More than a dozen business faculty scholars from area colleges and universities—including Georgian Court University—are among the 2017 winners of the Bright Ideas Research Awards, announced October 20 by the New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Association (NJCBAA). The honors, coordinated by the NJCBAA and the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University, were made public at the association’s annual meeting, held October 20 at the Hazlet Education Center of Brookdale Community College—the same location where GCU@Hazlet recently announced the upcoming launch of an MBA program.
The NJCBAA awards event featured guest speaker Michele Brown, president and chief executive officer for Choose New Jersey, Inc., whose mission is to encourage and nurture economic growth in New Jersey with a focus on urban centers. A former CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Ms. Brown served as appointments counsel to Gov. Chris Christie and worked in the United States Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
Ms. Brown was among those who joined Janice Warner, Ph.D., NJCBAA president, in congratulating the winning faculty scholars. Business educators and representatives from most of New Jersey’s public two- and four-year institutions, as well as those from private colleges and universities, also attended.
“From research and presentations in accounting and management to projects involving economics and decision science, faculty scholars are tackling a range of problems relevant to business and to the consumers they serve,” said Dr. Warner, who is dean of the Georgian Court University School of Business and Digital Media. “We are exceptionally proud of the insight our faculty offer through their scholarly research,” Dr. Warner said.
Faculty Scholars Deliver Unique Perspectives
Bertram Okpokwasili, Ph.D., an economics expert and professor of business administration at Georgian Court University, was among those recognized. His article on “Institutions and Development: Are Some More Critical Than Others? A Panel Study of 50 Countries from 2002 to 2011,” which was published in the International Journal of Business and Social Research, explained how certain factors—or institutions—contribute to economic growth. He examined the institutions of voice and accountability; political stability and the absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; the rule of law; and control of corruption.
“Strong institutions are often viewed as partial answers to Africa’s development dilemma,” said Dr. Okpokwasili. “But given the resource constraints of many African countries, there has to be selectivity as to which governance measures receive funding.”
Research That Builds Bridges
“Beyond honoring individual faculty scholars, the Bright Ideas program celebrates the business intellectual capital at colleges of business within the state,” said Joyce A. Strawser, Ph.D., dean of Seton Hall’s business school. “Our distinguished panel of deans and businesspeople chose award winners who make a difference with their research—in academia and in the practical work of New Jersey’s business community.”
The honorees are highlighted in the NJCBAA and the Stillman School of Business’s annual Publications of New Jersey Business Faculty, which includes articles, abstracts, and citations from business professors from around the state. In addition to the “Bright Ideas Research Awards” section, the publication also lists “Teaching Notes Awards,” which are presented to faculty members providing valuable ideas to the classroom.
Other 2017 Bright Ideas awardees are:
Wagdy Abdallah of Seton Hall University for “Documentation of Transfer Pricing: A New Global Approach,” in the International Journal of Accounting and Taxation;
William M. Amadio and Drew Procaccino of Rider University for “Competitive Analysis of Online Reviews Using Exploratory Text Mining,” in the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management;
Jun Dai and Miklos Vasarhelyi of Rutgers University–Newark and New Brunswick for “Imagineering Audit 4.0,” in the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting;
James DiGabriele of Montclair State University for “The Expectation Differences Among Stakeholders in the Financial Valuation Fitness of Auditors,” in the Journal of Applied Accounting Research;
David Dwertmann of Rutgers University-Camden for “Status Matters: The Asymmetric Effects of Supervisor-Subordinate Disability Incongruence and Climate for Inclusion,” in the Academy of Management Journal;
Elaine Henry of Stevens Institute of Technology for “Measuring Qualitative Information in Capital Markets Research: Comparison of Alternative Methodologies to Measure Disclosure Tone,” in The Accounting Review;
Steven McHugh of Centenary University for “An Evaluation of Experientially Educated Business College Graduates,” in the International Journal of Business Management & Research;
Hindy Schachter of New Jersey Institute of Technology for “Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henry Hallowell Farquhar, and the Dilemma of Relating Management Education to Organizational Practice,” in the Journal of Management History;
Danielle Warren of Rutgers University-Newark and New Brunswick for “When Lying Does Not Pay: How Experts Detect Insurance Fraud,” in the Journal of Business Ethics; and
Xin Tan and Sorin Tuluca of Fairleigh Dickinson University for their focus on Bloomberg terminals and supply chain financial management.
