Business Commons^™

Signaling Innovation: The Nontax Benefits Of Claiming R&D Tax Credits, Bradford F. Hepfer, Hannah W. Judd, Sarah C. Rice

Faculty Publications

Using the IPO setting, we test whether firms signal the quality of their investments in innovation activities by claiming R&D tax credits. We find the presence and amount of the R&D credit are each associated with lower information asymmetry and with higher investor demand at IPO. Conservatively, we estimate that sample firms realize additional IPO proceeds of 32–45 percent of their creditable R&D expenditures, indicating economically significant non-tax benefits associated with the R&D credit. We verify the R&D credit signal by showing its positive association with firms’ future patenting activity, patent citations, and post-IPO stock returns. Results from these tests …

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Foreign Tax Holiday Participation And U.S. Job And Investment Loss, Zackery D. Fox, Linda Krull, Scott G. Rane

Faculty Publications

We investigate whether foreign tax holiday participation among U.S. multinational companies is associated with offshoring U.S. jobs and other domestic investment activities. We find that foreign tax holiday participation is associated with (1) an increase in offshoring U.S. jobs and (2) a decrease in domestic investment, as proxied by changes in the number of employees, capital expenditures, and R&D activity. Furthermore, we find evidence suggesting that the association between targeted, temporary tax incentives provided by foreign tax holidays and firms’ domestic activities is stronger among firms with a smaller foreign presence and is distinct from the impact of foreign statutory …

To Compare Is Human: A Review Of Social Comparison Theory In Organizational Settings, Michael J. Matthews, Thomas K. Kelemen

Management Faculty Publications

Social comparisons are one of the most ubiquitous behaviors that individuals, groups, and firms undertake. In particular, social comparison theory is based upon the premise that actors are motivated to engage in comparisons and that decisions throughout this process impact employees’ core self-evaluations, team relations, executives’ behaviors, firm prestige, and more. However, despite the prevalence of the phenomenon—and thereby the frequent application of the theory in organizational studies—a synopsis of the theory’s underpinnings and extant findings remains absent. Here, we present a state-of-the-art review that summarizes the theory’s history and mechanics and critically examines how social comparison theory has been …

Effects Of Round-Up On The Environment, Sandra J. Marcu

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Many people around the world have used and still currently use Roundup but are unaware of the effects it has on the environment. Roundup is a spray on application weedkiller that is widely used around the world today both residentially and commercially. It enables its user to grow a garden or a field of crops with a no-tilling approach to eliminate weeds. It is a well-known and popular choice for killing weeds that has been around since the mid 1970’s (Oca, 2017). John Franz, a Monsanto scientist discovered that glyphosate (main ingredient in Roundup) was an herbicide or weedkiller, and …

Integrated Valuation Of The Ecological, Social And Economic Benefits Provided By A Multifunctional Nature-Based Solution, Laura Costadone, Shan Zhang

ODU Articles

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer multifunctional approaches to address climate change and environmental challenges, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional gray infrastructure. Despite their promise, widespread adoption remains limited, in part due to an incomplete understanding of their full costs and benefits relative to conventional infrastructure. Traditional benefit–cost analyses often overlook non-monetized benefits and the interconnected ecosystem services provided by NbS. This study introduces a methodological approach to quantify both the physical and monetary value of ecosystem services and co-benefits delivered by an NbS project. We applied an integrated valuation framework to a case study in Virginia Beach, VA, USA, where …

Accessibility In Hospitality, Marina Kearns, Reese Middendorf, Seonwoo Yoo, Kamran Ahmad, Matthew Olszewski, Krista Grant

Student Research Design & Innovation Symposium

Accessibility in hospitality venues can present significant challenges for individuals with both visible and invisible limitations. Individuals may benefit from a range of physical and/or cognitive accommodations. At Johnson & Wales University, the Spring Tiefel Scholars have conducted in-depth research on different aspects of accessibility, including mobility, neurodiversity, sensory impairments, respiratory limitations, religious and cultural considerations, and access for the unhoused. Their goal is to help make Rhode Island’s hospitality venues some of the most accessible in the United States. To achieve this, the Tiefel Fellows collaborated with the College of Health & Wellness and other experts to develop a …

A Second Glance, Madeleine Gould

Student Research Design & Innovation Symposium

Success in retail is designed, not discovered. This project followed the challenge of designing a comprehensive business model for a hypothetical retail store, Second Glance. The objective of this project was to accurately simulate the real-world complexities that retail businesses face. It required significant research as well as the application of everything the presenter learned in the Fashion Merchandising and Retailing major curriculum. To start, a situation analysis was conducted to establish marketing positioning as a retailer that specializes in preloved clothing. The target market consisted of 18–25-year-old fashion-forward college students with a low income. Primarily operating as an ecommerce …

Epicuria Food Hall, Gabrielle Tringali

Student Research Design & Innovation Symposium

Epicuria Food Hall (EFH) was developed to create a unique, community-focused dining experience in Manchester, New Hampshire. The initiative addressed common challenges in the dining landscape, such as consumer indecisiveness, group dining struggles, lack of sustainable options, and need for inviting workspaces. EFH introduced an experiential dining destination featuring 9 diverse food and beverage concepts. It emphasized collaboration with small business owners through licensing agreements to showcase established restaurant concepts while retaining flexibility for new ventures.

Epicuria Food Hall featured thoughtfully themed dining areas and offered engaging experiences such as cooking classes, flights, and a speakeasy. A commitment to sustainability …

Nirsa Student Referees: Exploring The Connection Between Sense Of Community And Positive Health And Well-Being Outcomes, Jacob K. Tingle

School of Business Faculty Research

Despite working in complex environments, which require managing antagonistic and abusive relationships, sport referees are essential to ensure fair and safe competition. Evidence suggests officiating can positively impact well-being and officiating communities provide social support. Despite those positives, there remains a shortage of qualified officials, which is compounded by aging referee populations. These concerns emphasize the need to attract young people and examine well-being benefits resulting from involvement in officiating communities. As such, the aim of this study is to help NIRSA professionals better understand how the community or social networks made through officiating intramural sports could better support student …

Corruption Perception, Institutional Quality And Stock Prices: Evidence From The Egyptian Capital Market, Rasha Elbolok, Gina Eltabei, Dina Hassouna

Business Administration

This study examines the impact of institutional quality and corruption perception on stock prices in the Egyptian capital market, with a focus on the post-revolution period from to . Using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology, this study provides empirical evidence on the significant role of macro-political factors and firm-specific variables in shaping stock market dynamics. The findings reveal that institutional quality, characterized by governance efficiency, regulatory frameworks, and the rule of law, positively correlates with stock prices. Similarly, enhanced corruption perception control significantly boosts investor confidence, leading to increased market valuations. Firm-level factors such as Tobin’s Q and …

Salary Negotiation Dynamics For Athletic Trainers: Insights From Employers On Expectations And Organizational Influences, Julie M. Cavallario, Forrest Andrews, Kendallyn Johnson, Katherine Schalk, Cailee E. Welch Bacon

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context

While researchers have previously identified that most athletic trainers (ATs) do not negotiate their salary, little is known about employers' expectations and behaviors relative to establishing and negotiating salaries for the ATs they hire.

Objective

To examine employers' expectations and behaviors regarding AT salary negotiation.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Web-based survey.

Patients or other participants

413 employers who are in a role that requires them to negotiate salary offers with prospective AT employees and who have minimally hired one AT into the organization they work for accessed the survey from a random sample of 7,000 ATs (6% access rate); 324 …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Adaptive Selling: Toward An Integrative Framework, Nawar N. Chaker, Rhett T. Epler, Gabriel Moreno, Dana Amiri, Elizabeth G. Mcdougal

Marketing Faculty Publications

Adaptive selling represents a notable and influential concept in the marketing literature. Despite being discussed in scholarly research and managerial practice for over forty years and mixed findings about its impact, a comprehensive understanding of the construct of adaptive selling remains missing. To remedy this critical knowledge gap, we conduct a comprehensive review of 188 articles across twenty-seven journals. We combine three approaches in our survey of the literature, including a systematic review, a main path analysis, and a bibliographic analysis. Together, this three-prong review offers profound insights into the state of adaptive selling research by (1) mapping the key …

(In)Attention To Attractive Brand Alternatives, Danielle J. Brick, Veronica L. Thomas

Marketing Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers maintain their brand relationships has important implications for marketers as committed consumers contribute significant value to firms. In the present research, we propose and test one such way consumers protect their brand relationships, namely through attentional avoidance of attractive alternative partners. Across multiple studies, we find support for our theory that committed consumers avoid attending to alternative brand partners by recalling less about and spending less time focused on attractive alternatives. We further find that this inattention occurs because consumers view the competing brand as a threat to the consumer’s current relationship. In addition, we investigate a …

Pan-Caribbean Airlines: Unlocking Regional Aviation Potential, Dimitrios V. Siskos, Alexander Maravas, Jordan Karatzas

Publications

The Caribbean's air transport system is facing significant challenges, including operational fragmentation, excessive costs, and inadequate inter-island connectivity. These challenges limit its ability to support the region’s heavily tourism-dependent economies. This research evaluates whether consolidating small Caribbean airlines into a single or virtual Pan-Caribbean carrier could transform regional air travel. Based on financial analysis, historical traffic data, and case comparisons with airline mergers in South America and the US, the paper simulates the anticipated efficiencies resulting from route consolidation, fleet standardization, and common operational services. The research concludes that consolidation may create a regional GDP impact of up to $3.3 …

From Normal To Disaster Response Mode: How Can Virtual Communities Reconfigure Themselves To Respond Effectively To A Disaster?, Mahmudul Hasan, Cecil Eng Huang Chua, Michael David Myers, Varqa Shamsi Bahar

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

During a disaster, many people seek information from virtual communities. However, information overload, falsehoods and unrelated topics hinder information flow in virtual communities, putting disaster victims at risk. Given many disasters are generally of a short duration, we explore how virtual communities can quickly reconfigure themselves to respond effectively to a disaster. Drawing on risk society theory, our findings suggest reconfiguration is done via a series of cycles initially involving community members and subsequently featuring both community members and moderators working together to mitigate risks. We contribute to virtual community discourse on disaster response by showing how a virtual community …

A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jess Chua, James J. Chrisman, Zhenyu Wu, Alfredo De Massis, Pramodita Sharma, Lloyd P. Steier, Franz W. Kellermanns, Josip Kotlar, Emanuela Rondi, Bingbing Ge, Chevy-Hanqing Fang

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Jess Chua was a leading scholar in the field of family business and a major contributor to Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice both as an author and editor. His significant contributions to the field were acknowledged by the Web of Science, which listed him among the world's most highly cited researchers in Economics and Business in 2017, 2019, and 2020. In this memorial editorial, we pay tribute to him by discussing his influence on the field through his academic work, mentoring, long-term collaborations with other scholars, and the kindness he and his wife, Eva Kan, showed to his colleagues and students.

Managing Digital Transformation With Blockchain: Distributed Ledger Innovation Platforms, Nobuyuki Fukawa, Gregory J. Fisher

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Realizing its overarching potential in achieving digital transformation, leading organizations, such as Air New Zealand, have recently employed blockchain technology to manage 3D printing innovation. Despite the potential benefits, including the key role of blockchain as a supporting technology in Industry 5.0, these applications of blockchain technology in 3D printing are still at a nascent stage in practice and mostly limited to producer innovation. Additionally, 3D printing and blockchain technologies are often independently revolutionizing value capture and value creation, whereas the theoretical implications of their combined impacts on innovation management remain an underexplored domain. Limited digital transformation efforts have been …

Modeling Ion-Specific Effects In Polyelectrolyte Brushes: A Modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck Model, William J. Ceely, Marina Chugunova, Ali Nadim, James D. Sterling

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polyelectrolyte brushes consist of a set of charged linear macromolecules, each tethered at one end to a surface. An example is the glycocalyx which refers to hair-like negatively charged sugar molecules that coat the outside membrane of all cells. We consider the transport and equilibrium distribution of ions and the resulting electrical potential when such a brush is immersed in a salt buffer containing monovalent cations (sodium and/or potassium). The Gouy-Chapman model for ion screening at a charged surface captures the effects of the Coulombic force that drives ion electrophoresis and diffusion but neglects non-Coulombic forces and ion pairing. By …

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Employees' Psychological Safety, Minahil Khan

SSLA Culminating Experience

This study explored how psychological safety manifests in the workplace and how it is influenced by transformational leadership. Using quantitative survey data from 101 employees—pre-dominantly based in Karachi, Pakistan—the research investigated the relationship between psychological safety and transformational leadership. It also explored whether there is a gender difference in the employees’ perception of transformational leadership and psychological safety. Findings indicate that transformational leadership has a significant positive correlation of 0.734 with psychological safety, which in turn enhances employees’ willingness to speak up and engage in creative problem-solving. Additionally results also indicated that there is no statistically significant gender difference in …

Import Wheat Tenders And The Effects Of The Russian Invasion, William W. Wilson, Sumadhur Shakya, Isaac Dubovoy

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Risk and volatility for many commodities escalated sharply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, creating numerous uncertainties for trading firms and importers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the bidding behavior in Egyptian wheat import tenders in the pre- and post-invasion periods. Bids for each bidder in individual tenders were analyzed for the period from 2017 to mid-2023. The results indicate that before invasion, there were lower standard errors, margins, and higher probabilities of bidding. These changed in the post-invasion period and as a result the probability of winning, optimal bids and implied margins increased. Implications were identified …

Racial Minorities In Strategic Leadership: An Integrative Literature Review And Future Research Roadmap, Yangyang Zhang, Ann Mooney, Sibel Ozgen

Management Faculty Works

Bolstered by their slow but increasing representation, racial minority strategic leaders have started to capture significant research attention across disciplines. We review this emergent literature, synthesizing and integrating the research progress to date across the 147 articles we identified. Our review highlights a range of factors that have been found to influence racial minority representation in strategic leadership positions, including factors at the firm, board, individual, and environmental levels. We also summarize how such representation has been found to affect firm outcomes (e.g., firm performance, innovation) as well as the careers of the racial minority leaders (e.g., compensation, promotion). Despite …

Immersive And Generative Technology: New Tools For Marketing, New Tools For Consumer Response, David W. Stewart, Gabrielle Pizzi, Shashi Matta, Federica Caboni

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Immersive technologies, including AR, VR, XR, and generative technologies such as Gen‐AI, are reinventing marketing practice and consumer experience. In this article we provide an introductory review of how these technologies are (re)shaping consumer behavior in domains where the physical and digital converge, and consumers' response to them. Our review finds that while immersive technologies enhance engagement through personalization and multisensory feedback, they also raise concerns about accessibility, authenticity, and digital fatigue. Similarly, Gen‐AI, which is transforming many facets of marketing, including customer service, product development, marketing communications, and consumer research, raises new questions related to attribution, co‐creation, authenticity, and …

Effects Of Household Characteristics On Low-Income Family Businesses: Evidence From India, Madhubalan Viswanathan, Saravana Jaikumar, Shantanu Dutta, Arun Sreekumar

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Purpose: What are the effects of household characteristics on returns for entrepreneurs in low-income settings? Referred to as subsistence consumer–merchants or consumer–entrepreneurs in the marketing literature and necessity entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurship literature, such entrepreneurs run family businesses to survive and make ends meet. This paper aims to investigate how various household-level factors (education), individual-level factors (education and gender) and the type of enterprise (retail vs manufacturing) impact returns from low-income family businesses compared to high-income family businesses. Design/methodology/approach: Using panel data from the India Human Development Surveys (IHDS), the study uses a fixed-effects regression approach to analyze household-level and …

Intensive Longitudinal Models, Robert E. Ployhart, Paul D. Bliese, Sam D. Strizver

Faculty Publications

Intensive longitudinal models (ILMs) allow researchers to analyze nested data collected through frequent measurements—typically 20 or more repeated occasions—over densely spaced durations. Rather than being a single statistical approach, ILMs encompass various models unified by their capability to handle densely collected longitudinal data. We briefly summarize the nature of intensive longitudinal designs and why such designs require the use of ILMs. We then provide a classification typology to help readers understand the features of an ILM they should adopt. This classification typology provides the structure for a narrative review of existing ILM research. We conclude with specific recommendations for using …

Theatre For The People: Exploring The Need For A New National Theatre, Kai Yamanishi

Theatre and Dance Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the theater industry that have seen dozens of venues across the country laying off workers, shortening seasons, and even closing altogether. Costs have risen, audiences have been slow to return, and traditional sources of funding have dried up. What then, are theaters to do? By conducting an economic analysis and examining published and original interviews with theater practitioners, this essay explores this crisis as it has affected the regional nonprofit theater sector, specifically the members of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). It concludes that LORT’s model is no longer sustainable because of its …

Reconciling Jekyll And Hyde: The Future Of Masculinity Research Within The Domestic Violent Extremism Context, Sam T. Hunter, Brett H. Neely, Carter Welch, Amanda N. Moeller

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Violence among young men in the United States has escalated in recent years, leading to two contrasting perspectives of young men—either as (a) agentic aggressors or (b) by-products of societal shifts that have caused disadvantage. The first perspective characterizes men as entitled and reactionary, prone to aggression when their societal expectations are unmet. This view aligns with the frustration-aggression hypothesis in which unmet desires lead to hostile behaviors, particularly among individuals who perceive a loss of status and significance. Conversely, the second perspective views men as victims of rapid societal changes, such as job displacement, educational disparities, and shifting gender …

Transit-Oriented Development On Aquidneck Island: Considering The Costs And Benefits Of Restoring Passenger Rail Between Fall River, Massachusetts, And Newport, Rhode Island, Maeve M. Newton

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This thesis considers the costs and benefits of restoring historic infrastructure as transit-oriented development on Aquidneck Island, and its potential to bridge social and economic gaps between the urban communities of Newport, Rhode Island, and Fall River, Massachusetts. There is a direct need for more robust public transportation on Aquidneck Island along with environmentally friendly planning initiatives, and reinstating the Newport Secondary Rail Line for passenger rail service to the new Fall River MBTA station is one important way for historic preservation to be utilized for the improvement of sustainability and socioeconomic equity in the region. Original research will be …

America’S Hidden Heroine: The Revolutionary Experience Of Deborah Sampson, Rebecca A. Dawson

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This thesis explores the life of Deborah Sampson, a female soldier in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the American Revolution. The author discusses how and why Sampson joined the military, the challenges she had to overcome, and her experience as the first American woman to lead a public lecture tour. Sampson continues to serve as an embodiment of resilience, courage, and the Spirit of ‘76.

Cyberattacks On Port Infrastructures: A Decade Of Trends, Incidents, And Mitigation Strategies (2011-2024), Minodora Badea, Olga Bucovetchi, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Gabriel Raicu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Port infrastructures are critical to global trade, handling over 80% of the world's cargo by volume. However, their increasing reliance on digital technologies has exposed them to a wide range of cyber threats. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of cyberattacks targeting port infrastructures from 2011 to the present. We examine the types of attacks, geographical distribution, notable incidents, and underlying vulnerabilities. Additionally, we discuss mitigation strategies and future directions for enhancing cybersecurity in the maritime sector. Our findings highlight the urgent need for robust regulatory frameworks, advanced technological solutions, and collaborative efforts to safeguard critical port operations.