Business Commons^™

Student Engagement: An Empirical Analysis Of The Effects Of Implementing Mandatory Web-Based Learning Systems, Gerald F. Burch, Jana J. Burch, John Womble

Organization Management Journal

Student engagement has, and will continue to be, a key desire for educators. However, some policies that are aimed at increasing engagement may actually have the opposite effect. This study of 98 students investigates one mandatory policy to use a web-based learning system and presents the level of student engagement compared to other classes where the learning system was not used. Results show that students that were required to use the web-based material had lower engagement, thus providing evidence that participation is not synonymous with engagement. Implications for practice and research are proposed.

Learning How To Influence Others: A Training Module And Experiential Exercise, Lindsey A. Gibson, Carolyn I. Chavez

Organization Management Journal

Effective leaders in the 21st century must be able to elicit desired changes through one-on-one dialogues, in small groups, and through speeches as well as other communication channels directed at broader audiences. Unfortunately, knowledge about influence tactics does not necessarily translate into effective usage. Therefore, we developed a training module and experiential exercise that provide participants, as influence agents, practice using 11 proactive influence tactics. The module also provides participants, as targets, practice in identifying uses of the tactics in various real-life situations. The authors developed training materials and instructions to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the influence …

Identity Discovery And Verification In Artist-Entrepreneurs: An Active Learning Exercise, A. Erin Bass

Organization Management Journal

Entrepreneurship curricula are becoming increasingly more interdisciplinary, with higher education institutions offering a variety of “entrepreneurship and” courses that cross the boundaries into other fields. Despite this, many entrepreneurship curricula are centered on business theory, which is not suitable for nonbusiness students. For example, business students are trained to define success by financial statements and organizational viability, whereas artists enjoy success by achieving creative satisfaction. This article explores the importance of identity to the entrepreneurial process, highlighting the similarities and differences between the artist and entrepreneur identities. Pedagogical in approach, the article demonstrates the utility of an active learning exercise …

A Desire For The Dark Side: An Examination Of Individual Personality Characteristics And Their Desire For Adverse Characteristics In Leaders, Victoria Mckee, Ethan P. Waples, K. J. Tullis

Organization Management Journal

Powerful and charismatic leaders are often highly desired by organizations and the followers that work within them. However, leaders who are highly skilled at developing relationships and accomplishing what they need to are often those individuals who rate very high on personality traits or characteristics that are considered “dark.” Although much attention has been paid to leaders and dark characteristics, we know much less regarding the dark side of leadership and followers’ susceptibility to these leaders. This article investigates the extent to which follower traits (i.e., the dark triad and the Big Five) predict a follower’s propensity to accept leader …

Beyond Greening: The Challenges To Adopting Sustainability In Higher Education., Catherine Hooey, Alicia Mason, James Triplett

Faculty Submissions

It is common for colleges and universities to include sustainability in their mission statements and strategic plans. On many campuses, however, sustainability is associated with green practices only, rather than the comprehensive integration of social equity, economic, and environmental principles on which the concept was founded. Here, Hooey et al examine the obstacles to the comprehensive adoption of sustainability in institutions of higher education, in general, and to suggest a conceptual framework of a sustainability culture as one most appropriate for the more effective incorporation of comprehensive practices.

Talking The Talk: The Effect Of Vocalics In An Interview, Marilena Phillips

Honors Projects in Communication

Our voices carry more than just content. People continuously make assumptions of one’s intelligence, credibility, personality, and other characteristics merely based on the way we talk. As the diversity of individuals in the workplace increases, so too do the differences in how those individuals talk. It is important that we understand how these different ways of speaking are being perceived in the workplace. More specifically, how are individuals being perceived prior to being hired via the interview process? This Honors Capstone project aims to understand the impact that vocal characteristics in an individual have on the interviewer’s perception of the …

A Quantitative Content Analysis On Food-Based Advergames Aimed At Children, Emiko Barker

Honors Projects in Communication

No abstract provided.

Five Seconds To The Ad: How Program-Induced Mood Affects Ad Countdown Effects, Tiffany Venmahavong

Honors Projects in Marketing

The study examines what effects a five second countdown warning will have on consumer’s attitudes towards the advertisement depending on the main program content. This study builds upon several theoretical models concerning program-induced moods in relation to viewer’s judgment to commercial advertisements. Findings from two studies suggest that program-induced mood systematically influences attitude toward the inserted ad with (vs. without) a five-second countdown: for the negative-affect program, attitude toward the ad was more positive when the ad was preceded by the countdown than when the ad was not preceded by the countdown. However, for the positive-affect program, attitude toward the …

Fostering Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities On Social Media: Implications For Celebrity Endorsement, Siyoung Chung, Hichang Cho

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the use of social media affects endorser effectiveness. Based on theories related to parasocial relationships,self-disclosure, and celebrity endorsement, this study proposed a theoretical research model and empirically tested the model using online survey data collected from 400 Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that consumers’ parasocial interactions with celebrities though social media have a positive impact on celebrity endorsement. Specifically, we found that: (1) parasocial relationships mediated the relationships between social media interactions and source trustworthiness, (2) social media interactions influenced parasocial relationships via self-disclosure;and …

Foreign Business Entrepreneurship In Cape Town: How To Start A Business - Stories Of 6 Cape Town Based Immigrants, Aleksandra Bogoevska

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa has become a shelter for immigrants from all over the world (Wilkinson, 2015). Combined with its internationally recognized economy, it is a tempting location for foreigners to establish a business (“Starting a Business in South Africa as a Foreigner – A Complete Guide”, n.d.). With this in mind, the intent of this study is twofold. First, this project aims at analyzing how foreigners establish businesses in Cape Town. Its objective is to trace the entrepreneurial process from the initial stages to its recent development. Second, it aims at outlining their experiences in Cape Town, thus serve as a …

Social Media Influence: Metrics Matter, Juliana Houldcroft

Honors Projects in Marketing

It is imperative for companies to engage in social media marketing as consumers are often dependent on online information and electronic word-of-mouth. Past literature claims that consumers evaluate the influence of communications differently on social media than they would in a traditional environment because of the nature of the internet. This study aims to analyze user’s perceptions of social media marketing influence and determines if user’s perception of influence changes based on the number of social media metrics (likes, comments, and shares) that accompany a Facebook post. The study also investigates if perceptions of influence vary depending on a user’s …

Analysis Of How Companies Should Prepare To Recruit And Manage Generation Z, Corey Pires

Honors Projects in Management

No abstract provided.

Ua3/9 Email To Faculty & Staff, Gary Ransdell

WKU Administration Documents

Emails from WKU president Gary Ransdell to faculty & staff from January to June 2017.

• Balancing Our Budget by Year End, 3/2
• Campus Forum, 4/12
• Farewell Message, 6/30
• Finance Fact Sheet, 1/20
• Gary Ransdell to Lead Semester at Sea Program, 2/8
• Invitation University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 6/5
• New Chapter, 2/8
• New Semester, 1/20
• Personnel Actions, 6/19
• Spring Semester Message, 4/6
• Statement on Immigration Ban, 1/30
• Video Surveillance Systems Policy, 6/19

Salesperson Networking Behaviors And Creativity: Exploring An Unconventional Relationship, Michael T. Krush, Raj Agnihotri, Gerrard M. Macintosh, Ashish Kalra

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

A great deal of emerging research explores the antecedents and outcomes of salesperson creativity. However, relatively fewer scholarly endeavors have delved into assessing the social antecedents of salesperson creativity. Addressing this issue, the current research focuses on the link between one critical social antecedent in sales research, namely that of networking behaviors, and creativity among salespeople. Specifically, we include customer and professional networking behaviors and study their direct, interactive, and curvilinear effects on salesperson creativity. Empirical findings show that professional networking as well as customer networking are positively related to salesperson creativity. Further, we demonstrate the non-linear effects of professional …

Comparative Content Analysis Regarding Brand Management Through Influencer Marketing, Julia Hurt

Masters Essays

The divide between advertising, marketing, and public relations has deteriorated over time, where each has a specific focus but no longer a particular correct way of reaching audiences. With the ever-growing presence of online social influencers, a new marketing practice known as influencer marketing has evolved, where brands connect with consumers in an authentic and meaningful way. Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that identifies and targets individuals through the influence of bloggers and their active voice. Research indicates how influence plays a role through social media to reach consumers. However, there is a gap in research when it …

Ethnic Social Network In Public Housing Market In Singapore, Sumit Agarwal, Hyunsoo Choi, Jia He, Tien Foo Sing

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper investigates the ethnic social network in Singapore's resale public housing market using a unique dataset containing the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) information for a sample of 73,107 resale public housing transactions from 2007 to 2012. We find that the COV per square meter (psm), which represents a premium above the "objective" housing value, significantly increases with the concentration of buyers' own ethnic group at a housing block level. The results imply that buyers value housing blocks with higher concentration of the same ethnicity group of households. However, the convexity in COV premium suggests that the premium is too large to …

How To Conduct A Mini-Ethnographic Case Study: A Guide For Novice Researchers, Patricia I. Fusch Ph.D., Gene E. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness

The Qualitative Report

The authors present how to construct a mini-ethnographic case study design with the benefit of an ethnographic approach bounded within a case study protocol that is more feasible for a student researcher with limited time and finances. The novice researcher should choose a design that enables one to best answer the research question. Secondly, one should choose the design that assists the researcher in reaching data saturation. Finally, the novice researcher must choose the design in which one can complete the study within a reasonable time frame with minimal cost. This is particularly important for student researchers. One can blend …

Wbc, Nba, And Nhl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Now that the World Baseball Classic has ended and the United States has finally notched a WBC championship, it is time to reflect on the event. For me, it was a great success not because the U.S. won, although that was important, but rather for a number of other reasons.

Great Fun At Wbc In Miami, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

My fellow Americans, today I want to report to you that although I have been going to baseball games for over a half-century, I have never been to a baseball game like the one I went to in Miami last Saturday night.

The Effects Of Time Spent On Rapport Building: A Predictive Analysis Of A Higher Education Call Center, Alyssa L. Crary

Communication Studies

The forming of a relational connection between a caller and prospective donor in telephone fundraising is a vital step in successful engagement of charitable participation. This study aimed to fill a gap in current fundraising research by analyzing the direct connection between time spent building rapport and fundraising success. Data from a higher education call center in the Western United States was used to conduct a standard linear regression analyses. The amount of time spent building rapport was found to significantly influence payment type and amount of a philanthropic donation. A greater amount of time spent building rapport lead to …

Key To Success Of Offshore Outsourcing, Deep Patel

Dissertations and Theses

With the proliferating growth in technology and Innovation and the necessity to use new technology skills, outsourcing has become a notable trend in the IT industry. Characterized by USP's like cost-effectiveness and timeliness, outsourcing companies has surged tremendously in the last decade. However, amidst the entire buzz, outsourcing has contributed to some major failures at recent times (A & M, 2016). That has even made organizations to critically think before going forward with an off-shore outsourcing company. A substantial issue on organizational capability and on-time delivery has questioned the very foundation of its efficiency. This has now leaded to surface …

Transitioning College Media From Print Focused Business Models To Digitally Focused Business Models, Celina Oseguera

Journalism

The noticeable downturn in print advertising indicates a need for change in the news industry business model. College media is not immune to this decline and need for change. A change in business model calls for transitioning to an alternative system that does not primarily rely on print products and advertising — a digitally focused business model. Many college media organizations around the United States have started to pursue this type of model, changing the way they produce and present news in the process. Taking into account the state of print focused business models in the general and collegiate news …

Inferring User Consumption Preferences From Social Media, Yang Li, Jing Jiang, Ting Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social Media has already become a new arena of our lives and involved different aspects of our social presence. Users' personal information and activities on social media presumably reveal their personal interests, which offer great opportunities for many e-commerce applications. In this paper, we propose a principled latent variable model to infer user consumption preferences at the category level (e.g. inferring what categories of products a user would like to buy). Our model naturally links users' published content and following relations on microblogs with their consumption behaviors on e-commerce websites. Experimental results show our model outperforms the state-of-the-art methods significantly …

Understanding Public Relations In The 'Sharing Economy', Anne Gregory, Gregor Halff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In spite of the macro-economic impact of the so-called ‘sharing economy’ there is a nearly complete dearth of contributions from the communication academy to its discourse. More attention is overdue, particularly for the conceptual pressure the ‘sharing economy’ is exerting on the public relations function. The authors propose a reconceptualization of public relations by identifying the constitutive aspects of the sharing economy and bringing together the explanatory concepts ‘circuits of commerce’ and ‘viable matches’ from economic sociology and communicative constitution of organizations theory to develop the notions of ‘deliberate disintermediation’ and ‘circuits of communication’ in public relations. The contention is …

Ed Garvey’S Legacy, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Ed Garvey died this week at age 76. For many younger NFL fans his name will mean little. Once called “The Karl Marx of the Shower Stall,” Garvey was one of the most significant figures in the history of the National Football League in the 1970s and early ‘80s. Garvey was appointed legal counsel to the National Football League Players Association in 1970 and became Executive Director in 1971, a position he held until 1983. Along with John Mackey and others he led the players in there decades long struggle with the Commissioner and the owners. Although he did not …

Denial, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It seems that by now most everyone, except Patriot and Falcon fans, should have fully recovered from the Super Bowl. As someone who has seen all fifty-one of these championship games, this one certainly ranks among the most exciting, if not the best played game.

Ua12/2/1 Dining Guide, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald with articles:

• Burgess, Kelly. Salmon Patty & Southwest Salad Recipe
• Dimeo, Chris. OLILO Acts as Delicious, Yet Healthy Alternative
• Alvey, Rebekah. Local Restaurants Provide Unique Dining Experiences
• Chavis, Danielle. The Best Dinner Dates for Valentine’s Day
• Henderson, Andrew. Unconventional Locations to Dine at, Enjoy In Your Life
• Alvey, Rebekah. Topper Grill & Pub Begins Serving Alcoholic Beverages
• Shaw, Mhari. Vegetarians at WKU
• Chisenhall, Jeremy. Olympic Eats – Emmanuel Dasor
• Hormell, David. The Hill’s Best Brews

Nostalgic Selling: The Louisville & Nashville Railroad And Its General Public Relations, Michael J. Landry

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This paper represents a case study of how to use historic events/artifacts in public relations and sales. It recounts how the Louisville & Nashville Railroad participated in the United States Civil War centennial celebrations by restoring a locomotive, the General, that was made famous in a daring raid conducted in that war. Using primary and secondary documents mainly from corporate archives including notes, operations manuals, public relations logs, measurements, corporate publications and oral history, the paper outlines the General’s iconic history, the purposes for its 1960s restoration to operation for the Civil War centennial, and the overarching marketing strategy behind …

Job Shadowing Experiences As A Teaching Tool: A New Twist On A Tried And True Technique, Fred H. Mader, Deanna R. D. Mader, Elizabeth C. Alexander

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This article reports an innovative twist on the use of the job shadowing experience as a means not only to provide real-world exposure for the student, but also as a way to generate real-time data from the professionals to be utilized as a basis for class discussion. Reaction from both students and professionals has been overwhelmingly positive.

Field Trip! Assessing Business Student Interest In Plant Tours And Their Product Categories, Mark Mitchell, Gregory Turner, Robert Montgomery, Mark Hartley

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Business educators are challenged daily to provide fresh ideas in the classroom and to use new methods to stimulate active learning. One option is to use manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers to supplement traditional classroom activities. This manuscript details this growing type of tourism (known as Consumer Experience Tourism) and identifies the product categories of greatest interest to today’s students in Business and Economics. Business educators are encouraged to more fully embrace this under-utilized resource to promote active student learning and to select those destinations of greatest interest to their particular student audiences.