November 20, 2018

Winning submissions for the 3rd Annual Young Scholars Research (YSR) Competition, held in conjunction with the 5th Annual Organizational Frontline Research Symposium (OFR), have been announced. The lead author for each submission will be awarded $1000 and will present the winning paper at the OFR Symposium in Austin, TX on February 21, 2019. Funding for the awards is provided by both the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University, as well as the Center for Sales Excellence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Like past years, we received submissions for the 2019 YSR competition that were at different stages of their journey toward publication. Some at the conceptual stage where the foundational conceptual work has been accomplished but the empirical work remains to be executed. Others much further along with fairly well developed and completed conceptual and empirical work stitched together in a compelling story. In evaluating this diversity of submissions, the selection committee is guided by the purpose of the YSR award: to encourage and support innovative research in the organizational frontlines area that is led by young scholars and has a high potential for a quality publication.

The YSR award winners for 2019 showcase this diversity and, in their own distinctive way, advance the purpose of the YSR award. The organizers of this competition, as well as the co-chairs of this year’s Symposium, want to congratulate you on your accomplishment!

The winning papers include:

"The Aftermarket Benefits of Frontline Employees’ Transparency"
Yashar Atefi — Louisiana State University
Michael Ahearne — University of Houston
Zachary Hall — Texas Christian University
Sebastian Hohenberg — University of Texas at Austin

"The Role of AI-enabled Conversational Commerce in the Firm-Customer Interface"
Kaushik Jayaram — University of Georgia
Sundar Bharadwaj — University of Georgia

"Optimizing Frontline Shift Composition for Increased Customer Satisfaction and Firm Performance"
Amy Fehl — Oklahoma State University
Valerie Good — Michigan State University
Todd Arnold — Oklahoma State University
Angela Crawford — Thomas More College

"Selling in the Age of New Organizational Frontlines"
Mohsen Pourmasoudi — University of Houston
Michael Ahearne — University of Houston
Zachary Hall — Texas Christian University
Partha Krishnamurthy — University of Houston

Sincerely,

Todd Arnold
Raymond A. Young Chari and Professor of Marketing
Oklahoma State University
Young Scholar Competition Co-Organizer

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