Contributed by Jeffrey Cummings, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Information Systems and Thomas Janicki, Ph.D., Professor of Information Systems in the Congdon School of Supply Chain, Business Analytics and Information Systems in the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Prior research completed by the same team on the same topic was just accepted and published in the Journal of Information Systems – August 2020 edition: Read here.

A recent survey of information technology (IT) professionals indicates the field continues to evolve as organizations leverage analytics, target customers via apps and focus on the importance of security. The survey, conducted this past spring/summer, consisted of over 500 IT professionals from across the country. The survey asked respondents to answer questions concerning their specific field as well as overall skills every IT professional must possess.

Story notes contributed by Dr. Xaver Neumeyer, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the UNCW Cameron School of Business.

Xaver Neumeyer, Ph.D. assistant professor of entrepreneurship at UNCW Cameron School of Business recently published “Overcoming Barriers to Technology Adoption When Fostering Entrepreneurship Among the Poor: The Role of Technology and Digital Literacy” in IEEE Transactions of Engineering Management. The journal is rated “A” by the Australian Business Dean’s Council.

Story notes contributed by Dr. Mark Pelletier, Professor in Marketing at the UNCW Cameron School of Business.

Dr. Mark Pelletier, along with his co-authors Dr. Alisha Horky from Columbus State University and Dr. Alexa Fox from The University of Akron, recently published a timely social media-related paper titled “Fexit: The effect of political and promotional communication from friends and family on Facebook exiting intentions” in the Journal of Business Research, which is an A journal according the ABDC journal list.

Guest Blogger: Contributed by SUSAN D. HERMANSON, Cameron Distinguished Professor of Accounting at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She received her Ph.D. in accounting from Texas A&M University (1994) and her B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Georgia (1988). Susan is coauthor of three accounting textbooks and has published over 60 refereed journal articles. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on August 31, 2020).

Over the past year, I have been working with coauthors on research in the area of internal auditing and COVID-19.  Our first article, “Downsizing Internal Audit: Saving Costs or Sacrificing Future Performance” was published in the May/June 2020 issue of Internal Auditing and the second article, “The 2020/COVID-19 Environment and Internal Audit” is forthcoming in the July/August issue of Internal Auditing. In this blog, I discuss some of the main points of these articles, but feel free to refer to the original articles for a more detailed discussion of these topics.

Story notes contributed by Alex Vestal, Professor in Management at the UNCW Cameron School of Business.

Alex Vestal, Ph.D. assistant professor of management at UNCW Cameron School of Business recently published “Normalizing vs. analyzing: Drawing the lessons from failure to enhance firm innovativeness” in the Journal of Business Venturing.

Guest Blogger: Contributed by Dr. Geoffrey Stoker, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems and Dr. Uklu Clark, Professor of Management Information Systems at the UNCW Congdon School of Supply Chain, Business Analytics, and Information Systems (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on August 20, 2020).

There is a clever meme floating around the internet that goes something like this:
 
“Who led your company’s digital transformation?”
A.  CTO
B.  CEO
C.  COVID-19

Guest Blogger: This piece was contributed by Lily Pezzullo-Frank, Coordinator of External Programs and Communications for the Cameron School of Business and program administrator for the Cameron Executive Network. (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on July 30, 2020).

In January 2020 Cameron Executive Network mentor and Cameron School of Business alumna ‘07, Liz Roesel, and CSB alumna ‘17, Arianne Branch, launched a new business, just weeks before the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic rocked the United States.

Guest Blogger: This Insights article was contributed by Dr. William Sackley, Director of BB&T Center for Global Capitalism and Cameron School of Business Professor of Finance (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on July 15, 2020).

The stock market, as gauged by the S&P 500 index, just completed its strongest calendar quarter of appreciation during the 21st century, albeit following a dismal first quarter. At this writing, the index is down just over 4% year-to-date, or just over 8% from its February high. That is fairly amazing in the presence of a global pandemic that appears to be escalating rather than abating in the U.S., and which has resulted in a larger disruption of economic activity than during any downturn subsequent to the Great Depression. Should investors be complacent about their equity exposure at this point, or “heading for the exits?”

Guest Blogger: Contributed by Jessica Mesmer-Magnus, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, SPHR, an industrial, work, and organizational psychologist and a professor of management in the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on June 30, 2020).

The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically affected workplaces worldwide. Not only are businesses trying to serve their customers and clients, but they are adapting “on-the-fly” to make payroll and to support employees who are working from home. Many employees do not have the experience or the tools needed to work virtually, and are often navigating this new work-norm while simultaneously being thrust into a world of homeschooling and dependent care. The need for alternate work strategies may be extended for an unknown period of time, and employers can’t take a “wait-and-see” approach. Although there is little research specific to managing employees during a pandemic, there are some takeaways that can be applied to help organizations navigate this situation.

Guest Blogger: Contributed by Dr. Edward Graham, Professor of Finance and Real Estate at the Cameron School of Business, UNCW (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on June 15, 2020).

Economic or financial risk is generally of two types: systematic and non-systematic. Non-systematic risk is risk that impacts a specific asset or group of assets – like a UAW strike impacting Ford and GM, or Mad Cow Disease impacting Wendy’s or McDonalds. Systematic risk concerns itself with factors that impact the entire economy, like the housing and financial crisis of eleven or twelve years ago motivating the Great Recession. The Covid “pandemic,” in turn, now manifests itself as a clear example of systematic risk, impacting the whole economy. But the pandemic has impacted some sectors of the economy far more than others.