Business Commons^™

2023-May-01-Level Up- Discover The Future Of Gaming, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

ETSU Esports is forging a path in the collegiate gaming community, striving to come out on top as a leader in the industry. 

Esports is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and by embracing this new modern athlete, ETSU is going beyond what was thought possible in the gaming industry. The esports team is focused on providing students with opportunities that will accelerate them in their future careers by allowing them to gain leadership, marketing, broadcasting, video editing and production experience.  

“Working in the esports industry and the general, online video production industry is something that I …

2023-May-01-Quillen College Of Medicine Graduates 70 Students, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine celebrated commencement on Friday with 70 students being awarded their Doctor of Medicine degree.

This summer, the Class of 2023 will disperse to their residencies across 20 states and the District of Columbia. The Class of 2023 matched into 15 different specialties and enjoyed a 100% match rate for the second straight year.

“While many members of the Class of 2023 will spread out across the nation to complete their residency training, we know they will represent Quillen well wherever they end up,” said Dr. Bill Block, ETSU vice president for clinical …

2023-May-01-Tony Treadway Appointed To Etsu Board Of Trustees, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Tony Treadway, president and CEO of The Creative Energy Group Inc., to the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Board of Trustees.

Treadway, a native of Erwin and an ETSU graduate, brings to the board a rich and varied background as a journalist, brand marketing strategist and community leader. In his capacity as founder of a top advertising agency based in Johnson City, Treadway has continuously championed ETSU, employing many of its graduates and contributing to significant university initiatives, including the creation of the William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.

Tony Treadway

"Tony’s deep roots …

Kate Spade Strategic Analysis, Cydne Munson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Kate Spade is an American luxury handbag and accessory company. The company is best known for its fun yet timeless and functional designs and has been a highly regarded and recognized brand since its inception nearly thirty years ago. This report explores the history of the Kate Spade brand and its resources that contribute to competitive advantages in the industry. A Porter’s Five Forces analysis and a PESTEL analysis are used to examine Kate Spade’s external environment and the luxury handbag industry as a whole. Finally, potential future threats and strategies to counteract them are examined.

Johnson & Johnson Strategic Audit, Hannah Headley, Lucy Peterkin, Ryan Nyffeler, Joshua Wiemers, Bailey Birkholtz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is a healthcare company that generates economic value from its three core business segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices. Recent innovations include new pharmaceutical products, remote clinical trials, automated patient recruitment, improved scientific and digital literacy amongst employees, and innovative digitized models for supply chain planning. J&J has a competitive edge in R&D efficiency, with a 4.35 return on research capital ratio. Sociocultural, technological, and economic factors will play a large role in changing the pharmaceutical industry environment, and J&J is well positioned to benefit from sources of growth such as the increase in aging …

Nvidia Corporation: Pc Gaming Industry Strategic Audit, Charlie Peng

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nvidia is a semiconductor company focusing on high-performance computer graphics technology. The company designs graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used in a variety of fields such as data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and gaming. This paper seeks to examine Nvidia’s position within the PC gaming industry. First, PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses are used to detail the overall PC gaming industry. The next section examines how Nvidia competes through its strategy, resources, and competitive advantages. Finally, future challenges and recommendations to position the company are explored.

Mckinsey & Company: People And Organizational Performance Strategic Analysis, Sadie Richards

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

McKinsey & Company is an international management consulting firm for businesses, governments, and institutions. It is one of the five largest consulting services in the United States and one of the “Big Three” management consulting firms of the United States. This report focuses on McKinsey & Company’s People and Organizational Performance sector and provides an internal and external analysis to understand how it has gained and maintained a sustainable competitive advantage in its industry. Specifically, this report uses Porter’s Five Forces and a PESTEL Analysis as tools to analyze the macro environment and competition within the industry. Recommendations are given …

Marriott International: A Managerial Strategic Audit, Brooke Eschenbrenner, Alex Zlatic, Madison Bechtel, Brandon Collins, Charlotte Straley, Grant Gubbels

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A strategic management audit of the public firm, Marriott International, was conducted to identify various factors and managerial strategies that affect Marriott and the global hotels and tourism industry. At the industry level, we conducted a PESTEL and Five Forces analysis, researched the competitive landscape, and assessed the total value potential. We found that the industry experienced a major decline during the COVID-19 pandemic but saw recovery as international travel opened up again. On the company level, we conducted an internal analysis, identified Marriott’s management structure, and identified the firm’s structure and strategies through a SWOT analysis and other relevant …

Northern Oil & Gas Strategic Audit, Jacob Hansen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Northern Oil & Gas is an energy company that operates in various basins across the United States. The company utilizes a non-operating model, meaning it does not drill wells or operate rigs, but rather partners with operators and acquires fractional working interests in drilling units. This report seeks to understand Northern Oil & Gas’ business model by examining its competitive strategy, advantages, and resources. Internal and external environmental factors are also analyzed using both PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Five Forces. In addition, key challenges facing the company are explored and recommendations are given on how Northern Oil & Gas can …

Ethics-Related Cheap Talk In 10-Ks, Sedat Erdogan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, I investigate the existence of direct ethics-related cheap talk in 10-Ks. Firms can utilize ethics-related language in 10-Ks to emphasize the importance of ethics or ethical behaviors. Direct ethics-related language in corporate financial disclosures may increase the stakeholdersâ?? expectation that firms act ethically. However, ethics-related language in 10-Ks shows cheap talk characteristics since it is qualitative, unaudited, not binding, and not costly to generate. As a result, firms may increase the extent of direct ethics-related language in 10-Ks to obfuscate corporate financial disclosures to confuse stakeholders. I focus on regulatory and financial pressure sources to understand ethics-related …

Online Food Delivery Platforn Use By Restaurants, Jessica Felix Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

During the COVID-19, many restaurants were forced to adopt online food delivery platforms such as Door Dash, Uber Eats to serve their clientele. In this dissertation, I examine the following research question: what challenges and benefits did restaurant managers consider to adopt online food delivery platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question, I present three essays. In the first essay, I reviewed the existing academic and practitioner literature on the research context, identified the major players in the food delivery industry, and summarized the challenges that restaurants faced during the pandemic. In the second essay, I identified what …

Essays On Reit Founder Ceos, Michael Mcgonigle

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

I explore how founder CEOs influence the firm. In my first chapter I examine how founderCEO risk-aversion affects firm capital structure. Using book and market leverage ratios to proxy for risk aversion, I show that REITs with founder CEOs have less leverage than other REITs. This result holds when controlling for firm size, firm age, tangibility, profitability, growth potential, diversification strategy, property-type fixed effects and year fixed effects. I use a propensity score matching methodology to examine whether the reduced leverage is due to factors other than a CEO's founder status. The results do not support that notion. I use …

Determining The Degree To Which Ideational Behavior Predicts Occupational Identity Achievement In Emerging Adult College Students Preceding Entry Into The Fourth Industrial Revolution Workforce, Carrington M. Faulk

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

As emerging adults transition into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) workforce, it is essential to understand the factors that predict successful occupational identity achievement, as automation will impact human occupational identity crises. This descriptive cross-sectional study implemented a correlation design to determine the degree to which ideational behavior predicts occupational identity achievement preceding entry into the 4IR workforce. Using a sample of 166 emerging adult college students from a Mid-Atlantic, diverse, four-year university, data were collected using Runco’s Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) and Melgosa’s Occupational Identity Achievement subscale (OIA). Results showed that ideational behavior significantly predicted occupational identity achievement ( …

Creating Jo, Jenna Olson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

With the rise of technology, physical invitations have largely been replaced by digital invitations and e-cards. This change in invitation culture has led to less time and energy being spent on celebrating important life events. I created JO to help individuals elevate the important moments in their lives through intentional communication and beautiful designs. JO products seek to display effective, aesthetically pleasing, and meaningful messaging. This project documents my business, JO, through a written business plan and website.

A business plan aims to demonstrate a well-developed idea to gain support and investment. My business plan includes an executive summary, company …

Performance Classification Of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-Type Models Using Fractal Analysis Of Time Series Data., Peter Kwadwo Asante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims to assess the performance of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-type models by examining the fractal characteristics of time series data from various sources, including finance, volcanic and earthquake events, US COVID-19 reported cases and deaths, and two simulated time series with differing properties. The time series data is categorized as either a Gaussian or a Lévy process (Lévy walk or Lévy flight) by using three scaling methods: Rescaled range analysis, Detrended fluctuation analysis, and Diffusion entropy analysis. The outcomes of this analysis indicate that the financial indices are classified as Lévy walks, while the volcanic, earthquake, and COVID-19 data are classified …

Ceo Political Ideology And Risk Factor Disclosure, Jiwoo Seo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

I examine whether and how CEO political ideology affects risk factor disclosure. Since 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has required U.S. firms to disclose risk factors in their 10-K filings. While prior studies document that this required disclosure increases the information content of financial reports, there is limited evidence on how Chief Executive Officer (CEO) personality traits influence risk factor disclosure. In this paper, I focus on CEOs' political ideology to proxy for their personality traits. Using CEOs' personal political contributions data to capture their political ideology, I find that firms with Republican-leaning CEOs provide less risk factor …

Neuromarketing As A Scale Validation Tool: Understanding Individual Differences Based On The Style Of Processing Scale In Affective Judgements, Meng-Hsien (Jenny) Lin, William Jones, Terry L. Childers

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper revisits a well-cited and widely applied consumer scale, Style of Processing (SOP) (Childers et al., Journal of Consumer Research, 1985, 12, 125), that has been used to investigate individual differences in processing visual versus verbal information in marketing. The scale has advanced knowledge in fields related to marketing communications, product development, psychology, advertising, education and learning theories, shedding light on our understanding of consumer psychology related to persuasion, comprehension, memory, and other consumer cognitive processes involving information. In a research dialog that took place in 2008, a need for further SOP validation was suggested using a neuromarketing approach. …

Affordances And Information Systems Research: Taking Stock And Moving Forward, Mostafa Mesgari, Kaveh Mohajeri, Bijan Azad

Information Systems and Business Analytics Faculty Works

The term affordance appears with increasing frequency in the Information Systems (IS) literature. Nevertheless, those who study information technologies/information systems (IT/IS) via the affordance lens often have different views about its origin, meaning, and appropriate application in IS research. In turn, not spelling out the related assumptions and boundaries inherent in these diverse views may have hindered a wider and more cumulative adoption of the affordance lens in IS research. This paper offers a potential solution by (1) synthesizing the ecological psychology literature to suggest five key modules of the affordance concept relevant to IS research and (2) taking stock …

Assessing Leadership In Business: A Critical Investigation Of Elon Musk, Agnieszka Miklaszewicz

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of Elon Musk's leadership style across all his companies. Elon Musk, known for his passion for innovation and helping humanity, has founded and led several successful companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and Twitter. The paper explores Musk's background, including his early entrepreneurial ventures and risk-taking attitude, highlighting his unique approach to leadership. The analysis focuses on Musk's leadership characteristics, drawing on the article "Decoding Leadership: What Really Matters," which identifies effective leadership traits such as being supportive, results-oriented, seeking different perspectives, and problem-solving. Furthermore, the paper examines Musk's leadership styles based …

Business Viability & Communication Potential Of Modern Education Models, Santiago Frank

Senior Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education sector at large. This study aims to investigate which current education model best balances the sub-criteria of business viability and communication efficacy in the milieu of our modern context. In this study, five education models have been studied in order to uncover their performance in these two sub-criteria. Each model is analyzed in terms of its objective performance. The results reveal that in-person education provides slightly better scores for communication efficacy as well as much higher student and faculty satisfaction, while online education is incredibly economically viable. While the data is unclear, in …

Friends Can Help: The Effects Of Relationship In The Chinese Book-Building Process, Ting Luo, Wei Luo, Heng Yue, Lu Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using detailed bidding information in Chinese IPO book-building process, we find that institutional investors who have a close relationship with the underwriter are more likely to participate in bidding and their bidding prices are higher, compared to other institutional investors. We also find that related institutional investors bid higher when the underwriter is more likely to need or receive their support. Further analysis suggests that related institutional investors gain some benefits for their support to the underwriter, including receiving more shares in profitable IPOs, better timing their exit from the IPO in the open market, and receiving more optimistic earnings …

The Role Of The Similarity Between Suppliers' And Buyers' Sustainability Practices In Improving Suppliers' Performance: An Empirical Investigation, Kwanheui Cheon

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has become an essential component of corporate survival and prosperity. As a result, companies are eager to introduce sustainability to every part of their businesses. In addition, because stakeholders' interest has spread from companies to their entire supply chain, companies must manage their relationships with other supply chain members regarding sustainability. Consequently, there has been an interest in investigating the implementation and management of sustainability along supply chains. However, there are still voids in sustainable supply chain management research. For example, scholars have pointed out the need for research on sustainability from a supplier perspective as opposed to the …

Investigating The Costs And Economic Impact Of Flight Delays In The Aviation Industry And The Potential Strategies For Reduction, Ashmith Anupkumar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study addressed a critical issue in our travel life: flight delays. This study covers all aspects of a flight delay, from its causes and consequences to reduction strategies. The focused research questions were: To determine the outcome of flight delays in the aviation industry, to determine costs associated with flight delays for airlines, airports, and passengers, and to determine strategies for reducing flight delays in the aviation industry for robust findings. The findings for each question were as follows: the primary causes were overscheduling, airport hubbing, late check-ins, technical failure, etc. And the consequences were significant financial loss, the …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Ransomware Attacks In Healthcare, Jasler Klien Adlaon

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project conducted a Systematic Literature Review of ransomware in the healthcare industry. Due to COVID-19, there has been an increase in ransomware attacks that took healthcare by surprise. Although ransomware is a common attack, the current healthcare infrastructure and security mechanisms could not suppress these attacks. This project identifies peer-viewed literature to answer these research questions: “What current ransomware attacks are used in healthcare systems? “What ransomware attacks are likely to appear in the future?” and “What solutions or methods have been used to prepare, prevent, and recover from these attacks?” The purpose of this research is …

Identifying Effective Attributes And Trends In The Evolution Of Enterprise Architecture In Healthcare, Brian Gaul

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine which attributes within existing Enterprise Architecture frameworks are trending in recent, successful implementations within healthcare. The research questions were: Q1. What attributes were used within Enterprise Architecture in the healthcare industry? Q2. What are the limitations of those attributes? Q3. How can those attributes assist in successful Enterprise Architecture implementations? To uncover these attributes in practical work, this study used a trend analysis of current qualitative data of the healthcare industry and in recent implementations. The findings were as follows: Q1. Eight attributes were identified in practical healthcare work, the two most …

Healthcare Data Breaches: Analysis And Prevention, Nikita S. Dean

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

It is evident that the healthcare sector continues to experience data breaches. This culminating experience project focuses on the need to maintain patient data privacy, minimize financial risks, and address public health concerns. The study examined data collected from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2018 to 2023 to answer the following research questions: Q1. How many individuals are affected due to data breaches in healthcare & which States had the most affected individuals? Q2. What are the most common causes of healthcare data breaches & what measures can be taken to prevent this? and Q4. What are …

The Effects Of Organizational Justice, Anneliese Yuenger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The aim of the present study was to examine the perceptions of organizational justice on employee outcomes of work engagement, burnout, turnover intentions, and presenteeism. The study used survey data from 329 employees who worked over 30 hours per week in the last six months. Data were analyzed using SPSS 28 and Hayes PROCESS Macro to assess descriptive statistics, correlation, simple linear regression, and mediated path analyses. The results of the study found that perceptions of organizational justice (POJ) positively related to engagement. An inverse relationship was found for POJ, burnout, turnover intention, and presenteeism. Overall, engagement and burnout were …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Fan Attendance To Sports Events: The Case Of Major League Baseball, Alondra Aleman

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the world in 2020 causing nationwide lockdowns in many countries. During this time in 2020, the MLB shortened their regular season and played with no spectators in attendance. This project aims to provide insights into the impact of the MLB stadium closures on fan attendance. The research questions asked are: (Q1) How did MLB stadium closures during the COVID-19 lockdowns affect individual teams' attendance in the seasons after COVID-19? (Q2) What factors influenced MLB stadium attendance pre-COVID-19? (Q3) What factors influence MLB stadium attendance post-COVID-19? An empirical model was developed through recommendations from past studies. The …

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

All Theses

Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Revolutionizing Agriculture Through Digital Twins, Mohsen Attaran, Sharmin Attaran, Bilge Gokhan Celik

Marketing Department Faculty Book Publications

The rise of digital twin (DT) technology is transforming the way businesses operate, with its applications and use cases expanding across various industries. This article focuses on the agriculture industry and explores how DT can enable intelligent automation. Through a comprehensive review of DT's concept, evolution, and development, as well as a discussion of its key enabling technologies, trends, and challenges, the authors identify potential use cases for DT in agriculture. By presenting this analysis, this article aims to provide insights into how DT can streamline operations and enhance productivity in the agriculture industry.