Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Management

We are living in an era of rising connectivity where consumers of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds are “always-on.” Consumers can now engage constantly with brands, retailers, content, and each other through real-time interactions, facilitated by a mobile-first mindset. This has earned consumers the moniker, “highly empowered.” Consumers are indeed empowered by the growth of the internet/mobile, proliferation of devices, and unprecedented access to information, choice, and control. However, rising connectivity also has downsides. Consumers now face a barrage of decisions about whether to share their personal information with firms or accept its collection without their explicit consent. The outcomes of these automatic, one-time decisions are far-reaching and long-lasting. They also empower firms—perhaps more than consumers; something most marketers prefer to keep secret. This research study addresses how “always-on” supposedly empowered consumers behave while shopping and make decisions in an era of pervasive personal information exchanges with retailers and others. It uses an exploratory, sequential mixed methods design beginning with a qualitative study followed by two quantitative studies. Study 1 investigates how 40 connected consumers behave and make decisions in shopping/retail environments. Findings reveal pros and cons of rising connectivity, dynamic behavior that challenges traditional customer segmentation, and tensions over privacy and personal data exchanges with retailers. These tensions are explored in Study 2 using survey data collected from 790 U.S. consumers, all heavy internet/mobile users. Consumer acceptance of personal data collection is interpreted as a form of coping with the stress of digital life. Study 3 extends Study 2 by focusing on three moderating effects on consumer willingness to share personal data or have it collected: perceived marketing intrusiveness, high versus low privacy knowledge, and high versus low privacy-protect (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Business Administration

Two essays explore how the adoption of AI technologies – AI-powered chatbots in particular – impact consumer well-being. The first essay focuses on the role of chatbots as a customer service representative and identifies two distinct types of interaction consumers have with chatbots: interactions when a chatbot's identity is (1) not disclosed and therefore ambiguous or (2) disclosed. The work finds a key psychological factor that impacts consumer response in these two types of interactions, namely self-presentation concerns. Six studies demonstrate that when self-presentation concerns are high, consumers (1) infer that an ambiguous chatbot is in fact a human and (2) prefer to interact with a clearly disclosed chatbot over a human service representative. The second essay focuses on the emerging role of chatbots as a digital tool aimed at improving consumer well-being and identifies why consumers are reluctant to use digital tools powered by chatbots geared toward improving mental (vs. physical) wellness. Four studies show that consumers are less interested in digital tools for mental (vs. physical) wellness because the very use of the tool cues them to think about how they lack close others in their “real” lives who can provide social support and thus feel negative about themselves. The essay further identifies an intervention that can help mitigate the reluctance toward the digital chatbot tool for mental wellness. Taken together, the two essays explore why consumers use AI-powered technologies and how that impacts their well-being.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2011, Human Ecology: Hospitality Management

This study investigates three questions: (1) Generation Y's dining decision-making styles, (2) Generation Y's use of social networking websites (SNWs) for dining information search and sharing, and (3) the factors that influence Generation Y's dining information search and sharing on SNWs. Specifically, three factors regarding consumer characteristics were examined: consumer decision-making styles (CDMS), consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII), and consumer opinion leadership (COL). Gender difference was also examined. A pilot study was conducted using 38 undergraduate students from the Consumer Sciences Department of a Midwestern University in the United States. A final survey was conducted using 162 undergraduate students from the same program. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed to validate all variables. Descriptive statistics were gathered to describe the subjects' age, gender, and their use of social networking websites. A Consumer Style Inventory was produced to profile respondents regarding their decision-making styles. A series of Mann-Whitney U tests were performed, alternately using CDMS, CSII, COL, and gender as grouping variables. Results show that Generation Y uses a variety SNWs. There is a moderate usage of SNWs for the purpose of dining information search and sharing. Five decision-making styles of Generation Y diners were identified: hedonistic/ recreational style, habitual/brand-loyal style, price conscious style, confused by over-choice style, and brand conscious style. Results also indicated that CSII and COL influence Generation Y's use of SNWs for dining information search and sharing. CDMS has a partial influence. In particular, confused by over-choice style has an influence on dining information search and price conscious style has an influence on dining information sharing. No gender difference was detected. Limitations of this study and future research directions are also discussed.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2024, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

Fashion brands play a crucial role in shaping consumer perceptions in an industry dominated by advertisements. This study investigates the profound influence of diversity in fashion ads on the attitudes, perceptions, and brand affinities of underrepresented consumers, specifically focusing on college-aged Black and Latina females. This study draws on existing literature; encompassing consumer demand for representation, body diversity, ethnic diversity, self-congruity (Sirgy, 1985a), and the Minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003), to uncover connections between diverse representation and consumer behavior. By utilizing a qualitative approach, this research engages participants in an exploration of three sets of fashion advertisements, with the opportunity to answer open-ended prompts. Through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), the study aims to determine which factors shape consumer attitudes, perceptions, and brand affinities. Altogether, it was found that diverse advertising is a determining factor of positive brand affinity. The significance of this study lies in its potential to inform marketers and brands about the relationship between diversity representation and consumer behavior, fostering more inclusive advertising strategies. As the fashion industry learns to integrate evolving societal norms, this research contributes insights that may continue to redefine conventional beauty standards and empower consumers in choosing which brands to support.

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2023, Economics

This thesis evaluates the impact recycling policy incentives have in motivating circular economy transitions using a three-agent model of waste generation and disposal. The model of consumer sorting reveals that educated, environmentally concerned citizens may unwittingly contribute to recycling contamination through a phenomenon known as "aspirational recycling."

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Arts and Sciences: Mathematical Sciences

Motivated from the statistical analysis of real consumer panel data, we focus on unveiling consumer traits from multi-category consumer panel data. This dissertation is a sequence of statistical analyses to find household's heterogeneous characteristics in terms of “new choice” preference. We first apply a fixed effects model to see how the household-level and category-level heterogeneity affect households' new choice preference. Second, we regress the estimated individual household effect on demographic variables. Third, we fit a Bayesian binomial hierarchical model to integrate the finding we got from the fixed effects model and the regression model. The real data application demonstrates that the proposed Bayesian hierarchical model successfully finds the household's heterogeneous new choice preference.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (Education)

Textiles and apparel products create a significant amount of pollution and environmental degradation throughout their long product life cycle. In response to the increasing pressure from various stakeholders, the apparel businesses have gradually implemented environmental practices throughout the supply chain. The purpose of this study was to investigate consumers' assessment of the environmental practices in the apparel industry. Based on the schema theory and the literature in consumer environmental behaviors, the way consumers evaluate and categorize the environmental practices in their mental map, and the impacts of individual factors on their evaluations were examined. The data were collected from the general American population using an online survey. A total of 272 completed responses collected from the MTurk were analyzed. The data revealed that consumers categorize the environmental practices into three broad themes: (a) resource optimization, (b) post purchase care information, and (c) conservation. Regardless of the production stages, consumers seem to process environmental practices according to a resource usage orientation. It was also found that egoistic value and perceived consumer effectiveness were significantly influential across all three practice categories. On the other hand, altruistic value was significantly related to the resource optimization and the conservation categories. Perceived environmental risk was found influencing the respondents' evaluation of the resource optimization practice only. This study is the first study that evaluated consumers' perceived impacts of the industrial environmental practices associated with apparel production and discovered the way consumers categorize the practices. Along with the findings related to the influential individual factors, the results of this study produced implications for the marketers to formulate efficient and effective strategies to communicate their environmental practices with consumers (open full item for complete abstract)

BS, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

The fashion industry is driven by the consumer. The introduction of Generation Z to the retail marketplace brings a unique set of consumer preferences and expectations that must be met to ensure a brand's success with this soon-to-be largest living generation. Retail is undergoing a major evolution and research is essential to determine the “how”; how retail is changing and how retailers can adapt for the future. Learning the customer is an essential part of this process. Very few studies have directly asked Generation Z shoppers what they want from the retail environment. Moreover, none were identified that specifically asked fashion students—our future industry professionals—what they want to see from fashion retailers. To address this gap, these representatives of the cohort were specifically chosen for this study because of their curricular focus and first-hand experience in the retail and fashion industry. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive view of what these educated consumers value most in the customer experience, the advantages and drawbacks of brick-and-mortar retail shopping today and changes they wish to see in the future. Findings of this research will inform initiatives related to technology, products, services and the customer experience that fashion retailers should adopt to meet evolving customer needs and ensure success long-term. Overall, the results supported the literature and added to understanding that Generation Z is not a homogeneous group when it comes to shopping behavior and preferences. The entire fate of retail is based on how well brands can adapt to the changing face of its customer.

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Weatherhead School of Management

Driven by recent breaches of trust by corporations, religious institutions, government entities and nonprofit organizations and their leaders, stakeholders are increasingly distrustful of the motivations and behaviors of these institutions. We asked two overarching questions in response to this degradation of trust and proliferation of distrust in firms, organizational leaders, and entire sectors of the economy: a) How do organizations repair stakeholder trust once they have broken it? and b) How do organizations navigate distrust- and/or trust-dominated institutional environments, whether or not they have been transgressors? In our conceptual paper, we developed a framework for repairing stakeholder trust by investigating the impact of perceived organizational justice on trust repair. Using the research agenda presented in the conceptual paper, we used our second paper to further examine the trust repair process from the stakeholder perspective. We employed a semi-structured interview research process and found that informational justice, evidence of change, the perceived character and values of organizational leaders and the mode of communication utilized to regain trust were most salient in trust repair. As U.S. economic woes drove deeper and more broad-reaching distrust, we looked outside of the firm to understand how to build trust and loyalty in various industry environments using two competing theoretical lenses. We found that consumer distrust in a firm is a grave threat to loyalty across industries; however, distrust-dominated environments present unique opportunities for some firms with high consumer trust to gain loyalty, while trust-dominated environments present fewer opportunities.

MA, Kent State University, 2018, College of the Arts / School of Art

Mechanisms of control throughout organized society (whether they be conscious or unconscious) serve to organize and categorize everything from thoughts to products. These mechanisms of control are simply a byproduct and a necessity of a modern democratic society. Due to increased mechanization, diversification, and demand there are too many products for one individual to test and evaluate to come to a sound decision. In order to better navigate the infinite amount of products at our disposal, we, as members of a consumer society, render a reasonable amount of our freedom of choice to corporate entities. A consumption based society allows personal identity to be crafted through brand association. Layers of branding are used to distance individual products from their parent companies. This distancing allows for moral ambiguity among corporate entities. Public opinion can sway this moral compass but profit is always the main goal. The works within “Consumer Conscious” remove this distance, providing a new perspective for us as consumers to play the game that we are locked in to.

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2017, College of Sciences and Health Professions

A new scale, the Generalized Shopping Innovativeness (GSI) scale by Blake and Neuendorf (in Hodges, 2009) was tested for its reliability and validity among two culturally different samples: the United States and China. College students in both countries were administered a survey (either online or on paper – depending on the sample) that contained the GSI as well as other measures, including scales of social desirability bias, frequency of usage and familiarity of different online shopping vehicles, to name a few. Results of different analyses support that the GSI scale is reliable among both samples. The scale's validity is promising among both samples but should be further tested by researchers in the future.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, History

Tyson, Chick-fil-A, Walmart, and Hobby Lobby's presence within the faith-based business community is mostly thanks to corporate lineages that reached well into the previous century. Tyson was founded in 1935, Chick-fil-A in 1946, Walmart in 1962, and Hobby Lobby in 1972, each undergoing various business model and philosophical shifts along with their executives' changing understanding of Christian faith. This thesis analyzes these businesses through a series of case studies, highlighting various uniting themes in their corporate narratives, exploring the ways they interact with their customers and the cultures in which they flourish, while noting that there is a discernible, yet-unexplored gap between faith-based business and workplace spirituality. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that faith-based businesses choose to identify as such as an expression of belief in a Christian supernatural deity's influence in their careers rather than as a way of garnering specific markets or making a profit.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1976, Graduate School

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Business: Business Administration

Brand failures—that is, violations of implicit or explicit expectations we have for brand performance —are inevitable and can come with a hefty price tag to companies. Yet why is it that seemingly minor brand failures can have significant repercussions, whereas comparably major violations can go relatively unnoticed? Drawing from research on brand personalities, I propose that (i) brand personalities impact consumers' expectations regarding brand performance, (ii) violating these expectations heightens the severity of the brand failure, and (iii) this difference in severity determines brand forgiveness. In particular, I propose that the brand's dominant personality—namely, whether warm or competent—elicits different expectations regarding brand performance, such that consumers should expect their interactions with warm brands to align with communal brand dimensions and their interactions with competent brands to align with functional brand dimensions. Moreover, a brand failure that violates these expectancies (i.e., a communal brand failure committed by a warm brand, a functional brand failure committed by a competent brand) should be viewed as more severe and thus less forgivable than one that does not violate these expectations (i.e., a communal failure committed by a competent brand, a functional failure committed by a warm brand). Three experiments test these hypotheses and, in doing so, surprisingly reveal that consumers more readily forgive, rather than censure, brands failures which violate their expectations (Experiments 1 – 3). Moreover, these failures are shown to induce this unexpected result by heightening the credibility of the brand (Experiment 2). Finally, this effect is shown only for those consumers most likely to use brand failures to re-evaluate the brand (Experiment 3). These findings then, though contrary to expectations, offer novel insight into the importance of brand personality as a basis for brand forgiveness as well as the most effective m (open full item for complete abstract)

MFA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

National manufacturer brands generally outsell private label brands in most product areas. For instance, Hoyer and Brown found that when inexperienced buyers were asked to decide between two brands, they were more likely to choose the brand name with which they were most familiar. However, during periods of economic distress, consumers tend to purchase store brand products, as they are generally less expensive than those branded nationally. Private label brands (also referred to as store brands or in-house brands) usually refer to products branded and sold through a specific chain of stores. These brands are manufactured by a third party and are thus sold at lower prices. As a result of the recent economic downturn in the United States and abroad, private label brands have experienced a rapid increase in sales – one of over 40% in the past decade. Consumers trust national brands, but have also developed new trust in private label products. A survey conducted by DataMonitor in August of 2010 notes that 44% of Americans agree they are spending more on private label products than they were a year ago. In addition to this, the recent evolution in private label brand development has helped to increase sales of private labels in most products areas, regardless of the socio-economic condition of the consumer. There is a documented correlation between good package design and the perception of luxury or quality. Product packaging has an increasingly important role as a marketing communication vehicle for brand managers. Private label brands are beginning to utilize this data to their advantage and are winning over consumers who are otherwise loyal to national brands, greatly in part to increased appeal and product diversity. However, certain categories appear to be immune to the store-brand swap. Consumers have only slightly increased their purchases of private label personal products, such as hygiene, health, and beauty products. Secondary research suggests tha (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2014, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (Education)

Counterfeiting in general has become a worldwide phenomenon, and the production of fashion merchandise is at the forefront of this economic predicament. As severity of the issue rises, businesses and scholars suggest that consumer education and awareness could be the tool to lessening the impact of counterfeit manufacturing (Berman, 2008; Cheek & Easterling, 2008; Juggessur, 2011; Marcketti & Shelley, 2009; Phillips, 2005). This study presents the topic of counterfeiting, its negative consequences and the fight against this illegal business. The study uses consumer education as a method of creative vigilance toward the public in an effort to find out whether this alters future purchase intentions of counterfeit merchandise. Results indicate strong support for the efficacy of a consumer education seminar with regard to knowledge, attitudes, and planned behavior toward the consumption of counterfeit merchandise. Additionally, three variables, parents' annual income, sex, and country of citizenship, introduced some variation among participants that suggest there are differences based on demographic factors. After the educational seminar, students had a greater understanding of counterfeiting, felt more knowledgeable about the topic, acknowledged that it is illegal, realized how it affects the global economy and retailers, and linked it to social issues such as organized crime, terrorism, child labor, and sweatshops. In congruence with scholars who suggest consumer education as a vehicle to decrease counterfeit consumption, participants agreed that this seminar was educational and informative, and an effective means towards minimalizing the consumption patterns of counterfeit merchandise. Because participants gained a significant amount of knowledge in the educational seminar, this could affect preferences for authentic and counterfeit merchandise, and reduce intent to purchase counterfeits. An educational session would be expected to have relatively immediate (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2009, Textiles and Clothing

The primary goal of this research is to investigate U.S. consumer purchase behavior of organic personal care products base on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by Ajzen (1985). In particular, this research examines 1) the influence of consumer values (i.e., health consciousness, environmental consciousness, and appearance consciousness) on attitude toward buying organic personal care products, 2) the influence of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on purchase intention for organic personal care products, 3) the effect of consumers' past experiences on their purchase intentions for organic personal care products, and 4) the moderating influence of perceived behavioral control on the relationship between attitude toward buying organic personal care products and purchase intention for the products. For this research, an organic shampoo and body lotion were used as sample products. An online survey was conducted with 207 online panel members, and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the proposed relationships. The findings of this research indicated that only two consumer values, environmental consciousness and appearance consciousness, influenced positive attitude toward buying organic personal care products. In addition, the results revealed that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and past experiences significantly predicted purchase intention for organic personal care products. Furthermore, the relationship between attitude and purchase intention was moderated by perceived behavioral control.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Physical Activity and Educational Services

The primary purpose of this research project was to create, examine and improve a new psychoeducation measure, the Assessment of Caregiver Psychoeducation (ACP). Content validation of the instrument was achieved sequentially by surveying evaluations of the ACP by two "expert" groups: "Academic Experts" and "Consumer Experts." A secondary goal was to measure how much knowledge a group of 105 caregivers of children with psychiatric problems (Consumer Experts) have about their child's mental illness and treatment, and the parents' satisfaction about and perceived helpfulness of the psychoeducation and services provided to their children. This study used three instruments: The Assessment of Caregiver Psychoeducation (ACP) questionnaire, a set of ACP Evaluation Forms (EF's) for both Academic Experts and Consumer Experts and a Background Information Form (BIF). The ACP questionnaire included seven sections containing questions about caregivers' knowledge and perceptions regarding: 1.Their child's mental health assessment(s), 2. Professional feedback received regarding this mental health assessment(s), 3. Information obtained about their child's mental health diagnosis, difficulties and treatment, 4.Therapy given to their child, 5. Medication(s) prescribed to their child, 6. The Special Education assessment of their child. 7. The Special Education services given to their child. Overall, caregivers appeared to have "fair" knowledge about their child's mental health and special education problems and services. More specifically, they communicated "excellent" knowledge about questions related to their child's therapy and medication as well as information related to their child's primary diagnosis. Ratings were "fair-" to "excellent-" on Special Education assessment and services questions; and "fair-" to "poor-" on knowledge related to their child's second and third diagnoses on the Information section. In terms of how informed they felt, how satisfied they were with related s (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Gerontological Studies, Miami University, 2012, Gerontology

In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a five-star rating system of nursing homes in the United States. These star ratings have been widely publicized both by CMS and in the national and state media. Although the components of the star rating system take into account various dimensions of quality, the satisfaction of nursing home residents and their families are not taken into consideration. The current study compares the CMS star rating system to the satisfaction ratings of nursing homes provided by residents and their families throughout the state of Ohio. Findings indicate that the star rating system does not adequately reflect consumer satisfaction and recommend that the star rating system be refined to include a consumer component.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Social Welfare

This study employed grounded theory methodology and a three-stage analytic strategy to advance conceptual frameworks regarding fundamental transformation in mental health service delivery systems. The emergence of consumer provider (CP) models represents one manifestation of systemic transformation within mental health systems. Yet, while CP models enjoy a growing base of both advocacy declarations and supporting efficacy research, research also shows CP models are not broadly adopted. Individual interviews with 40 mental health providers (including psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, therapists, case managers, and administrators) were completed to gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives regarding CP models of service delivery. Findings from a multi-dimensional analysis include identification of 49 first level thematic codes (presented with constituting participant quotes), construction of four axial codes (or higher level constructs for grounded theory formation), and composition of narrative plot lines that anticipate transformative potential grounded in participant discourse. The essential plot line proposes that mental health providers construe their work in terms of both professional roles and human relationships. When providers consider CP models through a professional roles lens, they struggle with the notion that people with mental illnesses could consistently manage the gauntlet of mental health services, policies, and funding demands, fulfill ultimate responsibility for vulnerable others, and maintain uni-directional relationships expected in professionalism. However, providers also acknowledged the value of having been there; that people with mental illnesses do often have deeper understanding and credibility regarding navigation of stigma, labeling, and isolation. Study participants identified social isolation as a significant challenge associated with mental illnesses and mutual human relationships as an essential vehicle for improved mental h (open full item for complete abstract)