Research Support

Guidelines

Smeal Sustainability Research Grants address business topics within and across management and organization, entrepreneurship, accounting, supply chain, marketing, finance, risk management, international business, law, and real estate. 

What do we mean by “sustainability”?

We view the topic broadly. The Financial Times' definition of business sustainability provides guidance: “Business sustainability is defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social, and environmental risks, obligations, and opportunities. Business sustainability represents resiliency over time – a business that can survive shocks because they are connected to healthy economic, social, and environmental systems.”

A pool of funds is available from the Center, with a maximum award of $10,000 for an individual project. These funds are intended to cover expenses directly related to conducting the research. They can be used to pay wages for student assistance, but not faculty salaries. The use of funds for travel will also be considered, but the need must be specified (in view of existing faculty travel funds). Proposals must be limited to five pages including any tables, images, or graphics. Proposals must include a budget in sufficient detail so it is clear how funds will be spent.

For questions about the Smeal Sustainability Research Grants, please email Tracey Mariner.

Areas of research that are particularly appropriate for funding include:

• Sustainable investing, ESG performance, sustainability reporting quality, and financial risk related to climate
• Sustainable product development, consumer response to sustainable products, services, and behavior change
• Sustainability in supply chains, optimization for supply chains, and operational impact of sustainability
• Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable business strategy, stakeholders, and activism
• Institutional change, social change, development
• Legal incentives for sustainability and regulatory impacts

Other areas will be considered.

Proposals will be evaluated on their intellectual merit, the relationship of the research results to the business case for sustainability, and the involvement of faculty or students from different departments or colleges.

Tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty are encouraged to submit proposals. At least one Smeal faculty member should be an investigator on the project. 

Heilmeier offers useful guidance for preparing a proposal:

• What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon
• How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
• What's new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
• Who cares? If you're successful, what difference will it make?
• What are the risks and the payoffs?
• How much will it cost, How long will it take?
• What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success?

Requirements of Awardees

• Mid-project report
• Presentation 
• End of project report and/or published paper

2024 Grant Cycle Timeline

Previously Funded Research

2024

Enhancing Equity in Food Rescue Platforms ($3,500)
Aydin Alptekinoglu, Professor of Supply Chain Management

The Impact of Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure on Energy Resilience ($3,000)
Ning Zhong, Assistant Professor of Marketing

Spillover Effects on Social Activism Targeted Towards Companies ($3,000)
Tessa Recendes, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization

Size Matters: Consumer Responses to Social and Environmental Sustainability Practices of Companies ($3,000)
Hannah Smith, PhD student, Marketing
Lisa Bolton, Professor of Marketing
Karen Winterich, Gerald I. Susman Professor in Sustainability and Professor of Marketing

2023

Connecting Social Issue Activism and Organizational Employee Stakeholders ($7,500)
Forrest Briscoe, Professor of Management, Frank and Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow

Environmental Impact as Value Driver: Customer Preferences for Eco-Friendly Value Propositions in Business Markets ($3,000)
Stefan Wuyts, Marketing Department
Özge Pala, Management and Organization Department

2022

"Thank you for recycling"! The Effect of Sustainability Program Acknowledgment on Future Consumer Participation Intentions ($5,500)
Karen Winterich, Professor, Gerald I. Susman Professor in Sustainability
Sara Loughran Dommer, Assistant Professor of Marketing

Diseases of Despair and Social Media Consumption: An Empirical Investigation in Rural PA ($9,600)
Shreya Kankanhalli, former Assistant Professor of Marketing 

Opioid Abuse and the Fading American Dream: Evidence from Mortgage Markets ($10,000)
Eva Steiner, Associate Professor of Real Estate, King Family Early Career Professor
Kimberly Cornaggia, Professor of Finance
Giang Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Finance 
John Hund, Assistant Professor of Finance for the University of Georgia 

2021

Estimating and Increasing the Demand for a Corporate Ridesharing Initiative in Brazil ($3,000.00)
Aydin Alptekinoglu, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Robert G. Schwartz University Endowed Fellow in Business Administration, Director of Research of Center for Supply Chain Research
Sergey Naumov, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management

How Social Unrest Triggers Corporate Diversity Actions: A Look at The Black Lives Matter Movement ($7,750)
Forrest Briscoe, Professor of Management, Frank and Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow
Mark DesJardine, Assistant Professor, Management and Organization
Muhan Zhang, PhD Student, Management and Organization

Walking the talk: The Effects of CEO Political Ideology, CSR Actions, and CSR Rhetoric on Firm Performance ($9,660)
Tessa Recendes, Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization                    

2020

How do meta-organizations build sustainable global supply chain networks? The Case of the Responsible Business Alliance ($10,000)
Veronica Villena, Assistant Professor, Supply Chain & Information Systems
Charlene Zietsma, Associate Professor, John and Becky Surma Dean's Research Fellow, Management and Organization
Denny Gioia, Professor, Robert & Judith Auritt Klein Professor of Management, Management and Organization

Repair Services: Nudging Consumers to Repair Instead of Replace ($9,750)
Nathan Allred, Ph.D. student, Marketing
Karen Winterich, Professor, Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow, Marketing

Does Water Scarcity Affect Environmental Performance? Evidence from Manufacturing Facilities in Texas ($6,908)
Suvrat Dhanorkar, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management
Suresh Muthulingam, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management

Hedge Fund Activism, Boardroom Composition, and Corporate Social Responsibility ($5,000)
Mark DesJardine, Assistant Professor, Management and Organization

Downsizing and Secondhand Markets ($2,800)
Lisa Bolton, Professor of Marketing, Frank and Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow
Meg Meloy, Professor of Marketing, Calvin E. and Pamala T. Zimmerman Fellow
Gretchen Wilroy, Ph.D. student, Marketing

Estimating Demand for a Corporate Ridesharing Initiative in Brazil ($1,500)
Aydin Alptekinoglu, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Robert G. Schwartz University Endowed Fellow in Business Administration, Director of Research of Center for Supply Chain Research
Sergey Naumov, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management

2019

Working Together or Apart? The Interaction Between Financial and Social Activists and Corporate Social Responsibility ($7,200)
Mark DesJardine, Ph.D., CFA, Assistant Professor, Management & Organization

Sharing Economy and Resilience to Natural Disasters: Evidence from Airbnb Markets ($10,000)
Brent W. Ambrose, Professor of Real Estate
Maxence Valentin, Ph.D. Student in Real Estate
Jiro Yoshida, Associate Professor of Business

2018

Cold Facts & Hot Emotions ($8,656) 
Jennifer Wagner-Lawlor, Professor of English and Women's Studies Director of Undergraduate Studies
Charlene Zietsma, Associate Professor of Management and Organization, John and Becky Surma Dean's Research Fellow. 
Raghu Garud, Professor of Management and Organization, and Michael J. Farrell Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurship. 

2017

Metrics for Disaster Relief Pre-Positioning: Theory-Driven Tools for Non-Expert Practitioners ($3,500) 
Jason Acimovic, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Penn State University

Corporate Elite Values and their Influence on Social Cause Priorities in the U.S. 2002-2013 ($6,500)
Razvan Lungeanu, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization, Penn State University
Klaus Weber, Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

2016

Can Finance Alter the Environmental Decisions of U.S. Corporations? ($6,250)
David Haushalter, Associate Professor of Finance, Penn State University
Peter Iliev, Assistant Professor of Finance, Penn State University

Building Configuration, Sustainability, and Market Price: Investigating the Effects of Passive Solar Design on Housing Prices. ($6,780)
Jiro Yoshida, Assistant Professor of Business, Penn State University
Lisa Iulo, Department of Architecture, Penn State University
Sohrab Rahimi, Ph.D. Student, Department of Architecture; Penn State University
Shahrzad Fadaei, Master Student, Department of Architectural Engineering, Penn State University
Thies Lindenthal, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge

2015

Knowing What it Makes: The Effect of Recycling Outcome on Recycling Intentions ($7,000)
Gabriel Gonzales, Ph.D. Student, Department of Marketing, Penn State University
Karen Page Winterich, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, Penn State University

Accepted for publication - Journal of Marketing

Investing in Impact: Social Innovation in Finance ($7,500)
Razvan Lungeanu, Assistant Professor Department of Management and Organization, Penn State University
Timothy G. Pollock, Farrell Professor of Entrepreneurship, Department of Management and Organization, Penn State University
Klaus Weber, Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University