Kobia and Freeman receive international recognition for small business retail research
Caroline Kobia
Mississippi State School of Human Sciences faculty members were recognized by a national collegiate retailing association for their work on a multi-institutional research project.
Caroline Kobia, assistant professor in fashion design and merchandising in the School of Human Sciences, led a research project titled, “Cultivating Rural Entrepreneurship for Community and Economic Vitality: A Case Study of Small Fashion Business in MS.” Kobia, along with co-author Charles Freeman, associate professor in fashion design and merchandising, are also scientists in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The paper was recognized at the 2022 American Collegiate Retailing Association (ACRA) conference held in March in New Orleans.
The paper, selected for Best Track Paper in the Local and Global Retailing and Entrepreneurship, was also awarded as the conference overall best paper for 2022 by the International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management.
“I am excited and thankful for the recognition the paper has received. There is a lot of disruption going on in the retail industry, especially in rural areas like Mississippi, so I want to focus research where it can impact and help small businesses adjust and continue to thrive,” Kobia said. “The core of who I am wants to help impact local communities, so most of my classes focus on community engagement. This way we’re helping small businesses, which are a vital part of the retail industry.”
ACRA is a professional organization comprised of educators of four-year institutions that have retail programs or retail courses from multiple disciplines including business, liberal arts, economics, human ecology, textiles, design and apparel.
Collaborators include Professor Chuanlan Liu and Assistant Professor Chunmin Lang at Louisiana State University.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Grace Jones | Agriculture and Natural Resources Marketing
