Social media has shifted the fashion industry to a new norm of fast fashion. This study examines the impact of social media marketing tactics utilized by the fashion industry, to determine the long-lasting effects on the environment. Primarily, research was conducted through a literature review to analyze the history of the fashion industry, as well as the shift to fast fashion, which encompasses microtrends, overproduction, overconsumption, and product utilization. Later, the literature review analyzes the environmental impact pertaining to each part of the product life cycle. Finally, two surveys were created and distributed to Arizona State University students in the W.P. Carey School of Business to further understand consumer behavior, opinions, and prominent purchase factors present in their decisions. The data interpretation from both surveys correlates to the research findings in the literature review, connecting the idea of low consumer value for ethical sustainability in purchasing habits, in addition to the level that student purchase habits are influenced by social media in respondents aged 18-24. This research provides the basis for needed legislation and corporate initiative, to alleviate the environment from the hazardous consequences of the fast fashion market.

As fan demographics of major professional sports continue to increase in age, research on youth fandom continues to be a topic of interest for researchers. There are relatively few studies in the space that adequately address the issue of an aging population of fans and highlight the importance of growing fandom starting at a young age. There have been previous studies that have looked at sports fandom and age demographics on a broader scale. This thesis aims to add on to that research by focusing more closely on younger fans and their experience with baseball prior to their college years. The data presented in this thesis was conducted through a predominately qualitative online questionnaire. This research is primarily focused on investigating three topics of interest within the consumer behavior realm of the sports industry. First, to provide a baseline understanding of what factors in childhood potentially impact a person’s likelihood of fandom as they age. Second, to look into promotions and activations that could potentially influence a consumer's behaviors and likelihood of attendance at a Major League game. Third, to provide a comprehensive look at whether or not the understanding of baseball impacts if a person is a fan of the sport. With the data collected from this research, the MLB and individual professional baseball teams can look into ways to capitalize on the findings of the research to promote youth fan engagement. Furthermore, this research identifies a significant need for the league and/or teams to invest in youth fandom and fandom enhancement opportunities.

Baseball is dying. This thesis set out to determine the best ways to go about engaging baseball fans of all age groups, and more specifically younger fans in the age range of 18-22. Through the conducting of primary research, several takeaways came to light. Engaging younger fans needs to be a priority moving forward for Major League Baseball, otherwise the sport is going to keep dying.

This paper analyzes different issues within collegiate athletics. Further, it provides a roadmap for how leaders in collegiate athletics can better make decisions involving conference membership and media rights decisions that directly serve the interests of student-athletes, the athletic department, and the entire university community. Relevant literature is addressed in the literature review section regarding the financial components of college athletics and how conference realignment impacts different financial elements of the athletic department and university. Also, the literature review section focuses on how conference realignment decisions impact rivalries. The last part of the literature review focuses on a more contemporary analysis involving conference realignment and how changing some of the financial structures within college athletics would result in a more equitable and fair landscape regarding gender equity. Using data from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, financial data related to Texas A&M University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Maryland-College Park were analyzed to determine how these three institutions were affected by their decisions to change conferences within the Power V. Each of these institutions athletic departments finances, including specific revenue and expense categories, were affected differently by their decision to change conferences, but this data can serve as an important indicator for how universities that are currently choosing to change conferences will be affected. Then the next portion of this paper involved primary data collection, where the sample consisted of Arizona State University Introduction to Marketing students. This survey focused on measuring the opinions of college sports fans regarding various issues and topics related to college athletics, including the role of college athletics within the university, conference realignment, the importance of rivalries, and media rights. Lastly, this paper includes an analysis and comparison of survey data from the University of California Office of the President, where UCLA student-athletes comprised the survey population. This survey focused on UCLA student-athletes’ opinions regarding UCLA’s decision to join the Big Ten conference.

Over time, the conversation around the topic of business has shifted from being a source of money and a place for hard-workers, to fueling capitalism and only making the world a worse place, in a cycle which we cannot escape. Marketing is included in this shift of conversation and perspectives. People have begun to only see marketing as fuel for this capitalistic cycle, rather than a way in which we can break it. It has been established that, contrary to current beliefs, marketing has the power to have a positive impact on society and benefit the world (Better Marketing for a Better World, 2022). It’s up to the new generations of marketers to enact this positive and necessary change. Creating an academic course for students in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is a starting point for this change. This study aims to address the gap in education for business students, specifically in marketing, to understand how marketing can positively impact society.

Student sections at college sporting events are an integral part of the collegiate experience. They provide a heightened atmosphere and passion that professional teams can not always attract. They are an exciting social event for students to be a part of a larger community. The student section also represents a new potential market base for athletic departments. If students don't go to games, they have less of an emotional attachment when it comes to giving back to their alma mater in their peak earning years. (Dodd, 2022). Therefore, it is vital to understand the factors that influence a student’s intention to return to future games and, in recent years, the decline in student attendance. There are many variables that contribute to student attendance, so a study was developed to attempt to predict a student’s intention to return to future Arizona State University basketball games. There are multiple factors that are considered when determining the attendance such as the demographics of the student or their level of fandom. In addition, other factors such as social media use can influence a student’s intention to return. A statistical analysis was performed to determine which of these factors are most important in order to build a model to predict intention to return. An exploratory factor analysis will be used to determine which variables of the survey are correlated and measure similar factors. Then regression techniques will help analyze each independent variable to determine their importance and relevance. Through these techniques, it was found that satisfaction of stadium factors, sport club participation, on-campus housing, athlete’s social media, and total attendance positively impact attendance while importance of stadium factors, interest in fan loyalty programs, and employment status negatively impact attendance. The following report will include details of the analysis. The model that was developed will help universities narrow the potential variables that impact student attendance to assist in future research.