Pietra Rivoli, professor of finance and international business in the McDonough School of Business, on the employee suicides at Foxconn Technology plants in China:

“That’s the logic apparel companies relied on 15 years ago when they said ‘it’s not our manufacturing plant so it’s not our problem’ if working conditions are poor. But it didn’t work then. And I don’t see how this is going to absolve Foxconn of responsibility in the eyes of most observers of the supply chain.”