Innis Lecture: Algorithmic pricing and competition

In this chapter, the authors examine the significance of sustainable marketing and business practices for e-commerce companies in reducing their environmental impact and contributing to a more sustainable future. It emphasizes the importance of implementing sustainable strategies, such as adopting eco-friendly packaging, minimizing energy consumption, and partnering with sustainable suppliers, to enhance consumer trust and credibility. It addresses the challenges associated with sustainable marketing and recommends effectively promoting sustainable products and services. They suggest practices such as explicit communication about sustainability efforts, obtaining sustainability certifications, and showcasing sustainability initiatives to convey the company's commitment to sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of adopting sustainable marketing and business practices in e-commerce. By implementing these strategies, companies can reduce their environmental footprint, gain consumer trust, and contribute to achieving sustainability in the business world.

Purpose – This paper aims to assess Vail Resorts’ sustainability activities by applying a well-substantiated framework titled the “Leading the Sustainable Organization” (LSO) model in order to systematically explore their efforts. Anecdotally the sustainability activities and accomplishments of Vail Resorts appear comprehensive and impressive. Corporate sustainability is a complex, multi-functional endeavor, yet guidance on the issue has tended to be single level, single stage and single disciplinary. Our multi-level assessment of Vail Resorts’ sustainability activities, including the stakeholder and financial impacts, develops a deeper understanding of sustainability and the effect it can have on profitability and value of a company. Design/methodology/approach – Vail Resorts’ sustainability activities were assessed by applying a well-substantiated framework titled the “Leading the Sustainable Organization” (LSO) model. Findings – The in-role and extra-role sustainability performance of employees at Vail Resorts demonstrates their engagement with the company’s sustainability efforts. Beyond employee sustainability performance, the company-level sustainability performance of Vail Resorts exhibits the payoff of the company’s sustainability efforts. Research limitations/implications – The LSO model was applied to only one organization. Future application to multiple firms would provide a broader assessment of the state of sustainability in organizations of various sizes and across industries. Practical implications – By examining their sustainability activities through the lens of the LSO model, Vail Resorts provides a rich example of best practices relating to a company’s pursuit of sustainability efforts and their expected benefits. Vail Resorts’ wide-ranging sustainability actions, combined with the LSO model, provide managers with a well-defined road map to lead their own sustainable organization. Vail Resorts’ implementation of the various components of the LSO model, and the results achieved, demonstrate that “sustainability is not just doing good, it is also good business.” Originality/value – Applying the LSO model offers both practicing managers and researchers alike a well-substantiated framework to assess organizational sustainability efforts, in order to identify areas of organizational sustainability strength as well as areas needing improvement.

Objectives: Patient safety is a cornerstone of healthcare quality, with incident reporting systems essential for fostering a safety culture. Despite the critical role of medical imaging, safety incidents remain a persistent challenge. This study analyzes trends and contributing factors in imaging safety incidents utilizing electronic occurrence variance reporting (OVR) data to identify patterns and recommend improvements. Methods: Data from the medical imaging department of a tertiary medical center’s OVR system were analyzed for incidents reported between 2021 and 2023. Incidents were categorized into four types: staff-related, equipment-related, intravenous access and administration–related, and patient-related events. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics to assess the frequencies and types of incidents, Pearson’s correlation to evaluate the relationship between incident frequency and severity, and a one-sample t-test to identify changes in incident frequency over the study period. Results: Staff-related incidents declined from 76.47% in 2021 to 61.54% in 2023 (P = 0.02), whereas equipment-related incidents increased significantly from 10.29% to 24.62% (P = 0.03). Miscommunication emerged as the primary factor in staff-related incidents. While statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between incident frequency and severity (P = 0.536), a significant difference in incident frequency across the years was observed (P = 0.009). The rise in minor and moderate risk levels over time highlights the need for targeted risk management strategies. Conclusion: By analyzing trends in medical imaging safety incidents, this study provides actionable strategies to minimize risks and improve patient safety. Sustained efforts in communication, process optimization, and the cultivation of a safety-oriented culture are critical for preventing future incidents.

The current epidemic of violence in America threatens not only our physical health but also the integrity of basic social institutions such as the family, the communities in which we live, and our health care system. Public health brings a new vision of how Americans can work together to prevent violence. This new vision places emphasis on preventing violence before it occurs, making science integral to identifying effective policies and programs, and integrating the efforts of diverse scientific disciplines, organizations, and communities. A sustained effort at all levels of society will be required to successfully address this complex and deeply rooted problem.

e13623 Background: Climate change is one of the largest threats to human health and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a substantial component of climate change. In the U.S., the healthcare industry accounts for an estimated 8.5% of GHG emissions, equating to the loss of 470,000 disability-adjusted life-years annually. Cancer care encapsulates a significant portion of hospital resources and climate change has disproportionate effects on cancer patients. Therefore, it is imperative and urgent that cancer centers actively engage in reducing healthcare related GHG emissions. In this systematic analysis and comprehensive review, we reviewed publicly accessible sustainability plans of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers and their affiliated organizations to understand the involvement Cancer Centers have in their organization's sustainability efforts. Methods: We reviewed 64 NCI designated Cancer Centers, using the first 20 results of a Google search with terms: “Hospital X AND (climate action plan OR climate change OR sustainability plan OR carbon neutral)” and hospital homepages to identify publicly accessible sustainability plans for each organization. We reviewed the plans, performed a Google search/Cancer Center homepage search and messaged sustainability plan developers to identify involvement of the hospital and Cancer Center. We identified which hospitals assigned sustainability personnel. We performed a student’s t-test to assess for a correlation between incidence of lung cancer in a state and presence of a sustainability plan for that state’s Cancer Center. Data was collected by one reviewer, independently validated by a separate reviewer and differences were resolved by a joint data review. Results: Amongst the 65 Cancer Centers and organizations reviewed, 55 (36 university, 12 hospital, 7 joint) had publicly available sustainability plans. Of which, 31% (11/36) of university plans explicitly mentioned an affiliated hospital as part of the sustainability plan. Two Cancer Centers (3%) had independent sustainability plans and 7 (11%) centers mentioned sustainability on their homepage. 77% (23/30) of hospitals with sustainability plans identified sustainability personnel. We did not find an association between the existence of Cancer Center sustainability plan and that state’s lung cancer incidence rates (p = 0.932). Conclusions: In this review and analysis of NCI-designated Cancer Center sustainability plans, we found that while most centers’ affiliated organizations have publicly accessible sustainability plans, the majority (86%) of centers do not independently report on their sustainability efforts. These findings highlight a pressing need to increase engagement between Cancer Centers and their organizations regarding sustainability plans, and a need for greater transparency in publicizing sustainability plans.

Purpose– Organizational sustainability has become a priority on many corporate agendas. How to integrate sustainability efforts throughout the organization, however, remains a challenge. The purpose of this paper is to examine two factors that potentially enhance incentive effects on employee engagement in environmental objectives: explicit organizational values for sustainability and the performance objective’s complementarity with incented financial objectives.Design/methodology/approach– The authors employed a quasi-experimental design in which participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, including a status quo condition against which the treatments were contrasted. Participants (n=400) were comprised of a cross-section of US employees from a wide range of occupations and industries. Apost hocqualitative analysis provided additional insights.Findings– Incentive effects were enhanced (i.e. preference for the environmental objective was significantly higher) when the environmental project offered complementary benefits for financial objectives, but not when organization values emphasized sustainability. An entrenched status quo bias for financial performance was discerned among a subset of the sample.Research limitations/implications– Management scholars must pay close attention to the role of implicit norms for financial performance when investigating employee engagement in organizational sustainability efforts. From an applied perspective, framing sustainability objectives to emphasize financial benefits consistent with a financial mission may maximize employee engagement.Originality/value– This study contributes to understanding of organizational sustainability efforts at the individual employee level of analysis, a conspicuously small part of the organizational research surrounding this topic.

In order to explore and extend our understanding of corporate sustainability definitions and frameworks, we performed a content analysis of a sample of (2013) Fortune 500 companies' standalone sustainability reports using the content analysis tool, Leximancer (http://leximancer.com). Leximancer is a powerful content analysis tool that performs both conceptual and thematic analysis. In addition, Leximancer displays the results of the analyses visually, thus providing a view of the conceptual and thematic structure of the text, and enabling a researcher to quantify and display the text structure. The results of our analyses demonstrate three common themes (Business, Employees and Energy/Environment) observable across eight of the nine industries in our sample. In addition, we observed significant differences in the relative emphasis for the three common themes across industries. We believe a deeper understanding of the themes that motivate firms' sustainability efforts can enhance future research that explores relationships between organizational sustainability efforts and organizational performance.

In this chapter, we introduce and discuss the first critical success factor for an effective sustainability effort—identifying the proper objectives for it. Through clinical observation, we discovered that many firms failed to successfully implement their sustainability strategies, not because they lacked the desire, the willingness or even the belief in the impact of sustainability on their businesses, but because they failed to identify proper objectives for their efforts. When firms become overly ambitious and select too many targets, their efforts tend to become dispersed and hence of limited impact. This creates demotivation and too often leads to the abandonment of meaningful and inherently valuable efforts. It definitely pays to focus but on the right targets. In the next sections, we review the importance of purpose for an organization, and how it helps to coalesce various efforts and goodwill and gives a shared sense of direction. We then illustrate how sustainability can be a strong contributor to that sense of purpose by providing superior motives for business activities. In later sections, we review how to identify and qualify the possible sustainability efforts and then to single out a small subset that would be most compatible with your business and hence best able to serve as guidance for your organizational efforts.

This descriptive survey research examined BSIT and BSCS student awareness and acceptance of the College's Vision, Mission, Goals, and Objectives (VMGO) across two academic years: 2023 (n=112) and 2024 (n=97). Using a structured questionnaire comprising three main sections—respondent profile, awareness of VMGO, and acceptance of VMGO components—the study gathered quantitative data on student perceptions. Likert scale responses (ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree) were analyzed using frequency distributions and mean acceptance scores to identify trends in stakeholder acceptance. Results demonstrated consistently high positive response rates, with 76.07% of respondents expressing favorable views (Strongly Agree or Agree) in 2023, increasing to 79.79% in 2024. Mean acceptance scores improved from 3.928 in 2023 to 4.064 in 2024, with the most significant gains observed in VMGO clarity and understandability (73.21% to 81.44%). Negative responses declined from an average of 13.93% in 2023 to 9.49% in 2024. The findings indicate that computing studies students recognize VMGO as aligned with their personal values, relevant to community needs, and worthy of support for academic implementation. These results suggest that sustained institutional efforts in communication, engagement, and integration of VMGO principles into academic programs are effective in strengthening stakeholder acceptance and institutional alignment.

The rapid proliferation of mobile technologies and mobile devices has resulted in an increase in the importance of mobile marketing and has captured the interest of academic researchers from a wide variety of disciplines. Due to its unique characteristics, mobile marketing is playing an increasingly significant role in marketing communication and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) efforts of organizations in various industries and professions. As mobile technologies and applications continue to evolve, the resulting opportunities for their increased use in the health care sector at large, and within specific sectors in the industry, are poised to increase significantly in coming years. Specifically, this paper explores the primary applications and implications of mobile marketing for physicians in private practice. Some of the key questions and challenges associated with the integration of mobile technologies by physicians in private practice are investigated and suggestions are made for future research directions.

Mission, Goals, and Structure The International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (IRHEC), established in 2019, supported by ESHRE, is a multidisciplinary global initiative committed to raising awareness and understanding of reproductive health. Our mission is to provide accurate and inclusive information for all, through collaboration between researchers, educators, and healthcare professionals. IRHEC operates through a steering committee supported by a network of members worldwide. After several years of intensive work developing educational resources and refining our collaborative format, IRHEC has entered a new phase that maintains the educational focus while placing increased emphasis on strengthening its foundation within ESHRE. Since late 2024 and into 2025, we have worked to formalize our governance structures, including the refining of statutes, the implementation of rotation schemes, and the clarification of roles to ensure long-term sustainability and clear internal organization. Achievements and Activities In late 2024, IRHEC launched a new suite of educational resources to increase awareness of reproductive health among the public, teachers, and healthcare professionals. These resources include a series of twelve informational leaflets and a redesigned fertility education poster titled “Do you want to have kids in the future? 9 Things You Should Know” - both of which are now available in an expanding number of languages. A comprehensive teacher resource was also released, covering a wide range of reproductive health topics to support educators. We also produced six short videos sharing personal fertility stories, intended as standalone or complementary educational tools. To evaluate the uptake, reception, and educational impact of the teacher resource among educators, a research protocol is currently being developed. All materials created by IRHEC are freely accessible and available for download via our website. Our Research Working Group continues to maintain and update a searchable, open-access database of peer-reviewed publications on fertility education, including highlights of global initiatives relevant to the field. In early 2025, IRHEC introduced an Action Tracker to monitor ongoing initiatives and evaluate their alignment with strategic objectives. This tool enhances transparency and accountability in operations and ensures that our core goals are consistently pursued. Current research themes include the role of social media in reproductive health education, fertility knowledge across populations, and the identification of global research gaps. A study has been performed on the use of Twitter/X as a platform for fertility education and a manuscript has been submitted for journal review. A letter to Human Reproduction Open was accepted emphasizing the growing importance of defending reproductive health education in response to global challenges. The Communication Working Group manages IRHEC’s outreach through social media, newsletters, and our website. A biannual newsletter keeps members informed and engaged while encouraging new contributors to join our efforts. From December 2024 to March 2025, a dedicated social media campaign was conducted to promote our new educational resources and expand our digital reach. Following the campaign, we observed a marked increase in engagement across all platforms, especially among those aged 25–34. Our follower count grew significantly: Instagram increased from 365 to 624 followers (+42%), LinkedIn from 198 to 634 (+69%), and X from 232 to 279 (+17%). Videos and infographics proved particularly engaging, with IVF-related content drawing high levels of interest. These results reflect increased attention to reproductive health education and the growing presence of IRHEC’s work online. Conclusion IRHEC remains firmly committed to advancing reproductive health education through sustained efforts in education, research, and communication. In a global climate where sexual and reproductive health and rights are increasingly contested, our mission stands as both a shield and a principled voice. By promoting knowledge and international collaboration, we reaffirm the right to bodily autonomy and inclusive, evidence-based education for all.

Relief services for victims and others affected by emergencies and disasters are essential during these events and are often provided by nonprofit and voluntary organizations. The focus of this study was to assess informational communications provided through websites, focusing on emergency and disaster relief to determine if they communicated information with maximum effectiveness. The availability of information provided on these websites can directly affect how victims and the public are served. American Red Cross (ARC) chapters provided a convenient sample for study. We identified 646 ARC chapters in the United States; homepages were located for 588 (91.0%). We reviewed each homepage to document the availability (or absence) of nine elements recognized as being important for improving communications related to the provision of disaster and emergency services. ARC chapter website homepages had a mean of 3.4 (± 1.4) communication elements. Providing four examples, 74.3% included the organization's phone number, 32.0% provided links to other organizations involved in disaster response, 23.0% allowed visitors to sign up for automatic alerts or notifications, and 16.5% listed an email address for their organization. Emergencies and disasters are unpredictable. Having more communication elements available increases the likelihood that individuals affected by such events will connect with an organization's website and receive services. We suggest that our nine communication elements be considered when an organization develops or updates its homepage. Such contents can reinforce an organization's communication efforts by providing a recognizable source of consistent and reliable information for people experiencing emergency or disaster situations.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose: The purpose of this evaluation was to determine effective and appropriate communication strategies for addressing the unique psychosocial needs of young breast cancer survivors (YBCS). YBCS (defined as women diagnosed at age 45 or younger) may experience more difficulties in adapting to treatment and aftercare when compared to older women – the disease can be more serious, with multimodal treatments, and severe side effects. YBCS also experience more psychological morbidities and emotional distress, and experience different types of fears and anxieties than older survivors. There is limited evidence to support the use of any specific strategies to effectively mitigate the short- and long-term effects of breast cancer in the YBCS population. In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established a cooperative agreement with organizations offering tailored support and education services to YBCS. This process evaluation of the cooperative agreement aimed to document program implementation and the extent to which the cooperative agreement relationship (i.e., funding, subject matter expert support, technical assistance, and training) facilitates organizations' delivery of programs to YBCS. Procedures: The evaluation utilized a multiple case study design, entailing document review, site visits, program observation, and in-depth interviews with relevant program staff and partner organizations to document and describe program implementation and perceptions related to program effectiveness. Thematic analysis was used to analyze all qualitative data collected. Data Findings: Organizations offered a range of services, including psychosocial support and education to YBCS, YBCS caregivers, and health care providers. Services offered covered the cancer care continuum, ranging from the provision of community outreach and education via multiple platforms (e.g., partnership development, social media), to the offering of structured support services (e.g., patient navigation, structured support plans) to relevant YBCS audiences. Overall, program staff reported that cooperative agreement funding helped to expand and strengthen their organization's efforts in reaching and providing much-needed information and support to YBCS. Conclusions: Findings from this evaluation support the use of tailored interventions as a promising strategy to improve YBCS communication and education efforts, thereby supporting a reduction of cancer disparities among this and other populations. Furthermore, findings demonstrated the use of federal funds to help organizations augment existing or create new resources and services for YBCS populations. Citation Format: Dara Schlueter, Sarah O'Dell, Marnie House. Eliminating cancer disparities through support services for young breast cancer survivors: Evaluation of a cooperative agreement. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B49.

A combination of 41 depth interviews and analysis of 453 surveys conducted in two organizations was done to examine the coorientation of organizational definitions and communication efforts. Interpersonal communication was both a product and a facilitator of communication between management and employees. Organizations with meaningful interpersonal communication may achieve a better shared definition of the organization and hence a better communication environment. Public relations practitioners should supplement traditional journalistic methods with interpersonal ones in addressing employee publics.

Background The AEC practice using BIM technology in Central European (CE) context is still very young; the previous experiences demonstrated a number of upcoming problems with BIM implementation on technical- (heterogonous data, interfaces, large data volumes) but even more so on process-level (question of responsibilities and work-load distribution, lacking standards or conventions on building-representation and in general lack of experience and knowledge on integrated practice). The optimal data management, transfer and synchronization within inhomogeneous software context, as is often the case within inter-firm construction projects, require enormous organization, coordination and communication effort in the earliest design-phases. The BIM implementation implies therefore necessity of fundamental rethinking of the conventional design process, which in CE context is still predominantly based on sequential, segmented practice. Methods At the Vienna University of Technology a BIM-supported multi-disciplinary planning process with students of architecture, structural engineering and building physics, using several BIM-software tools was simulated. From the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of this BIM-supported multi-disciplinary collaboration will enable the compilation of guidelines for efficient use of BIM in design and planning process for the planners and standardization bodies. Results First insights on process-quality, such as team-, process- and technology satisfaction, as well as conflict- and stress levels will be presented in this paper. We were able to identify numerous technical problems related to the data transfer and inconsistencies in translation, which resulted in participant dissatisfaction and significant increasing of work-loads. Conclusion The first results imply at the importance of process-organization techniques such as face-to face communication, coordination and work-load allocation between the team-members in order to conduct the efficient BIM-supported process; as well as at urgent need for advancement of the tools in terms of data transfer and exchange. In the next step, using mandatory protocols and timesheets, a detailed statistical analysis of the people-process-technology issues will be conducted, as well as comparison of „Open-Platform-BIM“ to „One-Platform-BIM” model.