Business Commons^™

Women In Business Marketing: An Analysis Of The Glass Ceiling, Hailey Hornberger

Honors Theses

The glass ceiling phenomenon continues to be a widespread barrier affecting women in various professional fields, including business marketing. While female representation in business marketing is witnessing a significant increase, persistent barriers prevent successful women from advancing any further in their careers. The purpose of this research study was to understand the perspectives and experiences of women in business marketing professions. The key issues highlighted throughout this study include microaggressions in group settings, sexual harassment, balance of work and life, leadership dynamics, confidence and self-doubt, lack of support, and the gender pay gap. Secondary research was used as an initial …

Personal Insights: Navigating Informal Networks, Catherine Jordan

Honors Theses

As a non-traditional student, my journey through college has been anything but conventional. Unlike the typical high school-to-college transition, I embarked on my educational adventure later in life, balancing coursework with familial responsibilities and career aspirations. Within this paper, I will share my insights, my triumphs, my challenges, and the interactions that have shaped my experience. Join me as I unravel the unseen and intricate ties that link us together through learning and growth.

Presentation Format And Disclosure Overload: Evidence From The Public Sector, Melissa Hicks

Dissertations

Disclosure overload is a condition that occurs in some users of financial statement disclosures that may result in adverse effects, such as a lack of comprehension of information and increased time for cognitive processing. Disclosure overload research has focused primarily on decision quality and accuracy when using non-mandatory disclosures, largely excluding consideration of mandatory financial statement disclosures. This study examined mandatory financial statement disclosures through the lens of cognitive fit theory using an experimental research design. Cognitive fit theory was tested across different disclosure formats and at varying levels of financial accounting literacy to measure the effect on overload symptoms. …

Social Media Among College Students, Julia Martorano

Honors Projects

Within the past decade, social media has become a huge part of most peoples’ everyday life. People use social media to keep up with old friends, to see what their current friends and family are up to, to follow celebrities, and so much more. Researchers and the general public have begun to wonder if this obsession with social media is detrimental to individuals and society. Throughout my research, I strived to answer two research questions. “How does social media affect a college student’s GPA, productivity, and life satisfaction?” and “How do celebrities and companies create social media content that drives …

Sipping Success: A Complete Digital Marketing And Customer Journey Makeover For Local Business Mi Boba Using Principles Of Change Management, In-Store Experience Enhancements, And Website Redesign., Joanna Holecko

Honors Theses

Sipping Success captures the journey of customer experience and marketing strategies for a small, woman-owned business in Kalamazoo, Michigan: Mi Boba. Beginning with an in-depth analysis of existing in-store experience using reviews and interviews, this thesis uses insights to guide the creation of a customer service blueprint catered to creating the perfect Mi Boba interaction. From that blueprint, new signage and menus were created to improve the customer experience. Next, the website was completely redesigned to address issues of navigation, visual representation of products, and search engine optimization (SEO). These enhancements improved user experience, resulting in significant increases in website …

Happy Horn Business Plan, Joseph Schwarz

Honors Theses

As a current Starting Gate member and entrepreneurship major at WMU, I am always surrounded by business ideas and the thought of building and growing my own business. This is the main reason I have made a business plan for my business idea, the Happy Horn.

The Happy Horn is an add on horn attachment for every type of bike, E-bike, and E-scooter. This horn quickly and easily attaches to the handle bars and features 4 buttons. The first button being a normal horn sound. However, the other three buttons are linked to different tones. These tones are selected and …

"There Is Power In Being Out": A Three Article Approach Celebrating The Experiences Of Queer University Leaders, Andrew R. E. Lorenzana

Dissertations

Institutions of higher education were historically built to serve a wealthy, White, straight male student population and the leaders of these institutions still largely reflect these demographics. This project specifically aims to celebrate and amplify the life and career of university administrators who identify within the LGBTQ community. Mainly through the use of a portraiture methodology, this three-article study attempts to examine the ways in which LGBTQ identity and career influence one another.

Worldmaking and narrative will be used as a theoretical frame to help analyze the ways in which the telling of a queer individual’s story makes the world …

Perception Of Emotional Intelligence And Self Efficacy For School Business Officials At K-12 Districts, Agha Mirza

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in Chief Business Officials (CBOs) working in School Districts in the state of California.

Methodology: The primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy characteristics, employing a quantitative, correlational research design. The study involved a non-experimental approach to establish correlations between the identified variables and an explanatory design to elucidate the relationship between variables. Correlational research has been established as the most effective approach for examining correlations between phenomena and distinct population samples, which made …

Applying The Consumer Decision-Making Model To An On-Campus Coffee Shop, Madalynne Chapman

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research was to use the consumer decision-making model as a framework to assess if there are factors that may prompt (or not prompt) an individual to make a purchase at Forhan’s Café, a small coffee shop located inside of the Maurer Center at Bowling Green State University. To answer this, both a personal interview with a BGSU Dining staff member and an online survey of campus consumers were conducted. The personal interview was conducted to understand their current marketing strategies for the café and to guide the survey design. The online survey consisted of 24 questions …

A Comparative Study Of Monolingual And Multilingual Employees, Megan Baldry

Honors Theses

This study examined the relationship between linguistic status and work outcomes including organizational citizenship behaviors and affective commitment, as mediated by communication competence, leader-member exchange, and psychological safety. The study examines nine hypotheses about these relationships, attempting to find differences in relationships between the mediators and outcomes among linguistic groups (monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual).

The study does not find support for the hypotheses, finding no difference between linguistic groups in either of the workplace outcomes, nor does it find strong support that communication competence, leader-member exchange, or psychological safety mediate the relationship between linguistic status and either of the workplace …

Exploring The Perceptions And Experiences Of Remote Work Among Administrative Healthcare Personnel At An Academic Medical Center In The Southeastern United States: A Qualitative Investigation, Jonathan E. Young

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the attitudes and experiences of administrative healthcare employees toward remote work at an Academic Medical Center (AMC) in the Southeastern United States. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations rapidly shifted toward remote work to ensure safety, prompting questions regarding the sustainability of this model. Through semi-structured interviews, participants expressed a preference for remote work, citing increased productivity and job satisfaction. Flexibility emerged as a key benefit, allowing employees to effectively integrate professional and personal responsibilities. However, maintaining boundaries between work and personal life posed challenges, necessitating clear policies and support structures. This project contributes to existing …

Strategies For Financial Sustainability In Family-Owned Nonprofit Organizations, Lance W. Cain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The mission of many family-owned nonprofit organizations (FONPOs) is to provide goods and services to underserved communities and benefit society. However, less than 50% of FONPO leaders maintain sufficient cash reserves for 30 days of operations, and up to 13% are technically insolvent. Without adequate cash reserves, FONPO leaders risk decreased operational capacity and profitability, and insolvency, which may lead to business closure. Grounded in the resource-based view and commitment–trust theories, the purpose of this qualitative single-case case study was to explore strategies used by some organizational leaders to ensure the financial sustainability of FONPOs. The participants were four senior …

Ai Usage In The Insurance Industry: Future Or Fad, Carrie Stetler

Honors Projects

AI has garnered the attention of professionals from every industry and Insurance is no different. Join me to analyze the many ways AI is affecting this industry and others, as well as to answer the question, “Is AI really the future?”

College Football Success And Its Impact On The Surrounding Community, Local Economy, And Institution Enrollment, Jacob Reynolds

Honors Theses

In the ever-changing field of college football, creating success has always been a top priority for institutions, and if not achieved, it can be detrimental to an athletic department. Success is important to those directly involved in college football, however, not often is it considered how others may be affected by the success or failure of a college football program. The purpose of this research is to determine what impact successful college football programs have on society and those not directly involved in athletics. In determining the purpose, it was important to find what components of society are impacted by …

The Effect Of Massage Therapy On Test Anxiety Experienced By Traditional-Aged Undergraduate Business Students, Jorge A. Pazmiño

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Test anxiety impacts traditional-aged undergraduate business students and influences their academic performance and overall well-being. This study explored the efficacy of massage therapy (MT) as a means of mitigating test anxiety within this demographic. Building on existing literature that addresses the consequences of anxiety and alternative coping mechanisms, this research study focused on MT as a potential strategy for test anxiety management. The study employed the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale–College Version (AMAS-C) to gather data from participants at a private liberal arts institution in the East South-Central region of the United States. An experimental group received an MT intervention, while …

The Dearth Of Knowledge Of Health Insurance Literacy Within The United States, Katherine A. Conzet

Honors Thesis

This literature review and cross-comparison were conducted to combine resources that bring to light the lack of knowledge on health insurance, the impact of this low health insurance literacy (HIL), and the lack of research being done in this subject field. This thesis analyzes and compares different research that measures HIL levels and compares these findings. At the same time, this thesis presents the complex history of health insurance and how this understanding can contribute to lower population HIL and proposes different ways to accurately measure HIL. The purpose is to show the necessity for more research into the field …

What Effect Does Standards-Based Grading Versus Traditional Grading Have On Standardized Tests For Fifth-Grade Students In Mathematics In Arkansas?, Ruby Dean

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

WHAT EFFECT DOES STANDARDS-BASED GRADING VERSUS TRADITIONAL

GRADING HAVE ON STANDARDIZED TESTS FOR FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS IN ARKANSAS?

Ruby Earlene Dean

This study examined the effects of standards-based grading and traditional grading on standardized tests for fifth grade students in mathematics in Arkansas. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the type of grading system (traditional or standards-based) used to assess student progress makes a difference on the ACT Aspire results in fifth grade in mathematics. The information gleaned from this study will provide school leaders and teachers with information to make more informed decisions to …

Using Education To Protect The Elderly Against Fraud, Erik Charles

Honors College Theses

This study’s goal is to provide a guide to anyone looking to educate the elderly on fraud. Advice is provided for those who want to help an elderly person in their life and for people who wish to create fraud educations programs of their own. My own experience creating and giving a fraud lecture at a senior living facility is used as evidence for my advice, as well as research into various elderly and fraud related topics.

Strategies For Maintaining The Financial Viability Of Behavioral Health Programs, Antonia Alford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Business As Ministry In The Us Rural Midwest For The Common Good, Eric Zhong-Ming Ma

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

The rural Midwest region of the United States serves as a significant locus for American history, culture, and faith, in addition to being renowned as the nation’s primary agricultural hub for maize and soybeans production. Nevertheless, the prevailing body of literature pertaining to the integration of business and Christian ministry for the common good predominantly represented the viewpoints of individuals engaged in international missions or those involved in urban settings regarding the underlying purposes of business. Limited knowledge existed regarding the practices and perceptions of business as ministry stakeholders in the rural Midwestern United States concerning the concept of the …

Is It More State Than Trait? Within-Person Variability And Inter-Rater Agreement Of Feedback Orientation, Timothy J. Bartkoski

Dissertations

Feedback is a critical component of almost all performance management systems (Aguinis, 2009), and is often positively associated with individual and organizational effectiveness (e.g., Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Kim et al., 2016). Given this, researchers and practitioners have long sought to understand how and when feedback is likely to be most effective. Some promising new work has explored feedback orientation (FO), which describes a person’s overall receptivity to performance feedback (Linderbaum & Levy, 2010; London & Smither, 2002). Initial research has shown that FO is positively associated with feedback seeking (Dahling et al., 2012; Whitaker et al., 2012) and feedback …

A Mixed-Method Inquiry Into Rural School Principal Perspectives Regarding Inclusion Through Social Justice Leadership, Amy J. Konz

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of school building leaders (SBLs), also referred to as principals, regarding their facilitation of social justice leadership (SJL) and culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) practices to support student inclusion and belongingness within the K-12 educational setting in NYS. This research study fills the knowledge gap related to student belongingness through the principal's perspective and illuminates how SBLs support inclusion. First, nine high-need rural school principals participated in semi-structured interviews, and second, 101 SBLs from across NYS completed a survey using the Social Justice Behavior Scale (SJBS). Findings …

Building A Professional Community Of Practice Through Collaborative Inquiry, Christopher E. Stevens

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Little if any research has been conducted to determine the dynamics of and meaning derived by a group of professionals using collaborative inquiry (CI) to create a values and behaviors (VB) statement in the early stages of forming a community of practice (CoP). This case study involved individual interviews and other observational techniques to determine meanings derived from the inquiry and identify the value individuals and the group as a community may have gained from the CI. The research questions for this study addressed how using CI to establish the VB statement affected the development of the CoP, the meaning …

Does Participation Matter? Exploring The Role Of Participation In Corporate Leadership Development Programs On The Intent To Stay Of High-Potential Employees In The Biotech Industry, Glenna M. Griffin

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The idea of leadership development programs for high-potential employees within organizations has long been a standard for driving employee retention within organizations. Yet, employee retention is different from employee intent to stay. Retention metrics measure historical data, looking back to determine how long an employee has stayed in the organization. Employee intent to stay measures, at that moment, data that contribute to an employee’s motivation to stay with the organization. Employers spend significant budgets on leadership development programs for high-potential employees and report on that participation in company retention metrics. Does the investment in these programs also support an employee’s …

Exploring The Intersection Of Ethical And Virtuous Leadership: An Analysis Of Correlation And Interchangeability Of Measurement Tools, Ty H. Wenglar

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Exploring the nuanced dimensions of leadership within contemporary organizational contexts, in this study, I delved into the correlation and interchangeability between virtuous and ethical leadership paradigms. Anchored in a methodological framework that includes a thorough literature review and a correlation research design, I assessed the relationship between perceptions of virtuous leadership (measured by the virtuous leadership questionnaire) and ethical leadership (measured by the ethical leadership scale) among leaders and subordinates across a representative demographic of the professional business environment. Drawing from a qualified participant pool of 533, I found a statistically significant, direct, and robust correlation (r = .91, p < .001) between virtuous and ethical leadership perceptions. Simple linear regression analysis showed that perceptions of virtuous leadership significantly predict those of ethical leadership, explaining 83.02% of the variance in ethical leadership perceptions (F (1,531) = 2,596.06, p < .001, R² = .83). These findings illuminate the close alignment between the constructs of virtuous and ethical leadership and suggest the potential use of their measurement instruments interchangeably without modification. By challenging traditional leadership models and advocating for an integrated approach to moral leadership, I highlight the critical importance of fostering both ethical behaviors and virtuous traits for effective leadership. A discussion of the implications for leadership development within organizations and outline directions for future research is provided, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to cultivating leadership qualities that enhance organizational culture and effectiveness.

Personality Trait Theory And Combat Performance: A Retroactive Study Analyzing Combat Performance And Resilience Among Usaf Eod Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan, Michael C. Pasley

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The United States' national security depends upon high-performing leaders within select high-stress and high-risk military functional communities. However, research into the personality traits needed to perform well in these communities is lacking. This quantitative, retrospective, nonexperimental, correlational research aimed to determine whether relationships existed between the personality traits of Air Force EOD Team Leader Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their combat performance and resilience. The theoretical foundation of this study encompassed personality trait theory, theories of human resource management and performance, and criterion measurement theories. The TAKE5 FC, a commercially available forced-choice five-factor model personality assessment, measured personality traits. …

Exploring The Impact Of Workplace Spirituality On Millennials’ Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment Using The Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale, Nathan S. Gonzalez

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The aim of this research was to assess how meaning in life influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment among Millennials across diverse professions. Data were collected to examine these relationships comprehensively, employing the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. Despite extensive research in workplace spirituality, research on Millennials and meaning in life remains scarce. Methodologically, this research adopted a quantitative cross-sectional design involving 131 participants from 24 industries in the United States. Reliability analyses demonstrated the trustworthiness of the employed scales, with strong correlations observed between job satisfaction and organizational commitment with the dimensions of …

Innovative Retail: A Framework For The Future Of Brick-And-Mortar Retail In An Omnichannel Market, Mallory S. Strmel

Senior Theses

This thesis was intended to explore the how the role of innovation in customer experience has evolved since the advent of American retail and how it can inform primarily brick-and-mortar retailers on corporate strategy formulation as they prepare for Generation Z to become the primary wielders of purchasing power in the retail landscape. A literature review featuring analysis of two best-in-class retail chains alongside their historical context revealed that many of the innovations in customer experience strategy shaped consumer behavior going forward. To investigate, I conducted a nationwide survey of Generation Z consumers to ascertain their shopping preferences and the …

Informed Trading In Peers Of M&A Firms: Evidence From M&A Advisor Banks, Xuanbo Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

M&A advisor banks are privy to valuable and sensitive information through their service. I examine whether M&A advisor banks exploit such private information to trade in peers of M&A firms. I provide evidence that M&A advisor banks gain higher profits through their trading in peers of M&A firms, compared with non-advisor banks. Such informed trading is more intensive for M&A deals with larger impacts on peer firms (i.e., when the deal value is more significant for peer firms; when the M&A firms have larger market share in the industry; and when the stock price reactions of peer firms are stronger). …

Loose Purse Strings, Loose Cultures: How Resource Increase Affects Cultural Tightness-Looseness And Creativity In Large And Small Organizations, Caleb Chun Kwan Chu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

For over a decade, cultural tightness-looseness (TL) has established itself as a culture construct that is useful in diverse contexts at multiple levels. While most TL research has focused on TL consequences, less attention has been paid to TL antecedents. This dissertation proposes resource increase as a TL predictor and uses a resource-based perspective to review and extend extant TL literature. I empirically examine the effect of resource increase on incremental and radical creativity as mediated by TL at the team level. I also explore the moderating effect of organizational size on these team-level relationships. The data were drawn from …