Business Commons^™

Medicine Men: Medicine Match A Program To Increase Male Participation In Targeted Areas Of The Healthcare Field, Anthony Paul Huffman

Honors Projects

The Medicine Men program addresses the imbalance in gender representation in low and middle-level healthcare careers. The program uses a website named Medicine Match to achieve this goal, which offers shadowing, talking, and additional resources with verified medical professionals. Medicine Match provides an engaging platform for individuals interested in exploring healthcare careers. The program's methodology involves creating connections between aspiring professionals, following the path of role models, fostering a sense of community, and educating and empowering target populations. Through a theoretical test and analysis, Medicine Men seeks to demonstrate its efficacy in increasing interest, knowledge, and comfort among male students …

Honesty In Marketing Communications: The Role Of Humor, Can Trinh

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Amid the crisis of trust in the marketplace, there have been increasing calls for advertisers to show more honesty in marketing communications. However, firms are still hesitant to follow suit out of concerns that more honesty may mean more losses than gains. Against such background, there is still scant empirical evidence about the effect of honest marketing communications on marketing outcomes to help provide practical guidance for marketers. The present research helps fill this crucial gap by examining the role of humor in honest marketing communications. Three studies in this research reveal novel insights that an interrelationship exists between humor …

The Impact Of “Humorous” Ads Featuring Social Media Influencers On Perceptions Of The Influencer, Brand, And Purchase Intention, Jason L. Snyder, Robert Forbus

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The present study explored the use of humor in social media ads that featured both a product being advertised and a social media influencer (SMI). Using extant literature and the theory of planned behavior as guides, the goal of the study was to explore the role of perceived humorousness on consumer perceptions of the SMI, the ad, the brand, and consumer purchase intentions. The experiment (N = 292) exposed self-identified males living in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 40 to one of two versions of an ad for a men’s grooming product. The ads were run …

Familiarity, Sensationalism, And Forward Referencing In Celebrity Clickbait: Effects On Curiosity And Click Intention, Cynthia B. Hanson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study investigates the effects of celebrity familiarity, sensational copy, and forward referencing on curiosity and intention to click on a digital post using a 2 (familiar/unfamiliar celebrity) X 2 (high/low sensationalism) X 2 (high/low knowledge gap) experimental design. The results show that curiosity and click intention are significantly greater when the copy points to missing information and when familiarity is greater, supporting the information gap theory of curiosity and illustrating its application to the forward referencing technique used in clickbait. However, contrary to expectations, sensational copy produced lower levels of arousal, curiosity, and click intention, suggesting a backlash against …

The Impact Of The Anthem Protest Movement And Covid On Nfl Viewership, George W. Stone, Michael A. Jones, Kirsten Passyn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research is based on 3 different surveys conducted over several NFL football seasons. The first study investigated the impact of the Anthem Protest Movement on the attitude of NFL fans. The “Anthem Protest” reemerged during the 2020 season during the “lockdown” season associated with the COVID epidemic. Co-mingled with COVID and societal unrest, many analysts were predicting irreparable harm to the NFL’s once indomitable position as America’s favorite sport resulting from this confluence of events. Given the importance of the topic in terms of future NFL fan support, this report looks back over the last several NFL seasons to …

Exploring Entrepreneurial Intention And Subjective Beliefs: A Comparative Analysis Of General Education Schools And Commercial Schools, Julia Riess, Bettina Fuhrmann, Gerhard Geissler

International Journal for Business Education

This study examines the entrepreneurial intentions of Austrian secondary school students, specifically comparing students from commercial schools with those from general education schools. We analyzed 2,329 data sets and found that subjective beliefs, primarily behavioral and control beliefs, significantly influence entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, demographic factors such as gender, language, acquaintance with entrepreneurs, and school type play a significant role in explaining the variance in entrepreneurial intentions.

Our detailed analysis shows that students from commercial schools have stronger entrepreneurial intentions and subjective beliefs. Particularly notable are the differences in behavioral beliefs, where students from commercial schools find all aspects of …

Literature Review Of Extended Reality Research In Consumer Experience: Insight From Semantic Network Analysis And Topic Modeling, Hansol Choi, Hyemi Lee

Asia Marketing Journal

Extended Reality (XR) technology, the umbrella term covering hyper-realistic technologies, is known to enhance consumer experience and is therefore developing rapidly and being utilized across various industries. Growing studies have examined XR technology and consumer experience; however, the literature has failed to fully explore hyper-realistic technology through a holistic perspective. To fill this gap, we analyzed 720 Korean and international articles through semantic network analysis and topic modeling and identified the literature on XR research in consumer experience. As a result, we extracted six main topics: “Tourism,” “Buying Behavior,” “XR Technology Acceptance,” “Virtual Space,” “Game,” and “XR Environment.” The results …

Observer Responses To Others' Charitable Donations: Effects Of The Donor Social Class-Donation Type Interaction, Shinhyoung Lee

Asia Marketing Journal

The social impact of observing others' charitable donations remains underexplored, with few studies examining the influence of donors' social class. Across three experiments, we investigated how the donor social class-donation type interaction influences the observers' perceived sacrificial costs or desire for a moral self-identity, which consequently affects their willingness to donate. The participants perceived higher costs when lower-class donors made monetary donations, but for time donations, they saw no difference in sacrificial costs by donor social class. Moreover, when the hourly wage was emphasized, the participants felt an increased desire for a moral self-identity from higher-class donors' monetary donations and …

Identifying The Actual Impact Of Online Social Interactions On Demand, Dong Soo Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

Firms often engage in manipulating online reviews as a promotional activity to influence consumers' evaluation on their products. With the prevalence of the promotional activities, consumers may notice and discount the reviews generated by the promotional activities. Discounting the firm-generating reviews may cause systematic measurement errors in the valence variable and lead to a negative bias when estimating the effect of consumers' organic reviews on demand. To correct the bias, this study proposes including product-specific bias-correction terms representing the proportion of extreme reviews in analysis. For illustration, the proposed method is applied to a demand model for data of movies …

Crisis To Opportunity: The Role Of Consumer Awareness In Mergers And Acquisitions (M&As) During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hojoon Jang, Junhee Seok, Jongdae Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

In the uncertainty fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have emerged as key strategic responses by firms. This study explores the impact of M&As on acquirers' firm value, utilizing a firm-level panel dataset from SDC Platinum. Empirical evidence recognizes the potential negative impact of transaction value in M&As and the pandemic's effect on market volatility that may occasionally exacerbate the adverse influence on acquirers' firm value. The findings indicate that effective marketing strategies, such as enhancing consumer awareness through increasing advertising expenditures, can counterbalance these influences, particularly during uncertain times. This study accentuates the importance of adaptability …

Incomplete Decisions On Reward-Based Crowdfunding Platforms: Exploring Motivations From Temporal And Social Perspectives, Kwangwook Gang, Hoon S. Cha, Ilyoo B. Hong

Asia Marketing Journal

This study explores incomplete decision-making dynamics on reward-based crowdfunding platforms, focusing on temporal and social factors influencing backers' decisions. Utilizing the temporal aspect (i.e., pledging campaign phase) and social aspect (i.e., current pledged amount ratio) as stimuli within the stimulus-organism-response framework, our findings reveal that nearly 50.9% of respondents change their initial decisions, highlighting widespread incomplete information processing. Backers are more prone to altering decisions under heightened time pressure and display herding behaviors. Furthermore, backers exhibit an increased likelihood of changing decisions under heightened time pressure, coupled with a greater chance that the pledged goal amount will not be achieved. …

Dentistry And The Law: Why Dentists Must Pay Attend To Antitrust Law, Dan Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

In this month’s Dentistry and the Law column, Dan Schulte, JD, MDA Legal Counsel, emphasizes the importance of understanding antitrust laws for dentists. He explains that agreements between competitors that restrain trade are illegal and highlights the risks of price-fixing and group boycotts. Dentists should avoid any activities that may be construed as anticompetitive. Enforcement of antitrust laws can lead to criminal or civil actions, making awareness crucial.

Exploring The Effect Of Logos With Animals, Can Trinh

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2024

Even though the use of logos that feature animals is prevalent (e.g., Porsche, Lamborghini, Hollister), there is a scant number of empirical works that examine the effect of such logos on marketing outcomes. This research represents a pioneering attempt to address this critical theoretical gap. We propose that logos that feature animals (i.e., animal logos) can influence product perceptions. Empirical evidence from two studies supports our propositions. The findings provide meaningful implications for both theory and practice.

Leading Horses To Water During A Pandemic: Assuring Communication Learning For "Quants", Thomas Hall

International Journal for Business Education

Students who are attracted to quantitative disciplines of study can be reluctant to devote much attention to the important task of communicating, and previous research (Hostager, 2018) has identified statistically significant differences in learning approaches by major among undergraduate business students. This paper presents results of learning assurance for writing skills (direct measures) even when the content of the course relates to the highly quantitative topics of data analytics and finance. The approach combines various pedagogical methods in an undergraduate, writing-intensive setting: traditional testing but in an iterative framework, “flipped classroom” intensive work using spreadsheet software, repeated submission of brief …

Guinness Is The "Pumpkin Spice Latte" Of St. Patrick's Day, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

This study by a team of faculty from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University shows that Guinness was the most-discussed brand on social media leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and not just in the traditional ways people share how they drink the popular beer brand. The volume of social media conversations related to Guinness beer and St. Patrick’s Day saw a 25% increase. Most social chats exhibited a happy mood as evidenced by a 62% joyful sentiment.

While the Shamrock Shake …

A Review Of The Business Capstone: Working With An Education Program, Hanna Tran

University Honors Theses

This review thesis walks through the business capstone process which is a hands-on experience with a local business client. The business client, Company A, is an arts and education program that has reached out to the School of Business's capstone class to help them improve their reach to potential customers and find alternative funding other than student tuition and donations. To achieve these goals, our group conducted several analyses and thorough research combined with our existing business education. Our findings and final recommendations are shown in presentations and a final report that the business client can utilize for their future …

Mlcp Of Red Bull, Micah Winningham

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Red Bull is a marketer and distributor of one of the first major sports drinks to be introduced into the world, called the same name: Red Bull energy. Since the inception of the drink in the mid 1980’s by Dietrich Mateschitz in Austria as an attempt to create an alternative to coffee, the drink and brand of the Red Bull organization have exploded into one of the most popular and recognizable organizations of all time. The brand pushes the idea of their product giving the greatest boost of energy, and their slogan “Red Bull gives you wings!” reinforces the idea …

An Investigation Of Social Media Discussion On Valentine's Day 2024 Trends: Money Can Buy Love And Chocolates, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Valentine’s Day, typically defined by expression of love and affection, has been celebrated as a symbolic day to exchange gifts among lovers. The expression of love has been firmly tied with the act of giving material things, such as gifts. However, over the years, discomfort and even anger has grown around the over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day, creating a deep divide between those who gift and those who criticize and denounce the holiday as nothing but a “Hallmark card holiday” to push consumerism. Our center’s study from the previous year indicated that over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day found that love is not …

Taylor-Made Super Bowl: Taylor Swiftmania On Social Media Regarding The Big Game, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Celebrity couples occupy a unique space in popular culture. Similar to the royal unions of history and the present, the combination of notoriety and the voyeuristic appeal of watching a relationship play out in public spaces, celebrity couples energize popular discourse and invite public commentary and interest. The opportunity to become a spectator in ongoing celebrity coupling invites a level of perceived intimacy in what feels like a relationship with famous people.

Data collected for this study suggests Taylor Swift’s connection to Super Bowl LVIII has elevated the meaning of the game beyond the stratospheric levels of cultural significance the …

Health Disparities: The Influence Of Black Celebrity Endorsers And Social Media Influencers On Consumption Habits Among African American Consumers, Dale A. Cake, Wooyang Kim

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2024

This study examines the impact of celebrity and social media influencer endorsements on the dietary choices of African Americans, a group disproportionately affected by obesity and diabetes. It focuses on the role of limited access to healthy foods in impoverished communities and cultural influences. Using the source credibility model, the research assesses endorsements based on the endorser's attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness. The methodology involves a two-step approach: conducting semi-structured interviews with African American students to understand perceptions of food-related celebrity endorsements, followed by an experimental design using eye-tracking and galvanic skin response (GSR) technology. This design will evaluate reactions to …

Coffee Cactus, Mackenzie Haneman

Graphic Communication

Coffee is one of the most well known and enjoyed drinks in the world. So many people go out to coffee shops to get work done, catch up with friends, or just to simply enjoy a local cup of coffee. Yet, many people find it difficult to bring that experience into the comfort of their own homes or have found tools that bring a personal and unique experience. Espresso machines, coffee tools, and unique terminology can be very intimidating for someone who is just starting to learn about coffee or wants to grow their own at home experience. The problem …

Athletic Recruitment Analysis In Higher Education, Landon Palmer

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Since athletic programs are often viewed as the front porch of the higher education institutions, recruiting talented student-athletes is vital and challenging task under the unreasonable demand of high performance, limited and decreasing budget, and dwindling student enrollment. Additionally, the increasing use of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and transfer portal across the nation have made administrators and coaches worried about their effect on recruitment and program retention. These practices make the recruiting process even more competitive. Through the responses of 106 student-athletes of a regional state university in Eastern Kentucky, the researchers identified respondents’ perception concerning these newly …

Experiencing High Loneliness Increases Evaluation Of Products In Social Media Ads, Youjung Jun, Taehyeon Eom

Asia Marketing Journal

This research investigates how loneliness affects people’s preferences for products that appear in social media ads. Four studies examine the impact of loneliness that is both measured in an established scale and situationally induced via a recall task. Individuals who experience higher levels of loneliness evaluate the same products more highly when they are advertised in a social (i.e., Instagram) compared to non-social (i.e., brand website) media platform. This effect occurs because loneliness increases people’s attention to others’ social evaluation of a product, and social media ads provide this information via social cues such as “likes” embedded in the ads. …

Enhancing Customer Happiness Through Corporate Social Responsibility: Unveiling The Impact Of Csr On Customer Well-Being, Cheonglim Lee, Yongju Kwon, Youjae Yi

Asia Marketing Journal

Previous literature supports the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by demonstrating its effects on various aspects of firm performance. However, the extent to which CSR contributes to social well-being, its original objective, has rarely been examined. The current research investigates the impact of customers’ perceived CSR of service firms on customer happiness. Two studies confirm our proposition that perceived CSR increases customer happiness by enhancing perceptions of warmth and competence associated with the service company. Furthermore, we examine how the type of service moderates this effect. Specifically, we find that the indirect effects of CSR on customer happiness through …

Uncovering The Relationship Between Esg Practices And Firm Value: The Role Of Reputation And Industry Sensitivity, Yanghee Kim, Hojoon Jang, Junhee Seok

Asia Marketing Journal

Considering the rising interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) globally, various studies have shown that ESG practice increases firm value; however, there is still much debate. This study focuses on the relationship between ESG practice and firm value. Further, we identify the mechanisms constituting this relationship to address relevant research gaps. Specifically, this study examines the connection between ESG practice and corporate valuation, emphasizing the mediating role of a company’s reputation. Using panel analysis of data from 145 Korean firms (2014-2021), the study reveals that ESG practices notably enhance firm value, signaling their significance to stakeholders. Corporate reputation acts …

Jay-Customer Behavior's Influence On Job Stress And Customer Orientation: Perceived Organizational Support's Moderating Effect, Li Mei Liu, Seong Ho Lee, Jin Choi

Asia Marketing Journal

The study aimed to analyze jay-customer behavior's impact on service industry employees' job stress to understand the importance of personnel management. Additionally, it aimed to identify strategies for managing job stress by examining perceived organizational support's moderating effects. The results show that the subdimensions of jay-customer behavior (i.e., verbal aggression, physical aggression, and sexual harassment) positively influenced employees' job stress. Second, job stress acts as a mediator between customer verbal and physical aggression and customer orientation, but not between customer sexual harassment and customer orientation. Third, organizational support had a moderating effect on the association between customer verbal aggression and …

Motives For Consumer Behavioral Engagement On Brand-Related Social Media Content : A Study Based On Organismic Integration Theory And Personality, Chi T.K Nguyen, Jusik Park

Asia Marketing Journal

This study adopts organismic integration theory (OIT) to classify and contrast the predominant roles of five motivations (i.e., economic incentives, self-presentation, information acquisition, altruism, and enjoyment) in fostering three levels of behavioral engagement on brand-related social media content. This study further examines the moderating effect of personality (thinkers vs. feelers) on these relationships. The results of PLS-SEM reveal the greater impact of autonomous motivations on content consumption (enjoyment and information acquisition) and content contribution and creation (altruism and information acquisition), compared with controlled motivations (self-presentation and economic incentives). This study also finds that thinkers mostly engage on brand-related content for …

Present Time Company: A Global Media Entity Dedicated To Documenting, Illustrating, And Expressing Art And Cultural Narratives From The Chinese Standpoint To The World, Yixuan Helen Han

MA Projects

Present Time Company, a trailblazing entity at the convergence of innovative storytelling and diverse art and culture, aims to demystify the art world and make cultural experiences accessible to all. The company strategically blends Eastern and Western art perspectives, excels in dynamic content creation, and leverages social media adeptly in a competitive landscape. Opportunities arise from the burgeoning Asian art market, global interest in diverse cultural narratives, and the
potential for strategic partnerships. The marketing strategy focuses on brand awareness, audience engagement, and community cultivation, seamlessly integrating art into daily life through diverse content and strategic collaborations. The pricing model, …

Built Ford Tough, Again: Does Each Generational Group Of Consumers Associate The New Ford Bronco With Positive Feelings Of Nostalgia?, Liv R. Wilson, Emily J. Plant

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This marketing research paper investigates whether various generational groups of consumers associate the new Ford Bronco with positive feelings of nostalgia. The study conducted a comprehensive survey with 420 respondents to determine the extent of nostalgia evoked by new Ford Bronco advertisements among consumers of different age groups. The results of the research suggest a strong and affirmative response to the new Ford Bronco advertisements across all generational cohorts. This implies that the marketing strategy employed by Ford effectively taps into a universal sense of nostalgia, transcending generational boundaries. This finding underscores the brand's ability to connect with consumers of …

Sugardale Marketing Research Project, Brandon Gray, Xavier Zup, Alexis Rossilli, Robert Britton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This is a marketing research project for Sugardale meat company. Our group will be conducting primary and secondary research in order to answer questions and achieve goals that will help the Sugardale meat company market to millennials.