Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Mari W. Buche – 11th Annual Midwest AIS Conference

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Dr. Mari W. Buche, director of the Data Science Graduate Program and associate professor of Management Information Systems (SBE), attended the 11th Annual Midwest AIS conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 19-20. The theme for this year’s event was “Bigger, Smarter, Safer: Game Changers for Information Systems.”

Buche participated on a panel entitled “Privacy, technology and surveillance in the digital age: the Big Brother scenario.” The panel focused on redefining privacy expectations and generational gaps in fundamental interpretations of information security. Reference material for this panel was Can ‘Big Brother’ watch us?

Buche also presented a research-in-progress paper entitled “The influence of Outcome-Oriented Security Policy on Security Perceptions and Intentions,” co-authored with Jeff Wall (SBE). The study investigates expected improvements when corporations enhance traditional checklist-oriented information security policies (ISPs) with an outcomes-oriented policy. Intrinsic motivation and employee commitment will be measured in an experimental design study. 

– Tech Today

 

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

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The School of Business and Economics will have its third brown bag lunch research seminar from noon to 1 p.m. on April 21, in Academic Office Building (AOB) 101.  Associate Professor of Accounting Robert Hutchinson will present his latest research.  All interested members of the MTU community are invited.

Title: Intangible Resource Value and Tobin’s Q: Evidence from the Super Bowl.

Abstract:

The emergent resource-based view of competitive strategy is that companies survive in the long-run by developing unique capabilities that are firm-specific and difficult to duplicate. Brand equity represents one of the most valuable, unique, and potentially long-lasting of these resources, and the need for developing accounting measures that allow for the efficient management of such resources is increasingly recognized. This study uses a unique data set to empirically examine the impact of one of the most exclusive and coveted forms marketing activities, Super Bowl advertising, on long-term brand equity via the q ratio. This paper attempts to bridge the gap between the management accounting and marketing management literatures by providing a practical application of the q ratio and a resource-based perspective on the reporting of intangible assets.

 

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Brown Bag Lunch Seminar

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The School of Business and Economics will have its second brown bag lunch research seminar from noon – 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, in Academic Office Building 101.  Associate Professor of Management, Manish Srivistava will present his latest research breakthrough.

Title: Firm Risk and Market Valuation: A Reexamination Using Quantile Regression

Abstract:

Despite a very long history the relationship between firm risk and market value of firms is poorly understood.  Some of the prior research have shown a positive relationship, others have found a negative relationship, while still others have found no relationship. Considering the inconsistency of these findings, in this research, we reexamine this relationship using quantile regression and make an attempt to reconcile some of the contradictory findings.

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Economic Equality and Entrepreneurship: SBE Faculty Publish Top Paper

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1-27-16 Tech Today

A paper about the role that economic inequality may play on entrepreneurial entry, co-authored by Emanuel Xavier-Oliveira (SBE) and Andre Laplume (SBE) (as well as Pathak from KSU), was chosen as one of the top 10 papers of the year 2015 published in the Human Relations Journal (ranked #5 in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary).

This recognition is awarded by the journal’s editorial team to the papers that best encapsulate broad readership appeal, sound methods and whose theories advance knowledge.

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Breffle Recognized for Outstanding Teaching

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Dr. William Breffle, Associate Professor of Economics within Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics (SBE), has been selected as a finalist for the Distinguished Teaching Award, a notable recognition from the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning.

Based on 50,000 student ratings, five finalists were chosen for the 2015 award. The selection committee will be basing its ultimate decision on class surveying, and on recommendations from the Tech community. Staff, faculty, and all current and former students of Dr. William Breffle are strongly encouraged to submit a recommendation by Friday, April 3.

Associate Professor Breffle is consistently one of the SBE’s most beloved professors. In the 33 courses he has taught, Breffle maintains an average rating of 4.6 on student evaluations. He has an overall quality rating of 4.3 on Rate My Professors, being cited as inspirational and known to give amazing lectures. One student of EC3100: International Economics wrote in December 2014,

“In seven years of academia, Dr. Breffle is BY FAR the best professor I’ve ever had. Extremely passionate about his topic and wants students to learn. He uses real world examples to simplify the subject and is a fair grader. Took another class from him because he’s THAT good!”

Breffle is also an active researcher, having published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, including very recent papers in top journals such as Contemporary Economic Policy, Environmental and Resource Economics, and  Ecological Economics, among many others. His strong research record helps to keep his classroom curriculum on the cutting edge and directly related to real-world policy. His current research interests lay within environmental economics, non-market valuation, discrete choice modeling, benefit-cost analysis, restoration program planning, and health economics.

Breffle’s impressive resume also boasts numerous presentations at  institutions nationwide, including Colorado State University and Cornell University. He currently serves as article reviewer for 19 top journals in environmental economics and policy, and he remains a member of Mensa, Phi Beta Kappa, the American Economics Association, and the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, among others.  A new father, Breffle has found a perfect balance between life with a newborn and his love for teaching economics.

Please submit a comment in favor of his award recognition by clicking here so that we can show Dr. Breffle how much we appreciate his hard work and dedication to Michigan Tech!

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