Business Professors’ Research Article Wins Outstanding Paper Award

A study co-authored by two University of Scranton operations and information management professors that examines whether corporate environmental performance positively affects stock market value won an Outstanding Paper award from a prominent international publisher.

The study by Rose Sebastianelli, Ph.D., and Nabil Tamimi, Ph.D., entitled “Improving the quality of environmental management: impact on shareholder value,” was selected as an Outstanding Paper in the 2016 Emerald Literati Awards for Excellence. Distributed by Emerald Group Publishing, which has a portfolio of nearly 300 journals, the awards are now in their 23rd year and were “established to celebrate and reward the outstanding contributions of authors to scholarly research.” Award winners are selected by each journal’s editorial board. 

Dr. Sebastianelli and Dr. Tamimi’s study was published in the International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management in 2015. Dr. Tamimi serves as chair of the University’s Operations and Information Management Department. Dr. Sebastianelli holds the Alperin Endowed Chair in Business Administration. They have collaborated on a number of studies that include research in the areas of quality and e-commerce, as well as in the effective design and delivery of online MBA courses.

Among several key findings, the University professors’ paper showed that creating a portfolio of stocks from companies that attained an environmental practices, management and performance certification called ISO 14000 “is a strategy that ‘pays off’ for investors” – ultimately supporting the idea that it “pays to be green.” Their examination lent “support to the argument that improved environmental performance is valued by the market … and may provide long-term value for shareholders.” Their study filled a gap in the literature that focused on short-term market reactions to negative environmental incidents but neglected assessing the long-term market impact of improved environmental performance.

Dr. Sebastianelli joined the University faculty in 1988, and in 2013 was named the University’s CASE Professor of the Year in recognition of her outstanding performance as a member of the faculty, in addition to several other awards for teaching excellence. She also served as interim dean of the University’s Graduate School and director of research from 2000 to 2002. She was interim dean of the Kania School of Management for the 1996-97 academic year. She earned a bachelor’s degree in geosciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in management science from Pennsylvania State University. Her current research interests include the link between quality management and ethics, corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance and trust in e-commerce.

Dr. Tamimi joined the University faculty in 1993, and in 2013 he received the Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. Dr. Tamimi also earned the Alperin Teaching Fellowship, the Students’ Choice Award and Professor of the Year award. He became chair of the Department of Operations and Information Management in 2007. He earned a Ph.D. in operations management-management science from Temple University, an MBA in operations management from the University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include quality management and e-commerce.

Rose Sebastianelli, Ph.D.

Nabil Tamimi, Ph.D.