RESEARCH IMPACT REPORT 2026
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
It’s an exciting time here at Culverhouse.
Our latest Research and Impact Report reflects a college that continues to build a strong national reputation for meaningful, forward-thinking scholarship. This year, Culverhouse moved up to 80th place among American business schools in the University of Texas at Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management research rankings, and 86th in North America. It marks the fifth consecutive year we’ve earned a place among the top 100, a testament to the consistency, rigor, and relevance of our faculty’s work.
That success begins and ends with our people. Faculty like Peter Harms, recently named a Distinguished Research Professor by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees, exemplify the kind of impactful, sustained scholarship that defines Culverhouse. His work exploring leadership and human behavior in high-stakes environments continues to shape both academic thought and real-world practice.
We are also proud to welcome Philip Ernst, an Endowed Shelby Distinguished Professor and newly named Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. His recognition underscores the global caliber of research happening within our college.
At the same time, we are operating at a pivotal moment in business education.
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, and we see our role as deeply connected to that transformation. At Culverhouse, AI is not a distant concept. It’s already embedded in our classrooms, our research, and our strategy. Through our Institute of Data and Analytics and its dedicated AI lab, along with a growing body of faculty research, we are helping define how these technologies are understood and applied. Equally important, we are preparing students to use these tools responsibly, emphasizing both technical fluency and ethical judgment.
Together, these efforts reflect that we are a college committed to advancing knowledge, preparing leaders, and meeting the moment.
Thanks, and Roll Tide!
Dean Kay M. Palan
kmpalan@ua.edu
Culverhouse College of Business
The University of Alabama
THE RAPID RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS RESHAPING INDUSTRIES, AND WE SEE OUR ROLE AS DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THAT TRANSFORMATION.
RECENT RESEARCH
Why We Get Inventory Wrong and How to Get It Right
A convenience store manager scans the shelves and has a decision to make. Order more drinks before the weekend rush or play it safe and risk running out.
When the Tax Man Cometh, Audit Risk Shrinks
Auditors play a critical role in capital markets by providing assurance that public company financial statements are reliable. Historically, however, audit reports provided little insight into how auditors assessed risk.
Avoiding Blame and Breaches
The email from IT hits your inbox: “Suspicious activity detected. Change your password immediately.” Panic sets in. Did the whole office get this message, or is it directed at you? What triggered it?
In Private Markets, Staying Quiet Raises More Capital
For nearly a century, companies raising money from investors were not allowed to advertise. The rules go back to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, created in the wake of the Great Depression. The goal was to protect investors by requiring clear financial information.
Detecting Cystic Fibrosis Earlier, Without Breaking the Bank
In a testing lab, tiny blood samples sit in neat rows, each one representing a newborn baby. Most of those babies are healthy. But hidden among them could be a child with cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic disease that can cause life-threatening lung and digestive issues if not treated early.
Fighting Fire with Local Knowledge
In the American West, wildfire seasons keep getting longer, hotter, and more destructive. But according to Devin Stein, an assistant professor of management at the University of Alabama, the key to reducing those losses may not lie with federal agencies, private fire crews, or insurance companies.
Reading Between the Data
On any given day, people leave behind patterns without realizing it. It could be the order of websites they visit, the sequence of life events they experience, or even the way they structure sentences when they write. To most of us, it’s just noise.
Patience Is Sweet
It’s hard to resist a slice of chocolate cake, especially when it’s sitting in front of you. It looks delicious and you want it right now. That simple image of a cake within arm’s reach captures something powerful about consumer behavior.
Culverhouse Conversations on AI
Faculty from the Culverhouse College of Business explore how artificial intelligence is transforming research in business. From AI outperforming humans in leadership communication to its struggles with nuance, uncertainty, and prediction, the discussion examines the promise and limitations of AI technology that is evolving faster than researchers can study it.
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS
Linda Parsons Honored by American Accounting Association
Greg Bott Named to Visiting Associate Post at Bournemouth University in U.K.
NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS
CULVERHOUSE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY
Amaurii Parker
Instructor of Accounting
MAcc from The University of Alabama
ECONOMICS, FINANCE, AND LEGAL STUDIES
Emmanuel Tsyawo
Assistant Professor of Economics
PhD in economics from Temple University
Eshwar Venugopal
Assistant Professor of Finance
PhD in finance from the University of Houston
William (Bill) Swymer
Instructor of Real Estate
PhD in real estate from the University of Georgia
Luxi (Lucy) Wang
Assistant Professor of Finance
PhD in finance from the University of Pittsburgh
INFORMATION SYSTEMS, STATISTICS, AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Xiangru Chen
Assistant Professor of MIS
PhD in business from Iowa State University
Philip Ernst
Professor of Statistics
Endowed Shelby Distinguished Professor
PhD in statistics from the Wharton School at
the University of Pennsylvania
Ryan Tramp
Instructor of Operations Management
PhD in operations management from
The University of Alabama
MANAGEMENT
Carolina Forero
Instructor of Management
MBA from the University of Delaware
Suho Han
Assistant Professor of Management
PhD in management from the University of Texas at Austin
Andrea Hodge
Assistant Professor of Management
PhD in business administration from Florida State University
Ben Perkins
Assistant Professor of Management
PhD in management from the University of Arizona
MARKETING
Timothy Butler
Instructor and Sales Program Director of Corporate Engagement
PhD in marketing from The University of Alabama
Denny Huynh
Assistant Professor of Marketing
PhD from Duke University
Bill Koleszar
Instructor of Marketing
MBA in marketing from the University of Central Florida
Tongyao Shen
Assistant Professor of Marketing
PhD from Pennsylvania State University
Rafay Siddiqui
Assistant Professor of Marketing
PhD in marketing from the University of South Carolina
Yufei Zhang
Assistant Professor of Marketing
PhD in marketing from Michigan State University
SELECTED UPDATES FROM CULVERHOUSE OUTREACH AND RESEARCH CENTERS
Institute of Data and Analytics
Operating within the Institute of Data and Analytics, the Southern Regional Drug Data Research Center (SR DDRC) has launched a new web platform to help law enforcement, government agencies, researchers, and community organizations better combat drug trafficking across the Southeast. The platform integrates data to identify cross-border patterns in substance use, trafficking, overdoses, and related socioeconomic factors, enabling more informed policy decisions and targeted interventions. Funded by a three-year, $3.5 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the SR DDRC serves as a secure, multistate hub for drug data integration and research.
The Institute of Data & Analytics hosted a multi-day series of events in October highlighting the power of data-informed decision-making. The Oct. 10 Business Analytics Symposium served as the anchor event, bringing together industry leaders and academics for keynote talks, panels, and networking. Featured speakers included Juan Gorricho, former executive product owner for data strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank; Dr. Frances Boykin, director of advanced analytics at AT&T; and Brooks Bourland, head of global digital fraud data science at TransUnion, alongside experts from the NBA, Snorkel AI, and KPMG. Sessions explored emerging topics such as generative AI and real-world analytics applications. The symposium built on earlier programming, including the two-day executive education workshop, as well as a research poster competition and SR-DDRC presentations that showcased applied analytics and opportunities for collaboration across industry and academia.
Alabama Productivity Center
During FY2025, Impact Alabama and the Alabama Productivity Center delivered substantial, measurable value to businesses across the state, generating $22.5 million in documented economic impact. These results reflected gains in increased and retained sales, cost avoidance, time and cost reductions, and new or avoided capital investments, underscoring the effectiveness of APC’s applied, project-based engagement model.
APC’s reach extended broadly across Alabama, with 131 industry projects completed in 13 counties, including focused engagement in rural and underserved communities. By maintaining a strong on-the-ground presence in areas such as Hale, Houston, Elmore, Talladega, and Cullman counties, the center reinforced its role as a statewide partner in economic and workforce development. In April 2026, APC was awarded the Work-Based Learning Seal of Excellence at the Alabama Summit of Talent Retention & Work-Based Learning hosted by the Alabama Department of Workforce and the Alabama Office of Apprenticeships.
A central driver of APC’s impact continued to be its emphasis on experiential learning. In FY2025, 97 undergraduate and graduate students representing 17 academic majors participated in APC-supported internships, earning more than $606,000 in student payroll while translating classroom knowledge into real-world business solutions. These experiences strengthened students’ career readiness while directly supporting Alabama employers.
RESEARCH AND OUTREACH CENTERS AT CULVERHOUSE
Selma Resilience Initiative
Carly Titus now leads the Selma Resilience Initiative (SRI) as Community Outreach Coordinator, bringing a strong background in community engagement, program development, and student-focused outreach. A recent MBA graduate from The University of Alabama, Titus has extensive experience building partnerships with nonprofits, schools, and civic organizations, previously coordinating large-scale initiatives through the University’s Center for Community-Based Partnerships. In her current role, she oversees collaboration among faculty, students, and community stakeholders while leading programs and service-based learning opportunities. Her work focuses on strengthening connections between the university and Selma to support sustainable economic development and meaningful community impact.
The SRI advanced a full slate of programming throughout the year in Selma focused on student engagement, community partnerships, and experiential learning. Key initiatives included a university campus visit for Keith Middle/High School students, multiple “ripple trips” that brought UA students, faculty, and staff to town to work on projects, and the Selma River Pitch on March 12. Additional programming, such as a planned social media workshop and regular visits tied to a spring marketing class, further connected students with real-world projects and local stakeholders.
These efforts were supported by ongoing relationship building with community partners and leaders, including coordination with newly elected city officials and continued collaboration with organizations such as Wallace Community College–Selma.
Alabama Center for Real Estate
The Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE) named Stuart Norton as its new director, bringing a strong background in real estate research, data analytics, and industry engagement. Norton previously held multiple roles at ACRE, including research coordinator, data analytics coordinator, and associate director, and spent nearly a decade in education while also teaching in the Culverhouse College of Business. His work has focused on housing market analysis and building connections with industry professionals, students, and communities across the state. As director, Norton plans to expand ACRE’s industry partnerships, professional development programs, and statewide outreach, with priorities such as hosting industry events and creating hands-on learning opportunities that connect students with Alabama’s real estate community. Wes Herring, ACRE’s Workforce and Professional Development Program Director, led a four-student team—Faith Turner, Asa Moran, Lindsey Brewer, and Andrew Mannion—to a first-ever victory for both the Rance M. Sanders Real Estate Program and ACRE in the ICSC Virtual Case Competition in November 2025. Building on that success, ACRE took a team of 10 students to the ICSC Las Vegas Convention in May 2026, where they came in second place in the ICSC & UNC Retail Real Estate Case Competition. ACRE hosted continuing education and professional development conferences in Dothan, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Birmingham. These conferences were attended by more than 900 industry professionals working in real estate and related fields. ACRE’s inaugural Real Estate Alumni Conference in Tuscaloosa in November 2025 was attended by 160 alumni and 25 UA students, with Mike Mouron presenting the keynote address.
Center for Business and Economic Research
CBER created 42 major reports, served 45 different organizations, generated external contract funding of $1,048,000, fielded more than 51 data and analysis requests, and published the quarterly Alabama Business Confidence Index, quarterly Alabama Business, and the annual Alabama Economic Outlook. The 2026 Annual Alabama Economic Outlook conference was co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Birmingham Field Office with the Alabama Economics Club as an additional partner.
One of CBER’s studies estimated the cost of child maltreatment the Alabama Economy and presented the results to the Alabama State Legislature in Montgomery, Alabama. The results showed that child maltreatment costs Alabama more than $8 billion annually in tangible economic losses largely driven by long-term losses in worker productivity, earnings, and labor force participation.
Nyesha Black, demographer for CBER, was appointed the Chair, Federal-State Cooperative for Population Projections (FSCPP) and is leading the planning coordination of the 2026 Spring Meeting in St. Louis. This event will be held in collaboration with the US. Census Bureau and the Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting in which, federal, and state demographers discuss population projection methods, fertility and migration trends and emerging demographic trends with direct policy relevance.
SELECTED FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
A Branch-and-Benders Cut Algorithm for a Stochastic Service Network Design with Crowdsourced Capacity Transportation Science
Ozgur Satici, Iman Dayarian
A Systematic Literature Review on Companies’ Auditor Selection Processes
Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory
Kris Hardies, Jonas Vandenniewenhuysen, Kris Hoang, Marie-Laure Vandenhaute
Analyst Effects on Intangible Investment: Evidence from Corporate Political Investments
Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting
Douglas O. Cook, Dae Woung Choi, Jinwook Hong, Marc Tony Via
Board Gender Diversity and Equity-Based Compensation
Journal of Banking and Finance
Kyeong Hun Lee, Matthew Imes, Kose John, Amir Shoham, Emma Xu
C2SLM: A Correlation-based Clustering-assisted Sparse Learning Model for Electric Vehicle Market Demand Forecasting
Pattern Recognition
Mesut Yavuz, Muting Ma, Matthew Hudnall, Qin Wang
Customer Success: Conceptualizing an Customer Success: An Interorganizational Performance Concept in Business Markets
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Andreas Eggert, Anna Gehring, Wolfgang Ulaga, Bryan Hochstein
Disentangling Overall Audit Inspection Risk: The Effects of Inspection Focus and Inspection Likelihood (Rnd 1 R&R)
Accounting Horizons
Jenny Brown-McCallen, Heather Carrasco, Marcus Doxey, Yoon Ju Kang, Richard Houston
Do the Effects of Nudges Persist? Theory and Evidence from 38 Natural Field Experiments
Review of Economic Studies
Alec Brandon, Paul Ferraro, John List, Robert Metcalfe, Michael Price, Florian Rundhammer
Does Idea Justification Improve Brainstorming Sessions
Accounting Horizons
Kelsey Brasel, Heather Carrasco, Marcus Doxey, Gary Taylor
Does It Matter Who ‘Toots the Horn’ on Facebook and X? The Differential Effects of Owned and Earned Social Media on Customers’ Perceptions of Firms
Internet Research
Forrest Morgeson, Yufei Zhang, Pratyush N. Sharma, Tomas Hult, Sunil Mithas
Does Litigation Risk Deter Insider Trading? Evidence from Universal Demand Laws
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
Binay K Adhikari, Anup Agrawal, Bina Sharma
Double-layer conditional mixture model for model-based clustering and automatic component merging
Journal of Classification
Hung Tong, Xuwen Zhu, Yana Melnykov
Dynamic Store Fulfillment with Collaborative Robots and In-Store Customers
IISE Transactions
Joyjit Bhowmick, Jennifer Ann Pazour, Iman Dayarian
Effectiveness of ‘Retail Business-Development Specialists’ (RBDS): Examining the Impact of Selected Traits, Customer Interaction Strategy, and Relationship Management Behaviors as Drivers of Performance
Industrial Marketing Management
Christopher Plouffe, Michael Peasley, Carlos Bauer, David Matthis
Evaluating the Efficacy of Providers’ Compensation Contracts in Improving Participant Retention for Clinical Studies
Management Science
Xueze Song, Mili Mehrotra, Tharanga Rajapakshe
Examining the Use of Trait Skepticism Feedback in Auditor Training
Accounting Horizons
Mary Kate Dodgson, Marcus Doxey, Aaron Saiewitz
Experience Minimizes the Pull-to-Center Effect in Newsvendor Decisions
Manufacturing and Service Operations Management
Cary Deck, Jana Peliova, Zuzana Brokesova
Female Management Representation and Corporate Financial Fraud: Do Local Gender Norms Play a Role?
Journal of Business Ethics
Shan Xue, Honghui Chen, Vishal Gupta, Sandra Mortal
Good Intentions, Flawed Execution, Perfect Storm? Early Observations of CPA Evolution
Accounting Horizons
Steven Buchheit, Jess Filosa, Linda Parsons, Troy Pollard
Joint Estimation and Bandwidth Selection in a Partially Parametric Model
Journal of Applied Econometrics
Daniel Henderson, C Parmeter, Nadine McCloud
Mergers and Acquisitions in the Inter-state Trade Network
The Financial Review
Lei Kong, Xinyan Yan
Model-based clustering of multivariate categorical sequences
Pattern Recognition
Yingying Zhang, Volodymyr Melnykov
Nonexecutive Directors at Early-Stage Startups
Review of Corporate Finance Studies
Vijay Yerramilli, Buvaneshwaran Venugopal
Paralanguage and the Charismatic Spokesperson: The Impact of Vocal Amplitude on Charisma, Auditory Looming, and Customer Engagement
Journal of Business Research
Christine Ringler, Nancy Jeanne Sirianni
Pollution Liability Insurance and Corporate Environmental Compliance in China
Journal of Risk and Insurance
Alecia Cassidy, Fan Wu, Zhang Yiyuan
Prebisch Singer Hypothesis and Comovements of Commodity Prices
Journal of International Money and Finance
Junsoo Lee
Putting Words in Their Mouths: Firm-Generated User Content and Consumer Sharing Behavior
Journal of Marketing
Jonathan Beck, Clay Voorhees, Paul Fombelle, Katherine Lemon
Questioning a security assumption: are unique passwords harder to remember than reused or modified passwords?
Computers & Security
Naomi Woods, Mikko Siponen
Revenue Persistence and Public Service Delivery
Economic Journal
Traviss Cassidy
Roadblocks: Evaluating the impact of fines-related driver’s license suspension on work-related outcomes for socioeconomically disadvantaged workers.
Journal of Applied Psychology
Maura Mills, Matthew J Dolliver, Russell Matthews, Leah Nelson, Peter Jones, Marshall L. White
Sectoral Comovement and Conglomerate Networks
Review of Finance
Kenneth Ahern, Lei Kong, Xinyan Yan
SMOTE enhanced cumulative moment estimation for sufficient dimension reduction
Computational Statistics
Qin Wang, Yvette Feng
Some Practical Issues Regarding Phase II Implementation of the Isolation Forest EWMA Control Chart
Statistics and Computing
Giovanni Celano, Theodore Perdikis, Subhabrata Chakraborti
Strategic Design of Parcel Locker Networks for Urban Delivery
Transportation Research Part E
Ali Sabzevari Zadeh, Iman Dayarian
Talking to New Auditors About Client Service
Accounting Horizons
Mike Ricci, Richard Hatfield, Kris Hoang, Eddie Thomas
The Effects of Unconditional Gifts on Customer-Firm Relationships
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Paul Fombelle, Clay Voorhees, Anders Gustafsson, Lars Wittell, Amie Gustafsson
The Emergence of Digital Innovations in the Pre-emergence Phase of Self-Sovereign Identity in Finland
Information and Organization
Gabriella Laatikainen, Mikko Siponen
The k-Traveling Repairman Problem with Stochastic Service Request Times
Transportation Science
Bryant Cassidey, Iman Dayarian
The Spillover Effect of Dismissals on Audit Partners’ Current Engagement Fees and Quality
Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory
Keval Amin, Robert Felix, Kris Hoang
The Visual Moderation Effect: How the Representation of Loyalty Reward Progress Affects Consumer Judgments and Behaviors
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Carlos Bauer, Mansur Khamitov, Matthew Issac, Julio Sevilla
Uncertain model selection criteria for mixture modeling
Statistics and Computing
Volodymyr Melnykov, Salvatore Ingrassia
Understanding Employees’ Security Behavior from a Goal Systems Perspective
Journal of the Association for Information Systems
Sebastian Schuetz, Jason Thatcher, Heiko Gewald, Allen Johnston
Using Justification to Improve Novice Auditors’ Performance in Brainstorming Meetings
Accounting Horizons
Kelsey Brasel, Heather Carrasco, Marcus Doxey, Gary Taylor
Venture exits: A review and future research agenda
Journal of Management
Petrit Ademi, Joseph Cabral, Suho Han, Will Drover, Melissa Graebner
Voice-to-Voice Customer Service: Reducing Customer Frustration and Call Time
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Michael Peasley, Carlos Bauer, Daniel Bacharach, Bryan Hochstein, Ash Patil
When rewards connect to the self: Unlocking customer engagement through experiential rewards
Journal of Retailing
Ayalla A Ruvio, Farnoosh Khodakarami, Forrest Morgeson, Clay Voorhees
Who Benefits from Hazardous Waste Cleanups? Evidence from the Housing Market
Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics
Alecia Cassidy, Elaine L. Hill, Lala Ma
Witnessing Consumer Incivility Toward Service Employees: Pity, Support, and Tipping Behavior
Journal of Service Research
Jonathan Beck, Sarah Lefebrve, Clay Voorhees
Women’s and men’s authorship experiences: A prospective meta-analysis
Journal of Management
Justin DeSimone, et al