The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how hiring managers describe the importance of education and industry related/real-world experience as criteria in hiring recent business graduates for the Consumer Products Goods industry in the United States. The theoretical foundations for the study were the CareerEDGE Model, and…

This study explored the relevancy of media literacy as college students obtained their news and information from social media sites. The past several decades have experienced a transformation from single-sourced, trusted news in newspapers and television to a multi-sourced, unchecked, and growing social media presence. News shapes social and…

This dissertation combines three essays on the industrial organization and the industrial organization of education markets. These three essays study how the strategic behavior of firms influences market outcomes and consumer decisions. The first chapter examines the manufacturer's product variety and its relation to the manufacturer's bargaining…

In most markets, consumers of goods and services have vastly more options available to them than they will consider closely. At the point of making a decision, consumers are choosing between only a small subset (i.e., a consideration set) of all possible alternatives. The preceding process that forms these consideration sets is the focus of this…

My case study focused on the message communicated through the university's fundraising campaign titled For the Bold and sought to determine if the campaign messaging influenced decision-making of first-generation sophomores (FGS) attending William & Mary as they selected majors and formed career choices. The campaign message emphasized the…

This dissertation studies how institutions of higher education occupy a unique space that can add to the discourse of business studies by relating how consumers can simultaneously function as products. This is substantiated by defining the word "student" beyond the traditional meaning of a student as learner when considering the higher…

This dissertation contains three essays discussing government policy in higher education, the effects of online social networks during college on students after graduating, and how to use search data as a tool to recover characteristics of both products and customers to estimate demand. In the first chapter, co-authored with Shengmao Cao, we study…

The roadmap towards the commercialization of goods and services has been continually enhanced and modified to accommodate a more digital landscape. Businesses are building more robust websites and point-of-service opportunities that do not require human intervention. In turn, consumer shopping patterns and behaviors have shifted in response to…

Wage differentials across college majors are huge and have been increasing. The type of college education becomes important for college students in terms of future earnings. Understanding the treatment effect of major choice in a certain occupation is difficult because of the sorting behavior and the effect of occupation choice. In order to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the message structure of an online word-of-mouth referral influences the booking intentions of lodging consumers. The objectives were (1) determine what elements of the message structure of an online word-of-mouth referral influenced the booking intention of lodging consumers and (2)…

Recently, some college football programs have experienced unsustainable attendance growth, increases in revenue discrepancies, stagnant "revenue growth", and increased operating costs (Brown, 2009; Fulks, 2009; Fullerton & Morgan, 2009; Jackson, 2005; NCAA, 2009, 2010). These problems can be examined from customer service, social…

Centralized customer support is an established industry method used to improve revenue and profitability. What remains unknown is whether this cost-saving commercial business practice is similarly applicable to the unique, often isolated military environment. This research study statistically tested a theoretical framework for knowledge management…

This qualitative case study explored the Student Consumerism phenomenon as displayed by post-secondary students as perceived by their instructors. Because it was not entirely understood how post-secondary instructors react to the manifestations that occur due to Student Consumerism style of behaviors, this study examined the phenomenon from that…

In the early years of online retailing, having an online presence and low prices were believed to be key drivers of success. More recently, electronic service quality has become essential as an online marketing strategy. Online stores provide higher service quality to create online customer loyalty, improve customer satisfaction, and keep a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify future trends and barriers that will either facilitate or impede the narrowing of the digital skills divide among older adults during the next 10 years. Methodology: To address the research questions, this study used a modified version of the Delphi process using a panel of experts who…