BUSINESS BRIEFING
All the latest updates from across AMBA’s global network
Among the latest updates from AMBA-accredited schools is a look at how resource reallocation for CSR can result in troubling trade-offs, how age impacts the entrepreneurial journey and the institutions using AI to enhance learning and simulate interview situations. Tim Banerjee Dhoul and Ellen Buchan report
STUDY REVEALS CSR SUBSTITUTIONS MAY CAUSE UNANTICIPATED REPERCUSSIONS
to take jobs. The policy seeks to curb concerns associated with the prevalence of undocumented workers in the US such as workplace abuses, underpayment and unsafe working conditions. Analysing data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2000 to 2018, the researchers found that the adoption of E-Verify mandates led to fewer labour violations due to hazardous working conditions during the period and more generally, fewer fines for labour violations. However, they also found that pollution levels rose after the policy’s implementation, with more significant rises observed in US states that adopted the more comprehensive “universal E-Verify” and in those that had higher proportions of undocumented workers. Further investigation led the team to conclude that the increased pollution could be attributed largely to reduced emission efficiency, caused not by financial constraints brought on by E-Verify but by the extra attention it warranted. “CSR substitution is a rational business decision to reallocate resources,” Zhou surmised, noting that “a company’s true commitment to sustainability can be understood by looking at the full picture and the trade-offs the company makes.” EB
SCHOOL : Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, Hong Kong, China
A new study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School shows that the introduction of policies and regulations designed to tackle specific areas of CSR may lead to a reduction of activities elsewhere. “When crafting policy, legislators should consider safeguards to prevent backsliding in other CSR domains,” cautioned Xiaolu Zhou, study co‑author and assistant professor of accounting at CUHK Business School. Zhou went on to explain that limited resources make it more likely that businesses would have to choose which facets of social responsibility to pursue. “When a regulation mandates one aspect of CSR to improve, managers may prioritise compliance and reduce investment in other CSR activities.” The research analysed a US government policy called E-Verify that stipulates the use of federal data to ascertain whether recruits are eligible
8 Ambition • ISSUE 2 • 2026
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