Business Commons^™

Nsra Nextgen Program: Preparing Tomorrow’S Family Enterprise Leaders, Carol Wittmeyer

Business Faculty/Staff Publications

All businesses need to prepare for transitions and minimizing related risks. Transitions will occur in ownership and business contexts. They could be related to ‘what-ifs’ – such the sudden passing of an owner or COVID. They could be related to competitive forces – for example, some NSRA members have been more aggressive than others in online sales. However, when you overlap family issues along with business and ownership transition issues, things can get complicated. Also, it’s important to note that every family and every business is different. So, while there are suggested best practices from the family business field, what …

Motion Capture Technologies: Viability Of Consumer Level Motion Capture Solutions, John Thomas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Motion Capture is a prevalent and useful technology in the animation industry as well as the medical and military industries. As technology becomes better and cheaper it begins to enter the consumer market. A consumer interest in motion capture animations made by anyone has been created with the technology. This paper will focus on a review of the new technologies that have allowed the beginning of consumer-level motion-capture animations. Included will be a review of the history of motion capture and then a study of methods, workflows, and necessary prerequisites for making motion capture data using consumer-available tools. The study …

Exploring Inventory Management's Effects On A Company's Profitability, Mason Frye

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Effective inventory management policy is a recognizable critical driver for company success, but which techniques and tools are relevant today? This thesis explores the theory that a company's inventory management practices directly impact the firm's efficiency, responsiveness, and profitability. Research from previously published studies on inventory management is shared to develop a framework of understanding to answer the question of relevancy. Additionally, interviews with successful business professionals within the field provide additional insight into specific inventory management practices that affect profitability and performance. Moreover, these professionals discuss how the practices are effectively applied in the real world today. Finally, this …

Risk-Return Dynamics Using Leveraged Etf Options, Eliza Wampler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study uses barbell strategies on the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 to explore if funds invested primarily in fixed income assets with a portion of the investment placed in in-the-money call options can participate in upside potential, while also reducing risk. This study examines call options on the underlying indexes as well as their leveraged, 2x and 3x, counterparts. The barbell strategy studied, 88% in fixed income bonds and 12% in call options, does not have a higher return than the underlying index, and adds additional risk. However, a weighted portfolio with combinations of a risk-free asset and …

Consumer Preferences For Sustainability And Its Impacts On Strategic Management Processes In The Chemical Industry: An Exploratory Investigation, Levi Little

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to create and implement sustainable business operations has become increasingly important for chemical firms to keep up with ever-growing consumer demands for sustainability. This thesis is an exploratory investigation designed to examine the strategies and decisions made by top management of select chemical firms while dealing with consumer pressures for sustainable products and processes. The implementation of specific structures and processes were studied to measure the extent chemical firms have taken for sustainable operations. These measures of the strategic processes of the firms studies include corporate vision, mission, and goals, sustainability structure, product offerings, supply chain management, reporting, …

Intraday Algorithmic Trading Using Momentum And Long Short-Term Memory Network Strategies, Andrew R. Whitinger Ii

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Intraday stock trading is an infamously difficult and risky strategy. Momentum and reversal strategies and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks have been shown to be effective for selecting stocks to buy and sell over time periods of multiple days. To explore whether these strategies can be effective for intraday trading, their implementations were simulated using intraday price data for stocks in the S&P 500 index, collected at 1-second intervals between February 11, 2021 and March 9, 2021 inclusive. The study tested 160 variations of momentum and reversal strategies for profitability in long, short, and market-neutral portfolios, totaling 480 portfolios. …

The Relationship Between Twitter Mentions & Stock Volatility During Trading Hours, Connor Day

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A new paradigm in investing has been created where people have easier access than ever to invest in the stock market from the convenience of their phones. Through zero-commission trading apps, like Robinhood, less starting capital is required. This research is used to investigate the relationship between the frequency of social media mentions on Twitter and a particular stock’s volatility. This will be done using the qualitative data analyzing tool AtlasTi to calculate the frequency in which a particular stock ticker is mentioned on Twitter during trading hours. The volatility of the stock will be calculated using data from Yahoo! …

Bucwild, Morgan Mcclanahan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

BucWild is a student-led organization, by the students for the students. We are closing the gap between student life and athletics through social media. We believe that in order for students to have the best experience possible at ETSU, involvement is crucial. In May of 2021, we began our mission to launch this organization for the 2021-2022 school year. Here is an in-depth look at how we did this.

Risk-Based Deposit Insurance, Deposit Rates And Bank Failures: Evidence From Russia, Lucy Chernykh, Vladimir Kotomin

Faculty Publications – Finance, Insurance, and Law

Using the Russian banking system as a laboratory, we study the effect of a switch from fixed-rate deposit insurance to a risk-based system with premia tied to insured deposit rates offered by a bank. After the switch, increases in bank risk lead to reduced reliance on insured deposits, private banks without excessive capital stop raising insured deposit rates to fund loan growth, and the cost of insured deposits becomes a predictor of bank failures (beyond the CAMEL variables). Offering insured deposit rates notably above the market becomes a last resort to banks. The results suggest that risk-based deposit insurance schemes …

Job Satisfaction Through The Lens Of Turnover Intentions And Burnout For Academic Faculty, Amrita Tharappel Thomas

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: A recent advice article published by The Chronicle of Higher Education addressed how Tenure and Tenure-Track faculty members are leaving their academic positions at college and universities. Education underwent tremendous change due to the COVID-19 Pandemic as faculty had to transition from in-person lectures and laboratory classes to teaching all classes and lectures in a virtual format and then a hybrid between in-person and online. The changes caused by the Pandemic came swiftly but did not come with ease. My dissertation examines Job Satisfaction through the lens of Turnover Intentions and Burnout for Academic Faculty. I surveyed faculty around …

Enhancing Creativity In Organizational Teams: Development Of The Spark Program, Kimberly Morehead

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Organizational teams have experienced unprecedented change since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—such as frequent changes in leadership, increased turnover, and shifting to full-time remote work—which have impacted their ability to form lasting creative connections. This project addresses the challenge of the above changes by introducing a creativity-boosting program called The Spark, designed to help organizational teams remain inspired, connected, and energized throughout times of change. Following an overview of the rationale for this project and a review of the pertinent literature, the process plan is provided in detail. The project resulted in a program structure based on the Torrance …

Related Party Transactions And Corporate Environmental Responsibility, Wonseok Choi, Chune Young Chung, Monika K. Rabarison, Kainan Wang

Finance Faculty Publications

We examine the effect of related party transactions on corporate environmental responsibility and find that firms with more related party transactions tend to have more controversial environmental reports, less emissions reduction, and less environmental expenditures. This relationship is more significant for firms with a high investment-cash flow sensitivity and those with a low ESG score. Overall, the results corroborate the hypothesis that the marginal costs of corporate environmental responsibility outweigh the benefits for financially constrained firms, thus deterring these firms from engaging in corporate environmental responsibility activities.

Earnings Management In Response To Fair Treatment: The Roles Of Organizational Identity And Moral Identity, Kimberly M. Bates

Management Dissertations - Archive

Fraud continues to be an issue that organizations face globally, losing an estimated 5% of annual revenue for a total of $4.5 trillion globally. However, fraudulent behavior is difficult to study due to the unacceptable nature of it. I provide researchers with an adapted measure of earnings management that mitigates the socially undesirable act of earnings management which can suppress findings in self-reported studies. Additionally, based on the target similarity model, my dissertation considers accountants’ perception of fair treatment by the organization on willingness to engage in earnings management benefiting the organization. I survey 123 financial and managerial accountants to …

Not All Discounts Are Created Equal: Power Distance Belief And Locus-Of-Discount In A Product Bundle, Hsin-Yi Liao

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the relationship between power distance belief (PDB) – the tendency to accept and endorse power disparity – and preference for a discount on the focal (vs. tie-in) product in a product bundle. The findings show that high PDB consumers prefer a discount on the focal (vs. tie-in) product in a bundle, whereas low PDB consumers’ preference is not affected by the locus-of-discount. This difference is driven by the greater tendency to differentiate among high (vs. low) PDB consumers. Furthermore, contextual factor that affect consumers’ differentiation tendency, namely consumers’ prioritization tendency, set boundary condition for the impact …

2022-May-01-Etsu Announces Laura Casey Terry Finish Line Scholarship, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A new scholarship designed to provide assistance to students who began but did not complete a baccalaureate degree at East Tennessee State University will begin accepting applications for consideration later this year.

The “Laura Casey Terry Finish Line Scholarship” bears the name of the Multicultural Center’s director of Programing and Outreach. The scholarship, created by members of the ETSU Black Alumni Association, will focus on students with an interest in social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion who wish to return to ETSU to complete a baccalaureate degree in the Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies.

“I cannot …

2022-May-01-Research Spotlight, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Five East Tennessee State University scientists recently participated in an international study focused on developing new approaches to improve the effectiveness of vaccines.

Research Spotlight

Data from this multi-institutional study, “An adjuvant strategy enabled by modulation of the physical properties of microbial ligands expands antigen immunogenicity,” was published in the journal Cell.

The research focused on modulating the physical properties of fungal sugars, called mannans, to …

Economic Opportunity And Community Development Financial Institutions In Clark County, Ar And Beyond: An Analysis, Magdalena Hopkins

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Arkansas is home to one of the greatest projects in the world of Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp. Founded with the help and support of Bill Clinton, it pre-dates The Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, which is now used to fund similar Community Development Financial Institutions. According to the Opportunity Finance Network (2022), there are more than 1,200 Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States. These institutions span the country and operate in unique communities. The CDFI Coalition (2017) cites Arkansas as having 19 Community Development Financial Institutions in the state. It is important …

Planning For Debt: An Analysis Of Drivers Of Financial Knowledge On Individual Debt Strategy, Nicholas A. Hughes

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study aims to provide insight into the relationships between proven significant drivers of financial knowledge (numeracy, cognitive ability, mathematics anxiety, and financial literacy) and an individual's premeditated strategy to tackle their student loans. From a sample of 160 undergraduate students, we find few significant results that affirm the hypotheses of the study. However, we also determine that several descriptive factors (i.e., general mathematical skill, anticipated level of debt and interest to be repaid, etc.) vary by an extremely wide margin, suggesting that students lack the very skills necessary to calculate and deal with their own loans. Additionally, we find …

Reshoring The Semiconductor Industry Supply Chain: Analysis Of Risks And Capabilities, Makayla Ann Masse

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The importance of supply chain resilience and semiconductor manufacturing has been discussed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and its later disruptions to multiple industries (The White House, 2021). This paper uses frameworks developed by Pettit, Fiksel, and Croxton (2010), Ponomarov and Holcomb (2009), and Rao and Goldsby (2009) to identify the semiconductor industry’s risks, capabilities, and interdependencies through an analysis of 45 prominent semiconductor companies. The analysis was done on multiple levels. On the industry level, risks, and capabilities as well as their co-occurrences were analyzed. On the supply chain level, relationships were mapped using Boston Consulting Group …

The Impact Of Study Abroad As It Relates To Business Students' Career Paths, Madison M. Burgett

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Business schools in the United States are continuously working to provide students with real-world experiences which will help them discern, and prepare for, their future careers. As globalization continues to increase the interconnectedness of the world, and of the companies within it, it is increasingly important that business students are globally aware and culturally competent. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that studying abroad enables business students to discern and prepare for their future careers. To demonstrate this, students and graduates of Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, with graduation years between 2012 and 2022, were surveyed. Those …

Nlr Eats: A Nonprofit To Feed Hungry Kids, Sydney Eagan

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organization Description: Dog-Town Eats is a not-for-profit organization set up in North Little Rock, Arkansas, for the purpose of providing nutritious meals to underprivileged children on the weekends. The organization will also strive to provide meals when children are not in school over the summer months.

Specific Concept: Dog-Town Eats would like to purchase a food truck as well as supplies to offer meals. The organization will progressively expand to the areas surrounding North Little Rock and then eventually the entire state of Arkansas.

Market Description: Children who do not have the means of finding and or providing themselves …

2022 May, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2022.

Why And When Do Leaders Express Humility? Leader Expressed Humility As Psycho-Social Signaling, Kelly G. Manix

American Business Review

Humble leadership has generated immense research interest. Yet, little is understood regarding why or when leaders may choose to express humility to their followers. Drawing upon self-determination and signaling theories, this conceptual research seeks to explain why some leaders display humble behaviors toward their followers more than other leaders. Needs for relatedness and competence are proposed as antecedents of humble expressions. Leader optimism is proposed as a moderator of this relationship. I contend leaders sustain expressions of humility to signal their values of relatedness and growth to followers and to encourage humble behaviors among them for mutually beneficial outcomes. Optimism …

The Importance Of Process Documentation In The Workplace, Alisha Chatlani

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper focuses on the benefits of process documentation in the workplace and how individuals can go about creating documentation that best suits their business needs. The author of this paper explains how they went about researching, developing, and creating process documentation for a team at J.B. Hunt Transport Services and the methodology behind the entire process through an internship.

Business Plan: Refuge Coffee, Zachary Lewandowski

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Refuge Coffee will be the premier vendor of high-quality and sustainably sourced specialty coffee in Springdale, Arkansas. Its mission is to improve lives by providing a space that reflects the community—a space in which ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values can be exchanged, with coffee acting as a common denominator. Refuge Coffee will offer specialty coffee beverages, locally baked goods, and merchandise to consumers. We intend to partner with Canopy NWA, a refugee resettlement organization that aims to welcome and equip refugees with all they need to build new lives, through the means of employment for refugees and the continuous donation …

An Evaluation Of Esg Funds And Their Performance, Mason Hook

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past decade, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) oriented funds have seen a dramatic increase in inflows and many investors have chosen to replace traditional holdings with sustainable ones. Within 5 years, it is projected that ESG exchange traded funds and mutual funds will exceed $53 trillion. Many fund managers claim that ESG funds will outperform traditional funds in the long run. If this claim is accurate, many asset managers would have a fiduciary duty to invest in ESG products. While there is often a non-financial benefit to investing in ESG funds, this paper challenges the claim that they …

Exploring The Impact Of Stock Market Performance On The Real Estate Market, Jake Taylor

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper goes on to analyze the impact of stock market performance on the real estate market. This is done through the analysis of the recent performance of the stock market, real estate market, and key indicators of both markets. The goal of this paper is to inform the reader of potential trends in the real estate market based on key indicators that play a large role in the stock market’s performance in order to make more knowledgeable investments.

Portfolio Optimization Using The Business Cycle Approach, Maxwell Kane

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether a portfolio manager could enhance his/her portfolio optimization strategy by periodically adjusting the equity sector weights to a diversified stock portfolio. The business cycle approach focuses on providing a framework for adjusting sector weightings to take advantage of recurring trends in economic growth that signal a phase transition soon. Once a shift in stages is detected, investors are advised to adjust their portfolio to overweight a specific sector that is projected to outperform in the next phase of the cycle and to offset exposure in sectors that tend to underperform during …

Altering Overdraft Fee Policies To Promote Consumer Financial Health, Nadia Barbarawi

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this study is to describe the traditional overdraft practices, explain the reaction of the banking industry from the pressure coming from consumers, regulators, and innovative companies to reduce or eliminate overdraft fees to promote consumer financial health.

The Timing Of Insider Trading And Management Forecast Credibility, Xiaozhe Gu

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

In this paper, I study how past insider trading patterns affect management forecast credibility. I first hypothesize and find that, due to litigation concerns, executives are unlikely to use a “pump-and-dump” strategy to maximize trading profits. Instead, they issue more accurate and conservative management earnings forecasts before insider sales. I then document that insider sales after forecasts have signaling content. Specifically, firms where a higher fraction of insider sales occurs shortly after the forecast enjoy higher forecast credibility in the future. This effect is more pronounced when firms are difficult to value and less pronounced when firms show traces of …