Other Business Commons^™

Working Mothers Of Children With Disabilities: Professional And Social Identity Negotiation, Christy D. Boyles

Dissertations

Women who have children with disabilities may struggle with both employment and childcare, and have barriers to re-entering the workforce. One struggle is the role identification and negotiation that occur when one transitions from one role to another. This research sought to answer the following questions: RQ 1. How does professional identity influence the “return to work” decisions for mothers who have children with disabilities? RQ 2. How do working mothers of children with disabilities negotiate their identities as caregivers and professionals? RQ 3. What other emerging factors affect women’s decisions to return to the workforce? A purposeful sample of …

Regional Creative Economy Resilience Index: An Analysis Of The Creative Industry's Role In Fostering National Economic Resilience According To Asta Cita, Dks Nugraha Nugraha, Ramadhania Mumtaz Keesa

Jurnal Vokasi Indonesia

Indonesia's creative economy has survived worldwide economic shifts, especially the COVID-19 epidemic. This industry now drives innovation, culture, and technology. No systematic technique exists to quantify the creative ecosystem's impact on regional economic resilience. The Regional Creative Economy Resilience Index (IRED) is a conceptual model based on Asta Cita 2024–2029's eight strategic missions. This article uses the Asta Cita framework to describe how the creative industry strengthens national economic resilience and advances the IRED idea as a data-driven research and policy tool. This qualitative-descriptive study synthesizes 20 periodicals (2020–2025), analyzes policy, and maps themes using Asta Cita. Source triangulation …

The Use Of Job Design Optimization In The Hospitality Industry To Reduce Turnover, Emily Zirbes

ICHRIE Research Reports

Employee turnover remains one of the most persistent challenges in the hospitality industry, where high job demands, limited support, and chronic understaffing contribute to burnout and voluntary exits. This report examines how job design imbalances shaped the resignation of a long‑tenured front desk supervisor at a mid‑sized hotel. Using the Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT), the analysis evaluates the alignment of job demands and resources across four dimensions: span of control, span of accountability, span of influence, and span of support. Findings reveal that disproportionate accountability expectations and insufficient support create a structurally unsustainable role. The report argues that turnover …

The Game Within: An Anthropological Approach To Games And Play, Nehal Maged Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is based on an eighteen-month ethnography of El Ghawasa, an Egyptian play-based organization that designs educational games, tools, and services. Claiming that El Ghawasa, with its ethos of play, seeks to create an alternative to the capitalist corporate structure. Through tracking how this organization navigates ruptures, negotiates constraints, and experiments with different practices and internal restructuring, I explore the possibilities and limitations of El Ghawasa, while attempting to resist absorption by the very system it opposes. I ask: when the rules keep changing (while the logic of the capitalist corporate structure remains the same), and the boundaries of …

Advancing Beyond An Entry-Level Job, Paul Hill, Osei Vega-Sandoval

All Current Publications

Entry-level positions are a gateway into the workforce, yet advancing beyond an early-career role is necessary to broaden one’s professional experience and earn a higher salary. Whether following the traditional path of moving up within an organization or developing extensive expertise, there are a variety of career paths and concepts to consider. This fact sheet provides strategies and insights for advancing to higher-level positions within organizations.

Obtaining An Entry-Level Job, Paul Hill, Osei Vega-Sandoval

All Current Publications

Entry-level jobs are designed for people with little to no work experience. These jobs do not require previous education or training. Entry-level roles range from labor-intensive jobs (e.g., stocking shelves, preparing food, cleaning equipment) to customer service jobs (e.g., cashier, bank teller, retail associate). Entry-level jobs are the most common gateway into an organization. This fact sheet explains how to find entry-level jobs and outlines the fundamentals to improve one’s prospects of gaining employment.

Corporate Social Responsibility And Firm Value: A Critically Appraised Topic, Shinika L. Byrd

Engaged Management ReView

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important component of strategic management, yet whether it enhances firm value remains a debated question. This Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) synthesizes the most recent peer-reviewed evidence to examine the relationship between CSR and the firm value of U.S. publicly traded companies. The guiding research question is: Does corporate social responsibility improve firm value? Findings indicate that CSR does not consistently improve firm value. Rather, its impact depends on factors such as strategic alignment, governance quality, transparency, stakeholder perceptions, and market conditions. Evidence suggests that strategically integrated, employee-centered CSR initiatives are more likely to …

Repairing Workplace Trust: A Process-Based Classroom Exercise For Management Education, Luke A. Langlinais Ph.D.

Posters

Trust is essential in every workplace, but conflicts, mistakes, and broken promises are inevitable. This project develops an experiential classroom exercise in which students diagnose workplace trust violations, examine the perspectives and emotions of both parties, and practice selecting and communicating evidence-based reparative actions. The exercise translates organizational behavior research into a practical learning experience that develops not only managerial competence but also the character, empathy, and relational wisdom needed to build healthy organizations and promote human flourishing.

I gratefully acknowledge peer review feedback on this project, and I am accountable for writing of this product without generative AI and …

Blueprints For Resilience: A Delphi Study Of Architects' Competencies In Gulf Coast States, Richard J. Cantu

Dissertations

This study identifies and defines core competencies for licensed architects practicing in Gulf Coast states, emphasizing their critical role in protecting health, safety, and welfare (HSW) amid the region’s unique environmental challenges. Hurricanes, flooding, climate-induced risks, and other coastal hazards demand specialized expertise that existing architectural competency models do not adequately address. Leveraging Delphi’s research design, this study engaged Gulf Coast experts to develop and refine a region-specific competency framework across four iterative rounds. The findings highlighted the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities required for resilient and sustainable architectural practice. The study advances architecture’s human capital development (HCD) by addressing …

A Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence Sentiment Analysis Of Esg Disclosures, John Barnett Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This dissertation examines whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure sentiment extracted from SEC Form 10-K Item 1A risk disclosures aligns with Bloomberg ESG scores. The study combines SEC textual disclosures, Bloomberg ESG ratings, firm financial data, executive compensation data, and executive gender characteristics. Natural language processing and artificial intelligence methods, including FinBERT, Loughran-McDonald sentiment measures, BART-MNLI zero-shot classification, LLaMA-based ESG scoring, and readability analysis, are used to evaluate ESG-related disclosure signals. Results reveal that SEC 10-K Item 1A risk-factor sentiment and Bloomberg ESG scores represent related but distinct constructs. ESG sentiment in Item 1A is poorly aligned with third-party …

Entrepreneurship Ecosystems, Desire, And Convergence, Kyle Scott

Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship ecosystem research explains convergence through mechanisms such as informational cascades, institutional isomorphism, herding, clustering, and knowledge spillovers. While these perspectives account for how convergence occurs, they provide a more limited explanation of why entrepreneurs, investors, and other ecosystem participants come to pursue the same ventures, industries, and measures of success. This paper argues that convergence reflects the social mediation of desire. Drawing on René Girard's theory of mimetic desire, it develops a conceptual framework explaining how entrepreneurial desire becomes aligned within shared evaluative environments. The paper advances three propositions. First, ecosystems characterized by evaluative monism are more likely to …

Designing Micro-Creativity Interventions In Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Education: A Phase 2 Pedagogical Study, Shawn E. Schooley

Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this study is to examine the design and implementation of micro-creativity interventions as a pedagogical approach for helping undergraduate entrepreneurship students translate abstract creative concepts into actionable entrepreneurial practice. Drawing on data from a Fall 2025 undergraduate Creativity and Innovation course, this Phase 2 pedagogical study focuses on instructional design, scaffolding, and implementation rather than causal effectiveness claims. Micro-creativity interventions, short, repeated instructional activities embedded throughout the course, were integrated into routine coursework and examined using aggregate assignment performance, student self-evaluations, structured reflections, and course-level evaluation data. Findings suggest that repeated, low-stakes creative activities supported sustained engagement …

How Does An Advanced Educator Utilize Digital Language Teaching And Learning By Integrating Linguistic, Cultural, And Business Life Perspectives?, Hely Westerholm, Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper explores advanced educators’ digital working capabilities in online language teaching, with a particular focus on sharing Finnish language and culture in a foreign context. Cultural and linguistic knowledge play a significant role in enhancing students’ motivation to study foreign languages. In today’s educational environment, digitalisation and globalisation exert an increasing influence on foreign language teaching and learning.

The digital learning environment has brought about a paradigm shift in foreign language didactics. Digital language learning is both challenging and holistic in nature. Continued foreign language learning is simultaneously an individual and a social process, as digital learning cultures impose …

How Grades Changed Before, During And After Covid-19 In A Business College, Douglas R. Moodie, Alison Keefe, Robin Cheramie

International Journal for Business Education

Purpose: This study examines how undergraduate business student grades changed before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using a large institutional dataset from a business college in a US university between 2015 and 2024.

Method: The analysis includes over 390,000 student-course observations and incorporates instructional modality, student demographics, course characteristics, and prior academic performance.

Results: Results show a substantial increase in mean course grades during the COVID-19 period, followed by a partial reversion post-pandemic to levels that remain above pre-pandemic trends. These patterns are consistent across modalities, demographics, and departments.

Implications: The findings raise important questions regarding the interpretation of …

Deepfakes As Crisis Triggers: Experimental Evidence On Response Strategy Effectiveness, Responsibility Attributions, And Sharing Intentions, Alicia Mason, Mariah Laman, Tanner Glenn, Treyton Meyers

Faculty Submissions

The term deepfake refers to falsified media content created using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to manipulate audio, video, or images. Deepfake news fabrications are designed to appear highly realistic, making it difficult for audiences to distinguish them from authentic content. Responding to deepfake-induced  reputational threats therefore presents a unique challenge for organizations. Despite the growing prevalence of deepfake technology, little experimental research has examined how different crisis communication strategies perform in mitigating the reputational and relational harm posed by deepfake-induced crises. Accordingly, this study seeks to (1) examine how exposure to deepfake news relates to public perceptions and affect toward …

Ensouling Progressive Partnership Synergy In Marketing To Revive The Indonesian Furniture Industry, Ahmad Ikhwan Setiawan, Fatimah Fatimah, Cheryl Marlitta Stefia

Asia Marketing Journal

This study develops a partnership marketing model to improve collaboration between suppliers and resellers in Indonesia's furniture industry by introducing Progressive Partnership Synergy (PPS), which links partnership dynamics to sales growth. A quantitative survey of 240 small and medium furniture manufacturers in Central Java tested the model using AMOS and Hayes's PROCESS Macro to examine mediation by synergy and competitive-advantage transformation. Results show PPS significantly affects sales growth while mediating the influence of competitive-advantage transformation. Market adjustment flexibility and partner orientation strengthen supplier–retailer ties. Some hypotheses were rejected, indicating additional factors are needed to optimize partnerships. Limitations include treating contextual …

The Impact Of Fear Of Aging On Luxury Consumption Among Middle-Aged Women, Jiyeon Lee, Xiaofei Wu, Dongwoo Ko

Asia Marketing Journal

This study investigates the relationship between fear of aging and luxury consumption behaviors among middle-aged women, focusing on the psychological and social dimensions of aging anxiety. Utilizing frameworks such as Objectification Theory and the Double Standard of Aging, the research explores how aging anxiety impacts attitudes toward luxury goods, mediated by fear of negative evaluation and body esteem. A survey of 288 women aged 41 to 60 was conducted, revealing that fear of aging significantly influences luxury attitudes and purchasing intentions. Findings indicate that luxury goods are seen not only as tools for status maintenance but also as avenues for …

Social Exclusion Cues And Collective Action Motivation In Environmental Campaigns: The Buffering Role Of Social Support, Hwan-Ho Noh, Warren B. Chik

Asia Marketing Journal

This study examines the influence of social exclusion cues on public engagement with environmental campaigns on social media, focusing on how such cues affect advertising attitudes and collective action motivation. Across two experimental studies, we investigated whether low engagement metrics, such as a small number of likes, function as symbolic exclusion cues that reduce perceived public support. The results indicate that social exclusion cues negatively affect advertising attitudes and collective action motivation, ultimately decreasing the intention to engage with the campaign. However, the presence of social support cues, which signal sustained public interest and social endorsement, effectively mitigated these negative …

The Price Of Expectation: How Luxury Consumers React To Quality Crises, Jeong Ah Yoo, Daye Hong, Yoon Hi Sung

Asia Marketing Journal

This study investigated the mechanisms underlying consumer responses to quality crises in luxury brands and examined how these responses differ depending on consumers' prior luxury brand purchase experience. The findings indicated that stronger price-quality inferences led to elevated product quality expectations. Further, when consumers encountered information regarding quality controversies, their heightened expectations produced greater perceived discrepancies, which subsequently had a negative impact on brand attitudes. Additionally, this study found that the negative impacts of perceived discrepancies on brand attitudes, purchase intentions for other products of the brand, and forgiveness intentions were more pronounced among luxury than among non-luxury consumers. Finally, …

Uncovering App Activity Patterns Behind E-Commerce App Usage: An Explainable Ai Framework, Myounggu Lee, Hye-Jin Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

In today's competitive mobile ecosystem, understanding how general app activity influences e-commerce app usage is crucial for marketers. This study introduces an explainable AI (XAI) framework using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to identify non-e-commerce apps associated with e-commerce app usage. Drawing on mobile app launch data from 1,000 Android users in South Korea, we train a machine learning model to predict usage and apply SHAP to quantify the marginal contribution of each app. Results show that apps such as YouTube, Naver, and KakaoTalk are strongly linked to e-commerce activity at the user level. By visualizing user–app associations and clustering users …