Business Commons^™

Brand On The Run: The Effects Of Internal And External Stakeholder Communication Of Corporate Rebranding Efforts, Abby Vandiver

Honors Theses

A company’s most valuable asset is its brand. Not just limited to its name and logo, a brand is loosely defined as the identity of an organization. A strong brand identity can create strong customer loyalty. Changing even a part of this identity can cause confusion and ultimately revenue loss. This study examined how business owners and marketers communicate with their stakeholders when they decide a rebrand is necessary. After researching current literature on this topic, businesses in Oxford, Mississippi which have undergone a rebrand in the last decade were recruited to answer questions. Ten organizations participated either through interview …

Combatting Consolidation In The United States Banking Industry: An Analysis Of Performance And Strategy Of First National Bank Of Clarksdale, Lydia Johnsey

Honors Theses

This thesis is based on a submission with group members in the 2023 Case Study Competition for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. This thesis includes additional background information not included in the original competition paper in order to clarify the competition standards and goal of the paper. This thesis evaluates First National Bank of Clarksdale with respect to two areas: financial analysis, which evaluates earnings performance, loan portfolio composition, asset growth, capital levels, and liquidity of the bank; and strategy, which includes staffing, succession, training, and technology strategies instituted by bank management. Data from the bank’s Uniform Bank Performance …

From The Village To Entrepreneurial Mentality: A Transformative Path For Africa's Economic Development, Morris Tsuma

Honors Theses

Because the economic development in Africa is at an inflection point, the continent needs to use the transformative process of going from the village mentality to the entrepreneurial mentality. They need to go from the dependency village mentality to the free market entrepreneurial mentality to affect Africa’s economic future.

Many factors affect the path from the village mentality to the entrepreneurial mentality. Some of these factors and examples that I explore in this paper are international companies investing in local intelligence and people finding role models/goals to aspire to. Another factor is individuals going through difficulty and needing change. However, …

How To Grow My Business On Social Media, Thomas Vehige

Honors Theses

This thesis discussed goals, strategies and tactics to expand an existing freelance sports videography business into a more robust business through the use of targeted social media campaigns. Author discusses demographic choices, social media platform selection and goals for thoughtful evaluation of opportunities and core competencies.

Entrepreneurial Finance, Jackson Stewart

Honors Theses

The writings and research presented in this document are for a chapter of a textbook the focuses on entrepreneurship. The chapter focuses on many areas of entrepreneurship including: opportunities, networking, roles, economics, innovations, and history. The area that the potential writings focus on is entrepreneurial finance, or how one acquires capital to start their own business.

There are many ways to gain capital to start a business. These include a variety of investors that can give someone funds or loan that are given out by financial institutions. Investors are a great way to gain capital as investors will give the …

Customized Sidearm Case: Leading A Cme Capstone Team From Concept To Production, Robert B. Sharp

Honors Theses

The goal behind this thesis is to document and analyze my performance as the project manager for the Customized Sidearm Case capstone team during the Center for Manufacturing Excellence’s senior capstone experience. The capstone experience begins the fall of students senior year where a select number of product ideas submitted by the students are chosen, and teams are built around these projects. The objective of the project is to walk a product from the concept phase through the entire design process resulting in a full-scale production run during the spring semester. My product pitch of a wooden sidearm case, customized …

A Seminar For Student Leaders To Engage And Retain Members In Student-Led Organizations, Luke Mcpherson

Honors Theses

The challenge of attracting and maintaining members in student-led organizations (SLO) inspired this thesis. Current research literature was used to create a presentation for student leaders. The presentation applied marketing principles as well as best practices suggested by the research. Interviews with four student leaders and two administrators involved in student activities were conducted to interact with the research. Their insights suggested that the strongest factor in attracting students was social, whether personal invitation or a sense of belonging to the group. The strongest deterrent to participation was a perception that the benefits did not outweigh time commitments to school …

Uncovered Magazine: A Magazine Prototype And Business Plan, Avery Bowman

Honors Theses

Through developing a skin care magazine prototype and business plan, this thesis aims to show how a print magazine can be successful to a young audience. By studying the history and development of both magazines and skin care and focusing on today’s industries, now is the perfect time to launch a skin care magazine. Uncovered Magazine will not only focus on filling this gap, but also will aim to empower women to find beauty in their natural skin.

The Warner Theater Business Plan, Nicholas Adams

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Future’S So Bright: A Business Plan And Market Research Analysis Of Fraze, Elizabeth Lanford

Honors Theses

This thesis is an overview of the creation and operation of Lindy and Liz, LLC dba Fraze. Fraze is an online boutique specializing in custom, beaded sunglasses. This thesis contains details of the founding, operation, and future of the business. The following business plan will give insights to marketing strategies, target audience demographics, and sourcing procedures.

Accompanying this business plan is market research relevant to the target market of Fraze. Part I details secondary research about the effects of social media on this target market and their consumption habits. It also contains insights about the products and marketing techniques most …

A Comprehensive Business Plan For Launching The New Edtech Company Dais Social Group Llc Dba Daisnotes, Nicholas Neilson-Slabach

Honors Theses

This thesis proposes that an online student-to-student academic social networking platform designed to enhance academic achievement and student satisfaction would be feasible and profitable. Ample evidence exists that student-to-student interaction in university courses increases academic achievement and student satisfaction. Student-to-student interaction is difficult to achieve in large classes common at universities. DaisNotes is a startup company developed to deliver this academic social networking experience.

Part I of this thesis will discuss the results of original empirical research into student attitudes on current studying methods and connection interfaces to explore the problems college students face academically. The marketing research study tests …

A Tale Of Two Cities, Maybe Three A Look At Financial Literacy And Economic Development In Three Mississippi Cities: Fulton, Clarksdale, And Oxford, Kellie Reed Cleveland

Honors Theses

This paper explores the backbones of economic growth and how the backbones influence economic development in three cities in Mississippi. It further seeks to promote education in financial literacy throughout the state to create a base for individuals to further their financial education, create small businesses, or to simply be a knowledgeable citizen. The research sifts through backbones such as population health and small & big business influence, to explore how financial literacy influences daily life and the catalyst for businesses to start and grow. The Mississippi cities Fulton, Clarksdale, and Oxford are studied more in-depth through photos of the …

Starting Four Businesses My Last Semester Of College, Dimitri J. Bramwell

Honors Theses

E-commerce has been the latest buzz in the entrepreneur’s world. Now it is easier than ever to start your own business and resources are free at our disposal. Entire companies can be run from your laptop or even your smartphone. That being said, in this narrative, I describe my journey creating four online businesses while taking 18 credits in college and working full-time as a staff accountant. I’ll take you through all the steps from start to finish and go through my own trial and errors.

A Business Plan For Heroic Catholic, Llc, Catherine Michelle Stewart

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurship In Marinas: Does A Business Plan Translate Into A Successful Business?, Michelle Byrnes

Honors Theses

The field of entrepreneurship is recognized as being of fundamental importance for our economy. Small business entrepreneurs play a crucial role in generating new products and new employment in the United States. However, according to U.S statistics, eight out of ten entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first eighteen months. Understanding the factors that can increase the likelihood of success is crucial. One theory of successful entrepreneurship is that it stems from a strong business plan. This thesis will examine how this is indeed the case for owning a marina on Long Island.

An Analysis Of Prosocial Behavior In Customers, Erik Swanson

Honors Theses

Despite all that is known about the good entrepreneurship can do for communities, there is still a gap in the research on how entrepreneurship can directly better communities and the people that live in them through passing on prosocial benefits. This paper proposes “prosocial entrepreneurship” as a means to address this gap. It will address the gap through examining how prosocial entrepreneurship builds communities to pass on a positive impact on these communities. Businesses have both encouraged prosocial behaviors in employees and promoted cooperation and community building for some time. Research was also completed on prosocial behaviors to build a …

Eddystone Beacons For Earthquake Survivors Identification, Grant Connolly

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Cajun Corndogs Business Plan, Andrew Broussard

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Opportunity Recognition: A Comparative Analysis Of Nascent Student Entrepreneurs And Non-Nascent Students, Daniel C. Glover

Honors Theses

This study investigates differences between undergraduate nascent student entrepreneurs and non-nascent students’ opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Four hypotheses were presented and after collecting and analyzing 150 student responses two of the four hypotheses were partially or fully supported. Results showed that nascent student entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy than non-nascent students, and that nascent student entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of entrepreneurial alertness than non-nascent students, and the difference was significant. However, non-nascent students had higher levels of opportunity recognition. This study supports previous research and adds an important demographic, undergraduate students, to the existing research.

Ez Timeout: The Business Plan, Simbarashe Chirara

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Purenovation, Inc, Alex Nelson

Honors Theses

Welcome to PUREnovation, where "converting today and conserving tomorrow" is our lifestyle. Our mission embodies the idea of providing customers the opportunity to maximize cost savings while simultaneously helping to reduce the carbon footprint in their hometown. With a management team that encompasses a wide variety of backgrounds, we possess the necessary skills and abilities to drive our mission and visions forward. Based on our values and convictions, we believe that it is of the utmost importance to serve the individuals who live in small towns and to preserve the nature of the earth that God has graciously provided for …

Battle For Control: How Venture Capitalists Affect The Development Of Businesses, Jeffery Neil Wacaster

Honors Theses

In my new podcast series, I interview business leaders to determine the affect of venture capital on the entrepreneur. First, I interview a serial startup entrepreneur to find out the true nature of venture capital, how to go about getting it, and how it affects the creative process. Next, I interview a blogger who thinks that venture capital can be very detrimental to business startups, and get his perspective on related issues.

The interviewees:

1. Michah Baldiwn a) current CEO of Grahic.ly b) He and his team have raised over $350 million dollars of startup money

2. Peter Ireland a) …

Capital One “Getting Down To Business”: A Program Analysis Of Old South Baton Rouge Neighborhood Businesses In The Context Of Economic Revitalization And Small Business Development, Laura Carleton

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.