MBS Annual Report 2022-2023
Contents
Jason Harkins
Interim Executive Dean
Maine Business School
Norm O’Reilly
Dean
Graduate School of Business
Patti Miles
Interim Associate Dean
Maine Business School
Executive Summary
The Annual Report for the Maine Business School (MBS) and its Graduate School of Business (GSB) for 2022-2023 showcases the academic adventures our learners engage in, the impact of our research, and our focus on our impact on society built on environment, society, and governance (ESG) as key components of sustainable business models. This report highlights MBS and GSB initiatives that align with our vision, mission, and AACSB accreditation reporting expectations.
Engagement, innovation, and impact are at the core of the focus at MBS/GSB on continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence. We added commitments to professional skills courses to build on the outcomes from our initial focus on Excel certification by adding courses in personal finance and supporting students in building a foundation for their future. We made the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee a standing committee of the College to advance critical outcomes. Professional development was a priority for students this year, with over 400 unique students participating in programming and internships, and the GSB launched the Harold Alfond Foundation Ambassador Scholarship to do professional development for a cohort of six students (two MBA students, two students from the University of Maine School of Law, and two students from the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service).
Innovative steps included the launch of another new BSBA degree (Business Information Systems and Security Management). We developed a new First-Year Experience for all incoming students, including a bridge week, a common living-learning community, and a shared course where students engage in experiential learning in their first semester. We continued to develop courses in partnerships with corporate partners, launching the inaugural Business of Healthcare course with a major healthcare system in Maine. We added a staff position focused on first-year advising, student success, and recruitment to meet the needs of the incoming students. The GSB offered a new offering, the MBA Academy, which offered 19 MBA students a capstone course that brought the students together for project work in the culminating week of the semester.
In scholarship, faculty members published 80 peer-reviewed journal articles this year, of which 62% were in A or B journals as evaluated by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) ranking. Four of these publications were in A* journals, the most exclusive category of journals among business publications. Faculty were active in conference presentations and reviewing for journals. Additionally, faculty from MBS are co-PIs on over $2.8 million in newly funded research.
This annual report offers evidence of our progress. We provide a business education that is robust in perspective, rigorous in practice, and relevant to the needs of our ever-changing world. As Maine’s premier business school, MBS/GSB readily and fully embraces the opportunity to continuously improve what we do to serve learners, engage in research, and meet the needs of our communities. Please contact us if you would like to know more about business programs at Maine’s premier business program at the state’s flagship
university.
Engagement, Innovation, and Impact
Engagement, innovation, and impact are core expectations for AACSB-accredited business programs. This past year, Maine Business School (MBS) and Graduate School of Business (GSB) faculty, staff, and students have engaged in the “new normal.” They are developing new models and approaches to higher education in a post-COVID-19 world. Responding to the twin realities of a changing environment of in-person and virtual engagement with students and institutions, as well as institutions of higher education facing the demographic cliff, we launched Enhanced Business Days (EBDs) to engage prospective students, crafted teaching
and research workshops for all faculty, invested in the professional development of all faculty and staff and offered education in person and online. As this report articulates, the MBS and GSB are engaged with learners and communities while continuing to innovate in meaningful ways and building measures to assess the impact of our efforts.
ENGAGEMENT is at the core of MBS’s and GSB’s work. To accomplish this goal, we continually strive to connect the academy with the business community in Maine and beyond.
To that end, faculty, staff, and administration routinely collaborate with local, national, and international partners. We engage in thought leadership, academically and in the business community, as a core part of who we are—MBS CAREs (Connects, Adapts, Respects, and Engages). This work takes many forms but broadly falls into three categories:
• In-class engagement
• Engaging students with the world
• Engaging faculty and staff with the greater business and national community
In-Class Engagement
• Advanced Research Learning Experience (RLE): In Fall 2022, the Maine Business School piloted a class in partnership with Northern Light Health (NLH). The collaboration invited students to enroll in a course titled The Business of Healthcare, a Non-Clinical Business Rotation, which immersed students in solving real challenges the organization was experiencing. The class was supported by project leads from within Northern Light Health and by subject-matter experts from different functional areas of the business (e.g., marketing, finance, HR). One group of students researched how to increase employee engagement, while the other student team explored how to recruit healthcare professionals. The course emulates the project-team format often used by consulting firms, providing students with leadership development, team building, and professional communication skills.
Northern Light Health recruited one student from the course to interview for a full-time position, and another was hired as an intern.
• MaineMBA Academy: This special capstone course connected 19 MBA students with Portland-area businesses to create opportunities for the students to apply the academic knowledge gained in the MBA to help solve real and current business problems. Students spent the first seven weeks of class online while convening in Portland for the final week in person.
The Academy allowed students to contribute to the local economy while showcasing their knowledge and making personal connections with their classmates. A donation from an alum made the MaineMBA Academy possible.
• Bridge Week: In Fall 2022, MBS engaged in Bridge Week at the university level. Since it was optional, participation was less than optimal. To address this, in the Fall of 2023 we will launch our first annual mandatory bridge week.
• Business, Agriculture, and Rural Development (BARD): Two faculty members who received a
$292,000 federal earmark to train students and work with small-scale agricultural producers in Maine spent the summer collecting data and working to help enhance value-added production. They then ran a course based on this data to work with fiber producers, processors, and retailers in Spring 2023.
• Class Projects: Over 65% of students in the MBS (undergraduate) and 95% of students in the GSB (graduate) participated in projects for companies that were either directly connected to the community/ country, or informed by the work being done in organizations in Maine and across the world.
• Classroom Focus on Needed Skills: Students in many classes are learning how to use contemporary technology relevant to their fields. For instance, MBS undergraduate requirements include taking a Microsoft Excel course. Students can then progress into more complex statistical analysis programs like R to conduct market research and are further encouraged to apply statistical techniques such as Analysis of Variance Analysis (ANOVA), data visualization through Microsoft Power BI, and Tableau. For more challenging data analytics, graduate students apply programming skills to master Python, enabling them to provide more in-depth and relevant analysis for local and national businesses.
Routinely, students move from having never heard of the software to feeling completely proficient with programs like R, Python, and Microsoft Power BI.
Engaging Students with the World
• Bear Treks: 78 undergraduate students participated in Bear Treks trips to Portland, ME, and Boston, MA. The groups experienced tours and presentations from companies such as MEMIC, IDEXX, State Street Bank, Allen & Gerritsen, and Johnson & Johnson DePuy Synthes. They also had the opportunity to participate in the Boston Executive Club of the University of Maine (BECUM) networking event in Boston where they met with over 50 alumni.
• Career-Ready Games: Conducted by our internship coordinator, Career-Ready Games spanned over a week to prepare students for UMaine’s Career Fair and success in the workforce. Students prepared resumes and pitches, prepared polished interview looks and tactics, and competed for recognition across the college. Ninety students participated in the week’s activities.
• Explore Careers Casually and Jumpstart Your Career: Over 100 students connected with companies at these two events. At each event, we invited 10-12 companies to come to the Donald P. Corbett Business Building to engage, educate, and connect with students about opportunities within their industries and firms. Student feedback on these events was overwhelmingly positive.
• Accounting Firm Night: Forty students and four faculty members met with ten firms at this annual fall event, which connects accounting firms from across the state with our students looking to learn more about careers in the industry or for internships and jobs.
• SPIFFY and the Quinnipiac Games: MBS sent a group of 16 SPIFFY-sector heads to the largest
student-run financial conference in the world. Students participated in discussions with dozens of industry- leading financial-services companies, workshops, and breakout sessions.
• Montréal Trip: MBS and the Canadian American Center took a group of 10 students to explore the business culture of Montréal and meet with Concordia University business students as well as Montréal International, the marketing arm of the city of Montréal.
• Travel Study Trips to the UK: In May 2023, two groups of students (MBS and GSB) traveled to the UK for Travel Study Trip experiences. The MBA students learned about Sustainable Ecosystem Economic Development (SEED) through a hybrid course of traditional class time, research projects, and the international experimental learning trip. Nory Jones, Professor of Business Information Systems, led this trip. BSBA students spent their time in London and Manchester learning about Sport Marketing. Associate Professor of Marketing, Susan Myrden, and MBS Interim Executive Dean Jason Harkins led this trip.
• Cybersecurity Seminar: The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the MBS BISSM faculty hosted their first cybersecurity seminar in Summer 2023, with over 100 people in attendance. Seminar discussions led by CISA cybersecurity professionals, government leaders, and industry leaders provided insights into the cybersecurity threats to organizations at the local and national levels. The conference included discussion about:
Cyber Response. The conference provided clear guidance on fundamental cyber-incident response for organizations. The speakers elaborated on local and national threats.
Policy Roles and Interaction. Examined the technical, business, and policy roles needed to coordinate during a cyber incident. Participants broke into small groups to engage with a CISA cybersecurity advisor, enabling a deeper understanding of the range of dangers possible due to a cyber incident.
We explored some ways to mitigate confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational and national information systems.
Skills Expectations in Cybersecurity. Semantic network analysis of job advertisements was another topic the seminar explored, discussing the array of skills necessary to excel in cyber security. Discussions around what cybersecurity employers seek in non-technical skills included strong written and oral communications, intuitive data analytics, and the ability to work effectively in a team.
Engaging with the Business Community
• Maine Business Institute: The faculty engaged in consulting work for four companies in 2022-2023 across a wide range of project types. Faculty members acted as business coaches, conducted cost accounting analysis, led students in conducting an internal assessment of accounting practices for a non-profit, and supported customer discovery for an entrepreneurial venture.
• Executive Round Table: Jason Harkins joined C-suite executives from seven major employers in their twice- a-year meeting to discuss contemporary issues facing
leaders as they address the changing nature of business.
• Advisory Board: MBS/GSB Advisory Board members met with faculty and students to discuss the changing nature of work, identify essential skills, and address the key elements students look for from employers as they consider where to go to work.
• Impact on Society: Faculty members continuously serve on national, state, and local boards, engage with students through organizations, trips, and colloquium; work with nonprofits, the department of defense, and other projects that make a difference in Maine and beyond.
INNOVATION is built into the Maine Business School. The MBS mission is aligned with the idea of providing academic adventures. Faculty and staff regularly strive to innovate with classroom content, cutting-edge pedagogy, interactive student advising and engagement, as well as in the degrees and concentrations at MBS & GSB.
• MBA: Students choose from 14 concentrations.
• MBA and Muskie School of Public Policy: MBA students can enroll in classes through the Muskie School of Public Policy (USM). In the last year, 64 students were enrolled in the MaineMBA’s Healthcare Systems and Sustainability concentrations.
• MaineMBA Academy: The inaugural MaineMBA Academy partnered with five sustainably-focused organizations (L.L.Bean, NASA, Everything Seaweed, Finsulate, and Ocean Farm Supply) and yielded learning opportunities and applicable business analysis.
Innovation in Curriculum
• Fall 2020 BSBA Online Management Degree: The BSBA online degree in management has enjoyed a steady 55% a year growth since its inception in 2020.
• Spring 2021 BSBA Sport Management Degree: The degree has grown from 12 to 111 since its inception in 2021. The centerpiece of this degree is robust partnerships that are broad in scope, beginning with the University of Maine’s Division 1 Athletics
program (having received a $90 million Alfond gift starting in 2022, over the next 10 years for facilities). The program includes a practicum providing local, national, and international opportunities.
• Spring 2023 BSBA Business Information Systems and Security Management (BISSM): This new major attracted 20 students in the first fall of operation. BISSM students can pursue a certificate in Information Assurance through our partnership with the University of Maine Augusta.
• Pedagogy: As students have adapted how they go to school, MBS has innovated in how we deliver courses to all students. We teach about 38% of our BSBA and over 95% of our MBA Student Credit Hours (SCH) online. Online content is carefully curated and updated regularly to be ideal for student learning.
• Presentations and Media: Faculty members are active in sharing their academic innovations. Forty-five percent of faculty spoke to professional groups or the media about areas of expertise. This new model for sharing knowledge and thought leadership among MBS faculty encourages engagement by stakeholders.
• Enhanced Business Days: We held six enhanced business days where MBS administration, staff, and faculty interacted with prospective students and their guardians. In all, we met with 187 prospective students and their families. As a piece of this event, prospective students left with an MBS Networking Card.
• Knack: The Maine Business School committed to Knack Technologies to launch a peer-tutoring network at MBS. Based on this initial engagement, UMaine signed a university-wide contract for Fall 2023.
IMPACT of our work. We are in the early stages of focusing our efforts and measuring the results. As we progress in capturing our efforts to engage, innovate, and enhance our impact on communities, we refine our message and clarify our distinctive programs and opportunities for learners. Our faculty have identified a key focus on rural economic development and sustainable business practices as viewed through the lens of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) as focal areas for having an impact on society over the coming years. As examples of outcomes from 2022-2023, consider:
• Sport Management: The SPT curriculum encourages students to work with professional teams and leagues from Maine and beyond.
• Digital Media & Marketing: Students created digital social media campaigns for the University of Maine’s Men’s Ice Hockey Team, the Cross Insurance Agency, and Power Move.
• Academic Recovery Class: This year, another initiative has been working with students who are not making sufficient academic progress. To this end, we instituted an Academic Recovery Program (ARP), and the results have been impressive. In the end, the students’ GPA in the ARP class increased by more than 1.25 points, and the students were able to stay in the MBS.
• HELP University: In June 2023, Jason Harkins, Interim Executive Dean of MBS, Muralee Das, Assistant Professor of Management, and John Volin, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, travelled to Malaysia to visit with partners at HELP University. During this trip, the team from the University of Maine worked with
Dr. Paul Chan, President of HELP University, Malaysia, and the leadership team of HELP to identify potential avenues for growth in the relationship building on
established articulation agreements in various Business and Psychology majors. The two Universities continue to explore opportunities for collaboration.
Indicators of Quality
• Educational Quality: In a survey conducted at the time of graduation, we find 85% of MBS students are employed or admitted to graduate school, and six months later this number jumps to 99%.
• Examples of Faculty Quality and Engagement: In the Academic Year 2022-23, MBS faculty published 62 peer-reviewed publications, an average of 9.8 articles per faculty member a year since 2018, with an average H index of 10 and I index of 13. MBS faculty research has been done over 26,000 times with a cumulative H and I index of over 200. Specific examples of faculty quality and engagement are:
• Jason Entisminger: In conjunction with Penn State and the University of West Virginia, Entsminger began a collaborative of rural women and minority
entrepreneurs. Entisminger is the principal investigator on a newly funded USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (Award No. 2023-68006-39842), which will dedicate three years to building knowledge from national data around community-level factors associated with the success and failure of women and minority entrepreneurs.
• Qiujie (Angie) Zheng: As the principal investigator, Zheng is collaborating with a team of researchers (from Texas, Arkansas, and Maine ) to create a ropeless lobstering process. Such a project would provide a comprehensive socioeconomic profile from producer to consumer.
• Patti and Grant Miles: Engage with a research team assembled through the United States Navy to assess the resilience, hardiness, and grit of the Navy SEAL pipeline. The New York Times and many Department of Defense publications have featured this research.
• Technological Agility: Since Fall 2020, we have certified about 75% of our graduates in MS Excel with 20% certified at the advanced excel certification level.
• Access to Technology: Over the years another major driver has been providing students with access to technology. The Student Success Center maintains a pool of 24 laptop computers to be loaned to students (and faculty). Although MBS has a laptop requirement, our loaners are used in case of emergency or when Mac owners need a PC for required software. Over time, this service has grown to about 10-15 computers per week being borrowed. This resource has proven indispensable!
• BARD Grant: In Fall 2022, Erin Percival Carter and Stephanie Welcomer received a $292,000 earmark from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the Business, Agriculture, and Rural Development
(BARD) Technical Assistance Development Pipeline. The duo conducted industry research and data collection with fiber producers, processors, and consumers. They used this data in Spring 2023 to consult with local producers on how to improve and modernize their regional, non-commodity fiber businesses. Their unique
work culminated in three in-depth MBS consulting projects presented to local producers, which ultimately stimulated the local Maine economy.
• Enhancing Classroom and Honor Student Education. The grant provided data for enhanced MBS educational experiences for honor students.
• Data gathered in Summer 2023. Continued data collection and site visits will enable the professors to provide additional insights into the industry and the classroom well into future academic years.
• Harold Alfond Foundation Ambassador Program: This program is designed to grow diversity in the GSB through the funding of MBA students with diverse backgrounds. This program recruits two MBA students per year, engaging them with curricula designed to grow them into leaders in Maine and beyond.
• DEI Committee: Shared email messages in support of several important social movements across the year.
• Marketing: Melanie Brooks led the charge for improvements in faculty web pages, marketing, social media, and Google ads this past year. This enhanced engagement with our digital presence generated over 290,000 website page views, over 1,000 followers on Facebook, and over 5,000 Instagram engagements. Her work generated 113 earned media mentions over the course of the year.
Strategic Plans and Progress
(AACSB Standards 1, 2, and 3)
We strive to connect, adapt, respect, and engage students and professionals at the Maine Business School and Graduate School of Business. With a clear focus on quality, we are quick to innovate by focusing on evolving business practices, advancing scholarship, and then working to bring what we have learned back to our communities. To achieve our goals, we focus on our promise to offer a relevant, rigorous, and
robust education. We bring current business practices into the classroom and connect students and faculty with opportunities to do meaningful work inside and outside the classroom through various co-curricular initiatives (detailed below).
Our values drive us to CARE:
Connect
Adapt
Respect
Engage
° Connect through collaborations and teamwork.
° Adapt through innovative steps for our curriculum and outreach.
° Respect people as we expect professional interactions and integrity in ourselves and others.
° Engage with current thought leadership about business practices and data-driven decisions.
We CARE about our students, colleagues, communities, and the world beyond.
Our vision emphasizes change
We are catalysts for sustainable change in our approaches, processes, and communities.
Our mission is about engagement
Our mission is to engage students and professionals in academic adventures focused on evolving business practices and to advance knowledge through scholarship as we connect with our communities. (Adopted by the faculty December 6, 2019)
Our strategic initiatives, 2020-2025
- Enrich Learning Experiences
- Connect with our Communities
- Adapt Approaches to Foster Excellence
- Invest in our Sustainable Progress
For 2022-2023, the MBS continued to enrich learning with applied projects, a Research Learning Experience (RLE) for first-year students, a living-learning community, and analytical experiences in many courses in the curriculum. We connected with our communities through student projects, media engagements, and the efforts of faculty to serve on boards and participate in activities with executives from across the state. We adapted our approaches to offer a new degree in Business Information Systems and Security Management as we slowly enhanced the online
BSBA degree in management and increased the options for concentrations in the MBA program. We also invested in our sustainable progress by partnering with Vision Point and Blaze Marketing to create brand messaging and digital ad campaigns, and contracting with UMaine Facilities to add offices to the Advising Center and combine two rooms into a larger classroom.
AACSB is a mission-driven accreditation concept where it is up to the MBS and GSB to define the path and provide evidence of progress on that path. The Maine Business School and Graduate School of Business offer quality programs as evidenced by the rankings of these efforts.
Rankings
MBA Rankings:
• #26 Best Online MBA from Fortune Magazine
• #31 Global Online MBA from CEO Magazine
• #51 Best Online MBA from U.S. News & World Report
• #31 Best Online MBA Program for Veterans from U.S. News & World Report
BSBA Ranking:
• #44 Best Online Management BSBA degree by U.S. News & World Report
Assurance of Learning (AoL) and Curriculum Management
(AACSB Standards 4, 5, 6, nd 7)
Given our values at MBS, we focus on connecting, adapting, respecting, and engaging students and faculty. To that end, we have learned to embrace change and work hard to achieve efficiency without sacrificing quality. We work to make our students stand out to employers with their relevant knowledge, and the ability to dig deep and work hard. This is why Assurance of Learning (AoL) is important to us, as it provides an ideal opportunity to continuously improve our curriculum, and how we work and learn together. This academic year our AoL program helped us bring into focus actions that can truly enhance the relevance and rigor of our program. For example, a faculty meeting discussion led us to begin modifying our written communication goals, and to include written communication at a lower level in our curriculum (MGT 220). We have also begun recording student presentations, which enable broader assessment and deeper reflection for students. We asked our ethics faculty member to help us learn to teach ethics more effectively at all levels and craft a more suitable measure of this important goal. Finally, MBS faculty has begun to embrace the curriculum crosswalk and have a clearer understanding how the AoL goals span across our students’ education. We introduce students to these goals early, reinforce the goals, and then assess. Faculty members have discussed this crosswalk, then tweaked it, and have now settled on an appropriate mechanism to truly enhance student learning.
A. We will focus on the following areas for 2023-2024 for the BSBA:
• C1. Oral Communication: We began recording presentations so that raters can evaluate individuals in the group for their presentation skills as shown on the rubric (see Appendix to the book).
• C2. Knowledge: We will measure knowledge with ETS for the BSBA and MBA programs this year.
• C3. Teamwork: From our indirect measures, our recent alumni in the sample advised us to include training in how to work effectively in teams. How do we do that in the classes where group work is used?
• C4. Ethics: We changed the definition of the framework of ethics to now emphasize: 1. Respect for persons’ rights and human rights; 2. Principle of Utility and Beneficence; and 3. Professional conduct/workplace virtues. We will develop teaching tools, definitions, and methods of assessing these new ethical frameworks this year.
• C5. Technological Agility: We will continue progress with Excel and have integrated technology across our curriculum. Eighty percent of core classes are challenging students to use simulations and generate products with digital collaboration.
• C6. Problem Solving at the MBA level: Students are placed in groups that work with companies that challenge them to solve real-world problems. This happens in the capstone class as well as several data analytics classes: BUA 601, BUA 680, and BUA 686.
B. Following up on the survey of recent graduates in 2021, we conducted the same survey of students graduating in
May 2023, and below are our key findings from the indirect measures:
• What should MBS consider adding to the curriculum? Focus on relevance with real-world experiences and examples; personal finance; technology; sales; professional writing; internships; culture/ethics/law; and networking opportunities, to name a few.
• How has the MBS program had an impact on you? Connections and community; skills; knowledge; seeing the faculty and staff as valuable connections; personal and social growth; ethics and understanding professional work standards; team work.
| BSBA ALO | Topic | Measure | Next Assess | Last Assessed | Notes |
| 1a | Knowledge | ETS exam | 23-24 | 21-22 | MGT 449 |
| 1b | Time Value of Money | Mini-problems | 23-24 | 22-23 | Pause for TVM as achieved goal; assess periodically |
| 1c | Financial Statement Analysis | Mini-problems | 23-24 | 22-23 | FIN 350 BIS 235 |
| 2a | Oral Communication | Presentation and rubric | 23-24 | 21-22 | MGT 101; MGT 495 record student presentations for raters to rate |
| 2b | Written Communication | Papers and rubric | 24-25 | 21-22 | MGT 101; MGT 495 revise rubric in 23-24 and use to teach |
| 3 | Teamwork | CATME/Survey | 23-24 | 21-22 | Courses where teams are assigned; Need a measure of team effectiveness for those not using CATME |
| 4 | Ethics and Critical Thinking | Mini-case | 23-24 | 21-22 | The new measure was discussed and pushed to the following AY |
| 5 | Global Perspectives | Intercultural sensitivity | 23-24 | Pilot (21-22) | Data was collected in Spring ’23; changes proposed for Fall ’24 |
| 6a | Technological Agility-Excel | GMetrix; Certifications | Every Semester | Every Semester | BIS 105; BIS 235 |
| 6b | Technological Agility-Discipline | Developing | 23-24 | n/a | Technology is infused in all MBS core classes including R, simulations, Jamboard, Salesforce, SQL |
| 7a | Indirect Perceptions of ALOs | Survey of Alumni | Spring ’24 | 22-23 | Dean’s Office |
| 7b | Employer Evals of Internships | Survey of Employers | Fall ’23 | 21-22 | Students are consistently evaluated as exceeding expectations |
• Which questions about Assurance of Learning Outcomes (ALOs) fell below the 4.0 goal for MBS ALO outcomes? Understanding cultures and cultural norms; ability to learn new technology and software options quickly.
• Which questions about ALOs improved from the 2021 survey to the 2023 survey for the BSBA? Understanding cultural contexts on a global scale; using knowledge of global issues to impact an organization; skills in working within teams; recognizing ethical dilemmas in the workplace; using ethical principles to assess ethical dilemmas; applying technology to solve current business problems; and ability to evaluate data to inform decisions.
The indirect survey and sample are imperfect, but the outcomes and comparisons from 2021 to 2023 suggest that the work of the faculty and staff had an impact on our learners!
MBA AoL Highlights
ALO 2. Knowledge, Financial Statement Analysis: MBA students participated in the pilot test for the financial statement analysis in Spring 2022. MBA learners scored above their BSBA counterparts in all aspects of financial statement analysis. On average, MBA students scored 19.46 out of 20 possible points on the overall financial statement analysis pilot test, whereas third- and fourth-year BSBA students scored 14.49. If repeated with more significant numbers of MBA students, it would reinforce the worth of the foundation courses, creating a level playing field of knowledge in the program.
| Intercultural Sensitivity, Pilot | Interaction Engagement | Respect Cultural Differences | Interaction Confidence | Enjoyment of Interaction | Interaction Attentiveness | n |
| MBA Students | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.95 | 8 |
ALO 4. Global, Intercultural Sensitivity: MBA students participated in the intercultural sensitivity pilot test in Spring 2022. Eight students completed the survey, scoring at or above the target achievement level. The scale by Chen and Starosta 2020 measures five aspects of intercultural sensitivity to assess readiness to engage in intercultural interactions. It is reassuring that these MBA learners met the stated target achievement levels across all aspects suggesting faculty members may need to revise the assessment of global issues for MBA learners.
In addition to the checks for MBA learning for intercultural sensitivity and financial statement analysis, there are additional highlights of AoL for the MBA program summarized in the ‘book’ of artifacts for 2021-2022.
Enrollment, Retention, and Progress to and After the Degree
(See Appendix for tables of enrollment trends, career survey outcomes, and indirect measures.)
Professional Advisors: Our staff of four academic advisors and a director work diligently to engage students. Over the academic year together, they met virtually or in person with 2,400 students. All of this is to get students to progress toward degrees.
Enrollment: The MBS and GSB have steadily increased enrollment over time with dramatic increases in the MBA program. As you can see in the graph below, enrollment has risen steadily since 2019. The slope for both lines is
statistically significant, suggesting these results
are not likely to have occurred by chance.
The steady increase in enrollment in the BSBA degree program emphasizes interest in Finance, Marketing, and Management. The new BSBA in Sport Management grew from 12 to 130 in three years. Our new BISSM major is of interest as well. In this first year, we have 37 students who have declared this major.
Degree Completion: The number of degrees awarded increased year over year to reflect the increases in enrollment. The MBA, in particular, showed a major increase in degrees awarded in 2022 after the dramatic rise in enrollment in 2022 and 2021. Indeed, since 2016, the number of awarded degrees has more than doubled.
In 2022-23 the GSB worked with Vision Point Marketing and Blaze Partners. Vision Point worked with MBS and GSB on the overall positioning, content, and brand for “Maine’s Premier Business School,” which led to a variety of content that was included in digital marketing campaigns put in place by the two agencies (VP and Blaze) as well as internal (Grad School) marketing campaigns and our own marketing (MBS/GSB). Implementing this plan led to material improvements in performance in all aspects of our digital presence in communicating to potential and current students.
| 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 | |
| Google Analytics | ||
| Pageviews | 262,559 | 290,364 |
| Average time on page | 1:51 | 2:16 |
| Social Media | ||
| Facebook Followers | 969 | 1,156 |
| Instagram Followers | 903 | 1,292 |
| LinkedIn Followers | 347 | 1,155 |
| MBS Email Newsletters Open Rate | 60% | 63.3% |
| Alumni Email Newsletter Open Rate | 29.6% | 40% |
Internships, Careers, and Progress to Placements
With efforts by Taylor Ashley, internship coordinator, services and ideas took on a different approach in 2022-2023.
Explore Careers Casually: This event paired MBS learners with employers from different industries to enhance awareness and understanding of career options.
Career-Ready Games: This event offered a series of career-related challenges administered through Brightspace in partnership with the UMaine Career Center. The games attracted over 100 students from across the university in 15 teams. All participants received a Career Essential Kit. The top three teams designated local charities to receive funds
donated for the purpose with SPIFFY and Beta Gamma Sigma taking top place in the games.
Professional Development Workshops: Workshops attracted over 165 learners to gather and explore aspects of career searches and the world of work. Topics included networking, resumes, and a resume session for our International learners.
Success in Internships – One-Credit Pilot Course: This course introduced students to internships and the steps they can take to secure them to gain professional experience while pursuing their business degrees. Three employers facilitated topics about professional communication in the workplace.
Student Engagement Survey: Last year, we conducted a Student Engagement Survey to gain insight into BSBA and MBA students’ involvement in internships, work, and volunteering, with 322 students responding (191 MBS and 121 MBA students). The data suggests that:
• 13% of BSBA and 8% of MBA students participated in an internship within the last year
• 84% of BSBA students had worked within the last year
• 66.5% of all students reported working during the time of taking the survey
• 93% of MBA respondents reported that they worked
• 78.8% of MBA respondents stated they were currently working full-time
• 52% of BSBA and 40% of MBA students engaged in volunteer work
Internship Website: This site is a comprehensive resource for learners and visitors. Taylor Ashley produced five original educational videos to present best practices for seeking and securing internships.
Life After UMaine Survey: Data shows results from the sample of graduates from 2020, where 84% of business graduates were employed full time by commencement, just below engineering graduates at 88%. Of those graduates, 54% found employment in Maine, and 46% found employment outside of Maine, at a median starting salary of about $55,000. About 10% of those who responded to the Life After UMaine survey were attending graduate school, with about 7% full-time and 3% part-time learners.
Student Organizations and Learner-Faculty-Learner Interactions
Undiscovered Maine
Nory Jones, Advisor
Students worked to update about 650 websites for the club portal. Each page required unique
modifications, suggesting the need for continuous monitoring.
The group also took several trips, including:
Mandala Farm: This interesting visit demonstrated a viable local ecosystem of farms, retailers, and consumers.
Catherine Hill Winery: This visit helped students learn about a microbusiness that draws visitors locally, regionally, and nationally.
Cobscook Shores Park: This is a series of 20 extraordinary new parklands nestled along the vibrant, eco-rich shores of Cobscook Bay near the historic town of Lubec, Maine.
Visit to Red Point Nature Preserve: Red Point and Red Point Island offer spectacular views of South Bay including Scrub Island, Long Island, and the Long Island Passage.
Lubec: The group worked with business owners to better understand the challenges of running a business in Lubec and near Mowry Beach.
Women in the Maine Business School
Erin Percival Carter, Nory Jones, and Nadège Levallet, Advisors
Women in Business connected with leaders throughout the year with guest speakers offering insights and opportunities for discussions and engagement. Students have held workshops to develop interviewing skills as well as partnering with other women’s groups on campus.
MBS Corps
Nory Jones, outgoing Advisor; Billy Obenhauer incoming Advisor
With about 40 active members across the entire college, MBS Corps has made an impact across the state of Maine. Over the academic year MBS Corps:
• Organized the ninth annual UMaine March Against Domestic Violence, which
was a collaborative activity with many campus entities, including Student Life, Title IX, Army Black Bear Battalion ROTC, Student Government, Feminist Collective, UMaine Athletics, Male Athletes Against Violence, some Greek organizations, and more. The group also collaborates each year with Partners for Peace, the local domestic violence awareness organization that helps victims.
• Managed and stocked the food pantry nook on the first floor of DPC.
• Met regularly to encourage students to build business skills and relationships.
• Collaborated with the Army and Navy/Marine ROTC to create the annual Heroes of Hope Dodgeball Tournament to raise funds to help provide companion pets to veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). This large endeavor involves outreach, logistics, marketing, accounting, management, digital strategies, and finance cross-campus. Students raised about $2,200, which we split between the Maine Veterans Project and Service Dog Strong.
MBS Ambassadors
Melanie Brooks, Advisor
The MBS Ambassadors increased their impact this year by assisting with Enhanced Business Days, our new recruitment events. Over the course of the year, MBS Ambassadors serve as a reliable information relay between students and administrators. These students helped with our professional development events, Open Houses, Accepted Student Days, and New Student Orientation. They met with our MBS Advisory Board and UMaine’s Provost. These students are engaged, active, and making MBS a better place.
American Marketing Association (AMA)
Rusty Stough, Advisor
Throughout the year, AMA met weekly and worked with various organizations and clubs within and outside the University of Maine on a variety of activities. They helped with fundraising activities for a few different clubs on campus and partnered with the Penobscot Theatre Company to create an online-marketing plan. Finally, the club worked on its own branding and marketing efforts to recruit and attract new members, with membership increasing by 75% from the pre-pandemic levels of attendance.
Student Portfolio Investment Fund (SPIFFY)
Sebastian Lobe, Advisor
This year, SPIFFY celebrated its 30th anniversary, had $4.1 million assets under management, and regularly attracted 50 to 70 club members to weekly meetings. The 2022 portfolio performance resulted in an annual Buy-and-Hold Abnormal Return of 6.70%. Including the Market Watch Investment Competition spanning the academic year, collaborative Trivia
Night with Women in Business, two meetings at Bangor Savings Bank’s boardroom, hosting guest speakers, visiting the 2023 GAME XII in NYC (16 club members with advisor) for four days, and representing SPIFFY at the Bangor Region Executive Club of the University of Maine with Dr. Lobe featured as a guest speaker, the activities have been ubiquitous, meaningful, and educational for our MBS students.
Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS)
Grant Miles, Jen Larlee, Advisors
This year, the UMaine BGS chapter earned Highest Honors recognition for its
dedication to the BGS principles of honesty, wisdom, and earnestness. As a result of this honor, the MBS chapter is recognized on the BGS and AACSB websites, at BGS events, and in publications like the Recognition of Excellence program (which is shared at AACSB’s International Conference & Meeting and other AACSB events). During the 2022 Winter Recognition Ceremony, the BGS chapter officers selected Susan Myrden, Associate Professor of Marketing, as this year’s faculty inductee. At the 2023 Spring Induction Ceremony, the chapter nominated Bethany Durell, Assistant Vice President – Core Market Strategy at Unum, as our Chapter Honoree for her engagement with the college and chapter. UMaine chose one of our officers, Mikayla Reynolds, as the University of Maine Salutatorian. Chapter members attended the BGS x SDGs Lab Leadership Conference, celebrated Founder’s Day by distributing society information and snacks in the DPC Business Atrium, and hosted a BGS Alumni Networking Event. This year, we inducted 44 new undergraduates and 28 graduate students.
Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
Charles Day, Advisor
IMA is part of the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business. The UMaine IMA chapter met regularly and invited professionals to attend those weekly meetings. One goal is to reinforce the principles of IMA including honesty, fairness, objectivity, and responsibility.
International Business and Culture Club (IBCC)
Stefano Tijerina, Taylor Ashley, Advisors
The newest organization, IBCC obtained status from student government last year. Students organized a fundraiser for the victims of the Turkey/Syria earthquake with about $3,000 collected from that effort. The club also held a series of cultural presentations by MBS students representing several countries and served food at UMaine’s Culturefest. Some of the group members also traveled to Montreal to learn about international business and soak up the culture of the city.
Student Honors
We retain the tradition of giving each graduate a woodallion (wooden award with the M imprint and ribbon for wearing it at graduation), an alumni pin, cords for key achievements, and receptions to foster interactions with faculty and families.
Thought Leadership: The Impact of Scholarship
(AACSB Standard 8)
Faculty members contributed to knowledge in their disciplines as they explored a rich field of topics for business. Research is wide-ranging from quality costs, portfolio efficiency, breach of emotions on customer engagement, meaningful consumption, marketing analytics, technology adoption strategic agility, intrafirm collaboration, Bayesian networks, and causal inference and the changing healthcare world with digital health. Their academic scholarship then appeared in quality outlets with the work of Billy Obenauer in the Leadership Quarterly and the European Journal of Operational Research, Nadège Levallet in the European Journal of Information Systems, classified as A* outlets–the highest quality for journal articles on the ABDC list.
| Tracking Quality of Peer-Reviewed Journals Over Time | ||||
| Quality Indicator | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| Average % Acceptance Rate (n=of those with an acceptance rate reported; midpoint used for ranges) | 18% | 23% | 23% | 21% |
| % A/B Journals by ABDC (all pubs) | 48% | 41% | 30% | 62% |
| Average H-Index (n=/of those with H-index) | 61 | 48 | 54 | 64 |
| Average Impact Factor (n= pubs with impact factor) | 3.3 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
| Number of Peer Reviewed Journal Articles (n=80) | 19 | 17 | 42 | 80 |
Thought Leadership: Engagement and Societal Impact
(AACSB Standard 9)
The societal impact of the MBS and GSB manifests in several ways. We impact rural economic development by offering applied projects, including work in the capstone management course for the MBA, where learners assessed their acumen with five organizations to offer informed advice. The MaineMBA Academy piloted an in-person capstone experience to connect students with organizations across the state. Student organizations—Undiscovered Maine, AMA, and Women in Business—all work with Maine’s businesses, business leaders, and faculty to do research on matters of importance to Maine and rural economies (e.g., Entsminger, Manev, O’Reilly, Zheng).
Our focus on sustainable business models encompasses the key elements of the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) model. The faculty teach on topics in various courses throughout the curriculum (e.g., Business Finance, Business and Sustainability, Strategic Management). We engage with our community of students (MBS Corps, SPIFFY) and the business community (Maine Business Institute) as we advance the sustainability of business models and as faculty contributes meaningfully to research on important topics (e.g., Akono, Agrrawal, Percival Carter, Levallet, Myrden, Obenauer, Stough, Tijerina).
The MBS and GSB are still wrestling with specific goals on the impact we will have in the next decade.
Summary and Conclusions, 2022-2023
The faculty and staff in the MBS and GSB are engaged in many ways, with active initiatives for analytics, applied projects, speakers in classrooms, and interactions between faculty and learners as a norm. Innovation permeates efforts to offer new degree programs, enrich online learning, and reach first-year students with a living-learning community and research learning experiences. Impact occurs in scholarship and collaborations with partners and communities in Maine. We are a mission-driven program, which considers our values in all that we do. Robust, rigorous, and relevant educational approaches ensure that we filter all that we do in the classroom by focusing on our assurances of learning outcomes as we are engaged in efforts for continuous improvement.
Faculty and staff invest their time to work as advisors to student organizations that manage over $4 million in funds for SPIFFY, explore the roads less traveled with Undiscovered Maine, and honor our academic stars in Beta Gamma Sigma. Women in Business connects students to leaders who paint a picture of career paths and strategies that work. The MBS Corps focuses on veterans and helps the Salvation Army with its adopt-a-Family during the holidays every year. MBS Ambassadors represent MBS to visitors, prospective students, and the community. The American Marketing Association raises funds for nonprofits and enhances the culture of caring. The Institute of Management Accountants offers connections to professionals that shape careers. It is an enriched culture that serves as an impetus for change in our approaches, processes, and communities.
Appendix
Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications, July 2022-June 2023
Akono, H. and K. Karim, (2023). Quality cost reports and internal audits. Accepted at Internal Auditing. July/August edition.
Akono, H., Choi, H., & Karim, K. E. (2022). Convertible debt usage and the pricing of audit services. Accounting Horizons, 36(3), 21-43.
Agrrawal, P., Gilbert, F., & Harkins, J. (2022). Time Dependence of CAPM Betas on the Choice of Interval Frequency and Return Timeframes: Is There an Optimum? Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(11), 520.
Agrrawal, P., (2023). The Gibbons, Ross, and Shanken Test for Portfolio Efficiency: A Note Based on Its Trigonometric Properties. Mathematics, 11(9), 2198.
Agrrawal, P., & Agarwal, R. (2023). A Longer-Term evaluation of Information released by Influential market Agents and the Semi-strong market Efficiency. Journal of Behavioral Finance.
Arend, R. J. (2023). The dangers of creatively-incomplete creativity (Meta-) Theorizing. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 19(C).
Arend, R. J. (2022). Balancing the perceptions of NK modelling with critical insights. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 11(1), 1-15.
Arend, R. J. (2022). Breaking Cournot: The Effects of Capacity-Adjusting Technology. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(9), 385.
Arend, R. J. (2022). Confronting when uncertainty-as-unknowability is mismodelled in entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 18, e00334.
Arend, R. J. (2022). How uncertainty levels and types matter, to likely entrepreneurs and others. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 18(C).
Arend, R. J. (2022). Strategic decision-making under ambiguity: insights from exploring a simple linked two-game model. Operational Research, 22(5), 5845-5861.
Arend, R. J. (2022). Strategy under Ambiguity, and a New Type of Decision Dilemma. Administrative Sciences, 12(2), 44.
Arend, R. J. (2022). Testing Behaviors in the Play of an Expected Prisoner’s Dilemma. Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy. Vol 7., 25-33.
Arend, R. J. (2022). The Costs of Ambiguity in Strategic Contexts. Administrative Sciences, 12(3), 108.
Angelis, J., Murthy, R., Beaulieu, T., & Miller, J. (2022). Better Angry than Afraid: The Case of Post Data Breach Emotions on Customer Engagement. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.
Williamson, C., Kennedy, K., Bhattacharya, S., Patel, S., Perry, J., Bolton, J., Perkins, L. B., & Chan, L. L. Y. (2023). A novel image-based method for simultaneous counting of Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces in mixed culture fermentation. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 50(1).
Carter, E. P., Williams, L. E., & Light, N. (2023). Consumers’ minimum time investments in meaningful consumption. Marketing Letters, 1-13.
Carter, E. P. (2023). Power and the perception of pregnancy in the academy. Gender, Work & Organization.
DiBartolomeo, J. A., & Smoluk, B. J. (2023). Do Community Banks Stabilize Housing Prices?. Journal of Housing Research, 1-28.
DiBartolomeo, J. A., Kothakota, M. G., Parks-Stamm, E. J., & Tharp, D. T. (2023). Racial animosity and black financial advisor underrepresentation. Financial Planning Review, 6(2), e1164.
DiBartolomeo, J. A., & Turnbull, G. K. (2023). Closed vs. open city models: A new empirical approach to an old question. Papers in Regional Science.
DiBartolomeo, J. A., & Turnbull, G. K. (2023). Commuting costs and urban sprawl: Which proxy measures up? The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 67(3), 375-387.
Han, L., Goetz, S. J., Eades, D., Entsminger, J., & Arbogast, D. (2023). An early assessment of COVID-19’s impact on tourism in US counties. Tourism Economics, 29(5), 1355-1375.
Plakias, Z. T., & Entsminger, J. (2023). 28. Consumer cooperatives: purpose and possibilities1. Handbook of Research on Cooperatives and Mutuals, 454.
Graham, C. M., & Lu, Y. (2022). Skills Expectations in Cybersecurity: Semantic Network Analysis of Job Advertisements. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 1-13.
Jurich, S., & Walker, M. M. (2022). Initiating contact in merger negotiations: Who leads and who follows? Journal of Economics and Business, 119, 106044.
Keiper, M., Nachtigal, J., Lupinek, J. and Stough, R., (2023) Marketing Analytics Curriculum Integration: An Exploration of Resource Availability for Faculty. Journal of Marketing Education. 02734753231195591.
Amendah, E. R., Kohli, A., Kumthekar, N., Singh, G. (2023). Impact of Financial and Non-Financial Constructs on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): US Retailer’s Perspective. Journal of Relationship Marketing, April Issue, Pages 1-35 (ABDC-B, PRJ, Cite Score – 6.4)
Kohli, H.K., Wampole, D., Kohli, A., Peng, C & Polyakova, D. (2022). Association between self-compassion and demographics of university students adjusted by gratitude. International Journal of Progressive Education, Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 15-28 (PRJ, Impact Factor – 1.1)
Hasani, T., Rezania, D., Levallet, N., O’Reilly, N., & Mohammadi, M., (2023). Privacy-enhancing technology adoption and its impact on SMEs’ performance. International Journal of Engineering Business Management (15), 1-26.
Levallet, N., Ahuja, S. & Wood, C. (2023). Agility and Improvisation in Ontario’s Craft Breweries: Capabilities for Constraints-based Innovation. Journal of Small Business Management. 1-42.
Finch, D., Levallet, N., Saunders, C., Field, E., Ribeiro, J., Raby, S., Roberts, M., Uzoka, M., & Campbell, A. (2023). A dynamic capabilities view of career adaptation: An exploratory study. Education + Trainin. Vol. 65 No. 5, pp. 769-789. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2021-0235
Levallet, N. & Chan, Y. (2022) Uncovering a new form of digitally-enabled agility: an improvisational perspective, European Journal of Information Systems, 31:6, 681-708, DOI: 10.1080/0960085X.2022.2035262
Chen, B., Giannikos, C., & Lou, J. (2023). Is More Financial Literacy Always Beneficial? An Investigation Through a Mediator. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 16(1), 53.
Ye, Y., Lu, Y., Robinson, P., & Narayanan, A. (2022). An empirical Bayes approach to incorporating demand intermittency and irregularity into inventory control. European Journal of Operational Research, 303(1), 255-272.
Lu, Y., Zheng, Q., & Quinn, D. (2023). Introducing Causal Inference Using Bayesian Networks and do-Calculus. Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, 31(1), 3-17.
Lu, Y., Zheng, Q., & Quinn, D. (2022). Introducing Causal Inference Using Bayesian Networks and do-Calculus. Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education.
Martin-Rios, C., Erhardt, N. L., & Manev, I. M. (2022). Interfirm collaboration for knowledge resources interaction among small innovative firms. Journal of Business Research, 153, 206-215.
Elenkov, D. S., Manev, I. M., & Kuntz, J. C. (2022). Harnessing subcultural identity to optimize workplace rewards: Evidence from Russia. Journal of Business Research, 153, 319-328.
Ledford, A., Luning, C., Miles, P., & Dixon, D. (2022). The Role of Mindfulness and Resilience in Navy SEAL Training. Military Psychology, 1-15.
Ledford, A. K., Beckner, M. E., Conkright, W. R., Raver, C., Dixon, D. P., Miles, P., & Lynch, S. M. (2022). Psychological and physiological changes during basic, underwater, demolition/SEAL training. Physiology & Behavior, 257, 113970.
Miles, P., & Angelis, J. N. (2022). Untangling innovation: an examination of compensation, corporate social responsibility, and corporate financial performance. Social Responsibility Journal, 18(8), 1567-1586.
Alkire, L., Myrden, S., Kocher, S., and O’Connor, G. (2023) Cultural Drivers of Health Engagement. Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 31(1), pp. 90-105.
Warmath, D., Winterstein, A., & Myrden, S. (2022). Parents and Coaches as Transformational Leaders: Motivating High School Athletes’ Intentions to Report Concussion Symptoms Across Socioeconomic Statuses. Social Science and Medicine, 292.
Ndu, I. (2023). Increasing Student Engagement and Interaction in the Online Classroom: A High Impact Mini-Teaching Approach. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, November, 2023.
Ndu, I., Anoruo, E., and Chukwuogor, C. (2023). Earnings Management, Capital Management, Signalling, and the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Listed Banks in the United States. Journal of Economics Finance and Accounting, 10(3), 170-181.
Ndu, I., Anoruo, E., and Chukwuogor, C. (2023). A Comparative Analysis of the Determinants of the United States and UK Banks’ Profitability. Journal of Accounting and Finance, 23(3), 55-66.
Bundy, J. and Ndu, I. (2023). An Analytical View on the Theranos Fraud and the Way Forward – An Accounting Perspective. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 18, No. 1.
Ndu, I., and Sims, J., (2022). Estimating Real Earnings Management in an Emerging Market: The Case of Listed Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria. The International Journal of Finance. Vol. 35, No.2.
Chukwuogor C., Ndu, I., Anoruo, E. (2022). Connecticut Real Estate Market 2007 to 2020: A Trend and Regression Analysis. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, United Kingdom. ISSN 2348 0386. Vol. X, Issue 9, Sep.
Obenauer, W. (2023). Like Superman, Institutional Review Boards Play an Important Role, But When Unchecked Can Cause Significant Collateral Damage: Five Reasons That it is Time to Reset Institutional Review Boards. Group & Organization Management, 10596011231198359.
Obenauer, W. (2023). Creating a significant learning experience when introducing labor relations to students. Management Teaching Review.
Obenauer, W. (2023). More on why Lakisha and Jamal didn’t get interviews: Extending previous findings through a reproducibility study. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 1(2), 114.
Obenauer, W. & Rezaei, S. (2023). #MeToo, Covid-10, and the new workplace: Re-examining institutional discrimination’s impact on workplace harassment of expatriates following two exogenous shocks. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research.
Obenauer, W. (2023). Polyculturalism Research Should Develop Further Before Recommending Organizational Implementation Strategies. Industrial and Organizational Psychology 15(3), 348-351. Obenauer, W. & Kalsher, M. (2022). Is Honesty the Best Policy? Examining the Effect of Product Safety Communication on Blame Attributions in Causal Chains. American Business Review, 25(2), 7.
Obenauer, W. (2022). The price of technology is responsibility: A discussion of threats created by cybervetting that employers must address to ensure equal employment opportunity. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 15(3), 348-351.
Obenauer, W. & Kalsher, M. (2022). Is White Always the Standard? Using Replication to Revisit and Extend What We Know About the Leadership Prototype. The Leadership Quarterly.
Finch, D. J., Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., & Mikkelson, A. (2023). Esport sponsorship: Practitioners’ perspectives on emerging trends. Journal of Brand Strategy, 9(1), 59-74.
Foster, G., O’Reilly, N., (2023). General Manager and the head coach exits in the NBA and the NFL. Sport and Business Management, Vol 1, 1.
Finch, D., O’Reilly, N., Levallet, N., & Mikkelson, A. (2023). A dynamic capabilities view of the NBA and esports. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. 23(1-2), 62-79. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2023.130431
O’Reilly, N., Hernandez, T., Séguin, B., Warwick, L., & Hasani, T. (2023). Barriers to youth sport participation in dense urban centres. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 23(3), 175.
O’Reilly, N., Burton, R., Blake, C., & Erick, T., (2023). NIL, Stakeholders, and Image Transfer: An Empirical Study of Mid-Major Student-Athletes. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness Vol. 17(1), 96-111.
O’Reilly, N., Nadeau, J., & Warwick, L., (2022). Adventure Tourism and the Place Brand of Argentina. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 26(3), 297-313.
Finch, D., Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N., Nadeau, J., Levallet, N., Legg, D. & Foster W.M. (2022). Season ticket holder segmentation in professional sports: An application of the sport relationship marketing model. International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship, 23(1),110-131.
O’Reilly, N., Finch, D., Abeza, G., Levallet, N., Nadeau, J., Legg, D., Foster, (2022). Segmentation of season ticket holders in minor league North American professional sport. Sport Innovation Journal (3:1), 16-29.
Abeza, A., O’Reilly, N., Nadeau, J., & Abdourazakou, Y. (2022). Big data in professional sport: the perspective of practitioners in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-21. DOI: 10.1080/0965254X.2022.2108881
Polman, E. & Stough, R. (2023). Homo Indifferencus: Effects of Unavailable Options and Expectations on Preference Construction. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 60(1), 52-71.
Stough, R. & Carter, E.P., (2023). What was Yours is (For Now) Mine: Prior User Knowledge Reduces Product Satisfaction but Can Improve Experiential Satisfaction in Access-Based Consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 22(4), 833-847.
Stough, R. & Graham, C. (2023). Physical or digital media: the mediating role of psychological ownership. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-10-2022-0318
Dumas, J. E., & Stough, R. (2022). When influencers are not very influential: The negative effects of social media verification. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(3), 614-624.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2022). Big Tech and Antitrust: An Ordoliberal Analysis. Philosophy & Technology, 35(3), 65.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2022). Walter Eucken: Foundations of Economics. In Thomas Biebricher, Werner Bonefeld, and Peter Nedergaard (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Ordoliberalism. Oxford University Press.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023). Louis D. Brandeis and the New Brandeis Movement – Parallels and Differences. The Antitrust Bulletin, 0003603X231182494.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023): The Digital Markets Act and E.U. Competition Policy: A Critical Ordoliberal Evaluation. Philosophy of Management 22(1); 149-171.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023). The EU’s artificial intelligence act: an ordoliberal assessment. AI and Ethics, 1-16.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023). Apple’s antitrust paradox. European Competition Journal, 1-34.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023). Louis Brandeis – Founding Father of Modern-Day Antitrust. History of Economic Thought and Policy.
Wörsdörfer, M. (2023). Brandeis and Eucken: Two Pioneers of the Modern ‘Big Tech and Antitrust Debate’. Forthcoming in: History of Economic Ideas.
Zheng, Q., Nayga, Jr., R., Yang, W. & Tokunaga, K. (2023). Do U.S. consumers value genetically modified farmed salmon? Food Quality and Preference, 107, 104841.
Wang, H. H., Jiang Y., Jin, S., & Zheng, Q. (2022). New online market connecting Chinese consumers and small farms to improve food safety and environment. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 70(4), 305-324.
Hao, N., Zhang, Y., Zheng, Q., & Wetzstein, M. (2022). Spillover effects of food recalls: A milk recall scenario experiment in China. npj Sci Food 6 (1): 1-8.
Book chapters and other peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed research
Brooks, M., & Graham, C. M. (2022). Tackling Diversity Along Many Dimensions. AACSB Insights.
O’Reilly, N. & Burton, R. (2023). Business the NHL Way: Lessons from the Fastest Game on Ice, Updated Edition. University of Toronto Press, Canada.
O’Reilly, N., Seguin, B., Abeza, G., & Narraine, M. (2022). Sport Marketing: A Canadian Perspective: 3rd Edition. Human Kinetics Books, Canada.
Plakias, Z. and Entsminger, J.S. (2023). “Consumer Cooperatives: Purpose and Possibilities.” In M. Elliott; M. Boland (Ed.), Edward Elgar Handbook on Cooperatives and Mutuals. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Entsminger, J. S., Green, J., Welborn, R., Garner, R., Wiatt, R., Bednarikova, Z., Gayle, R., Pan, Y., & Goetz, S. (2023). Investing in Rural Capacity: Comprehensive Summary of National Rural Development Stakeholder Listening Sessions. Regional Rural Development Centers.
Other notable publications
Tijerina, S. (2023). The End of the War on Drugs: Petro’s Key Foreign Policy Agenda. Points: Joint blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society and the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.
Tijerina, S. (2023). A Look at Maine’s Marijuana Market. Points: Joint blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society and the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.
Tijerina, S. (2023). The BRICS New World Order and the Impact on the War on Drugs. Points: Joint blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society & American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.
Tijerina, S. (2022). The Interdependency of Narcotics Trafficking and the Global Market System. Points: Joint blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society and the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.
Board Memberships
Jason Harkins – President of UpStart Maine (non-profit)
Jason Harkins – Board member of Cobbler Technologies (startup)
Dave Barrett – Treasurer of Penobscot Theatre Company
Charles Day – Trustee and Treasurer of Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
Meghan Gardner – Vice Chair, Maine Women’s Lobby and Maine Women’s Lobby Education Fund
Grants, Earmarks, and Awards
Entsminger, J., Factors affecting the success of female and minority rural entrepreneurs and rural economic vitality. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Award No. 2023-68006-39842. Funded Amount: $649,913.
Ward, J., Harkins, J., and Entsminger, J., Maine Outdoor Recreation Economy Roadmap. State of Maine and U.S. Economic Development Administration. Award No. 01-79-15159. Funded Amount: $1,500,000.
Carter, E.P. & Welcomer, S., BARD technical assistance training program. Funded Amount: $290,000.
Miles, P., U. S. Navy, for SEAL research. Funded Amount: $7,000.
Li, L., Zhang, Y., Daigneault, A., Zhang, L., Datta, S., Maine Water Resources Research Institute Grant. Funded Amount: $40,000.
MBS Research Grands awarded for 2022-2023
Carter, E.P.: Consumer psychology and the fiber shed movement
Graham, C.M. and Stough, R.: The wavering digital comic consumer: Is consumer need for uniqueness and perceived ownership diminishing digital comic downloads?
Levallet, Nadège and Zheng, Q.: Technologically-enabled innovation in aquaculture: An organizational and consumer perspective on Maine’s oyster sector
Li, J.: Followers’ leader-associated relational identification as contingent factor for the effects of leader-member exchange social comparison
Ndu, I.: Predicting fraudulent financial reporting in listed emerging market companies using discretionary accrual-based models
Zheng, Q.: Consumers’ valuation for lobster harvested using ropeless technology to reuce right whales entanglement and extinction
Tijerina, S.: Inaugural P.D. Merrill Research Fellowship (Maine Historical Society) – “Central Maine Power Company: A History of Local Electric Power Business in Maine”
Tables
Students
| ENROLLMENT BY MAJOR: FALL | ||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Major – BSBA Degree | ||||||||
| Accounting | 170 | 136 | 130 | 127 | 127 | 128 | 112 | 94 |
| Bus. Admin. Undeclared | 143 | 173 | 236 | 255 | 289 | 279 | 240 | 211 |
| BISSM | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 42 |
| Finance | 239 | 238 | 240 | 264 | 255 | 265 | 273 | 248 |
| Management | 336 | 370 | 375 | 340 | 332 | 361 | 362 | 361 |
| Marketing | 288 | 292 | 266 | 258 | 267 | 303 | 310 | 331 |
| Sport Management | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 85 | 132 |
| Pre-Business | 48 | 101 | 101 | 75 | 47 | 68 | 74 | 54 |
| Visiting Student | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Total Undergrad Enrollment (Duplicated) | 1,223 | 1,312 | 1,354 | 1,320 | 1,317 | 1,416 | 1,456 | 1,473 |
| Graduate Enrollment | ||||||||
| MBA | 61 | 67 | 82 | 106 | 300 | 391 | 330 | 340 |
| Certificate Programs Enrollment | ||||||||
| Grad Cert – Bus. Admin | 19 | 19 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 26 | 17 | 23 |
| Grad Cert – Bus. Analytics | – | – | – | – | 1 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| Grad Cert – Innovation | – | 4 | 6 | 3 | – | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Interdisc. Studies – PhD | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 |
| Visiting Student | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 3 |
| Grand Total Enrollment (Unduplicated) | 1,189 | 1,278 | 1,347 | 1,342 | 1,540 | 1,842 | 1,812 | 1,847 |
| DEGREES CONFERRED | ||||||||
| AY | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Undergraduate Degree | ||||||||
| Accounting | 32 | 32 | 32 | 25 | 22 | 36 | 35 | 36 |
| BISSM | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 |
| Finance | 69 | 76 | 80 | 72 | 77 | 99 | 77 | 92 |
| Management | 93 | 107 | 117 | 112 | 133 | 139 | 118 | 151 |
| Marketing | 67 | 68 | 90 | 84 | 95 | 84 | 87 | 96 |
| Sport Management | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 |
| Total BSBA | 261 | 283 | 319 | 293 | 327 | 358 | 317 | 403 |
| Graduate Degree | ||||||||
| MBA (Total) | 22 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 37 | 44 | 132 | 173 |
| Certificate | ||||||||
| B.A. Post-Bacc | 4 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 17 | 5 |
| Innovation Post-Bacc | – | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total Certificates | 4 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 18 | 6 |
| COLLEGE TOTALS | ||||||||
| Total Undergrad Degrees | 261 | 283 | 319 | 293 | 327 | 358 | 317 | 403 |
| Total Certificates Awarded | 4 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 28 | 18 | 6 |
| Total Graduate Degrees | 22 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 37 | 44 | 132 | 173 |
| Total Degrees | 287 | 315 | 356 | 322 | 374 | 430 | 467 | 582 |
| % Change from Previous Year | 16.15% | 14.97% | 8.6% | 24.63% |
| STUDENT CREDIT HOURS | ||||||||
| 15-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | |
| Undergraduate | 16,773 | 18,564 | 19,664 | 19,445 | 19,344 | 19,466 | 20,466 | 20,513 |
| Graduate | 739 | 818 | 801 | 930 | 1,428 | 3,948 | 4,694 | 4,051 |
| MBS College Total Combined | 17,512 | 19,382 | 20,465 | 20,375 | 20,772 | 23,414 | 25,160 | 25,564 |
| DLL Online Total | 637 | 939 | 1,020 | 1,707 | 2,681 | 9,053 | 12,210 | 12,254 |
| All Combined Total | 18,149 | 20,321 | 21,485 | 22,082 | 23,453 | 32,467 | 37,370 | 36,818 |
| BUSINESS STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED | ||||||||
| 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 | |||||
| Student Count | Total Offered | Student Count | Total Offered | Student Count | Total Offered | Student Count | Total Offered | |
| BSBA Undergraduate | 1,052 | $6,416,879 | 1,633 | $7,202,664 | 1,587 | $7,531,892 | 1,472 | $7,460,470 |
| Restricted | 489 | $1,092,808 | 138 | $373,603 | 305 | $1,021,069 | 342 | $1,263,516 |
| Merit | 847 | $4,924,973 | 1,019 | $5,709,133 | 1,104 | $5,888,704 | 970 | $5,568,493 |
| Private/Outside | 139 | $399,099 | 476 | $1,119,929 | 178 | $622,120 | 160 | $628,461 |
| MBA Graduate | 31 | $90,883 | 34 | $118,920 | 20 | $101,575 | 49 | $171,394 |
| Restricted | 31 | $88,296 | 5 | $4,974 | 15 | $84,055 | 42 | $144,624 |
| Merit | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| Private/Outside | 2 | $2,588 | 29 | $113,946 | 5 | $17,520 | 7 | $26,770 |
| Grand Totals | 1,083 | $6,507,763 | 1,667 | $7,321,585 | 1,607 | $7,633,468 | 1,521 | $7,631,864 |
| INTERNSHIPS | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| # of Internships | 43 | 46 | 36 | 40 | 60 | 62 | 146 |
| # of Internships for Credit | – | – | – | – | – | – | 56 |
| TRACKING RETENTION AND GRADUATION | |||
| FIRST-YEAR RETENTION RATE | MBS | UMAINE | MBS (Excluding Pre-Business) |
| Fall 2014 | 80% (164) | 76% (2,021) | 83% (112) |
| Fall 2015 | 76% (169) | 76% (2,012) | 90% (126) |
| Fall 2016 | 78% (214) | 75% (2,192) | 81% (171) |
| Fall 2017 | 78% (268) | 78% (2,254) | 82% (167) |
| Fall 2018 | 68% (260) | 74% (2,226) | 71% (173) |
| Fall 2019 | 80% (252) | 78% (2,104) | 83% (194) |
| Fall 2020 | 72% (178) | 76% (2,014) | 78% (190) |
| Fall 2021 | 74% (278) | 75% (2,138) | 77% (238) |
| FOUR-YEAR GRADUATION RATE | |||
| Fall 2011 | 59% (101) | 38% (1,735) | |
| Fall 2012 | 45% (153) | 40% (1,919) | 52% (103) |
| Fall 2013 | 44% (192) | 38% (2,120) | 57% (122) |
| Fall 2014 | 51% (164) | 40% (2,021) | 61% (112) |
| Fall 2015 | 41% (169) | 41% (2,012) | 48% (126) |
| Fall 2016 | 46% (214) | 42% (2,192) | 53% (171) |
| Fall 2017 | 40% (268) | 40% (2,254) | 49% (167) |
| Fall 2018 | 39% (260) | 42% (2,226) | 45% (173) |
| LIFE AFTER UMAINE: EMPLOYED OR GRADUATE SCHOOL | |||
| Graduating Year | Responses (n=) | Employed FT | Grad School FT |
| 2014 | 62 | 90% | 0% |
| 2015 | 63 | 91% | 7% |
| 2016 | 57 | 95% | 2% |
| 2017 | 34 | 85% | 12% |
| 2018 | 66 | 85% | 9% |
| 2019 | Survey not conducted | ||
| 2020 | 32 | 84% | 10% |
| 2021 | 33 | 84% | 6% |
| LIFE AFTER UMAINE: PERCEPTION OF JOB PREPAREDNESS: HOW WELL DID UMAINE PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR JOB? | |||||
| Graduating Year | Responses (n=) | Very Well | Moderately Well | Minimally | Not Certain |
| 2014 | 44 | 30% | 64% | 5% | 2% |
| 2015 | 48 | 44% | 48% | 8% | 0% |
| 2016 | 43 | 47% | 47% | 7% | 0% |
| 2017 | 27 | 48% | 48% | 0% | 4% |
| 2018 | 41 | 29% | 63% | 5% | 2% |
| 2019 | Survey not conducted | ||||
| 2020 | Survey not conducted | ||||
| 2021 | 33 | 35% | 48% | 13% | 4% |
| LIFE AFTER UMAINE: PERCEPTION OF GRAD SCHOOL PREPAREDNESS: HOW WELL DID UMAINE PREPARE YOU FOR GRAD SCHOOL | |||||
| Graduating Year | Responses (n=) | Very Well | Moderately Well | Minimally | Not Certain |
| 2014 | 2 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 2015 | 8 | 63% | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| 2016 | 3 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 2017 | 4 | 25% | 75% | 0% | 0% |
| FACULTY: COMBINED QUALIFIED FACULTY BY DISCIPLINE | |||||
| Department/Unit | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| Accounting | 71% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BISSM | 100% | 100% | |||
| Business Law | 100% | 100% | |||
| Finance | 78% | 90% | 88% | 76% | 67% |
| Management | 90% | 91% | 96% | 90% | 92% |
| Marketing | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Sport Management | 100% | 100% | |||
| MBA | 83% | 99% | 97% | 93% | 100% |
| FACULTY: SA (SCHOLARLY ACADEMIC) FACULTY BY DISCIPLINE | |||||
| Department/Unit | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| Accounting | 38% | 60% | 55% | 60% | 50% |
| BISSM | 100% | 100% | |||
| Finance | 54% | 85% | 74% | 76% | 66% |
| Management | 68% | 75% | 81% | 78% | 62% |
| Sport Management | 74% | 83% | 70% | 64% | 83% |
| MBA | 78% | 84% | 70% | 75% | 83% |
| FACULTY: PARTICIPATING FACULTY BY DISCIPLINE | |||||
| Department/Unit | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| Accounting | 67% | 86% | 90% | 95% | 92% |
| BISSM | 100% | 86% | |||
| Business Law | 80% | ||||
| Finance | 98% | 95% | 79% | 96% | 98% |
| Management | 71% | 80% | 84% | 93% | 89% |
| Marketing | 72% | 94% | 66% | 99% | 100% |
| Sport Management | 100% | 100% | |||
| MBA | 74% | 85% | 82% | 94% | 91% |
| FACULTY INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS | Basic or Discovery | Applied or Integration/ Application | Teaching and Learning | Total |
| % 18-19, n=192 | 54% | 32% | 14% | 100% |
| % 19-20, n=152 | 60% | 28% | 12% | 100% |
| % 20-21, n=102 | 50% | 38% | 12% | 100% |
| % 21-22, n=70 | 31% | 64% | 4% | 99% |
| % 22-23, n=64 | 31% | 62% | 7% | 100% |
| TRACKING QUALITY OF PEER- REVIEWED JOURNALS OVER TIME | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 | 22-23 |
| % Acceptance Rate (n=of those with an acceptance rate reported; midpoint used for ranges) | 18% | 23% | 23% | 22% |
| % A/B journals by ABDC (of all average pubs) | 48% | 41% | 30% | 82% |
| Average H-index (n=/of those with H-index) | 61 | 48 | 54.2 | 64 |
| Average Impact Factor (n=of those with an Impact Factor) | 3.3 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| N | 19 | 27 | 42 | 64 |