Business Commons^™

The Long Tail: Business Viability After The Crisis, Emma M. Woo-Ming

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the barriers to business growth and youth development in Dangriga, Belize, within the broader context of post-crisis economic recovery. Despite Belize’s record-breaking tourism arrivals in 2024, Dangriga has not experienced parallel growth, hindered by limited government support, insufficient infrastructure, and gaps in workforce readiness. Through field research, stakeholder interviews, and the development of tailored business strategies, this project identified critical needs in risk assessment, collaboration, and youth engagement. The findings underscore the interconnectedness of politics, culture, and economics in shaping local business ecosystems, and highlight the importance of adaptable, context-specific solutions over the direct application of models …

Can Argentina Overcome The Lithium Natural Resource Curse? A Case Study Into Argentina's Institutional Framework For Lithium Supply Chain Development And Innovation, Colby Greene

Senior Theses

Through the analysis of the natural resource curse, the development of institutional frameworks in societal contexts, the nature of natural resource-based industry value chains, and value creation through institutions and value chains, all in the context of Argentina’s lithium industry, this paper finds that Argentina has failed to implement the necessary institutions and promote proper policy to promote value addition and real economic growth through the conduit of the development of the lithium industry, yet it is not actively a victim of the natural resource curse. In the hierarchical nature of mining value chains, Argentina has permitted their vast lithium …

Leadership And Creative Placemaking In Central Appalachia: Morehead, Kentucky, Toni C. Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations--Arts Administration

In rural Appalachia, longstanding patterns of extractive economic development, coupled with limited public investment and uneven institutional support, have contributed to persistent economic stagnation and a diminished sense of pride among residents. These conditions reflect deeper structural challenges, including economies shaped by resource extraction and external control. Addressing these conditions is critical to fostering economic growth, promoting cultural heritage, and enhancing overall well-being in the region. By cultivating resilient communities, leaders can create environments in which both the economy and local pride can thrive, contributing to a more prosperous and unified Appalachian region.

This study investigates the organizational and leadership …

From Tarmac To Timetable: A Data-Driven Study Of Airline Delay Performance In Nigeria, Kelechi V. Iwuagwu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project investigates the patterns, causes, and impacts of flight delays in the Nigerian aviation sector from January 2024 to January 2025. Utilizing a dataset containing flight details—including scheduled and actual departure/arrival times, routes, and airline information—the study employs advanced data analytics and visualization techniques to uncover critical insights. The research highlights discrepancies between scheduled and actual flight performance, identifies delay patterns across airlines and timeframes, and explores the ripple effects of delays on subsequent flights.

Furthermore, Nigerian passengers frequently express frustrations over flight delays, cancellations, and poor communication from airlines, yet no publicly available data systematically documents these …

Exploring Key Accounting Trends Through Case Studies, Catherine D. Tisue

Honors Theses

This thesis explores topics related to financial accounting and the accounting field through the analysis of case studies. Included are six different case studies ranging from the military industrial complex situations governments are facing to environmentally sustainable practices that could benefit financial reporting. These cases were put together through extensive analysis and problem solving to thoroughly determine the reasons these topics affect our industry. The case studies were written with the supervision of Dr. Victoria Dickinson while in the Honors Accountancy 420 Independent Study course.

These case studies explore a range of topics that all contribute to my understanding of …

Exploring Contemporary Issues Through Accounting Case Studies, Emaline Myers

Honors Theses

This thesis was completed as part of the course “Accounting 420- Independent Study” under the guidance of Dr. Victoria Dickinson and includes a collection of five case studies exploring the role of accounting, ethics, and policy in today’s world. Each case investigates how financial information, government decisions, and business strategy intersect, and what that means for professionals entering the accounting field. The topics covered in this thesis range from international financial fraud to environmental disclosures, military spending, public education, and small business development. Several key takeaways emerged from the completion of these cases. Case Study I highlights issues in global …

Exploring The Town Management And University Partnership Impact On Community And Economic Development In Bridgewater, Massachusetts, David German Alatorre

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This undergraduate thesis investigates the Town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts through a qualitative process. Through this approach, the interconnection between community and economic development was explored and analyzed to understand how these factors and their underlying elements impact the Town of Bridgewater stakeholders. The Town of Bridgewater Master Plan, 2022 is a key cornerstone in this study, providing a compendium of influential priorities for the Town, current efforts initiated to support those priorities, barriers hindering further advancement, and future opportunities. Additionally, the unique Town characteristic of occupying a university-town partnership is considered when investigating the influences on community and economic development. …

Creating Their Own: A Cross-National Examination Of New Venture Creation, Leif W. Lundmark, Brent B. Clark

Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship

What drives entrepreneurial activity and new venture creation? Common explanations within the entrepreneurship literature include the degree of available resources, the cultural inclinations of the society, and the institutional environment in which the activity occurs. Despite continued interest in this area of research, empirical findings remain largely inconclusive. Moreover, relatively few studies have empirically examined the various determinants concomitantly. Relying on panel data from 79 countries, we examine the asymmetrical impact of resources, culture, and institutions on both formal and informal entrepreneurial ventures. We find that higher levels of human capital, financial capital, and technological development lead to increased levels …

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Ana Forum 2024, Berkeley, Ca “How Can The North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute To Nepal’S Economic Development?”,, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The ANA 2024 annual convention, organized on ANA’s 42nd founding anniversary, was held in the San Francisco Bay Area (Berkeley and Oakland) in California, where hundreds of ANA members and friends had gathered. The convention consisted of several forums, sessions, and cultural programs. As always, the convention included a Nepal-related forum “How Can the North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute to Nepal’s Economic Development?” The Forum took place from 1:30-2:30 pm on Saturday July 20, 2024. Four panelists, including the moderator, spoke at the forum. About 45-50 individuals attended the session. Guest panelist, Dr. Minendra Rijal sent a message as he …

Economic Development In Legacy Cities: Current And Emerging Challenges And Opportunities, Neil Reid, Sujata Shetty, Jane Adade

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

As manufacturing employment has declined in the traditional manufacturing regions over the past decades, many communities have experienced population loss and overall economic decline. Local economic development professionals have had to grapple with long-term structural changes in the economy as well as short-term jolts. To gain insights into the changing landscape of economic development, we interviewed economic development practitioners in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The interviews focused on their perception of current and emerging challenges and opportunities with respect to economic development in their respective communities. Having identified the major challenges and opportunities, we asked them to articulate the …

Implementing A Dairy Industry In Mauritius, Lainey Deitrick

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the Summer, I interned at the University of Mauritius and the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security from May 18th to July 15th, 2022, researching issues with Mauritius’s food security and helping to create solutions to their economic problems. My project covered all Mauritius’s agricultural imports, but it had an emphasis on their dairy industry. While in Mauritius, I conducted research on food security among Mauritians, and a feasibility study on if residents would be open to drinking more fresh milk, which is a market the country is exploring to replace sugar cane. My data analysis will be …

Economic Development Analysis Research Paper: Myanmar, Rhoda Belachew

Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Student Projects

As a country endowed with great natural resources and a rich agricultural base, remains one of Southeast Asia’s most economically underdeveloped nations. Years of political instability, conflict, and limited institutional capacity have pulled back economic growth. Myanmar continues to face internal challenges including youth unemployment, underutilized rural labor, and weak infrastructure, alongside external obstacles including global trade barriers and limited foreign investment. This paper will highlight the current population, it’s impact on GDP and other variables that contribute to the GDP. It will also examine the key challenges to Myanmar’s’ economic growth and evaluates which development model offers the most …

Government Debt On Money Growth, Inflation, And Real Gdp Growth, Jesse T. Wright

Journal of Business, Industry, and Economics

This study examines the question: how does government debt affect economic growth over time? The results of this research show that low-income countries use inflation, money growth, and borrowing to manage debt. As a group, high-income countries do not, or perhaps cannot, use any of these methods systematically. Theory indicates that countries may turn to money growth and inflation to manage debt levels, and that this in turn decreases growth of gross domestic product. The results of this paper are significant because they suggest that low-income countries use money growth and inflation as an alternative to taxation while simultaneously borrowing …

Tourism, Mapping, Retail And Recreational Trails: A Case Study Of Connectivity Between Trails And Adjacent Downtowns In Anniston, Alabama, Usa, Jennifer Green

Theses

This study examines the estimated increase in economic impact on a geography’s local economy by creating cross-marketing efforts between expanding an established outdoor recreation trail to a closely located city downtown commerce district. This research will analyze the resulting potential rise in sales/lodging tax revenues for that city by mapping the trail and downtown district, and cross-marketing the other to users of both or either venue. Potential increase in economic impact will be estimated utilizing IMPLAN methodology by assessing the economic impact on the local economy that a percentage range of increased spending resulting from this cross-marketing effort could generate.

Ro Khanna, Dignity In A Digital Age: Making Tech Work For All Of Us (2022), James W. Gentry

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With Attracting Business And Industry To Selected Black Belt Counties Of Alabama, Andrew Zekeri

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

There is limited recent research on the economic development strategies that local officials, state, and federal governments are employing in rural Alabama. To better understand these strategies, the data were collected from local community officials in two rural Alabama counties. The objectives are to examine what efforts are being used, and what resources are available for economic development efforts. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analyses to test the hypothesis that past community action and community solidarity variables can contribute to a higher probability of recruiting business and industry than will be predicted by the ecological characteristics of the communities …

Strengthening The Southern Nevada Workforce Pipeline, Katie M. Gilbertson

Student Research

Workforce development has been a keystone in the discussion of economic diversification of Las Vegas for decades. The leisure and hospitality industry is the lifeline for the Southern Nevada economy due to the reliance on tourism as the city’s main economic driver. The leisure and hospitality industry requires physical labor and more face-to-face customer interaction than other employment sectors. Thus, these jobs often do not require high educational attainment, but rather sharp soft skills like effective listening, nonverbal communication, and negotiation strategies. While these are valuable traits, the lack of educational attainment within the leisure and hospitality workforce suppresses employees’ …

The Relationship Between New Foreign Direct Investment And U.S. All Industry Sales, Sherron Alexander Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the global production network, multinational corporations can squeeze domestic firms out of local markets. Nationally, economic developers are concerned about all industry sales as a symbol of the economic advantages featured in regional business production. Grounded in ownership, location, and internalization theory, the purpose of this ex post facto study was to examine the relationship between (a) new foreign direct investment (NFDI) for acquisition projects, (b) NFDI for greenfield establishment projects, (c) NFDI for greenfield expansion projects, and (d) all industry sales in the United States. Data were collected from the 2019 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) archival …

The Relationship Between New Foreign Direct Investment And U.S. All Industry Sales, Sherron Alexander Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the global production network, multinational corporations can squeeze domestic firms out of local markets. Nationally, economic developers are concerned about all industry sales as a symbol of the economic advantages featured in regional business production. Grounded in ownership, location, and internalization theory, the purpose of this ex post facto study was to examine the relationship between (a) new foreign direct investment (NFDI) for acquisition projects, (b) NFDI for greenfield establishment projects, (c) NFDI for greenfield expansion projects, and (d) all industry sales in the United States. Data were collected from the 2019 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) archival …

The Impact Of Integrating An Sbdc Program Into A College/University Career Center, Harshdeep Singh Nanda

Master's Projects

With a new approach for integrating the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program in Alameda County, the Ohlone Community College District (Ohlone College) has introduced a new model for hosting an SBDC program on a college/university campus. While many other educational institutions across the nation have hosted an SBDC program (Cook Center for Entrepreneurship - Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, n.d.; University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) | Helping NEPA & Northern Tier Small Businesses Start, Grow & Prosper., n.d.; Olson, 2006), most have treated the program as a separate entity or department, often leading to the …

Increasing Investment In Stem Education For Females: Policy Considerations, Becky Harris, Andrea Dassopoulos, Daniel Sahl, Anna Starostina

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

During this difficult economic time, as policy makers decide how to use their limited resources to help prepare the rising generation for the demands of an ever-changing workforce, aligning K-12 educational priorities with higher education and economic development can help maximize public dollar investments in STEM education, particularly when females are given access to STEM and STEM-related education and programs. Smart public policy initiatives can help increase the representation of women in the technology, research and development, and innovation departments.

The purpose of this article is to provide policy recommendations that could help increase gender diversity and participation in STEM …

Investigating The Influence Of A Web Based Logistics Tool On The Effectiveness Of Operations For The Center Of Innovation For Logistics Of Georgia, David Vaughn

Honors College Theses

Research suggests a correlation between advancements in logistics infrastructure and the development rate of regional economies. Some states have identified this correlation and have taken steps to create specialized entities aimed at catalyzing the growth of logistics within their state. In the state of Georgia, the Center of Innovation for Logistics is the entity responsible for coordinating logistic development activities. As part of their responsibilities, they are tasked with fulfilling information requests regarding logistics infrastructure availability throughout the state. However, the system is used to process these requests is antiquated and extremely inefficient. In an attempt to ameliorate this process, …

Synopsis: Tourism In Utah As An Economic Development Tool, Jhana Aristondo

Marriott Student Review

Tourism in Utah is largely driven by seasonal recreation at its variety of natural-heritage resources all year round. Traditionally, in order to measure the impact that tourism has had on economic growth, income variables such as the nominal and real GDP have been used, but these only give a one-sided economic approach. If we look at the distinct concept of economic development instead of economic growth, what can be said about the impact that tourism has on the former?

This study will use and test variables that explain economic development and tourism behavior in the state of Utah. To measure …

Planning An Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Norfolk Virginia, Matthew A. Cline

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Provides an overview of Norfolk’s emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem and challenges associated with its disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Presents policy recommendations in creating more equitable environment for these small business ventures.

A Macromarketing View Of Sustainable Development In Vietnam, Clifford J. Shultz, Mark Peterson

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The authors apply methods and perspectives from several disciplines to explore the effects of Vietnam's economic development on various ecosystems, to offer a macromarketing view of sustainable development in Vietnam. An adapted version of the Sustainable Society Index was used to assess Vietnam's sustainability, how Vietnam's measures compare to other countries, with implications for future sustainable-development. Among several findings, Vietnam earns favorable sustainability ratings in absolute terms for water resources, healthy living, energy use, greenhouse gases, genuine savings, and employment. Ominously, Vietnam and some of its nearby neighbors post poor scores for energy savings and education. Going forward, energy savings, …

The Statistical Comparison Of Remittances In Kosovo With Balkan Countries, Blerina Jashari, Mentor Geci

UBT International Conference

Taking into account that Kosovo is a developing country, revenues coming from other countries play an important role. The paper will present a clear picture that examines the level of remittances in the country as well as external countries. In addition to the level of remittances, a literature review will also be made regarding the methodology used. Remittances received in Kosovo, which also represent the largest category within the secondary income account, amounted to euro 568.8 million in September 2015, representing an annual growth of 12.5 percent. One of the reasons why a remittance study is done is to identify …

Retesting The Dual Sector Model In India And Brazil, Jiade Xiao

International Review of Business and Economics

India and Brazil are developing countries and emerging markets, enjoying economic development in the recent decades. The development experience of both countries may provide persuasive evidences in supporting or disapproving the economic theories. Arthur Lewis’ structural-change theory focuses on the transition of economic structure with the character from depending heavily on agricultural sector to the character with more contribution from industrial sector occurring in the developing countries. His model of dual sector, as an important part of the structural-change theory, argues that the labor moving from agricultural sector to industrial sector associated with the migration from rural area to urban …

A Community's Collective Courage: A Local Food Cooperative's Impact On Food Insecurity, Community And Economic Development, And Local Food Systems, Tabitha C. Barbour

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

According to the USDA’s “Food Security Status of U.S. Households” in 2014, 48.1 million people live in food insecure households. In Indiana, more than 1 million people suffer from food insecurity with rates as high as 19.2% of Marion County’s population according to the Map the Meal Gap 2014 report. The Community Controlled Food Initiative (CCFI) is a local food cooperative operated by the Kheprw Institute and neighborhood residents in the Mid-North Indianapolis Community. The cooperative formed to address food insecurity in August 2015 in response to the closing on the local Double 8 Foods grocery stores. CCFI hosts a …

Vocational Training Programs And Youth Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From Nepal, S Chakravarty, M Lundberg, Plamen Nikolov, J Zenker

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Lack of skills is arguably one of the most important determinants of high levels of unemployment and poverty. In response, policymakers often initiate vocational training programs in efforts to enhance skill formation among the youth. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we examine a large youth training intervention in Nepal. We find, twelve months after the start of the training program, that the intervention generated an increase in non-farm employment of 10 percentage points (ITT estimates) and up to 31 percentage points for program compliers (LATE estimates). We also detect sizable gains in monthly earnings largely driven by women who start self-employment …

Worcester Black Small Businesses And Racial Inequality In Wealth, Shamen Laquan Radcliffe

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research presents findings from scholarly literature, two background cases, and three key informant interviews about why Black small businesses might receive less loan assistance through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) than White small businesses. Specifically, it addresses whether racial inequality in wealth explains why Black small business owners receive less loan assistance than their White counterparts in the City of Worcester. By examining existing literature around topic, this research offers policy recommendations to improve conditions for Black small businesses and their minority counterparts in the small business market.