Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Awards and Honors

Elham Asgari and Co-Authors Win Tariq Farid Franchise Institute Award for Best Paper

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Elham Asgari, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship in the College of Business, and co-authors Richard A. Hunt and S. M. Abidul Islam were awarded the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute Award for Best Paper on the Topic of Franchising at the 2024 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). The award will be presented at the 2025 BCERC Conference, June 4-7 at Babson College.

The award-winning paper is titled, “Franchising in the Metaverse: Entrepreneurial Pathways for Virtual and Mixed Reality.” An abstract of the paper is below.

Asgari’s research interests include corporate entrepreneurship, technological innovations, star employees, and the small satellite industry. She is a Charles C. and John G. Gates Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Hunt is associate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Virginia Tech; Islam is PhD student at Virginia Tech studying strategy and entrepreneurship.

Paper abstract: Despite predictions that the emergence of digital platform technologies would upend the long-standing presence and impact of franchised businesses, in actuality the entrepreneurial deployment of franchise-based business models has shaped and expanded commercial opportunities arising through emergent technologies. This is particularly true concerning the metaverse, where service providers and consumers confront an ambiguous decisional landscape and where viable strategies to generate revenue are in short supply. Through the conceptual lens of business model evolution, we investigate how the entrepreneurial deployment of franchised brands offers metaverse users a source of familiarity that eases navigation between physical reality and digital virtuality, while generating significant franchisee revenue. Applying extant theories of entrepreneurial franchising and business model emergence, we develop and test a novel perspective on the symbiotic, value-generating benefits lying at the nexus of entrepreneurial franchising and the metaverse.

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Madison Mattila, BS in Accounting and MIS, Receives PCAOB Scholarship

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Madison Mattila (left)

College of Business undergraduate Madison Mattila has been awarded a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars Program scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship funds tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment.

Mattila has a double major in Management Information Systems and Accounting (with a concentration in Data Analytics). She is also pursuing a master of science in accounting and a certificate in accounting analytics. She expects to complete her bachelor’s degree in spring 2025, and her master’s degree in fall 2025.

The PCAOB Scholars Program seeks to benefit students who are likely to become auditors and to make a difference to students who might otherwise choose a different career path. Participating educational institutions nominate a scholarship recipient from among students enrolled in their accounting degree program.

Mattila was recognized as an outstanding student by the accounting faculty in spring 2024. Also in spring 2024, she received the 2024 Dean of Students Award for Possibilities.

Mattila is the president of Kappa Sigma Iota (KSI) Accounting Club, the College of Business representative and public relations chair for Undergraduate Student Government, and vice president of the Women’s Golf Club. She is also engaged in the Applied Portfolio Management Program and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Mattila also coaches girls’ soccer at Houghton High School and serves as a Big Sister for Big Brother Big Sisters of America.

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Roger Woods Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

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by Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

Dean Johnson, College of Business dean, has selected Roger Woods, teaching professor in operations management and engineering management and affiliated faculty with the construction management program, for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase. Woods will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Woods has taught 10 different classes with an emphasis on getting students to “Think!”, not just repeat information from lectures. As the primary faculty for BUS2300 Quantitative Problem Solving, Woods teaches business and nonbusiness majors that Excel is not just a calculator, but a communication tool. His emphasis on formatting details sends students off to be critical of other spreadsheets that don’t follow his “Cardinal Rules for Spreadsheet Modeling.” And, Woods’ infamous take-home exam challenges students to incorporate all the concepts, techniques and models in the context of an actual business. In addition to the exam’s 20 versions, each iteration has unique values based on random number generation. As any College of Business alum will note, completing the exam is a badge of honor.

Roger Woods

“Students don’t always appreciate his teaching until they have been out in industry — then they get it,” said Jodie Filpus-Paakola, coordinator of academic services.

Woods’ high expectations carry on to other upper-division courses. His hands-off approach to Advanced Project Management allows students to grapple with the question of which methods are appropriate to the presented scenario, instead of just applying all of the tools they have available. Woods also uses a combination of lecture, discussion, in-class exercises and quizzes to engage students in his Six Sigma class, which includes a variety of nonbusiness majors. From Woods’ “Question of the Day” to his useful/useless piece of knowledge, students engage in discussions and class activities. With all of his classes, he uses a variety of markers (black, blue and red) to create points of emphasis, which students appreciate.

“I truly want to thank you for your passion and how much you care about your students,” an alum wrote to Woods. ”Your excitement about the topics you teach fuels our fire and willingness to learn. I would also like to thank you for caring about your students far beyond what your job requires, it really makes all of the difference.”

Mari Buche, associate dean of the College of Business, said Woods plays a critical teaching role in the College: “For the majority of incoming business students, their journey to earning a tech-savvy business degree starts with Roger’s course. For students graduating with a supply chain/operations management degree or engineering management degree, their journey to a successful career is launched by his hands-on upper-division curriculum.”

Johnson emphasized Woods’ rigor combined with his dedication to student-centered experiential education: “While his Quantitative Problem Solving take-home final exam is legendary, students continually rave about his teaching ability and his dedication to the individual student. His Advanced Project Management class has consistently placed well in project management competitions, including first and second place awards this last year. His commitment to student-centered learning and experiential education directly support the College of Business’s mission and reputation.”

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