Faculty & Research
Empowering Communities Through Research
The Consulting and Business Development Center supports academic research on entrepreneurship in under-resourced communities. The Center fosters insights that drive innovation and economic growth through conferences and small grants.
Our research is led by William Bradford, Professor of Finance, Endowed Professor of Business and Economic Development and Faculty Director, Consulting and Business Development Center.
Current Research
The CBDC uncovered disparities in lending practices that disproportionately affect minority-owned businesses. This research highlights the challenges these entrepreneurs face in accessing capital, with lenders often requiring higher interest rates and more substantial collateral. These findings emphasize the need for systemic change to level the playing field for diverse entrepreneurs.
2025-2027 Research Grant Recipients
- Bruce Avolio, Professor of Management, Mark Pigott Chair in Business Strategic Leadership
In Progress: Research investigates the process by which directors from traditionally underrepresented demographic backgrounds become full-fledged board members — i.e., contributing and feeling acknowledged for their full set of knowledge, skills, abilities, and professional and lived experiences.
- David Sermon, Professor of Management, Robert Herbold Professor of Strategy
In Progress: Research aims to understand how individuals from diverse social class backgrounds, as well as minority ethnicities, ascend to the upper echelons of corporate leadership.
- Elijah Wee, Assistant Professor of Management
In Progress: Research examines how biases influence incumbent employees’ commitment to hiring individuals with disabilities as part of a workforce diversification initiative.
2024-2026 Research Grant Recipients
- Jessica Huisi Li, Assistant Professor of Management
In Progress: In The Eyes of The Beholders:
- Francesca Valsesia, Associate Professor, Marketing
Is This for Me? Differential Responses to Skin Tone Inclusivity Initiatives by Underrepresented Consumers and Represented Consumers (Journal of Marketing, 2024 with Jennifer K. D’Angelo and Lea Dunn)
To better represent consumers who have traditionally been underrepresented in the marketplace, an increasing number of brands are extending or launching product lines that are more inclusive of a diverse consumer base. This article focuses on consumers’ feelings of representation (the feeling that they, and consumers they identify with, are seen, heard, or considered when product decisions across product categories are made). It explores how consumers who feel underrepresented (vs. represented) in skin tone products respond to more inclusive skin tone line extensions. Across seven studies using laboratory, field, and secondary data, the authors demonstrate that individuals who feel underrepresented exhibit less favorable responses than those who feel represented. The authors find evidence that this is driven by product fit skepticism; that is, doubt that products in the inclusive line will meet one’s skin tone needs. The authors also identify managerial interventions that improve responses among underrepresented consumers by demonstrating respect for consumer needs, thus reducing the differential response between underrepresented and represented consumers.
- Ming Zhu Wang, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
In Progress: Cultural authenticity in new ventures as a double-edged sword: a competitive resource and constraint to market scope (with Ryan Allen and Rohan Radke)
2023-2025 Research Grant Recipients
- Mana Heshmati, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Working Paper: “Hiding Their True Colors: Exploring the Interplay of Stigmatized Identity and Competitive Positioning” with Choe, S., & Frake, J.
- Sarah McVay, Professor, Accounting, William A. Fowler Endowed Professor
Research Under-Review
My co-authors and I examine whether racial minority employees are disproportionately harmed by employer actions aimed at meeting the analyst forecast. Prior work has demonstrated that employers are willing to compromise on safety measures, such as maintenance or training, to improve the bottom line. Earlier work has also shown that managers are willing to underpay their employees (e.g., requiring them to work extra hours or not pay overtime). In other words, managers can meet earnings expectations by pressuring their employees to work unpaid hours, at unsafe speeds, or in unsafe conditions. We explore whether this behavior is exacerbated when the employees are comprised of more racial minority workers.
- Esther Uduehi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Marketing
The Minority Ownership Awareness Effect: When Promoting Minority Ownership Increases Brand Evaluations (Journal of Marketing, 2024, with Aaron Barnes)
Recent social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, have prompted brands and retailers to increase the use of minority ownership labels (e.g., Black-owned, woman-owned). The current research investigates when and why awareness of minority ownership influences consumer behavior, particularly in response to brand failures. When a brand failure occurs, minority ownership awareness can lead to higher brand evaluations and a greater willingness to pay, a phenomenon referred to as the minority ownership awareness effect. This effect and its boundary conditions are demonstrated through five experiments and analyses of over 27,000 Google reviews for Black-owned restaurants. The authors propose that minority ownership awareness invokes a type of underdog effect, which is pronounced in situations involving product (vs. moral) failures, among people with low (vs. high) social dominance orientation, and among those with a high (vs. low) internal motivation to respond without prejudice.
Billion Dollar Roundtable
The Center is the national research partner for the Billion Dollar Roundtable which created in 2001 to recognize and celebrate corporations that achieved spending of at least $1 billion with minority and woman-owned suppliers. The Center has produced research focused on the economic impact of corporate supplier diversity.
Fostering Inclusion
A Workshop to Advance Research on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
May 16-17, 2025
University of Washington Foster School of Business
Junior scholars conducting research on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in marketing, information systems, operations management and related fields are invited to attend this two-day workshop. As part of the workshop, you will work in small writing groups and gain feedback from journal editors and your peers to accelerate your paper submission to a top journal. This workshop will be in person only, and participants are invited to attend all or part of the workshop activities as their schedule allows.
The Tenure Project
The Tenure Project offers a supportive environment where junior faculty are welcomed and engaged in programs, events, and dialogues that address the important issues affecting Black, Latinx, and Native junior faculty obtaining tenure in US business schools.
Date and Location
The 4th Annual Tenure Project conference will be held from Monday, July 14, 2025, through Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, MI.
Ways to engage
- Volunteer to share your time and talents.
- Donate to support our work in leveling the playing field in higher education.
- Join our email list to stay informed on news and upcoming events.
Bradford-Osborne Research Award
Named for its founders, William “Bill” Bradford and Alfred “Al” Osborne Jr. who, over their 40+ year careers, have published more than 60 research articles focused on entrepreneurs of color and the dynamics of their businesses. Their funding of this award is yet another of their many innovations.