Digital Commons Network^™

Neurodiversity In The Workplace: Organizational Approaches To Supporting Neurodiverse Employees, Madison Vasquez

M.S. in Leadership

Despite growing conversation around neurodiversity in the workplace, many organizations lack clear understanding and structured strategies to support neurodivergent employees. This study examines existing research on how organizations can more effectively support neurodiverse employees across the employee lifecycle. Using a qualitative literature review, this study addresses the research question by examining literature on neurodiversity within workplace contexts. This includes investigating common representations of neurodiversity and reviewing the strengths and challenges of neurodiverse individuals, including those who have autism, ADHD, and other forms of neurodivergence. The study also reviews workplace barriers, support strategies, and organizational outcomes identified across the literature. Key …

External Mandate And Strategic Imperative: A Necessary And Sufficient Conditions Approach To Environmental Accounting Adoption In Tanzanian Manufacturing Firms, James Moses Dendula, Helena Thomas Haule

Business Management Review

Environmental Accounting (EA) serves as a strategic tool for organisations to integrate environmental considerations into operations, decision-making, and reporting. However, in emerging economies, its adoption remains uneven and insufficiently explained regarding how institutional pressures and internal capabilities jointly shape these practices. This study examines how institutional pressures and firms’ internal capabilities influence Environmental Accounting Practices (EAP) among 146 Tanzanian manufacturing firms. Anchored in Institutional Theory and the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study adopts a complementary analytical approach by integrating sufficiency and necessity logics using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). The PLS-SEM results indicate …

Embeddedness Of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Of Listed Local Firms In Tanzania: Analysis Of Communication And Organisation Dimensions, Lilian Julius Kishimbo

Business Management Review

This study explores the embeddedness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices among listed Tanzanian firms from 2020 to 2024, focusing on both communication and organisational dimensions within a theoretically grounded framework. The study is guided by Institutional and Stakeholder theories, analysing how CSR is integrated into corporate strategies and operational structures, with particular emphasis on variation across banking and finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, extractive, agriculture, and transport industries. Using a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative content analysis of annual reports with organisational indicators, the study draws on 20 firms (95 firms annual reports) to identify significant industry-specific differences in CSR embeddedness, with …

Healing The Gap, Maria Gavriilidou

Honors Projects

This project examines healthcare accessibility in Greece, focusing on the disparities between urban centers and remote island and mountainous communities. It addresses systemic limitations within public healthcare infrastructure, including insufficient facilities, limited medical personnel, and transportation barriers that restrict timely access to medical services. Grounded in personal experience and observational research, particularly from the Cyclades islands and mainland medical contexts, the study highlights how geographic isolation and environmental conditions further intensify these challenges.

The work proposes an architectural response aimed at improving healthcare delivery in underserved regions through the design of sustainable, accessible, and adaptable healthcare facilities. It explores how …

The Influence Of Financial Literacy On The Financial Behavior Of Students In The Higher Learning Institutions In Tanzania, Lisa John Baltazar, Evelyn Mweta Richard

Business Management Review

This study examines how financial literacy influences financial behavior as measured by spending, saving and investment and borrowing behavior of university students. The study was informed by the theory of planned behavior. Explanatory research design was used to test the research hypothesis. Data was collected through using a structure questionnaire which was administered both physically and online.  446 random selected students across Universities in Tanzania participated in the study, and simple linear regression analysis was used to establish the effect of financial literacy on financial behavior.  It was established that majority of the students are considered financially illiterate. However, the …

Unpacking The Nexus Between Financial Inclusion And Tax Compliance In Tanzania, Sarah Senso, Henry Zeno Chalu, Cosmas Renatus Masanja

Business Management Review

The study examined the influence of financial inclusion and tax compliance in Tanzania, focusing on access to financial services, quality of financial services, and usage of financial services. Guided by the positivist philosophy, the study employed a deductive approach utilizing the supply-leading theory and economic deterrence theory as the guiding frameworks. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, and multistage sampling was employed to obtain a sample of 386 bank agents by using a multistage sampling method. The study used primary data that was collected through structured questionnaires, which contained closed-ended questions measured on a 7-point Likert scale, and analyzed data …

A Meta-Analysis Of Corporate Innovation Intention And Its Driving Mechanisms, Yaping Hu, Xuerong Shen, Yi Zheng

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance] Stimulating corporate innovation intention is a pivotal issue for promoting innovation. However, the academic discourse on its key drivers presents significantly divergent and even contradictory conclusions, leading to theoretical ambiguity and practical guidance challenges. This study aims to systematically and quantitatively integrate empirical research in this field to clarify the true effects of core driving factors and their operational boundaries. [Method/process] Adopting a meta-analysis approach, this study systematically retrieves and screens literature, ultimately analyzes 29 empirical studies and examine four potential moderating variables which include location, data type, industry, and culture. [Result/conclusion] The study finds that government support, internal …

Neurodiversity Works--Literally: A Scoping Review Of Neurodivergence In The Workplace, Daisy V. Dimatos

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

In recent years, the importance of utilizing inclusive practices in the workplace has become much more widely-known, especially in regards to supporting neurodivergent employees. The systemic barriers and challenges faced by neurodivergent job-seekers and employees mean this population is often limited in their employment prospects, in turn depriving human resources professionals and their organizations of the chance to hire and benefit from diverse talent. As neurodivergent individuals exist within the workforce and general public, it is critical that organizations properly accommodate their needs in order to ensure optimal inclusivity, business efficiency, and productivity. This scoping review of the literature on …

Ai Need Not Make One Slothful, Roy A. Kaelin Jr

Faculty Publications

As National Louis University seeks to plan and advance its way amid the potential perils and pitfalls of so-named artificial intelligence, one finds that with reasonable workflows and guard rails, the use of AI proposes both potential promise and prospect, to assist and augment the natural intelligence that students and teachers bring to the classroom, encouraging them to pursue STEM-related activities with the preparation and deployment of focused and directed AI-bots. This paper presents examples and a case study of that directed and focused approach, the incremental lessons learned to date, and a proposed path to advance worthwhile AI …

Preparing For The Ai-Driven Accounting Workforce, Thomas C. Pate

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is embedded in accounting workflows, raising concerns about job displacement, professional relevance, and ethical risk. This thesis argues that AI represents an evolutionary force in accounting, not a disruptive replacement of human professionals. By situating AI within the historical trajectory of accounting technologies, the paper demonstrates that technological change has consistently reallocated work toward higher-value activities instead of eliminating the need for professionals. The analysis examines how generative and agentic AI are transforming core accounting functions, including auditing, financial reporting, tax compliance, and strategic decision support, primarily through the implementation of automated processes for data-intensive tasks. The …

Sectoral Differences In The Role Of Aggregate Corporate Earnings In Predicting Gdp, Aleeza Reich

Business/Business Administration

This paper provides empirical evidence on aggregate corporate earnings growth as a predictor of gross domestic product (GDP) growth at the sectoral level in the US. We explore how sectoral earnings predict sectoral GDP with and without controls to examine more accurate methods of GDP forecasting. Utilizing panel data for fifteen sectors from 2005 to 2024, we examine this predictive relation on a quarterly basis. Our results show that sectoral earnings can predict sector GDP in seven of the fifteen sectors either contemporaneously or with a lag. These results can aid policymakers as well as investors in making more accurate, …

Developing Tracking Compliance Standards For Inbound Freight: A Data-Driven Industry Application At O’Reilly Automotive, Jackson Endacott

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Visibility of inbound freight is critical for managing operational efficiency, yet many organizations lack standardized compliance metrics for third-party carriers to uphold, preventing them from utilizing tracking data to make data-driven decisions. During a summer internship with the Transportation Department at O’Reilly Automotive, data inconsistencies were addressed in the Transportation Management System (TMS), and that data was utilized to create tracking compliance standards for third-party carriers. Data populated from various sources within O’Reilly’s TMS was cleaned, validated, and utilized to create a Tracking Scorecard that evaluates message transmission rates, timeliness, and errors. This tool provides actionable insights to improve tracking …

A Comparative Look At The Training Objectives Of The United States Marine Corps And Corporate America, Davis M. Johnson

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates how divergent institutional objectives influence leader development in two organizational contexts: U.S. Marine Corps officer training and corporate leadership development programs. The study draws on organizational socialization theory, institutional theory, and stress inoculation research. It contends that leadership formation is shaped by the missions, values, and structural demands unique to each institution. The research uses comparative analysis of selection practices, socialization tactics, identity construction, and adaptability development, explicitly contrasting how each institution develops leaders. The Marine Corps uses divestiture socialization, collective identity formation, and structured stress exposure to embed group loyalty and prepare officers for decisive action …

The Effects Of Avian Influenza On Consumer Egg Prices In The United States, Jacob B. Franklin

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) create major challenges to poultry supply chains due to the high mortality rates in flocks, leading to disruptions in production and higher costs for producers. Using quantitative data from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, USDA, and National Agricultural Statistics Service, this research analyzes changes in egg production, retail prices, and regional variations throughout the United States for the 2022-2025 HPAI event. A time-series regression model was used to control for production costs, seasonal patterns, and regional differences. All of these measures come together to quantify the impact of HPAI outbreaks on consumer …

The Digital Divide And Participation In Financial Services: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Melissa A. Cunningham-Sereque

Dissertations

The global financial technology (FinTech) market reached nearly $395 billion in 2025 and is projected to surpass $1 trillion within the next decade (Fortune Business Insights, 2025). As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in banking and financial services, this dissertation responds to calls within the Information Systems (IS) discipline to better understand digital access, inclusion, and participation in financial systems (PFS). Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, this study used prominent dimensions from extant digital divide literature to build a digital resource domain consisting of connectability, affordability, usability, mentality, and skill. These dimensions are proposed to influence intrinsic motivation, …

Non-Profit Foundation Boards: An Investigation Into Best Practices Using Fayetteville Public Library Foundation Board As A Test Case, Esther S. Beller

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Effective governance is critical for the success of non-profit organizations, with foundation boards playing a central role in ensuring accountability, strategic direction, and resource allocation for the organization. This thesis investigates best practices for non-profit foundation boards, using the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation Board as a case study to evaluate the efficiency of its governance practices. The research aims to identify whether the foundation board operates efficiently and adheres to established best practices for non-profit governance boards.

To address this, a two-phase methodology was employed. The first phase involved an extensive review of scholarly journals, industry guidelines, and other resources …

From Bean To Cup: Sustainability Practices In A Small Specialty Coffee Roaster, Reese Weathersby

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sustainability has become an increasingly important issue in the coffee industry as businesses

face growing pressure to balance profitability with environmental and social responsibility.

While much of the existing research focuses on large corporations and global supply chains, less

attention has been given to how small independent businesses approach sustainability with fewer

resources and different operational constraints. This study examines Doomsday Coffee Roasters,

a small specialty coffee business in Northwest Arkansas, to better understand how sustainability

is practiced at the local level.

Using a qualitative case study approach, the research focuses on four areas of operation: ethical

sourcing, roasting practices, …

The Role Of Advertising In Shaping Eating Habits, Mary J. Landrum

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

Today, more individuals worldwide are classified as overweight than underweight (World Health Organization, n.d.-a.). Over the past several decades, obesity rates have increased dramatically, particularly in the United States. Since the 1960s, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has risen from 13% to 43%, reflecting a significant shift in population health. Even more striking, less than 1% of Americans were considered morbidly obese in 1960, compared to nearly 10% today (USAFacts, 2023). This trend is not limited to the United States. Globally, the percentage of adults living with obesity more than doubled between 1990 and 2022, increasing from 7% …

Diving Into Commercial Banking: Internship Experience At Hilborn & Howell, Llc, Reid W. Finch

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper attempts to provide insight into the commercial banking industry through personal experience and the help of high-level lending professionals.

Oxytocin-Mediated Trust Formation In Relationship-Based Sales, Isabella G. Farrington

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Trust is a critical driver of success in relationship-based sales, particularly in complex environments such as medical, pharmaceutical, and B2B markets where decisions involve uncertainty, risk, and long-term commitment. Existing research in marketing and psychology primarily explains trust through interpersonal behaviors, communication, and relationship management strategies. However, the biological mechanisms underlying trust formation remain largely underexplored in these contexts.

This thesis examines the role of oxytocin, a neuropeptide associated with social bonding and cooperation, in shaping trust and decision-making in professional sales environments. Drawing on research from neuroscience, neuroeconomics, and relationship marketing, it proposes that oxytocin-mediated processes provide a biological …

Modular Category Optimization For Substitutability: An Item-Level Approach, Medhansh A. Sankaran

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines substitutability within Walmart apparel as a foundation for modular category optimization. Using large-scale item-level data, I develop an attribute-based framework that aggregates products to the fineline level, constructs a structured feature space, and identifies candidate substitute relationships through similarity-based matching within relevant merchandise groupings. The results show that Walmart item master data contains sufficient structure to support scalable substitute generation across a high-variety assortment. However, substitutability is not uniform: many item pairs exhibit high similarity but low observed demand transfer, indicating that structural similarity alone does not guarantee substitution. To address this, the framework is positioned within …

The Impact Of Quantum Computing And Distributed Ledger Technology On Accounting/Auditing/Finance Systems, Ulingeta O. L. Mbamba

Business Management Review

The integration of Quantum Computing (QC) and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is poised to fundamentally reshape modern accounting by transforming how financial data is processed, secured, and verified. QC, utilising qubits, will exponentially enhance data analytics, risk assessment, and real-time financial forecasting, accelerating complex auditing tasks far beyond the capabilities of classical systems. In parallel, DLT, such as blockchain, provides a decentralised, immutable record of transactions, significantly increasing transparency and trust. This synergy may enable real-time analysis, continuous auditing, and intelligent automation, converting traditional static, centralised processes into dynamic, transparent ecosystems. Together, this convergence may redefine accounting, auditing, and finance, …

Leading Ai Adoption In Organizations: Introducing A Behavioral Human-Centered Approach, Shane Schweitzer, Devesh Narayan, Jack Mcguire, David De Cremer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Initiatives to implement AI technologies in organizations fail at an alarming rate. We argue that leading the adoption of AI is not a simple engineering exercise but rather represents a behavioral exercise where change management principles—the process by which organizations plan, implement, and embed changes in practices—are employed. However, many AI initiatives in business focus predominantly on the AI systems themselves, assuming humans will fall in line. To solve this, we integrate ideas from change management with scholarship on human-centered artificial intelligence to offer a behavioral approach that accounts for the impact of AI adoption on humans at all stages …

Understanding Customer Engagement Behavior In Virtual Try-On Services: Evidence From Indonesia, Nyoman Sri Subawa, Ni Putu Chantika Aprilia Nariswari, Made Maenita Dewi, Anak Agung Gede Wiranata, Caren Angellina Mimaki, Made Srinitha Millinia Utami

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The adoption of immersive technologies, such as Virtual Try-On (VTO), has transformed how consumers evaluate products, interact digitally, and engage with brands. This study investigates the effects of experiential value, flow, perceived enjoyment, customer trust, and customer satisfaction on customer engagement behavior, within the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework. Experiential value serves as the stimulus, flow and psychological states as the organism, and engagement as the response. Data were collected from 320 Indonesian e-commerce using a purposive sampling technique, targeting respondents with prior experience using Virtual Try-On (VTO) features through an online questionnaire distributed via Google Forms, and were subsequently analyzed using …

The Challenges And Strategies Of Leading A Diverse Team As A Project Manager, Karissa Naomi Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Diversity comes in many forms, including age, race, ethnicity, and gender, and each one presents a separate set of challenges to the team. With a trained and adaptive manager, unity can be created even among the most diverse members of their team. Equipping with strategic options helps build a productive, unified, diverse team. Case studies are incorporated to show the use of strategies and the benefit of trust to better performance, decision-making, and team unity. Trust among the members can bring performance and efficiency to a diverse team. Ultimately, research demonstrates that a diverse team will lead to challenges, but …

Exploring The Transformative Effects Of Executive Coaching On Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Dwayne Norman

Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation examines the transformative effects of executive coaching on leaders’ development, personal growth, decision-making, and overall effectiveness across varied organizational contexts. Grounded in authentic leadership theory and employing a generic qualitative inquiry design, the study investigated how leaders who completed executive coaching describe changes in their behavior and mindset. Eleven experienced leaders participated in semi-structured interviews selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis, guided by the cyclical and inductive coding methods of Saldana (2021), generated 187 initial codes, which were distilled into 72 final codes. These final codes were then further refined into twelve categories and four overarching themes: …

Religious Discrimination In The Hiring Process Through Examination Of Subtle Resume Cues, Sadie Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The information included on a resume is a key indicator of a person’s qualifications and experience that will help them succeed at a job. Defining characteristics like a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, or religion are often conveyed through subtle cues on a resume. These subtle cues have the ability to induce unconscious biases that can result in discrimination throughout the hiring process. In contrast to prior research, which has primarily used names and photographs as cues for conveying membership in a protected group, this study examined cues conveyed through the affiliations and activities presented on a resume. A survey containing …

International Spillover: How External, Global Events Such As Brexit And Covid-19 Have Impacted Housing Prices Within The Republic Of Ireland, Allie Riggs

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The housing market in Ireland has experienced such a great crisis in recent history that over a third of residents have considered moving to a more affordable country (Hogg, 2024). While a number of both causes and potential solutions have been analyzed in regard to this national crisis, I hypothesize that there has been a greater shock from external, global events in the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. In performing a regression on secondary data while controlling for macroeconomic factors that impact the housing market, I have identified a positive, significant association between these two exogenous shocks and their impact on …

From Consumer-Centric Innovation To Sustainable Restaurant Performance: A Study Of Strategic Capability Integration In An Emerging Market Context, Juliana Juliana, Ira Brunchilda Hubner, Diena M. Lemy, Arifin Djakasaputra, Ferry Jie

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Increasing pressure for innovation-driven competitiveness requires hospitality firms to integrate technological capability, market intelligence, and customer-focused innovation into coherent strategic configurations. However, prior research has largely examined these capabilities separately, limiting understanding of how their integration influences restaurant marketing performance in emerging markets. This study develops and empirically tests an integrated capability framework linking techno-resonance innovation capability, competitor orientation, consumer-centric innovation strategy, and new service development to restaurant marketing performance using survey data from 300 restaurant managers in Java and Bali, Indonesia. The results of PLS-SEM analysis indicate that techno-resonance innovation capability significantly strengthens consumer-centric innovation strategy and new service …

The Profitability Of Basis Trading Strategies In Futures Markets, Evan W. Eifling

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

There have been few studies on post-harvest strategies related to hedging and speculation in futures and options markets and their returns in agricultural economic literature. In this thesis, we examine whether basis trading, a common strategy used by elevators to hedge their position, generates superior returns than simply storing physical cash grain following harvest and accounting for risk. Specifically, the purpose of my research is to study the returns and risks generated by each of these strategies using empirical analysis of the historical data of the post-harvest cash and future prices for the crop years from 1992-2020. The results of …