Vikram Pandit to serve as the next Poling Chair at the IU Kelley School of Business

Posted on February 27, 2025 by George Vlahakis

Vikram Pandit

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Vikram S. Pandit, chairman and chief executive officer of The Orogen Group and a prior CEO of Citigroup and president of Morgan Stanley, will visit the Indiana University Kelley School of Business as its Poling Chair of Business and Government.

Pandit will join former Kelley Dean John Rau as Poling Chair, whose appointment was announced last September and concludes this May.

Arrangements have been made for Pandit to meet with students in Kelley’s workshops in investment banking, investment management, private equity and capital markets, honors students, and faculty in finance. During his initial visit March 2-5, he will be at IU Bloomington, but he will meet with Kelley Indianapolis students and faculty when he returns in the fall.

Since its establishment in 1993 by the late Harold “Red” Poling, a Kelley School alumnus and Ford Motor Co. chairman and CEO for nearly a decade, the Poling Chair has been held by a variety of business and government leaders.

Pandit has spent his career in financial services and has been a participant in and a catalyst for some of the tremendous changes the industry has experienced over the last several decades.

He joined Morgan Stanley in 1983 and ultimately became president and chief operating officer of the company’s institutional securities and investment banking businesses. He left the firm after more than 20 years to become a founding member and chairman of the members committee of Old Lane, LP.

When Old Lane was acquired by Citigroup in 2007, Pandit became chairman and CEO of Citi Alternative Investments and later led Citi’s Institutional Clients Group. He became CEO of Citigroup in December 2007 and led the company during the most challenging economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression, successfully recapitalizing, restructuring, and revitalizing the company before he left in October 2012.

Orogen Group is an operating company that makes significant long-term strategic investments in financial services companies and related businesses with proven business models. Pandit is a member of the board of directors of ExlService Holdings, Inc., Ardán Inc., Brillio, and JM Financial Credit Solutions Ltd.

Dean Ash Soni

“We are thrilled to welcome Vikram Pandit to the Kelley School. Our students and faculty will benefit from his variety of deep knowledge and extensive experience in investment management and finance at the highest level in the corporate world,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor. “His perspectives will be most appreciated by our students, as they prepare to begin their careers and possibly make client decisions framed by challenges similar those Vikram has faced.”

Pandit is returning to IU Bloomington and the Kelley School, where he briefly taught as a lecturer in finance at the Kelley School in 1982 and 1983.

“I am delighted to be named the Poling Chair of Business and Government and to join Dean Ash Soni for a visit to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business,” Pandit said. “In many ways I consider Indiana University to be my honorary alma mater, because I learned so much from the faculty and students. I have many fond memories of the time I spent on campus and the great relationships I forged here.”

Pandit earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in finance from Columbia in 1986. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School and a member of the Board of Visitors of the Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Pandit follows a long line of successful leaders, many of them Kelley alumni, who have served as Poling Chairs. They have included top executives at major companies, including Janet Foutty, former chair and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP; Jeff Fettig, former chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation; Elizabeth Acton, retired chief financial officer of Comerica and a former vice president and treasurer of Ford Motor Co.; Randall L. Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Co., and former vice chairman of AT&T Corp; and Bob Eckert, former CEO of Mattel Inc. and Kraft.

They also have included two former state governors –Maryland’s Martin O’Malley and Indiana’s Evan Bayh — Hollywood producer Kristin Hahn, Indian parliamentarian Deepender Singh Hooda, the Countess of Frederiksborg in Denmark Alexandra Christina, former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and Mae C. Jemison, the first African American female astronaut.

Indiana University appoints Patrick E. Hopkins as new dean of the Kelley School of Business

Posted on February 25, 2025 by George Vlahakis

Patrick Hopkins, the next dean of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Patrick E. Hopkins has been appointed dean of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, effective March 17, 2025. A distinguished member of the Kelley faculty since 1995 and current vice dean, Hopkins is an accomplished leader in business education with extensive experience in both academia and industry. He succeeds Ash Soni, who is concluding a two-year tenure as dean and will return to the faculty after a sabbatical leave.

“Patrick is taking the helm of one of Indiana University’s most renowned programs,” said Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University. “The Kelley School of Business has extraordinary faculty who provide a world-class educational experience for our exceptional students. As dean, I am confident that Dr. Hopkins will navigate the new opportunities in higher education to raise Kelley to new heights.”

IU President Pamela Whitten

In his new position as dean, Hopkins will oversee the academic and administrative operations of the Kelley School of Business at both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. His priorities will include enhancing the school’s global impact, strengthening its dual-campus structure and driving forward the school’s student-centered vision for the future of business education. He will also continue Kelley’s global leadership in online and innovative educational programs and deepen the school’s connections with alumni and corporate partners to offer unparalleled learning experiences for students.

“We are excited to welcome Pat as the new leader of the Kelley School of Business,” said Rahul Shrivastav, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president. “As dean, he will be pivotal in strengthening Kelley’s reputation as an entrepreneurial, globally minded leader. Aligned with the IU 2030 Strategic Plan, Kelley will continue to expand its impactful corporate partnerships and provide students with unparalleled experiential learning opportunities, ensuring they are prepared to lead in an ever-evolving global marketplace.”

Hopkins’s leadership will also focus on ensuring that the school advances its mission to transform the lives of students, organizations and society through groundbreaking faculty research and service. The Kelley School of Business has been a longtime leader in interdisciplinary collaboration and experiential and project-based learning, and Hopkins is committed to building upon these strengths.

“With campuses in both Bloomington and Indianapolis, Kelley is uniquely positioned to graduate the business leaders of tomorrow for our city, state and region,” said Latha Ramchand, IU Indianapolis inaugural chancellor and executive vice president. “IU Indianapolis Provost Gladden and I look forward to partnering with Pat to strengthen integration between our campuses and advance the school’s mission of excellence in business education and innovation.”

Kelley’s strong connections with alumni and the business community, along with its globally recognized online programs, provide a rich foundation for future growth. As the Kelley School moves forward under Hopkins’s leadership, it will continue to leverage its growing business partnerships to expand its offerings and provide students with the skills and experience needed to lead in the dynamic world of business.

“I am honored to serve as the next dean of the Kelley School of Business,” Hopkins said. “Kelley has long been a leader in shaping the future of business education, driven by groundbreaking research and faculty leadership in their disciplines. I look forward to collaborating with our exceptional faculty, staff and students to further strengthen Kelley’s academic rigor, expand our research contributions and continue to enhance our impact both in the classroom and beyond.”

Hopkins has been a member of the Kelley School faculty since 1995, earning tenure in 2002 and being promoted to full professor of accounting in 2010. He has held a variety of academic roles, including a visiting associate professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Prior to joining Indiana University, Hopkins worked at the University of Texas at Austin as a teaching and research assistant and served as a lecturer and undergraduate academic advisor at the University of Florida’s Fisher School of Accounting.

At the Kelley School, Hopkins has served numerous leadership roles, including vice dean, executive associate dean of academic programs and Conrad Prebys professor, chair of undergraduate programs, Glaubinger Chair for Undergraduate Leadership and chair of graduate accounting programs and SungKyunKwan professor.

With an extensive academic background and research focus on professional judgment, decision-making and the effects of accounting and auditing in capital markets, Hopkins is recognized for his work in these fields, which are critical to the evolving landscape of business. He earned a doctorate in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, with minors in psychology and statistics, and holds both a master’s and bachelor’s in accountancy from the University of Florida, graduating with the highest honors. Hopkins is also a Certified Public Accountant, having earned the Elijah Watt Sells Award in 1987.

Founded in 1920, the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University is one of the largest and most prestigious business schools in the world. With campuses in Bloomington and Indianapolis, the school offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate, MBA and executive education programs, while also being a global leader in research and innovation in business education. With more than 15,000 students and over 133,000 living alumni worldwide, the school consistently ranks among the top business schools in the U.S. and globally. The Kelley Direct Online MBA program is ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report, Poets & Quants, and The Princeton Review. Kelley’s Full-Time MBA +Flex program also has been consistently ranked nationally, including as a top 20 U.S. program, according to U.S. News and QS Top MBA. U.S. News also rates Kelley undergraduate programs among the best, ranking it ninth overall. U.S. News also ranks the Evening MBA at Kelley Indianapolis as a top-ranked program at No. 13 among part-time MBAs.

All generic drugs are not equal, study finds; Generics made in India have more ‘severe adverse events’

Posted on February 19, 2025 by George Vlahakis

A key recommendation made in the study is for the FDA to make drug manufacturing location more transparent for consumers.

Editor’s note: This is a joint news release with The Ohio State University. Authors are available for interviews. Contact information is provided at the bottom of this article.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Generic drugs manufactured in India are linked to significantly more “severe adverse events” for patients who use them than equivalent drugs produced in the United States, a new study finds.

These adverse events included hospitalization, disability, and in a few cases, death. Researchers found that mature generic drugs, those that had been on the market for a relatively long time, were responsible for the finding.

The results show that all generic drugs are not equal, even though patients are often told that they are, said John Gray, co-author of the study and professor of operations at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.

“Drug manufacturing regulation, and therefore quality assurance practices, differ between emerging economies like India and advanced economies like the United States,” Gray said. “Where generic drugs are manufactured can make a significant difference.”

George Ball

“The FDA assures the public that all generics patterned after the same original drug should be equivalently safe and effective, however, this is not necessarily the case when it comes to generic drugs made in India,” added another co-author, George Ball, associate professor of operations and decision technologies and Weimer Faculty Fellow at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Published recently in the journal Production and Operations Management, the research was led by In Joon Noh, who received his PhD at Ohio State and is now an assistant professor at Korea University. Other authors include Zachary Wright, who will receive his PhD from Ohio State and is now an assistant professor at Brigham Young University; and Hyunwoo Park, a former assistant professor at Ohio State, now at Seoul National University.

Several of the authors on this paper have worked closely with the Food and Drug Administration on federal grants and contracts, though this study was conducted completely independent of the FDA. These authors said working closely with the FDA gave them a deep appreciation for the importance of studying generic drug quality.

The study is significant because it is the first to be able to link a large sample of generic drugs to the actual plant where they were manufactured. The FDA will not release that information through the Freedom of Information Act process. But Gray said Noh figured out how to use what is called the Structured Product Labeling dataset to link drugs to the factory where they were produced.

“Overcoming this lack of transparency of drug manufacturing location is one of the major accomplishments of our study,” Gray said.

Another key to the study is that it matched the drugs made in India to the same drugs made in the United States. The drugs had the same active ingredients, the same dosage form and the same route of administration.

“That means the drugs are pharmaceutically equivalent and we are comparing apples to apples,” he said.

The researchers matched 2,443 drugs made in the United States and in emerging economies. Although the researchers included other countries in their analysis, 93% of generic drugs from emerging economy countries are made in India, so India data fully explained the results.

The researchers compared the frequency with which drugs were associated with adverse event reports for generic drugs made in India versus the matched drugs made in the United States. These adverse event reports are available in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

Although the FAERS includes all reported adverse events, in this study the researchers only used those with the most serious outcomes, including hospitalization, disability and death.

Results showed that the number of severe adverse events for generic drugs made in India was 54% higher than for equivalent matched generic drugs made in the United States. That was after taking into account a variety of other factors that could have impacted the results, including the volume of drugs sold.

The findings were driven by drugs that had been on the market for a longer time.

“In the pharmaceutical industry, the older drugs get cheaper and cheaper and the competition gets more intense to hold down costs,” Gray said. “That may result in operations and supply chain issues that can compromise drug quality.”

Gray emphasized that the results shouldn’t be taken as a reason to stop overseas production of generic drugs.

“There are good manufacturers in India, there are bad manufacturers in the U.S., and we’re not advocating for ending offshore production of drugs or bashing India in any way,” Gray said.

“We believe this is a regulatory oversight issue that can be improved.”

Gray said one key issue is that when the FDA inspects plants that make generic drugs in the United States, the inspections are unannounced. But in overseas locations, the inspections are arranged in advance, which may allow manufacturers to hide problems and make it harder for the FDA to find those that do exist. Making all inspections unannounced could make a big difference, he said.

“A key recommendation we make in this study is for the FDA to make drug manufacturing location, such as the country of manufacture, and drug quality, transparent for consumers,” Ball added. “This can help create a market in which drug quality is incentivized more than it is today.”

Contacts:

George Ball, gpball@iu.edu

John Gray, Gray.402@osu.edu

Media contacts:

IU: George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, vlahakis@iu.edu

Ohio State: Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu

Teams from Kelley School’s Master of Science in Finance program sweep the competition at Purdue event

Posted on February 4, 2025 by George Vlahakis

Winners of the 2025 Private Equity Case Competition at Purdue, Jose Suryadinata and Rodrigo Cyrillo Villa.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Master of Science in Finance students from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business emerged as the winners of Purdue University’s Private Equity Case Competition.

This year, the three Kelley School teams swept the awards, also coming in second and third place, defeating a dozen other teams from the universities of Notre Dame and Illinois, Washington University of St. Louis and Purdue.

Members of the winning team were Jose Suryadinata and Rodrigo Cyrillo Villa. Coming in second place were Noah Barr, Daniel Borhi, Shashank Gaddamanagu and PJ Heilbronn, and in third place were Alvaro Portilla Vilches, Aman Manghi, Garrett Orten and James DeMaria.

Participants were asked to assess a potential buyout of Walgreens Boots Alliance, which has been rumored as the company pursues a turnaround strategy.

“The case itself presented it as an awesome opportunity to apply all the financial knowledge we spent the last four years building into an intricate real-world scenario,” said Villa, who originally is from São Paulo, Brazil. “Our last three weeks were mostly focused on preparing the best presentation that we could, and our hard work was recognized in the event.

“Everything we have learned up to this point built the foundation for us to be able to deliver the product that we did,” he added. “Our goal was to demonstrate what we are capable of and we’re both glad to have our efforts rewarded.”

Suryadinata, his teammate who originally is from Surabaya, Indonesia, added that they share the same work ethic, which “contributed to the quality of the product we presented.”

Scott Smart

Scott Smart, E-II Finance Faculty Fellow and chair of Finance Graduate Programs at the Kelley School, who helped the students prepare for the competition, agreed.

“The secret sauce is that Kelley attracts great students and trains them well,” Smart said. “Our curriculum is very rigorous and gives students opportunities to practice presentations in various contexts, and our faculty are engaged in helping students prepare for specific competitions.”

Last year only one Kelley student competed, Matteo Negrini, who won the event. Most teams had four members, but Matteo competed as an individual. That case asked students to develop a proposal to help Disney get through the challenging times it has faced in recent years. His strategy involved a divestiture of one of Disney’s business lines.

Negrini graduated in December and now is working as an analyst for a Wall Street firm that provides financial advisory solutions to large corporations worldwide. Following graduation in May, Villa will be moving to New York, where he’ll join EY as an associate in their Strategy and Transactions practice. Suryadinata looks forward to joining Micron Technology in Boise, Idaho, as part of its treasury team.

“The real differentiating factor from the program that enabled our teams to stand out is the fact that we are prepared with real-world cases,” Villa said. “In our classes, we take a practical approach to understanding how financial concepts are dealt with in real life through a variety of case studies and projects. Therefore, we are not only limited to the theoretical components of finance, but we learn how to effectively apply them in practical situations.

“A fun fact is that the judges actually asked us if we had any practical experience in the industry as, according to them, they were impressed with the level of our analysis. Even though the answer was no, the MSF program enabled us to apply our academic knowledge of finance to the real-world scenario prompted in the case.”

Members of all three winning teams from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Kelley professor and former IU vice president honored by two leading IT organizations

Posted on January 27, 2025 by George Vlahakis

While serving as IU chief information officer, Wheeler continued to teach graduate and international executive education students at Kelley.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Brad Wheeler, a Kelley School of Business professor since 1996, who also played key administrative roles at Indiana University for nearly two decades, recently was honored with two awards for the practical impacts of his work.

In December, Wheeler, IU Rudy Professor and Sungkyunkwan Professor of Information Systems, received the AIS Impact Award at the International Conference on Information Systems, the premier conference in field. In October, Wheeler also received the Practical Impacts Award in 2024 from INFORMS, the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics and data science.

The Association for Information Systems recognizes information systems research with widespread impact on practice in business and society. Key criteria are “breadth of use in practice as well as relevance to information systems research. The assessment of the quality of the work is considered secondary to the degree to which it has been widely adopted.” He was the only person recognized in the Economic Impact category.

“Brad’s sterling career in information systems at Indiana University is characterized by a remarkable mastery of both technical detail and its broader implications. Few researchers are as innovative and as good at seeing the big picture,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and The Sungkyunkwan Professor. “We at Kelley could not be prouder to call him a colleague, and we feel enormous gratitude for his past and ongoing contributions to both our school and to society at large.”

Brad Wheeler

For 19 years, Wheeler served on IU’s IT leadership team, including 13 years as vice president for IT and chief information officer, with responsibilities for nearly $200 million in IT services and grants. He was concurrently IU vice president for communications and marketing from 2018-2020 and served as interim dean for the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering in 2015-2016.

Prior to being named IU vice president for information technology in 2007, Wheeler was a member of IU’s information technology leadership team for five years, including as associate dean of teaching and learning IT, associate vice president for research and academic computing, associate vice president for community source initiatives, dean of information technology for IU Bloomington, and acting CIO.

Wheeler co-founded and led open-source software and service collaborations such as the Sakai Project, Kuali, and the HathiTrust digital library. He developed IU’s eTexts initiative and implemented a cutting-edge delivery model to tackle the high costs of textbooks for students. He co-founded the Unizin Ltd., a consortium of universities seeking to exert greater control and influence over digital learning landscape. He was the founding chairman for the Kuali Foundation and served on the board of EDUCAUSE from 2009 to 2012.

“I was very fortunate as an assistant professor to be in the right place at the right time in the mid- to late-1990s as the commercial internet-initiated waves of change in commerce and organizations,” Wheeler said. “I worked with executive groups including boards of directors for Global Fortune 200 companies regarding how to innovate within their organizations, in their supply chains, and via customer engagement.

“I saw firsthand how organizations needed a framework for the recurring, unfamiliar and accelerating IU change that could shape strategy and not just align with it,” he added.

At the same time, Wheeler continued to teach graduate and international executive education students at Kelley and served on both corporate and non-profit boards.

(more…)

Associate Dean Rebecca Slotegraaf to be inducted as Kelley School’s first American Marketing Association Fellow

Posted on January 22, 2025 by George Vlahakis

Rebecca Slotegraaf

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Rebecca J. Slotegraaf, associate dean for research of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, will be inducted by the American Marketing Association as an AMA Fellow next month.

Slotegraaf, who also is the Neal Gilliatt Chair and a professor of marketing, will be the Kelley School’s first AMA Fellow since the distinction was created. She will be inducted at the organization’s 2025 AMA Winter Academic Conference on Feb. 14-16 in Phoenix.

The distinction of “AMA Fellow” is presented to members in good standing of the AMA who have made significant contributions to the research, theory, and practice of marketing, and/or to the service and activities of the organization. It recognizes marketing academics’ achievement, but it is also designed to create a space for fellowship, discussion, collaboration, and continued contributions to the discipline.

“Rebecca’s extraordinary contributions have pushed the field of marketing in exciting directions, and we are thrilled — but not at all surprised — by this latest distinction,” said Patrick Hopkins, vice dean of the Kelley School at Bloomington and Conrad Prebys Professor of accounting.

Patrick Hopkins

“Exceptional faculty like Rebecca are precisely what transforms the business world today, and Kelley remains central to the vast range of business conversations because of them. We cannot wait to see the great work this connection with the AMA generates.”

Slotegraaf’s research focuses broadly on marketing strategy and more specifically on understanding when new product introductions, environmental sustainability, and brand strength influence a firm’s financial returns and competitive advantage.

She has published in several leading journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Organization Science, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the International Journal of Research in Marketing. She has served as an associate editor for Journal of Marketing since 2016 and will join the journal’s new editorial team as co-editor in 2025. She also has served as an associate editor for Journal of Marketing Research and serves on the editorial review boards for several other leading marketing journals.

Slotegraaf, a member of the Kelley faculty since 2000, said she was grateful for the personal recognition, and added that the honor also reflects the Kelley School’s highly supportive environment for research.

“It is truly an honor to be inducted as an AMA Fellow,” Slotegraaf said. “I am incredibly grateful for the Kelley School’s research support over the years that has fostered a strong research culture. I also feel very fortunate to have worked with incredible doctoral students, co-authors, and marketing department colleagues who are collaborative, enthusiastic, and share a drive for impactful research.”

Slotegraaf has taught at the undergraduate, MBA, and PhD levels at Kelley and has received several awards for her research and teaching, including the Jadgish N. Sheth Award for best paper in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the IU Trustees Teaching Award, the Kelley School’s Research Award and its Innovative Teaching Award, and the Kelley School’s Doctoral Student Association Exceptional Inspiration and Guidance Award.

She served on the American Marketing Association Academic Council for six years and the AMA Foundation for three years. She currently serves on the AMA Board of Directors. She received her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Master of Science in Management from Purdue University.

Kelley Direct Online MBA Program again ranked No. 1 in U.S. News rankings

Posted on January 21, 2025 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Kelley Direct Online MBA program at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business again is the undisputed No. 1 program in U.S. News’ 2025 Best Online MBA Program rankings.

This is fourth year in a row and the eighth time since 2013 — when U.S. News began ranking online degree programs — that it has ranked Kelley Direct as the best MBA degree online.

In addition, this year Kelley Direct received top marks in five specialty categories, including a first place for general management and programs serving veterans, second for marketing and business analytics, and fourth for finance.

Dean Ash Soni

“The Kelley Direct Program recently celebrated 25 years — we were the first top 20 business school to offer an online MBA — and our outstanding faculty and staff pour just as much effort into the program today as they have done every year since its inception,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor.

“Our students receive an exceptional, well-rounded education, consisting of core fundamentals, engaging in-person experiences, and personalized electives, and know that our curriculum always pushes the bounds of both content and method. I’m immensely proud of our team and what they offer our phenomenal students who will, no doubt, take this deep knowledge and skill into their companies and communities for decades to come.”

In addition to another No. 1 ranking by U.S. News, Kelley Direct also is ranked first by Fortune and the Princeton Review. QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the world’s leading provider of services, analytics and insight to the global higher education sector, ranked Kelley Direct No. 1 among all programs in the Americas.

Kelley Direct is uniquely designed to meet the needs of working professionals, whose tuition dollars are reinvested into the program – not an online program manager. This empowers the program to offer its highest quality program at a lower price than top competitors.

Unlike many other online MBA programs, the Kelley Direct Online MBA is taught entirely by full-time Kelley faculty who create dynamic course content from the $10 million Jellison Studios housed within the Kelley School of Business.

Also making it distinctive are its in-person, immersive experiences, which include Kelley On Campus, which brings students together for an intensive week of learning at IU Bloomington; and Kelley On Location, which enables students to take a deep dive into an industry, geographic region, or emerging challenge shaping today’s business landscape.

Two dozen business schools competed in the 14th National Diversity Case Competition, presented by the IU Kelley School of Business

Posted on January 14, 2025 by George Vlahakis

Large group photo of students in front of balloons.

The event, held annually the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, also features networking, professional development and some fun too.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Students from two dozen colleges and universities came to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Jan. 17-18 to compete at the 14th National Diversity Case Competition.

The event, held annually the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, also attracts corporate partners from top companies and alumni for a weekend of networking and professional development. Nearly 100 students competed for $18,400 in prize money.

Started 14 years ago as the brainchild of a student organization, the National Diversity Case Competition last year was honored with the Inspiring Programs in Business Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

“We are proud to be the first business school to host a national event of this kind, and we look forward to it every year, because it gathers bright, promising talent from all over the country and enlivens our spaces with innovative solutions and meaningful connections that last long after this competition is over,” said Robert E. Thomas, associate dean for access, empowerment & societal impact and the Charles M. Hewitt Professor of business law and ethics.

Through the event, the Kelley School engages with corporate partners who are just as passionate about employing a wide range of perspectives to address issues their companies are facing.

This year, 24 student teams focused on a case provided by Grant Thornton that asked them to develop a comprehensive plan to engage first-generation and underrepresented minority high school students in the field of accounting, supporting their journeys toward careers in the field. Last year, a team from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas won the competition.

Robert E. Thomas, left, Kelley School’s associate dean for access, empowerment and societal impact, with last year’s winners from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Other sponsoring companies this year included AbbVie, Altria, Bank of America, Delta, EY, Forvis Mazars, GE HealthCare, KPMG and Nucor.

Many participating students find the event leads to further leadership opportunities, internships and jobs after graduation. In 2024, the Kelley School created an NDCC advisor network to continue closely working with participating schools throughout the year, and not just during the competition.

Each four-student team must include two members from an underrepresented population. Among the 96 students who participated, 30% identified as African American, 21% identified as Hispanic, 21% identified as Asian and 21% identify as multiracial and 7% identified as Caucasian. Those identifying as women accounted for 57% of the competitors and those identifying as men, 43% percent. The average of grade-point average of participants was 3.52.

Events began Friday, Jan. 17 with a networking session and dinner. Competition began early the following day, with the schools divided into several brackets. The winners in each bracket continued to the finals. Prizes were awarded to the winners and finalists.

Four Kelley undergraduate students won an internal case competition last semester to earn the right to represent the school at the National Diversity Case Competition. but unfortunately finished outside the finals. The all-women team were Krithika Vulavala, a finance and information systems major from Belle Mead, N.J.; Manasa Kollapaneni, a finance and international business major from Frisco, Texas; Sanjana Amanana, a finance and economic major from Irving, Texas; and Srihitha Kanamatareddy, a finance, accounting and business analytics from Flower Mound, Texas.

This year, a team from Emory University won the competition, taking home $8,000 in prize money. The team from Drexel University finished second, followed by teams from the University of Denver, third; the University of Maryland, fourth; Tulane University, fifth; and the University of Virginia, sixth.

In addition to Grant Thornton, a platinum sponsor, other corporate partners provide substantial financial support for the event, which includes travel reimbursement and lodging and meals for students to eliminate barriers to their participation. “Our relationships with them have been invaluable and enriching, and we are immensely grateful for the time, guidance, and connection they have offered and continue to offer our students,” Thomas said.

In addition to Kelley, schools that sent teams this year were: Babson College, Boston College, Brigham Young University, Claflin University, College of Charleston, Drexel University, Emory University, Howard University, Northern Illinois University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, Tulane University, University of Arizona, University of Denver, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, University of Oregon, University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The 2025 Kelley team, from left to right: Manasa Kollapaneni, Krithika Vulavala, Srihitha Kanamatareddy, and Sanjana Amanana.

Study examines the role that financial statement audits and regulatory focus can have in equity crowdfunding decisions

Posted on December 2, 2024 by George Vlahakis

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For nearly a decade, startups and small enterprises have turned to equity crowdfunding as a way to raise capital quickly and cost effectively. Equity crowdfunding is a form of crowdfunding that allows private companies to seek funding from amateur investors without the rigorous listing requirements of traditional public stock offerings.

Since the introduction of Regulation Crowdfunding in the United States, the popularity of equity crowdfunding for startup entrepreneurs and amateur investors has surged. Despite this growth, there remain questions about how funders make decisions on equity crowdfunding platforms and what role platforms should play when it comes to assurance services and financial statement requirements.

Many companies currently seeking capital through equity crowdfunding are early-stage ventures with limited or no historical financial track record. While potentially advantageous to both investors and small enterprises, equity crowdfunding investments, like all investments, have inherent risks.

A recent study published in Small Business Economics evaluates the role that financial statement audits and regulatory focus can have in equity crowdfunding decisions.

Regan Stevenson

The paper is co-authored by Regan Stevenson, the Larry and Barbara Sharpf Professor at the Kelley School; Brad Lang, assistant professor of accountancy at Mississippi State University; and Jared Eutsler and Jesse Robertson, accounting professors at the University of North Texas. The researchers ran a between-person field experiment and discovered, as expected, when ventures provide audited financial statements on equity crowdfunding platforms, they are significantly more likely to be funded.

However, audits are costly for new ventures. Entrepreneurs therefore might want to consider when audits are most likely to provide value for investors and ventures. The research study described above explored such scenarios. The findings indicated that promotion-focused individuals were more likely to invest in equity crowdfunding opportunities overall.

However, the results also suggested that when equity crowdfunding campaigns featured audited financial statements, investors with prevention-focused dispositions were more likely to invest. This effect was amplified when prevention-focused investors viewed a pitch that emphasized the importance of being cautious and calculated in the business (a more prevention-focused pitch).

This was the first research paper to systematically explore the interaction between audits and investor dispositions in an equity crowdfunding setting. It demonstrates how assurance services and investor mindsets can jointly influence investor decisions.

“Given the high failure rate of early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises, it may be advantageous in some cases for equity crowdfunding ventures to undergo an audit to increase investor confidence in their offering, especially since equity crowdfunding investors often lack the expertise of accredited investors,” Stevenson said. “Equity crowdfunding investors might have difficulty identifying risk factors that suggest a venture will be unable to provide a return to investors.”

The authors further indicated that although equity crowdfunding is in its nascent stage, it is growing rapidly and has high potential to be an economic enabler for under-financed sectors and for entrepreneurship in general. As a result, there is a critical need for more research on equity crowdfunding for new ventures.

Entrepreneurs who take funding from close family and friends are more likely to pursue lower-risk growth options

Posted on December 2, 2024 by George Vlahakis

“Family and friends” financing is among the most commonly sourced startup funding.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Entrepreneurs often lack resources and funding needed to launch a venture and reach out to family and friends for initial support. But is it always good for a startup when individuals close to the founder are asked if they want to “be on the ground floor of something good?”

Donald F. Kuratko

New research from three Indiana University Kelley School of Business professors finds that such close ties to investors can lead founders to make more conservative venture growth decisions and make them more hesitant to take risks.

“In this study we were seeking to understand how accepting funds from these individuals influences an entrepreneur’s risk-taking preferences,” said Donald F. Kuratko, Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and executive and academic director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“When an entrepreneur’s relationship with an investor strengthens — like with family and friends — the entrepreneur is more likely to anticipate guilt associated with venture decisions as a founder considers whether those decisions could cause a venture to fail,” added Greg Fisher, professor of entrepreneurship. “This often prompts a founder to make more conservative venture growth decisions which can sometimes be antithetical to acting entrepreneurially.”

Greg Fisher

“Family and friends” financing is among the most commonly sourced startup funding.

The paper, “Funding-source-induced bias: How social ties influence entrepreneurs’ anticipated guilt and risk-taking preferences,” is forthcoming in the Journal of Business Venturing. Other authors are Regan Stevenson, associate professor of entrepreneurship and management; and Emily Neubert, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Texas Christian University and Kelley Ph.D. alumna, who led the project.

Using a sample of 193 entrepreneurs actively involved in incubator and accelerator programs, the researchers tested a model in which an entrepreneur’s strength of tie with an investor – if they were family or friends – impacted the entrepreneur’s anticipated guilt when making strategic decisions, which in turn correlated with that entrepreneur making less risky strategic growth choices.

Regan Stevenson

The research introduces the concept of a “funding-source-induced bias,” which is a bias in entrepreneurial decision making stemming from an entrepreneur’s relationship with an investor, leading to anticipated guilt when making risky decisions. Hence, entrepreneurs who take funding from close family and friends are more likely to pursue lower-risk growth options to avoid such anticipated guilt.

There are advantages to receiving early-stage funding from family and friends – it is often more accessible than other types of funding and offered up with more flexible terms than funding from other types of investors. However, family and friends funding comes with hidden costs. Personal relationships can be strained if venture growth and success expectations are unmet. It is a concern for these strained relationships that prompts entrepreneurs to make more conservative growth choices.

This study draws attention to the less explored side of the investor-entrepreneurship relationship: it examines how funding sources impact entrepreneurial decision making. Since entrepreneurs may pursue investment from a variety of resources, the results help entrepreneurs (and people mentoring or teaching them) understand how their decision making might be affected by their investors.

“By investigating entrepreneurs’ funding-source-induced bias, we shed light on how funding sources influence entrepreneurs’ decisions and actions,” Neubert said. “We hope this study motivates future research into this side of the investor-entrepreneur exchange relationship.”

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