Business Commons^™

Independent Apparel Brand Launch Campaign Strategy, Nick S. Schottenfeld

Graphic Communication

Soleil Lune is an independent California apparel brand with an established visual identity, a growing social media following, and a live product collection but lacks a coordinated marketing system to connect those pieces into a unified launch. Without that structure, the brand’s Instagram, Shopify store, and print materials were operating independently, making it difficult to build consistent customer trust or drive sales. This project developed a full launch campaign producing a print and digital lookbook, 10 Instagram campaign assets, a printed poster, and a branded care insert card all designed to work together to tell the brand story, grow the …

San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market Mobile App & Rebrand, Joelle To

Graphic Communication

The San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market, a five-block downtown event featuring nearly 100 vendors, currently lacks a centralized platform for visitors and vendors to easily access information, navigate the market, and communicate efficiently.

This project addresses that opportunity through the design of a mobile app that streamlines vendor information, provides interactive market navigation, delivers real-time event updates, and enhances connections between vendors and attendees.

In addition, the project includes a rebrand and comprehensive brand guidelines integrated into the app design, creating a cohesive visual identity that improves user experience, operational efficiency, and long-term engagement for the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ …

2nd Summer Music Festival: Branding A Small-Scale Music Festival, Scout Corpuz-Carr

Graphic Communication

2nd Summer is a fictitious music festival created to address a gap in the live music event market for Cal Poly students. Existing festivals are often too expensive, poorly targeted toward students, or lack opportunities for student musicians. This project focuses on developing a festival’s branding and marketing, including the visual identity, promotional materials, and overall brand strategy. Designed as an affordable and community-driven event, 2nd Summer emphasizes inclusivity, student culture, and the promotion of emerging student artists. Through cohesive branding and targeted marketing, the project aims to create a recognizable festival identity that resonates with college students and strengthens …

Cor(E) Brand Direction, Jake T. Tokatlian

Graphic Communication

COR(E) is a new record label founded by an artist named Lil Uzi Vert, and for my project I have taken the initial steps to develop their brand identity and create physical products for the label. To achieve this, I made a brand book to help define COR(E) and provide a set of design guidelines, a Spring issue of a quarterly magazine that provides news and behind the scenes of the label’s artists, and a CD design including a cover and tracklist. I believe there is a gap in the market for bringing physical media into the music industry and …

Homelessness And Business: Perception, Affect And Opportunity, Asatur Nor-Ashkarian

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between business owners and individuals experiencing homelessness within urban commercial districts in the United States, arguing that the dynamic is shaped primarily by spatial concentration, uneven power structures, economic pressure, and public framing rather than simple conflict between competing interests. Drawing on stakeholder analysis, business perception surveys, a mixed-methods study, and an original content analysis of 50 news articles spanning 23 states, this thesis identifies a consistent pattern: business owners broadly perceive homeless presence as negatively impacting safety, cleanliness, and consumer behavior. Local news media reinforces those perceptions through predominantly negative framing of homeless individuals. …

Strategic Intent And International Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Role Of Learning Climate And Entrepreneurial Leadership In A Developing Economy, Maytha Al Ali, Muhammad Usman, Ilknur Ozturk

All Works

In today's fast-paced global economy, born-global SMEs must rapidly develop strategic capabilities to compete on the international stage. Understanding how these firms cultivate entrepreneurial behavior across borders is critical for sustaining competitive advantage. However, limited research has systematically examined the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which strategic intent translates into international entrepreneurial outcomes, particularly in developing economy contexts such as Pakistan. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory, this study explores how the strategic intent of born-global firms drives international corporate entrepreneurship (ICE). We propose that a supportive learning climate acts as a key mechanism through which strategic intent translates into ICE. …

Financing Climate Action Through Fair Taxation: How Sdg Engagement Reduces Corporate Tax Avoidance, Ahmed Aboud, Niccolò Nirino, Panagiota Papadimitri, Michael Christofi

All Works

The transition to a low-carbon economy, central to achieving Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action), requires unprecedented public and private investment. A significant climate financing gap persists, however, exacerbated by corporate practices that erode the public revenue base. This paper investigates a critical, yet often overlooked, component of corporate responsibility: tax avoidance. We examine the impact of firm-level sustainable development goal (SDG) disclosure on corporate tax avoidance using an international sample of 7213 firms operating in 81 countries over the period 2019–2023. Our analysis reveals a robust inverse relationship between SDG disclosure and corporate tax avoidance, …

J Mich Dent Assoc June 2026

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Each month, the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association delivers news, information, and features about Michigan dentistry to our state's oral health community and the MDA's 6,200-plus members. It remains the main publication reaching Michigan dentists and is available worldwide through ADA Commons.

The June 2026 (Volume 108, No. 6) issue of the Journal is published in digital format to provide updates and insights for Michigan's oral health community and MDA members. Print editions occur every other month beginning with January.

The June 2026 issue of the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association provides association updates, legal advice, and clinical …

The Influence Of Chief Executive Officer Personality On Mergers And Acquisitions (M&A) Completion, Nikisha Alcindor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), a deal is completed when it has been announced, a fully executed agreement is in place, and the target's ownership is consolidated with the acquirer. The completion of an M&A deal is vital because it is a labor-intensive process that requires a tremendous number of resources from the firm. Yet even though 39,494 deals were announced in 2025, few studies have examined the variables that influence deal completion. This dissertation examines whether the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)'s personality influences the likelihood of deal completion. CEOs typically initiate the deal and see it through to completion, …

News Media Coverage Of Measure Ula: How The Story Of La’S Big Project To Address Homelessness And Affordable Housing Got Sidetracked By The Story Of Big Real Estate, Christopher R. Martin

Faculty Publications

“Measure ULA,” named after United to House LA, was approved by voters in Los Angeles in 2022 to create a dedicated, long-term funding source for solutions to homelessness in LA, including funding the construction of affordable homes and preventing homelessness by helping tenants stay in their homes. The funding would come from a new tax on the most expensive real estate transactions in L.A. (i.e., mansion tax), and would affect fewer than 4% of all property transactions. At the end of three years of local news coverage about Measure ULA from the Los Angeles Times and LAist, the news audience …

The Effect Of Positive Communication On Leadership Development: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Philip J. Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of Christian college professors in the Midwest who utilize positive communication within mentoring relationships to develop leadership capabilities in students preparing for ministry. The research addresses the development of leadership capabilities in Christian colleges and examines how mentoring relationships serve as a sustainable alternative to costly and often ineffective formal programs. Following a descriptive phenomenological approach informed by the methods of Husserl and Giorgi, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with faculty members who have at least five years of teaching experience at a Christian college in the Midwest. The study utilized Bowlby’s …

Overcoming Adversity With Resilience: A Phenomenological Examination Of African American Women Leaders Facing Microaggressions In Corporate Spaces, Dionne Trenise Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American women leaders in Fortune 500 companies experience persistent challenges of subtle yet pervasive systems of discrimination in the form of microaggressions that cause negative impacts to their psychological well-being, workplace performance, and career advancement. These women exhibit incredible resilience that enable them to thrive at work, mitigate mental health challenges, and navigate their careers successfully. However, unlike people who fall into either a racial minority group or a gender minority group, African American women experience compounded effects of microaggressions due to the intersection of their race and gender. As a result of microaggressions, these women experience impacts to …

Queuing Uncertainty Of Limit Orders, Bart Yueshen Zhou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Limit orders submitted around the same time are subject to random latencies and will be queued accordingly. In equilibrium, end-of-queue limit orders always lose money—the liquidity supply appears excessive. The model generates empirical predictions regarding such “overshooting” liquidity: (i) new limit orders appear fleeting—clustered submissions are followed by immediate cancellations, (ii) the resulting cancel-to-add count ratio reflects adverse selection, and (iii) the cancel-to-add size ratio measures high-frequency market-making activity. Welfare can be hurt by the overshooting liquidity if it induces excessive speculation. Overall, the model contributes to a more comprehensive understanding and better utilization of order book data.

Cycles Of Inequality In The Marketplace: Insights From Macro, Marketer, And Consumer Perspectives, Debora V. Thompson, Amna Kirmani, Rebecca Hamilton, Andy Li, Christilene Du Plessis, Daniel Fernandes, Guillaume Johnson, Brent Mcferren, Jian Ni, Vladmir Pavlov, Francine Petersen, Lisa Scheer, Yan Vieites, Keith Wilcox

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Seeking inequality via differentiation is a fundamental theme in the marketing literature: consumers derive utility from products that convey socially valued attributes, and marketers target consumers by giving them opportunities to differentiate on socially valued attributes. However, as a large body of evidence shows, inequality can reduce consumer well-being and limit economic growth. In this paper, we take a systemic view of marketplace inequality, examining the interdependence among consumers, marketers, and macro forces in shaping inequality in markets for goods and services. Our broad review of the marketing literature across ten marketing journals and a variety of subdomains within the …

The Political Economy Of Mandatory Disclosure: A Literature Review, Hao Liang, Hanyu Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Reviewing the literature on mandatory corporate disclosure from a political economy perspective, we synthesize the classic justifications for disclosure regulations while emphasizing why voluntary disclosure often fails to achieve socially efficient transparency. We also highlight how legal institutions, enforcement capacity, and political forces shape the design, credibility, and effectiveness of disclosure mandates. Drawing on evidence from international and China-focused studies, we review empirical findings on how mandatory disclosure affects investor protection, information environments, and firm behavior, showing that similar reporting rules yield different outcomes across institutional settings. We further extend the discussion to ESG and climate-related disclosure to examine emerging …

Conference Calls And Information Spillover: The Role Of Analyst Participation, Amanda Awyong, Young Jun Cho, Holly I. Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the role of conference calls in creating information spillover within firms. We find that analyst participation in conference calls is positively associated with subsequent revisions in management forecasts, consistent with analysts' questions prompting managers to collect additional information. We find that this effect strengthens when analysts pose more questions on new topics and when they ask questions with abnormally positive or negative tones. We also find that analyst participation has greater effects when analysts have more experience and higher forecasting ability. Further analyses demonstrate that analyst participation is associated with higher accuracy in subsequently revised forecasts. Overall, our …

“Megadeal” Subsidies, Local Spillovers And Corporate Innovation, Yoojin Lee, Shaphan Ng, Aruhn Venkat

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine whether the largest place-based, firm-specific corporate subsidies (“Megadeals”) awarded by state and local governments affect local firms’ innovation. First, we document that 1) subsidy firms innovate in the subsidized county and 2) subsidy firms bring inventors from other counties into the subsidized county, consistent with subsidy firms generating new knowledge locally. In our main test, we use a stacked cohort design with stringent fixed effects to document that local firms increase patenting following a Megadeal. Cross-sectionally, effects are increasing 1) in subsidy firm innovativeness, 2) in the technological closeness of subsidy firms and local firms, 3) when subsidy …

Attention To Detail: How Do Information Users Process Exhibits In Form 10-K?, Stephanie F. Cheng, Yimeng Li, Pengkai Lin

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Form 10-K offers a setting for studying how users process complex, multi-layered disclosures: managerial narratives in the main file alongside separate exhibits, such as contracts and certifications, that provide unfiltered detail. Drawing on rational inattention theory, we investigate how users allocate limited attention across these components. Users typically begin with the main file and selectively access exhibits when the main file appears shorter, less readable, or less confident, indicating higher perceived information loss. This pattern strengthens for exhibits that offer more detail on topics discussed in the main file and among institutional investors and time-constrained users. Exhibit access persists beyond …

Moving Beyond Entry Modes: Toward A New Paradigm Of International Involvement In An Era Of Digitalization And Global Transitions, Noman Shaheer, Sali Li, Liang Chen, Keith D. Brouthers, Dan Li, Peter Liesch

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We seek to reconceptualize internationalization strategy by shifting focus from static, single-entry mode choices to dynamic constellations of multiple involvement modes. In an era of rapid technological change enabled by artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotics, geopolitical volatility fueled by trade wars and violent conflicts, and increasing sustainability demands, multinational corporations (MNCs) need to rethink how they are involved with diverse stakeholder expectations, prioritize flexibility and reversibility, and embed co-creation and legitimacy alongside efficiency. Extending Brouthers et al. (2022), we integrate transaction cost economics with resource-based, institutional, opportunity, and ecosystem perspectives to explain how MNCs configure and reconfigure various constellations of …

The External Influence Of International Business Scholarship: Growth, Stabilization, Or Decline?, Gokhan Ertug, Andrew Delios, Yi Li, Zhengchu Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The influence of international business (IB) scholarship is an active debate (e.g., Bello & Kostova, 2012; Cantwell et al., 2014, 2016; Doh et al., 2023; Tung et al., 2023). Although IB research has expanded in the number of publications, in its sophistication of research design, and in its thematic breadth over the past decades, questions remain regarding its influence beyond the core ecosystem of IB journals. Anecdotally, a pessimistic view has become more commonplace. The concern is that IB has become increasingly self-referential, relying more heavily on IB-related theory extensions and context-specific settings, which could limit its resonance in the …

Settlement Manipulation In Prediction Markets, David Dai, Ruizhe Jia, Shihao Yu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Prediction markets increasingly list contracts settling on an asset price that holders can move by trading the underlying. We build a model showing that such contracts transfer wealth from prediction-market liquidity traders to manipulators and harm price discovery in the underlying, even as it becomes more liquid. After the launch of Polymarket's five-minute Bitcoin contract, settlement-time spot order flow spikes, causing large price reversals after settlement. Manipulators capture a large amount of profit, mostly from retail. Manipulation is largely absent in the fifteen-minute contracts: lengthening the contract horizon removes it, providing the market-design remedy our model and evidence support.

Marketing As Practice: Resolving The Hunt-Anderson Stalemate Through Practice Theory, Stephen A. Lemay, Martin Svendsen

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This paper revisits methodological debates in marketing theory, tracing the progression from Sidney Levy’s work on symbolic consumption to the Hunt–Anderson empiricist–relativist debate. We argue that this debate rests on a category error: marketing has been misclassified as either a science or an interpretive discipline. Drawing on contemporary practice theory, we reconceptualize marketing as a professional practice oriented toward creating and managing exchange relationships within cultural contexts. This perspective resolves the Hunt–Anderson stalemate, clarifies the epistemological foundations of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) and Transformative Consumer Research (TCR), and generates distinct research questions and methods. Through comparative exemplars, we show how …

“I” Or “We” In Times Of Crises: Should Marketers Use Individualist Or Collectivist Language When Times Are Tough?, Milad Hour, Golshad Parsimoghadam, Ali Jamei

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

During the pandemic, as people dealt with fatalities, lockdowns, and the psychological impact of reduced social interactions, some marketing messages still captured significant public attention. What was the key element contributing to the success of these communications during such challenging times? This study focuses on the role of collectivism as a stress-coping mechanism included within marketing communications. Analyzing approximately 56,000 brand-generated posts on Platform X, the research examines how the use of collectivist language (e.g., we, us, etc.) relates to message likability, particularly as the pandemic nears its peak. The findings reveal that collectivist terms are positively associated with the …

Power-Sharing Under Pressure: What A Decade Of Community Partnership Reveals For Philanthropy Today, Clare Nolan, Pilar Mendoza

The Foundation Review

Between 2017 and 2024, U.S. philanthropy experienced a period of significant innovation as many foundations reconsidered long-standing assumptions about control and began taking steps to share power more directly with the communities they fund. This article draws on community leaders’ reflections, alongside the authors’ perspective as long-term evaluators, to examine how these commitments were experienced in practice.

The article focuses on the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s Starting Smart and Strong Initiative (S3I), a 10-year effort to strengthen early learning systems across East San Jose, Fresno, and Oakland, California. Drawing on interviews with grantees and technical assistance partners, along with …

Adaptive Learning Partnerships In Action: Insights And Reflections From The Macarthur Foundation’S Big Bet On Nigeria, Julian Williams, Michael Moses

The Foundation Review

This article explores the evolution of the authors’ strategic learning partnership during their work together with the MacArthur Foundation’s Big Bet On Nigeria. The authors share practical insights into how foundations can cultivate learning relationships grounded in trust, aligned with priorities of program staff and grantees, and calibrated to generate timely, actionable insights.

The authors highlight the key principles that enabled them to help the program and grantees identify and adapt to emerging challenges, lessons, and needs, both within the programming context and in the foundation. In doing so, they offer a roadmap for funders and evaluators seeking to embed …

Front And Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

From Framework To Practice: Insights About Aligning Foundation Impact And Strategic Positioning In A Trust-Based Philanthropy Era, Nancy Pole, Marie-Andrée Mbengue-Reiver, Anne Loranger-King

The Foundation Review

This article examines how a framework revealing foundations’ distinct orientations towards social impact has been used in practice, illustrating the tool’s utility and areas for refinement through one foundation’s experience.

Originally developed for Quebec’s philanthropic ecosystem, the heuristic positions foundations along two continua: strategic posture (problem-solving versus communitysupporting) and impact focus (grantee outcomes versus foundation outcomes), creating four impact orientation quadrants.

The case reveals productive tensions when different parts of a foundation occupy different quadrants. They are particularly acute for public foundations accountable simultaneously to donors, grantees, government funders, and communities.

These insights inform future framework iterations with a view …

Editorial, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Reimagining Power And Practice: Grantee Reporting For Greater Impact, Steven Lafrance, Jamae Morris, Lauri Valerio

The Foundation Review

The evaluation of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Written Reports Alternative Project (WRAP) pilot revealed that Oral and Alternative Reporting (OAR) options offer a practical, values-aligned pathway to equitable, trust-based reporting that reduces burden while improving usefulness with a pathway to scale.

WRAP participants reported strengthened relationships and two-way learning, especially when conversations complemented or replaced written materials.

Recommendations for others considering OAR include: offer and codify choice, center questions that matter, design technology to support multiple formats, compensate grantee time for evaluation or additional learning-related asks, and train staff for relational learning.

RWJF’s experience demonstrates how reporting can be …