No Limit for Southern Miss Business Student Researchers

This year, Southern Miss Business students have excelled in a plethora of student-led research opportunities, both on and off-campus. From the annual Student Research Showcase held in Scianna Hall to the Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity (UGS), students from various business disciplines are seizing as many opportunities as possible to participate in and conduct their own research.

Lauren Beverly has been a strong leader and noteworthy student-researcher since stepping foot on campus. Beverly says she thoughtfully made the move from Montgomery, Alabama, to the Hub City because of the knowledgeable faculty and depth of resources available to her through Southern Miss Business. As an active member of the campus community, Beverly has been a member of Delta Gamma Sorority, Eagle Connection, Southern Style, Order of Omega, and the Student Government Association. During her undergraduate career as a marketing major, she was a Discovery Scholar within the Honors College and conducted her thesis research titled, “Exploring the Impact of Loud and Discreet Luxury Branding Strategy on Aspirational Shoppers” under the advisement of Dr. Jamye Foster, director of the School of Marketing and associate dean of research and graduate education.

Lauren Beverly and her thesis advisor, Dr. Jamye Foster.

In November 2021, Beverly traveled to Orlando, Florida, to attend and present at the Society for Marketing Advances Annual Conference. Those in attendance with her included fellow honors college student, Sophie Unson, alumni Nichada Satasuk and Lacey Wallace, and School of Marketing professors Drs. Bas, Cao, Harrison, Howie, Wang, and Yaoyuneyong. Collectively, the group participated in 16 presentations and panels during the conference.

Encouraged by their faculty advisors to maintain momentum, Beverly and Unson presented at the 2022 Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference in Destin, Florida, in March. The students shared that they enjoyed meeting peers from other institutions and received insightful feedback from experienced professionals in their field following their presentations. The next month, Beverly’s research was accepted to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Her submission underwent a rigorous review by experts in her discipline before it was selected, and she presented her work to peers, faculty, and staff from all over the nation in April. Lauren is only the second student from Southern Miss Business to receive national recognition with NCUR, with Lacey Wallace being the first just last year.

Beverly presented at the third annual Student Research Showcase hosted by the USM School of Marketing just a few days after. This year, the event featured 18 research presentations representing undergraduate and graduate students from the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses from various disciplines, including marketing, interior design, sport management, international business, journalism, hospitality and tourism management, economic development, healthcare marketing, and human resource management. The showcase provides student researchers with a platform to disseminate their knowledge by presenting their research in under five minutes, followed by a five-minute Q&A between the presenter and the audience of invited faculty and experts. Students also compete for cash prizes.

After gaining this irreplaceable experience presenting her research findings, Beverly took on the annual university-wide Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity (UGS). Beverly placed first in the Business or Public Policy category. The business college was well-represented at the event, with student Landon McFarland earning second place in the category and Sophie Unson earning third place. Due to her outstanding achievements and hard work, Beverly was a recipient of the Outstanding Student Scholar award during the Spring Business Awards Ceremony. Additionally, she has been accepted into the MBA program at Southern Miss and plans to continue her research on luxury branding. She also intends to pursue her Ph.D. in consumer behavior after completing her master's degree. When it comes to our research-focused students, their potential is truly limitless.

Business Students Receive DCUR Grants

Landon McFarland and Clancy Slay were among a select group who received 2022 grants through The Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research. The application process required candidates to explain the origin, importance, methodologies, timeline, anticipated outcomes, and the impact their research would have. A budget form also needed to be completed, along with an explanation of how they plan to attend conferences related to their specific research.

Through his research, McFarland will address the consumers’ perceptions of frontline employees with disabilities and hopes to fill the gap in the literature on this topic with his study. He plans to propose management strategies to businesses that employ individuals with disabilities in the event of a service failure. McFarland shared that this topic is especially important to him, as his brother is on the autism spectrum and often wonders how he will be perceived in a work environment as an employee. He is pursuing publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal with the help of his thesis advisor, Dr. Joanne Cao.

Slay received the DCUR’s EAGLE Spur Grant for her research project titled, "I Want to Treat Myself: How Opportunity Cost Salience Inhibits Reward Point Donations." She plans to disseminate the results of her research to the rest of the scientific community by attending and presenting at conferences. Dr. Katie Howie serves as Clancy's thesis advisor.