Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Metacognitive Competencies Through Human-Centered Ai: The Role Of Custom-Trained Intelligent Agents In Workforce Upskilling, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This editorial examines the integration of human-computer intelligent interaction (HCII), specifically through human-centered artificial intelligence (AI) and custom-trained intelligent agents, to foster metacognitive competencies critical for workforce upskilling. With 59% of the workforce projected to require substantial upskilling by 2030, developing personalized AI models tailored to individual cognitive and learning profiles presents an innovative pathway. These custom-trained agents leverage human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies and machine learning methodologies to enhance understanding of one’s own learning processes-metacognition-thus empowering individuals to optimize their future learning and adaptability. This approach not only enhances the individual’s ability to engage effectively with complex tasks in the …

An Analysis Of New Technologies In Last-Mile Logistics Examined Through The Triple Bottom Line (Tbl), Owen M. Appel

Honors Projects

Last-mile delivery is responsible for nearly half of delivery related costs and emissions. Increasing the efficiency in this segment of the supply chain is vital for companies looking to reduce waste and increase productivity to meet rising e-commerce and package delivery demand. This paper explores new technologies within last-mile delivery through the lens of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), analyzing economic, environmental, and social implications. Technologies discussed include fleet modernization & electrification, autonomous vehicles, parcel lockers, drones, and crowdshipping. The paper primarily builds its case around the United States Postal Service (USPS), as it has been unprofitable for an extended …

Teacher Mindset: An Investigation On The Influence Of Teachers’ Transformational Leadership On Growth Mindset, Rodolfo Reyes

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Identifying transformational leadership as a predictor of a growth mindset can be useful in developing teachers’ growth mindset. This nonexperimental quantitative study examined the relationship between teachers’ growth mindset and transformational leadership, and how the dimensions of teacher transformational leadership styles predict teachers’ growth mindset. The current study examined 63 participants in a school district in Florida. Using Dweck’s growth mindset survey (2006) and a researcher-created instrument to assess teachers’ perceptions of growth mindset and transformational leadership, the study resulted in a statistically significant finding of the association and prediction of transformational leadership on growth mindset. Demographics, such as teachers’ …

Is More Always Better? An Experimental Examination Of The Effects Of Feedback Frequency, Narcissistic Oversensitivity, And Growth Mindset On Performance Accuracy, Joseph A. Johnson, Khim Kelly, Wioleta Olczak

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

The provision of more frequent feedback to employees is increasing, although prior research has found mixed results as to the effect of increased feedback frequency on employee performance. Narcissism research identifies narcissistic oversensitivity as a key narcissistic subdimension that may result in particularly strong responses to performance feedback. We predict and find in an experiment that increased performance feedback frequency has a more negative impact on the performance accuracy of individuals with higher levels of narcissistic oversensitivity and that this negative interactive effect of feedback frequency and narcissistic oversensitivity is mitigated by the priming of a growth mindset. These results …

Navigating Challenges And Seizing Opportunities: The Transformative Impact Of Ai On Business Education And Teaching Strategies, Denada Ibrushi

Presentations - 2025

This article explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business education and teaching strategies, focusing on the instructor’s evolving role as a coach, the use of AI as a student assistant, and the development of AI-related skills. While AI cannot fully replace human instructors—lacking the capacity for existential reflection, value transmission, and societal context—it has significant potential to enhance efficiency, enabling instructors to prioritize student creativity and critical thinking. The study highlights various AI applications, such as ClassPoint AI for interactive quizzes, GradeScope for automated grading, and PowerPoint Speaker Coach for presentation skills, as well as tools like …

Integrating Consumer Behavior Theories: Understanding Modern Consumer Decision-Making, Khusbu Rahman

AMTP Proceedings 2025

This paper synthesizes recent consumer behavior research published in the Journal of Consumer Research between 2020-2024, addressing a significant gap in the consistent application of established theories across different contexts. The study examines key theoretical frameworks, including the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Stimulus-Organism-Response model, and their application in understanding modern consumer decision-making. Through a systematic literature review of 105 articles, the research highlights the complex interplay between rational and emotional factors in consumer behavior, the importance of psychological comfort and attachment in product relationships, and the role of framing and context in decision-making. The findings emphasize the need …

South Africans’ Attitudes And Behaviors Regarding Customer Citizenship: The Paradoxical Comparison Of The Primary And The Secondary Data, Christo A. Bisschoff, Sam Fullerton

AMTP Proceedings 2025

The current study compares the extant literature regarding South Africa to a current assessment using primary data to measure the same green phenomenon, namely customer citizenship. Secondary data were used to develop a profile of how external sources perceive South Africa. For the primary data, a sample of 513 consumers in South Africa responded to an invitation-only, Internet-based questionnaire that focused on attitudinal and behavioral issues germane to the five constructs commonly related to customer citizenship within the context of green purchasing and green consumption. The constructs in focus were green mindset, anti-consumption behavior, consumer coaching behavior, green advocacy, and …

Crafting Connections: Language Use And Cultural Resonance In Marketing Campaigns For The Hispanic Market, Santiago Reyes, Alessandra Noli Peschiera, Kristina Simon, Melany Sarcevic

AMTP Proceedings 2025

Considering the rapid growth and relevance of the Hispanic market in the U.S., this study explores strategies employed by brands in their communication efforts to connect with this consumer base. Through a qualitative content analysis, the study analyzes emerging themes and patterns in terms of language use and cultural values employed in marketing and advertising campaigns directed to the U.S. Hispanic market. Results reveal a prevalent use of Spanish, with a rise in the use of English reflective of changing demographic trends of Hispanics in the U.S. Cultural values resonant with Hispanic identity are also employed in campaigns. Important implications …

Reducing Information Asymmetry: Economic Value Of Airbnb Signals In A Small College Town, Hatice Sena Akkurt

Theses and Dissertations

Trust is the backbone of platform operations. Airbnb platform designers implement various methods including trust-building mechanisms, user interface (UI) artifacts, and reputation management systems. Previous research has explored trust in Airbnb, yet little is known about the economic value of trust indicators in smaller cities and rural areas. Thus, this thesis investigates the economic significance of User Interface (UI) artifacts, including the “Superhost” badge, star ratings, and listing photographs, within the peer-to-peer accommodation sector in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. Drawing on signaling theory, we conducted quantitative analysis, to examine the relationship between trust indicators and listing prices, controlling factors like …

Essays On Empirical Asset Pricing, Qi Fan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

My dissertation consists of three studies on how investor behavior affects the outcomes in financial markets. The first study focuses on the investors’ limited capacity on processing the complicated information transmitted through interconnected firms. The other two studies explore the investor heterogeneity on preferred time of trading, due to their personal traits or irrational judgements on the market conditions.

In Chapter 2, I focus on the return predictability across economically linked firms, due to investor limited attention. I document significant outperformance of stocks whose industry peers currently experience salient (attention-grabbing) gains, especially for those with strong social ties. The long-short …

The Impact Of Sustainable Urban Development On The Issuance Of Urban Investment Bonds, Xinglin Shou

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Investment, export, and consumption have been viewed as the three driving forces behind economic development in China. Among these, investment has remarkably contributed to the urbanization in the context of China's sustained growth and development. Urbanization involves the mergingof large and medium-sized cities with surrounding areas, renovation of shantytowns and aging urban neighborhoods, and transformation of rural regions into urban areas, culminating in the establishment of a unified market. Such advancements have promoted infrastructure projects that are spearheadedby local governments and aligned with urbanization, thus catalyzing the growth of China's real estate industry, stimulating the Chinese economy, andextending the urbanization-related …

Internal Control And Urban Investment Bond Issuance, Feixiong Zhu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the rapid growth of China's economy, the financing needs of local governments are increasing, and municipal investment bonds, as animportant financing tool for local governments, play a pivotal role in the capital market. However, the rapid development of the municipal investment bond market has also brought about problems such as inadequate informationdisclosure and accumulation of market risks, which has aroused widespreadconcern about potential financial risks. Against this background, the state has strengthened the regulation of municipal bonds, emphasized the importance of compliance management, and introduced a series of policies and measures toimprove the transparency and standardization of the market. …

The Impact Of Awards And Honors On Project Bidding, Ren Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation conducts a systematic study on the successful transformation and upgrading of China's automotive industry over the past decade, especially the remarkable progress made in the field of Electric and Intelligent Vehicles, and examines how China's automotive industry chain has seized the historical opportunity of the great transformation of the global automotive industry by “Four Modernizations”—electrification, intelligentization, lightweighting and modularization along the path of "Independent Innovation", and realized the overall improvement of both corporate performance and industrial strength under the synergy of strategic investors.

China has newly become the world's largest automotive exporter and successfully built up an advantageous …

Corporate Environmental (Ir)Responsibility Of Chinese Construction Companies, Bin Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Grounded in a multi-stakeholder perspective, this study delves into the impact of Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) on the performance of firms in the Chinese construction industry. Utilizing a panel dataset of listed companies in the Chinese construction sector from 2008 to 2023, the research conducts empirical analysis by incorporating key stakeholder relationship indicators (customer concentration, government support, and bank loan costs) while controlling for firm characteristics, aiming to assess the effect of corporate environmental information disclosure on financial performance. The findings reveal that CER significantly positively affects financial performance. More crucially, this relationship is partly attributed to the strengthening of …

The Effects Of Financial Vulnerability On The Prosocial Behavior Of Medical Staff At Pet Hospitals, Guoxing Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fundamentally disrupted business operations, causing widespread financial strain and uncertainty for employees, and research shows that financial vulnerability – the sense of insecurity regarding one’s economic resources – has reached unprecedented levels among workers. But while conventional wisdom might suggest that financial stress leads to decreased work performance, a critical gap exists in understanding how financial vulnerability influences employee behavior in service-oriented environments.

Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between financial vulnerability and employee behavior within the context of pet hospitals in China, examining how organizational factors moderate this relationship. Data were collected …

Research On The Impact Investment Evaluation System For Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects, Shumeng Tong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study aims to put forward a more comprehensive and scientific impact of photovoltaic power generation project investment evaluation system, in order to make up for the inadequacy of existing research, for photovoltaic power generation project investment decision-making to provide a more powerful support. The conclusions and contributions of this study are as follows.

（1）Build impact of photovoltaic power generation project investment evaluation system, can comprehensively reflect more interests related subject of value, makes up for the traditional investment evaluation tend to focus on economic benefit analysis of the defects.

（2）The impact investment evaluation system of this study highlights the …

Culture And Sustainability: Understanding The Roles Of Values, Norms, And Cultural Tightness In Sustainable Consumption Behaviour, Sook Sum Au

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The past decade has seen an increased interest in environmental sustainability. Yet, few studies have examined the relationship between culture, sustainable consumption intention (SCI), and sustainable consumption behaviour (SCB). This study addresses this gap by examining the roles of values, norms and CTL in an integrative model to predict SCI and SCB. This study focuses on four types of values that are considered most relevant in environmental research (biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, and hedonic). Drawing on data from a sample across the 10 most culturally "tight" and 10 most culturally "loose" states in the US, this study applied multilevel modelling to …

Impact Of Supervisor Support And Organisational Support On Individual Employee Engagement In Environmental Organisational Citizenship Tasks, Yuen Mei Susan Chong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the rising importance of sustainability in the light of climate change challenges and the rising voices of society, government and investors (UNEP, 2024a, 2024b) as well as the recent report that 2024 was the warmest year on record (Bardan, 2025), organisational sustainability is growing in importance and can be achieved when the organisation is able to contribute to sustainable development by achieving the triple bottom line of economic, environmental and social/human performance simultaneously i.e. profit, planet and people (Boyer et al., 2016; Hart & Milstein, 2003a; Kim et al., 2016a; Spreitzer et al., 2012). The triple bottom line with …

The Impact Of Eva Performance Evaluation System On Market Value Management Of State-Owned Listed Companies, Xiaohua Cai

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Against the backdrop of intensifying global economic competition and the deepening reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), improving the operational efficiency of central state-owned enterprises has become a core issue in China’s pursuit of high-quality economic development. Meanwhile, as market-oriented reforms advance and capital markets open further in both directions, central state-owned enterprises’ market value management has increasingly emerged as a pivotal mechanism connecting national strategies with market value, necessitating the establishment of an institutional framework that balances value creation and value realization. In 2009, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council introduced the Economic Value Added …

Flow Experience In Immersive Tourism Performance: Antecedents And Tourists’ Satisfaction, Xiaoli Zhu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the deep integration of culture and tourism, immersive tourism performance has emerged as a new form of experiential consumption and has gradually become an essential vehicle for shaping destination branding and enhancing tourists’ cultural identity. By breaking the boundaries of traditional stages and integrating spatial construction, narrative mechanisms, and multidimensional interactive experiences, immersive performances create a sense of presence and immersion for tourists. This study focuses on the mechanism influencing tourists’ flow experience and satisfaction in immersive tourism performances. A theoretical model incorporating authenticity, interactivity, sense of presence, and value congruence was constructed and tested to reveal how multidimensional …

Risk Management For Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers Within Rapid Changing International Environment: An Empirical Study, Youbing Cao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Semiconductors, as a key upstream component in the electronics and information industries, have attracted global attention from nations and corporations due to their vast market values. The emergence of global semiconductor supply chains has fostered specialized industrial divisions, such as semiconductor materials, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and semiconductor fabrication. While China’s semiconductor industry holds certain global market shares across various sectors, it still lags in advanced technologies and high-end markets. Since 2018, the United States has imposed increasing tariffs and export restrictions on many Chinese firms (known as the US-China trade war) to prevent technology outflows, leading to substantial uncertainties that …

Exploring The Impact Of Entrepreneurship Coaching And Mentoring Models On Founder Capabilities And Business Performance, Zhixiang Wu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

China's current economic development faces multiple pressures, including contracting demand, supply shocks, and weakening expectations. Coupled with changes in the market environment and structural employment mismatches, entrepreneurship has become a key driver for economic growth, job creation, and the enhancement of social resilience. Against this backdrop, the impact of entrepreneurship coaching on founder development and business performance has drawn increasing attention. This study systematically explores how external coaches, through various coaching methods, frequencies, and competencies, influence entrepreneurs' growth and further improve business performance.

Based on literature review and theoretical analysis, a mediation effect model is constructed to empirically examine the …

Entrepreneurial Orientation In Family Firms: The Role Of Intergenerational Dynamics, Firm Size, And External Working Experience, Wai Sam Kong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Family firms are key contributors to the global economy, yet their long-term entrepreneurial sustainability remains uncertain, particularly during intergenerational transitions. While entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been studied widely in general business contexts, the interplay between intergenerational dynamics and EO remains underexplored in family firms. This study addresses the existing gap by methodically studying how family-specific factors influence EO, thereby contributing a novel perspective to entrepreneurship and family business research. Drawing on Constructivist Learning Theory, we conceptualise EO not as a static firm attribute but as a developmental process shaped by intergenerational interactions, governance structures, and external influences. Using a multi-method …

The Impact Of Ai Usage On Employee Work Outcomes: The Mediating Roles Of Personal Control And Job Insecurity And The Moderating Role Of Ai Trust, Tiantian Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The widespread application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the workplace offers significant potential for process optimization andperformance improvement. However, the psychological mechanisms throughwhich AI usage affects employee outcomes remain underexplored. To address this gap, the present study investigated a sample of 170 employees froma media company in China, utilizing a three-wave longitudinal survey design. Specifically, this study examined how AI usage influenced employee creativity and task performance improvement through two mediatingmechanisms: the enhancement of personal control in problem-solving and the elicitation of job insecurity. Furthermore, the moderating role of trust in AI inthe relationship between AI usage and job …

Digital Capabilities And Customer Service Levels Of Small And Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, Yuegang Niu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The level of customer service, as an important tool for the differentiatedcompetition of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, has reshaped the value creation model of these enterprises. With the rise of service-oriented manufacturing enterprises under the "manufacturing service- oriented" model, this is a business model that combines manufacturing andservices. It not only provides physical products but also offers related value- added services. This indicates that small and medium-sized manufacturingenterprises urgently need to enhance their digital capabilities in the digital age to achieve dynamic upgrades and further improve their customer service capabilities. High-quality customer service capabilities have put forward newrequirements for …

The Message Framing Effects In The Process Of Health Behavior Change, Zixia Fang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As a key means to promote health behavior change, information intervention has gradually attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. The same information presented in different ways may lead to different decision-making judgments, especially in the process of transmitting and receiving health information, which affects individual behavioral intentions and health consumption decisions. This information framing effect is considered by most scholars to be an important factor in health behavior intervention, but its specific mechanism of action in health behavior change has not been fully discussed. This paper constructs a theoretical model of information framing effect to explore the specific …

Authentic Leadership As Predicted By The Fisher Temperament Inventory Scales, Stephanie J. Giddings

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Authentic leadership has garnered increasing attention from scholars and practitioners for its emphasis on ethical and transparent leadership practices that foster positive organizational outcomes. Despite its popularity, research into its antecedents remains underdeveloped. This study is a response to calls to examine potential psychometric predictors of authentic leadership, focusing on temperament as a biologically-rooted factor. This quantitative research involved surveying 338 U.S. leaders on temperament and authentic leadership. Temperament, as measured by the Fisher Temperament Inventory (FTI), offers a neuroscience-based perspective and resolves the potential crossover issues found in the widely studied Five-Factor Model (FFM). Using the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire …

Who’S On First, What’S On Second An Analysis Of Major League Baseball Fans And Multiple Points Of Attachment, Ryan W. Dastrup

Theses and Dissertations

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A Multifaceted Perspective Of Scaling Entrepreneurial Innovation And Impact In Developing Country Contexts, Chanyong Yoo

Theses and Dissertations

This paper redefines the understanding of venture scaling in emerging and developing countries through a longitudinal case study of over a decade of transformative growth by Gojek, a local venture in Indonesia. Contrary to the replication logic common among global players—which prioritizes rapid and broader market opportunity expansion using a single, proven business model—Gojek adopted a more incremental and depth-oriented approach. By identifying untapped local demands and developing new market opportunities through stacking different business models, Gojek generated both demand- and supply-side complementarities within its business model portfolio that led to subsequent scaling. The findings suggest that scaling in developing …

Exploiting Structures In Reinforcement Learning: Multi-Agent Homogeneity, Euclidean Symmetry, And Natural Languages, Dingyang Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Reinforcement learning (RL) has emerged as a powerful paradigm for decision-making in complex environments. However, many RL tasks exhibit inherent structural properties—such as homogeneity, symmetry, and linguistic patterns—that are often underutilized, leading to inefficiencies in learning and generalization. This dissertation systematically exploits these structures to improve the efficiency, scalability, and robustness of RL algorithms across multi-agent and sequential decision-making settings. First, we investigate homogeneity in multi-agent systems, where agents share similar roles and objectives. By leveraging this structure, we develop communication-efficient actor-critic methods for homogeneous Markov games, enabling scalable learning with reduced coordination overhead. Second, we introduce Euclidean symmetry in …