Marketing Commons^™

Designing A Scalable Recruitment & Partnership System For The Leadership And Business Strategy (Lbs) Program Through Strategic Marketing And Brand Development, Daniela Padilla

Honors Theses

The Leadership and Business Strategy (LBS) program at Western Michigan University delivers a highly immersive experience that allows students to learn business by doing business. Students engage directly with executives, including CEOs, working alongside them on complex consulting projects with real companies. The program takes place at Sleeping Giant Capital, a Michigan-based private equity firm, where students operate in a real business environment and gain exposure to high-level strategy and decision-making. Yet despite its impact, many students only discover LBS after enrolling at the university. Student data reinforces this gap, showing that while most students know their intended major before …

Social Media Classifications: The Impact On Sports Content Consumption, Katie Schmitz

Honors Projects

This study examines how classifications of social media content influence consumer engagement within the context of collegiate athletics. Focusing on the Bowling Green State University football team's official Instagram account, the research analyzes posts from the 2025 football season by exploring how content type, post format, and engagement metrics relate to visibility and reach. Guided by theoretical frameworks including vividness, interactivity, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study employs a quantitative analysis using publicly available engagement metrics. This research contributes to growing literature on sport and social media by addressing a gap in classification-based engagement analysis. Findings provide a …

Determining The Internal And External Barriers That Small Antique Retail Business Owners In East Texas Face, Which Influence Their Decisions To Underutilize Or Not Adopt Social Media As A Promotional Tool, Mitchell Edward Korolewicz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The specific problem addressed in this study was that some small antique retail business owners in East Texas are potentially underutilizing or not adopting social media as a promotional tool, resulting in possible decreased competitiveness. The purpose of this flexible design, single case study was to determine the internal and external barriers that small antique retail business owners in East Texas face, which influence their decisions to underutilize or not adopt social media as a promotional tool. Rogers’s (1962) diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and its innovation decision process (IDP) model provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Data were …

Digital Marketing Strategies To Meet Digital Consumers’ Behavior In The New Era: Challenges, Path, And Interventions To Navigate The Technological And Social Turbulence, Dario Natale Palmucci, Christian Di Prima, Vittoria Magrelli

Economic and Business Review

This paper examines how digital marketing is being reshaped by five interrelated tensions: balancing data privacy and personalization; navigating global–local dynamics (including cultural sensitivities and country-of-origin effects); integrating artificial intelligence without losing human connection; ensuring authentic communication to mitigate reputational risks linked to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and ethical storytelling; and responding to shifting consumer preferences, particularly among younger generations. We combine a targeted literature review with semistructured interviews of marketing professionals across industries and seniority levels. Findings portray marketers as “tightrope walkers” who negotiate paradoxes that redefine the function. We propose an integrated framework that synthesizes previously fragmented …

Are Loyalty Programmes Still “A Thing” In High-Fashion Retail? Understanding Generation Z’S Perspective, Živa Kolbl, Lori Šušulić

Economic and Business Review

This study investigates the relevance and perception of loyalty programmes (LPs) among Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers in the high-fashion retail sector. While LPs are well-established tools for fostering customer retention, their effectiveness among Gen Z, a cohort characterized by digital fluency, a preference for authenticity, and distinct consumption values, remains underexplored. Given the high-fashion context, where exclusivity and identity are critical, this study examines the extent to which LPs resonate with this generation. Utilizing a qualitative methodology and with the help of thematic analysis, we reveal four key dimensions: drivers of high-fashion consumption, shopping preferences, customer loyalty patterns, and …

Beyond Baseball: A Case Study On The Multipurpose Venue Management Practices Of Giants Enterprises, Collette Grace Madden

Experience Industry Management

The success of sports organizations no longer relies on team performance and game attendance. Giants Enterprises utilizes many guest engagement and destination development strategies to expand the brand reach of the San Francisco Giants. The purpose of this study was to examine how Giants Enterprises has positioned Oracle Park and Mission Rock as premier event destinations beyond baseball, with a focus on best practices in event diversification, experience design, and placemaking. A case study was conducted on Giants Enterprises to analyze what event diversification, experience design, and placemaking tactics were utilized as well as their effectiveness. The results of this …

Over-Reliance On Aesthetics? The Appearance-Reveals-Character Lay Theory Increases Consumers’ Devaluation Of Unattractive Produce, Shilpa Madan, Krishna Savani, Gita Venkataramani Johar

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Approximately 40% of all produce is rejected because it appears unattractive, contributing significantly to food waste. Whereas previous research attributes this devaluation to the ugly-is-bad effect, this research identifies an important moderator of consumers’ reliance on this heuristic: the lay theory that a person’s outer appearance reveals their inner character. Specifically, consumers who believe that people’s appearances reveal their character are less willing to accept unattractive (vs. attractive) produce because they generalize their lay theory to produce and are, thus, more likely to infer that unattractive produce is of lower quality. Consumers who do not hold the lay theory do …

The Token-Effort Effect: Trivial Redemption Effort Increases Price Promotions Effectiveness, Kuangjie Zhang, Thomas Allard, Nidhi Agrawal, Rajesh Bagchi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research documents how introducing redemption tasks requiring a token (i.e., trivial) amount of effort—for instance, by asking the consumer to enter a promo code or solve a CAPTCHA to receive a discount—increases price promotion effectiveness compared with equivalent straight discounts (i.e., applied automatically). Eight studies (including two field experiments) and three additional Web Appendix studies provide robust evidence for the beneficial effect of token-effort requirements on redemption rates. This effect occurs because the easy-to-attain redemption task induces a high perceived return on effort. Thus, this effect only occurs when the redemption task requires token-type effort but not when it …

The Persistence Of Homophobia In Men’S Friendship Norms, Sherrie Y. Xue, Stephanie C. Lin, Christilene Du Plessis

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Across five studies and one supplementary study (five preregistered; N = 3,215 adults), we found that men, more than women, avoided shared experiences (e.g., going to the movies, sharing food) with individuals of the same gender. Furthermore, persistent societal expectations that men should be unambiguously heterosexual underpinned this pattern: Men felt more apprehensive about signaling same-gender romance in platonic relationships than women did. In turn, romantic prototypicality drove the pattern of men (more than women) avoiding shared activities, above and beyond differences in how hedonic, enjoyable, and feminine the activities were; our findings further suggested that men’s reluctance to share …

Greekmate: Communicating Startup Value Through Design And Marketing, Cameron Do-Khanh

Graphic Communication

This project examines how design and marketing can improve communication for early-stage software by applying these principles to GreekMate, a candidate management tool built for student organizations. The software functioned well but lacked a strong brand identity and clear value communication. Using Diffusion of Innovation Theory and research on UX strategy, the project focused on redesigning the brand system and marketing website to make the product easier to understand and more appealing to its audience. The redesign included a new visual direction, updated hierarchy, clearer feature explanations, and a more energetic style that aligned with student expectations. Informal user feedback …

Brands & Virtual Personas: How Virtual Influencer Types Impact Brand Awareness, Carol Calderon Ambelis

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As social media continues to shape how consumers interact with brands, virtual influencers (VIs) have emerged as a new type of digital celebrity. While previous research has explored how VIs contribute to brand image and awareness, there has been limited attention on how different types of VIs, both anime-like and human-like, affect consumer perceptions across different markets. This study examines how these two types of VIs impact relatability, aspiration, and brand awareness, with a focus on the differences between luxury and mass market. Using a within-subjects experimental design, this study recruited 574 participants with social media experience using MTurk. The …

A Capstone Review: Strategic Solutions For A Small Macrame Business, Jenna Sarieddine

University Honors Theses

This essay presents an overview of the Business Capstone project, focusing on a macramé business currently facing a $10,000 debt due to limited marketing and financial management skills. The purpose of the project is to support the business in developing an effective elevator pitch, improving its social media presence, strengthening its financial statements, and enhancing both personal and business financial practices. The essay explores the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as the team's collaborative approach to addressing these challenges. It outlines the goals established for the company, the strategies selected based on our academic backgrounds and business …

The Role Of Social Media In Beauty Marketing: Insights From Kidfluencers, Brand Withdrawal, And Consumers’ Attitudes, Avery Giddings

Business/Business Administration

This thesis examines the evolving role of social media in beauty marketing by analyzing industry trends, ethical considerations, and consumer perceptions. The paper first outlines how social media has transformed digital marketing, enabling brands to merge advertising, community-building, and e-commerce. Two case studies highlight contrasting dynamics within this landscape: the rise of “kidfluencers,” which raises concerns about privacy and potential financial exploitation; and Lush Cosmetics’ decision to withdraw from major social media platforms, a move rooted in ethical branding but accompanied by economic challenges. To further investigate consumer attitudes, a survey of 150 U.S. participants assessed social media usage patterns, …

Motion Picture Reviews As Determinants Of Box Office Revenue In The Post-Covid Environment, Fernando Comiran, Velitchka D. Kaltcheva, Anthony Patino

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

The decline in motion picture box office receipts and shortened release windows following the COVID-19 pandemic have placed heightened pressure on early performance as a critical determinant of commercial viability. Building upon earlier research suggesting that, as moviegoing frequency decreases, consumers are more likely to rely on audience reviews than critics’ reviews when making a decision to see a movie (Chakravarty et al., 2010), we examine which source of early reviews—professional critics reviews or audience reviews (WOM)—has an impact on early performance following the COVID-19 pandemic. We estimate a linear regression model using actual behavioral data—namely, eight years of motion …

Feedback Strategies In The Market With Uncertainties, Mustapha Nyenye Issah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This paper explores how established firms use strategic advertising to deter new competitors in uncertain markets. Specifically, it models a situation where market demand evolves unpredictably - captured by the CKLS stochastic process, and the incumbent firm may be either strong or weak, a fact hidden from potential entrants. For a company already in the market, advertising is not just about driving immediate sales, it is a strategic tool to project an image of strength and deter potential new competitors. On the other side, a business thinking about entering that market faces a high-stakes, irreversible decision. It will typically hold …

2025 December, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2025.

Decoding The Dynamics Of Ceo Sociopolitical Activism And Stakeholders’ Response, Nayyer Naseem, Yuqi Wang, Faraz Moin

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Business leaders today function as powerful symbolic figures whose sociopolitical stances can transform consumer loyalty, investor confidence, and organizational stability. This study decodes how stakeholders interpret executive actions and respond through behaviors such as boycotts, divestment, or heightened advocacy, highlighting both short and long-term consequences. Drawing on signaling, stakeholder, social identity, social influence, intrinsic motivation, and reputational risk theoretical frameworks, this study develops a four-stage interpretive model that links leadership behavior to stakeholder perceptions, reactions, and market outcomes within varying contextual and environmental conditions. Through a case-based analysis, it illustrates how CEO stance, media framing, and ideological alignment shape these …

Educating For Impact: A Prosocial Marketing Approach To Foster Altruism Among Young Consumers, Bela Florenthal

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This study explores how a prosocial marketing intervention in a dual-enrollment course fosters altruistic values and emotional development among young consumers while deepening their understanding of cause-related and social marketing. Grounded in holistic and experiential learning, the project required students to engage in weekly acts of kindness, reflect on their experiences, and share their actions on social media to amplify impact. Thematic analysis of qualitative data collected over two academic years revealed personal growth driven by intrinsic motivation (e.g., belonging, self-esteem) and positive emotions (e.g., joy, pride). Students demonstrated greater social awareness and practical application of marketing principles through volunteering, …

Love Affair With Thin Air: Mortality, Mastery, And The Consumerism Of Mountaineering, Kenneth Bates, Justine Rapp Farrell, Steven W. Kopp, Christopher Newman

Marketing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountaineering is arguably one of the most dangerous recreational challenges an individual may ever choose to undertake, yet millions of people annually venture above 8000 feet to challenge themselves in pursuit of personal goals, ideals, and support of individual values. But, why are consumers motivated to participate in such demanding and hazardous pursuits? This paper evaluates the psychological complexities surrounding adventure tourism as an act of consumerism, uncovering the pursuit of values, ideals, and identity transformation that is guided by one's own mortality salience. The present study seeks to examine consumer satisfaction beyond the simple pleasures of adventure and adrenaline …

Is Political Information Over Facebook Credible? A Look At The 2020 Presidential Election, Kristina Harrison, Shawn Thelen, Boonghee Yoo, John B. Ford

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Much controversy still exists surrounding the events before, during, and after the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Some of this is attributable to voters’ uncertainty, driven by conflicting messages transmitted over social media, about the credibility of information surrounding the candidates and election results. Examining data collected shortly before the 2020 election, this study investigates how consumers perceive political information presented on Facebook. Drawing from Source Credibility Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), the research tests a model that includes medium dependency, medium interactivity, information quality, information presentation, personal expertise, and power perception. Data from 407 participants were analyzed using …

An Examination Of Brand Avoidance Among Consumers Of Membership Business Models, Cara Peters, Bradley W. Brooks

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

The purpose of this study is to examine how the increasingly prevalent business membership model is linked to potential brand avoidance. Based on a qualitative examination of consumer complaints from two organizations that utilize membership business models, this research demonstrates how consumer complaints are highly consistent with established brand avoidance antecedents. The findings offer a cautionary warning to business decision-makers who manage membership business models with consumers as well as to those who are considering implementing such an approach. The implications for these decision-makers are discussed.

The Role Of Apparel In College Student Athletic Affiliation, Robin Hardin, Michelle L. Childs

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Athletics is often considered the virtual front porch of a university, as it is often the most recognizable aspect of a college or university. This study examines how college students use apparel to affiliate with their university’s athletic brand. Results revealed three key factors influencing athletic-related merchandise preference: fashionable appeal, uniqueness, and official merchandise. Further analysis found that merchandise featuring official logos, colors, and recognizable branding elements significantly enhances consumers’ ability to associate with the university’s athletics brand. Gender differences emerged in preferences for fashionable items, with men showing greater interest. These findings provide valuable insights for marketers and university …

Chasing The Dream And Buying The Promise In A Conceptual Framework For Consumer Decision-Making, Casey H. Prentice

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The American dream is a concept that is echoed across our society, and while the data show Americans do not overwhelmingly believe in the dream, marketers continue to pair it and the issue of economic prosperity in their agendas. Through a novel framework that overlaps a deeply studied mass communication theory with a decision-making framework used in marketing, this paper demonstrates a new lens to understand how marketers identify strategies and tactics, build agendas, and make sales by touting the American dream. As separate entities, decision-making models and agenda setting theory are powerful, but together can create an environment that …

Two Essays On Customer Loyalty, Arjang Attar Shoushtari

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Customer loyalty is vital for business success, yet most research treats loyal customers as a uniform group. This essay challenges that assumption by proposing that attitudinally loyal customers are psychologically heterogeneous. Drawing on Construal Level Theory (CLT), I introduce the construct of Consumer-Brand Construal Level (CBCL) to distinguish loyal customers based on how abstractly or concretely they construe their brand relationships. I conceptualize two loyalty mindsets, macro-loyalty (abstract, big-picture) and micro-loyalty (concrete, detail-focused), and argue that even highly loyal consumers differ meaningfully in their CBCL. I develop and validate a new CBCL scale (Studies 1–2) and then test how these …

Fragmentation In The U. S. Fed Cattle Market: Implications For Price Transparency And Discovery, Taralee M. Hudson

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The U.S. fed cattle market is one plagued by recurring stakeholder concern. Market participants frequently raise questions about the transparency of fundamental information under existing reporting frameworks, and the extent to which Private Negotiation, the dominant trading institution, effectively facilitates price discovery. Although extensive research has sought to address these issues, much of it has failed to account for the market’s increasingly fragmented structure. This thesis is comprised of three chapters that collectively examine price transparency and discovery through the lens of market fragmentation. Each chapter presents research related to the fed cattle market and is intended to stand …

Determinants Of Consumers' Mobile Network Continuance Intention: The Mediating Effects Of Cognitive And Affective Inertia, Fazlul Hoque, Pi Shen Seet, Stephanie Meek, Saalem Sadeque

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Despite extensive research on customer continuance intention, few studies have explored the mediating roles of cognitive and affective inertia in shaping continuance intention, particularly in emerging markets. We address this gap in an empirical study, grounded in the SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework, that investigates how trust, satisfaction, and switching barriers influence mobile network users' continuance intention, with cognitive and affective inertia as mediators. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed primary data from 407 mobile phone users in Bangladesh, an emerging economy. The findings indicate that trust, satisfaction, and switching barriers have a significant influence on continuance intention. …

Exploring Communication Strategies With Esports Fans: Signaling Physical Location And Popularity, Gavin Nolin, Ismail Karabas, Skylar King

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Purpose

Using signaling theory as a theoretical foundation, this study aims to investigate how consumers respond to message framing emphasizing physical location and popularity of an esports team. Additionally, this research looks at how power distance belief, need for uniqueness, sense of power and pride in community are associated with consumer intentions (e.g. support likelihood, watch likelihood, follow on social media likelihood) as a function of physical location versus popularity-signaling in team communication with prospective fans. Design/methodology/approach

This research uses an experiment to test the effects of physical location and popularity-signaling on consumer intentions toward an esports team, as well …

Helping Craft Beer Hunters Make Their Next Great Beer Discovery, Mark Mitchell, Sheila Mitchell

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The number of craft beer producers and consumers in the United States has increased dramatically over the last ten years. This manuscript provides an overview of the craft beer marketplace in the United States with a focus on the craft brewers and retailers as well as the consumers who favor craft beers. Craft beer enthusiasts are a “consumption community” or, a group of consumers who share a deep involvement with the craft beer category. This study presents a list of common business practices designed to appeal to this unique consumer group.

Trusted Advisor: Reality Or Fading Myth?, Stephen C. Carlson, Susanna Warnock, Gerald Sullivan, Margaret Ryder

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The role of trusted advisor has long differentiated the role of community banking from traditional national banks in its relationship with small businesses. This study serves two purposes. First is to confirm presence of a trusted advisor relationship and secondly, understand the impact of digital banking services on the community banker – small business owner relationship. Using data collected in a survey of community bankers and small business owners in five southeastern United States, this study assesses the viability of the trusted advisor construct by applying the Integrative Model of Organizational Trust (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995, 2007), trust-building behaviors …

Sync, Lauren Brown

Honors Theses

The goal of my thesis is to develop an efficient way for dance professionals to network with each other. The dance industry is saturated with talent; therefore, relationships are key to booking jobs. Relationships connect mentors and collaborative spaces that lead to consistent and long-term growth. Dancers enter the professional industry with limited experience. The financial pressure to afford the living costs in dance hub cities like New York and Los Angeles often requires dancers to work multiple jobs. Balancing multiple jobs causes dancers to struggle to find time and opportunities to network meaningfully. Thus, the core problem is when, …