Business Commons^™

Opportunities For Reducing Expenses Through Digital Innovation: The Case Of An Insurance Company, Craig Paul Pillay, James Kariuki Njenga

The African Journal of Information Systems

Operational inefficiencies not only affect the quality of a company's offerings but also increase its overhead expenses. Insurance companies have some of the highest overhead costs, which often are transferred to customers as premiums for insurance products. While companies are adopting digital innovation to reduce expenses by optimizing their operational functions, not all companies are ready for the digital transformation journey, which risks their existence. The unreadiness exists despite evidence that digital innovation has many potential benefits to these companies. Nine participants from six business units, all with 133 employees, were interviewed for this study. This research uses a single, …

Strategy & Tactics To Improve Sales For B2b Manufacturing Firms: A Case Study, Frank T. Ricci, Jr.

Honors Projects in Marketing

Manufacturing businesses primarily focus on producing products, but as a result, these firms can fall behind on their marketing efforts when compared to other business sectors. Through a case study approach, an analysis was conducted to reveal how business to business 'B2B' manufacturing firms can attain and use marketing research supplemented by robust data analysis from its customers to improve sales. The study was divided into 7 sections. Sections 1, 2, and 3 show the dynamics of this business sector and motivations for this project. The remaining sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 explore the practical implications through a live …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: April 28, 2021, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N rose by 1.49% during March 2021. The indicator has risen during each of the last six months, suggesting that the Nebraska economy will expand at a robust pace through the summer of 2021. In March, the leading indicator primarily rose due to strong business expectations and rising airline activity. The pace of recovery in airline passenger enplanements improved during March. In addition, March respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business reported plans to increase sales and employment over the next six months. Manufacturing hours worked also rose in March while there was a small decline in initial claims …

Social Psychology In Action!, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

School Of Humanities Honors Top Students, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

2021-April-28-Etsu Rotc Hall Of Fame Inducts Five, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (April 28, 2021) – The U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at East Tennessee State University inducted five individuals into the Class of 2020 ROTC Hall of Fame during a special ceremony held earlier this month. The ETSU ROTC Hall of Fame recognizes alumni, former cadre members and others who have distinguished themselves professionally and have made significant contributions to the program. The 2020 ceremony was rescheduled for this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos of honorees will be displayed outside the Department of Military Science in Brooks Gym.

Those inducted into the 2020 ROTC Hall …

2021-April-28-Distinguished Ccrhs Alumni And Hall Of Fame Inductees, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (April 28, 2021)  – East Tennessee State University’s College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences (CCRHS) recently announced its 2020 Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame Inductees.

Typically, honorees are announced in the fall. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic last fall, the 2020 honorees will be recognized along with the 2021 honorees to be announced later this fall.

The two recipients of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award from the CCRHS are:

• Kim Garland – Garland received her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and criminology from ETSU in 1998, and then returned to ETSU, where she earned …

2021-April-28-University School Ranked 11th In Tennessee By Us News, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – (April 28, 2021) University School is ranked 11^th in Tennessee by U.S. News & World Report in its “Best High Schools” listing published this week.

Located on the campus of East Tennessee State University, University School is the highest ranked school in the Northeast Tennessee region as well as east of Knoxville.

“This has been a challenging year for the University School community as significant adjustments to our operations were made throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Brian Partin, director of University School.  “Nevertheless, our students and faculty remained focused on the reason we are all here, …

Total Orbit Is Iten’S First Investor Readiness, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Investors’ Reactions To Csr News In Family Versus Nonfamily Firms: A Study On Signal (In)Credibility, Naciye Sekerci, Jamil Jaballah, Marc Van Essen, Nadine Kammerlander

Faculty Publications

We study family firm status as an important condition in signaling theory; specifically, we propose that the market reacts more positively to positive, and more negatively to negative, CSR news (i.e., signals) from family firms than to similar news from nonfamily firms. Moreover, we propose that during recessions, the direction of these relationships reverses. Based on an event study of 1247 positive and negative changes in the CSR ratings for all firms listed on the French SFB120 stock market index (2003-2013), we find support for our hypotheses. Moreover, a post hoc analysis reveals that the relationships are contingent on whether …

2021-April-28-University School Ranked 11th In Tennessee By Us News, University School, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Tax Efficient Supply Chains: Analysis Of Multinational Corporations With Swiss Subsidiaries, David Liu

Honors Scholar Theses

I examine whether U.S. corporations can strategically organize global supply chains to achieve tax efficiency by creating or acquiring subsidiaries in Switzerland. In particular, I study if there is an association between a firm’s use of Swiss subsidiaries and the firm’s effective tax rate using a sample of firm years from 1998 to 2013. Under U.S. rules prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), firms with subsidiaries in low-tax-rate foreign countries (e.g., Switzerland) could generally avoid U.S. tax on foreign income by not repatriating income. The 2014 Caterpillar Inc. case study offers an example of how …

Assessing Leadership In Business – Finance: A Critical Investigation Of Jamie Dimon, Kelly Finn

Honors Scholar Theses

Jamie Dimon became the CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase over a decade ago at age 49. Since, Jamie has earned his place as the world’s top, longest-reigning Wall Street leader. That said, Jamie Dimon was not always as successful as his title and reputation might suggest. In 1998, he was fired from his position as CEO of Citigroup by his own decade-long mentor, Sandy Weill (Dealbook, 2014). It is precisely Jamie’s ability to overcome this major career obstacle that threatened his reputation and career success. The way he handled his own firing with professionalism, strategy, and resiliency enabled his rebound …

The Impact Of Crises On The Shift In Capital Flows From Active To Passive Investment Strategies, Jordan Wang

Honors Scholar Theses

The study investigates the plausibility of an active to passive transition, the impact of crises on the potential transition, and the performance-flow relationship of both active and passive investment products, which includes US equity, open-end and ETF, funds. The analysis compares active and passive funds through the lens of fund flows, absolute returns, and risk-adjusted returns. The study shows that there seemed to be an active to passive transition from 2007 – 2019 and that 2020 – 2021 exhibits measures that could describe changes in the active to passive narrative. A performance-flow relationship exists across both active and passive funds. …

Allete Financial Analysis And Valuation, Alec Tolson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This analysis and evaluation of ALLETE, Inc. is based on historical quantitative and qualitative data. ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE: ALE) is an electric utility provider in the upper Midwest region of the U.S. Their primary business activities involve producing and delivering electricity to customers. Over the course of the last five years, ALE has maintained a consistent customer base. This aligns with the nature of their business as it is a heavily regulated industry where growth and competition are limited geographically.

ALE appears to be a healthy business that is in good standing with the government and regulatory agencies that enforce …

Potential Competition And Antitrust Analysis: Monopoly Profits Exceed Duopoly Profits, Steven C. Salop

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This short note prepared for an OECD meeting in June 2021 examines several antitrust issues involving analysis of potential competition. While the analysis is not new, it is still useful to collect them together in a unified fashion to show how they are related. In this regard, all the analysis and conclusions flow from the overarching (and obvious) points that exclusionary conduct and agreements that maintain monopoly power very often harm consumers, and that monopoly profits typically exceed the combined duopoly profits earned by the dominant firm and the entrant, if there is successful entry. While this is not inevitably …

The U.S. Presidential Election Cycle And Stock Market Returns, Georginus Ejiofor Ugwu

Doctoral Dissertations (DBA)

This paper analyzes the relationship between the presidential election year and the stock market returns in the United States by examining the monthly returns of the Standard &Poor’s 500 stock index from January 1959 to December 2019. In essence, I test whether stock market returns improve during presidential election year, consistent with the political business cycle (PBC) and its later offshoot, the ‘presidential election cycle (PEC) hypothesis, which assumes that incumbent presidents and their parties improve economic growth and the stock market outlook by embracing expansionary macroeconomic policy. I employ the Least Squares Regression tests on monthly S&P 500 index …

Extension-Led Demonstration: Grameen Microfinance Methods And Capital Access For Low-Income Female Entrepreneurs, Mark A. Edelman

Journal of Extension

A nonprofit community development financial institution and Extension collaborated to conduct a demonstration project to evaluate efficacy of Grameen peer-group microfinance methodology in addressing barriers faced by low-income women entrepreneurs in a small metro area. Program performance metrics achieved by 284 culturally diverse, low-income entrepreneurs (almost all women) over 5 years included a program loan repayment rate of 99%, increased average client income, bank savings accumulation, and increased opportunities for improved credit scores. Client survey responses indicated program methods developed confidence and skills in finances, leadership, and teamwork. Extension professionals may play various roles in such endeavors.

Barriers To Careers: How Self-Efficacy Impacts Student Career Readiness, Brandon Goncalves

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This paper explores how known career barriers such as gender, age, and ethnicity are impacting career readiness during the pandemic. Despite these barriers being significant, participants feel that their most challenging barrier currently is the global pandemic. Self-efficacy was measured to investigate its impact on future career outlook. Those with higher self-efficacy scores were more confident and optimistic for their future than those with lower scores.

Understanding The Nature And Dimensions Of Litigation Crowdfunding: A Visual Analytics Approach, Viju Raghupathi, Jie Ren, Wullianallur Raghupathi

Publications and Research

The escalating cost of civil litigation is leaving many defendants and plaintiffs unable to meet legal expenses such as attorney fees, court charges and others. This significantly impacts their ability to sue or defend themselves effectively. Related to this phenomenon is the ethics discussion around access to justice and crowdfunding. This article explores the dimensions that explain the phenomenon of litigation crowdfunding. Using data from CrowdJustice, a popular Internet fundraising platform used to assist in turning legal cases into publicly funded social cases, we study litigation crowdfunding through the lenses of the number of pledges, goal achievement, target amount, length …

2021-April-27-Etsu Faculty Granted Promotion And Tenure, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (April 27, 2021) – Forty East Tennessee State University faculty members were promoted and 23 granted tenure by the ETSU Board of Trustees, the university’s governing body, during its quarterly meeting on April 23.

The following 13 faculty members attained the rank of full professor: Bess Sirmon-Taylor, Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology; Aruna Kilaru, Biological Sciences; Antonio Rusinol and Douglas Thewke, Biomedical Sciences; Chih-Che Tai, Curriculum and Instruction; Alison Barton, Kimberly Hale, Pamela Mims and Arnold Nyarambi, Educational Foundations and Special Education; Roland Huffaker, Obstetrics and Gynecology; John Bossaer, …

Exploring An Alternative To Ipos: Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies (Spacs), Vaishali Kanamalla

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this research paper is to provide an overview of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) which has gained popularity relatively recently. First, an introduction to SPACs will be provided including its historical roots, structure, and investment process. Thereafter, the paper will walk through the current landscape of SPACs, criticisms, and comparisons with traditional IPOs. The paper will conclude with discussions on the future outlook of the investment vehicle along with a study on SPAC returns vs. those of traditional IPOs.

2021-April-27-Understanding Sport Management, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – (April 27, 2021) Dr. Natalie Smith from East Tennessee State University is the co-author of the new book, “Organizational Behavior in Sport Management:  An Applied Approach to Understanding People and Groups.”

Her co-authors are Dr. Chris Barnhill, who is associate professor of Sport Management and Program Coordinator at Georgia Southern University, and Dr. Brent Oja from University of Northern Colorado where he is assistant professor of Sport Administration.

Geared toward undergraduate students, the book discusses how sports organizations function and the mechanisms that go into organizational behavior as well as how employees are motivated and work together. …

The Impact Of Asu 2016-14 On Not-For-Profit Operating Cash Flow Presentation, Grace Lauber

Honors Scholar Theses

In 2011, FASB added a project to its agenda to improve financial statement reporting for not-for-profit (NFP) entities. They issued a proposal in 2015 that would require all NFPs to use the direct method to report operating cash flows on the statement of cash flows. This proposal received a wide range of feedback from NFPs via comment letters. In response to this feedback, FASB altered the final update, ASU 2016-14, to continue allowing the indirect method. However, they encouraged use of the direct method by removing the indirect method reconciliation requirement for NFPs. This study examines the responses of 129 …

Deodand, Brian L. Frye

Seattle University Law Review Online

Deodands are a delightful example of a common law doctrine that caused something to happen: the Crown was enabled to tax tortfeasors. But not in a way anyone expected at the time or anyone understands today. Look on their logic and despair. You’ll never figure it out, no matter how hard you try. And that’s what makes them so lyrical. The concept of the deodand is beautiful even though we can’t understand it. Or rather, it’s beautiful because we can’t understand it. If we understood deodands, surely they would be as prosaic as life insurance and conceptual art.

In 1964, …

The New Wbgu: A Social Media Marketing Strategy, Brittany Line

Honors Projects

This project looks to find the most effective ways of growing and engaging a social media audience for WBGU-FM. Included in this is strategy used to interact with more people, an analysis of what elements were effective, and ways to increase content. Social media holds growing importance in promoting and connecting with an audience. This project is needed because recently, WBGU-FM has not been frequently or effectively using their social media platforms to connect with the community. As the shift of WBGU-FM’s purpose takes effect to focus on more community aspects of radio, it is important to have multiple ways …

Intellectual Property For New Entrepreneurs, Michael Johnston

Honors Projects

Abstract – New entrepreneurs, regardless of age, encounter several barriers regarding intellectual property. My research posits that new entrepreneurs are burdened by both informational barriers and lack of resources. A data driven analysis of this problem produced an easy to comprehend guide targeted to new entrepreneurs. This paper presents a subjective guide for entrepreneurs that details patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing.

The Creation And Impact Of Mr. Agne’S Career Collection, Evelyn Hamady

Honors Projects

This project discusses the creation of Mr. Agne's Career Collection located in Eppler South 117, and the impact it has on Bowling Green State University's students. This community impact project focuses on providing students with professional attire and accessories that may be needed when job searching or applying to internships. This project also covers the process of receiving donations, prepping donations, and placing those donations within the school's inventory system.

A Comparative Analysis Of Bohemian And Irish Immigration During The Antebellum Period, Emily Suchan

Honors Projects

Compare and Contrast the immigration experience of an Irish and Bohemian (Czech) immigrant. This essay describes the history of both regions and analyzes the political and economic stressors for immigration during the second half of the nineteenth century. This essay specifically follows the Irish Famine immigrants and the Czechs who settled in Cleveland, OH

Spring Into Service Supports Community, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.