It’s not uncommon for students in Daniel Rottig’s graduate-level course, Global Organization Issues, to write academic papers.
However, it is not as common for his students to not only be nominated for a Best Paper Award at the Academy of International Business US Southeast Annual Conference but also win Best Master’s Student Paper Award.
On Sunday, Nov. 13 during the Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception, FGCU students David Peterson, Nicholas Cid, Jason Hoop, Russel Maylott, Amanda Niemczyk and John Shelton as well as International Business professor Rottig were presented a plaque for Best Master’s Student Paper for their paper titled “Successfully Entering the Emerging Market of Brazil: A Legitimacy Perspective.”
“We decided on the topic after learning about legitimacy and how many firms have issues with it when entering a new market,” Cid said.
Students in Rottig’s class are charged with the task of writing a systematic literature review on specific and relevant topics in global business. They are also encouraged to interview international business executives as well as integrate topics discussed in class.
Throughout the semester, Rottig sets goals for his students to submit several drafts of their papers, so he can provide feedback. At the end of the semester, he selects papers with the highest potential for submission to business conferences.
“I have had my students attend the annual conferences of the Academy of International Business Southeast USA and present their academic papers every year since 2011,” Rottig said.
Once they are accepted into the conference, Rottig helps his students prepare for the competition by meeting with them.
Every year, Rottig has had at least one undergraduate student among the top 0.5 percent of students from around the world competing against each other.
His students were members of the winning team in 2013, during the Home Depot Challenge at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and in 2014, during the Louis Vuitton Challenge at Florida International University in Miami.
“Successfully Entering the Emerging Market of Brazil: A Legitimacy Perspective” took about two months to write. The writing process consisted of interviewing professionals and conducting group meetings.
“My favorite part about working on the paper was seeing the finishing product,” Hoop said. “It is always interesting to see the result of a group of individuals with different opinions and points of view working together.”
According to Cid, the most difficult part of writing the paper was conducting research.
Rottig’s favorite part of the conference was seeing the smiles, excitement and feeling of accomplishment in the faces of his students when their names were announced.
“I am very proud of my students and their accomplishments and genuinely enjoy working with and helping my students excel within and outside the classroom,” Rottig said.
Cid enjoyed attending the conference and winning the award because it helped show him that going to college is more about scraping by in classes and getting a diploma.
“None of this work contributed to any class grade; however, I feel that the award and experience of attending the conference will make me a better business professional and help my career,” Cid said. “This inspires me to continue doing more than just the bare minimum, as this is what will set me apart from the competition.”
