Business Commons^™

Personalization: University Fundraising, Jasmine O'Neal, Akib Hossain, Yogesh Bhalerao

SMU Data Science Review

University fundraising campaigns, which are typically a multi-year endeavor, help institutions build a strong financial foundation to enable a unique student experience. At the heart of effective fundraising is having strong relationships and partnerships with certain audiences that provide the best donation opportunities. Generally, alumni networks and the local community makeup these audiences as strong fundraising bases. Therefore, universities have a significant responsibility in developing these relationships to gain deeper insights into their constituents' needs and interests. This enables them to tailor effective engagement strategies, thereby increasing the likelihood of meeting donation expectations. This research explores how machine learning techniques …

An Empirical Study Of Student Satisfaction At Selected Private Universities In Bangladesh, Mubina Khondkar, Abureza M. Muzareba

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Satisfying students in higher education has proven to be a difficult task, although universities are striving to meet student needs and expectations. Private universities are trying to become more student-oriented and are seeking to understand students’ perceptions of higher education facilities. This research was designed to measure the gap between students’ expectations and perceptions of various aspects of private universities in Bangladesh. It uses a SERVQUAL framework and the Gaps Model of Service Quality. The population of students at private universities in Bangladesh is represented by a sample of 412 respondents from five top-tier private universities. Findings indicate that the …

Nostalgia Marketing: An Integrative Framework, Yasamin Mehdian Rad

University Honors Theses

Nostalgia is a longstanding yet evolving concept in marketing, employed to evoke sentimental longing for the past. It is a complex emotion that can invoke warmth, happiness, sadness, and melancholy, and can be directed towards both personal memories and imaginative pasts--times and places that one has never experienced. This dual nature of nostalgia, categorized into personal and imaginative nostalgia, offers a powerful emotional appeal that marketers leverage to influence consumer behavior. Since the 1950s, the use of nostalgia in marketing has increased significantly, allowing brands to forge deep emotional connections with consumers. Despite its prevalent use, research on nostalgia's impact …

Cool Brands And Their Grateful Fans: A Multi-Method Exploration Of Brand Coolness And Consumer Gratitude, Melanie Moore Koskie

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the course of three essays, this dissertation explores brand coolness, gratitude, and the relationship between the two. In the first essay, cool brands and their marketing outcomes are viewed through the lens of standing out and fitting in—two paradoxical motivations held together in the concept of cool. Utilizing structural equation modeling, I examine the relevant relationships between consumer’s motivations to stand out and fit in, the corresponding brand coolness attributes of subcultural and popular, the consumer emotional response of gratitude, and a consumer’s willingness to pay more for cool brands. Importantly, this essay finds that the consumer emotion of …

The Impact Of Irrational Beliefs On Dysfunctional Decision-Making In B2b Salespeople, Barron W. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

The complexity of the contemporary business-to-business (B2B) sales landscape requires salespeople to respond faster, be more knowledgeable, and add more value to buyer interactions than ever before. As such, B2B salespeople must carefully consider the impact of their decisions since they have the potential to directly impact organizational revenue and bottom-line outcomes. The present research utilizes rational-emotive behavior theory to examine judgment and decision-making in B2B salespeople. Research questions are presented and tested with a sample of 306 B2B salespeople using structural equation modeling. The results of the analysis reveal that irrational beliefs lead to dysfunctional emotions, and in turn, …

2024-May-24-In Memory Of Susan, University Advancement, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Authenticity In Fashion And Beauty: Influencer Marketing And The Development Of Parasocial Relationships On Social Media, Catherine Goodheart

Student Theses and Dissertations

Social media influencers are more accessible than celebrities, making their audience form strong connections with them through their niche content. The parasocial relationship formed between influencers and their followers through the followers' media literacy of the influencer’s authenticity enables influencers to market themselves promoting products; without a perceived authenticity, a parasocial relationship will struggle to form. This parasocial relationship is typically to generate profit for the influencer, as many influencers are paid to promote and advertise products specific to their niche(s) on their profiles or on the brand’s profiles. A media analysis was used to study 5 beauty and fashion …

How To Build A Competitive Advantage For Your Brand Using Generative Ai, Yuanyuan (Gina) Cui, Patrick Van Esch, Steven Phelan

Marketing and Hospitality, Resort and Tourism Management

Generative Artificial Intelligence––defined as AI-enabled technology that analyzes and learns from existing data and generates novel human-like content –– has emerged as a revolutionary technology for firms seeking sustainable competitive advantage. We highlight the evolution of generative AI from generic, domain tailored and collaborative systems, that are democratized and only offering demand-driven insights, to the next frontier of alternative perceptual systems. Managers who integrate these current large language models into building their brand persona will empower their firms to experiment along the evolutionary journey. By embedding alternative perceptual systems into generative AI platforms, firms can achieve novel, interactive, and personalized …

Ceo Compensation And Csr Linked Initiatives: An Exploratory Study, Neema Desamu Thorpe, Nik Nikolov, Pramod Iyer

Symposium of Student Scholars

Using a hand collected sample of annual corporate ESG reports, I propose to study the link between CEO compensation and ESG performance and its implications for firm performance. Using stakeholder theory, I propose that companies that link CEO pay with ESG outcomes would perform better in the stock market. This is conditional on other variables, such as diversity of the board and ESG report status.

How Incentives Help Us Do Hard Things First, Patrick Matthew Healey

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

When facing tasks of differing difficulty, do people choose to tackle harder ones first or easier ones first? I show that the answer depends on how motivated they are to complete all of the tasks. I examine situations in which people must complete both a harder task and an easier one by the same deadline. When I incentivize people for completing both tasks by that deadline, they are more apt to complete the harder task before the easier task, compared to when they are not incentivized. This change results from two factors. First, the incentive leads people to care more …

Proctor & Gamble’S Irreverent Wartime Marketing Campaign, Mary Gifford

History & Classics Student Scholarship

In the early twentieth century, Ivory Soap was renowned in America as a “dependable, old fashioned house-hold soap,” but by mid-century they began to face struggles with the rise of competition from similar soap companies and needed to differentiate themselves. The market was at capacity, with the “sales of soap to consumers rapidly reaching the saturation point and synthetic detergents coming into wider use, soap manufacturers face the ‘keenest competition in years.’” This saturation coincided with economic challenges stemming from World War II. During this turbulent period, marketing for non-essential products declined, prompting Procter & Gamble, Ivory Soap’s parent company, …

An Overview Of The Product Development Process For A Lounging Grove Chair: The Rebel Lounge, Gracey Massengill

Honors Theses

This report focuses on the process of completing my senior capstone project for the Center for Manufacturing Excellence with my teammates, Andrew Brady, Carter Doss, Brooke Grissinger, and Karson Wardell. It explains the development, design and manufacturing of the Rebel Lounge Chair, a comfortable, portable and versatile chair made with the University of Mississippi Grove in mind and the prospective customers that would purchase such a chair. The report describes the phases of brainstorming, market research, prototyping, manufacturing process development, and accounting analysis that the Rebel Lounge capstone team went through to create their product.

Due to out-of-the-box brainstorming and …

Essays On Tv Advertising, Donggwan Kim

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters that attempt to understand the effects of both advertising quantity and content within the consumer finance and political domains. In the first chapter, I examine the effectiveness of TV advertising in promoting mortgage refinancing. It is well-documented that many mortgage borrowers make sub-optimal financial decisions by failing to refinance when interest rates are low, despite large potential savings. This paper studies the effectiveness of TV advertising on mortgage refinancing decisions. Using six years of mortgage origination and advertising data, I quantify the impact of TV advertising on consumers’ decisions to refinance their mortgages, as …

The Effects Of Relationship Quality And Duration On Negative Word-Of-Mouth After A Low-Contact Service Failure, Tuğberk Kara, Tugba Tugrul

Marketing Faculty Publications

This article examines the effects of relationship quality (RQ) and relationship duration (RD) on negative word-of-mouth (WoM) after a low-contact service failure. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data collected through a scenario-based online survey (n=153). First, unlike the inconsistent findings in high-contact service research, the results showed that RQ led to decreased negative WoM in low-context service failures, namely telecommunication. Second, this research contributes to the literature by revealing the negative effect of RD on customers’ tendency to spread negative WoM. In addition, RD did not moderate the relationship between RQ and negative WoM.

Unveiling Paradoxes: The Unforeseen Impact Of Content Moderation Policies In E-Commerce, Brandon Holle, Hang Nguyen, Suman Basuroy

Faculty Scholarship Symposium

In the dynamic digital marketplace, content moderation policies, specifically those addressing 'review bomb' removal, are designed to improve customer experience, nurture consumer trust, and enhance firm performance. However, our comprehensive research, comprising three studies utilizing real-world field data analyzed through regression discontinuity-in-time design and experimental investigations, reveals a surprisingly striking paradox. In contrast to their intended benefits, these policies yield an unexpected adverse impact on user behavior, the e-commerce platform, and listed product performance, resulting in a significant 27.25% drop in total users for products on the e-commerce platform. Drawing from expectancy disconfirmation theory, we uncover the mechanism underpinning this …

Effects Of Humorous Language In Social Media And Fandom Levels On Sport Consumers’ Merchandise Value Perceptions, Conner Martin

Honors College Theses

Licensed sports merchandise is a sports business sector that is projected to surpass $39.8 billion by 2027. This study examines the influence of humor in social media posts on consumers’ perceived valuations of licensed sport merchandise—specifically, apparel—with consideration to their team fandom. Guiding by Cue Utilization Theory (CUT), the research model assessed the extrinsic cues of team fandom and humor in shaping consumer perceptions, while controlling for product type (high-cost, low-cost), humorous caption (version 1, version 2), generation (Zoomers, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers), and gender (male, female, non-binary). Fans of South Georgia Tormenta FC, a professional soccer club, served …

Building A Business: A Close-Knit Relationship Between Marketing & Entrepreneurship, Gabrielle O. Ysteboe

Honors Capstones

This project explores how best to build a knit blanket business with respect to several parameters including market research to determine price point, where to sell the product, with options including Etsy, brick and mortar, larger retail stores, personal website, craft fairs, and pop-up retail locations, and determining the target market and demographics, which will shape the marketing strategy to be used. It shows the ties between the 4 P's of marketing and entrepreneurship. Through surveys and primary research, data was found that allowed for one option for business placement to come out on top. It also allowed for the …

The Emergence Of Approachable Luxury In The Grocery Industry, Joseph Curcio

Honors Theses

This thesis examines various trends in the grocery industry that have led to the new age grocer. These trends are centered around the emergence of approachable luxury products on grocery shelves and new grocery stores centered around an approachable luxury approach. Due to the subjective nature of the term “luxury,” it is hard to define, but multiple academic definitions from the Journal of Business Research are analyzed.

The timeline of the luxury grocery is outlined – beginning with traditional Iberian shops to the emergence of the new curated grocer to the revitalization of big box stores. The thesis includes psychological …

Essays On Judgment And Decision Making, Chengyao Sun

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I describe two programs of research to demonstrate how logically irrelevant factors can influence everyday judgment and decisions. Chapter 1 looks at a common human behavior: prediction. In collaboration with Robyn LeBoeuf, we investigate a particular factor that may bias people’s predictions against their own judgment: the absolute likelihood of the most likely outcome. Previous research usually assumes that, when making a prediction from a set of possible outcomes, people select as their prediction the outcome that seems most likely to them. However, we find a disconnect between what people predict and what they believe to be …

Towards A Sustainable Planet: Review Of ‘Global Environmental Politics’ By Kütting And Herman (2018), Mona Safizadeh

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Global Environmental Politics by Kütting and Herman (2018) explores our planet's complex challenges, urging collective action for sustainability. Across 13 chapters, the book explores sustainable consumption, the role of technology, and the impact of evolving economies on global politics. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic factors, offering insights for stakeholders to navigate toward a healthier future.

Beneath The Mask: The Performance Of Blackness And Economies Of Caricature In American Fiction, Terri Bowles

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

In American Fiction (2023), written for the screen and directed by Cord Jefferson, satire, drama and comedy frame a knife-sharp examination of America’s cultural reproductions of stereotype and caricature. The film, based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, explores the fraught professional position of Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a professor-author pressed to write a bestseller amid family upheaval and financial strain. Monk’s resulting novel, a gritty send-up of urban tropism drafted in a fit of fury and frustration, exploits America’s fixation on commodifying and flattening Blackness—and becomes an instant hit. This review explores the film’s interrogations of race, class and …

Can Marketing Transcend Entrenched Gender Biases?, Thinh Nguyen

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Through a feminist lens, Maclaran and Chatzidakis (2022) challenge conventional assumptions about gender, emphasizing its performative nature shaped by social practices rather than inherent traits. This commentary extends analyses of key themes such as gender performativity, the male gaze, and subject-object binaries within marketing. It critiques how marketing strategies reinforce existing power imbalances and systemic biases rooted in historical narratives. The writing also reflects on media interpretations of gender issues through films like 'Turning Red' and 'Barbie'. By contextualizing gendered marketing within broader societal frameworks, this writing contributes to ongoing dialogues in media studies, sociology, and gender studies, highlighting the …

Toils, Troubles, And Travesties Of Representation, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Developing And Modernizing Small Businesses In Dangriga, Belize, Abby Teague

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the Small Business Development project located in Dangriga, Belize, and includes research on the challenges of entrepreneurship in developing countries. The project consisted of research and the implementation of marketing workshops to teach businesses how to manage their online and social media presence through the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) Dangriga. The impact of the project was significantly important because many Belizeans struggle to survive and succeed within their businesses. Belize contains multiple microenterprises that cannot meet their potential because of a lack of knowledge and communication. Overall, the project aims to give BTIA …

The Shocking Future Of Artificial Intelligence Across A Variety Of Industries, Collin Elek Boone

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Artificial intelligence is a huge phenomenon that has begun to take over worldwide media. The abilities that AI has already proven to be capable of will undoubtedly change the world in a variety of ways. In the future, however, it is possible that AI will have an impact on nearly every sector imaginable. With the success that companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft have already displayed regarding artificial intelligence, it is clear that this software has immense capabilities. The purpose of this study is to conduct research detailing the potential impact of AI on industries within the business sector and …

Arcade Reboot: Using Nostalgia Marketing To Fund A Passion Project, Jen Riemenschneider

Strategic Communication Master of Arts Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

My Roman Holiday: Marketing Abroad In The City Of Rome, Emily Whitworth

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis delves into the immersive experience of the Marketing in Rome Summer Program, offered by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. Led by professors Molly Jensen and Heather Sprandel, the program provides students with a unique opportunity to study global marketing and consumer behavior while crafting marketing plans for small businesses in Rome, Italy. Through a combination of coursework, field research, and practical projects, students explore the intricacies of marketing in a cross-cultural context.

Forya.Ai Business Plan, Landen Usher

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis presents a comprehensive business plan for Forya.AI, an innovative artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to streamline social media content creation for churches. The platform distinguishes itself by automating the generation of engaging content, leveraging church-provided images to produce visually appealing posts accompanied by contextually relevant captions. By integrating advanced AI algorithms, Forya.AI analyzes uploaded images, identifies thematic elements, and crafts captions that resonate with the spiritual and community values of the church. This process not only enhances the digital presence of religious organizations but also significantly reduces the time and financial resources traditionally required for content development. The business …

From Instagram To Top Ranks: Unveiling The Influence Of Social Media Engagement On Business School Prestige, Hofran Kinkela Ngoma

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Social media usage by universities has become widespread, serving as a dynamic platform for engaging with a diverse audience that includes prospective students, alumni, and the broader community. This research paper delves into the multifaceted role of social media in universities, serving as a tool for communication, audience engagement, brand promotion, and academic support. The study aims to explore the correlation between universities' social media usage and their ranking performances. Utilizing Instagram and the U.S. News website as data collection platforms, the investigation gathers insights into social media usage and change in business school ranking over a ten-year span. By …

Intergenerational Brand Loyalty With Families And Their Banking Partners, Harrison James Monteith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This research paper investigates the potential emergence and development of intergenerational brand loyalty within families and their banking partners, exploring a novel area where such loyalty is not yet established. The study aims to uncover the factors that could contribute to the formation of brand loyalty across generations within familial units and its relationship with the banking institutions with which they engage. This research paper concludes that intergenerational brand loyalty does exist in the banking industry for college students. However, the specific factors that explain intergenerational brand loyalty in bank partner selection remains unknown.