Business Commons^™

Reinforcement Learning Approaches For Intelligent Budget Management: A Comparison Of Traditional Budget Model With Q-Learning, And Deep Q-Network Models, Danish Yaqub

Create@State

This study explores the application of Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques to improve personal budget management and financial decision-making. A traditional rule-based budgeting model is first developed as a baseline approach, where income is allocated to expenses, savings, and debt payments using fixed financial ratios and predefined rules. Although this approach provides a structured framework for financial planning, it lacks adaptability and cannot dynamically optimize decisions when financial conditions change.To address these limitations, two reinforcement learning models—Q-Learning and Deep Q-Network (DQN) are implemented and compared with the traditional budgeting model. In the Q-Learning model, an agent interacts with simulated financial states …

Investigating Various Methods Of Order Picking On Efficiency And Quality Of Distribution Center Picking Operations, Mien Thi Thao Tran, Samita Rana Magar

Create@State

ABSTRACT:

Order picking is the most labor-intensive activity in warehousing, accounting for approximately 55% of total operating expenses. This study evaluates the efficiency and quality trade-offs among three primary picking methods: Single, Batch, and Zone. Conducted via an educational simulation, the study utilized a 60-SKU alphanumeric Lego inventory system where four participants executed picking cycles to measure operational lead time and quality variance.

The results demonstrated a significant correlation between picking methodology and output quality. Single Picking achieved the highest quality standards, yielding only three errors alongside the fastest completion time (4:21). Conversely, Batch Picking resulted in the lowest quality, …

Can Eye-Tracking Predict Survey Choices? The Case Of Financial Risk Tolerance, Sravya Kasireddy

Create@State

Financial risk tolerance is traditionally measured using self-report questionnaires which provide incomplete information.

Impact Of Green Supply Chain Management On Business Growth A Literature Review, Mani Megla

Create@State

Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has emerged as a strategic approach for integrating environmental considerations into supply chain operations. Existing studies indicate that supply chain practices such as green purchasing, reverse logistics, and supplier environmental collaboration positively influence operational and financial performance. Furthermore, green innovations such as eco-design and internal environmental management often act as mediating factors that strengthen competitive advantage. This study synthesizes global research published between 2000 and 2024 to evaluate the impact of GSCM on sustainable business growth. The findings reinforce the strategic role of GSCM in enhancing competitiveness and identifying key research gaps for future investigation.

How Star Rating Influences Online Shopping Decisions, Shahjahan Jabbar Memon

Create@State

Electronic commerce (EC) represents a substantial and growing share of retail activity, where purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Among these signals, average star ratings (1–5), review volume, and rating dispersion serve as prominent cues shaping consumer perceptions of product quality and trust.

Prior research has examined the relationship between ratings and sales using platform-specific data (e.g., Amazon, eBay, Yelp, Expedia). However, real-world observational data often confound rating effects with other influential factors such as brand strength, price differences, promotions, and platform-generated signals (e.g., “best seller” badges). When consumers evaluate multiple alternatives simultaneously, isolating the independent causal …

Mental Health In Healthcare Workers: Is It Just A Myth Or A Fact, Considering The Abundant Access To Healthcare, Shiwani Ranjitkar

Create@State

Healthcare workers have direct access to healthcare resources, yet many continue to experience significant mental health challenges. This study investigates the factors contributing to this issue and its implications for healthcare systems. Using data analysis and a review of recent literature, national surveys, and public health reports, key factors identified include heavy workloads, emotional strain from patient care, staffing shortages, workplace harassment, and stigma associated with seeking mental health support. Research indicates that healthcare professionals frequently experience burnout, anxiety, depression, and compassion fatigue even when support resources are available. For instance, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Ai In Minimizing ​The Bullwhip Effect In Supply Chains​, Ngan Vo, Khang Cao, Nikita Lama

Create@State

This study evaluates the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) in reducing the bullwhip effect within a simulated supply chain using the Beer Game model. Three decision-making approaches were compared: traditional human-only ordering with limited information, AI-assisted ordering using ChatGPT, and collaborative decision-making with full information sharing across supply chain tiers. Supply chain performance was evaluated over four simulation rounds using key operational metrics, including order variability, inventory levels, backorders, and customer service performance. Results indicate that traditional human decision-making led to higher order variability and stronger fluctuations due to reactive decisions and limited information visibility. AI-assisted ordering improved decision consistency …

Which Ai For What? An Ai Value Index For Small Business Adoption, Ahesanul Karim Abid

Create@State

Every day, millions of small business owners hear the same advice: use AI to grow your business. But when they look at the options — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek – they face an overwhelming question with no clear answer: which one should I actually use for my specific business need?

This question needs a fact-backed answer. Small businesses make up nearly all U.S. companies, about 99.9%, and employ close to half the country's workforce. Yet they adopt AI at rates 38 percentage points lower than large corporations. The issue is not cost. The issue is that no one has …

The Convergence Of Big Data And Ai, Prasanna Rajbhandari

Create@State

Big data and artificial intelligence are transforming how organizations analyze information and make decisions. Traditional analytics struggle with large, distributed, and unlabeled datasets. Modern AI systems must adapt quickly, preserve privacy, and extract meaningful insights from complex data environments.

Supersuit Up Or Get Left Behind: Why A Personal Agentic Os Is Required For Commercial Viability In The New Economy, Gary Sheng, Ron Roberts

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

In my first article, The Writing on the Wall, we laid out the case: self-improving AI has arrived, the economy is splitting, and every organization faces an existential choice. This paper answers the question we heard most after that piece: “Okay, I believe you. What do I do on Monday morning?” The answer is your Personal Agentic OS. It is the minimum viable infrastructure that turns you from a passive consumer of AI into a sovereign operator of it. And in April 2026, three events converged to make this the most urgent professional skill in the world: Andrej Karpathy’s LLM …

Swosu Research And Scholarly Activity Fair 2026, Swosu Office Of Sponsored Programs

SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair Programs

On behalf of the University Research and Scholarly Activity Committee (URSAC) and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, we are pleased to welcome you to the Thirty-Fourth SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair.

The Invisible Fuel: How Corporate Affinity For Technology Drives Resilience, Rachel Gandy

Theses

This paper examines how Corporate Affinity to Technology (CAT) affects organizational resilience among U.S. managers. Based on survey data from 364 managers in the retail, finance, and healthcare industries, this research indicates that the degree of technology use in a firm does not relate to the firm’s level of broadband availability or technology intensity, but rather to the extent to which technology is woven into the fabric of skills development, organizational culture, and the decision-making process. High-CAT firms are resilient under stress; low-CAT firms are fragile, irrespective of the level of technology they have invested in. Recommendations for managers who …

Determinants Of Self-Employed Retirement Preparation: The Mediating Effects Of Financial Capability, Financial Literacy, And Financial Self-Efficacy, Ricardo Russi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A substantial number of older Americans lack confidence in their retirement preparation, and many approach retirement without a formal plan. Additionally, despite the economic significance of self-employment, little research has examined whether self-employed individuals differ from wage workers in retirement preparation and the conditions of underlying such differences. Guided by capability theory, this dissertation investigates the relationship between self-employment and retirement preparation, with particular attention to the mediating roles of financial capability, financial literacy, and financial self-efficacy.

Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) (N = 9,499 working-age adults), the study employs Bayesian structural equation modeling to …

Northern Rainstorm Belt And Response Strategies, Jianping Huang, Xiaodan Guan, Xiaohuang Liu, Xiaohan Shen, Xiaojie Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the summer of 2025, the Northern Rainstorm Belt stretching from eastern Northwest China to the Northeast region exhibited a significant increase in summer precipitation and rainfall frequency over northern China. Cities in the north were frequently struck by extreme rainstorms, resulting in prominent disasters such as “floods in drylands and urban waterlogging”. Northern China spans a vast territory, serving not only as a major grain-producing area and a densely populated region but also as an ecological security barrier that connects the farming-pastoral ecotone and the Loess Plateau. Its stability has nationwide implications. Therefore, comprehensively enhancing flood control capacity, strengthening …

Strategic Audit - Lululemon, Jared M. Loos, David Goldsmith, Madelyn Martin, Grant Taylor, Carson Downs

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

No abstract provided.

Improve Institutions And Mechanisms For Basic Research To Cultivate Major Scientific And Technological Achievements, Wei Lyu, Xielin Liu, Ke Wen

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Basic research is the source of important S&T innovation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, S&T innovation has become a strategic support for enhancing social productivity and comprehensive national strength, and the role of basic research in the national innovation system has been significantly enhanced. How to give full play to the role of basic research has become a major decision-making issue in providing the source and leading the direction of S&T innovation. This study conducts in-depth case studies and extensive questionnaire surveys focusing on two …

Technology-Driven Risk Governance In U.S. Financial Reporting: The Role Of Cybersecurity Disclosure And Regulatory Technology In Strengthening Capital Market Transparency, Kingsford Brakye, Mary Magdalene Yeboah

Beacom School of Business Student Publications

The rapid digitalization of the financial reporting systems has exposed the U.S. public companies to cybersecurity threats that could impair financial information integrity, the reliability of disclosure, and investor confidence. This paper examines how cybersecurity risk disclosure practices and regulatory technology adoption affect transparency and accountability in US capital markets. The study reviewed existing literature, regulatory guidance, and corporate disclosures in the filings of U.S. public companies, 2020-2026, using a qualitative analytical approach. The results show that the disclosure of cyber risk in corporate reporting is becoming visible in recent years, with the advent of new laws, such as new …

Benchmarking Digitalized Innovation In Business Strategy Across Msmes, Shyam Sundar. S, Uma Raman. M, Shanmuga Priya. G, C. M. Sudha Arogya Mary

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The contemporary globally interconnected economy is fundamentally changing international trade and opening up new prospects for businesses, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The basic concept of global business is changing in the modern world due to the digital environment. To preserve their competitive advantage both domestically and internationally, businesses must look for new opportunities. Since the usage of digital technology is causing entrepreneurial processes to become more fluid and irregular over time and space, our research chose a conceptual approach to examine how the digitalization of MSMEs would benefit decision-makers in global organizations. Using a conceptual approach, as …

Customer Lifetime Value (Clv): A Qualitative Study From India On How Satisfaction, Relationships, Loyalty And Wom (Word-Of-Mouth) Shape Clv, Sharmistha Bhattacharyya, Mrinmoy Kumar Sarma

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The study aims to assess the impact of non-financial measures like satisfaction, relationship-related driver, loyalty and word-of-mouth on the lifetime value of customers of small retail businesses. This work is targeted to develop a conceptual phenomenon on the impact of these drivers on customer lifetime value from the viewpoint of owners of the entities. 30 in-depth interviews are conducted. The interviews are analysed following the six-step thematic analysis method. The analysis reveals significant influence of all the four factors. It is found that the participants have their own ways of maintaining these drivers for an enhanced lifetime value. The study …

Accounting For Non-Monetary Exchange: A Systematic Review Of Barter Literature From Colonial Ledgers To Digital Economies, Christian Timotius Peilouw, Unti Ludigdo, Imam Subekti, Yeney Widya Prihatiningtias

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Non-monetary exchange systems persist throughout human history, challenging assumptions about monetary dominance and revealing fundamental limitations in conventional accounting frameworks. This systematic literature review examines how accounting practices adapt to and shape non-monetary exchange across diverse historical and contemporary contexts, investigating patterns in accounting practices, challenges to conventional theory, and implications for economic resilience. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review analyzed 28 peer-reviewed articles from 1979 to 2025 identified through Scopus database searches combining barter-related and accounting terms. The analysis reveals four major themes: historical foundations showing sophisticated proto-banking systems in colonial America that operated without currency; crisis-driven alternatives demonstrating how …

Engaging Young People In Sustainable Finance: Opening Up Opportunities For Transformation, Allison Guerette

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The field of sustainable finance could benefit from more meaningful engagement with young people, who offer a unique perspective and have a vested interest in addressing climate change and other global issues that will shape their future. In this post-qualitative study, three young people document what they see, hear, and experience as they attend a symposium for experts on sustainable finance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. These raw tellings are used in the cocreation of a youth sustainable finance assemblage and analysis tool, which the young people then apply to the Return on Sustainable Investment (ROSI™) methodology. Relationality, …

The Globe Spins Faster; We Keep Providing Clearer Interpretive Snapshots, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

On Humans And Ai: A Financial Reporting Dilemma, Jeremy Bertomeu, Edwige Cheynel, Radhika Lunawat, Mario Milone

Olin Business School Faculty Research

This study examines the resolution of ethical dilemmas in financial reporting by human participants and large language models. Participants act in the role of a CFO deciding whether to discontinue a prior policy with biased reporting; however, the bias is known and corrected by investors whereas a change may temporarily mislead investors. We find that models are less amenable to competing ethical considerations than humans, and exhibit greater preference for truthful reporting. Moreover, they respond with greater consistency to institutional ethical guidance, while humans become more indecisive under pressure from management. The models exhibit more internal coherence between their moral …

Risk Identification Of Green Hydrogen Supply Chain In Ammonia Industry In Indonesia Using Delphi And Topsis Methods, Ananda Priatama, Sheila Tobing

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

The development of green hydrogen in Indonesia, while promising for supporting industrial decarbonization, remains in its early stages and faces various challenges across technical, economic, and regulatory domains. This study aims to identify and prioritize the risks linked to green hydrogen supply chain in Indonesia, particularly for applications in the ammonia industry. A set of 49 potential risk factors was initially compiled through literature review and prior studies. The Delphi method was employed with a panel of experts to validate these risks, ultimately refining the list to 27 critical risk factors. Subsequently, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to …

Examination Of The Hiring Process: Bias In Selection, Conor Johanson

Honors Theses

Racial discrimination in the hiring process remains a persistent problem despite decades of anti-discrimination legislation and widespread bias-awareness training. The present study examined whether resume quality and candidate race jointly influence hiring evaluations among human resource professionals, a population with formal training in equitable selection practices. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, 129 HR professionals recruited through Prolific were randomly assigned to evaluate a high- or low-quality resume attributed to either a Black or White candidate. Participant evaluations were assessed across warmth-related and competence-related dimensions derived from the Stereotype Content Model, with Aversive Racism Theory guiding predictions about when …