impressive and rapid response to staffing crises and patient safety risks during the most recent Covid-19 wave. As a result of these outcomes, other Trusts haveapproached the SMLT, requesting further information regarding the JDLG and MDLF model;another MDLF has since been appointed at a different trust site.Involvement of stakeholders, such as patients, carers or family members:The SMLT itself is made up of clinicians from a variety of backgrounds, across medicine and surgery. SMLT members sit in morning medical handovers to actively gather clinician experience feedback. They also work closely alongside colleagues from Nursing, Finance, HR, Transformation teams, and more, which enables the SMLT to work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to improve culture at NMGH.The MDLF is in the perfect position to take advantage of this MDT approach. As a result, the MDLF sits on Group-level Patient Safety Panels (acting to highlight patient safety incidents, initiatives, and achievements across the entire Trust). This panel consists of representatives from hospital, community, and medical education staffing groups. The lessons learnt are then communicated to individual hospitals, no matter where the incident or initiative originated. A big part of the meeting is the FTSU aspect, and local FTSU Guardians are active within the panel.Given that the MDLF role is so closely linked to improving communication and feedback, a Freedom To Speak Up Champion role fitted well within the responsibilities of the post. Therefore, over the past year, the MDLF has worked alongside the FTSU team and has completed training as a FTSU Champion. As a consequence of working closely with shop-floor colleagues, the MDLF has received communications from a wide variety of staff roles and levels of seniority throughout the year, asking questions, or raising awareness about issues. The MDLF can then seek appropriate advice, signpost the colleague, and keep them updated on a potential resolution, further propagating the positive feedback loop and support of the wider MDT. As previously mentioned, the JDLG consists of representatives from all medical specialties, and each member is encouraged to raise concerns, suggest improvements, and lead on projects;these include an overhaul of the medical handover process, enabling a safer and more efficient handover, and escalating concerns of a coll ague speaking up about potential patient safety concerns within a department. Furthermore, speakers at JDLG meetings have included the Head of Nursing: Quality & Patient Experience, local FTSU Guardians, the Director of Human Resources, and the local Guardian of Safe Working Hours, enabling group members to share information from a wide range of disciplines with shop-floor colleagues. As a result of the efforts and MDT approach of the above groups, a placement feedback survey performed early in 2022 demonstrated that 93% of respondents felt their working environment supports a multidisciplinary approach.Key MessagesOne of the hallmarks of good medical leadership is putting all staff members, regardless of their role, seniority, or experience, in the best position for them to succeed. Giving Postgraduate doctors early opportunities to play a significant part in, and learn about, an organisation's leadership structure, is not only beneficial to the doctor, but helps the organisation capitalise on a previously relatively untapped market of ideas and solutions. Crucially, this is not limited to postgraduate doctors in training, but also locally-employed doctors, which make up a significant proportion of the workforce in any hospital yet typically remain underrepresented and under-utilised.NMGH has realised the potential that can be unlocked in Junior Doctors, through leadership placements and roles, and the positive benefit this can have on the individual, team and organisation.Lessons learntNorth Manchester General Hospital was fortunate in that the entire SMLT bought into everything: the overall project for culture change, the introduction of the MDLF into the SMLT, and empowering members of the JDLG to contribute to change at the highest level. Having spoken to other organisations looking to replicate our success, they have found that this buy-in is absolutely crucial. Recruiting effectively, to both the MDLF position and JDLG representative roles, is vital, as a huge amount of motivation to fight for change and the betterment of the system is required when overcoming barriers and challenges. Many of the barriers we faced are well-documented in literature, and to a point we expected them;these included resistance from non-medical stakeholders, which was somewhat abetted by further conversations, explanation of goals and objectives, and outlining the overall vision of the SMLT. Of course, resistance to change is important in any project, as it can highlight potential issues not yet visualised.Measurement of improvementFrom the start, we set out our intention to use openly-available, independent metrics of improvement, such as the GMC Nation Training Survey. To compliment this, the MDLF utilised a variety of temperature-check methods, including surveys (dissemination supported by the increasingly-established network of the Postgraduate doctors in training of the JDLG) and departmental visits. Importantly, having a fellow junior doctor asking for feedback, rather than a traditional member of the SMLT, enabled us to garner potentially more honest opinions, criticisms and ideas. As explained elsewhere, GMC survey results have shown improvement, and local surveys have displayed some very positive results. That said, it is recognised that the vision is a long-term project, and continuous improvement will be sought, rather than settling on the progress made thus far.Strategy for improvementThe SMLT sat down and brainstormed an overall vision alongside the individual large-scale projects that would contribute to achieving change. Within this, individual members of the SMLT were assigned roles leading one or more projects, and the MDLF role was created in part to support with the running of these projects where required. This enabled utilisation of the minds of the JDLG and other Postgraduate doctors in training. The MDLF role was instrumental in not only involving this cohort, but also reaching out to other organisations to share learned experiences when they had gone through implementation of similar projects. The team was kep accountable not by having a set timeline for implementation but by having regular away days, reporting back to their colleagues and the transformation team regarding progress.The JLDG, established in 2020, and reappointed every year, have been key to the success of the culture change, through engagement, sense-checking and feedback regarding strategy and relevant projects. Over time the organisation has increasingly engaged this Shadow Board in the development and role out of projects as well as problem solving of significant challenges. Through this team the SMLT has fedback key messages and challenges to the Junior Doctor workforce, which has resulted in increased engagement across the organisation.

Does the Shield Effect of CSR Work in Crises? Evidence in Korea

This paper investigates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on shareholders' wealth during market downturn, focusing on the market crash caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermaths. We evaluate the relationship between firms' CSR and stock returns using a sample of 803 firms listed on the Korean stock market. The results of our study reveal that firms' pre-crisis CSR activities do not protect shareholders' wealth during the crisis;in fact, they negatively affected stock returns during the COVID-19 crisis. This finding is consistent across several robustness tests and challenges the prevailing notion that CSR is solely a philanthropic endeavor. This study suggests that firms need to reconsider their CSR approach in order to better align it with shareholders' interest.

Steps Towards Diversity in Clinical Trials

Building authentic trust lays at the heart of creating more patient-centric trials While neither the lack of diversity in clinical research nor the need for patient centricity is new, recently, the clinical research community has been more determined than ever to ensure that we take steps now to increase both in the most impactful, effective way possible. If a patient or the patient's family doesn't trust the provider, or they don't trust the information from the provider, they're never going to 'buy in' to the treatment or medical advice." [...]there are no shortcuts if researchers truly want to be part of the change that will ultimately increase diversity in clinical research in a way that is sustaining and authentic.

The impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic: MRN

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In addition, it investigates the moderator role of auditor characteristics in the impact of risk-taking on value creation, especially in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe information about 199 company in 2014–2021 was examined. In the present study, in accordance with the related theoretical literature and the importance of auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation, these factors were considered as the auditor characteristics.FindingsThe present findings based on the generalized least squares (GLS) method showed that risk-taking positively affects the value creation. The auditor characteristics (auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation) have a significant positive effect on the value creation. Furthermore, the auditor characteristics enhance the impact of risk-taking on value creation. The results of generalized method of moments method and robust regression analysis are consistent with the GLS results. To take into account the Covid-19 conditions, the data were divided into pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid-19 years. The results showed that auditor characteristics moderate the impact of risk-taking on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19.Originality/valueThe study highlights the role of auditor characteristics in the value creation, especially in the emerging market. Given that Covid-19 has seriously damaged global economic well-being and has put companies at a double risk, the present findings can be useful for managers, investors and the international community, and help company managers make risk-taking policies and select auditors with appropriate characteristics.

PREDICTIVE ABILITY OF FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENT PUBLICATION TIME FRAME: MODERATING ROLE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Objetivo: Este estudo examinou a capacidade de desempenho financeiro e nao financeiro na previsäo do tempo de publicaçao de relatórios financeiros, moderada pela pandemia da COVID-19. Referenciái teórico: A teoria dos sinais postula que a administraçâo desempenha um papel crucial no fornecimento de informaçöes as partes interessadas sobre as condiçöes da empresa (Brigham & Houston, 2001). De acordo com Spence (1973), as empresas estao motivadas a fornecer informaçöes relevantes as partes interessadas. Se as condiçöes de desempenho sao boas, a empresa tende a acelerar o processo de apresentaçao de demonstraçöes financeiras. Por outro lado, se o desempenho for ruim, há uma tendencia a atrasar a publicaçao dos relatórios financeiros. O longo período de tempo para a publicaçao de relatórios financeiros pode indicar más noticias que a empresa tem, de modo que ela ainda tem que publicar as noticias para o público. Scott (2015) sugere que quando os gerentes souberem que há noticias desfavoráveis sobre a condiçao da empresa no futuro, evitarao publicar estas informaçöes ou pelo menos atrasaräo a apresentaçao das demonstraçöes financeiras. Método: O desempenho financeiro foi medido por quatro indicadores: lucratividade, liquidez e solvencia. Enquanto isso, o desempenho nao financeiro variável foi medido pelo indice de boa governança corporativa (GCG) e pela reputaçao dos auditores. O modelo proposto foi testado com base nos dados quantitativos coletados de 156 empresas de manufatura listadas na Bolsa de Valores da Indonesia (IDX) a partir de 2018 e 2020. A análise de regressao múltipla foi realizada para analisar e interpretar os dados. Resultados e conclusao: O resultado indica que a solvencia, a boa governança corporativa e a reputaçao do auditor foram preditores significativos do período de publicaçao do relatório financeiro. Entretanto, a capacidade preditiva de rentabilidade e liquidez no prazo de publicaçao nao foi considerada significativa. Além disso, os resultados mostram que a pandemia da COVID-19 modera a capacidade de rentabilidade e boa governança corporativa na previsao do prazo de publicaçao. Implicates da pesquisa: O indicador de desempenho financeiro e nao financeiro dá resultados diferentes na previsäo do RWPLK das empresas de manufatura na Indonesia. ROA e CR nao sao capazes de prever o RWPLK, mas DER, GCG, KAP sao capazes de prever o RWPLK. O papel da pandemia COVID-19 foi capaz de moderar a capacidade de ROA e GCG em prever o prazo para publicaçao de relatórios financeiros, mas foi incapaz de moderar a capacidade de CR, DER e KAP em prever o RWPLK. Originalidade/valor: O presente estudo fornece a primeira evidencia empírica sobre o papel moderador da pandemia COVID-19 na capacidade preditiva do desempenho financeiro e nao financeiro para o prazo de publicaçao das demonstraçöes financeiras.Alternate :Purpose: This study examined the ability of financial and non-financial performance in predicting financial reports publication time frame as moderated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical framework: Signal theory postulates that management serves a crucial role in providing information to stakeholders regarding the condition of the company (Brigham & Houston, 2001). According to Spence (1973), companies are motivated to provide relevant information to stakeholders. If the performance conditions are good, the company tend to speed up the process of presenting financial statements. Conversely, if performance is poor, there is a tendency to delay the financial reports publication. The long span of time for the publication of financial reports can indicate bad news that the company has so that it has yet to publish the news to the public. Scott (2015) suggests that when managers know there is unfavorable news about the condition of the company in the future, they will avoid publishing this information or at least delay the presentation of financial statements. Method/design/approach: Financial performance was measured by four indicators: profita il ty, liquidity and solvency. Meanwhile, variable non-financial performance was measured by the index of good corporate governance (GCG) and auditor reputation. The proposed model was tested based on the quantitative data collected from 156 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2018 and 2020. The multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze and interpret the data. Results and conclusion: Result indicates that solvency, good corporate governance, and auditor reputation were significant predictors of the time span of financial report publication. However, the predictive ability of profitability and liquidity on the publication timeframe was found to be not significant. Furthermore, the results show that the COVID-19 pandemic moderates the ability of profitability and good corporate governance in predicting the publication timeframe. Research implications: Financial and non-financial performance indicator gives different results in predicting the RWPLK of manufacturing companies in Indonesia. ROA and CR are not able to predict RWPLK, but DER, GCG, KAP are able to predict RWPLK. The role of the COVID-19 pandemic was able to moderate the ability of ROA and GCG in predicting the timeframe for publication of financial reports, but was unable to moderate the ability of CR, DER and KAP in predicting RWPLK. Originality/value: The present study provides the first empirical evidence on the moderating role of the COVID19 pandemic on the predictive ability of financial and non-financial performance for financial statement publication time frame.

HERDING BEHAVIOR IN FRONTIER NORDIC COUNTRIES

This paper investigates herding behavior of investors in three frontier Nordic countries from July 1,2002 until July 30, 2021, under different market conditions and during three crises that occurred in this period. As estimation methods, we use both OLS and quantile regression and determine that both up and down market, high and low volatility induce a weak herding behavior for at least one quantile in almost all Nordic countries examined, except for Latvia. At the same time, we find that crises determine a more prominent herding behavior in Nordic countries, but do not influent the behavior of investors from Latvia, that tend to remain rational even in stressful conditions.

Comparing media coverage of the pharmaceutical industry: pre- and post-pandemic lockdown

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze media coverage of the pharmaceutical industry before and after the COVID-19 lockdown to determine whether the coverage changed in light of a global health-care crisis and the fast-track development of vaccines and antiviral treatments.Design/methodology/approachThe top five US newspapers were audited, comparing the 12-month periods before and after March 2020 coinciding with the pandemic lockdown, yielding 493 front-page articles and editorials. Each headline and full-text article was separately analyzed and categorized as either positive, negative or neutral toward the pharmaceutical industry. A frequency analysis of the hot button issues covered in each article was conducted.FindingsYear 1 and Year 2 audit results were compared to identify changes in media coverage pre- and post-lockdown. The amount of coverage of the industry increased 145% and the tone of both headlines and articles shifted dramatically. Only one of the five newspapers had a net positive article rating of the industry pre-lockdown, four of five were net positive post-lockdown. The proportion of positive headlines increased 165%. The top issues discussed in the coverage shifted from persistent challenges for the industry (e.g. opioid crisis, high cost of drugs) to the emergence of the virus and status of vaccine development.Originality/valueThis research establishes how media coverage of the pharmaceutical industry changed as the industry responded to a global health-care crisis and identifies implications for industry stakeholders.

Introduction

In March 2020 the exhibition, ‘Pietro Aretino and the Art of the Renaissance', was forced to shut down as the Uffizi gallery closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.1 That such an exhibition could be staged in the first place, in one of the most important galleries in the world, speaks to Aretino's position in Italian cultural history. Aretino's position and legacy in Anglophone cultural and critical spheres is not nearly so established. However, it was once. In the sixteenth century (and beyond) Aretino was as recognisable – both esteemed and notorious – a name as Machiavelli. Copies of both their works were published in the 1580 s by the London printer John Wolfe, with prefaces arguing that both authors had been wrongfully maligned by the Catholic Church and that these English re-prints were intended to reinstate them for discerning readers.2 While these prefaces argued that Machiavelli's political message was misunderstood by his English readers, Aretino was presented as a defender of free speech, and an exposer of hypocrites: ‘a great friend of free men, mortal enemy of crooked necks, great lover of knowledge, cruel adversary of ignorance, follower of virtue, and bitter castigator of vices'. This is the first Anglophone journal issue ever devoted to Aretino, drawing together the diverse disciplines through which Aretino can be traced: political and diplomatic histories of Europe, art history, literary studies, book history and print culture, to name a selection. He is a figure long overdue a return to wider academic recognition;not the blackmailer and pornographer of popular tradition, but a figure who was courted by kings, emperors and popes, who was both friend and enemy to some of the most important artists of the cinquecento, whose name and fame spread across Europe as a byword for Italy and vice, and whose influence upon English literary culture has still not been fully acknowledged.

Doing well by doing good: why is investing in university social responsibility a good business for higher education institutions cross culturally?

PurposeThis paper aims to corroborate the importance of university social responsibility (USR) for universities and to establish a rationale for their investment in a strategically implement socially responsible initiatives and programmes and gain returns from such investments. This purpose can be achieved by examining a complex conceptual model connecting USR with many desired student-related outcomes that leverage the university's competitiveness, long sustainability and contribution to the triple bottom line – "people, planet, and profit”.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a cross-country comparative study using quantitative techniques. Their analysis was guided by a holistic conceptual model constructed and experimentally evaluated using obtained primary data. The robustness of the suggested model was evaluated using structural equation modelling with partial least squares.FindingsThe findings validate the hypothesized associations and indicate that adopting USR initiatives increases student satisfaction and alumni loyalty through student-university identification, perceived university image, and service quality. In addition, the cross-country analysis finds no variation in the strength of the connections owing to cultural variations, except for the association between service quality and institution image.Practical implicationsIncorporating USR at the centre of university's strategy not only complements its teaching and research goals but also answers the requirements and expectations of stakeholders, increases competitiveness and assures sustainable performance.Originality/valueThis cross-cultural USR study uses a mix of methods to show that, even though USR is important, until now, its importance has been overlooked.

The Relation between CEO Reputation, Financial Distress, Internal Control, and Earnings Management

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of internal control and financial distress on earnings management and add the CEO's reputation as a moderating variable. The object of this study is to determine the companies that listed on Indonesia Stock Exchanges between 2019 and 2020. The research data were tested and analyzed using panel regression analysis on SmartPLS software. Methodology: The research sample is chosen using the purposive sampling technique. Data analysis for the study employed the SmartPLS program. This research used accrual earnings management to measure the earnings management, springate model to measure financial distress, internal control index to measure internal control and CEO's reputation index is used to measure CEO's reputation. Findings: The research results found that financial distress and internal control positively affect earnings management. In addition, this research results also found that a CEO's reputation can have a moderately significant and positive effect on the relationship between financial distress and earnings management. Originality/Value: This research finding is helpful for corporate governance in maximizing investment strategies. The consideration of the value of internal control is also a reference when investing. As such, it tends to assist company management in executing investment strategies to see the value of the CEO's reputation and internal controls. The novelty research provides new insight into how CEO's reputation moderates the relationship between financial distress and earning management.

A Systematic Review of Multimodal Approaches to Online Misinformation Detection

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of pandemic-related misinformation on social media has had a significantly adverse impact on society. The sources of such misinformation usually use not only well-tailored text but also eye-catching images to establish their credibility. In this paper, we present an overview of current efforts on the task of detecting online COVID-19 conspiracy theory and misinformation. We perform a review of multimedia misinformation datasets related to the topic and an exploratory study on the state-of-the-art approaches towards these tasks. These approaches fuse textual analysis with modeling of images, propagation graphs, user reputation and fact-checking to build a comprehensive multimodal understanding of online misinformation. Our analysis indicates that using modalities in addition to text has a significant improvement on the performance of detecting misinformation, and out of the modalities presented, modeling user reputation and graph with social data are the most effective approaches. We conclude that a dataset that unifies all modalities is needed, and we present several promising directions for future research. © 2022 IEEE.

Athlete Interrupted: Exploration of Athletes' Personal Brand Management in Times of Crisis

Times of crisis impact the careers and brand management of athletes. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as the research context as we explore how athletes react, cope with, and respond to external disturbances through modifications in their personal brand management. We employed a qualitative approach, drawing on semi-structured interviews with elite athletes (N=15). The themes were verified by reviewing participants' Instagram posts. The findings show that the COVID-19 context has created unique challenges for athletes' careers and personal branding, including emotional distress, interruptions of athletic labor, and a void in the sports-related content they rely upon in their branding. Through emotional capital, coping, and identification of marketing opportunities, the athletes addressed the challenges, increasingly leveraging digital channels to preserve and expand their brand and remain relevant in the market. Findings have implications for athletes experiencing temporary career and brand-related interruptions such as during external disturbances, illness, pregnancy, or injury.

Social Reporting by Islamic Banks: The Role of Sharia Supervisory Board and the Effect on Firm Performance

This study aims to explore social reporting by Islamic banks (IB) (referred to as Islamic social reporting, ISR, hereafter) through two streams, i.e., its determinants and consequences on firm performance. Using annual report data from 90 samples of the world’s IB from 2016–2020, this study focuses on the sharia governance implementation through the role of the Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB). The SSB was measured by individual characteristics and IG-Score, representing a combination of dichotomous characteristics of the SSB, which have not been encountered in previous studies. Firm performance as a consequence of disclosure was determined by a more comprehensive approach based on accounting and the stock market. The study’s findings demonstrate the SSB’s beneficial influence on ISR, suggesting that the presence of an SSB can promote ISR practices. Social reporting has been found to have a negative impact on ROA, but it has a positive impact on MTBV and Tobin’s Q. The data suggest that while voluntary reporting practices may cause a short-term decline in profitability, they can have a positive impact on an enterprise’s long-term value.

Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Satisfaction and Consumer Loyalty of Private Banking Companies in Peru

This study aimed to determine the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer satisfaction and loyalty in the Peruvian private banking sector. A total of 390 bank consumers fulfilled an online survey. It evaluated the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR), customer satisfaction (CS), and customer trust (CT) on customer loyalty. The results suggest that CSR and customer satisfaction, through customer trust, have a positive effect on customer loyalty. The model explained 63.6% of customer loyalty. Outcomes of the bootstrapping test showed that the path coefficients were significant. The research findings may help bank managers to understand customers’ satisfaction and trust, which can create a preference and loyalty for their firms. The study’s novelty is based on the use of the partial least square structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM) to evaluate CSR in the financial sector in Peru.

Corporate social responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic: a sequential mediation analysis

Purpose>This paper aims to examine the influence of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) on purchase intention in the short-term and corporate reputation in the long-term while taking into consideration of the mediating role of brand image and customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach>The research sample comprising 482 participants was selected at random. Hierarchical multiple regression and the PROCESS Macro for SPSS were used to test the proposed hypotheses.Findings>Perceived CSR was found to have significant direct and mediated effects of purchase intention and corporate reputation through brand image and customer satisfaction. The proposed causal chain is pivotal for understanding how CSR perceptions influence, as well as shape purchase intention and perceived reputation.Research limitations/implications>There are three major implications. First, it is important for consumers to be able to perceive CSR initiatives, to consider them as a strategic investment. Second, firms must develop strategies that promote CSR as being positive for society and the environment, as well as for the firm. Third, perceived CSR is an important predictor in the causal chain of relationships that promote brand image and customer satisfaction, which contributes to reputation and purchase intention. One of the major limitations of this study, although COVID-19 is an ongoing global pandemic in this study, is that cross-sectional data were collected within a single economy. Hence, a longitudinal study with samples from other economies in the region may be conducted to compare and generalize the findings.Social implications>At a time when corporate objectives are predominantly designed to satisfy stakeholder interests and to increase return on investment, there is mounting social pressure on shifting managerial mindsets to address issues such as poverty, health and well-being, education for all, social equality, unhealthy consumption, hedonic advertisements, global peace and environmental concerns. Marketing has been criticized for its narrow focus on fulfilling the social needs of a particular target market while ignoring society at large, and this study argues that, through responsible marketing, firms can improve their reputation and at the same time can promote sustainable living.Originality/value>Direct and mediated relationships that have previously been studied separately are considered together in a serially mediated unified model. This approach provides a better understanding of how perceived CSR can transform purchase intention and reputation.

Investment returns from reputation investing: do good firms provide good returns?

Purpose>This study aims to examine whether a good corporate reputation leads to superior investment returns. Theory and empirics provide support for the idea that a good corporate reputation improves firm value, but much of the previous research fails to consider the risk of the companies they study and relies only on accounting measures of performance such as return on assets. A complete picture of the relationship between corporate reputation and shareholder value should include risk-adjusted returns and correlation with benchmark returns.Design/methodology/approach>The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ), based on the reputations of the 100 most visible companies, suggests that companies with a “solid reputation” are more likely to be attractive investments. The authors construct portfolios using deciles and the RQ categories, rebalancing annually as RQ rankings are updated. Returns are adjusted for risk using Jensen's alpha, the information ratio, the Sharpe ratio, Modigliani and Modigliani's M2 measure, and Muralidhar's M3 measure.Findings>The results indicate that choosing a portfolio based on the highest RQ-ranked firms does outperform the market on a risk-adjusted basis, and that the relationship between rankings and time-weighted returns is roughly monotonic. The authors also observe that corporate reputation is persistent, and that the best and worst most-visible firms are more likely to be privately held.Originality/value>This research adds to the literature by including both market-based return measures and risk in the examination of the relationship between corporate reputation and financial performance.

Bibliometric Review on Corporate Social Responsibility of the Food Industry

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the food industry has received increasing attention in recent years. Many scholars have paid attention to case studies and other empirical analyses in this field, but there is no systematic or scientific literature review. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and development history in CSR in the food industry. After searching, screening, and commenting, 498 articles were left for citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and co-word analysis. The main findings of the research are as follows: (1) The overall development status of the research in the field. The analysis of the three fields that constitute the knowledge structure. (2) Research in this field has become a hot spot, but the research is rather scattered, and the scholars and experts do not have a special research core. (3) The keywords’ cluster results in 9 clustering tags, which are further grouped into 7 groups. The research of the scholars focuses on the food supply chain, consumer perception, and social media communication. (4) The research topics in this field focus on environmental responsibility, nutrition and health, and food safety. The research results show that future research should be more in-depth and reflect the new characteristics of the Internet, digitalization, and big data.