The Pedagogical And Institutional Impact Of Disruptive Innovations In Distance Business Education

The use of distance learning methods by universities has experienced significant growth over the past two decades.  While this growth has been witnessed nearly equally across the various academic disciplines, it represents unique opportunities in business education.  In this article we will profile how technological innovations in distance learning have historically caused disruptive changes in business education.  The article then profiles three specific distance learning technologies that are emerging as revolutionary forces in changing business education.  The impact of these technologies will be examined from both a pedagogical perspective and an institutional perspective.  The influence of these educational technologies in addressing the unique needs of business students will also be discussed.

An Exploratory Study Of The Effects Of Online Course Efficiency Perceptions On Student Evaluation Of Teaching (SET) Measures

One of the fundamental drivers of the growing use of distance learning methods in modern business education has been the efficiency gains associated with this method of educational delivery.  Distance methods benefit both students and educational institutions as they facilitate the processing of large volumes of learning material to overcome barriers related to time, geography and physical facility constraints.  Nevertheless, existing research has not examined the extent by which these efficiency gains, compared to traditional face-to-face teaching, are recognized by online students.  Moreover, the extent by which students’ perceptions of course efficiency affects other key educational measures, such as intent to take online courses in the future, and instructor and course ratings, has not been examined in current research.  In this paper, utilizing data from student evaluation of teaching (SET) surveys from multiple sections of three online marketing courses, the effects of perceived course efficiency on various SET measures are examined.  The results indicate, that contrary to popular belief, students who view online courses as efficient exhibit lower sentiments towards the course and the instructor, and are also academically weaker than other students.  The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and future directions for research

Determining The Drivers Of Student Performance In Online Business Courses

An emerging question in business education is whether all students would benefit from distance learning and if student performance can be predicted prior to enrollment in an online course based on student characteristics.  In this paper, the role of student characteristics on academic performance is examined in the context two different online courses.  Empirical test of a self-assessment tool on 272 students across 9 course sections, using a logistic regression framework demonstrates that end-of-semester student grades can be predicted by students' own self-reports of their learning preferences at the onset of the course.  However systematic differences are found between the two courses in terms of the drivers of student performance, demonstrating the importance of a customized approach to the predictive framework presented

An Exploratory Study Of The Determinants Of Tuition For Online MBA Programs

The number of online MBA programs has increased in recent years while the demand is stabilizing. In light of this trend, the pricing of online MBA programs is an important issue for university administrators and policy makers, who are concerned about program competitiveness and public access to higher education. This study examines the drivers of tuition levels for online MBA programs. Utilizing data from 149 programs in the United States, the influence of various variables on tuition levels is empirically established. The findings indicate that residency and GMAT requirements, as well as enrollment size and student-to-faculty ratio, are important determinants of tuition for online MBA programs. The empirical framework presented in this paper allows university administrators to establish if the tuitions charged for their programs are consistent with market norms, and thereby determine the potential need for adjustment in tuition levels

Exploring Antecedents Of Unethical Business Decisions

Adhering to recent arguments that unethical decision making is driven by the underlying psychological processes, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of individual psychographics (i.e., cognitive style, decision confidence, emotional intelligence, and attitude toward risk) in ethical decision making within a business context. Using a novel approach, the researchers capture ethical decision making using a computer-simulated market context and couple the results with survey data. The results of the regression analysis reveal that an individual’s cognitive style, decision confidence, emotional intelligence, and attitude toward risk play a significant role in ethical decision making. Participants with an analytical cognitive style were less likely to engage in unethical means to accomplish business objectives compared to those with intuitive or adaptive cognitive styles. Similarly, greater confidence in decision making, higher emotional intelligence, and a greater preference for risk were also found to increase the chances that an individual avoids engaging in unethical decision making. Finally, the effect of cognitive style was found to be stronger than the other factors examined in this research. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

The Impact of Brand Quality on Shareholder Wealth

This study examines the impact of brand quality on three components of shareholder wealth: stock returns, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk. The study finds that brand quality enhances shareholder wealth insofar as unanticipated changes in brand quality are positively associated with stock returns and negatively related to changes in idiosyncratic risk. However, unanticipated changes in brand quality can also erode shareholder wealth because they have a positive association with changes in systematic risk. The study introduces a contingency theory view to the marketing-finance interface by analyzing the moderating role of two factors that are widely followed by investors. The results show an unanticipated increase (decrease) in current-period earnings enhances (depletes) the positive impact of unanticipated changes in brand quality on stock returns and mitigates (enhances) their deleterious effects on changes in systematic risk. Similarly, brand quality is more valuable for firms facing increasing competition (i.e., unanticipated decreases in industry concentration). The results are robust to endogeneity concerns and across alternative models. The authors conclude by discussing the nuanced implications of their findings for shareholder wealth, reporting brand quality to investors, and its use in employee evaluation

Music, Scent and Time Preferences for Waiting Lines

Purpose Waiting for service by customers is an important problem for many financial service marketers. Two new approaches are proposed. First, customer evaluation of the service is increased with an ambient scent. Second a cognitive variable is identified which differentiates customers by the way they value time so that they can be segmented. Methodology Pretests included focus groups which highlighted financial services and a pilot test were followed by a main sample of 607 subjects. Structural equation modelling and multivariate analysis of covariance were used for analysis. Findings A cognitive variable, the need for time management can be used, together with demographic and customer net worth data, to segment a customer base. Two environmental interventions, music and scent, can increase customer satisfaction among customers kept waiting in a line. Research implications Two original approaches to a rapidly growing service marketing problem are identified. Practical implications Service contact points can reduce incidence of "queue rage" and enhance customer satisfaction by either or both of two simple modifications to the service environment or a preventive strategy of offering targeted customers an alternative. Originality A new method of segmentation and a new environmental intervention are proposed