Business Commons^™

The Ultimate Advertisement: Comparing The Effectiveness Of Simple And Complex Designs In Instagram Reels, Caroline Green

Honors Projects

This study investigates whether simple or complex design is more effective in portraying in short form video advertisements on social media. The purpose of this research is to inform organizations how to more effectively and efficiently create social media advertisements to best communicate their brand and products. An experimental design was used to test short video advertisements for a fictional brand. The ads differed by Feature Complexity, i.e. the basic visual features, such as color, luminance, or edges; and Design Complexity, i.e. the more elaborate shapes, objects, and patterns (Pieters et al., 2010). High feature complexity was more effective in …

Research On The Impact Of Digital Transformation On Esg Performance Of Real Estate Enterprises, Lung Tim Tong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the era characterized by the dual carbon goals driving the green transformation of industries and the exponential growth of the digital economy, the real estate sector is at a critical transformation juncture. From a policy-oriented perspective, building codes and energy consumption quota standards issued by the Ministry of Housing and UrbanRural Development and other regulatory bodies have rendered it imperative for real estate enterprises to reduce carbon emissions throughout the entire building life cycle. From the market demand side, consumers' preference for green and intelligent living environments has compelled real estate firms to break through traditional development models. The …

Relationship Between Change In Unrealized Gains Or Losses Of Afs Securities And Credit Spreads Of U.S. Life Insurance Companies, Kwang Liang Yeo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study evaluates the transmission of unrealized fair value accounting losses to credit default risk within the United States life insurance sector during a period of unprecedented monetary tightening. Integrating a pre-specified confirmatory econometric framework with a text-based exploratory analysis of regulatory filings, we examine how changes in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) and benchmark interest rate dynamics shape market perceptions of insurer default probability. Our findings reveal that credit default swap markets do not price OCI variations contemporaneously; instead, they reflect a structural one-quarter pricing lag that aligns with the regulatory timeline of financial disclosures. Furthermore, the relationship between interest …

The Impact Of Private Label Product Choice On Consumers' Hedonic Consumption Behavior, Xiaosong Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The competitive landscape of the current retail market is changing rapidly, and private label products, as a unique product force, are playing a role in the fierce market competition. While extensive research has been conducted on why consumers purchase private label products, the behavioral outcomes of consumers’ private label choices have not been fully explored. Based on the business reality of private brand retailing in China, this study constructs a research model concerning the impact of private brand product choice on hedonic consumption behavior. Grounded in self-awareness theory, the paper proposes four scientific research hypotheses. Through seven empirical studies, it …

A Study On The Capital Market Valuation Effects Of Corporate Ai Adoption: An Empirical Analysis Of Manufacturing Firms In China's A-Share Market, Libin Ma

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation examines whether and how corporate adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) affects capital market valuation in manufacturing firms. As AI is increasingly embedded in R&D design, production organization, supply chain coordination, and operational management, its value implications depend not only on whether firms adopt AI, but also on how AI is deployed within business processes. Existing research has mainly focused on productivity, innovation, labor substitution, and digital transformation, while the enterprise value consequences of differentiated AI application strategies remain insufficiently examined.

Using Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2015 to 2024 as the sample, this study identifies firm-level AI …

From Suppliers’ Esg Performance To Corporate Bargaining Power With Customers: A Supply Chain Advantage Transmission Perspective, Minghao Du

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the growing awareness of sustainable development, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices has increasingly become a critical source for firms to meet stakeholder demands and gain new competitive advantages. In particular, under the backdrop of rising supply chain risks, stakeholder concerns are no longer confined to the ESG performance of individual firms; rather, they have expanded to encompass the entire supply chain, attaching equal importance to the ESG performance of both focal firms and their supply chain partners. With the continuous tightening of ESG regulatory requirements, customers may move beyond managing the ESG practices of first-tier suppliers to paying …

Research On The Impact Of Industrial-Financial Cooperation On Corporate R&D Investment, Jiayin Yin

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The national industrial-financial cooperation pilot policy represents a key strategic initiative to implement China's strategy of building a "financial powerhouse" and guide financial resources toward empowering high-quality development in the real economy. In December 2016, four central government departments in China jointly announced the first batch of national industrial-financial cooperation pilot cities. Leveraging this quasi-natural experiment, this study comprehensively evaluates the impact of the pilot policy on corporate R&D investment activities using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2019.

Research findings indicate: (1) The industrial-financial cooperation pilot policy significantly increases enterprises' R&D investment levels. Specifically, compared …

Book Review - Applied Ethics For Sport Managers, Sydney Loutit

Global Sport Business Journal

This book review examines Applied Ethics for Sport Managers, Second Edition by Kadance Otto, which introduces ethical frameworks and their application within the sport industry. The text emphasizes fairness, integrity, and responsibility as core elements of sport organizations while providing accessible explanations and applied learning tools. Particular attention is given to pedagogical features that encourage critical thinking about ethical dilemmas. Overall, the book is positioned as a valuable resource for sport management students, early-career professionals, and emerging sport leaders.

Aggressive R&D Consulting Companies Fail To Align With The Purpose Of R&D And R&E Tax Incentives., Emily Belanger

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Research and development (R&D) credits and research and experimentation (R&E) tax incentives have recently experienced legislative changes and litigation related to the questionable methods deployed by R&D consulting firms. Proponents of research tax incentives tout their potential to produce positive externalities and innovation. Critics have pushed back, questioning whether research tax incentives are successfully achieving their purpose. The shifting landscape, litigation over aggressive tax claims, and debatable success of tax incentives signal a need to reassess whether research tax incentives are properly claimed in the United States. This paper proposes stronger regulation of R&D consulting firms to ensure research tax …

The Corporate Transparency Act: Substantial Modifications Are Desperately Needed (And They Might Just Help The Law Withstand Judicial Scrutiny), Lawrence Bialek

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

For decades, the United States has had a reputation as the place to go for bad actors looking to launder money and fund criminal activities. Attempting to rectify this situation, Congress spent years drafting legislation to serve as a deterrent. The product, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), was the culmination of years of work by legislators across the aisle and multiple Congresses. The CTA’s mandatory reporting requirement sought to create a centralized database of information about all entities doing business in the United States, both foreign and domestic, and the individuals in positions of authority for each of those entities. …

Buckeye Property Consulting, Stephen Manning

Distinguished Student Scholarship Collection

This business plan outlines the creation and strategic development of Buckeye Property Consulting, a startup firm specializing in compliance consulting for affordable housing property management companies. The plan addresses the growing demand for expert support in navigating complex regulatory requirements associated with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs. Through industry and market analysis, the document identifies a service gap faced by small to mid‑sized property management firms that lack sufficient in‑house compliance resources but cannot afford large national consulting firms. The plan details the company’s mission, value proposition, service offerings, competitive …

Information Sharing, Quality Management, And Firm Performance: The Mediating Role Of Supply Chain Agility, Aamir Rashid, Rizwana Rasheed, Syed Babar Ali

Publications and Research

The fashion industry’s business is becoming increasingly complicated and active. This industry is expected to be highly competitive, particularly in the retail sector. Therefore, this research aims to examine the impact of supply chain information sharing and quality management on firm performance, with supply chain agility as a mediating variable, in the Asian fashion industry. A total of 169 participants from the fashion sector in a developing country were surveyed. The proposed hypotheses were examined using a quantitative approach, employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS to assess and validate the measurement model. The results indicate that …

Empowering Early Childhood Leaders: A Strength-Based And Ecological Approach To Leadership Development, Dora Sanders

PhD in Education

Professional development models for early childhood (EC) leaders are often generic and deficit-focused, overlooking their diverse strengths, contexts, and experiences. This study addressed that gap by exploring how EC leaders identify and leverage their strengths to enhance leadership effectiveness and how professional development can be differentiated to meet their unique needs. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, eight EC leaders representing varied educational backgrounds and community contexts were engaged. Semi-structured interviews captured their lived experiences, which were analyzed thematically through the lens of the strengths-ecological leadership framework designed by the researcher that integrated individualized professional development, strengths-based leadership, and ecological systems. …

How Leaders And Followers Make Meaning: Perceptions Of Spiritual Leadership And Organizational Culture, Joshua J. Yancey

PhD in Organizational Leadership

This dissertation was grounded in the premise that spiritual leadership behaviors significantly influence organizational culture within faith-based nonprofit organizations yet remain insufficiently understood as lived experiences across organizational levels. While prior scholarship has established theoretical links between spirituality, leadership, and organizational outcomes, fewer studies have examined how such leadership is perceived by both leaders and followers within real organizational contexts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how spiritual leadership behaviors were experienced and interpreted in relation to organizational culture, mission alignment, morale, and work meaning within a faith-based nonprofit setting. Data were collected from fifteen participants …

The Mental Advantage: The 10 Disciplines That Separate The Elite From The Average, Scott Williams

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Title of Project

The Mental Advantage: The 10 Disciplines That Separate the Elite from the Average

Defense Date

April 1, 2026

Candidate Name

Scott Williams

Personal Email Address

[email protected]

First Advisor

Dr. Joshua Henson, PhD

Second Advisor

Dr. Michael Steiner, PhD

DSL Final Project Abstract

Project Type

This project was a book manuscript designed to develop and present a practical leadership framework for high-performance individuals and organizations.

Project Overview

This project explored the concept of Elite Mental Execution™ as a structured framework for understanding and developing high-performance leadership. Drawing from nearly three decades of professional experience in leadership, executive coaching, …

Sol Fridge Kenya (Turkana County), Ava Valdez, Dhuha Almutairi, Go Ogawa, Jeremy Boze

Business Core Student Work

Sol Fridge is a solar-powered refrigeration solution designed to improve food security and nutrition for low-income communities in Kenya. The project responds to the challenges of food spoilage, limited refrigeration, and poor access to affordable nutritious food, especially in rural and arid regions where electricity is unreliable or unavailable. By providing portable, affordable, and durable cold storage for families and small vendors, Sol Fridge helps preserve fresh food, reduce waste, and support healthier daily meals. The project also promotes sustainability through solar energy, recycled materials, and community-based distribution, creating social, environmental, and economic benefits for the communities it serves.

Phresh, Diego Gomez, Thomas “Kane” Perry, Lela Schuler, Olivia Cox, Sofia Rueda

Business Core Student Work

pHresh is a sustainable food safety solution created to help low-income communities in New Delhi, India detect spoiled food before it reaches consumers. The project responds to the serious risk of foodborne illness in informal markets, where limited refrigeration, high temperatures, and inconsistent inspection make contamination more likely. pHresh offers affordable, biodegradable pH testing strips that provide fast and easy-to-read results for vendors, households, and market inspectors. Through local production, accessible distribution, and eco-friendly materials, the project aims to improve public health, support small vendors, and build safer food systems.

Cleantide, Ryan Agozo, Valeria Jimenez, Danny Blanchard, Adam Sandoval, Daylin Diaz, Hernan Garcia

Business Core Student Work

CLEANTIDE is a water sanitation and filtration initiative created to improve access to clean water in remote island communities across the Polynesian region. The project responds to challenges such as contaminated water sources, waterborne disease, and the lack of reliable infrastructure in underserved coastal and rural areas. By providing affordable, durable, and environmentally friendly filtration systems, CLEANTIDE helps households and communities gain consistent access to safe water for drinking and daily use. The project also emphasizes local training, trust-building, and sustainable implementation to support long-term impact.

Nutri Boost — A Nutritional Powder For Children In Bihar, India, Dimas Sandoval, Sofia De Anda, Everett Macdonell, Mikaella Faye Acob, Maria Fernanda, Haris Khan

Business Core Student Work

This presentation outlines Nutri‑Boost, a fortified, locally sourced nutrition powder designed to reduce childhood malnutrition in Bihar, India. The project responds to widespread poverty, limited healthcare access, and inadequate dietary diversity by offering an affordable, shelf‑stable product for primary schools and low‑income families. Nutri‑Boost strengthens local agriculture, uses environmentally sustainable packaging, and operates through a community‑based value chain involving farmers, NGOs, and government partners. Financial projections demonstrate a scalable nonprofit model with strong social, economic, and environmental impact.

The Effects Of Covid 19 Job Demands On Public Sector Employees’ Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Roles Of Work Engagement And Job Burnout, And The Moderating Role Of Supervisor Support, Benjamin R. Kaufman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

United States citizens rely on state government employees to provide essential public services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these employees responded by administering both routine and novel procedures to protect public health, often placing them on the frontlines and at increased risk of contagion. Concurrently, the pandemic-driven economic downturn created budget shortfalls that threatened the job and financial security of the state workforce. Together, these conditions substantially increased job demands for state government employees.

Guided by the Job Demands–Resources (JDR) Model, this study examined how COVID‑19-related job demands influenced state employees’ work engagement, job burnout, and organizational commitment, and whether supervisor …

Toward A Neuroleadership Framework, Bryan G. Wood

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Neuroleadership is an emerging field that seeks to connect neural mechanisms, psychological processes, and leadership behaviors within organizational contexts. Despite continued scholarly interest, the literature remains conceptually fragmented and lacks a coherent framework for organizing its recurring themes and constructs. The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for neuroleadership through a quantitative analysis of records retrieved from the PsycINFO database and interpreted through qualitative synthesis. The findings revealed recurring themes related to core leadership processes, applied contexts, and associated outcomes while also indicating thematic convergence without full conceptual integration across the field. These patterns were organized …

Military Recruiting Crisis: A Qualitative Study On The Motivation Of Generation Z, Ruth D. Kane

PhD in Organizational Leadership

This qualitative study investigates the declining motivation of Generation Z to join the U.S. military, using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework. Despite significant investments in recruitment, enlistment rates continue to decline, revealing a gap between military structures and the psychological needs of potential recruits. SDT provides a useful perspective by emphasizing the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in motivating and promoting well-being. Through in-depth interviews with eight Gen Z individuals eligible for service, this study explores how social, cultural, and institutional factors influence perceptions of military service and career decisions. Results indicate that motivation to enlist increases when …

As I Remember Your Tears: A Biblically Grounded, Integrated Ecosystemic Model For Mentoring Ministers In Distress, John R. Dingle

PhD in Organizational Leadership

This study addressed a gap in the literature concerning how mentoring supports ministers who are experiencing distress and turnover intention. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a biblically grounded model for mentoring ministers in distress. This qualitative study employed a two-phase design consisting of a sociorhetorical analysis of 2 Timothy and a phenomenological study of four Assemblies of God ministers who experienced turnover intention but remained in ministry because of a mentor’s intervention. The biblical text was analyzed using the sociorhetorical textures of inner texture, intertexture, and sacred texture. The phenomenological data were analyzed using open, values, and …

Cryptocurrency Integration As A Response To Financial Innovation And Regulation, Emmy Rogers

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

Integrating cryptocurrency has become a key management challenge in increasingly digital and regulated financial environments. This paper argues that digital asset adoption should be understood not simply as technological disruption, but as an adaptive strategic response to regulatory transformation, institutional uncertainty, and competitive pressure. Drawing on financial innovation theory, dynamic capabilities, and institutional theory, the research develops conceptual propositions explaining when and how firms should integrate decentralized assets. Through a strategic, non-empirical analysis of regulatory developments and governance shifts, the paper presents a framework for aligning cryptocurrency adoption with firm performance, risk management, and compliance.

The Discovery Map Retreat, Kimberly Kay Bland

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Title of Project: The Discovery Map Retreat

Defense Date: 3-1-2026

Candidate Name: Kimberly Kay Bland

Personal Email Address: [email protected]

First Advisor: Dr. Jolene Erlacher

Second Advisor: Dr. Debra Dean

DSL Final Project Abstract

Project Type: 2-Day Retreat

Project Overview: The capstone project focused on designing, developing, and facilitating a 2-day retreat for high-achieving women aged 38-55 experiencing burnout, exhaustion, or a sense of being stuck. The retreat is structured around reflection, the power of questions, and self-awareness, supporting authentic self-discovery in talents, passions, and values.  Through coaching, reflective exercises, group dialogue, and experiential learning, participants will engage in a process …

The Age Of Hr Delivering Stakeholder Value Through Strategic Organizational Capability: Talent, Leadership, And Culture, Anthony Nyberg, Rebecca R. Kehoe, Dave Ulrich, Patrick M. Wright

Research Briefs

A landmark collection of 62 chapters from the world’s foremost thinkers in HR strategy, talent management, and organizational leadership—written at the inflection point where AI, geopolitical uncertainty, and evolving stakeholder expectations are reshaping the future of work and the humans at its center.

Corporate Fiduciary Duties And The Climate And Biodiversity Crisis, Eric W. Orts, Sandra G. Schafhäutle

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

This Article argues that addressing one of the most urgent environmental challenges facing humanity today—the global climate and biodiversity crisis—calls for a transformation at the heart of corporate law: its fiduciary duties. After demonstrating how current corporate fiduciary duties are implicated in this crisis, we argue for reform of fiduciary duties operating at two levels: those governing directors and officers of business corporations, and those governing institutional investors and asset managers. We then distinguish between two general kinds of corporate fiduciary duties: permissive and mandatory. We contend that corporate law should accommodate a more expansive understanding of fiduciary duties by …

The Role Of Leadership Style In Team And Individual Performance In Collegiate Athletics, Luke Mulkey

Posters - 2026

• Measuring the effectiveness of leadership is important because strong leaders can bring significant contributions to both organizations and individuals

• Previous studies have said that intrinsic motivation of the individual plays a larger role than the leadership style of a coach

• Studies also show that leadership style has an influence on team success and cohesion

• This study aimed to determine the extent to which transformational leadership played a role in team success, measured in win percentage

• This study went further into the individual perception of their coach’s impact on the athlete’s performance compared to the extent …

Who Still Goes To The Mall? Genz Vs. Millennials, Layla Dickerson

Posters - 2026

• Shopping malls are declining in popularity, especially among younger consumers

• Online shopping and changing preferences are reshaping retail habits

• Malls were once key social and shopping spaces

• Generational differences influence how people use malls today

• This study compares Gen Z and Millennials’ mall visitation behavior to understand the decline

The Power Of A Label: Examining Name Brand Purchase Behavior, Kaley Garcia

Posters - 2026

• Consumers are constantly comparing name brands and generic products.

• Brand names are often associated with quality, trust, and status.

• However, not all products are viewed the same when it comes to brand importance.

• Some people care more about price and function, especially for everyday items.

• This study looks at whether brand name actually influences buying decisions.

• It also explores if brand matters more for certain types of products.