Business Commons^™

Fashioning The Flapper: Clothing As A Catalyst For Social Change In 1920s America, Julia Wolffe

Honors Program Theses

Fashion has been a catalyst for social change throughout human history. Fashion in 1920s America in particular reflects society's rapidly evolving attitudes towards gender and race. Beginning with how corsetry heavily restricted women for nearly four hundred years up until the twentieth century, this thesis explores how clothing has acted as a tool for societal progression following World War I and Women's Suffrage and during the Jazz Age and The Harlem Renaissance. Specifically, this thesis examines how the influence of jazz music and dance that originated from Black American communities led to the creation of the flapper evening dress. The …

Covid-19 And Consumer Eating Patterns: Analysis Of The Impact On The Meal Kit Industry In The United States, Dorian Bizeau

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze consumer eating patterns through the emergence of COVID-19, and explain the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Meal Kit industry. Through the utilization of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the paper will apply source material to the research question. The research question for this study is: “How did COVID-19's emergence impact the Meal Kit industry?” An overarching theme is social behaviors adaptation. Adaptations occurred as a result of COVID-19's emergence. The qualitative data suggests the behaviors correlated with the strengths and weaknesses of the Meal Kit industry. A key finding revealed in …

Transdisciplinary Evaluation Of Telehealth Experiences Of Diabetic Participants’ And Their Coaches’ In “Stopping Diabetes In Its Tracks” (Sdit) A Descriptive Mixed- Methods Customer Experience Map Journey, Cindy Delgado

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: This study captured the experiences of diabetic patients and their coaches during the Covid- 19 transition to virtual delivery. Previous research has focused on the feasibility and effectiveness of in-person versus telehealth delivery of Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). However, few studies have merged perspectives from the field of ethnic studies, public health, and customer service research during a pandemic to understand the experience of telehealth from end-users. Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted using interviews and quantitative surveys to provide insight into personal perspectives to in-person and telehealth experience. A customer-experience journey map (CXJM) was then created of Stopping …

2022-Alumni Spotlight- Dr. Austin Gardner ('20), Bill Gatton College Of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Meet alumnus and avid researcher Dr. Austin Gardner ('20) from Morristown, Tennessee. He serves as the Assistant Director of Pharmacy in Finance for Geisinger Health System in Philadelphia. In addition to being a pharmacist, he has earned a Master of Healthcare Administration and Master of Science.    What did you research while at Gatton? AG: -Specificity and Sensitivity of Drug Interaction Databases to Detect Meaningful QTc Interactions with Oral Antineoplastics - Possible Drug-Induced Pancreatitis in a Patient Receiving Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, and Prednisone Chemotherapy - Metabolic Targets of Gnaphalin Mediated Apoptosis in Colon and Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines Why was that research …

2022-Faculty Receive Grants To Support Research, Bill Gatton College Of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Recently, several faculty have received grants to fund their innovative research. We're excited to see the impact this makes for patients and the education of student pharmacists. 

Dr. John Bossaer, Professor, Dept. of Pharmacy Practice:

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  Instructional Development: $3,000 to fund the rising P3 class' access to a simulated Electronic Health Record (EHR) for the next academic year.

Dr. David Hurley, Professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences:

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  Major RDC grant: Expanding Individualized Pharmacogenomics Training to Clinical Applications: Creating Problem-Solving Exercises Using PharmD Student Data.

Dr. Ashana Puri, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences:

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  Interdisciplinary RDC grant: $50,000 for the development of a …

2022-January-01-Cbat Student Ryan Oconnor, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Long before he became a Buccaneer, Ryan O’Connor said ETSU always felt like home. As he grew up in Johnson City, where he graduated from Science Hill High School, the campus was just a few minutes away.

But it was the presence of ETSU’s highly respected computing program that inspired Ryan to make the university his own campus home.

“In computing, there are so many languages and processes and operations – it’s impossible to learn everything, and what I really love about ETSU’s program is that the faculty teach you how to find the information you need to solve the …

2022-January-01-Etsu Business Students Offering Free Tax Preparation Assistance, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A group of East Tennessee State University business student volunteers, under the guidance of accountancy faculty member Dr. Michelle Freeman, will offer free tax preparation assistance again this year through the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.  

 ETSU is an approved VITA location, and with financial support from Eastman Credit Union (ECU), student volunteers will assist taxpayers whose total household income was $57,000 or less during tax year 2021. Tax preparation services will be offered on the following Saturdays – Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and March 5 – from 8:15 a.m. to 5 …

2022-January-01-Etsu College Of Business And Technology Students Provide Marketing Support For Medical, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Continuing to engage with community startups and businesses, the East Tennessee State University College of Business and Technology announced the completion of several marketing projects with Winter Innovations, an East Tennessee-based medical device startup company.

Winter Innovations developed an industry-first surgical suture with a specialized patent-protected needle design that dramatically simplifies and standardizes suturing and enables techniques not possible with conventional surgical needles. Its primary application is for orthopedic procedures to repair torn ligaments and tendons, like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Achilles tendon and biceps tendon.

The ETSU College of Business and Technology continues …

2022-January-01-Etsu Presenting 'The Yellow Book' By Johanna Warwick, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The East Tennessee State University Department of Art & Design and Slocumb Galleries in partnership with ETSU Student Activities Allocation Committee, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Black American Studies Program, present “The Yellow Book” by Johanna Warwick, a collection of photographic works available at Slocumb Galleries through Feb. 18. Warwick will give a talk at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 24, on Zoom. 

“The Yellow Book” presents two series of photographic works, “Interstate Legacy” and the “Old South Baton Rouge.” Warwick used this book, a yellow-covered publication that lists the locations of interstate …

2022-January-01-Etsu Health Continues Covid-19 Vaccine Clinics In New Year, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – ETSU Health will host several COVID-19 vaccine clinics offering primary doses and boosters throughout January.

All of the weekday clinics will be held on the second floor of East Tennessee State University’s D.P. Culp Student Center. Parking spaces in the metered lot behind the Culp Center on J. L. Seehorn Jr. Rd. have been reserved for vaccine patients. 

The Saturday clinics will be held in the ballroom at the ETSU Millennium Center, located at 2001 Millennium Place. Patients may park on the third level or above in the parking garage adjacent to the Millennium Center and …

2022-January-01-Etsu Health Extends Covid- Testing Site Hours, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – ETSU Health has extended service hours at its COVID-19 testing site in response to limited at-home test supply availability and the anticipated rise in cases due to the Omicron variant.

Hours of operation will now extend from 8:15 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:15 a.m.-noon, Friday. Preregistration is required. Schedule an appointment online at ETSUHealth.org.

The convenient drive-thru testing site, located behind ETSU Health’s clinic at 325 North State of Franklin Road, allows patients to receive a reliable molecular PCR test without leaving their vehicle. 

Results are provided within 24 hours, a benefit …

2022-January-01-Etsu Professional Development To Host Renaissance Child Spring Enrichment, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Children in grades K-6 are invited to attend the Renaissance Child Spring Enrichment program at East Tennessee State University from March 14-18.

This five-day experience, hosted by the ETSU Office of Professional Development, includes an exciting field trip, STEM activities and arts and crafts.

Participants may be dropped off on the ETSU campus at Warf-Pickel Hall at 8 a.m. and picked up at 4:45 p.m. each day. They should bring a bag lunch, snack and drink each day, and wear “mess-friendly” clothes. 

Registration is required. The cost is $175 for the week. 

To register, visit https://bit.ly/3Cq0beo …

2022-January-01-Leading Voices In Public Health Lecture To Feature Sam Quinones, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Sam Quinones, bestselling author and winner of the National Book Critics Circle award, will present a lecture titled “America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth: One Reporter’s Stories” on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the Carnegie Hotel.

The event is part of the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s Leading Voices in Public Health lecture series. 

A book signing will be held from 5:30-6 p.m. in the Roosevelt Library (Carnegie), where his books will be available for purchase. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Grand Soldiers Ballroom and will …

2022-January-01-Meet Amyre Cain, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

The decision to pursue a college degree is often a personal one, especially for first-generation students. It begins as a journey of courage and hope. It then transforms into a new world filled with opportunities that open doors to personal, academic and career development. A constant source of encouragement for Amyre Cain’s college journey is her grandmother, who passed away in 2019 following a stage four breast cancer diagnosis. 

In 2018, Amyre decided to become the first person in her father’s family to attend college. She is now a senior at East Tennessee State University. 

Amyre is from Detroit, Michigan, …

2022-January-01-Poet, Editor New Basler Chair At Etsu, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Poet, editor and award-winning essayist Dr. Amy Wright is the Spring 2022 Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric and Science, a prestigious honor given by East Tennessee State University for nearly 30 years.  

Wright coordinates the Creative Writing Program at Austin Peay State University, where she also teaches writing, and serves as the senior editor for the Zone 3 journal and the nonfiction editor for Zone 3 Press. Her accolades are long: two Peter Taylor Fellowships to the Kenyon Review Writers’ Workshop, an Individual Artist Fellowship through Humanities Tennessee …

Digital Entrepreneurship: Context And Conceptualization, Kisito Futonge Nzembayie, Anthony Paul Buckley

Books/Book Chapters

Recognizing how the lines between digital and traditional forms of entrepreneurship are blurring, this forward-thinking book combines digital technology and entrepreneurship perspectives to advance knowledge on this paradigm-shifting typology of entrepreneurship.

Marketing Approaches Between Millennials And Gen-Zs In The Fashion And Beauty Industries, Mariana Gutierrez Chora

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This Honors College Undergraduate Senior Thesis analyzes the marketing practices with respect to Gen-Zs and Millennials’ behavior in regard to the beauty and fashion industries. In order to do so, a survey among Gen-Z and Millennial adults from diverse backgrounds was conducted to gather important data. The survey consists of twenty-three questions, some focusing on the participant demographics and cultural backgrounds and the rest focusing on behaviors they have had with various forms of paid advertising through social- media practices. Additionally, this thesis includes insights regarding some of the literature review topics and includes results that enforce some of the …

“Green” Marketing In The Apparel Industry: The Spectrum Of Veracity, Stephanie R. Keane

Honors Theses

Apparel companies’ propensity for manipulation in their marketing of environmental initiatives contributes to immense environmental pollution from petrochemical textile material production. Public scrutiny pressures these businesses to adopt “green” initiatives to avoid losing devoted consumers. In some cases, these initiatives disguise the real operations of a company or claim benignity for the company when this is not the reality. Previous business ethics research analyzed the emergence of “greenwashing” in corporations and thus concluded that corporations market themselves as eco-friendly to portray commodification as sustainable. In the form of case studies, this paper scrutinizes four companies: Zara, Patagonia, Lululemon, and Pact. …

The Unintended Effects Of Tamper-Evident Packaging, Marissa Orlowski, Sarah Lefebvre, Laura Boman

AMTP Proceedings 2022

Third-party food delivery (TPFD) services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub introduces increased opportunities for contamination through the introduction of unknown variables between the restaurant and consumer. Across two studies, we examine the effect of tamper-evident food packaging closures in a TPFD context, revealing a negative effect of a tamper-evident seal on willingness to pay through decreased satisfaction. This negative effect is robust across both food and beverages. Finally, consumers’ perception of risk of illness (PRI) from TPFD moderates this effect.

Business Faculty’S Communication Strategies For Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sohyoun Shin

AMTP Proceedings 2022

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has far-reaching effects in the field of higher education. College faculty have been challenged by the abrupt changes, but still have to deliver the lessons and help students achieve the learning goals as well as pay attention to the impact of the pandemic on students’ wellbeing and socio-emotional development. It is essential to conduct a qualitative research to understand experienced business faculty’s communication strategies and suggest instantly applicable advices for other business instructors from a crisis communication perspective as well as through an instructional strategy lens. This extended abstract includes the results of …

Defining Health Care Marketing, Gary Futrell

AMTP Proceedings 2022

A review of the leading textbooks published for health care marketing courses shows that they do not adequately define the disciple. This paper promotes the use of the two-word form of health care and defines health care marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, & exchanging any good, service, or idea; performed to restore, maintain, or enhance the well-being of an individual or population. This paper fills a gap in the literature by providing linguistic and practical justification for using the two-word form of health care and connects the modern wellness paradigm of health …

The Impact Of Verified (Unverified) Online Product Consumer Reviews On Consumer Product Attitudes, Kathryn Cort Dr., Roland Leak Dr.

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Customer product reviews are an integral component for companies conducting e-commerce, enabling them to stay connected and engaged with their consumers. However, more important these reviews are being utilized and incorporated into the marketing plans of companies. Companies can use a mixture of verified and unverified purchase badges in their displayed product reviews. This study finds that as customers are provided with this additional information to help form impressions about the products they are reviewing, customers' need for cognition ultimately determines how they utilize the presence or absence of these badges.

What's In A Name? Public Perceptions Of Multi-Level Marketing, Robert A. Peterson, Jeffrey A. Peterson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This paper presents the results of a nationwide survey of the American public’s general familiarity with, and perceptions of, multi-level marketing, direct selling, and social selling. Survey respondents were most familiar with direct selling; there was no substantive difference in familiarity with multi-level marketing and social selling. Respondents familiar with the three terms possessed perceptions of them that were significantly more positive than were the perceptions of respondents reporting not being familiar with the terms. Across all terms, male respondents reported being more familiar with, and more positively disposed toward, them than did female respondents. Respondents 55 years of age …

Fashion And Sustainability: Consumption And Shared Responsibility, Jie Gao Fowler, Timothy Reisenwitz, Rongwei Chu

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Indulgence in fashion has been indispensable in modern societies, as it is a crucial device for self-image and identity construction. With the advanced technology and globalization of production, the fashion industry has skewed towards fast fashion, making the latest trends available to mass consumers at affordable prices. This research aims to examine how Chinese consumers perceive sustainable consumption in the context of fashion. We endeavor to explore the factors that influence the engagement of sustainable consumption. This study aims not to argue whether sustainable fashion should mobilize or replace the current fashion system but to provide evidence on consumers' perception …

User Reviews And Their Relationship To The Online Sale Of Used Dvds, Dan Baugher, Chris Ramos

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Except for books, research on factors impacting the sale of low-priced used products is uncommon. This study examines the relationship between Netflix user reviews of DVDs and their sale on Amazon as used products. An Amazon account was created by the authors, and a broad mix of 121 used DVDs were sold between 10/15/2012 and 11/20/2015. Using a low-price strategy, all sold within 57 days of posting on the site with 17.4% selling on the first day. DVDs with lower user ratings (valence) (p < .001) and lower rating volume (p < .05) took longer to sell. Valence and volume were not correlated (p > .05). In an OLS regression that included valence, volume, price, and release date, …

Adoption And Diffusion Of At-Home Medical Tests, Savannah Campbell, Mark Mitchell, Jerome Christia, Melissa Clark

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The purpose of this study is to understand the at-home medical test market including the medical and regulatory requirements to create at-home medical tests, as well as the market factors that influence consumer adoption in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. To address testing shortages of COVID-19 tests companies created at-home tests which were rapidly approved by the FDA, bringing at-home testing to the forefront.

History of at-home health testing is reviewed, the medical requirements for creating them, and how the pandemic has affected such testing. Tables are also included to demonstrate currently available tests and potential future tests. The …

How Do Consumers In General Evaluate, Judge, And Act Toward Shoplifting? The Moderating Effects Of Personal Characteristics And Motives Shoplifting?, Juehui Shi, Ngoc (Cindy) Pham, Claudio Schapsis, Tofazzal Hossain, Arturo Z. Vasquez-Párraga

WCBT Faculty Publications

Despite the seriousness of shoplifting, consumers’ evaluations, judgements, and intentions toward shoplifting remain underexplored by scholars from business ethics, marketing, retailing, and consumer behavior. We propose a new shoplifting ethics model, which integrates Hunt and Vitell’s theory of ethics with Nadeau, Rochlen, and Tyminski’s typology of shoplifting, by incorporating the moderators of consumers’ personal characteristics (i.e., age, gender, marital status, income) and shoplifting motives (i.e., social, experiential, economic, emotional) onto the relationships among deontological evaluation, teleological evaluation, ethical judgment, and intention. Based on a two-by-two randomized experimental design, two shoplifting cases (i.e., swapping price tags, stealing products) are investigated in …

Consumer Measures Of Local Food System Performance And Shopping Behavior Across Covid, Azita Varziri

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays: In the first essay, we utilize a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to measure the residents’ perceptions of the local food system performance. Local food system (LFS) components are classified into related measures that may help explain the overall performance scores provided. LFS performance measures are explored across 15 different communities in the U.S. South. The second essay explores the awareness and performance differences toward farmers markets, including the markets themselves and the corresponding local food product quality, product diversity, and markets infrastructure across different age-range groups and community sizes in Southern states. Finally, in …

The Role Of Authenticity In Technology‐Mediated Interactions, Claudia Iglesias

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation investigates the role of authenticity perceptions in technology-mediated interactions from two different perspectives: social perceptions and self-perceptions. The first essay reveals that communication modality can be an important authentic cue of source acceptance in human-machine interactions. The second essay examines how self-awareness can promote feelings of self-authenticity when consumers experience specific types of brands.

Constructing A Company On Purpose: Understanding The Role Of Purpose On Firms' Corporate Brand Identity, Asfiya Taji

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Increasingly, stakeholders are demanding greater accountability from firms and their respective brands. This in turn has pressured firms across industries to address social issues that were once inconceivable in relevance to their operating mission, requiring many businesses to pivot towards embracing a social purpose as part of their corporate brand identity. Purpose in management has been defined as the greater values that promote societal welfare within and outside the firm (Hollensbe et al., 2014) and, as such, purpose-driven firms are those that link their governance practices with the greater pro-social values they espouse(Kim et al., 2016). This dissertation studies the …