Digital Commons Network^™

A Power Dependence Model Of The Impact Of Leader Impostorism On Supervisor Support And Undermining: The Moderating Role Of Power Distance, Xueqi Wen, Zihan Liu, Feng Qiu, Keith Leavitt, Xingyu Wang, Ziyang Tang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Leaders, often perceived as possessing exceptional confidence and competence, are not immune to feelings of self-doubt. Leader impostorism describes the experience that one’s attributes, experiences, skills, and abilities fall short of the standards expected in the leadership role, resulting in a sense of deception in fulfilling leadership responsibilities. While existing research has examined the antecedents and individual outcomes of leader impostorism, its implications for leaders’ treatment of subordinates remain largely unexplored. In this research, we investigate the downstream consequences of leader impostorism on behaviors directed toward subordinates. Integrating research on leader impostorism with power dependence theory, we propose that for …

Existing Personal Leadership Prototypes Versus Organizational Leadership Prototypes: How Individuals Manage Tensions Between Leading With Authenticity And Conformity During Their Socialization As Leaders In Organizations, Benjamin M. Galvin, Jeffrey S. Bednar, Archie Bates

Faculty Publications

Based on qualitative data collected at the United States Military Academy (West Point), this research enhances our understanding of how individuals manage tensions between leading with authenticity and organizational pressures for conformity, resulting from a lack of alignment between their existing personal leadership prototypes and organizational prototypes of leadership. Our theoretical model moves beyond existing research on leader identity construction− which largely treats individuals as blank slates as they construct who they will be as leaders in organizations− by highlighting how individuals learn to enact a leadership approach during socialization that fits within their personal zone of acceptable authenticity and …

Preparing Tourism, Hospitality And Events Graduates To Be Industry Ready: Extending The Three-Factor Model Of Authentic Learning, Eliza Kitchen, Edmund Goh, Effie Steriopoulos, Tracy Harkison, Colin Drake, Martin Robertson, Erwin Losekoot, Lynn Waterston

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Authentic learning is a critical pedagogy and curriculum requirement in higher education to better prepare students for future workforce requirements. As such, educators adopt a range of authentic learning tasks such as work-integrated learning, industry reports, and field trips to enable student engagement in current industry issues. Although such actions are practical and have valuable impact on students, there has been little effort to narrow the theoretical gap. The present study addresses this by extending the authentic learning three-factor model (construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school) to evaluate the perceptions of educators in THE higher education towards …

Regional Tourism Destination Brand Identity Formation Via Social Media: A Mixed Methods Study, Stephanie Meek, Violetta Wilk

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study examines the influence of social media on regional destination brand identity, addressing post-COVID-19 challenges for regional destinations through the Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) theory framework. We conducted two studies: a qualitative analysis of 2325 social media user-generated content posts using Leximancer, and a quantitative survey of 1239 potential tourists using structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS. The qualitative study identified distinctive brand associations for the regional tourism destination, which informed Study 2. The quantitative study demonstrated that electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on social media has a positive influence on perceptions of regional tourism destination brand identity, …

Correlate Of Savings Attitude And Generational Poverty As Mediated By Financial Literacy: Evidence From Ghana, Adu Bismark Owusu-Sekyere, Williams Kwasi Peprah [email protected]

Faculty Publications

This study examines the mediating role of financial literacy between savings attitudes and generational poverty in Ghana. Generational poverty is a significant issue in Ghana, with a multidimensional poverty rate of 45.6% and a consumer expenditure poverty rate of 23.4%. The problem persists due to low financial literacy and poor savings attitudes, which hinder economic growth and development. The research employed a quantitative methodology, utilizing a series of regression analyses to test the mediation effects of financial literacy. A correlational design was adopted to assess the relationships between the variables. The study’s population included 400 individuals from the five regions …

Understanding The Challenges And Satisfaction Among The Medical Professional Preceptors, Cornelia Ko

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study evaluates the Penn Medicine Family Medicine Clerkship program through a mixed-methods approach, exploring the challenges and factors influencing the satisfaction of medical professional preceptors when precepting students. A quantitative survey with 54 preceptor participants reveals the top challenges preceptors face: workload, conflicts with patient care, and limited clinical space. Despite this, there is strong support for the program, with 89% of preceptors enjoying the role and 85% expressing willingness to continue to precept for the next three years. Finally, data analysis shows no statistical correlation between preceptor motivation with gender, ethnicity, age group, years of serving, or total …

How Tax Code Complexity Impacts Small Business Decisions In Alabama: A Mixed Method Study, George Nkosi

Dissertations

This study investigates how federal tax code complexity influences small business decision-making in Alabama using a mixed-methods approach. Tax complexity is defined by ambiguity in tax provisions, frequent regulatory changes, and recordkeeping burdens, all of which affect decision-making and investment behavior. Survey data from small business owners were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the primary dimensions of tax complexity. Regression analysis then assessed the relationship between these dimensions and business decision-making. The findings indicate that ambiguity, frequency of change, and administrative requirements are negatively associated with long-term planning and capital investment decisions. Two complementary case studies involving …

The Effects Of Brand Activism On Brand Performance, Lin Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Brand activism—the explicit demonstration of a brand’s sociopolitical beliefs—has become increasingly prevalent and consequential. Concurrently, consumers now hold higher expectations for firms to engage in sociopolitical conversations, driven by the rise of belief-drive purchase in consumers’ decision-making and the growing ideological polarization worldwide. The interaction of brand activism and consumer behavior presents unique potential for brands to gain competitive advantages while contributing to social welfare. This dissertation comprises three essays that examine the effects of brand activism through multiple understudied yet compelling perspectives.

Essay One investigates how brand activism influences consumer-brand relationships through both transactional and relational lenses. This research …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Does Social Capital Mitigate Managerial Self-Dealing? Evidence From Insider Trading, Sung Gon Chung, Jimmy Lee, Sang Hyun Park

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In this study, we examine whether the social capital surrounding the firm’s corporate headquarters mitigates managerial self-dealing in the form of opportunistic insider trading. We find strong evidence that the level of social capital in the region surrounding the firm’s headquarters is negatively and significantly associated with insider trading profitability. We also find that the negative association between social capital and insider trading profitability is more pronounced when governance is weaker and corporate opacity is higher, instances where insiders have greater opportunities to trade on their private information. Further analyses on the potential mechanisms suggest that the negative association is …

Positive Reinforcement In Leadership, Jen Lee Williams

M.S. in Leadership

This project examined whether leaders’ use of positive reinforcement
improves team retention, satisfaction, and performance across Generation
X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Jen Williams selected this topic due to the
rising turnover challenges and lack of consistent reinforcement training in
leadership practice. Using mixed-methods design, the study combined a
quantitative survey of 13 working professionals with a qualitative interview
from a Generation X leader participant. Results showed that over 92% of
the participants felt motivated by recognition, and 72% linked
reinforcement to increased satisfaction and desire to stay with their
organization. Generational differences appeared in frequency, authenticity,
and emotional sensitivity …

Bridging The Gap: Exploring The Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Agriculture Technologies, Cyrus Gaylord

CMC Senior Theses

This study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of precision agriculture technologies (AgTech) by farmers across U.S. states. While venture capital (VC) has driven innovation in AgTech startups, the adoption of these technologies by farmers is shaped by a range of economic, demographic, and behavioral factors. My research primarily focuses on demand-side factors, analyzing the role of farm size, government subsidies, education levels, digital engagement, and economic conditions in farmers' decisions to adopt AgTech solutions. Through a random-effects regression model using state-level data from 2021 and 2023, I examine how these factors influence adoption rates, finding that larger farm size, …

Just As Advertised: The Perception And Effectiveness Of Artificial Intelligence In Digital Advertising, Brandon Isem Cáceres

CMC Senior Theses

What do you think when you hear “AI in advertising”? Does it spark intrigue, or does it feel like just another tech buzzword? In today’s fast-paced digital marketing landscape, connecting with consumers is a high-stakes challenge, and artificial intelligence is at the forefront of innovation. From automating campaigns to creating hyper-targeted content, AI promises efficiency and precision—but how do audiences perceive this shift? By analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) like impressions, click-through rates, and cost-per-click in an an original A/B test, this thesis evaluates the perception and effectiveness of AI-driven advertising strategies. Combining historical insights, case studies, and an original …

Altman Z-Score Relationship With Stock Price Performance After Layoff Announcements, Natalie Phillips

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the broader implications of such workforce reductions, historically prevalent in corporate environments since the advent of "new capitalism" in the late 20th century. Characterized by intense global competition, deregulation, and technological advancements, this era saw a surge in corporate downsizing as a means to enhance efficiency and competitiveness. Despite the strategic intentions, layoffs often signal underlying organizational challenges, prompting critical inquiry into their short- and long-term impacts on firm performance and investor sentiment. Central to this study is the exploration of whether a firm's Altman Z-Score, a metric predicting bankruptcy risk, influences stock price reactions following layoff …

Optimal Capital Allocation Decisions And Investments In The Nba, Anderson Cynkar

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between salary concentration and winning in the NBA, primarily focusing on how the concentration of payroll among top-earning players influences success. Several concentration metrics were constructed and employed including the use of a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) to measure the share of payroll each player receives across a team. I used fixed effects regressions and clustered standard errors at a team level to control for unobserved factors that remain the same over time. The results revealed a consistent inverted U-shape curve, signaling that an optimal concentration of capital exists for the highest paid player, two highest …

How Can Tailored Entrepreneurship Training Effectively Support The Emancipation Of People With Disabilities In Ireland?, Ahsan Habib

Doctoral

This thesis investigates the impact of tailored entrepreneurship training on the perceived emancipation of aspiring entrepreneurs with disabilities in Ireland. This community is significantly underrepresented in the labour market, yet it is hindered in accessing self-employment opportunities due to a lack of specific training and limited access to necessary resources. Furthermore, there is a dearth of knowledge in academic literature addressing the influence of tailored entrepreneurship programmes targeted at people with disabilities. To address this knowledge gap, this study gathered data from in-depth interviews with 21 key informants (including nine participants from TU Dublin’s entrepreneurship training programme, five representatives from …

Skip-Level Meetings: Perspectives Of Skipped First-Tier U.S. Tech Leaders, Samuel Blacher

Dissertations

Although significant research exists on numerous intersecting theories, such as adaptive leadership, leadership communication, and employee voice, and although they are discussed in business publications and widely yet inconsistently implemented in industry, skip-level meetings are little scholarly studied. Such meetings offer benefits for employees, direct (skipped) managers, and skip-level leaders, and through them, to organizations, yet they also hold risks and pitfalls, and are influenced by various contextual factors, such as stakeholders’ national culture and age. This exploratory qualitative study employed elements of interpretive phenomenology, followed by thematic analysis, to examine the experiences, perceptions, and emotions of a diverse set …

The Interplay Of Morality, Emotional Labor, And Customer Injustice: How Salesperson Experiences Shape Job Satisfaction, Omar S. Itani, Colin B. Gabler, Ashish Kalra, Khashayar Afshar Bakeshloo (Kash), Raj Agnihotri

Marketing Faculty Publications

Despite the significant role emotions play in business-to-business (B2B) sales transactions, the impact of salesperson emotional labor on well-being, specifically job satisfaction, has garnered limited attention. To address this gap, the present study examines the relationships among salesperson moral identity, emotional labor strategies, customer injustice, and job satisfaction. An analysis of responses from B2B salespeople reveals that moral identity internalization is positively related to deep acting and negatively to surface acting, whereas moral identity symbolization is positively related to both deep and surface acting. Furthermore, surface acting has a stronger unfavorable effect on customer injustice compared to deep acting, which …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Faculty Articles

In her important book, Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein illustrates the value of a comparative approach, drawing lessons from fights around the regulation of tobacco and ultra-processed food for the regulation of social media. Building on Bernstein’s work, this symposium contribution aims to draw additional insight from experience with drug and gambling regulation for the regulation of social media, video games, AI, and other potentially-addictive technologies.

Specifically, after introducing Bernstein’s book and the foundation it lays, we draw six lessons from the study of psychoactive drugs and gambling. As we elaborate below: Lesson one is that …

Rejected From Pastoral Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of The Voice And Lived Experiences Of African American Pentecostal Women In Clergy, Cynthia Ann Hurns

Dissertations

The study explored the lived experiences of 10 African American Holiness-Pentecostal clergywomen who faced rejection in a predominantly male-led church system. These women shared detailed stories of their experiences in leadership as pastors, apostles, and co-pastors. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was employed, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) because it allows for in-depth exploration of how people make sense of their experiences, aligning with the study’s focus on leadership journeys. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through descriptive and iterative coding. Codes were grouped into broader categories, resulting in five emerging themes: voiceless calling, bound to tradition, call from …

(In)Attention To Attractive Brand Alternatives, Danielle J. Brick, Veronica L. Thomas

Marketing Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers maintain their brand relationships has important implications for marketers as committed consumers contribute significant value to firms. In the present research, we propose and test one such way consumers protect their brand relationships, namely through attentional avoidance of attractive alternative partners. Across multiple studies, we find support for our theory that committed consumers avoid attending to alternative brand partners by recalling less about and spending less time focused on attractive alternatives. We further find that this inattention occurs because consumers view the competing brand as a threat to the consumer’s current relationship. In addition, we investigate a …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Addressing Cte Faculty Shortages In Community Colleges: Perspectives From The Field, Brandon Hensley, Michelle E. Bartlett, James E. Bartlett Ii, Sophia Alston

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study investigates the motivations, challenges, and institutional strategies shaping the recruitment and retention of postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) faculty in North Carolina. Drawing on quantitative data from 171 North Carolina participants in a national survey, the research provides a localized perspective on faculty workplace experiences within the state’s community college system. Grounded in Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Job Embeddedness Theory, the analysis identifies key factors influencing job satisfaction, faculty stability, and the perceived effects of ongoing instructor shortages. The study’s findings are organized around four central research questions and present a comprehensive analysis of the challenges associated …

Towards Dynamic Learner State: Orchestrating Ai Agents And Workplace Performance Via The Model Context Protocol, Mohan Yang, Nolan Lovett, Belle Li, Zhen Hou

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Current learning and development approaches often struggle to capture dynamic individual capabilities, particularly the skills they acquire informally every day on the job. This dynamic creates a significant gap between what traditional models think people know and their actual performance, leading to an incomplete and often outdated understanding of how ready the workforce truly is, which can hinder organizational adaptability in rapidly evolving environments. This paper proposes a novel dynamic learner-state ecosystem—an AI-driven solution designed to bridge this gap. Our approach leverages specialized AI agents, orchestrated via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), to continuously track and evolve an individual’s multi-dimensional …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Staffing: A Qualitative Study Of Hr Professionals Across Industries, Batoul Bazzi

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into staffing and recruitment processes across industries. Organizations are using AI-powered tools to support tasks such as résumé screening, interview scheduling, candidate assessments, and data organization. While these technologies offer efficiency and consistency, they also raise important questions related to bias, fairness, privacy, and the continued role of human judgment in hiring decisions. The purpose of this study is to examine how AI is currently used in staffing practices and how organizational leaders perceive its benefits and limitations. This study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with three business owners and …

Multimodal Wearable Intelligence For Dementia Care In Healthcare 4.0: A Survey, Po Yang, Gaoshan Bi, Jun Qi, Xulong Wang, Yun Yang, Li Da Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

As a new revolution of Ubiquitous Computing and Internet of Things, multimodal wearable intelligence technique is rapidly becoming a new research topic in both academic and industrial fields. Owning to the rapid spread of wearable and mobile devices, this technique is evolving healthcare from traditional hub-based systems to more personalised healthcare systems. This trend is well-aligned with recent "Healthcare 4.0" which is a continuous process of transforming the entire healthcare value chain to be preventive, precise, predictive and personalised, with significant benefits to elder care. But empowering the utility of multimodal wearable intelligence technique for elderly care like people with …

A Comparison Of Service Needs For Face-To-Face To Online Programs, Ali Ardalan, Roya K. Ardalan, G. Steven Rhiel

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions strive to gain a competitive advantage over similar programs offered by other institutions. A criterion for comparing programs is the quality of service. The definition of quality from the customer's view is "fitness for use," which incorporates the value generated by the product. Each learner may evaluate programs differently from other learners. It is impossible to develop a unique standard for program quality that is defined by a specific set of factors and specific level for each of these factors. This study presents an extensive set of factors that may affect learners' satisfaction. Higher education administrators should …

The Atlas Of Intercultural Communication: Navigating Conflict Resolution With Cultural Intelligence, Luz Marina Erturk

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

As universities become increasingly multicultural, intercultural communication is becoming an essential skill across campus roles. This study examined the role of cultural intelligence (CQ) in conflict resolution within university settings. Using a phenomenological approach, it explored how individuals in administrative, management, or counseling roles applied CQ in communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Twelve participants were interviewed, and data collection spanned five months. The study applied Earley and Ang’s four-factor model of CQ, which includes metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions. The developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) was also used to interpret how participants’ levels of intercultural sensitivity shaped their …

The Tiktok Miracle: Cracking The Code Of Tiktok’S Platform Strategy, Ying Hou, Yanli Zhang, Yiying Zhu

Department of Management Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study decodes the winning platform strategies behind TikTok's rapid rise in the social media ecosystem, aiming to provide generalizable insights for companies in the platform economy. It explores how TikTok overcame the formidable network effects of dominant platforms like Meta and identifies the platform strategies that fueled its unprecedented growth. The study identified six key platform strategies driving TikTok's success: 1) Create a fun and immersive user experience; 2) Build network effects by supporting creators; 3) Harness human psychology in AI algorithms; 4) Foster viral dissemination via social Interactions; 5) Transform its weaknesses into strengths in competition; and 6) …

The Oprah In Me: Becoming Sidney O., Sidney Opal Young

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Oprah Winfrey is a staple in American History and the world. She has infiltrated American media pop culture with a range of experience and expertise in various forms of media: television, literature, radio, Internet and film. Oprah has influenced popular culture. She continuously shared her ‘truths’ through her experiences and successes both good and bad making her extremely relatable. Oprah educates and inform the public about pressing issues in media and the world. Oprah has stood as an icon for many women, including me.