Costello College of Business News

Marketing professor Tarun Kushwaha’s recent research finds that the effectiveness of brands’ growth strategies can be correlated with the state of the economy. Analyzing 17 years of data on U.K. brands, Kushwaha concludes that brands that prioritize assortment and wider distribution are in the best position to weather the ups and downs of the macroeconomic cycle.

Management professor Toyah Miller recently co-edited a special issue of Global Strategy Journal exploring how changes in our world are shifting the opportunity space for start-up founders and funders. Miller is the new research director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the School of Business and an expert in the rapidly expanding field of social entrepreneurship.

For Mason Korea students, the transition from Songdo, Korea, to Fairfax, Virginia, can be challenging, but the opportunities are immense. Many students pursuing their degree at Mason Korea are looking to a future career in the United States. This makes their time in Fairfax critical. The School of Business accounting program is one of the most popular degrees offered at Mason Korea, and faculty in Fairfax work hard to offer students support for their future career success.

Mason alum Alaleh Jenkins, acting assistant secretary for the United States Navy, shared her keys for success in a fireside chat with School of Business Dean Ajay Vinzé.

George Mason University’s Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) recently convened an in-person Stakeholder Roundtable on the subject of Corporate Governance. The half-day event took place at Point of View International Retreat & Research Center at Mason Neck in Lorton, VA on October 21.

George Mason University announced the largest gift to a center within the School of Business from Attain Partners founder and CEO Greg Baroni and his wife, Camille. The first-of-its-kind university center to address business, technology, policy, and regulatory issues in government contracting, the Center for Government Contracting will change its name to the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in honor of the new donors.

Mehmet Altug, an associate professor of operations management, has been researching retail returns policies for a decade. The issue has recently come to prominence, as the lenient policies of online retailers have led to skyrocketing return rates (now exceeding 20 percent in the U.S.). Altug’s various academic papers delve into the difficult trade-offs retailers face when setting returns policies. While there are no easy answers, Altug’s research identifies factors that can help retailers achieve more strategic flexibility.

In late October 2022, Latifa Sharifi and her three sons reached the safety of American soil after evading Taliban pursuit for more than a year. The acclaimed human rights attorney had been placed at the top of the Taliban’s kill list, following the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in September 2021. For more than a year, she lived in a purgatory marked by narrow escapes by mere seconds and minutes, followed by seemingly endless stretches of anguish and uncertainty. When she finally walked through the arrivals gate and into the loving embrace of family at the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, her back bowed and her emotions flowed. The bright lights of the terminal were a welcome end to a year spent hiding in the shadows and living in the dark. Her sons were her focus, her faith was her foundation, and an international team of relative strangers had been her lifeline.

While enrolled as a student in George Mason University’s School of Business MBA program, Tyece Wilkins-Amadi MBA ’22 embarked on an independent study project researching how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is deep rooted in unspoken agreements between employees and supervisors, and more importantly, ways in which managers can change this.

You’re ready for a master’s degree in business. You’ve been researching programs and schools. But how do you decide which degree to pursue? Any business master’s degree will provide you with advanced skills and higher earning potential, but the type of program can be very different. A Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree is well-known and respected by the business community, and an MBA can open doors beyond just one industry. If you’ve been working for two or more years and are looking to get promoted into a leadership role or shift careers entirely, an MBA is your best choice.

As a graduate of a local high school, Victor Kolbay, BS Accounting ’15, was familiar with George Mason University long before he registered for his first course. Choosing to live on campus for the first year, he became immersed in the culture, loving every moment of it, including his participation in the Green Machine, Mason’s renowned pep band. Of course, he enjoyed his classes and learned a lot, but the rest of his Mason experience was just as fulfilling. Kolbay, now an accounting manager at Logenix International, holds dear to his heart the events, buildings, faculty members, and hangout spots that made his student experience so special. 

On the morning of Wednesday, October 26th, George Mason University professor Suzanne C. de Janasz conducted her first-ever negotiations workshop for female high school students at McLean High School in Northern Virginia. An enthusiastic audience of about 100 young women came to hear de Janasz explain why negotiation is important for women of all ages and walks of life, and how to build negotiating skills for the future. De Janasz, an organizational researcher who holds a joint appointment in the School of Business and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, says there is a pervasive cultural bias against women who ask for what they deserve. The negative labelling begins in childhood, with terms such as “bossy” being applied to more assertive girls.