Articles and Research Papers for University-Level Study

Promotional objectives sit at the heart of every successful marketing strategy. They define what a business wants its promotional activities to accomplish and provide a clear direction for creative decisions, channel selection, and budget allocation. Without well-defined promotional objectives, marketing efforts risk becoming fragmented, reactive, and difficult to measure. Clear objectives transform promotion from a collection of tactics into a cohesive system designed to mov

At its core, competitor pricing involves setting prices based on what rivals charge rather than relying solely on internal costs or customer willingness to pay. While this strategy may sound reactive, when executed thoughtfully it becomes a proactive tool for market positioning, customer acquisition, and long-term sustainability. In highly transparent digital markets, customers often compare prices across multiple platforms before making a purchase. This reality makes competi

Consumers differ widely in their needs, preferences, lifestyles, and purchasing behaviors. Segmenting consumer markets allows businesses to cut through this complexity by grouping customers into meaningful categories and tailoring offerings to meet their specific expectations. Rather than relying on broad assumptions, market segmentation enables companies to focus their resources where they can create the most value. At its core, consumer market segmentation is about understa

In today’s competitive marketplace, having a great product or service is no longer enough. Customers are overwhelmed with choices, and attention is scarce. What ultimately determines whether someone chooses your business over another is how clearly you communicate the value you offer. This is where a well-designed business value proposition becomes essential. A strong value proposition explains, in simple and compelling terms, why your business exists, who it serves, and why

In what ways can a retailer such as Nordstrom take advantage of revenue management opportunities?    A retailer like Nordstrom can apply revenue management by aligning pricing and product availability with differences in customer segments. Nordstrom serves both premium, service-sensitive customers and price-sensitive shoppers. Revenue management allows Nordstrom to charge full prices which are higher at their main stores and during the early part of a season when demand from

Frontier Airlines has entered a new chapter with the appointment of an interim chief executive officer, signaling a significant moment for the ultra-low-cost carrier. The company announced that James Dempsey has stepped into the role effective immediately, while long-serving CEO Barry Biffle is preparing to exit. Leadership changes at airlines tend to ripple quickly through markets, employees, and customers, and this transition comes at a time when the industry is navigating

Artificial intelligence has moved from an experimental tool to the engine driving the modern advertising economy. Over the past two years, AI has rapidly transformed how ads are created, targeted, priced, and measured. While advertisers of all sizes are experimenting with these tools, the biggest beneficiaries have been the largest technology companies. AI is accelerating the dominance of tech giants in the advertising market, reinforcing their control at a time when regulato

Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a tool reserved for tech giants with massive budgets and dedicated strategy teams. In reality, some of the most inventive uses of AI are happening far from corporate headquarters and innovation labs. Small-business owners, lacking formal road maps and specialized departments, are experimenting their way into AI adoption. Instead of elaborate strategies, they rely on trial and error, practical need, and intuition. The result is a q

Starting a business is often framed as an exciting leap into independence, innovation, and financial freedom. Yet behind the success stories lies a much harsher reality. A significant number of new businesses fail within their first few years, often not because of bad luck, but due to avoidable mistakes. Entrepreneurs face minefields at every stage of the journey, from idea validation to execution, and ignoring these risks can quickly derail even the most promising venture. U

Seyeon Kim is a Korean-born computer science and engineering scholar whose career spans continents and disciplines. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Korea University in Seoul ( seralab.korea.ac.kr ) . Kim’s trajectory exemplifies a cross-disciplinary researcher profile  – blending technology development, data-driven analysis, and strategic insights. After earning her PhD, she held research positions in bot

Samuel Pertl is a doctoral researcher at Stanford Graduate School of Business who specializes in behavioral economics and decision-making. In 2024 he co-authored a landmark study published in Nature Human Behaviour , marking his first peer-reviewed article ( nature.comphys.org ) . This research analyzed survey data from 77,242 people in 74 countries and demonstrated that emotional states do not shape financial choices in a uniform way around the world. In fact, positive mood

PhD student Jihun Kim of UC Berkeley’s Industrial Engineering & Operations Research department, alongside his advisor Professor Javad Lavaei, has earned recognition as a Best Student Paper finalist at the 2025 American Control Conference (ACC). Their paper, “Prevailing Against Adversarial Noncentral Disturbances: Exact Recovery of Linear Systems with the $l_1$-Norm Estimator,”  was selected as one of the top six submissions out of roughly 1,000 accepted each year. ACC is a p

The U.S. dollar has confounded skeptics by remaining resilient through months of market turbulence, and new research suggests that strength may extend well into 2026. According to analysts at Barclays, a combination of structural investment, geopolitical positioning, and shifting policy expectations is setting the stage for renewed dollar momentum even as investors wrestle with uncertainty around artificial intelligence valuations and global growth. At a time when many curren

Luxury watches have long been symbols of success, but in recent years they have taken on a more complex role in the financial lives of affluent Americans. As scrutiny of bank transfers increases and geopolitical uncertainty lingers, high-end timepieces—particularly those made by Rolex—are increasingly viewed as compact, liquid stores of value. This shift has fueled conversations about how personal assets move across borders and how wealth can be expressed, preserved, and some

Shares in Siemens Energy moved higher after the company unveiled plans to buy back up to €6 billion of its own stock over the next three years, a decisive signal that management believes the business has turned a corner. The announcement followed closely on the heels of an upgrade to its fiscal 2028 financial targets, reinforcing the message that Siemens Energy sees improving profitability, stronger cash flows, and a clearer path forward after a turbulent period.

Not long ago, Blue Owl Capital was far from a household name in financial markets. The firm built its reputation by lending to midsize U.S. companies, providing flexible financing to businesses that often sat outside the spotlight of traditional Wall Street banks. One such borrower was Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, a solid but unglamorous business that typified Blue Owl’s early focus. At the time, its strategy fit neatly into the fast-growing but still relatively quiet world of pri

Wall Street is grappling with a new source of strain as some of the world’s largest technology companies unleash an unprecedented wave of bond issuance to finance their artificial intelligence ambitions. The result has been falling prices for newly issued bonds, rising yields, and a growing sense of unease among investors already questioning whether stock market valuations have stretched too far. As billions of dollars in fresh debt hit the market in a short period of time, t

When buy now, pay later first emerged as a mainstream payment option, its promise was bold and disruptive. The industry positioned itself as a cleaner, fairer alternative to credit cards, free from compounding interest, confusing terms, and punitive fees. For millions of consumers navigating economic uncertainty, that pitch resonated. BNPL platforms like Affirm and Afterpay offered a way to spread out purchases transparently, often with no interest and minimal friction at che

Premium credit cards have long marketed themselves as lifestyle upgrades, promising airport lounge access, luxury travel perks, elite dining experiences, and generous rewards. For many cardholders, those headline benefits are what justify the hefty annual fees. But as issuers continue to raise prices, simply enjoying a free cocktail in an airport lounge is no longer enough to make the math work. This summer, JPMorgan Chase raised the annual fee on its Sapphire Reserve card to

For decades, the idea of living abroad full time was associated with retirees, multinational executives, or ultrawealthy individuals buying their way into foreign citizenship. Today, that image is rapidly changing. Financial advisers, immigration consultants, and relocation specialists report a noticeable surge in interest from middle-income Americans who are exploring residency abroad as a practical solution to rising costs, lifestyle burnout, and shifting work realities. Wh

Coupons have become a commonly used tool in revenue management, yet many businesses continue to overlook the importance of consumer experience, redemption behavior, and the strategic differences between discount types. Mr. Chang can issue coupons to not only promote sales or prevent excess capacity but also to increase awareness of his restaurant's location. For small businesses, especially restaurants, digital coupon apps and mobile targeting technologies have lowered the co

This literature review paper focuses on inventory management in the supply chain and the issues involved in performance, costs, responding to demands, logistics, and sustainable pressures. There are multiple angles to view these challenges in the supply chain, subscription/auto-delivery procurement, handling and reuse of defective items under global sourcing, joint pricing–inventory control in multi-channel systems, integrated inventory–transportation planning with collaborat

View PDF DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18365574   Businesses usually fail because of a lack of strategic fit between the competitive and supply chain strategies. This makes it important that the supply chain design, resources and processes provide the required capabilities to support the competitive strategy ( Eicker, T. et al., 2017). Although Blockbuster was a large company and perhaps they did not see the vision or threat that Netflex and Redbox imposed in the very

View PDF DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18365640 This paper focuses on workforce management and the usage of AI into team coordination. Workforce management functions can include hiring, training, workforce planning, and coordination. These elements are now being heavily affected by AI tools so exploring how both AI resources and human resources function effectively in a startup company can be essential to be aware of in order to have the knowledge and capabilities to ma