Business Commons^™

Discovering Data-Driven Solutions: A Practical Guide For Small Businesses Implementing Data Analytics, Katherine Richoux

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

In today’s highly competitive business environment, small businesses are under growing pressure to fight for market share. To do this, a competitive advantage must be established to outperform other business competitors both big and small. One way that small businesses can create a competitive advantage is by utilizing their data and applying basic data analytics. Data analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing large sets of raw data using statistical tests to identify patterns and insights to make conclusions that inform business decisions. The use of data analytics is not exclusive to large corporations and can be greatly beneficial …

Leaders' Virtual & In-Person Communication: The Impact Of Employee Preference On Job Satisfaction, Adalin Mcdaniel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Communication between supervisors and subordinates has consistently been viewed as a primary element of leadership, and a factor that is important in the leader-subordinate relationship via Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. Recently, with the massive shift to virtual working, leadership communication has gained greater prominence in research and practical settings. Therefore, examining the role that virtual leadership communication plays in employee job satisfaction is an important first step in beginning to understand the shift to predominant work settings from home. I examined the influence of employee perceptions and preferences of leadership communication on job satisfaction via a panel design in which …

Understanding The Operations And Decision-Making Of Cow-Calf Farmers In Northwest Arkansas, Clayton Weyl

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Societal pressure on farmers has become a more central part of the rhetoric surrounding livestock production. This study includes farmers in the discourse on the rhetoric surrounding climate change via interviews and simulations tailored to their operation. Previous research has addressed regenerative agricultural practices and conditions that influence farmer decision-making, but little research has analyzed decision-making in tandem with environmental practices. The literature reveals that cow-calf producer decision-making is influenced by their reliance on cattle as an income source, and farmers overall choose climate-friendly practices based on their perceptions about climate change. The goal of this research was to gather …

A Framework Of The Antecedents And Outcomes Of Perceived Authenticity Of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Examination And Perspective Of Employees In India, Janis Thiedemann

ETD Archive

Various stakeholder groups have increased their attention on socially responsible activities, which has resulted in companies pursuing strategies that not only meet legal obligations or increase profits, but also somehow benefit society. The perceived authenticity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives (i.e., whether or not they are seen as driven by organizational values) is crucial in determining the success and acceptance of CSR programs. However, the extant CSR literature includes notable gaps, including that much of the research on CSR authenticity has been from the perspective of external stakeholders, few studies have been performed in emerging markets, and the use …

Job Posting, Megan Paul, Nina Williams-Mbengue, Courtney Harrison

QIC-Tips

A job posting must be informative, clear, transparent, and appealing to potential child welfare job candidates. It should also be candidate-centric and answer questions candidates often ask, especially any key information that has turned out to be a dealbreaker for people later in the process. This QIC-Tip is designed to highlight actionable strategies to create a good job posting. Please note that the information presented is not meant to override or supersede local, state, or federal legal civil service or human resources guidance.

Think of the job posting as a marketing opportunity for your agency and highlight the positive aspects …

World Class Supply Chain 2023: Dynamic Challenges, Collaborative Solutions, Michael Haughton

Business Faculty Publications

The Seventh Annual World Class Supply Chain Summit was convened on May 3rd, 2023 under the theme of Dynamic challenges, collaborative solutions. Being derived from opinions that attendees expressed in the previous year’s post-summit survey, the theme signified the supply chain community’s strong interest in how organizations and individuals can collaborate with each other to address today’s most pressing challenges. The design of the summit’s deliberations on the theme comprised two keynote addresses (one each from the perspectives of industry and academia), an industry panel, a student forum presentation, and an intergenerational fireside chat by a panel comprising individuals …

Bi-Weekly Facilitated Peer Group Sessions Propel Accountability, Carol Wittmeyer

Business Faculty/Staff Publications

Most business plans fail. The research and evidence are overwhelming. Try a Google search on business execution or implementation and you will find hundreds of thousands or more results describing this doom. There are many reasons for this, and they include factors such as inappropriate or overly ambitious plans, and not providing a laundry list of needed resources such as experts and funding. So, what can NSRA business owners do to lessen the chance they become a statistic? Consider joining a facilitated peer group.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: A Collection Of Challenge And Acceptance From Women Owned Small Businesses In Johnson City, Tennessee, Nikki Vandusen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With over 11.6 million establishments, women owned small businesses hold a crucial part in supporting the US economy’s wellbeing. However, owning a small business comes with numerous challenges that not all can overcome. This study investigates the challenges of ten women-owned small businesses in Johnson City, Tennessee. The interview results display that women struggle with similar challenges as men; however, they have more difficulty balancing gender roles and societal expectations with owning a small business. This research concludes that men and women do not have equal opportunities when it comes to owning a small business and women are at a …

Market Analysis And Strategy Formulation For Appalachian Cast Iron, Perry Kate Chumbley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marketing as a revenue generator for businesses seeks to entice consumers into making a final purchase. How this is achieved varies greatly depending on the size of firm, the goods or services being advertised, distribution channels, and other factors. This manuscript includes the creation of a marketing strategy for a small, online business, Appalachian Cast Iron, through the investigation of current literature, and analyses of the external and internal environments. The results provide strategies for areas in which the firm has opportunities to improve.

Branding Strategies In Non-Profit Organizations, Bryson Senter, Bryson Elliott Senter

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Branding through children is a marketing tactic that many organizations and businesses utilize today; but what marketing strategy best carries out a message to the children and their guardians themselves? This thesis examines the different strategies used by for-profit and not-for-profit companies in order to better understand branding through children. It dives into an experiment testing the effectiveness of various marketing approaches and their success of gaining further children at events. The strategies are then dissected into which worked best in order to answer the question, “What branding strategies are most effective for non-profits which focus on children?”

Smells Like Team Spirit: How To Foster Psychological Safety And Enhance Team Creativity, Shannon S. Burrows

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Creativity is one of the most sought-after skills of the 21^st century, yet team members may be reticent to contribute to creative problem-solving out of fear of ridicule, retribution, or because of rigid hierarchical team structures. However, psychological safety is the underpinning of creativity; without it a culture of silence prevails, mistakes go unreported, and team creativity languishes. But how do leaders cultivate psychological safety in their teams? This project seeks to answer that question. Although the term “psychological safety” has become common in the corporate lexicon, misconceptions abound. Through the creation of a short, animated video, this project …

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses: A Comprehensive Guide To Success And Growth, Isaac Deel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses: A Comprehensive Guide to Success and Growth, explores the use of social media marketing strategies for small businesses.The purpose of this study is to identify specific strategies, techniques, and best practices for successful social media marketing. Social media has become a powerful marketing tool for businesses to promote their products and services. However, small businesses face unique challenges in the marketing landscape, including limited resources and low marketing budgets. Social media provides a low-cost, highly effective way for small businesses to reach new audiences and communicate with potential customers. With the right strategies, …

Understanding The Impact Self-Service Technology (Sst) Has On Front-Line Employees (Fles) In A Retail Service Environment, Abigail Torres Rico

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

The widespread adoption of self-service technology (SST) has revolutionized how customers make decisions and dramatically shifted the roles of front-line employees (FLEs) in retail environments. However, most research on SSTs only focuses on their effects on customer behavior. This three-essay dissertation explores how SST affects the job outcomes of FLEs and their interactions with consumers in the current service environment. The first essay is a conceptual paper that overviews the current SST literature and proposes a theoretical framework that draws from the pyramid model and socio-technical system theory (STS). The second essay employs qualitative research methods, such as in-depth interviews …

Consumers' Perceptions Of Digital Privacy In The United States And Japan, Destiny Randle

Whittier Scholars Program

The purpose of my study is to explore the contours of contemporary consumer privacy protections derived from legislation, regulations and publicly available company policies as a way to get a better understanding of how consumer data is protected. A few examples ranging from company-based consumer protection in the United States to data breaches in Japan will be explored and examined. Finally, this paper includes a comparative survey of consumer perceptions and concerns related to personal data privacy in the U.S. and Japan. As a way to assess the degree to which digital privacy and personal data breaches have adversely influenced …

The Importance Of Sustainability Within The Fashion Industry, Ashlee S. Hernandez

Theses

Blogging made its debut in 1993 and from that point on the internet would change forever. This project is a lifestyle blog that will highlight the diversity of the word sustainability, focus on the final product and the sustainable methods or practices to get to that final product and dive into the history of blogging and the history of fashion sustainability. This entire project will showcase specific items of women's clothing (the final product) and the sustainable methods or processes involved in creating those final products. This project specifically defines the similarities and differences between the terms eco-friendly, sustainable, green, …

An Assessment Of Information And Education As A Factor Of Agricultural Development And Sustainability In South Carolina, George Strickland

All Theses

Across the Southeastern United States, producers in the agricultural industry wage a constant struggle between combating negative economic impacts and discovering economic opportunity. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) represent a crisis with wide-ranging economic impacts. The management of HABs presents a critical challenge for addressing the level of knowledge (LOK) and adaptability of Extension agents. Conversely, the emergence of markets for local and organic produce represents a burgeoning economic opportunity for producers. The growing trend of including more kale in the everyday American diet demands an assessment of those opportunities for local producers.

To identify the WTP for organic and local …

An Examination Of Destination And Business Place Identity Along The Wild Atlantic Way (Ireland) Tourism Route, Ziene Mottiar, Theresa Ryan

Conference papers

An examination of the layers of business place identities resulting from the creation of a road tourism route: an exploration of the Wild Atlantic Way

Proposal and originality (500 characters)

This paper is focussed on the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) in Ireland and explores the concept of entrepreneurial place identity in terms of tourism routes. Place identity has been shown to be important for tourism entrepreneurs as it affects their self- efficacy (Haller, Assaker and Lee, 2013) and their strategies (Mottiar, 2016). This paper seeks to explore how tourism businesses have altered their identity as a result of the WAW. …

Connecting Eastern And Western Massachusetts With High Speed Rail, Mary Piecewicz, An Pham

School of Professional Studies

No abstract provided.

Building A Representative Workforce: How We Can Help Our Gateway Cities Recruit And Retrain Employees Reflective Of Their Communities, Jessica Lynn Feldman, Andrew J. Russo

School of Professional Studies

No abstract provided.

2023-May-01-Etsu/Norc Study Finds Rural People Face Greater Challenges To Substance Use Disorder Treatment, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – In early May, 11 cadets at East Tennessee State University received their commission as second lieutenants. Hailing from across the Southeast, these recent ETSU graduates joined a proud tradition – one that has been happening on campus for 70 years.

This year marks seven decades since what was then East Tennessee State College held its first commissioning ceremony in 1953.

“As we consider the past 70 years, ETSU’s Army ROTC program has not just been a source of outstanding officers for the United States military,” said Lt. Col. Kent Monas, a professor of military science at ETSU. …

2023-May-01-Discovering His Place In Politics, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (May 2023) – Aiden Graybeal felt drawn to politics from an early age.

“I’ve always been a weird political kid,” he said, “and there aren’t a lot of opportunities to explore that in high school and elementary school. My parents don’t know anything about politics – they don’t care to – so I had to do this all on my own. When I came to college, a friend said, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this TISL thing. Have you heard of this?’ I discovered there’s this whole world I was missing out on – all these things I’d …

2023-May-01-Etsu's Rotc Celebrates 70 Years, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

A new analysis from the East Tennessee State University/NORC Rural Health Equity Research Center finds that people living in rural areas of the United States face greater challenges accessing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment than people living in urban areas.

The ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center is a partnership between the Addiction Science Center and Center for Rural Health Research, in the ETSU College of Public Health.

The study shows that rural residents are four-and-a-half times more likely than urban residents to be admitted to inpatient treatment through a court order or by law enforcement and nine times less likely …

2023-May-01-Eye Toward The Underserved, These 66 Will Change The World, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

The Class of 2023 at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy received their doctoral hoods this morning, officially becoming part of the college’s 14th graduating class. 

The Hooding and Commencement ceremony was held in the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts, where 66 student pharmacists earned the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.  

This ceremony, which was live-streamed at youtube.com/@etsupharmacy for those unable to attend, was part of ETSU’s commencement weekend. 

Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, thanked the graduating class for the mark they left on the college. 

“We are so pleased you …

Foreign Ownership Of Agricultural Land In The United States: A Case Study Concerning The 2023 Grassroots Policy And Legislative Landscape, Mary Eichenberger

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Historically, foreign ownership of land in the United States has existed for centuries. Many state laws expressly allow for foreign ownership of agricultural land in their state. However, this study will find that a push to amend these laws has begun in recent years in state and federal legislatures. Grassroots member-focused agricultural organizations, representative of the agricultural community, have also seen a shift in member-developed policy. This shift is toward an attitude of concern and increased oversight of foreign land investment. From the data gathered, it can be inferred that public awareness in the agricultural community is increasing concerning foreign …

"Hog Wild" Business Plan, Ethan Munk

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

A business plan covering all parts of the creation of a business. In this case the business is a comedy club named "Hog Wild", located in the old Dickson Street theater. It covers the financials, marketing, hiring and construction processes within it. A good visual and physical understanding of a business plan and what it can lead to. Well served as an example for students to use on future projects.

Development & Validation Of A Scale Of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Alexander Davy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to organizations and their employees. However, confusion in conceptualization and operationalization hinders the development of DEI research and application. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, I conceptualized DEI as a composite construct of three interrelated but differentiated components, that is, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Possible relationships among the three constructs were discussed. Second, I developed a three-dimensional scale to measure diversity, equity, and inclusion as separate constructs. The scale showed acceptable reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha levels for the overall scale and subscales range from .81 to .94. Convergent and divergent validity …

Hr Connection, Georgia Southern University

Human Resources Newsletter

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The Utilization Of Procurement Strategies In A Supply Chain Environment, Cole Stevens

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In today's globalized business environment, efficient supply chain management has become crucial for organizations striving for success. The Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas is widely regarded as one of the top institutions for supply chain management education in the nation. As a student who has undergone their supply chain program and curriculum, I have gained valuable insights and experiences that have prepared me for the demands of the industry.

One of the significant benefits of this education was the opportunity to undertake an internship at Caterpillar Inc., where I was able to gain hands-on experience in …

Multispecies Livelihoods: A Posthumanist Approach To Wildlife Ecotourism That Promotes Animal Ethics, Bastian Thomsen, Jennifer Thomsen, Kellen Copeland, Sarah Coose, Emily Arnold, Haydn Bryan, Karl Prokop, Kaela Cullen, Caitlyn Vaughn, Brenda Rodriguez, Rachel Muha, Natalie Arnold, Hannah Winger, Gabrielle Chalich

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research on animal ethics in tourism has gained traction but posthumanist approaches to wildlife (eco)tourism remain sparse. There has never been a more urgent need to redress this paucity in theory and practice. More than 60% of the world’s wildlife has died-off in the last 50 years, 100 million-plus nonhuman animals are used for entertainment in wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs), more than one billion “wildlife” live in captivity, and some scholars argue that earth has entered its sixth mass extinction event known as the Anthropocene. This paper presents a posthumanist multispecies livelihoods framework (MLF) based on an applied ethnographic study …

Harnessing Technology And Innovation To Address Emerging Issues: Covid-19 Opportunities And Challenges, Mercy Igoki, Jackson Langat

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

This study explores the opportunities and challenges presented through harnessing technology and innovation to address COVID-19 as an emerging issue in higher education institutions in Kenya. COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Kenya. The pandemic forced institutions to migrate to online learning, impacting the quality of education, enrollment rates, and mental health challenges students face. The study used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating secondary sources of information and primary data from experts such as Ministry of Education officials, university management, students' counsellors, and teaching staff from Kenyan universities. It focused on teaching …