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As applied fields, management, industrial-organizational psychology, and related disciplines seek to make their knowledge relevant to business practitioners. But the current dissemination model is inefficient, leading some to conclude that the gap between academics and practitioners poses one of the most pressing problems in management today. Using insights derived from the life and work of Timothy Baldwin, we offer four takeaways designed to foster collaboration between theoreticians and practitioners: (1) shrink the mission, (2) do not internalize the enemy, (3) find your champions, and (4) use the science of persuasion. These strategies are crucial to closing the gap and thus uniting the efforts of researchers and practitioners so as to ensure the practical relevance of research and to strengthen the organizational value proposition.

Many businesses engage genuinely in corporate social responsibility (CSR). But others engage in CSR-washing: using social concerns for financial gain and the distortion of internal practices to project the image of CSR to stakeholders. Unfair CSR-washing happens when a company is accused of being a CSR-washer despite having made significant and genuine efforts to address social or environmental issues. CSR-washing harms firms' reputations, resulting in the loss of consumer and stakeholder trust and even in potential lawsuits, depending on the type and severity of the behavior. We offer four interconnected, evidence-based recommendations to minimize a business's unfair perception as a CSR-washer: (1) integrate CSR into core activities rather than peripheral activities, (2) adopt a bottom-up approach to CSR, (3) develop an integrative performance-management/CSR system, and (4) develop an effective CSR communication strategy. We also offer specific implementation guidelines for each recommendation. Implementing these evidence-based practices will help organizations plan, execute, and monitor their CSR initiatives while remaining authentic and minimizing the chance of being labeled as CSR-washers.

Organizations face increasing demand for employees to develop their skills, and managers play an important role in supporting employees' learning and development. In contrast to the large body of research evidence on formal training, the emerging findings on informal learning have yet to provide managers with the necessary guidance to support employees' informal learning activities. Adopting a coaching analogy, we integrate these two research streams to introduce a model with which managers can simultaneously support employees' formal and informal learning. We elaborate on three critical dimensions of support, including direct assistance, guidance, and emotional support. We then present specific steps managers can adopt along each of these dimensions to better engage in employees' needs assessment, enhance their motivation to learn, and facilitate learning. Finally, we explain how managers can use a strategic learning plan for each employee and create synergy across formal and informal learning support, resulting in a positive learning climate.

Secretariat, if anyone remembers, won the triple crown at the Belmont Race Track on Long Island, located at the nexus of La Guardia, JFK Airports, the Long Island Railroad and multiple major highways. Belmont Race Track is now being rebuilt along with an adjacent UBS hockey arena for the New York Islanders which can be transmogrified into a spectacular concert venue with great acoustics and amazing design for the likes of Harry Styles and Bruce Springsteen who have already played there to packed audiences. Adjacent to the new arena is the new Belmont Park Village filled with luxury brands such as Prada, Zegna, Polo and the like. Do people who watch and bet on horses, attend hockey games and rock concerts, shop the luxury brands? Is this the way entertainment and retail will have to work together now in the age of ZOOM and e-commerce shopping?

Spreadsheet supplement to case 224068.

Karim Nour, the founder of Kashat, an Egyptian nano-lending fintech company, is contemplating how to manage the growth of his startup. Over the summer of 2022, Kashat's loan disbursements had grown by nearly 40%, fueled by macroeconomic instability in Egypt. However, economic uncertainty had also deterred investors from investing in the region. Nour soon began to realize he did not have the funds to maintain the company's rapid growth, in fact, he may not even have the capital to keep the company running. The case explores Nour's journey as he grapples with the concept of 'hibernating' the company, halting lending operations and preserving Kashat's invaluable data algorithm. Within the case, Nour weighs the risks of hibernating versus holding out for funding as he prepares to meet with Kashat's board. He also considers the possibility of being acquired as a means of continued survival for Kashat.

This case covers strategic financial planning at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia (BGCCVA), a nonprofit youth-serving organization with an annual expense budget of $6.7 million. In preparation for the next fiscal year, the CEO and CFO were compiling data and talking points for the May 2023 board meeting. BGCCVA was a high-performing, complex nonprofit with multiple locations serving more than 1,000 kids annually, and was often recognized as a standout by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The case explores two strategic challenges with financial implications: a new building and a staff development initiative, in addition to a recent leadership change. This case is inherently about managing competing strategic priorities, and gives instructors the option to explore everything from leadership transitions to annual budgeting. An obvious way to focus the discussion is through financial storytelling: first, understanding what the numbers mean, then second, evaluating the best way to communicate. There are opportunities to compare for-profit and nonprofit organizations as well. The teaching note includes an optional individual or team class exercise. This case is appropriate for full-time MBA, part-time MBA, and Executive MBA students, and can be taught in person or virtually.

Arconic Inc. was an international aluminum parts manufacturing and lightweight composite engineering conglomerate. In early 2019, it was set to be sold to Apollo Global Management Inc., a premier private equity firm; however, the deal fell apart due to a dispute over the valuation of pension obligations. The board of Arconic Inc. still demanded structural changes to maximize shareholder value, and in February 2020, the company engaged Bulge Bracket Bank (Bulge Bracket) to explore other options. The managing director of Bulge Bracket saw that there was a case to be made for spinning off Arconic Inc.'s Global Rolled Products division as a new company, to be called Arconic Corporation. He assigned a promising second-year analyst the task of conducting a comparable companies analysis to determine a fair valuation for Arconic Corporation. By drawing up a list of other companies in the materials industry and conducting a qualitative and quantitative analysis on them to identify comparable companies, the analyst was able to determine a reasonable implied valuation range ahead of the stock market listing of the spun-off company on April 1, 2020.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W32370

Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, CEO of ARTEX, aspired to marry the world of art and finance. Hoping to promote transparent, fractionalized ownership of renowned artwork, the founder had spent years contemplating the birth of an art stock market. This exchange would allow investors to trade art shares, much like the real-time trading of conventional stocks. Accompanied by an educational platform and partnerships with art institutions, ARTEX would help "democratize" art and unlock a new, stable asset class for all. Was the world ready-and could Benjelloun-Touimi convince a sufficient mass of art lovers and more importantly, regular investors-into buying fractions of artwork that would be valued at market-trade prices?

In February 2023 acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay is filming her latest movie, Origin, a daring adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. With Origin, DuVernay is pioneering a method to finance the endeavor-through a combination of investors and grantors-that is unheard of for a film of its size. A group of charitable institutions and individual donors have brought in around $35 million needed to acquire the adaptation rights, develop and produce the film; Array, DuVernay's company, which she describes as "a narrative change collective dedicated to the disruption of inequitable systems in Hollywood's film and television industry," has invested another $5 million. Is Origin on a path to success? What challenges await the filmmaker and her team further down the road, as their focus shifts from producing to distributing and marketing the film? And is DuVernay, with this new financing model, changing the game in Hollywood?

"Storrowed" is an exercise to help participants raise their capacity and curiosity for generative AI. It focuses on generative AI for problem understanding and ideation, but can be adapted for use more broadly. Participants use generative AI tools to understand a problem and then to arrive at ideas for solving it. The exercise begins with the following introduction: "A problem vexed Boston, Massachusetts, and its drivers. Trucks got stuck under the bridges on the city's Storrow Drive so often that this predicament even had a name, 'Storrowing' or getting 'Storrowed'. Efforts to date, including signage, social media campaigns, and fines, among other measures, had not put an end to Storrowing. One driver - dismayed and delayed on the way to work behind one such run-in - wondered, 'What would AI have to say about why this keeps happening?'" The exercise is accompanied by a game and can be run in teams; the best prompts keep the teams' trucks from "Storrowing."

The Himalayan Chocolate is a start-up brainchild of Rohan Keshewar. Stuck in Manali during the Lockdown, Rohan stayed with a family in their homestay facility. While interacting with the host family, Rohan discovered that the locals had two primary sources of income: working at a nearby farm and tourism. Apart from that, they did not have any other source of livelihood. Owing to his skills in making chocolate, he made his first batch of chocolate for the host family using local food ingredients. It began the journey of The Himalayan Chocolate with a bit of start-up investment, raw chocolate, and unique local flavors. Rohan named the brand The Himalayan Chocolate to suggest a chocolate made by the Himalayan people using local ingredients.

In 2021, an investment management firm analyst needed to convince his portfolio manager that technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) could have a strong investment thesis since they improved upon existing business models. To make his argument, he used financial ratio analysis to compare one of the portfolio manager's favourite companies, Walmart Inc. (Walmart), with a more technologically focused competitor in the retail space, Amazon. By analyzing the two companies using ratio analysis to highlight their similarities, the analyst sought to show his portfolio manager that Amazon was not only a technology company, but a better version of Walmart.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W36678

Bosch Automotive Product (Changsha) Ltd Co, is a leading automotive parts manufacturer, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bosch, a multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. Since 2020, Bosch Changsha had accelerated its digital transformation through building an organizational culture that embraces digital innovation. By designing and implementing a portfolio of digital initiatives and programs, Bosch Changsha managed to establish a culture that embraces digital transformation and inspires employees to contribute to organizational change. Meanwhile, despite the significant success, the company also faced the question of how to continue leveraging culture to drive future digital transformation.

BYD Auto Co. Ltd. (BYD Auto) became the world's biggest electric-vehicle (EV) maker in 2023. Before its inception in 2003, BYD Auto's parent firm, BYD Co. Ltd. (BYD), was a Shenzhen, China-based battery manufacturer. Under the visionary leadership of the company's chair and president, a trained chemist with an eye toward sustainable transportation, BYD diversified into the automotive industry and transformed into an EV leader. Based on site visits and interviews, this case examined the design and branding aspect of the transformation. Combining technology with deep-seated local culture, BYD Auto strategically designed a series of models that incrementally established its leadership domestically. What should be the company chair's strategic move in 2024 to innovate on BYD Auto's EVs?

Jim Collins, executive director of Harvest Hands, was very active in the day-to-day operations of Harvest Hands, but he also bore the responsibility for planning for the future of the registered charity. Jim together with his wife, Jacintha Collins, founded Harvest Hands in 2020 in St. Thomas, Ontario. In less than three years, their charity had distributed over $7.6 million in rescued food to food banks, missions, and over 120 local agencies. An impressive accomplishment for a volunteer-run charity. Their policy of "We never say no" was quickly pushing the capacity limits of the organization and Jim needed to consider the options for expanding Harvest Hands to keep up with both growing demand and supply.

Four years of research by a team in Sweden uncovered the unique challenges emerging digital health platforms face, such as integrating with existing solutions in a largely physical health care system and exerting influence in a tightly regulated industry. Based on more than 100 interviews with leaders and managers at 14 organizations in Sweden, the researchers developed a three-part strategy to help digital health platforms successfully scale to address global health care systems challenges.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, interest and investments in generative AI technologies have surged. Which players stand to gain the most from the growth and adoption of this technology? Analyzing the factors underlying generative AI allows us to identify points of differentiation. Given that the technology is resource and data intensive and benefits from network effects, incumbents have the greatest advantage; however, there are some areas where new entrants can create and capture value.