Business Commons^™

Articulator Q1 2025

Metro Denver Dental Society Articulator Magazine

This issue features speakers from the 2025 Rocky Mountain Dental Convention (RMDC) and additional content including:

• A feature from Prof. Dr. Anne O'Connell on traumatic dental injuries in pediatric patients.
• A recap from Dr. Jack Nguyen of cutting-edge dental products and technologies presented at Innovation 360 during the 2025 RMDC.
• A feature from Drs. Karen Tindall and Laura Schwindt exploring science-backed strategies for stress management, mindfulness and fostering a positive workplace culture.
• An article from Mr. David Bashford detailing the ins and outs of Colorado's regulations on paid leave.
• An exploration of AI in dentistry from Ms. Laura Ramsey from …

Understanding And Implementing Fashion Sustainability: An Academic Course, Paige M. Baldwin

Theses

This project outlined a fashion sustainability course meant to be taught at a degree-awarding educational institution. The course explores the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the fashion industry. Students learn about sustainable practices, materials, and design principles. Students also study consumer behavior, supply chain management, and government policies related to sustainable fashion. The literature and research looked at the current fashion industry landscape and the sustainability issues that are being addressed, the current educational landscape of fashion programs in the United States of America, and the current literature regarding building an effective curriculum in the 21st century.

High-Impact Practices (Hips) Spectrum: Introducing The High-Engagement Experiences (Hees) Taxonomy, Kathryn Marten, Dianne D. Murphy, Heather L. Kaminski, Mathew Dornbush

Management Faculty Research and Publications

High-Engagement Experiences, or HEEs, are introduced as part of a new classification taxonomy: The High-Impact Practices (HIPs) Spectrum. The introduction of the HIPs Spectrum is relevant because it expands educators’ definition of HIPs from binary to a more nuanced continuum, which lays the foundation for future research on HIPs and HEEs that can translate into practical implications for curriculum and student success. We propose a quantitative scale for measuring and classifying courses along the HIPs Spectrum, which ranges from ‘Neither HEE nor HIP’, to ‘HEE’, to ‘HIP’ based upon Kuh and colleagues' (2013) widely-used Universal Elements of HIPs. This scale …

“The Only Ones I Could Rely On”: An Exploration Of The International Athlete Experience At Ncaa Division I Institutions, Chris Corr, Nicole Sellars, Christopher Atwater, Charles Macaulay, Karina Jolly, Sarah Stokowski, Marek Taškár

Journal of Applied Sport Management

International athletes constitute a significant demographic within NCAA Division I athletics, offering diverse cultural perspectives and often enhancing team performance. Despite the documented importance of social support structures in facilitating their socio-cultural adaptation, the role of institutional and organizational support remains underexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the experiential satisfaction of international athletes competing in NCAA Division I sports, with a particular focus on their perceptions of institutional and organizational support. Utilizing a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 international athletes across multiple NCAA Division I institutions. The findings reveal varying degrees of dissatisfaction, …

Advancing The Mission: Highlights From The 2025 Asma Conference, Marshall Magnusen

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The Journal of Applied Sport Management (JASM) is the official publication of the Applied Sport Management Association (ASMA), which is a scholarly organization that builds research partnerships between faculty and students. ASMA also facilitates connections between sport management faculty and students studying sport and practitioners working in the sport industry. In 2025, the annual conference was hosted by the University of Cincinnati under the direction of Dr. Matt Huml. Highlights from the annual conference include Dr. Chad Seifried from Louisiana State University receiving the ASMA Distinguished Service and Mentorship Award and Dr. Lawrence Judge of Ball State University becoming an …

Identical Ratios: A Red Flag Of Ratio Management, Qianhua Ling, Andrea Alston Roberts

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

This paper identifies a helpful red flag stakeholders can use to detect whether a nonprofit has managed its financial information. This red flag is reporting an identical program ratio—that is, the nonprofit organization reports the exact same ratio in multiple years—while reporting a large change in total spending. We find nonprofits are more likely to report identical program ratios when resource providers rely on ratios; pay is determined, at least in part, by performance; and the potential for regulatory interference is high. This paper also identifies the cost allocation techniques and the specific expenses nonprofits likely manage. We find most …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Group Peer Mentoring And Leadership Development Program For Research Faculty In Academic Medicine, Linda H. Pololi, Janet T. Civian, Mark Brimhall-Vargas, Vasilia Vasiliou, Arthur T. Evans, Kacy Ninteau, Lisa A. Cooper, Brian T. Gibbs

School of Business

Introduction: Research faculty often experience poor mentoring, low vitality, and burnout. We report on our logic model inputs, activities, measurable outcomes, and impact of a novel mentoring intervention for biomedical research faculty: The C-Change Mentoring & Leadership Institute. We present a) a detailed description of the curriculum and process, b) evaluation of the program's mentoring effectiveness from the perspective of participants, and c) documentation of mentoring correlated with key positive outcomes. Methods: A yearlong facilitated group peer mentoring program that convened quarterly in person was conducted twice (2020-2022) as part of an NIH-funded randomized controlled study. The culture change intervention …

A Mother’S Work At Motherswork, Sharon Wong

Asian Management Insights

Sharon Wong turned a desire for fashionable maternity wear into a journey with women into motherhood. Premium mother and baby products retailer Motherswork started off as a maternity fashion label that founder Sharon Wong created to dress herself professionally while pregnant with her first child. Twenty-five years on, the company hires over 160 employees in stores across China, Vietnam, and its home market of Singapore. Following Motherswork’s acquisition by parent-tech company The Parentinc, the mother of three looks back at how the business which she dubs “a hobby” became synonymous with premium mother and baby products, and how “having it …

How Can Foreign Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers Succeed In India?, Debjit Roy, Shubham

Asian Management Insights

Seven steps to achieve market entry based on lessons from recent market exits. New entrants need to tailor their trucks for India's geography, infrastructure, and conditions to improve acceptability and market share. Boost demand by building an export-driven business model in India to counter the threat from inadequate and stagnant domestic demand. Align service offerings with customer expectations to gain greater vehicle acceptability.

Artificial Intelligence Will Never Feel What We Feel, Michelle C. Dziurgot D.D.S.

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The editorial discusses the fundamental difference between human emotions and artificial intelligence, using "The Jetsons" character Rosie as a metaphor. While acknowledging AI's superior performance in certain tasks and its growing industry presence, the author emphasizes that AI lacks true feelings and cognitive common sense. The piece argues that while AI is a valuable tool for enhancing productivity and bridging skill gaps, it should be embraced as an aid rather than a replacement for human emotional intelligence.

Online Reviews: Myths, Tips, And Tricks, Anish Gupta D.D.S.

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Online reviews are a source of reputation marketing which are valuable to the practice of dentistry. Reviews bring patients in and provide social proof for your practice. We discuss what makes a good review, tips to get reviews, and dispel certain myths regarding online reviews.

Mda Services: Protect And Maximize Your Practice’S Finances With Help From These Vendors, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The article outlines various financial services and solutions available to MDA members through endorsed vendors. These offerings include PPO negotiation services, embezzlement protection, practice financing, employee benefits solutions, credit card rewards programs, precious metal refining, and student loan refinancing options. Each vendor provides specific member discounts or preferential terms, designed to help dental practices optimize their financial operations and profitability.

Satisfaction And Retention Analysis Of A 4/10 Workweek In Construction, Daniel C. Choy

Construction Management

The traditional 40-hour workweek, structured as five 8-hour days (5/8), has been a long-standing standard in the American workforce since Henry Ford implemented it in 1922. However, in recent years, many industries, including construction, have begun reevaluating this model to determine whether alternative schedules could offer better efficiency and employee satisfaction. One of the most discussed alternatives is the four-day, 10-hour workweek (4/10). This research examines the potential advantages and challenges of adopting the 4/10 schedule, particularly for specialty contractors, through an employee survey conducted at Western Specialty Contractors in Seattle, Washington. The study explores how this schedule affects worker …

The Secret Ingredients Of Strategy Implementation, Robin Speculand

Asian Management Insights

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. Leaders need to develop the same discipline, passion, and tenacity for implementing strategy that they had when crafting it. There are seven key principles that can guide an organisation to succeed in strategy implementation. Implementation is about taking the right actions, so leaders need to support and guide employees to work differently.

Greening Brown Sectors Through Transition Finance, Hao Liang, Yongheng Sun, Tianhao Yao

Asian Management Insights

Financing not-so-green industries’ environmental transition could really move the climate needle. Directing capital away from carbon-intensive sectors and only financing green sectors may fail to achieve green transition targets. Transition finance plays a critical role in addressing climate challenges. Research suggests that the transition finance logic works and has promising potential.

Measuring Student Success Using The High-Impact Practices Spectrum: Evidence For The Value Of High Engagement Experiences, Heather L. Kaminski, Kathryn Marten, Dianne D. Murphy

Management Faculty Research and Publications

The High-Impact Practices (HIPs) Spectrum is a taxonomy for assessing and categorizing courses along a continuum based on elements of High Impact Practices (Marten et al., in press). This study provides quantitative evidence for the validity and impact of the HIPs Spectrum by analyzing seven years of enrollment data in a Midwestern regional comprehensive university School of Business. Along the HIPs Spectrum, courses are categorized as High Impact Practice (HIP), High Engagement Experience (HEE), or Neither. Labeling the medium-intensity HEE courses allows for a detailed analysis of their effect on students, which is a gap in previous literature. Results show …

Are Emojis The New Words? A Sentiment Analysis Of Social Media Brand Conversations, Yashodhan Karulkar, Dev T. Vora, Siddharth Vaddepalli, Yash Thakur

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Emojis have become an increasingly important aspect of consumer-brand interactions in the Indian subcontinent. However, the impact of emoji use on brand image and mental health remains underexplored, particularly in emerging economies like India, where structured research on this topic is limited. To address this gap, the present study analyzes over 4,600 consumer tweets related to 19 prominent brands across eleven industries. Using VADER sentiment analysis, the research develops a metric to assess consumer sentiment and brand engagement in relation to emoji usage. The findings indicate that effective integration of emojis contributes to positive consumer sentiment and enhanced brand engagement. …

Research On The Impact Of Factors For Successful Digital Transformation On Performance: A Case Study Of The Clothing Industry, Xiaoyun Qian

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In recent years, enterprises in the clothing industry have experiencedvarying degrees of performance decline, primarily influenced bymacroeconomic cyclical factors and intrinsic industry issues. Firstly, under the influence of macroeconomic cycles, the clothing industry has demonstratedstrong cyclical characteristics. Since 2019, weakened global macroeconomic conditions have negatively impacted both clothing exports and domestic sales, coupled with a slowdown in China's macroeconomic growth, puttingsignificant pressure on the overall growth of the clothing sector. Secondly, the industry faces several internal challenges, including rising labor costs, severe supply-demand mismatches, overcapacity on the production side, and longinventory cycles. Digital transformation has emerged as an important optionfor …

An Analysis Of Unstructured Marketing Data To Aid Online Platforms, Qingli Zeng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As digital platforms increasingly rely on unstructured data such as images, audio, and video to engage users, understanding how these sensory elements influence consumer behavior has become essential. This dissertation investigates the role of visual and auditory cues in shaping user engagement and decision-making in digital environments. Specifically, it examines how image distinctiveness and vocal tone characteristics affect consumer attention, interaction, and commitment across different online contexts.

The first essay explores the impact of image distinctiveness on consumer search behavior within a Southeast Asian real estate platform. Grounded in the Theory of Visual Attention (TVA), this study develops a novel …

An Empirical Analysis Of Pricing And Payments In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Rahul Narnindi

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

High prescription drug prices in the US are a major hurdle on the road to improved public health. On a per-capita basis, US prescription drug spending is more than twice that of comparable OECD peer nations and yet the health outcomes achieved are worse. Policymakers try to implement countermeasures, such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, to reduce the burden on the public but these countermeasures may result in unintended consequences. In this thesis, I study the effectiveness of two of these countermeasures and their unintended consequences. My first essay investigates prescription (Rx) to over the counter (OTC) drug …

How Do Firms Respond To Reduced Private Equity Buyout Activity?, Yi-Hsin Lo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

I investigate how firms respond to reduced private equity buyout activity in their home states by exploiting the state-by-state adoption of laws that increase the cost of buyouts. I find evidence suggestive of reduced firm efficiency. The firms also become less likely to go bankrupt or to relocate to other states. These findings suggest that the firms' managers may be starting to enjoy the quiet life. I also find a reduction in layoffs. Overall, the results indicate a trade-off: Whereas reduced private equity buyout activity increases managerial entrenchment, it also lowers firm exits and strengthens employees' job security.

The One Generates All Things: Founder Competencies And Firm Performance In Chinese Semiconductor Enterprises, Aiyang Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The semiconductor industry originated in the United States in the 1940s and serves as the cornerstone of the modern information technology industry. Semiconductors, hailed as the "grain of industry", are of utmost significance to China, a country that builds its foundation on manufacturing. With the escalation of China's industrial upgrading and global competition, a large number of semiconductor enterprises have been established in China in recent years.

Based on the Upper Echelons Theory, this paper commences from the literature on founder research in entrepreneurship studies, and in conjunction with small-sample interviews, proposes the "521" model for observing Chinese semiconductor enterprise …

Competitive Advantage Of Short Food Supply Chains For Organic Vegetables In India: A Multi-Stakeholder, Mixed Method Study Of Farmers, Consumers And Intermediaries, Bhoovarahan Thirumalai Nambakkam

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Competitive advantage of Short Food Supply Chains for organic vegetables in India – a multi-stakeholder, mixed method study of farmers, consumers and intermediaries.

Short food supply chains (SFSC) are characterized by one (or zero) intermediaries (structural proximity), short distance (geographic proximity), trusted relationships (relationship proximity) and alignment of values (values proximity) between consumers and farmers.

This multi-method case study investigates proximity of SFSCs as a driver for increased willingness to pay (WTP) by consumers for organic vegetables in a global south developing country - India. The study analyzed revealed preference (published prices of a conventional chain and SFSCs), stated preference …

Trade War And The Reshaping Of Global Supply Chain In The Automotive Industry, Feng Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The China-US trade war disrupted nearly half a century of trade liberalization, impacting the global distribution of production and the configuration of supply chains. This paper focuses on automobile production and tire supply to analyze the impact of industrial layout changes during the China-US trade war on the global supply chain structure. The study finds that for US automobile production, the trade war presents both positive and negative effects. While tariffs on automobiles protect the local automotive market, the increased production costs due to tariffs on components place US-made cars at a competitive disadvantage in the global market, negatively affecting …

Research On The Mechanism Of China's Stock Market And The Efficiency Of Factor-Based Stock Selection Strategies, Huaixiang Xing

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Based on the data of 4280 firms listed on China's A-share market from 2010 to 2023, this paper constructs 20 market factors and 4 financial factors to systematically study multi factor stock selection strategies in China's stock market. Furthermore, this article analyzes the impact of China's capital market mechanisms on stock selection strategies, which include margin trading and securities lending mechanism, Mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect mechanism, analyst coverage mechanism, and information disclosure mechanism. The main conclusions are as follows:

Firstly, this paper reveals that 12 market factors, including size, price, and liquidity are all effective pricing factors, and the strategy …

The Influence Of Venture Capitalists’ Value-Added Service On Capital Financing Outcome: A Research On Chinese Biotech Startups, Hao-Yu Huang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

China’s biotechnology sector has undergone rapid evolution, driven by government policy, capital market reform, and growing global demand for pharmaceutical innovation. Venture capitalists (VCs) have played an increasingly pivotal role not only as financiers but also as strategic partners offering value-added services (VAS). These interventions include operational mentorship, regulatory navigation, talent pipeline facilitation, and strategic repositioning. However, the extent to which such non-financial support influences financing outcomes across startup development stages remains underexplored—particularly in the context of China's unique institutional and industrial environment.

This dissertation examines how VC post-investment interventions affect the financing success of biotech startups in China. Drawing …

Research On Inheritance And Innovation Of Chinese Time - Honored Brands On Brand Attachment, Jiangbo Yin

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Balancing inheritance and innovation to achieve brand revitalization is a pressing practical issue for both academia and industry. This study adopts a dual perspective of enterprises and consumers, selecting the Cantonese cuisine time-honored brand "Tao Tao Ju" as the research subject, and employs a mixed-methods combining qualitative and quantitative research to explore the mechanism on inheritance and innovation of Chinese time-honored brands on brand attachment.

Study 1 utilizes grounded theory to construct a multidimensional structure of inheritance and innovation of Chinese time-honored brands: inheritance dimensions include product and service inheritance, brand spirit inheritance, and historical and cultural inheritance; innovation dimensions …

Exploring Intelligent Manufacturing: How Artificial Intelligence Affects Productivity And Labor Demand At The Enterprise Level, Jie Gu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Manufacturing is a cornerstone of national economic health and social stability, yet it faces challenges such as declining profits, rising labor costs, and an aging workforce. In China, the manufacturing sector is undergoing a critical transformation, driven by technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI) and the push for intelligent manufacturing. This study explores how AI revitalizes the manufacturing sector by enhancing enterprise productivity and reshaping labor demand, with a focus on quality inspection processes. Using a leading bearing factory as a case study, the research employs econometric models, A/B testing, and interviews to quantify AI’s impact on production efficiency, costs, …

Rome Was Not Built In A Day — Impact Of Market Agility And External Awareness On Iterative Innovation In Online Gaming Industry, Li Ming Gu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Despite the prosperity of online gaming industry in China, online gaming firms cannot ignore the survival crisis brought by fierce competition. It is quite common for game developers to face issues like low game survival rates and poor performance, with some games even failing upon launch. To address these challenges and gain competitive advantages, game developers accelerate iteration speed and continuously provide users with new content or services. Since most companies found they cannot meet their development needs through traditional innovation models, understanding how to achieve high performance through iterative innovation has become crucial for game developers. Innovation starts with …

Research On Motivations For Corporate Voluntary Environmental Transformation: An Analysis Based On Wwf, Lunyan Lu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study investigates the multidimensional motivations driving corporate voluntary environmental transformation and its subsequent impacts, with a focus on political contexts, industry characteristics, and leadership traits. Situated within the framework of additional transformation requirements proposed by environmental non-profit organizations (e.g., WWF), the research examines how environmental transformation serves as a strategic vehicle for corporations to demonstrate social responsibility practices and enhance market competitiveness through philanthropic engagements. By integrating theoretical construction and empirical analysis, this study advances the explanatory frameworks of corporate social responsibility (CSR) theory, stakeholder theory, and resource dependence theory.

This research first identifies intrinsic motivations for corporations to …