Business Commons^™

Book Review - Olympic Outliers: Brisbane 2032 And The Future Of The Olympic Games, Robert Sroka

Global Sport Business Journal

This book review examines Olympic Outliers: Brisbane 2032 and the Future of the Olympic Games by Peter English, a multidisciplinary analysis of Brisbane's  appointment as host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The book argues that Brisbane's selection as a mid-sized, regionally focused outlier host reflects a turning point in the Olympic Movement driven by IOC governance reform, shifting geopolitics, and a scarcity of competing megacity bids. Evaluated across four chapters addressing bidding history, legacy planning, media framing, and broader implications for future host selection, the book demonstrates considerable scholarly and practical value. Drawing on robust primary and secondary …

A Therapy Dog Intervention For Elementary School Teachers' Well-Being: Using Action Research To Bridge The Research-Practice Gap In Hrd, Kelly F. Moore

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research (AR) study was to explore how AR can serve as a participatory research design for bridging the research–practice gap in Human Resource Development (HRD) by collaboratively designing, implementing, and evaluating a therapy dog intervention to enhance teacher well-being. One primary research question guided this study: How can action research serve as a participatory research design for bridging the research–practice gap in HRD through the collaborative design and implementation of a therapy dog intervention for elementary school teachers? I conducted a two-phase AR study consisting of a pilot study followed by a full-scale intervention. Data …

Winner-Take-All In International Markets? Performance Persistence Of Social Platforms, Yang Yang, Liang Chen, Jiang Wei, Yang Liu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Strategy research has long linked sustained competitive advantage to barriers to imitation. We highlight network effects as an alternative mechanism and adopt a geotemporal perspective to theorize how firms sustain advantage as it unfolds over time in international markets. Our study examines this question through the performance persistence of social platforms, focusing on how institutional and demand-side conditions shape the sustainability of platforms’ competitive advantages. We propose that intellectual property rights protection may restrict the degree of freedom in information dissemination, dampening the role of network effects in sustaining superior performance, whilst demand heterogeneity may enhance the value of sizable …

Sustainable Finance: An Analysis Of Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Investments, Ngan Trat

Honors Theses

Changes in climate conditions are reshaping our environments and impacting ecosystems. A product of these changes is worsening climate events, and for Mississippi, that means increasingly frequent, high-intensity storms and floods. Its immediate and residual effects can range from disruptive to destructive. Mississippi and its communities are highly vulnerable to the effects of intense natural disasters, and there is a discrepancy between the need for climate-resilient infrastructure investments and the state’s fiscal capabilities to finance the research and construction of such projects. This paper will evaluate existing cases of climate-resilient infrastructure in effect through a sustainable finance lens and identify …

Comparing The Risk And Return Characteristics Of Ai Exchange-Traded Funds To Benchmark Stock Market Etfs, Aryan Malhotra

Honors Theses

Artificial intelligence exchange-traded funds (AI ETFs) have expanded rapidly as investors seek targeted exposure to firms developing or benefiting from AI technologies. This study compares the performance of 50 AI ETFs with two broad-market ETFs, SPY (S&P 500) and RSP (equal-weight S&P 500), from January 2018 to January 2026. AI ETFs exhibit higher expense ratios and strong correlations with both benchmarks, reflecting their concentration in large-cap technology stocks. Over the full sample, AI ETFs generated higher cumulative returns but with substantially greater volatility. Sub-period analysis further decomposes the post-COVID period into pre-ChatGPT (April 2020–November 2022) and post-ChatGPT (December 2022–January 2026) …

Financial Fraud In Mississippi Public Agencies: Case Studies Of Control Failures And Implications On Civic Engagement, Gracie Sullivan

Honors Theses

This study analyzes the relationship between financial fraud in Mississippi public institutions and its potential impact on civic engagement. While the existing literature explores the mechanics of fraud through frameworks such as the Fraud Triangle and the role of internal controls in preventing misconduct, limited research examines how government corruption influences civic disengagement, particularly in Mississippi. Using a quantitative, comparative research design, this study examines the relationship between major public financial fraud cases and voter turnout in case-linked and comparison counties. These cases include the Mississippi TANF welfare fraud, the Department of Corrections bribery case, and the misuse of funds …

Can Financial Literacy Enhance Esg Disclosures?, Xiaoran Jia, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Kiat Bee Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using an international sample of firms and two country-level measures of financial literacy, we find robust evidence of a positive relation between financial literacy and firms' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures. In cross-sectional analyses, we find that the effect of financial literacy in enhancing ESG disclosures is more prominent in poorer information environments, weaker legal institutions and weaker ESG reporting environments. Lastly, we find that financial literacy also enhances ESG performance. Our study contributes to and extends the literature by providing strong evidence that citizens' financial literacy enhances firms' ESG disclosure and the associated ESG performance.

Corporate Response To The Black Lives Matter Movement: Determinants Of Speaking Out In Support Of Social Causes, A. J. Yuan Chen, Patricia M. Dechow, Samuel T. Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We document that firms vary in their timeliness of support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, and that timeliness is an indicator of authenticity. We predict that firms that speak out quickly in support of BLM (via Twitter or their websites) have made more investments in diversity and inclusion, relative to firms that speak out slowly (via conference calls or annual reports) or that remain silent. Consistent with this prediction, quick-disclosing firms have greater workforce diversity, have boards with greater ethnic diversity, and are more likely to tie executive compensation …

An Agile-Informed Job Demands-Resources Framework In Hospitality: A Dual-Pathway Structural Model Of Employee Satisfaction, Burnout, And Turnover Intentions, Albaraa Mesawi

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent labor shortages and elevated voluntary turnover define the hospitality industry. High-intensity service interactions increase workload, emotional labor, and time pressure for non-management employees. The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model predicts engagement and retention when job resources offset job demands. Existing research has not specified which operational conditions reliably predict this balance in dynamic service work. This study evaluates whether adapted Agile philosophy serves as a heuristic framework for specifying JD-R constructs in hospitality. The study maps Agile values and principles to validated psychological constructs through Psychological State Matching: Self-Organization to Psychological Empowerment (PE), Regular Reflection to Perceived Team Learning Behavior …

A Tail Of Consumption: Essays On Pet-Person Identities And Their Effects On Consumers, Mackenzie Micheala Volk

Theses and Dissertations

This work examines how exposure to pet-person identities — identifying as a dog person or a cat person — affects consumer behavior. Across two chapters, results show that exposure to dog-person cues increases preferences for bold and conspicuous product features through heightened desire for dominance-based status signaling. Additionally, exposure to cat-person cues activates a cat-person mindset, boosting support for inclusive businesses and policies by increasing minority support and justice sensitivity. Together, these findings suggest that subtle identity cues in the marketplace can meaningfully shape consumer preferences and social attitudes, with implications for how brands position themselves and how policymakers and …

Guilt’S Role In Sustainable Fashion Adoption: Bridging The Attitude-Behavioral Intention Gap And Moral Influences On Consumer Choices, Lauren Mckenzie Cole

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial increase in consumer awareness within the fashion industry. Despite increased consumer consciousness and a growing interest in adopting sustainable fashion habits, a notable gap exists between consumer attitudes, intentions, and actual behavior. This is referred to as the attitude-behavior gap. Although many consumers express a desire to adopt sustainable fashion consumption habits, various psychological factors and barriers hinder their ability to do so. This Study addresses these challenges, focusing specifically on the role of guilt as a motivating factor in bridging the attitude-behavior gap. Using a survey with Generation Z consumers, this study …

Staging Technological Change: Media Ecology, Cultural Memory, And Fantasy Theme Analysis In The Tesla Cybertruck Unveiling, John Rodgers

Communication Theses

This thesis examines contemporary product launches as communicative events, arguing that they help shape how technological change is publicly interpreted and remembered. Drawing on media ecology and cultural memory, and using Fantasy Theme Analysis as the primary method, the study analyzes Tesla’s 2019 Cybertruck unveiling as a case of symbolic meaning-making at the moment of introduction and in its immediate circulation. The analysis identifies four dominant fantasy themes that organize the launch’s symbolic world and cohere into a rhetorical vision presenting Tesla as a disruptive actor introducing a resilient technology for an already arriving future. It then traces how that …

Immersive Experiences And Brand Equity: Ar And Vr As Engagement Tools For Gen Z In Art Studio Start-Ups, Helena F. Allman, Erol Pala, Hilmi A. Atadil, Felicia N. Morgan, Alison J. Green, Qiulin Lu

AMTP Proceedings 2026

The paper examines the distinct roles of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and personal storytelling in influencing consumer-based brand equity. The work explores how VR-based art experiences enhance sensory and emotional engagement and how AR-based experiences increase interactivity and creative participation of Gen Z art studio patrons. The inclusion of the business owner’s personal story narrative is expected to strengthen perceived brand authenticity and emotional connection. From a theoretical perspective, this work will extend experiential marketing theory by showing how immersive technologies and authentic narratives shape consumer experiences, particularly for Generation Z consumers. From a managerial standpoint, the study …

A Labor Market Unleashed: College Football Labor Substitution In The Transfer Portal Era, Adrian M. Simion, Jeremy M. Losak, Catalina Bush

Sport Management - All Scholarship

College football's labor market has been transformed by litigation-driven regulatory change eliminating long-standing mobility restrictions. Central to this transformation is a new roster construction dilemma — whether to acquire experienced collegiate talent through the transfer portal or invest in traditional high school recruiting. Using a fixed effects panel of 127 Football Bowl Subdivision programs across six recruiting cycles (2019–2024), we examine whether schools substitute transfers for high school recruits. Three findings emerge. First, portal activity is associated with reduced three-star recruiting but no relationship with four-star or five-star prospects, with substitution driven by quantity rather than quality. Second, substitution is …

Evaluating Current And Prospective Major League Soccer Marketing Strategies To Spanish Speakers In The United States, Larissa Lee

Honors Theses

This quantitative study identifies the relationship between Spanish-language marketing and Major League Soccer (MLS) fandom and support among consumers. Data were collected by administering a survey in both English and Spanish to ensure inclusivity and increase accessibility. A total of 497 responses were collected, and a series of simple linear regressions were conducted using SPSS to evaluate if MLS fandom and team support could be predicted by language preference for marketing campaigns, perceptions of current Spanish-language content availability, cultural representation, cultural inclusion, and demand for more Spanish-language content.

Results indicated statistically significant differences across all hypotheses. Regarding the dependent variable …

Does Sponsorship Context Matter? Comparing Local And National Sponsorship Effects On Consumer Behavior, Kathryn Flock

Honors Theses

Sponsorship use has become increasingly important as a marketing strategy for influencing consumer perceptions of the sponsoring company. This, in turn, establishes consumer relationships that result in favorable behavioral intentions. While prior research has examined national and global sponsorships, there is limited research on the differences between national and local sponsorships and how these differences could influence consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions. The purpose of this study was to examine how local or national sponsorship affects consumer perceptions, including sincerity, trust, attitude toward the sponsor, and behavioral intentions.

A mixed-methods approach was employed for this study. Study 1 used qualitative …

2026 Gsba Conference Abstracts

Global Sport Business Journal

Conference abstracts from the 2026 GSBA Conference "Ideas in Motion"

Book Review - Inventing For Sports, Ryan Rodenberg, Vito Tonejc

Global Sport Business Journal

The editors of Inventing for Sports—Eric S. Hintz & Arthur A. Daemmrich—have successfully connected sports with advances in technology, science, and medicine via the inventions making athletic pursuits better and more accessible. Hintz and Daemmrich have also provided great lessons in entrepreneurship, with a bundle of case studies covering inventions such as sports drinks, oversized tennis racquets, and streamlined swimwear.  The editors detail how people came up with inventions while trying to solve a particular problem or challenge in their sport of choice.  Throughout the book, the two main themes are how athletes can gain a competitive edge with their …

Ethical Issues Of The Advancement Of Artificial Intelligence, Primo G. Moreno

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Artificial intelligence has rapidly become integrated into our modern society, allowing for new streamlined methods to reign supreme. These methods raise concerns about control, privacy, and the shifting boundaries between human and machine decision-making. This paper examines how AI has developed, how it is currently being used, and the ethical dilemmas that arise as societies integrate it into systems such as healthcare, law enforcement, and businesses. Through the expansion of historical, technical, and philosophical perspectives, this paper argues that society must prioritize having set guidelines and systems for monitoring newly created AI systems. Without them, the implementation of AI models …

An Austrian Approach To Accounting Regulation: How Policy Intervention Distorts The Market For Assurance Services, Kyan Howe

Student Scholarship

This thesis applies the causal-realist method of the Austrian School of Economics to the market for assurance services in the United States. The central argument is that post-crisis accounting regulation has systematically distorted the incentive structures of independent public accounting firms in ways regulators do not predict and cannot fully control. Financial crises, properly understood through Austrian Business Cycle Theory, originate in monetary distortions rather than market failure. Post-crisis regulatory responses nonetheless target the profession rather than the underlying distortion, introducing rules that alter the institutional constraints within which auditors exercise professional judgment.

The thesis develops a judgment-based equation of …

Kawasaki Strategic Analysis, Felicity Thompson

Honors Theses

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a global manufacturing and engineering company that operates across  multiple industrial sectors, including aerospace, energy systems, railways, robotics, marine  engineering, and powersports. Kawasaki is structured around engineering capabilities and  large-scale industrial production, allowing it to develop innovative technologies and integrated  systems used in domestic and international markets. In FY2025, Kawasaki generated over 2,340  billion yen in annual revenue, showing its scale as a diversified industrial conglomerate. 

Kawasaki Heavy Industries operates in multiple business units that focus on different industries,  but are connected through shared engineering knowledge, research and development, and production  systems. This structure allows Kawasaki …

Gsbj Editor's Note

Global Sport Business Journal

Editor's Note for Volume 11 (2026)

Book Review - The Fast Track, Darlene A. Kluka

Global Sport Business Journal

This review examines The Fast Track by Jane McManus, a timely analysis of the commercial rise of women’s sport in the United States. McManus challenges the persistent narrative of low consumer demand, reframing it as a consequence of historical underinvestment and limited infrastructure. Drawing on industry data, stakeholder interviews, and economic analysis, the book highlights key growth drivers, including media rights, sponsorship alignment, and athlete-led digital visibility. It also situates these developments within broader social and political contexts, addressing issues of equity, representation, and governance. While primarily U.S.-focused, the book offers a compelling market diagnosis and underscores women’s sport as …

Breaking The Regional Barriers: Identifying Determinants Of Antenatal Care Access In Bangladesh For Improved Maternal Health Policy, Md. Salman, Mou Rani Sarker, Md. Asifur Rahman, Andrew M. Mckenzie, Md. Abdur Rouf Sarkar

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inadequate utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services remains a major contributor to maternal and child morbidity globally, posing barriers to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.1 in developing countries such as Bangladesh. Despite notable national progress, regional disparities continue to constrain timely ANC access for pregnant women. This study identifies the region-specific determinants of ANC access using advanced econometric modeling. A nonparametric copula control function approach is applied to correct for endogeneity in Poisson regression, with robustness validated through machine learning techniques. Using nationally representative data from the 2022 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, findings show that only 41% of pregnant …

Columnas: The Honors Program Newsletter At Bentley University, Amanda Li, Wilson Jan, Michael Raphael, Alexandra Rieckehoff, Karina Wu, Michael Shehata, Nilufar Noorian, Eloise Weintraub

Honors Program

INSIDE THE MODERN WORLD

Page 2: Stepping Out by Amanda Li

Page 3: Inside the Corporate Slop Bowl by Wilson Jan

Page 4: The Silencing: An Evaluation of the Global Attacks on the Right to Protest by Michael Raphael

THE SOUND OF CHANGE

Page 5: The Social, Cultural, and Economic Impact of Bad Bunny by Alexandra Rieckehoff

Page 6: Streaming Changed Music, But Is It Fair to Artists? by Karina Wu

Page 7: Feeling the Music: How Haptic Wearables Are Changing the Way We Experience Sound by Michael Shehata

SHIFTING SYSTEMS

Page 8: The Story Behind Davos, One of the …

The Impact Of Future Business Leaders Of America (Fbla) On High School Students And Leadership Development, Thomas Michael Robert Ray

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Thomas Michael Robert Ray on April 1, 2026.

Crafting Sustainability: Fiber Artists And The Limits Of Sustainable Production, Hallie R. Cole

Senior Theses

This research examines the role of individual fiber artists in advancing sustainability within the slow fashion movement, with particular attention to the operational decisions that shape sustainable craft practices. Scholars and practitioners acknowledge that individual fiber artists are not only key agents in sustainable production but are foundational to the existence and persistence of the slow fashion movement; however, the existing literature mainly focuses on firms or consumer behavior. Motivated by the need to fill this important research gap, this research aims to understand the decision-making of fiber artists with the goal of enhancing the progress of the Slow Fashion …

Research Days: Case Study: Creation Of A Student-Driven Radio Talk Show To Answer Cybersecurity Questions And Concerns To Boost Power Skills, Joel Leiva, Anthony Bayate, David Abiandu, Keith Fernandez

Center for Cybersecurity

Power skills are essential in any professional career. Oftentimes, college students don’t feel prepared enough to enter the workforce. Having good power skills in a group can greatly increase production and efficiency. This case study aims to develop these power skills in a group of college students through the creation of a student-driven radio talk show answering cybersecurity questions and concerns. A qualitative approach was used via the creation of the C.Y.B.E.R. radio show. This show enhanced the participants’ power skills such as collaboration, teamwork, and communication skills. The findings from this case study prove the alternate hypothesis of boosting …

Spe 2400-Career Communication Course Syllabus, Alyse Anna Keller Johnson

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus outlines a 12-week asynchronous Career Communication course focused on developing practical communication skills for professional contexts. Through open educational resources (OER) and a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) approach, students engage in applied learning activities such as resume development, interview practice, and professional writing. The course is designed for adaptability across institutions and emphasizes accessibility, skill-building, and real-world application.

The Age Of Impact, Scott Fritzen

Asian Management Insights

Across Asia—and increasingly around the world—we are entering what can only be described as an age of impact. Organisations are no longer judged solely by what they produce, but by what changes as a result. Growth remains important, but it is no longer sufficient. Stakeholders—investors, policymakers, partners and the public—are asking a more demanding question: what difference does your work make, and how do you know?