Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Creative Micro-Entrepreneurship In Practice: Exploring Digital Tools For Small Creative Businesses, Olivia Messina

Honors Scholar Theses

For the scope of this thesis, my focus is on independently owned businesses

run by “creative micro-entrepreneurs.” I’m using this term, coined by the digital

selling platform Etsy, to encompass artists, craftspeople, and others who sell artistic

goods and services they have made themselves. In addition to being part of this

community personally, I also think that it is important for these small businesses to

have the resources they need to thrive in our rapidly changing economy. Selling

online, clothing & accessories businesses, and cooking & baking businesses are

among the top 5 “side hustles” for Millennials, making creative small …

Re-Imagining Business Enterprise As A Force For Social Good: Exploring Shared Values And The Future Of A Sustainable World, Regina Bernal

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

The world is at a crossroads when it comes to understanding business models and their impact on the world and the environment. Business enterprise fuels the economy and plays a key role in society. However, business enterprise has also been in the spotlight recently due to the damages it has inflicted on society and the environment. We have finite resources on this earth and “business as usual” will no longer suffice for 21st century business models. Companies and leaders are called to re-imagine different business models that integrate a more holistic view of profit, humanity, and the potential for business …

Implications Of Social Media Use On Instruction And Student Learning: An Exploratory Study, Mayur Desai, Lucy Ojode

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Despite being a norm in contemporary organizations including in academia, there is limited understanding how multimedia technology use might impact learning. We have also seen a rise in the use of social media applications such as Facebook, tweeter, Instagram, skype, flickr, and blogging among students, but it is unclear the extent to which the academe embraces these applications. In this study, we examine the potential role of multimedia technology and social media use in the learning process. We explore the potential implications for instruction and on student learning of the marriage between multimedia technology and social media use. Focusing on …

Leveraging Decision Making In Cyber Security Analysis Through Data Cleaning, Chen Zhong, Hong Liu, Awny Alnusair

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Security Operations Centers (SOCs) have been built in many institutions for intrusion detection and incident response. A SOC employs various cyber defense technologies to continually monitor and control network traffic. Given the voluminous monitoring data, cyber security analysts need to identify suspicious network activities to detect potential attacks. As the network monitoring data are generated at a rapid speed and contain a lot of noise, analysts are so bounded by tedious and repetitive data triage tasks that they can hardly concentrate on in-depth analysis for further decision making. Therefore, it is critical to employ data cleaning methods in cyber situational …

Book Review - Drive: The Truth About What Motivates Us, Wyatt Pagano

Marriott Student Review

This is a book review of Drive: The Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.

Book Review: Made To Stick, By Chip And Dan Heath, Danielle Adams

Marriott Student Review

This is a book review of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath.

Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreements Without Giving In, Spencer Evans

Marriott Student Review

Getting to Yes is full of tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you “get to yes” in all your negotiations. Getting to Yes takes superficial haggling to a new level, focused on creating value for both parties in the negotiation.

When The Far East Becomes The Near East, Kylan Rutherford

Marriott Student Review

America is in a critical stage of change in its international roles. The world has shifted away from the dated Cold-War binaries and surface-level, orientalist understandings of the East. The rising generation in America has the potential to connect with the international world in unprecedented ways, but for that to happen we have some homework to do.

Money In Whose Pockets? A Brief Insight On Current Minimum Wage Discussions, Ayric Westfall

Marriott Student Review

Minimum wage policies have existed in the United States for over 80 years. But with an everchanging society, how can we as every day citizens and business leaders be better informed about minimum wage? Using research from various sources and professionals, we will examine arguments for and against minimum wage, inequalities in wages today, and regional variations of minimum wages. The relationship between business and workers is symbiotic; workers need businesses to survive and businesses need workers to make a profit. Understanding our role in this conversation is key to developing solutions for everyone.

More Than Just A Resume, Bett Andersen

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Nonprofits: Big Problems, Small Budgets, Anna Gazdik

Marriott Student Review

Nonprofit Organizations are given big problems to solve and almost no resources to solve them. This paper examines how nonprofit organizations are evaluated, and how we can improve such evaluation to increase results.

Dynamic Values: Confronting And Capitalizing On Religious And Lgbtq Diversity, Wyatt Pagano

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Indicators Of Restaurant Success, Dallin Williams

Marriott Student Review

In order to ensure the success of their business restaurants must take into account three key business attributes: 1) profitability, 2) liquidity, and 3) solvency. These attributes will be described as well as how they can be measured through accounting ratios. By tracking these ratios, restaurants can ensure their success by maintaining the ratios at safe levels; doing so will help restaurants identify and solve problems as they arise

Business Mind To Business Owner: Finding Startup Success, Ammon Kou

Marriott Student Review

Entrepreneurs face a host of challenges when starting a business. Three business owners share their experiences.

Executive Spotlight: Jesse Barnes, Highvista Strategies, Victoria Beecroft

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Unpacking The Briefcase Of Business Aversion, Brooke Gledhill

Marriott Student Review

An editorial asserting that improved business skills across professions will lead to progress for individuals, organizations, and the global community.

Editor's Letter: Bridging The Gap, Marianna Richardson

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue: Bridging The Gap (Vol. 2, Issue 1), Marianna Richardson

Marriott Student Review

A bridge brings together two pieces, which normally would not connect. Without the connecting link, those two sections would be separate. For example, a bridge between two landmasses gives travelers access to new locations, new vistas, and possibly even new opportunities. Bridging the gap can also be perilous if the bridge is not safe and secure. The connection needs to be maintained and inspected regularly for cracks, fissures, or signs of wear that should be fixed immediately. In this issue of Marriott Student Review, the authors have explored the bridges built in business and the importance of maintaining those connections.

Sex May Sell But Gender Identity Predicts: An Investigation Of College Students’ Propensity To Join Entrepreneurship Clubs, Jerald Wallace

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

A rich and diverse stream of research has focused on assessing different outcomes between men and women entrepreneurs. Popular stereotypes maintain that women are neither as interested, or successful as entrepreneurs compared to men. However, most past research has used biological sex as a proxy to measure differences between women and men dichotomously. The problem with this approach is that it is an oversimplified approach to a complex issue. To address this problem, the more recent literature suggests the inclusion of more meaningful variables, such as gender identity, an individual’s concept of their traits both masculine and feminine, to assess …

Virtuous Discourse In The Specialty Coffee Sector: How Social Responsibility Practices Fragment Pursuits For A Supply Chain, Jane H. Motsinger

Geography ETDs

A diversity of public and private initiatives strive to address the human-environment challenges confronting the global coffee industry, including certifications like Fairtrade, direct trade sourcing models, and efforts led by NGOs. Research examines the outcomes of major certification programs and the private initiatives of corporations like Starbucks. Much less is known about the business practices of the small specialty coffee businesses that increasingly advertise sustainable business practices. Yet, their collective business practices likely influence the industry-wide efforts to achieve a sustainable supply chain. This research examines how small specialty coffee roasting and importing companies represent their socially responsible business practices …

Dental Practice Success Vol. 5 No. 1, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

Dental Practice Success

No abstract provided.

Ultraviolet Inkjet Ink: A Market And Audience Analysis For Kowa American, Haley Smith

Senior Honors Projects

My report was commissioned to examine the market strategies and audience approaches implemented in the ultraviolet inkjet ink industry. My research juxtaposes the initiatives of leading ink investors with those of the monomer-producing corporation, Kowa American. My findings emphasize the discrepancies in competitive development between Kowa and similar globally innovative agencies. My research indicates that Kowa must capitalize on industry gaps, conduct environmental research, and minimize financial setbacks to obtain a competitive advantage in the current ink market. Further, Kowa must personalize customers’ buying experiences in order to expand its budding product lines and maximize profits.

Glossary Of Business Evidence, Paul C. Boyd

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Lean Startups And Strategic Management, Joshua Binus, Horatiu Corban, Stephanie Miller, Hans Vanderschaaf

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Slides from a group presentation that offers a lean startup methodology overview, examines challenges and solutions, reviews case studies and discusses lean and strategic management.

Risky Business: The Correlation Between Sensation Seekers And Entrepreneurs, Matthew D. Buck

Selected Honors Theses

This study attempts to determine if college students with sensation seeking tendencies are more likely to have entrepreneurial tendencies due to the risk involved in both entrepreneurship and thrill seeking activates. This study used a combination of the Sensation Seeking Scale and the Attitudes Towards Enterprise test to determine the correlation between physical risk taken in hobbies and taking risk in business. An online survey was sent to 350 business students at a university in Central Florida and 62 valid surveys were received and analyzed. Through calculating the correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, and t-tests, the author deducted that an …

Ethics And Effectiveness Of Microloans For Women In Developing Countries, Elizabeth Erika Killion 18

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Consumer Perceptions Of Social Business Practices In South Korea And Thailand, Emily Gaynor

Capstone Collection

The global economy is shifting from Western capitalism towards more inclusive alternatives. Leaders like Muhammed Yunus are normalizing global social enterprise opportunities and cross-sector collaboration. International certifications like B Corporations, Fair Trade, Cruelty Free (The Leaping Rabbit), 1% for the Planet, and the Rainforest Alliance are rapidly growing their networks. Universities, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and governments are incorporating social entrepreneurship into their best practices. In particular, Asia has seen significant growth in its social economy.

Notably, South Korea and Thailand (with six other Asian countries) are included in the world’s 30 best nations to be a social entrepreneur. Particular attention …

Indah: The Unorthodox Rise Of A Columbian Staple, Will Helms

Senior Theses

Over the course of several weeks, I conducted a series of observations at Indah Coffee Co. in order to better understand its marketing and interaction with the neighborhood. After observing the coffee shop several times, I consulted outside sources, a process that is considered to be in the psychological realm of “grounded theory”, constantly comparing them to my own observations. After an interview with Indah’s owner, I began compiling my findings. The following paper is an outline of my findings, including the importance of the product in the coffee industry versus other industries, the power of successful grassroots marketing, and …

The Study Of Crowdsourcing In Knowledge Management: The Role Of Employees' Innovative Behavior On Job Performance, Vetrivadivel Vel

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Employees are a main source of innovative ideas via their insights on companies’ products, processes, customers, and competitors. Enterprise crowdsourcing systems (ECSs) are used to collect, refine, and realize ideas. However, only a small percentage of employees submit ideas – about 7.7% at Pfizer, 2% at HCL Technologies, and 3% at Polaris Industries. Why is employee participation low? More specifically, what factors can lead employees to actively use ECS to submit and share their innovative ideas for improving their job performance? In this research, we used a multi-actor dyadic survey to survey 183 employees and their managers and conducted data …

The Unsung Latino Entrepreneurs Of Appalachia, Eric Franklin Amarante

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.