Business Commons^™

Keurig Dr. Pepper Internship: Development Of A Tool In A Big Data Environment To Uncover Risks And Opportunities, Lindsey Ross

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Selling and sales management professions permeate job application websites. Sales is often associated with a pushy used-car dealership and cold calling. These practices are necessary, but selling, especially in our increasingly consumerist society, has long influenced and is a part of almost all business professions. You could argue that almost every employed individual operates in some sort of sales function due to the current job landscape. Whether this includes working directly with the sale of a product or even selling one’s self to a company or client. Selling in the retail space is understandably the heartbeat of the company, especially …

Creative Brief For Blakeman's Fine Jewelry, Abigail Bouve

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to recent trends, the global luxury market has grown due in part to a shift in young adult luxury consumers, including generations Y and Z, and millennials. Recognizing that consumer interest in luxury goods exists within this age range, new marketing strategies and insights are vital to encourage a lifetime of brand loyalty (Eastman, Shin, & Ruhland, 2020). With respect to brand loyalty, if a person were to have an exceptional experience while purchasing their first piece of fine jewelry at a store, then they would be more likely to remain a loyal customer at that same store as …

Achieving Brand Authenticity In The Age Of Cancel Culture: Why Brands Can No Longer Be Neutral Without Being Seen As Complicit, Caitlin Paris

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

As cultural controversies arise, brands experience pressure from consumers and competitors to take a stance. The looming presence of cancel culture has increased this feeling, as users are quick to point fingers at organizations they think are falling short. However, increased brand engagement has created a gap between superficiality and moral accountability. When a crisis strikes, the media arena becomes filled with statements, pleas, and promises, but when the dust settles, those who lack action are quick to be criticized. Companies must strike a balance between focalized brand authenticity and short-term reactivity, in a culture where it is unacceptable to …

A Historical And Practical Analysis For Neuromarketing In Business Practices Today, Scott Wicinski

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

What thoughts come to your mind when you think of the term neuromarketing? In a digital age where personal privacy seems to be diminishing and data exploitation appears to be rising, many people are skeptical about businesses' attempts to combine neurology, psychology, and business. This skepticism is unfortunately, legitimate. Our history reveals plenty of occasions where businesses have exploited their customers through unethical means and traded valuable relationships and resources for profits. However, despite the flaws business can introduce, business is arguably still the most powerful tool for creating value in a community. Through business, customers have had access to …

Harvesting Growth -- An Internship Thesis, Emma Conover

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the Summer of 2021, I had the privilege to Intern with Harvest Group in Rogers, Arkansas. During this 12-week internship, I was placed in the Client Services division and was a part of a consumables team that served several clients. I gained invaluable experience from this internship and developed both personally and professionally.

The Ethical Dilemmas Of The True Crime Genre, Jordan Smail

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Along with the recent mainstream popularity of true crime entertainment, the genre has been increasingly criticized for ethical violations. Interestingly, the centuries-long history of true crime and the moral debates around it has led to an abundance of literature on the subject with little to no consensus. The mere existence of true crime entertainment can even be considered controversial in some cases. For those who produce and market true crime content, a lack of common guidelines means receiving a wide range of feedback. This dichotomy of both backlash and praise being published about the same works reveals a gap in …

Sustainability, A Competitive Advantage In The Corporate World, Samantha Kennelly

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract: Over the years, society has become more aware of the impact they leave on the environment. For this reason, many are wondering what can be done to curb their footprint, and research has shown that customers now more than ever are demanding more sustainable goods. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between corporate social responsibility, consumer desires, and sustainability as a competitive advantage. I will first discuss the history and present factors surrounding environmental problems, in particular marine plastic pollution, we face today. I will define microplastics and marine plastics and …

Predicting And Mitigating Reactance Impact On Attitude And Behavioral Intention, Matthew Ryan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

At times messaging may be of an instructive nature that can be perceived as an attempt to threaten or limit an individual’s freedom. This freedom limitation can range from individual choice to physical requirements. How a message is framed, or positioned, is very important. In certain instances, even when the message has the best intentions, if framed incorrectly can have the opposite, or boomerang, effect on people. This state is known as psychological reactance. When invoked, consumers will act in a way that eliminates the threat of freedom to restore balance. Such a state can also lead to negative implications …

Nio's Battery-As-A-Service Strategy, Shantanu Bhattacharya, Lipika Bhattacharya

Asian Management Insights

A game changer in the EV industry?

Creating A Social Media Marketing Strategy For A Small Business, Kaila Trowbridge

Theses

As the world continues to digitalize, it has never been more crucial to use and understand social media when running a business of any size. Social media is where people share their ideas, experiences, and information with the world. People can reach a larger audience once they grow their profiles and understand who the audience truly is. From a business standpoint, social media should be used to display products, services, and develop an open relationship with the audience and customers.

How Do Virtual Social Media Influencers Affect Millennial And Gen Z Female Consumers’ Purchase Intention? A Comparison Of Fast Fashion Versus Luxury Fashion Brands, Lauren Bouvier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence and increasing prevalence of social media, the effectiveness of social media influencers (SMIs) is apparent in today’s fast-paced life. Virtual social media influencers (VSMIs), computer-generated influencers with a real human appearance, have gained popularity. The purpose of this study is to examine important VSMI’s characteristics that affect brand image and trust which lead to purchase intention (fast fashion vs. luxury fashion brand). Social exchange theory and source credibility model were adopted to develop a theoretical framework for the present study. Two Instagram ads were developed that included the post’s image and corresponding caption: VSMI endorsing H&M and …

2022-May-01-Meet Joshua Trimm, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

When Joshua Trimm crossed the commencement stage at East Tennessee State University less than a month ago, the person who once thought a graduate degree may not be for him conquered those fears. In June, Joshua will begin a new job at one of the largest employers in the Appalachian Highlands – Eastman Chemical Company. 

 

Joshua is from Kingsport. He attended Northeast State Community College for two years and earned an associate degree in web design. A self-described “non-traditional student” who began his collegiate journey seven years ago, Joshua said time allowed him to learn the real value of higher …

How The Financial Services Industry Is Utilizing Social Media To Expand Their Client Base, Kristen Stewart

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media is becoming an increasingly important aspect of all companies’ marketing strategies. It is almost imperative for companies to advertise through social media if they want to have a fair chance of reaching the younger generation. In fact, “the majority (97%) of Gen Z consumers say they now use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration; 65% say they use social media to find entertaining content; and 61% of them are specifically interested in watching more video content” (Kastenholz, 2021). This proves that social media can make a significant and lasting impact on a company’s success. Social …

For The Kingdom, Jack Conway

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

For The Kingdom is a tabletop board game that I have developed for my thesis. In my thesis, I would like to cover three areas that have been crucial to the development of the game- the guidebook created to support and facilitate the board game, the changes made due to player feedback and testing, and the potential paths to getting the game to the market. Before Talking about those three areas, however, I will first describe the games genre and a bit about my approach to developing it.

Storytelling & Business: Rewriting The Narrative, Helen Woodham

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is a reason that we know what happens to the pumpkin carriage at midnight, a reason we know that Toms donates one pair of shoes for every shoe bought, and that when an underdog commits to early morning practices and perseveres that more often than not, they succeed. The reason we know about the carriage, the shoes, and the underdog’s success is because of storytelling. Storytelling is the connective tissue that unites people across culture, language, generations, and so many other factors. The reason why storytelling is so impactful is that it is not merely words on a page …

2022-May-01-Etsu Students Named Interns At Barter Theatre, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Three East Tennessee State University students from the Department of Theatre and Dance have been selected as interns at Barter Theatre for the summer.

Seth Buckles

Kailey Kyle

2022-May-01-Etsus Online Mpa Program Provides Flexibility Networking Opportunities, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – For Katie Gouge, a 2020 University of Tennessee graduate, there were plenty of factors she considered when applying to graduate school. 

Ultimately, she chose East Tennessee State University’s Master of Public Administration program – a decision she is glad she made.  

“The program offers small class sizes and employs professionals from the field to instruct many of their classes,” said Gouge. “The program is also extremely affordable and offers financial resources to most of its students. I was also really able to tailor my classes around my work schedule.” 

Growing and increasingly marketable, ETSU’s online MPA …

2022-May-01-Meet Olivia Long, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Olivia Long just completed her first year as a pharmacy student in Gatton College of Pharmacy at East Tennessee State University. At the same time, she continued working toward her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy studies, taking advantage of Gatton’s Early Admission Pathway, which allows students to work on undergraduate and professional studies concurrently.

“I actually wanted to do pharmacy for a long time,” said Long, who comes to ETSU from Mount Juliet. “I was probably in eighth grade when I realized that I wanted to do that. None of my family members are pharmacists, but my mom is a nurse …

Event Planning: Understanding The Process Through Gained Experience And Research, Taylor M. Ansuini

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Event Planning: Understanding the Process Through Gained Experience and Research

Event planning is a complex and challenging job as it requires a creative, driven individual who excels as a multitasker and problem solver. The focus of this master’s project is to engage in a deeper understanding and gain volunteer experience as part of an event planner’s team in preparation for a desired future career in the field. Both communication with and opportunities to work with local event planners assisted with accelerating experience and insight into the field of event planning. The outcomes of the project include insights into various volunteer …

Being Creative: Not An Act But A Habit, Matthew William Smith

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores what it means to be creative, how to practice creativity, and how a creative practice can be used to bring about the change one wants to see in the world. Many theories and ideas from historical and modern scholars influenced the work. The literature review findings were synthesized to produce a practical and tangible creative practice prototype and a strategic action plan.

Designing Persuasive Crowdfunding Videos, Hannah H. Chang, Anirban Mukherjee, Amitava Chattopadhyay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Voiceover narration is a production technique commonly used in reward-based crowdfunding videos. We posit that in these videos, hearing more narrator voices describing the crowdfunding product can systematically influence consumers’ attention and processing of the message, thereby facilitating persuasion. We employed a multi-method approach, including experimentation, natural language processing, text mining, and machine learning. Results across four studies—including real-world datasets and controlled experiments—show that the effect (1) has consequential, economic implications in a real-world marketplace, (2) is more pronounced when the message is easier to comprehend, and (3) is more pronounced when consumers have the capacity to process the narrated …

Paralinguistic And Rhetorical Capabilities Of Emojis In Marketing Communication, Jacob Christopher Almaguer

Theses and Dissertations

Consumers and social media marketers have over 3,000 emojis at their fingertips. Despite the popularity of emojis on social media, marketing research on emojis remains limited. Extant marketing research on emojis that does exist primarily focuses on the emotional and reinforcement capabilities, a remnant of the limitations of the emoticon ancestor, and largely ignores the additional paralinguistic and rhetorical potential of emojis. In this dissertation, emojis as a paralanguage are explored with a particular focus on the creation of meaning on social media (Essay 1), and emojis as a full (Essay 2) and partial (Essay 3) substitute for text in …

Wavzine: Independent, Localized Cultural Journalism In The Digital Age, Jake Edward Davis

Journalism

wavzine (also called .WAV or colloquially known as “The Zine”) is a music, arts, and culture multimedia website and print periodical founded by Cal Poly students in the summer of 2020. Two years on, it was comprised of roughly 45 regular staff members and even more occasional contributors, all of whom are volunteers. Along with independently publishing articles, videos, podcasts, and art online, wavzine also organizes and hosts concerts for local bands, collaborates with local cultural events such as Shabang Music Festival and the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, and sells its own branded merchandise. To its 2,700 Instagram followers, …

Crip Theory And Creative Briefs: Interpreting Disability In The Creative Process, Josh Loebner

All Dissertations

Brands, advertising agencies and other partners collaborate through curated phases to create marketing and advertisements, but within this process, how does the creative brief shape disability inclusion or exclusion? By moving the conversation from interpreting disability representation in an advertisement or finished marketing piece, to analyzing disability at the onset of the creative process, these insights present a critical contribution to scholarship on disability, marketing and consumer culture. Framed within crip theory, the research investigates how disability identity is—or is not—manifest in a creative brief within the creative process.

Much of marketing, advertising and disability studies scholarship centers on finished …

Strength Of Weak Ties Theory And College-University Marketing: A Case Study Of Etsu's Clemmer College, Sarah Nobles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As scholarly institutions enter a new era of hyper-competition, seeking innovative ways to engage with student populations has become central to social media marketing efforts. Developing strategies and tactics to interact with existing student populations presents new challenges for marketing departments, as well as the stakeholders who are often asked to provide user-generated content. Strong ties among stakeholder relationships can enhance communication with effective outcomes; however, it is the weak ties that may have the most impact. This study draws on existing literature regarding Strength of Weak Ties Theory and faculty and student surveys in East Tennessee State University’s Clemmer …

The Authenticity Of Body Positivity In The Media: A Comparative Analysis Of Four American-Owned Companies, Emma Mink

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marketing strategies are changing how businesses sell their products. The body positivity movement is causing consumers to examine companies to determine if their intentions are authentic. Some of the ways consumers evaluate company authenticity include examining corporate social responsibility reports, types of advertising, or the brand-cause fit between the company and the body positivity movement. The author of this study followed two companies (Dove and Aerie) that are known for body positive advertising messages and two companies (Mattel/Barbie and Victoria Secret) that are known for promoting unrealistic body expectations. The author examined each companies’ mission statement, annual report, and types …

History Matters: The Impact Of Online Customer Reviews Across Product Generations, Linyi Li, Shyam Gopinath, Stephen J. Carson

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine how online customer reviews for one generation of a product affect sales of another generation in the same product series. The main intriguing result is that previous generation valence has a positive impact on current generation sales; however, current generation valence has a negative impact on previous generation sales. The positive impact of previous generation valence becomes even stronger (1) as the uncertainty (standard deviation) in reviews for the current generation increases and (2) when the current generation valence is high. In contrast, it becomes weaker (1) as the uncertainty in reviews for the previous generation increases and …

A Social Media Strategy Plan For The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry, Sara Katelyn Holm

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Jane B. Gearhart (JBG) Full Circle Food Pantry is a student-led program that provides food assistance for members of the University of Arkansas community. This thesis project includes a social media strategy plan that aims to increase the overall awareness of the pantry and its multifaceted services to decrease food insecurity levels at the University of Arkansas. This plan intends to create behavioral changes that expand usage of the pantry and social media engagement among UA students. Grounded in data-driven insights, this plan is designed from (i) literature on food pantry marketing techniques; (ii) a review of the pantry's …

Shareholder Wealth Implications Of Software Firms' Transition To Cloud Computing: A Marketing Perspective, Mehdi Nezami, Kapil R. Tuli, Shantanu Dutta

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Moving into cloud computing represents a major marketing shift because it replaces on-premises offerings requiring large, up-front payments with hosted computing resources made available on-demand on a pay-per-use pricing scheme. However, little is known about the effect of this shift on cloud vendors' financial performance. This study draws on a longitudinal data set of 435 publicly listed business-to-business (B2B) firms within the computer software and services industries to investigate, from the vendors' perspective, the shareholder wealth effect of transitioning to the cloud. Using a value relevance model, we find that an unanticipated increase in the cloud ratio (i.e., the share …

2022-April-28-Enjoy Retirement, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Congratulations to the following members of the East Tennessee State University family who retired in April.  Thank you for your service!

Connie Clyburn – Coordinator, Family Medicine, 22 years of service

Mary Lou Jean Mellons – Technical Clerk, Professional Development, 29 years of service

Randall L. Sanders – Head Football Coach, Intercollegiate Athletics, 18 years of service (four at ETSU)

Published April 28, 2022, as part of the Accent email newsletter for faculty and staff.