Business and Corporate Communications Commons^™

Lululemon Strategic Audit, Tessa Mozingo, Olivia Eno, Molly Mitchell, Connor Morrissey, James Eshleman

Honors Theses

This case study focuses on lululemon, a prominent athleisure apparel company. Our team conducted an audit of the company revolving around strategic business management principles. Our research used publicly available information that included the company’s website, SEC filings, news articles, lululemon’s annual reports, financial statements, IBIS industry reports, and online sources. The goal of this strategic audit is to develop an understanding of lululemon’s business activities and strategies, collect and analyze both internal and external data, and evaluate lululemon based on strategic management concepts.

In this strategic audit, we conduct internal, external, performance, and competitive analyses and an examination of …

Leadership Behaviors, Practices, And Sytles In Mergers And Acquisitions In The U.S. Technology-Based Organizations: A Qualitative Study, Susan E. Glover

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Leaders guide and shape the success of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to meet an organization’s goals and objectives. In this study, I explored the role of leadership during M&A and the effect of different leadership behaviors, practices, and styles (BPS) on different organizational cultures during M&A. This study explored the contribution of leadership BPS on M&A outcomes within an organization with a robust and innovative culture. I focused on the human capital investment strategies of M&A integration concerning different leadership BPS utilized to improve the success rate of M&A goals and objectives. I concentrated on technology-based organizations because they are …

Budgeting And Cataloging Enhancement For Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Towards Sustainable Development Goals, Velicia Faustine Halim, Hasnul Suhaimi

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

This paper describes a business coaching activity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in chemical and waste management industries. Based on the analysis results, there was a lack of budgeting practice and suboptimal catalog marketing that comprised the majority of existing problems in SMEs. This research aims to assist the SME in improving its budgeting practice and product catalog. The method used is a qualitative method based on a business coaching approach. The research instruments adopted included in-depth individual interviews (IDI). The collected data was then processed and analyzed, starting with generating the SME's business process and service blueprint, followed …

But Is It Material? A Case Study Evaluating Climate Risk’S Place In Financial Disclosures, Matilda Lindberg

Student Theses and Dissertations

The year of 2022 highlighted the importance of understanding how Environment, Social, and Governance (hereafter, ESG) factors impact investors. By the end of 2021, 37.8 trillion USD had been invested in ESG funds, a number expected to grow to $53 trillion by the end of 2025. Despite this bullish projection, controversy has grown about the “materiality” of ESG factors, especially climate risks, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (hereafter, SEC). On March 21, 2022, the SEC proposed rules to enhance the standardization of climate- related disclosures (hereafter The Proposal) to promote consistent, comparable, and reliable information for investors …

Financial Advising Experience, Joshua Wittenauer

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Building wealth can be easier with the help of a financial advisor. Wealth consists of assets and savings, and while there are many ways to save, there are some basic steps to get started:

1) Earn enough money to live and have some left over for saving. 2) Control your spending so you can save. 3) Invest your money in different assets – “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Fraud And The Audit Expectation Gap, Samuel Pelumi Olatunde

Honors College Theses

This study seeks to explore the expectation gap Georgia Southern University business and non-business majors have toward the work of an auditor. This study aims to assess the understanding of Auditors' responsibility for preventing and detecting fraud. This study will help assess the roles of an auditor, a forensic accountant, and management in fraud detection and prevention. The study will also highlight the importance of equipping students with accounting knowledge relevant to the business environment. The research for the study is conducted through a survey questionnaire and interpreted with Excel software. The hypothesis is that students that are majoring in …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Firm Level Costs With Focus On Mena Region, Farah Osama Saieed

Theses and Dissertations

This paper has a main objective of identifying the relationship between environmental factors and climate change on operating costs incurred by firms. This paper also attempts to compare the direction and intensity of the effect on different sectors in order to analyze whether climate change effect differs based on the nature of the business operations. Several papers have previously addressed the relationship between climate change factors ad profits. This literature will add to previous studies by observing the effect on the cost rather than the profits. In addition to providing results that minimize endogeneity, which is found in a large …

Doing Well By Doing Good: Analyzing The Dynamics And Effectiveness Of Corporate Engagement, Gillian Meyers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sustainable investing and corporate climate action have grown exponentially in the last decade, generating a simultaneous need for customers, investors, and policymakers to determine when companies are genuinely achieving positive impact related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors. As a result, investors are increasingly employing ESG engagement, which typically takes the form of direct communication with holdings to determine and positively shape their impacts on their stakeholders. In this paper, I explore the reasoning for conducting ESG engagement and refute arguments against it. I fill an existing research gap by analyzing the benefits of ESG engagement to both …

Corporate Social Responsibility Influence On Organizational Performance: Moderating Effect Of Corporate Reputation Performance: Moderating Effect Of Corporate Reputation, Eti Jain, Anuja Shukla, Shiv K. Sharma, Arvind Kumar

Management Dynamics

No abstract provided.

“Fiscal Trap”, The Case Of Greece, Titos Ritsatos

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

Present research aims at the introduction of the term “Fiscal Trap” in economic literature, as a comprehensive definition of the economic situation in which any available combination of fiscal-only policy measures (tax increases and austerity measures), would fail to fulfill fiscal targets during periods of recession. Using recent experience from the case of Greece, an ex-post evaluation of adopted policy effectiveness is pursued. Fiscal austerity and increased taxation enforced in Greece during the years 2009-2012, resulted in decreased tax revenues, lower GDP and increased debt-to-GDP ratio. In order to slip away from the vicious cycle generated by austerity and tax …

The Terrorist Laffer Curve:Rationality And Insurgency In Iraq, 2004-2008, Dennis S. Edwards

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

While the original framework by Arthur Laffer focused on tax rates and the resulting revenue from such taxation, the Laffer curve has been applied to other studies in behavior as well. This paper details evidence of a Laffer curve in Iraq with respect to terrorist violence and Iraqi public support of that violence against the U.S.-led coalition forces. As insurgents began killing more Iraqi citizens in their attacks on U.S.-led forces, the increased lethality caused initial support of such violence to erode. As a result, the high-level terrorist hierarchy has suggested that its operatives reduce lethality and indiscriminate bombings.

Analysis Of The Comovement Of Unemployment In Midwestern States, Tammy Rapp Parker

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

The current paper investigates the interrelatedness of twelve Midwestern states through the comovement of unemployment rates. Due to their geographic location, we would anticipate similarities and comovement among macroeconomic variables. The results show that although most of the bivariate pairings do show a relationship. Five of the sixty-five pairings show no indication of cointegration among their unemployment rates. Each of these five pairings includes North Dakota. The paper investigates geographic and socioeconomic similarities between these states to try to explain these results.

Baumol And Bowen Cost Effects In Research Universities, Robert E. Martin

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

We estimate cost models for both public and private research universities and use partial differentials from these models to estimate different cost effects. The results suggest both Baumol’s cost disease and Bowen’s revenue theory drive cost higher and that Bowen effects are larger than Baumol effects. Tight revenue since 2008 reversed some declines in productivity and accelerated the trend in economizing on the use of tenure track faculty. This behavior under loose and tight revenue constraints is consistent with Bowen’s revenue theory.

Credit Market Innovations And Gross Domestic Income, Ellis Heath

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

In this paper I compare the effects of different credit variables on real output in the US. However, instead of using real Gross Domestic Product as a proxy for real output, I use real Gross Domestic Income. I use a VAR framework with generalized impulse response functions and generalized variance decompositions. I look at a credit aggregate and different credit spreads. I find that shocks to some credit variables can have significant effects on real output; the reaction, however, is a temporary one. Specifically, measures of the risk premium and the term premium have the most importance in explaining innovations …

Tax Management, Ownership Structure And Corporate Governance, Ying Wang, Scott Butterfield

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

We use 2010-2018 publicly listed Chinese company data to analyze how ownership structure and corporate governance affects tax management. Our results indicate that diverse ownership structure might lower a company’s tax rates, whereas traditional corporate governance measures, such as board size, independent board member percentage and duality of CEO serving as chair do not affect tax.

2017 Tax Cuts And Corporate Investment And Financing Decisions: An Empirical Investigation, Rakesh Duggal

Southern University College of Business E-Journal

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 1917 (TCJA) amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and significantly lowered the corporate tax rate, in addition to providing other tax incentives to spur corporate investments. The TCJA has the potential to impact corporate cash flows and corporate investment and financing decisions. In response to the TCJA, firms could enhance their capital expenditure budgets, return excess capital to shareholders, and/or hold excess capital for better opportunities in the future. Using S&P 500 firms as a sample, this study finds no statistical difference in the actual corporate taxes paid in the post-and pre-TCJA …

A Glimmer Of Hope: Environmental Change And Strategy Adaptation At World Wrestling Entertainment (Wwe), Siraat Mustafa Jd/Mba

Major Papers

This paper addresses the strategic and environmental adaptation of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the undisputed leader in the professional wrestling and sports entertainment industry. With over three decades of dominance, the WWE surpassed $1 billion in revenues and continues to produce live content in new ways, which successfully increased audience interaction and engagement. As the WWE continued to adapt its business to the changing media environment during the global pandemic of COVID-19, it completed an important agreement to license its WWE Network content to Peacock. The agreement is expected to expand the reach of its brands and enhance the …

The Importance Of Process Documentation In The Workplace, Alisha Chatlani

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper focuses on the benefits of process documentation in the workplace and how individuals can go about creating documentation that best suits their business needs. The author of this paper explains how they went about researching, developing, and creating process documentation for a team at J.B. Hunt Transport Services and the methodology behind the entire process through an internship.

Economic Opportunity And Community Development Financial Institutions In Clark County, Ar And Beyond: An Analysis, Magdalena Hopkins

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Arkansas is home to one of the greatest projects in the world of Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp. Founded with the help and support of Bill Clinton, it pre-dates The Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, which is now used to fund similar Community Development Financial Institutions. According to the Opportunity Finance Network (2022), there are more than 1,200 Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States. These institutions span the country and operate in unique communities. The CDFI Coalition (2017) cites Arkansas as having 19 Community Development Financial Institutions in the state. It is important …

Advances In Global Services And Retail Management: Volume 2, Cihan Cobanoglu, Valentina Della Corte

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the second volume of the Advances in Global Services and Retail Management Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Hospitality and Tourism
• Part 2: Marketing, E-marketing, and Consumer Behavior
• Part 3: Management
• Part 4: Human Resources Management
• Part 5: Retail Management
• Part 6: Economics
• Part 7: Accounting and Finance
• Part 8: Sustainability and Environmental Issues
• Part 9: Information Technology

ISBN: 978-1-955833-03-5

Hospitality and Tourism

• Significance of VR in the spa: A spatial analysis
  • Irini Lai Fun Tang, Schultz Zhi Bin Xu, and Eric Chan
• Social media marketing in rural hospitality and tourism destination research
  • Samuel …

College Of Business Dean's Report: 2020-2021, Ryan Butt

College of Business Dean’s Reports

No abstract provided.

Stock Markets Performance During A Pandemic: How Contagious Is Covid-19?, Yara Abushahba

Theses and Dissertations

Background and Motivation: The coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the subsequent policies and lockdowns have unarguably led to an unprecedented fluid circumstance worldwide. The panic and fluctuations in the stock markets were unparalleled. It is inarguable that real-time availability of news and social media platforms like Twitter played a vital role in driving the investors’ sentiment during such global shock.

Purpose:The purpose of this thesis is to study how the investor sentiment in relation to COVID-19 pandemic influenced stock markets globally and how stock markets globally are integrated and contagious. We analyze COVID-19 sentiment through the Twitter posts and investigate its …

To What Extent Do Start-Ups See Themselves As Strategic Actors When Approaching Communications And Financing Within Their Companies?, Shanice Swaby

Student Theses and Dissertations

This capstone study explores entrepreneurial narratives centered around the role of communication within a start-up environment and to what extent strategic communication plays a role. I am addressing the following question: To what extent do start-ups see themselves as strategic actors when approaching communications and financing within their companies? To answer this question, I conducted seven oral histories with entrepreneurs within the Public relations, online sales, and real estate fields. The start-up companies varied in the amount individuals that are currently working for them. This study builds upon previous research about start-up companies and strategic communications. Past research was more …

How Has Covid-19 Affected Financial Gains Of Big-Tech Companies?, Erin Flanigen

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial returns received by Big-Tech companies in order to predict future financial returns and related business activities. The main objectives of this paper are to delineate business models and financial statements of Big-Tech companies prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, present ample, relevant economic information regarding COVID-19, and encompass the effects of COVID-19 on global economies. This study then predicts the future economic effects of COVID-19 on Big-Tech companies. The selected Big-Tech companies included in this study are Facebook, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon; each company saw …

Exploring The Impact Of Coronavirus Response Policies On The Long-Term Financial Health Of Sports Leagues Around The World, Alexander Seager

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper will outline and explore the responses of leagues in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain, with an emphasis on how these decisions affected the overall financial health of sports leagues within them.

While the brunt of the Coronavirus can be felt in nearly all facets of life, the goal of this paper is to research policies specifically tied to sports. There is much more to the COVID response than simple economics, but the scope of this paper is to dig into sports and the financial health of leagues moving forward. The intention is not …

The Benefits Of A More Physically Active Workforce In The Corporate World, Dillon M. Billingham-Hemminger, Jacob D. Locke

Senior Theses

With the ever-expanding knowledge of the benefits of physical activity and good general health for all aspects of our lives, it should be quite surprising that activity levels are declining at accelerating rates. After taking a deeper look into the probable cause for this phenomenon, it becomes clearer that the increasing pressures of workplace culture are leading to more sedentary lifestyles.

This paper looks at the benefits of physical activity on people and on corporations, specifically workplace disease prevention and wellness programs, to see if there exists a mutualistic relationship between the two. For people, physical activity was consistently found …

Effect Of Information Technology Capital: Technology Infrastructure, Database, Software, And Brainware Toward Optimize The Use Of Information Technology (Case Study : Uin Sunan Ampel Of Surabaya), Rismawati Br Sitepu, Ilham M.Said, Tanti Handriana, Praptini Yulianti

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research was conducted to determine the extent of the influence of technology infrastructure costs, software costs, database costs and brainware costs to increase the information technology budget of the Sunan Ampel State Islamic University in Surabaya and efficient use of the budget. The purpose of this study is to prove that there is a positive and significant influence of technology infrastructure costs, software costs, database costs and brainware costs to increase information technology budgets by using validity and reliability tests and classic tests such as the Normality test, Multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test, Heteroskedasticity test , and Linearity test. This …

Plan De Internacionalización Para La Empresa Colombiana Trendy, Laura Estefanía Vega Cotamo, Mateo Nicolás González Monroy

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

En Colombia el 80% de las pymes no logra permanecer al menos un periodo de 5 años en el mercado dado que la tasa de ‘‘mortalidad’’ o ‘‘fracaso’’ es bastante alta. La principal problemática que tienen las pymes al momento de internacionalizarse es la falta de financiamiento, difícil acceso a las ayudas y solicitud de préstamos. También sumarle como problemática el acceso a tecnologías de la información (TIC), al momento de enfrentarse a otros mercados internacionales no cumplen con el nivel competitivo que se exige. La ausencia de controles es otra razón por la cual las pymes fracasan en sus …

Less Commute Miles. Decreased Tire Wear. What Would You Do?, Dylan Schwarz, Brendon M. Ford, Brandon D. Hadinger, Abbie N. Pearce, Jacinta M. Pikunas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With the flagrant recognition of the coronavirus as one of those most impactful viruses in the history of the world, it is important to study how the effects of such a disease can create troublesome ripple effects in the world. Covid-19 has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of individuals and has negatively impacted the lives of American’s all across the country during the nationwide lockdown. Decreased work commuters, minimal road travel, and little need for car repairs hit the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company hard. The University of Akron has teamed up with Goodyear to explore such effects …

The Effect Of Green Announcements On Stock Returns Of New Zealand Listed Companies, David K. Ding

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corporate green announcements on the stock performance of listed companies in New Zealand. We find that the market has a positive, though not significant, reaction to the announcements. New Zealand companies are largely viewed to be already quite green at the onset and the market is not very much surprised by such announcements but expect them to continue being green. Our results are consistent with the view that to be green is costly, especially so in a developed economy where the cost of doing business is high. Our findings …