Undergraduate Research

Heber Garcia questioned why his profession of choice; accounting, struggles with attracting top talent. Through an examination of the literature Heber recognized that much of it is due to misperceptions about the field. Even though the accounting profession at large had been investing heavily in recruitment Heber’s research has identified ways that the profession can improve recruitment efforts. Heber’s research resulted in an article titled “Exploring the Cognitive Effects of Persuasive Messaging on Students’ Perceptions about Accounting.” The study explores how perceptions can be changed by promotional media and the results show that promotional media aimed at perception change can influence perceptions about accounting if the message is presented with rich media that incorporates auditory and visual stimuli. Positive changes in perception occurred via affective response which influenced perception directly, and influenced perception indirectly through increased involvement with the details of the message.

Caibing Wang is very interested in the differences in how business works in America and in China, within the same company. His family works in a firm that is headquartered in the United States, but has several divisions in China. Caibing’s research is an in-depth study of organizational culture effects on supply chain relationships is the purpose of this research. Specifically, when an American company sets up in another country, what effects does this have on the organizational culture of the company? Also, what affect do these have on both American and foreign supply chain partners. Caibing presented the study at the Society of Marketing Advances Conference in New Orleans.

Katherine Wood recognized that an old teaching tool traditionally used by accounting educators but often deemed outdated can still be highly effective if used with the right teaching philosophy. As a Kansas State University Honors Student, Katherine worked on a project that evaluated the effectiveness of practice sets in the classroom. The research found that practice sets can still be highly effective learning tools when used in conjunction with the “Cognitive Apprenticeship” approach to teaching. Katherine’s work has impacted education and Kansas State and is being used by educators around the globe. It is published in the Accounting Instructor’s Report.

Phillip Hill and Ashlee Hampton wanted to understand the usefulness of blogs, pins and reviews when consumers purchase a product. Do consumers really use these social media venues? And, do the effects of these social media have any effect on how consumers feel about advertisements. Their study is to examined the effects of social media, specifically blogs, pins and consumer reviews, on consumers’ attitudes toward traditional advertisements, and ultimately purchase decisions. Their research question - how do blogs, pins and reviews affect consumer attitudes toward product advertisements and purchase intentions? What they found was that most consumers will likely read a review before purchasing a product. Consumers may read a blog, but it is to become aware of a product, or form an opinion about a product. Pins, such as those used on Pinterest, are just to see the product. Phillip and Ashley presented their findings at the Society of Marketing Advances Conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Luzhi Deng became very interested in this subject when noticing that many people will add applications to their mobile phones, and then not use the apps. With the rapid development of mobile technology and the expanding wireless network coverage area, mobile devices have been growing rapidly and have been turning into important tool for consumers. Mobile services and mobile apps have played an important role in people’s daily lives. The objective of this study is to use the technology acceptance model as a base model to explore how perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use influences consumers’ behavioral intention to use mobile apps and as well as how mobile ad intrusiveness, privacy and app update causes consumers terminating mobile apps. Luzhi presented his research at the Society of Marketing Advances Conference in New Orleans.

Stephanie Wacker noticed that the physical activities in the recreation center at her university were no longer gender specific. Women were participating in weight lifting activities, whereas many of the guys were in the Zumba classes. The purpose of her research is to understand these changes in fitness activities in terms of gender and how it affects the marketing of fitness centers. Current trends suggest that more men and women are participating in fitness activities not historically typical of their gender membership, but what factors are causing this crossover? The objective of this study is to determine whether this crossover is occurring due to environmental changes occurring in society or whether it’s due to more specific factors such as fitness center promotions, etc. Stephanie presented the study at the Society of Marketing Advances Conference in New Orleans.