Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Financial Institutions Continue To Adopt Crypto Despite Industry Turmoil, Andre Beganski

Capstones

Even though this calamitous year has raised doubts about crypto's future, not a single large financial institution has backed away from their forays into digital assets. And despite a period of turmoil that’s seen the market value of all cryptocurrencies crater to under $880 billion from over $3 trillion, many sizable firms continue to view crypto as an emerging sector of finance and technology that’s rife with opportunity.

While financial firms have the potential to foster a widespread perception of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate asset class, their involvement runs counter to the intent of those who pioneered blockchain technology for …

Brides And Bridal Stores: Online Or Brick-And-Mortar, Libby C. Jones, Ismet Anitsal, Melek Meral Anitsal

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This paper explores the growing global bridal industry and the different trends, traditions, and aspects of specific countries' bridal industries. It outlines western and eastern traditions and how globalization contributes to their spread. A deeper focus is dedicated to the United States' bridal industry and the issues brick-and-mortar bridal boutiques face as more brides have started shopping at online bridal stores. The relationship between brick-and-mortar and online bridal stores is explored based on various propositions about the bridal industry's emerging challenges. These propositions include trust issues in the retail environment, convenience, selection of bridal gowns in different retail formats, incorporating …

Modelling Online Advertising Design Quality Influences On Millennial Consumer Attitudes In South Africa, Rodney G. Duffett Dr, Natassha V. Miller Ms

The African Journal of Information Systems

Millennials’ advanced knowledge and exposure to product experiences, and irrelevant placement of online advertising has led to an increase of online advertising avoidance. However, effective online advertising design may assist in establishing more positive sentiments towards digital forms of marketing communication. The study used the visual rhetoric theory as the theoretical basis to examine millennial consumer attitudes. The main research aims were to propose an online advertising design quality model, and to ascertain the influence of online advertising design quality on millennial consumer attitudes. The study employed a quantitative research design via an empirical online survey. Online advertising design quality …

What Is The Role Of T.E.A Concept Between Positive Recommendation And Behavioural Intention To Purchase In Social Media?, Phyo Min Tun

The South East Asian Journal of Management

Research Aims: This study explores the antecedents of customers’ behavioural intention to purchase on the social media platform. In addition, the T.E.A concept, the group of consequences of positive recommendation (PR), is developed by amalgamating trust (T), easiness (E), and amusement (A).

Design/Methodology/Approach: The data was collected from 260 random social media users from Myanmar. Both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed to examine the observed variables, and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques were used to estimate the hypotheses in AMOS software.

Research Findings: The results disclose that the T.E.A concept is …

Role Of Personality Traits For Entrepreneurial Intentions Of Young Entrepreneurs: A Case Study Of Higher Education Institution, Yuanyuan Cao, Muhammad Mujtaba Asad, Lu Wang, Aisha Naz Ansari, Norah Almusharraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Pakistan being a young country is struggling to provide employment opportunities. However, entrepreneurship is a perceived strategy for reducing unemployment. The trend of entrepreneurship is also emerging among university students. Thus, the ratio of entrepreneurial intention and start-ups is also increasing among university students and graduates. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of personality traits in the entrepreneurial intentions of young entrepreneurs. Considering this, qualitative methodology was employed with the case study as the research design. A single case of a university with three different departments was taken. In total, n = 9 entrepreneurs were purposely selected from …

The Geopolitics Of Infrastructuralized Platforms: The Case Of Alibaba, Hong Shen, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Contemporary digital platforms have become increasingly infrastructuralized, and started to raise geopolitical tensions with their global expansion. Amidst the heightened geopolitical competition between the US and China, the growing power of Chinese infrastructuralized platforms has made them the center of recent geopolitical dynamics. Drawing from an exploratory case study, this paper discusses Alibaba, one of the most prominent Chinese Internet giants, as an infrastructuralized platform, and highlights its geopolitical struggles. Often perceived as an e-commerce company, Alibaba has become ‘infrastructuralized’: its now-massive digital empire has moved beyond e-commerce, expanding into almost every aspect of China’s and global digital economy such …

Dynamic Return Relationships In The Market For Cryptocurrency: A Var Approach, Julian Gouffray

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This paper examines how the Bitcoin-altcoin return relationship has evolved in periods between 2015 and 2020. To understand this relation, we observe data on the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and prominent altcoins Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, and Monero, which collectively represent over 90% of the market throughout the observed period. We employ a vector autoregressive model (VAR) to produce forecast error variance decompositions, orthogonal impulse response functions, and Granger-causality tests. We find evidence that Bitcoin return variation has increasingly explained altcoin returns and that market inefficiency increased between 2017 and 2020, as shown by increased Granger causality between Bitcoin and altcoins. These …

The Effects Of Network Structure And Social Information On Contribution Performance On Crowdfunding Platforms: An Experimental Investigation, Yanni Hu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The long-term potentiality of online communities and activities depends critically on contribution behaviors of online individuals. In this dissertation, this study deepen and extend our understanding of contribution behavior by applying contributions to crowdfunding platforms, whereas social networks, social information, and social influence affect people’s contribution decisions, which in turn influences their contribution performances. Specifically, this study looked into how contribution behavior at crowdfunding platforms is shaped at a fundamental level of social interactions initiated by social and information technologies on contribution performance, using online and natural experiments as study methodologies.

Examining the effects brought by online social interactions on …

A Psychological Profile Of The Digitized Economy: Who Buys Cryptocurrencies, Nfts, And Meme-Stocks (And Why)?, Nicole Wolfe

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

As the global digital economy continues to grow in interest and financial worth, it is imperative to harvest data to gain early information on this nuanced economy. Already, we have witnessed billions of dollars in losses and wins at the blink of an eye, encouragement to invest from well-known celebrities and politicians, and high anxiety from the newness, power consumption, and potential outcomes of this nuanced system. Stemming from the lack of solid evidence in this emerging field, we hope to gain more insight on the early players and variation within the digitized economy. Similarly, we hope to identify specific …

The Impact Of Line (Brand) Extension Strategies On Competition And In-Store Operational Performance In The China E-Commerce Environment, Er-Yung Stephen Chu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Line (brand) extension activity in the western markets may have tempered during the last decade, and most of the academic research that has been done is based on traditional brick and mortar stores. With the rise of e-commerce, line extension became a growth tool for brands. The study starts with the classification of line extension strategic types, which gives different tiers of Chinese e-commerce firms a good reference, especially in the rapidly changing e-commerce environment. It also seeks to give guidance for different aspects of launching new line extensions. Using this guidance, future brands can make better estimations of brand …

Understanding Millennials Regarding Online Versus In-Store Grocery Shopping Preferences, Timothy L. Schauer

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Grocery shopping has changed in significant ways over the last 150 years – all to allow customers to choose their own items (Strasser, 1989). Within the last decade, large U.S. supermarkets, like Kroger, Walmart, and Safeway have rolled out online stores (Perez, 2015). However, in 2017, when the Internet-based giant, Amazon, acquired Whole Foods and developed the Amazon Go concept store, the march toward online-only sales came into question. The purpose of this research is to attempt to understand the preferences associated with Millennials regarding online versus in-store grocery shopping preferences. This paper provides the following contributions. First, it extends …

Keeping The Faith: The Impact Of Religiosity On Controversial Social Justice Advertising, Rebecca Rast, Josh Coleman, Christina S. Simmers

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Religious individuals have traditionally responded negatively to controversial advertising; however, little has been examined in their response to brand activism in the form of social justice issues. Interestingly, brands may find support from more religious individuals when promoting certain social issues. Across three studies using two social networks (Twitter and Instagram), this research demonstrates that individuals who identify as more religious (compared to those who identify as less religious) consistently display higher attitudes, intentions, and perceptions of authenticity for brands supporting social justice issues (precisely racial inequality, or “Black Lives Matter”). These findings are explained through social identity theory, in …

The Effects Of Business Digitalization And Knowledge Management Practices On Business Performance: Findings From Indonesian Micro, Small, And Medium Enterprises, Rosdiana Sijabat

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Studies analyzing the link between business digitalization, knowledge management practices, and business performance are rare, especially within the context of Indonesian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). As such, this study investigates the effects of business digitalization and knowledge management practices on the performance of MSMEs. It thus offers novel insight into the mediative influence of knowledge management on the digitalization and performance of MSMEs. Primary data, collected from 95 entrepreneurs involved in MSMEs, were used to test four hypotheses regarding the effect of business digitalization on knowledge management practices and business performance using a structural equation model. This study …

Muslim Fashion Influencers Shaping Modesty In The Twenty-First Century On Social Media, Awa Sanno

Student Theses and Dissertations

The depiction of Muslim women in Western media has been a long-running joke, as they are framed to be oppressed by the burdens of their religion and the hijab. However, Muslim women have used the power of social media to counter that narrative through their large followings as fashion influencers, digital creators, food bloggers, makeup artists, lifestyle bloggers, musicians, and so much more. Specifically, Muslim fashion influencers are changing and redefining the notion of modesty throughout their posted content on social media. Many people in Muslim communities see this redefinition of modesty as a conflict with the "proper" ways of …

Essays On Market Design And Auctions, Mingshi Kang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My thesis consists of three chapters that contribute to redistribution-driven market design and sponsored link auctions.

Chapter 2 and 3 (co-authored with Charles Zheng) study redistribution-driven market design with endogenous buyers and sellers. In Chapter 2, we consider a large market environment with each individual endowed with equal shares of a limited resources and allowed to buy or sell the shares. We characterize the interim (incentive-constrained) Pareto frontier subject to market clearance and budget balance, and find that at most two prices are needed to attain any (interim) Pareto optimum. Under robust conditions of the primitives, the Pareto optimal allocation …

Arclothmasks: A Pandemic Startup Journey, Adam Jackson

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

Covid-19 changed the way the world operated when it became a pandemic in 2020. The need for personal protection equipment was unexpected and suppliers were not prepared for the demand. The government mandate of masks furthered the need of PPE across the nation. To help fill this shortage, many companies began to retool their manufacturing processes from clothing to masks. This thesis will dive into one PPE company and its journey from the start of the pandemic. The business plan for the company will follow it along with graphs and charts that help tell the tale of the startup.

Aggregate Online Brand Name Pharmacy Price Dynamics For The United States And Mexico, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

Virtual cross-border medical tourism allows many residents in the United States to purchase brand name medicines from companies in Mexico without travelling there. Monthly economic reports indicate that the online brand name pharmaceutical product prices in Mexico are noticeably lower than the corresponding internet prices in the United States. There have been very few econometric studies on how these prices are linked and the dynamic nature of those relationships. Results in this study indicate that online medicine prices in Mexico respond very rapidly to online prices changes in the high-price market.

Maturity Model For Customer-Centric Approach In Enterprise: The Case Of E-Commerce And Online Retail Industry, Soheil Zarrin

Dissertations and Theses

The network technologies are changing the dynamics of the interaction between customer and provider. Customers demand closer relationships and higher investment between partners, as well as cooperation between companies to build supporting technologies for their unique needs. Customer-centricity is defined as interaction with the customer through various touchpoints and aggregating these relations to create a position for the customer. Each Customer has a different need and expectation from the provider or seller, and companies need to be flexible enough to fulfill their needs. One of the reasons organizations invest less in customer experience is that they believe they are already …

From Strategic Goal To Reality: The Development Of The Myrtle Beach Invitational Basketball Tournament, Mark Mitchell, Dennis Edwards, John Marcis

The Coastal Business Journal

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, area was selected to serve as one-time hosts for two tournaments in 2017: the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament and the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Men's College Basketball Tournament, when circumstances required those events to relocate on very short notice. Following the success of these two one-time events, the region sought to become a permanent host of an annual men's college basketball tournament to be played in November or December. This manuscript examines the development process of this tournament and illustrates how tournament organizers addressed the most common elements found in such events.

A Risk-Based Approach To Cybersecurity: A Case Study Of Financial Messaging Networks Data Breaches, Xiang Michelle Liu

The Coastal Business Journal

With banking becoming increasingly global and largely digital, a magnitude of data breach incidents resulted from cyberattacks have been observed and can be frequently traced to ineffective security practices and procedures. Cyberattacks do not require physical proximity, nor are they deterred by national borders. Cybercriminals can remain undetected for a long period of time. Such breaches inevitably result in losses of reputation, customer confidence, and in some instances, productivity. The purpose of this study is to take a deeper look into various breaches of the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messaging network to illuminate vulnerabilities inherent in the …

Understanding Residents' Opinions And Support Toward Sustainable Tourism Development In The Caribbean: The Case Of Saint Kitts And Nevis, David Mc.A Baker, Ramaprasad Unni

The Coastal Business Journal

Saint Kitts and Nevis are two islands forming one nation in the Caribbean. This paper examines differences in the perceived economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism between residents of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the residents' attitudes about the pace and direction of tourism development. A self-administered household survey was used to assess perceptions of these impacts from tourism among residents. After excluding 53 non-residents, effective sample size was 269. ANOVA was used to analyze differences between the two islands. Residents of both islands shared similar perceptions about the pace and direction of tourism development in their islands. However, …

Promoting Ecotourism To Millennials Through Social Media, Melissa Clark, Paul Clark, Michael Latta

The Coastal Business Journal

This paper explores how coastal ecotourism marketers can utilize social media to effectively market to millennials. Coastal Tourism is one of four types of ecotourism identified by Honey and Krantz (2007) in their study Global Trends in Coastal Tourism sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. An online survey of university students from the millennial generation was utilized. Findings indicate that millennials are interested in ecotourism and gather information about it from friends and social media. They check their accounts several times a day and usually from their smartphones. They would choose an ecotourism destination if money were not an issue. …

The Strategic Problem Of Information Security And Data Breaches, Michael Dinger, Julie Terrill Wade

The Coastal Business Journal

This paper considers the strategic uncertainties and impacts created by high-profile data breaches and discusses the unique strategic problem presented by information security breaches for organizational executives. Based on theory regarding strategic uncertainties, we develop a framework depicting a strategic perspective on breaches within and outside the firm. Then, within the major categories outlined by the framework, this research evaluates instances of 17 public disclosures of high-profile data breaches over the past four years. Based on our discussion of these 17 cases, we identify six major issues complicating strategic decision-making regarding security breaches and discuss guidance for managers.

The Role Of Forensic Accounting In U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts, Amie L. Haun, Madison Gaither, Joanie Sompayrac

The Coastal Business Journal

The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center directed international attention to the financial component of terrorist operations. The demand for forensic accounts has continued to increase because of a growing intolerance for fraud and terrorist activity. Forensic accountants have and will continue to have a vital role in United States' counterterrorism efforts in the post-9/11 era by detecting acts of fraud and money laundering. Comprehensive review of relevant literature including books, peer-reviewed articles, government databases, court records and news media confirms that forensic accountants are equipped with special skills and analytical tools that make them valuable members of …

Extraordinary Item Classification Eliminated From The Income Statement: Some Supportive Evidence, Mark G. Mccarthy, Dennis O'Reilly, Douglas K. Schneider

The Coastal Business Journal

Accounting Standards Update 2015-01 formally eliminated the reporting of "extraordinary items" in the income statement for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015. Gains and losses previously reported as extraordinary items and presented separately below income from continuing operations, are now reported as other gains and losses and included in income from continuing operations. The use of the extraordinary item classification fell sharply after 2002 when gains and losses from the early extinguishment of debt were no longer required to be reported as extraordinary items. By 2003 less than 100 publicly traded firms reported extraordinary items and in 2011 the …

The Impact Of The Carrollton Greenbelt On Residential Housing Prices: A Spatial Approach, Heather R. Bono, Lisa L. Gezon, William J. Smith, Macy D. Walker

The Coastal Business Journal

The Carrollton GreenBelt is a linear park encircling the City of Carrollton Georgia. The GreenBelt differs from other linear parks in that it is an entirely new construction and was not built upon existing rail lines, as was the Atlanta Beltline and the nearby Silver Comet Trail. Using GIS, data from the Carroll County Tax Assessor's office and spatial econometric techniques, we estimate local fair-market housing values within the hedonic framework to measure the relationship between home prices and access to the GreenBelt. We find the expected positive effects from the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage, but access …

A Preliminary Examination Of Gender Differences In Graduate And Undergraduate Reading Engagement: Using Books To Supplement Students' Learning, Suzanne Clinton, Lee Tyner, Robert Epstein, Abbie Lambert

The Coastal Business Journal

As America's universities advance the use of technologies, including learning management systems, videos, PowerPoint, "clickers," virtual classrooms, and everything else "i" and "e," students may become over sensitized and yearn for a missing component: The focused study of reading a book. This study analyzes differences in graduate and undergraduate students, and male and female attitudes and perceptions of reading engagement involving non-textbook reading in academic courses, especially among business students. This research is based on the experiences of four professors who have incorporated (auto)biographies and practitioner books to support the growth and development of students' study of human resource management …

Small Business Identity And Entrepreneurial Identity In A Destination Resort Town: Are Birds Of A Feather Flocking To The Beach?, Janice A. Black, Carol Megehee, Frances H. Fabian

The Coastal Business Journal

Identities can be considered an intangible resource when they support the competitive advantage of a firm. Some work has shown that the context of an organization matters but will that hold true at a beach location filled with large numbers of micro-businesses and small businesses where entrepreneurs and small business owners engage their world both as individuals and as organizations? We examine the literature on identity and utilize a zoomorphic metaphor to elicit unbiased understandings of the coherence or dissonance of entrepreneurial and organizational identities. We found some intriguing results showing unexpected similarities and an affinity for coherent identities.

An Active Learning Exercise To Help Students Discover How To Model A Third Decision, Julie Ann Stuart Williams, Randall Reid, Kristine Gallamore

The Coastal Business Journal

In this paper, we describe an active learning exercise for a fictitious business producing sea turtle bamboo beach towels. The students are asked to assume the role of a junior analyst at a company as they are led through a series of business memos, directed questions, nutshell summaries, and class discussions. In this role, students have the opportunity to discover how to review business communications to identify a new third decision, what additional data will be needed, and what changes will be required to reformulate the existing product mix model for sea turtle bamboo beach towels.

Shared Leadership In A Department Of Defense Acquisition Project Management Team, Valentin Novikov

The Coastal Business Journal

Integrated product teams (IPTs) manage the acquisition of modernized military equipment. Since acquisition processes are complex and multi-functional, product management team leaders are not experts in every phase of their projects. Therefore, team leaders rely on member expertise by serving as social architects to orchestrate collaborative work group cultures required to accomplish the teams' missions through shared leadership (Stagnaro & Piotrowski, 2013). Since a comprehensive search of literature revealed a lack of published field studies on shared leadership in product management teams, an in-depth qualitative study was conducted on a successful acquisition IPT that suggested the team portrayed the characteristics …