SEMINAR SERIES

The Culverhouse College of Business maintains seminar series devoted to encouraging interdisciplinary efforts to deal with complex research problems.

Friday Afternoon R&R Series

  • What better way to enjoy a Friday afternoon than to catch up on some much-needed R&R! Yes, Research & Refreshments!
  • Research on a common theme from differing perspectives across multiple disciplines -structured like a conference session with 3 to 4 Culverhouse Faculty and PhD Student presenters.
  • Refreshments from some of Tuscaloosa’s finest desserts.

Fall 2025

  • Oct. 3, 2025
    • Session Title: Technology-Driven Consumer Preferences and Perceptions and Managerial Discretion
    • Presenters
      • Yuanyuan Chen (MIS) Evaluating Consumer Preferences and the Value of Artificial Intelligence-Powered Features in Vehicles
      • Carol Jones (MKT) How traceability information affects consumer perceptions and purchasing intentions
      • Sherry Zhou (PhD FI) Managerial Discretion in Reserve Manipulation: How Property-Casualty Insurers Respond to Financial Pressures
  • Oct. 17, 2025
    • Session Title: Diversity and Discretion
    • Presenters
      • Bryan Hochstein (MKT) Diversity Sells: Investigating how DEI Manifests in Sales and its Impact of Firm, Team, and Individual Performance
      • Traviss Cassidy (Econ) Ethnic Favoritism and Fiscal Discretion
      • Jing Li (PhD ST) On transformation discriminant analysis
  • Nov. 7, 2025
    • Session Title: Policy trade-offs, Outliers and Uniqueness
    • Presenters
      • Alecia Cassidy (Econ) Policy trade-offs from complementary resource consumption: PV adoption and residential water use
      • Yana Melnykov (ST) Outlier Detection in Cluster Analysis
      • Anne Herfurth (PhD MIS) Identity in Action: How Identity-Task Alignment and Recognition Fit Shape Open-Source Contribution Behavior
  • Nov. 14, 2025
    • Session Title: Litigation, Trust and Perception
    • Presenters
      • Paul Pecorino (Econ) An Experimental Analysis of the Signaling Model of Litigation
      • Sebastian Forkmann/Justin DeSimone (MKT/MGT)
        Differential dark side effects of trust in business relationships: A meta-analysis
      • Amy Matthews (PhD AC) Do audit associates perceive their assigned work as advanced and meaningful

Spring 2026

  • Jan. 16, 2026
    • Session Title: Sharing and Competing
    • Presenters
      • Paan Jindapon (Econ) Informal Risk-Sharing Experiment
      • Ali Soltaninejad (PhD – Marketing) The Effects of Symmetric Brand Profile Design on Brand Attitudes and Social Media
      • Pouria Arsalani (PhD OM) Tactical Decision Support for EMS Dispatch, Relocation, and Diversion: Balancing Fairness and Telemedicine Integration
  • Feb. 6, 2026
    • Session Title: Technology in the Classroom
    • Presenters
      • Abhi Bhattacharya (MKT) Integrate advanced analytics into the Marketing Strategy (MKT 487) course
      • Virginia Rolling (MKT) Developing a New ePortfolio Course: Helping Culverhouse Students Create their Personal Brand
      • Pawonee Khadka (PhD Econ) TBD
  • Feb. 13, 2026
    • Session Title: Helping Students to Help Themselves
    • Presenters
      • Daniel Balena (ST) Integrating Technology to Scaffold Successful Classroom Habits (ST260)
      • Steve Buchheit (AC) Early Education Choices for Auditors: Giving Undecided Future CPAs Practical Context
      • Athina Skiadopoulou (PhD MGT) Founder CEO and Strategic Uniqueness: Does Managerial Discretion Play a Role?

All sessions are from 1:30-3:00 p.m. in Hewson Hall 2004.

  • Friday, September 13th 2:00 – 3:30 in Hewson Hall 2027
    • Topic:  Navigating Success: The Role of Teamwork, Crowdsourced Order Coordination and Positioning Strategies in Determining Competitive Advantage
    • Presenters:
      • BC Kim – Economics
      • Iman Dayarian – Operations Management
      • Abhi Bhattacharya – Marketing
  • Friday, September 20th 2:00 – 3:30 in Hewson Hall 2027
    • Topic: 3M – Modeling, Music and Multi-Layer Prospects
    • Presenters:
      • Tigran Melkonyan – Economics
      • Volodymyr Melnykov – Statistics
      • Xuwen Zhu – Statistics
  • Friday, October 11th 2:00 – 3:30 in Hewson Hall 2027
    • Topic: Gender and Equity
    • Presenters:
      • Sandra Mortal – Finance
      • Irem Sengul Orgut – Operations Management
      • Vishal Gupta – Management
  • Friday, October 25th 1:30 – 3:30 in Hewson Hall 2027
    • Topic: Teaching and Research: Data Analysis, Cybersecurity and AI
    • Presenters:
      • Hasan Isomitdinov – Economics
      • Peter Harms – Management
      • Carlos Bauer – Marketing
      • Pratyush Sharma – Management Information Systems

Each semester Culverhouse will host talks by up to two high-profile speakers whose research spans multiple disciplines.

Fall 2024
  • September 27, 2024 – 3:15-4:45 Hewson Hall 1017AB
    • Dr. David Matsa, Alan E. Peterson Distinguished Professor of Finance
    • Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
    • “Dual Credit Markets: Income Risk, Household Debt and Consumption”
  • November 15, 2024 –  Hewson Hall 1017AB
    • Dr. Pinar Keskinocak  Associate Chair for Faculty Development and William W. George Chair Professor
    • H. Milton Steward School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech
 
Spring 2025
  • April 11, 2025 from 2:00-3:00pm
  • Hewson Hall 1017AB 
  • Dr. Maria Minniti – Bantle Chair in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Chair, Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises
  • Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University
  • “Game of Drones: Entrepreneurial Firms and Strategic Coalitions in an Emerging Industry”

DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR SERIES

  • Friday, February 27th Dr. John Hulland (University of Georgia) – 10 a.m. at Hewson Hall Room 2023 –  Title: Standards for Scale Development in Marketing: Elevating the Role of Theory

Abstract: 
We propose a refined scale-development process model that builds on existing standards while emphasizing the role of theory for creating meaningful, valid, and novel scales. Further, we use a “methods-in-use” approach to systematically review scale-development papers published in premiere marketing journals over the past 25 years to identify areas both where marketing scholars appropriately use established guidelines, but also where elements are executed with insufficient rigor. This leads to recommendations to help scholars avoid some common pitfalls. Finally, drawing on recent methodological advances (e.g., the emergence of GenAI), we delineate emergent best practices for creating high-quality scales. 

  • Friday, February 13th Daniel Andrews (Georgia State) – Time/Location/Title TBD
  • Friday, March 6th    Kira Schabram (Penn State) – Time/Location/Title TBD