Business and Corporate Communications Commons^™

Strategic Judgment In Leadership Decision-Making: Evaluating Ai In Organizational Contexts, Cate Wengelnik

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

This paper presents a classroom-based approach for teaching strategic judgment in leadership decision-making through the evaluation workplace communication and incorporates the use of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI tools become more common in organizational settings, leaders and employees must be prepared to assess outputs that may appear professional while containing inaccurate, unsupported or potentially risky information. This paper describes an instructional case in which students examine an AI-generated response to an employee inquiry about workplace accommodations and Human Resources related matters. Students (1) evaluate the message for clarity, tone and apparent usefulness, then (2) analyze the organizational risks created when …

People Orientation And Thing Orientation In Business Majors: Implications For Assessing The Impacts Of Cross-Functional Business Program Curricula, Todd J. Hostager, David A. Christopher, Kristy J. Lauver, Christopher Knowles

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose:  Prior research documented significant differences in people orientation and thing orientation (PTO) based on type of major and sex.  This study examines a set of measures for helping business programs to assess whether they are producing graduates equipped to consider both people and things when making decisions, regardless of their major or sex.

Methods/Design:  Students in a strategic management capstone course spent a single 75-minute session responding to a brief new venture pitch by identifying what types of additional information they would need to decide whether to invest in the business.  Three Likert-scaled options gauged the extent to participant …

Repairing Workplace Trust: A Process-Based Classroom Exercise For Management Education, Luke A. Langlinais Ph.D.

Posters

Trust is essential in every workplace, but conflicts, mistakes, and broken promises are inevitable. This project develops an experiential classroom exercise in which students diagnose workplace trust violations, examine the perspectives and emotions of both parties, and practice selecting and communicating evidence-based reparative actions. The exercise translates organizational behavior research into a practical learning experience that develops not only managerial competence but also the character, empathy, and relational wisdom needed to build healthy organizations and promote human flourishing.

I gratefully acknowledge peer review feedback on this project, and I am accountable for writing of this product without generative AI and …

A Philosophy Of Communication Response To Bullying In Corporate America, Chris A. Phillips Dr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This philosophy of communication response to bullying in corporate America follows the structure of posing research questions, synthesizing relevant literature, and offering advice to practitioners. It invites the reader to have hope in continuing the conversation through a constructive hermeneutic approach to the problem. By building on literature in oppression, silencing, bullying, incivility, and communication ethics, this dissertation reveals how (rhetoric) and why (philosophy) the problem occurs in corporate America today. This dissertation offers a new angle to an old problem, or, a rhetoric and philosophy of bullying. It responds to the following questions:

RQ 1: As a destructive communication …

How Does An Advanced Educator Utilize Digital Language Teaching And Learning By Integrating Linguistic, Cultural, And Business Life Perspectives?, Hely Westerholm, Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper explores advanced educators’ digital working capabilities in online language teaching, with a particular focus on sharing Finnish language and culture in a foreign context. Cultural and linguistic knowledge play a significant role in enhancing students’ motivation to study foreign languages. In today’s educational environment, digitalisation and globalisation exert an increasing influence on foreign language teaching and learning.

The digital learning environment has brought about a paradigm shift in foreign language didactics. Digital language learning is both challenging and holistic in nature. Continued foreign language learning is simultaneously an individual and a social process, as digital learning cultures impose …

How Grades Changed Before, During And After Covid-19 In A Business College, Douglas R. Moodie, Alison Keefe, Robin Cheramie

International Journal for Business Education

Purpose: This study examines how undergraduate business student grades changed before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using a large institutional dataset from a business college in a US university between 2015 and 2024.

Method: The analysis includes over 390,000 student-course observations and incorporates instructional modality, student demographics, course characteristics, and prior academic performance.

Results: Results show a substantial increase in mean course grades during the COVID-19 period, followed by a partial reversion post-pandemic to levels that remain above pre-pandemic trends. These patterns are consistent across modalities, demographics, and departments.

Implications: The findings raise important questions regarding the interpretation of …

The Strategic Role Of Frontline Sales Personnel In Semiconductor Manufacturing Markets, Daisuke Yahiro

Jesselton Journal of Educators and Scholars

This study examines the strategic role of frontline sales personnel within semiconductor manufacturing environments characterized by technological volatility, operational interdependence, and evolving customer demands. Drawing upon emergent strategy, strategy-as-practice, and organizational sensemaking perspectives, the study explores how frontline personnel contribute to organizational responsiveness and strategy formation beyond conventional execution-oriented roles. A qualitative interpretive research design grounded in pragmatism and symbolic interactionism was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews involving 12 participants engaged in semiconductor manufacturing sales, customer coordination, and managerial activities in Japan. The findings reveal that frontline personnel function as strategically embedded organizational actors who contribute to operational …

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 …

Trust Migration In The Digital Era: Information Regimes And The Transformation Of Buyer–Seller Relationships, Stephen C. Carlson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Business-to-business selling is being reshaped by rapid advances in digital platforms, enterprise systems, analytics, and artificial intelligence. Organizational buyers increasingly rely on algorithmic tools, peer communities, institutional certifications, and automated evaluation systems before engaging directly with sales representatives. Yet much of the buyer–seller trust literature continues to emphasize interpersonal communication quality, listening behaviors, and individual credibility as primary drivers of relational success.

This article argues that the central transformation in contemporary selling is not the erosion of trust, but its relocation. As technological infrastructures evolve, trust progressively migrates from individual sales representatives to organizational systems, platforms, governance mechanisms, and algorithmic …

Aligning Strategy And Execution: The Role Of Senior Leaders In Project-Driven Organizations, Kenneth J. Boff

M.S. in Leadership

Strategic alignment remains a persistent challenge in project‑driven organizations, where shifting priorities and distributed execution often create gaps between strategic intent and project‑level action. This study examined how Senior Leadership Communication Practices influence Strategy–Execution Alignment and tested whether Organizational Culture for Alignment and Change Management Readiness mediate that relationship. A quantitative, cross‑sectional survey was administered to 54 senior leaders in project‑driven environments. All constructs demonstrated strong reliability, and correlation & regression analyses confirmed significant positive relationships among leadership communication, cultural alignment, readiness, and strategic alignment. Leadership communication significantly predicted culture (R² = .444), readiness (R² = .431), and alignment (R² …

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 …

Ai-Scm Cmm: A Capability Maturity Model For Artificial Intelligence Integration In Supply Chain Management, Lordt Becklines, Omar F. El-Gayar, Patti Brooks, Insu Park

Annual Research Symposium

Artificial intelligence is increasingly deployed in supply chain management, yet many organizations struggle to align adoption efforts with process readiness, data quality, governance, and workforce capabilities, and they still lack validated supply chain specific roadmap for assessing readiness, sequencing investments, and reducing implementation risk. This study develops and evaluates a Capability Maturity Model for Artificial Intelligence Integration in Supply Chain Management to address that gap. Using a design science research approach, the study synthesizes prior literature and practitioner knowledge to define maturity dimensions, capability indicators, and staged progression levels for AI integration in supply chain contexts. The artifact and assessment …

Female Ceos And Esg Visual Expressions, Ziming Guo, Beng Wee Goh, Dan Li, Yuan Wang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Prior studies have shown that women possess unique personality traits that cause them to communicate differently than men do. Hence, we investigate whether the presence of female CEOs affects the use of visual expressions in a firm’s ESG report (“ESG visual expressions”). Using detailed disclosure data from ESG reports in China, we find that firms with female CEOs use more ESG visual expressions. This result is stronger when the firm prioritizes ESG performance, when the female CEO is more powerful, and when there are more women on the top management team. ESG visual expressions are also positively associated with the …

Examining Moral Susceptibility In Ai Vs. Human-Assisted Decision-Making, Seth James Fogle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly integrated into decision-making contexts, yet their influence on ethical judgment remains unclear. This study examines whether advice from an AI advisor, compared to a human advisor, affects moral susceptibility in a consumer decision-making scenario. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design (advisor type × price condition), this research tests whether personal agency, perceived objectivity, and diffusion of responsibility operate as psychological mechanisms underlying ethical decision-making.

Results indicate that advisor type did not significantly influence moral susceptibility, nor did it significantly affect the proposed mediators. Additionally, the price condition did not moderate these relationships. …

Design Thinking For Corporate Social Responsibility Program Proposal Creation, Michelle "Mindy" D. Danovaro

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study used action research to explore how the use of design thinking engaged employees in the creation of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program proposal in a small- to medium-enterprises (SME) in the Sacramento region of California. The purpose of the study was to assess whether employee participation in a design thinking exercise could improve employee perception of engagement, inclusion, and reciprocity during the CSR program proposal creation. The study was grounded in social exchange theory, stakeholder theory, and design thinking methodologies. The iterative research process followed action research cycles (i.e., plan, act, observe, and reflect) integrated with …

Making Sense Of Membership: Organizational Socialization Of African Immigrant Employees In U.S. Workplaces, Ikeola J. Bodunde

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines how African immigrant employees make sense of organizational socialization in U.S. workplaces. As global mobility reshapes the labor force, nearly one in five U.S. workers is foreign-born, making organizational socialization an increasingly complex communicative process. Classic socialization models assume linear, uniform adjustment, yet international employees often face ambiguity, cultural mismatch, and racialized expectations that complicate early workplace experiences. Guided by sensemaking theory, this study conceptualizes socialization as an ongoing, nonlinear process through which newcomers notice cues, construct interpretations, act on provisional understandings, and revise meanings as contexts shift. Using a qualitative, interpretive design, I conducted semi-structured interviews …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Managing The Personalization Paradox: Lessons From Spotify’S Ai Dj, Anirban. Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang, Jonathan Wibowo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This case study uses Spotify’s AI DJ to examine the “personalization paradox,” where product features designed to deepen user connection can instead cause alienation. An analysis of over 1,400 user comments identifies three core frictions: a perceived loss of user agency, mismanaged expectations for the human-like AI, and a scalability bottleneck that led to repetitive content. Students are placed in the role of a product manager tasked with developing a prioritized roadmap to address these issues, forcing them to grapple with the critical trade-offs between technological capability and user psychology.

The Mediation Of Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment On Transformational Leadership And Employee Retention In Business Process Outsourcing Companies In Metro Manila: A Serial Mediation Analysis, Joel Mark Pirote Rodriguez, Jessie F. Sergote, Lourdes Palallos, Nelson R. Garcia

The South East Asian Journal of Management

Research Aims: Few studies have taken into consideration transformational leadership's influence on employee retention via work satisfaction and organisational commitment, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated to positively affect organisationally relevant employee attitudes and performance. This paper fills this gap and looks into the serial mediation of these two variables in the relationship between transformational leadership and retention of employees in BPOs in Metro Manila.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative serial-mediation design was used, with a sample of 400 purposively selected respondents having at least 6 months of tenure. The PLS-SEM method was used to estimate direct and indirect relationships. …

Beyond Compliance: Investigating The Motivational Power Of Equality, Diversity And Inclusion (Edi) In European Hospitality, Alessandro Ferrazza Dr

ICHRIE Research Reports

The base concept of this study is to explore the interrelationship between Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practices, employee motivation and performance within the European Hospitality Industry. The research aims to identify the barriers and facilitators that shape motivational synergies stimulating performance outcomes, particularly for underrepresented employee groups. The researcher employed a mixed-methods approach underpinned by a pragmatic interpretivist framework. The findings revealed that there is wide use of discriminatory practices, limited career progression and poor work-life balance which act as significant demotivators (Siu et al., 1997). The study also reconceptualises EDI not merely as a compliance requirement, but as …

The Covid-19 Pandemic As An Environmental Jolt And Its Impact On Firms And Essential Workers, Kimberly Kay Hyett Nehls

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental jolts are sudden, large-scale disruptions that challenge organizational and societal stability and demand new ways of understanding adaptation across individuals and firms. This two-paper dissertation explores the human and organizational dimensions of such jolts through the empirical context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper 1 examines how global tourism firms navigated the crisis, introducing the constructs of global stakeholder interconnectedness and stakeholder prioritization fluidity to refine stakeholder theory. The findings show how international exposure shaped communication strategies under duress. Paper 2 turns to the lived experiences of low-wage essential workers, extending sensemaking theory through the concept of constrained sensemaking, highlighting …

The Impact Of Culture And Language On Internal Communication And Patient Care In Small To Medium-Sized Black Immigrant-Owned Healthcare Practices In Texas., Chisom Nwosu

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how cultural competency in small to medium-sized Black immigrant-owned healthcare practices in Texas affects internal communication and patient care. Through semi-structured interviews with nine clinical and administrative leaders in Dallas and Houston, five themes emerged: culturally competent leadership, intentional communication structures, language and interpretation practices, patient-centered cultural sensitivity, and the use of technology for adaptation. Findings suggest that culturally aware leadership and inclusive communication strategies foster team cohesion and improve patient trust and care. Participants reported adapting workflows to meet religious, language, and communication needs through human and technological tools. The study underscores embedding cultural …

Toward The Professionalization Of Executive Coaching: A Delphi Study Of The Requisite Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities For Coaching Executives To Behave Ethically, Richard R. Fletcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem explored through this research involved the lack of consensus on executive coaching knowledge, skills, and abilities for facilitating ethical behaviors on the part of business executives. This problem led the researcher to employ a mixed-method Delphi study to explore professional executive coach perceptions concerning the establishment of a governing body overseeing the activity of executive coach consulting and to assess the knowledge, skills, and abilities perceived as fundamental to executive coaching. The researcher focused the research approach through a systematic, iterative research design where a panel of six experts in the field of professional executive coaching located in …

Identifying Best Practices In Small Business Meetings: An Importance-Performance Gap Analysis, Ashley R. Euritt, Nick J. Johnston

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Meetings are crucial for small businesses, yet many struggle to plan them effectively due to limited resources. This study examines the gap between the perceived importance and actual performance of 14 meeting planning attributes in small businesses. Through an online survey and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), the study finds that attributes such as setting SMART goals and having employees arrive on time and engage before meetings are highly valued but underperformed. The study also emphasizes the importance of leadership, communication, and technology skills for successful meeting planning. The 5 Ps framework (Purpose, Participants, Planning, Participation, Perspective) is studied to evaluate the …

Bridging The Gap: Management Vs. Leadership And The Path To Mastering Both, Wesley A. Key

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Management and leadership, though often conflated, represent distinct but complementary skills that are critical for organizational success. This thesis aims to explore the fundamental differences between management and leadership, highlighting how these roles interact and the necessity for individuals to master both to excel in today’s dynamic business environment. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from psychology, organizational behavior, and case studies, this research synthesizes academic literature to address key questions: What core competencies distinguish leaders from managers? How do these competencies align or conflict with one another in real-world settings? And what practical steps can individuals take to develop proficiency in …

Planting The Seed: Rumors And Ceo Dismissal, Diego Villalpando

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Researchers have investigated the short-term performance implications of CEO dismissals as assessed through investor reactions to CEO dismissal announcements. While the corporate governance mechanism of dismissal that boards orchestrate when CEOs underperform could be positively perceived by investors, empirical evidence suggests that a positive association between CEO dismissals and investor reactions is equivocal. Thus, in my dissertation, I examine investor reactions to S&P 500 dismissal announcements and further understanding about this intriguing relationship through the development of theory that incorporates the important theoretical mechanism of information uncertainty. Since it is increasingly hard for boards to reduce the information uncertainty surrounding …

Do Loyalty Programs Actually Build Customer Loyalty? A Service Quality Perspective From Indonesian E-Commerce, Jonathan Farrel Kosimwidjaja, Triana Hadiprawoto

The South East Asian Journal of Management

Research Aims: This study investigates the relationship between electronic service quality (e-SERVQUAL), satisfaction and trust, and three indicators of customer loyalty within the context of loyalty programs organised by e-commerce platforms.

Design/Methodology/Approach: An empirical approach using purposive sampling was used to generate a population of 326 Indonesian respondents over 18 years old who have used e-commerce loyalty program features such as store credit, points, discount vouchers, cashback vouchers, and free shipping vouchers.

Research Findings: Bootstrapped structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis proved that one out of four factors of e-SERVQUAL that apply to e-commerce platforms as a whole do not apply …

Unleashing Excellence: Strengthening It Leaders Through Executive Coaching, Tonya S. Rivers

Dissertations

This paper explores the impact of executive coaching on Information Technology (IT) leaders. Many organizations across different industries lack strong leadership, as exposed by COVID-19. Companies aim to keep exceptional leaders and establish upbeat workplaces to achieve success. Although previous research has examined leadership effectiveness, it is still unclear how best to manage employees' perceptions of effective leadership. The goal of this research is to provide new insights into what can improve perceptions of leadership effectiveness. I explored the role executive leadership coaching has on managers working in the Information Technology (IT) field. Current literature often mentions the need for …

Podcasting Towards Togetherness: Utilizing Podcasts To Improve Departmental Camaraderie And Well-Being, Michael Petrauskis, Colleen Gutman, Rosemarie Fernandez

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Physician burnout is on the rise, and this is of particular concern in emergency medicine. Burnout is associated with medical errors, adverse events, poor professionalism, and litigation. A sense of community can build engagement and mitigate workplace stressors on well-being. Emergency physicians may have trouble connecting due to the nature of shift-work and various practice settings. Communication technology, and particularly podcasting, has the potential to help overcome these barriers and positively impact relatedness and well-being.

Approach: We developed an inward-facing podcast, “The ER Break Room” within the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida. Through the …

Confronting Indecision, Lane Allison Murray

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

This course aims to increase students' understanding of indecision and how to confront it. The class provides insight into how the fear of the unknown holds people back from making decisions and about understanding one's values as a means to combat indecision. Students and teachers alike explore instances of indecision and evaluate their own impulses & thought processes by reflecting on the deeper reasons for their choices. Students will increase their comfort level of asking themselves and their peers questions about the values that guide them and, in doing so, strengthen their relationships with themselves and others.