Haile Foundation

Name: Dr. Boshra Karimi
Title: Assistant Professor, Construction Management
Funded Reserach: COVID-19 Effects on Engineering Technology and Construction Management Students

Two surveys were conducted to evaluate how engineering technology and construction management students have been impacted by the outbreak at Northern Kentucky University. The intended outcome of the research is to prepare a better plan to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on students’ educational experience and performance. This study measured different aspects of college students’ demands such as satisfaction with their classes, connectedness to the university, learning requirements, and technology resources. Furthermore, a Chi-Square test was deployed to compare these impacts on students in terms of gender and personality. The findings of these surveys demonstrate that the pandemic had a greater mental impact on female students, however introverted and extroverted students expressed similar experiences. In addition, this research shows that all academic levels have been impacted by the pandemic to some extent.

Name: Dr. Joe Cobbs
Title: Professor, Sports Business & Event Management
Funded Reserach: Investigating the ingredients and outcomes of rivalry via the Know Rivalry Project

The mission of the Know Rivalry (KR) Project is to facilitate sustainable collaboration in the research production, discernment, and dissemination of knowledge about rivalry. Intergroup relations have profound psychological, cultural and commerce effects on society. To realize the potential of these effects for the common good, we must better understand the various antecedents and consequences of rivalries. Through an ongoing series of studies, faculty and students investigate how sport fans react to the rivals of their favorite teams. The KR Project has active surveys across 50 sport leagues on six continents, and past results have been published in numerous academic journals and featured in the
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and over 50 other news outlets.

Name: Dr. Anh Dang
Title: Assistant Professor, Marketing
Funded Reserach: Valuation Effect of Emotionality in Corporate Philanthropy

Despite receiving a great deal of research attention, the effect of corporate philanthropy on shareholder value remains inconclusive. To address this issue, emotionality was examined as an important factor based on which investors infer about a firm’s motive as well as the beneficiary’s worthiness and react accordingly. Consistent with attribution theory, this study showed that announcements with more emotional expressions were associated with higher cumulative abnormal stock returns and that the effect is stronger when investor attention is greater. It was further found that the positive interaction effect between emotionality and investor attention is more pronounced for scandal-free firms than for firms with corporate social irresponsibility (CSI). The empirical evidence remains consistent under various robustness tests.