Baylor Business Buzz

Accounting Team Places Second at Deloitte’s National Competition
A team of six Accounting and Business Law students from the Hankamer School of Business finished in second place at Deloitte’s National Audit Innovation Campus Challenge.

Baylor Entrepreneurship Professor Wins Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award
Leslie Palich, the W.A. (Agnes) Mays Professor of Entrepreneurship in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Ireland, a prestigious and competitive fellowship of the Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Leading Business School Group Announces Winners of Its Second Global Case Competition
The 2022 Global BAHM Case Competition was held Apr. 7–8, 2022, at Baylor University, with a team of Baylor students winning first place.

Hankamer Launches Undergraduate Research Assistant Program
Dean Sandeep Mazumder announced a new initiative at the Hankamer School of Business called the Undergraduate Research Assistant program that allows undergraduate students to assist professors as they conduct their research.

Leadership Changes Support Hankamer School of Business Key Initiatives
Dean Sandeep Mazumder announced a series of leadership changes at the Hankamer School of Business. These additions are key to Mazumder’s initiatives for the Business School: purposeful research, experiential and innovative learning, and Christ-centered diversity.

Baylor Business Students Gain Global Perspective Through Zambia Mission Trip
Baylor Business students had the opportunity to share their industry knowledge and skills through the Zambia Business Consulting mission trip.

BBSA Set to Diversify Opportunities
The newly established Black Business Student Association geared up for its first semester as an official student organization at Baylor University.

Baylor Team Wins Annual Big 12 MBA Case Competition
Some of the best and brightest MBA students competed in the 2022 Big 12 MBA Case Competition, hosted by the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business. Baylor’s team took home the top prize.

Baylor Business Review, Fall 2022

In the News

Five Ways Managers Can Support Pregnant Employees
A Harvard Business Review article co-authored by Management Professor Kaylee Hackney discusses her research, which finds that pregnancy discrimination is linked to increased stress and an elevated risk for postpartum depression in pregnant working mothers. Hackney’s research was also cited in Sojourners.

A Surge in Trading Preceded Trump’s SPAC Deal
Finance Professor Mike Stegemoller is quoted in a New York Times article about special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. Stegemoller is also quoted in Reuters and Forbes.

Social Security Changes Coming in 2022
William Reichenstein, professor emeritus of Investments, was quoted in a U.S. News article on upcoming Social Security changes. Reichenstein was also quoted in Financial Advisor.

Video: Agriculture May Be Hit by Russia-Ukraine Conflict the Hardest, Expert Warns
Pedro Reyes, professor of Management and supply chain expert, weighed in on how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will impact food supply on FOX & Friends Sunday.

Cinderella St. Peter’s Can Now Expect Boom in Applications, Donations and Sales
Sports, Strategy and Sales Professor Kirk Wakefield explains how winning sports tournaments, like March Madness, increases college applicants, improves the academic quality of the student body and raises donations in a Washington Examiner article.

Moral Judgments About Ai Will Shape Legal and Ethical Assignment of Blame in Cases Involving Self-Driving Cars
Recent research on moral judgments of artificial intelligence by Yulia Sullivan, professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics, is cited in a Forbes article about the legal and ethical ramifications of self-driving vehicles.

SNAP Benefits Helped Older Adults Avoid Food Insecurity During Pandemic
A study done by Feeding America and Craig Gunderson, professor of Economics and the Snee Family Endowed Chair at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, was quoted in an AARP article regarding SNAP benefits and food insecurity during the pandemic.

Which Comes First: Economic Decline or Hospital Closure?
A Tradeoffs article about hospital closures cited recent research by Economics Professor Michael Richards which investigated the economic impact of rural hospital closures.

Five Pandemic Lessons and How to Apply Them to Your Career
Charles Davis, professor of Accounting, is quoted in a Journal of Accountancy article about how the challenges of the pandemic may be an opportunity for accounting professionals to add new career skills and habits.

Opinion: Balance Is Essential to Students’ Wellbeing
Marketing Professors James Roberts and Meredith David co-authored a study that was quoted in a Suffolk Journal article on the struggle faced by college students to balance work, school and social activities.

Integrated Marketing for Real Estate Professionals
A Real Estate Magazine article cites a report from the Keller Center for Research at Baylor about how online advertising is now more relevant to real estate promoters than print.

Nine Things You Can Do During Your Lunch Break to Guarantee a Great Afternoon
Emily Hunter, professor and chair of Management, is quoted in a Prevention article about the importance of taking a break during the workday, which can increase productivity and lower burnout rates.

Not A Workaholic? You Might Have Some of The Same Traits, UGA Study Says
Dawn Carlson, H.R. Gibson Chair of Organizational Development, and Emily Hunter, Management Department chair in the Hankamer School of Business, served as co-authors on a study on the impact of workaholism on personal health and family relationships, featured in Metro Atlanta CEO.

Baylor Business Review, Fall 2022

Alumni News

1940s

The Honorable Judge William Fain Rutherford, BBA ’49, JD ’51, passed away on Feb. 1, 2022, in Norfolk, Virginia. Rutherford served the City of Norfolk for eight years as the commonwealth’s attorney and then as a judge in the Norfolk Circuit Court before retiring in 2000.

1980s

Roland Garcia, BBA ’81, was named one of the best lawyers in America in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of government relations practice. He was also named as a Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation.

Kathy “Kat” Schwaig, BBA ’84, was nominated and approved to serve as Kennesaw State University’s sixth president. Schwaig entered the role on Mar. 16, 2022, after serving eight months as the university’s interim president.

Gene Wolf, BBA ’88, joined the Family Endeavors Foundation Board of Directors. Wolf is a managing partner at Kemp Smith Law, with an emphasis on tax, probate and trust, estate and business planning.

Mark P. Yablon, BBA ’88, began working as a litigation attorney at Guerra Days Law Group PLLC. Based in Houston, Yablon’s statewide practice focuses on entrepreneurs dealing with civil litigation, real estate, business and family law, bankruptcy and probate.

1990s

John Rainey, BBA ’93, MBA ’95, was named the chief financial officer at Walmart Inc., effective June 6. Rainey had served as CFO of PayPal for the previous seven years.

Christopher Trowbridge, BBA ’95, JD ’98, served as chair of the board of directors for Thanks-Giving Square during the 2021–2022 term. Trowbridge is the managing partner at Bell Nunnally and is recognized on the “Texas Hall of Fame Verdicts” list.

Shelia Darby, BBA ’99, was announced as senior valuation expert at Lion Business Brokers. In this role, Darby will provide third-party financial analytics and valuation assistance.

Darren Durrett, BBA ’99, was hired by Dallas Capital Bank to serve as the executive vice president of Commercial Banking. Durrett most recently served as the Dallas market president for Truist.

2000s

Corbin E. Goerlich, BBA ’00, was recognized for his work on the first genetically engineered pig-to-human cardiac xenotransplantation. Goerlich is a general surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a postdoctoral fellow in the Cardiac Xenotransplantation lab of Muhammad Mohiuddin and Bartley Griffith at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Joe Lavis, BBA ’00, was promoted to partner at Whitley Penn. Lavis joined the firm in 2011 and has experience advising clients on tax and advisory matters, focusing on partnerships, corporations and high-net-worth individuals.

Thasunda Brown Duckett, MBA ’01, was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Duckett was also appointed to the Brex Board of Directors as of Jan. 1, 2022.

Thomas O. Anderson, Jr., BBA ’02, joined the Cherry Petersen Landry Albert LLP firm as senior counsel. Anderson has extensive experience focusing exclusively on commercial real estate transactions.

Mike Sander, BBA ’03, was named DFW Division president for History Maker Homes in March 2022. In this role, Sander will lead operations in land, sales and construction in the Dallas/Fort Worth market.

Kevin Lee, EMBA ’05, was hired as CEO for BR Restaurant Holdings, LP, which owns and operates Burning Rice restaurants. Lee entered the role in March 2022.

2010s

Joseph Korbel, BBA ’12, joined Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza as an associate. He will work in the Insurance/Tort Defense, Commercial Litigation and Business/Transactional areas of the practice.

Ben Byrum, BBA ’14, recently joined National Oilwell Varco as a buyer. Byrum is also a writer for the men’s devotional magazine, Stand Firm, published by Lifeway Christian Resources.

Ken Strutz, MBA ’14, joined the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute’s executive leadership team as chief information officer. He will be responsible for all information and technology operations and for driving digital innovation throughout the company.

Ashley Williams, MBA ’18, was recognized with a John Deere DEI Award for her contributions in elevating the diversity, equity and inclusion of John Deere suppliers. Williams has served as the supplier diversity manager with the organization since November 2020.

2020s

Maria Morales Menendez, MBA ’20, was named to Modern Healthcare‘s “Top 25 Emerging Leaders” list. Morales Menendez serves as the chief operating officer for Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Florida.

Baylor Business Review, Fall 2022

In the Brand Scheme of Things

Research explores how exposure to multiple brands makes consumer choices easier

By Emily Iazzetti

On clothing, billboards and social media, brand logos are visible in almost every part of public life. A movement against brand saturation calls it “visual pollution,” but there has not been very much research about how seeing logos from multiple brands affects the brains of consumers.

Associate Professor of Marketing Ashley Otto was curious if being surrounded by branding might have some benefit to consumers. She started by looking at how brand exposure affects how people make decisions.

“The most common and consequential time we are exposed to brands is when we are making purchasing decisions. So that is when brands are most important to us,” Otto said. “We have learned to associate brands with making decisions.”

Otto’s research, “Exposure to Brands Makes Preferential Decisions Easier,” published in Journal of Consumer Research, used seven experiments to prove that it is easier for consumers to make decisions when they are surrounded by brands.

“We just kind of hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of understanding that general exposure has an effect. Now we are trying to figure out what some of these effects are,” Otto said.

One of the experiments run in the Department of Marketing’s behavioral lab had Baylor undergraduate students pick a pen to get as a gift. While they were deciding, the students sat in cubicles surrounded either by brand logos, colorful generic shapes or blank walls. It was easiest for the students surrounded by logos to choose a pen, and they were the most satisfied with their choice.

“That was probably our most exciting experiment,” Otto said. “It was more naturalistic in the sense that we were not having them do anything with brands, the brands were in their space. And it led to this decision ease effect.”

The research showed that because consumers associate being around brands with having to make a purchasing decision, that brand exposure helps their brains get ready to make any kind of preferential decision.

“It is not something consumers are aware of, it is more of an automatic process,” Otto said. “But it does prepare one to make a decision, which then makes decisions feel easier when we are making them.”

For businesses, that means if consumers can see multiple different brands when they are shopping, like they would in a traditional shopping mall, then it will be easier for the consumer to decide what to buy. When decisions are easier, consumers are more satisfied and are more likely to become repeat customers, Otto said. To get this effect, businesses might consider using brand logos more prominently in the store layout or display design.

For people looking to be more efficient decision makers at home, unfortunately brand logo wallpaper in the kitchen will not make it easier to decide what to make for dinner. Otto’s research showed that people get more benefit from brand logo exposure when they are in an unfamiliar place.

“What we find is that when people are in environments that they are accustomed to, like your bedroom or your house, there are a lot of brands there, but they have essentially satiated on that exposure,” Otto said. “So, the effect turns off because it is not novel. They are not attending to these brands anymore.”

Otto said she hopes this research will help consumers think about marketing and branding in a more positive light. “Quite often, we think that advertisers are just trying to get us to buy things all the time,” Otto said. “I think this shows a positive upside to just general brand exposure, and how it can help us make decisions and decisions that we are happier with.”

Baylor Business Review, Fall 2022

The Business of Bouncing Back

Connecting the dots between entrepreneurship and resiliency

By Justin Walker

During Robert Griffin III’s Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, the Baylor quarterback delivered a line that resonated with the football program for years to come.

“No pressure, no diamonds.”

Gabriella Cacciotti, a professor of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation at the Hankamer School of Business, completely agrees with that statement. However, Cacciotti sees the sentiment ring true in the realm of entrepreneurship and the development of resiliency.

“We often focus on how resilience can be important for entrepreneurship,” she said. “But what recent research shows is that entrepreneurship is also relevant for building an individual’s resiliency.”

Cacciotti, along with researchers from the University of Warwick and Indiana University, highlighted this in their study, “Integrating Psychological Resilience, Stress, and Coping in Entrepreneurship: A Critical Review and Research Agenda,” published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. While this concept has been known for many years, the research team wanted to bring more awareness to it.

“It was surprising when the papers presenting such a finding first came out,” she said. “We were already aware of the research, we just put more light on it and said, ‘This is a line of research—this focus on the inverted relationship is extremely important.'”

The research team conducted an assessment of the existing literature related to entrepreneurial stress, resilience and coping, systematically reviewing 125 articles on the concepts. After identifying commonalities and organizing the literature, the team was able to create an integrated model to combine all the research conducted and highlight the gaps in the literature, Cacciotti said.

“The model we created shows that when you want to understand how entrepreneurs become resilient, the first thing is to focus on the nature of adversity,” she said. “There is no resilience if we do not have an experience of adversity, because resilience is the idea of bouncing back from obstacles and going back to your previous functioning.”

One source of adversity is the entrepreneurial experience itself. However, this adversity can lead to learning and the development of performance and coping skills that build resilience. Going forward, researchers should focus on this additional mechanism which has been overlooked by past studies, Cacciotti said.

Cacciotti plans to look into the nature of adversity in her own research, as well as what it means to be functioning as an entrepreneur. It all falls into what she calls the “dark side” of entrepreneurship.

“I started my career studying the fear of failure in entrepreneurs,” she said. “With that comes an understanding of how they cope with failure and where that fear is coming from.”

Fear often appears as a response to adversity, Cacciotti said. In this study, she mostly focused on the positive responses to adversity, but she would also like to investigate the negative side.

While Cacciotti’s research is beneficial to the field of entrepreneurship, she finds it useful in the classroom as well. It allows her to connect to her students and eases their concerns about a career in entrepreneurship.

“When students approach some of these courses, oftentimes they are scared about not being able to face a field like this that requires a lot from you, not to mention it has a higher rate of failure,” she said.

Cacciotti explains to her students that entrepreneurship is a performative context—an opportunity to succeed or fail. There is no difference between entrepreneurship, sports or education, she said.

“Whatever skillset you are building in the classroom is helping you become resilient,” she said. “It’s my way of creating parallelism between the life of an entrepreneur and the life of a student.”

Baylor Business Review, Fall 2022