What happens to small businesses when big retailers shut down?
John Deskins, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, helped answer that question posed by CNN in this news article: https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/30/business/small-businesses-big-retailers-impact/index.html
Written by: Jake Stump
Some students find their purpose in college. Others find it long before they set foot on campus.
Twitter is more than rantin’ and ravin’ and snarky memes. It can influence stock returns, according to Alexander Kurov, professor and Fred T. Tattersall research chair in finance. Kurov and Chen Gu, a 2018 graduate of the finance doctoral program, found that firm-level Twitter content has information useful for predicting next-day stock returns, and that it is a stronger predictor of returns for firms with less analyst coverage. Their study, “ Informational role of social media: Evidence from Twitter sentiment,” is published in the Journal of Banking and Finance.
The year 2023 was a significant one for Data Driven WV. One of the Chambers College’s research and outreach centers, Data Driven WV works to improve living and working conditions statewide through data-centric and technological solutions, with clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations.
Move over cones and milkshakes, there is a new way to enjoy ice cream – rolled! Marketing student and Morgantown native Tyler Lalka is bringing rolled ice cream to the hills of Morgantown and nearby cities with his business Rolling Hills Ice Cream. Lalka originally saw the concept being done in larger cities and thought to himself, “Mountaineers need this,” and opened his ice cream truck in April 2021. Not only is the ice cream mixed with toppings on top of a negative-five degree plate and rolled into pieces, but his truck also allows him to roll to birthday parties, weddings, farmer’s markets, fairs, office gatherings and more. “It was a dream of mine to bring this to Morgantown and I decided to go mobile because it would give me the opportunity to meet my customers where they are,” he said. The signature menu (which ice cream lovers can get any time) includes salted caramel pretzel, Oreo, peanut butter cup, s'mores and Nutella banana. On top of those flavors, individuals can add other sweet or savory ingredients. Lalka will graduate with a degree in marketing in December 2022.
In the service learning unit of the Chambers College's on-campus MBA program, students design, plan and execute a project to benefit a local nonprofit or small business of their choosing. This year’s projects netted big results:
