Business Commons^™

Improving The M&A Success Rate: Identity May Be The Key, Carol M. Sanchez, Mahendra Joshi, Paul Mudde

Peer Reviewed Articles

Every year companies spend over $4 trillion on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in spite of the fact that between 70% to 90% of these M&As fail. Both practitioners and scholars are puzzled by these intriguing statistic and have tried to identify the causes of M&A failures. Factors such as inaccurate assessment of financial and operational synergies, lack of clarity in the execution of the integration process, negotiation errors, lack of backup plans, and cultural issues are only a few of the long list of reasons that may lead to such high rate of failure. Evidently, some of these factors have …

Managing The Global Virtual Workforce: Reducing The Liability Of Foreignness, Carol M. Sanchez, Rebekah Arndt

Peer Reviewed Articles

Effective management of global virtual workforces may reduce the liability of foreignness. As more organizations do business across borders, global workforce effectiveness is critical given logistic, language and cultural distances. Based on theories of global workforces, virtual technology use, cultural differences, and common language policy, we posit that global virtual workforces will better succeed if organizations (1) select appropriate communication technology, (2) train members to navigate cultural differences, and (2) adopt a language policy. We highlight strategies with examples from conversations with managers of several organizations, and we emphasize unexpected benefits to organizations that successfully manage their global virtual workforce.

Teaching Business: Looking At The Support Needs Of Instructors, Kurtis Tanaka, Danielle Cooper, Cara Cadena, Preethi Gorecki, Jon Jeffryes, Carol Sanchez

Scholarly Papers and Articles

In 2018, Ithaka S+R began a new research program investigating scholars’ undergraduate teaching practices. As a first foray in this program, we looked at the teaching practices and needs of instructors teaching in business and business related disciplines. The project was undertaken collaboratively with research teams at 14 academic libraries in the United States and we thank those institutions and their researchers for partnering with us.

Marketing Play Book: Shoreline Orthopaedics, Rio Weikum

Honors Projects

This campaign book is comprised of essential information for conducting a successful campaign for our client, Shoreline Orthopaedic located in Holland, Michigan. For the purpose of this campaign, both primary and secondary research were conducted in order to gain crucial information that would form Shoreline's marketing strategies, tactics, and objectives. Primary research was conducted in order to get a better understanding of the attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and needs of the patients at Shoreline. Secondary research was conducted to gain marketing information on other orthopedic practices, the best marketing strategies to implement in the digital world, and information about our target …

Leveraging User Experience Expertise For Engaging And Sustainable Social Media, Jon Jeffryes, Kiersten Quilliams, Cara Medvendenko, Katie Alphenaar

Conference Proceedings

This presentation discusses an evolution of our staffing model that revived our library’s Twitter account, beginning with creating a sustainable workflow to allow for more engaging content by leveraging the expertise and creativity of front line user experience staff. We’ll discuss the entire evolution from having a single librarian generating content to this team-based approach, discuss missteps, and share the positive outcomes. Lastly, we’ll discuss meaningful assessment to ensure the identifying and transmitting of key messages frequently and effectively, and sustainable expansion into new social media platforms.

When To Outsource The Sales Force For New Products, Valerie Good, Roger J. Calantone

Peer Reviewed Articles

Executives and researchers continue to seek factors that lead to new product success. While prior research has suggested that outsourcing the selling function can help make the innovation process leaner and limit future liability, outsourcing can also pose risks in terms of safeguarding both customer relationships and confidential innovation capabilities. Moreover, examining the effects of outsourcing has been identified as a key research priority in recent marketing literature. Thus, using privileged access to managers in the biochemical industry, we employed a multi-group analysis of 229 new products to investigate the effect of outsourcing the sales force on new product success. …

Failing To Be Family-Supportive: Implications For Supervisors, Benjamin M. Walsh

Peer Reviewed Articles

Family-supportive supervision benefits employees in many ways. But what are the implications for the supervisors themselves, particularly when this support is not extended? Drawing on social exchange theory, we frame family-supportive supervision as a desirable resource that when withheld may trigger negative social responses from employees. We hypothesize that workplace ostracism is a mechanism through which employees sanction supervisors who fail to be family-supportive, thereby harming supervisor well-being. Study 1 captured the employee perspective and utilized an experimental design to understand whether employees engage in ostracism in response to a lack of family-supportive supervision. In Study 2, we captured the …

Economic Impact Study: Kent County Parks, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker

Other Faculty Publications

This study will focus on the economic impact of Kent County Parks from three perspectives:

• Spending resulting from park visitors
• Revenue generated by Kaufman Golf Course and Millennium Park beach
• Spending by Kent County Parks

Communicating For Project Management Success: Pro-Tips From Accidental Project Managers, Annie Bélanger, Preethi Gorecki, Jesus Espinoza

Presentations

Library professionals are often asked to lead projects; yet, few are given the training to proceed with confidence. This session will address major aspects of a successful project communication and management: understanding how to propose projects; skills and tools to initiate, plan, and manage projects efficiently and effectively; and knowing how to wrangle the tasks that make up projects. We will also cover how to communicate and lead through influence within a project team setting.

Economic Impact Study: Downtown Market Grand Rapids, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker

Other Faculty Publications

Purpose of study This study focuses on the economic impact of the Market from four perspectives:

1. Visitors who traveled for the express purpose of visiting the Market
2. Visitors who visited the Market while already in Grand Rapids
3. Tenant activity within the Market
4. The Market’s impact on local business revenue and job creation

Do Repurchasing Firms Shave Capital Expenditures When Signaling?, Bishal Bc, Yatin N. Bhagwat, Marinus De Bruine

Funded Articles

This paper studies the extent of firm level over- and under-investment in capital projects among firms with excess cash flows. Whereas most prior research looks for either the signaling or free cash flow hypothesis, we find that the motives for share repurchases differ depending on the firm’s concurrent investments in capital projects. Our initial sample contains 3,417 firm-year observations from 1998 through 2014 where we match share repurchasing firm-year observations with non-repurchasing counterparts by 8-digit GICS industry code, by fiscal year, and by size. Using two sample t-tests, we find evidence that consistent with free cash flow explanations over-investment is …

The Unbearable Heaviness Of Leadership: The Effects Of Competency, Negatives, And Experience On Women’S Aspirations To Leadership, Carol M. Sanchez, Kevin Lehnert

Peer Reviewed Articles

Competent women should aspire to leadership, but they may choose not to. We asked men and women at seven U.S. universities if competence, negatives of leadership, and experience affect their aspirations to leadership. Surprisingly, competent women with more work experience are less likely to aspire to leadership than men, while competent women with less work experience are more likely to aspire to leadership than men. The more women associate leadership with negative aspects, the less they aspire to leadership, compared with men. For both, the less competent they think they are to be leaders, the less they want to be …

Finding My Future: Defining The Landscape, Discovering The Path, Samantha Frankhouse

Honors Projects

One of the most pivotal moments in a young adult's life is transitioning from high school to pose-secondary opportunity; whether this is to university, trade school, or right into the workforce, each student has a unique experience. Finding My Future, a local startup in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wants to give these students "the tools they need to define a future they'll love." However, as a startup that is also on a quest to be educated and informed on their decisions, FMF is in need of marker research and customer discovery to better understand and appropriately design for their audiences.

Eqm Investment Research Report, Kaitlyn Berg

Honors Projects

The piece includes both an investment research and industry analysis report on EQM, a midstream oil company. Based on the industry environment, valuation metrics, and financial statement analysis, EQM holds a buy recommendation and demonstrates a large potential for growth and strong cash flow returns. The following analysis provides evidence to support this recommendation.

Looming Consumer Debt: A Comparison To The Great Recession, Andrew Jenks

Honors Projects

A look into the current outstanding debt in the United States and comparison to conditions prior to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

The Impact Of The Seidman College Of Business Outreach Centers On The Grand Rapids Business Community, Benjamin M. Thoenes

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research was to explore the advisory role of selected Outreach Centers of the Seidman College of Business as led by their executive directors, and to examine the effects of their relationships with the Grand Rapids business community. For the basis of comparison the interviews included the director of one organization outside the Seidman College of Business. A qualitative approach in the form of a researcher-designed interview was used for the purpose of collecting data (Creswell, 2005). The interviews, conducted at each of the Outreach Center Offices, were designed to elicit important information regarding the Centers and …

The Corporate Occupation Of The Final Frontier; Emerging Market Analysis Of Spacex And The Privatized Race To Space., Nicholas Herbert

Honors Projects

This project is important to allow a full understanding of the current environment of the emerging market of space transport and travel. As we continue to move into a more technologically advanced society, we will no doubt have more contact with companies looking to profit from the race to deliver the promise of satellite space to companies all over the world in a more cost effective and powerful manner. To this end, Google and Facebook have already begun cooperation with private companies to propagate the space around our planet, and in addition, the investment and return basis of this work …

Voices From The Borders Of Governance: Connecting The Local Narratives Of Surplus Populations, Dan Balfour, Brittany Gray

Peer Reviewed Articles - Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration

In the globalized political economy of the early 21st century, national borders are both porous and heavily guarded. In a fluid global economic system, governing borders has become all the more important and difficult, the last frontier of mobility. The stories of Maria that follow are emblematic of what happens when human mobility tries to follow the paths of opportunity and safety in a global society open to free movement of money and goods, but not people (at least not those of limited means). The stories presented in this paper provide an example of connecting multiple narratives (Balfour and Mesaros …

Middle-Range Theorizing On Logistics Customer Service, Daniel Pellathy, Joonhwan In, Diane A. Mollenkopf, Theodore P. Stank

Peer Reviewed Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a systematic application of middle-range theorizing, which pays particular attention to contexts and mechanisms, can be used to extend current knowledge on logistics customer service (LCS) in a number of critical areas.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies Stank et al.’s (2017) framework for middle-ranging theorizing in logistics to develop a research framework and agenda that can guide future LCS research. Results are generated through a review of the LCS literature and an application of the main concepts of middle-range theorizing.

Findings – The paper outlines opportunities for middle-range research …

Liberal Vs. Professional Advertising Education: A National Survey Of Practitioners, Robin Spring, Alex Nesterenko

Peer Reviewed Articles

The issue of liberal vs. professional education is central to the conversation about advertising education. Practitioners influence the development of advertising curricula, so it is necessary to have data representing their views. A national survey was conducted with 366 practitioners in the United States. Findings show that practitioners believe a four-year college degree is important. They also believe that the best educational format includes a balance of liberal and professional education. Practitioners believe soft skills should be taught, though the most attainable entry-level jobs require digital technology skills. Digital technology also is identified as the most significant challenge for the …

Using Technology To Monitor Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Winter Clusters: A Study In Comparative Advantages Of Thermal Imaging And Temperature/Humidity Sensing Technologies, Andrea Kress

Honors Projects

Introduction: Wintertime is difficult for many beekeepers, as honey bees must keep themselves warm and dry while surviving on food stores from previous seasons ^[4]. Honey bees are able to survive such cold temperatures by vibrating their bodies in a cluster, which moves throughout the hive, to keep themselves and the queen warm and dry ^[4]. Outside temperatures greatly influence the efficiency of the internal cluster of the hive ^[4]. Honey bee colonies have the most efficient (i.e. least amount of energy spent and least amount of food stores used) clusters when the outside temperature is between …

From Shelf To Screen: Marketing In The Digital Age, Anna Bouwkamp

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Economic Impact Analysis On Olympic Host-Cities, Michael P. Overmyer

Honors Projects

When a city decides to undertake an Olympic Games, they do so with the notion that hosting the Olympics will provide many direct financial benefits to the city in addition to countless other indirect benefits. Like many activities, the Summer-Olympic Games tend to be more popular when it is warm, and this paper will focus on only the previous five Summer Olympic Games. As host cities look to cash in on the Olympic Games popularity, the number of Olympic infrastructure projects has skyrocketed, leaving many cities with facilities that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and nothing to …

Tuition Toss Up: An Economic Analysis Of Public And Private University Tuition And Fees, Alex Nannetti

Honors Projects

In a society where post-secondary education is a near necessity, examining the true cost of university is an important factor to consider when determining the benefits of higher education. While the long run career benefits of a bachelor’s degree are undeniable, the exponential rise in university tuition is a concern for many. This paper examines public and private universities ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges Ranking: National Universities Ranking and analyzes their fiscal and academic differences. Using economic analysis, the following attempts to determine if public or private universities are a better overall investment when considering the …

Hierarchy In The Medical Field, Rachel M. Eaton

Honors Projects

Prior to volunteering in a southern United States hospital setting I had only my preconceptions of hierarchy in medicine, but this hospital had a different reality. At the hospital, I noticed a decreased sensitivity to the hierarchical structure of medical professionals in the hospital. I was able to learn that these professionals intermingled very well. As a volunteer on a floor, I could not even differentiate between the different professions, as they all wore similar uniforms and interacted with everyone on the floor. While participating in this volunteer program, I noticed how the health professionals at Arkansas Children’s Hospital used …

The Laker Dream: A Short Guide For Grand Valley Students, Lucas Escalada

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

The Economic Impact Of The Huron River, Grand Valley State University, Paul Isely, Christian Glupker, Erik E. Nordman, Julie M. Cowie, Hailey Lamay

Other Faculty Publications

The Huron River and Huron River Water Trail are estimated to have the following economic impact on the five-county region in which they are located:

• $53.5M in annual economic output, which is the sum of $29.9M in direct spending and $23.6M in indirect and induced spending
• 641 local jobs added to the region
• $628M in added property value
• $150M in annual environmental value
• 2.6M visitor days

New Frontiers In Logistics Research: Theorizing At The Middle Range, Theodore P. Stank, Daniel Pellathy, Joonhwan In, Diane A. Mollenkopf, John E. Bell

Peer Reviewed Articles

Logistics has evolved from a description-based discipline to one based upon theoretical grounding from other business disciplines to define, explain and understand complex interrelationships, resulting in the identification of the discipline’s primary domain and major concepts – the “what’s” of logistics. General theories, however, lack the domain specificity critical to understanding the inner workings within key relationships – the how’s, why’s and when’s – that drive actual outcomes. Middle-range theorizing enables researchers to focus on these inner workings to develop a deeper understanding of the degree to, and conditions under which, logistics phenomena impact outcomes as well as the mechanisms …

The Economic Impact Of The Frederik Meijer Gardens And Sculpture Park, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker, Paul Isely

Other Faculty Publications

The Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park supports or contributes: • 804 jobs in Kent County annually

• A $75.2 million economic output annually
• Visitors from outside the county who directly spend $19.6 million at businesses around Kent County annually.
• Construction that created 39 jobs during the last year.
• 86% of the visitor spending is the result spending by individuals that do not live in Kent County.
• Nonresidents spent an average $129 per group outside the venue during their visit to Meijer Gardens while in Kent County.

The Timing Of Welfare Payments And Intimate Partner Violence, Lin-Chi Hsu

Funded Articles

I examine transfer schedules for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and find a causal relationship between the time directly after welfare payments and intimate partner violence against women. This study supports the hypothesis that the husband uses threats of violence as an instrument to gain control over the allocation of household resources, and suggests that the increased incidence in physical violence after welfare payments is associated with alcohol use. Additionally, I find that states that pay TANF recipients twice a month do not have this effect on threats of violence. This suggests that smaller, more frequent payments …