Asking generative AI to come up with MBA research themes based on a piece of news

Asking generative AI to come up with MBA research themes based on a piece of news

 

I am a part-time MBA student in Hong Kong, currently trying to come up with a research theme for my dissertation proposal formulation. Could you base on the following news "Nvidia Opens Investigation Into Jensen Huang’s Relationship With Suspected Chinese Spy" from The New York Times dated November 8, 2026" to develop four research themes, each with a proposal title, 4 research objectives and 3 research questions, 3 research issues and 3 public media reported issues, to me to review. All the proposed research themes are to be based on pragmatism and exploratory research.

 

Below are four exploratory, pragmatism-based dissertation themes arising from the reported Nvidia–Jensen Huang case. They avoid presuming guilt or that confidential information was compromised; the reported facts are that Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation after Huang acknowledged a relationship with Alice Huang, while stating it had “no reason to believe” national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.

Theme 1: Corporate governance under geopolitical risk

Proposal title:
Exploring How Technology Boards Govern CEO Personal Relationships and Foreign-Intelligence Risks: An Exploratory Study of Nvidia’s Independent Investigation

Research objectives

1.                                                                Explore how boards of major technology firms identify, assess, and escalate personal-relationship risks involving senior executives.

2.                                                                Examine the governance mechanisms used to preserve investigative independence when the subject is the founder-CEO.

3.                                                                Investigate how boards balance CEO continuity, shareholder interests, reputational risk, and national-security exposure.

4.                                                                Develop a preliminary governance framework for technology firms operating under geopolitical and export-control uncertainty.

Research questions

1.              How do technology-company boards perceive and respond to allegations that a CEO has been targeted by a foreign-intelligence effort?

2.              What governance arrangements enable an independent investigation when the CEO is also the company’s founder and a central strategic leader?

3.              How do directors reconcile the need for timely disclosure with legal, commercial, and reputational constraints?

Research issues

·                                      Independence of board investigations when the investigated person is the founder-CEO.

·                                      Boundaries between personal conduct, corporate risk, and national-security exposure.

·                                      Board oversight of CEO communications, conflicts of interest, and information access during an investigation.

Public media reported issues

·                  Nvidia’s board initiated an independent investigation after reports that Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign-intelligence effort.

·                  The board said it had no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised, but would examine all available information.

·                  Media coverage focused on whether Huang could remain CEO during the review and on the potential market and reputational consequences.

Theme 2: Insider risk and information security

Proposal title:
Exploring Insider-Risk Management in AI Semiconductor Firms: Personal Relationships, Executive Access, and Protection of Strategic Technology

Research objectives

1.    Explore how semiconductor and AI firms conceptualise insider risk beyond conventional cyber-security threats.

2.    Investigate the safeguards used to manage executive-level access to commercially sensitive technology, strategy, customers, and supply-chain information.

3.    Examine how firms distinguish between substantiated security compromise, alleged risk, and public speculation.

4.    Identify practical organisational controls that may reduce exposure to social-engineering, relationship-based, and influence operations.

Research questions

1.              How do senior executives’ personal and business relationships create potential insider-risk exposure in strategic technology firms?

2.              What information-security, compliance, and counterintelligence practices do technology firms use to protect high-value intellectual property?

3.              How can organisations investigate alleged foreign-intelligence targeting without unnecessarily stigmatising individuals or disrupting operations?

Research issues

·       The difficulty of proving actual information compromise when the alleged risk concerns influence, access, or relationships.

·       Executive privilege and the limits of internal monitoring for founders and senior leaders.

·       The appropriate role of external counsel, intelligence expertise, and independent directors in sensitive investigations.

Public media reported issues

·       U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly concluded that Alice Huang was gathering information for Beijing and had a close relationship with Jensen Huang.

·       Reports also alleged that Megaspeed, a Nvidia customer, may have been involved in diverting advanced Nvidia AI chips to China in violation of U.S. export controls.

·       Nvidia stated that it saw no evidence that its proprietary information or national security had been endangered, while still undertaking a full review.

Theme 3: Export controls and geopolitical supply chains

Proposal title:
Exploring Export-Control Compliance and Geopolitical Supply-Chain Risk in the Advanced AI-Chip Industry: Lessons from the Nvidia Investigation

Research objectives

1.    Explore how advanced-chip firms manage compliance risks arising from customers, distributors, and intermediaries in geopolitically sensitive markets.

2.    Investigate how export-control requirements shape customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and end-use verification.

3.    Examine how firms respond when commercial partners become subjects of national-security allegations.

4.    Develop an exploratory compliance-risk framework for AI-chip exporters operating across the United States, China, and third-country jurisdictions.

Research questions

1.    How do AI-chip companies assess geopolitical, sanctions, and export-control risks across their customer and distribution networks?

2.    What due-diligence practices are used when a customer, executive, or intermediary becomes linked to alleged export-control violations or intelligence activity?

3.    How do firms balance commercial relationships, regulatory obligations, and national-security expectations in cross-border technology trade?

Research issues

·       Verifying end users and end uses in complex, multi-jurisdictional chip supply chains.

·       Managing customers or partners subject to allegations before formal legal findings are available.

·       Coordinating compliance, legal, government-relations, and corporate-security functions during a geopolitical investigation.

Public media reported issues

·       U.S. authorities were reported to be investigating whether Megaspeed helped divert advanced Nvidia AI chips to China in breach of U.S. export controls.

·       Alice Huang was described as a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that purchased Nvidia chips.

·       The case raised concerns among lawmakers about national-security risks and Nvidia’s exposure to China-related export controls.

Theme 4: Crisis communication, reputation, and investor trust

Proposal title:
Exploring Crisis Communication and Stakeholder Trust in Technology Firms: CEO Accountability, National-Security Allegations, and Market Reactions at Nvidia

Research objectives

1.    Explore how technology firms communicate during crises involving founder-CEOs, alleged foreign interference, and unresolved investigations.

2.    Examine how investors, employees, customers, regulators, and media interpret corporate statements that distinguish allegation from established fact.

3.    Investigate the relationship between crisis disclosure, leadership continuity, and short-term market confidence.

4.    Identify communication practices that may protect organisational legitimacy while preserving due process and investigative integrity.

Research questions

1.    How do technology firms frame CEO conduct and national-security allegations in public communications during an active investigation?

2.    How do investors and other stakeholders respond to announcements that a founder-CEO is under investigation but remains in office?

3.    What communication strategies help firms maintain trust when facts are incomplete, politically sensitive, and rapidly evolving?

Research issues

·       The tension between transparency, legal caution, and the presumption of innocence.

·       CEO accountability when personal conduct becomes intertwined with corporate and geopolitical risk.

·       Managing employee morale, customer confidence, and shareholder expectations during an unresolved investigation.

Public media reported issues

·       Jensen Huang publicly acknowledged an affair and apologised to his wife and company, while Nvidia said he would continue leading the company during the review.

·       Nvidia’s shares reportedly slid as investors reacted to the investigation and the surrounding allegations.

·       China rejected the espionage allegations as unfounded and accused the reporting of seeking to discredit China, illustrating the international political dimension of the crisis.

Methodological positioning

All four themes suit a pragmatist, exploratory design because each begins with a real-world managerial problem rather than testing a fixed hypothesis. A practical design could combine:

·       Qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews with governance, compliance, security, investor-relations, and crisis-communication professionals; document analysis of corporate statements, regulatory guidance, and press coverage.

·       Quantitative support: event-study analysis of Nvidia’s share-price reaction, sentiment analysis of media and social-media coverage, or a survey of governance/compliance practitioners.

·       Ethics and evidence discipline: distinguish carefully between allegations, intelligence assessments, corporate statements, and judicial or regulatory findings; avoid treating media reports as proof of wrongdoing.

·       For a Hong Kong MBA dissertation, Theme 3 may offer the strongest practical and regional relevance because it connects AI chips, export controls, cross-border supply chains, and China–U.S. technology competition. Theme 1 is the most directly governance-oriented and likely easiest to scope into a rigorous, interview-based study.