All posts by TheDSEF

Home TheDSEF
News / Newsletter / Uncategorized

DSEF Honors 2020 and 2021 Educator of the Year Inductees

Dr. Dianne Welsh, University of North Carolina Greensboro and
Dr. Anne Coughlan, Northwestern University
Recognized for Outstanding Achievement

     Dr. Anne Coughlan, Northwestern University

Washington, DC—June 2022— The 2020 and 2021 Educator of the Year Award inductees are Dr. Dianne Welsh, Hayes Distinguished Professor and Founding Director, Entrepreneurship Cross-Disciplinary Program, University of North Carolina Greensboro; and Dr. Anne Coughlan, Polk Bros. Chair and Emerita Professor of Marketing, Northwestern University.

The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) honored the recipients at the Direct Selling Association’s Engage 2022 conference in Boca Raton, Florida on June 7, 2022. Created in 2017, the DSEF Educator of the Year award is given to educators who demonstrate outstanding service to the Foundation through leadership, personal involvement, teaching and research.

“Anne and Dianne have been instrumental in elevating DSEF’s mission of education through their own unique and complementary methods,” said Gary Huggins, DSEF Executive Director. “Both have worked tirelessly to advance understanding of the direct selling channel through academic research, published works, teaching content creation and thought leadership that has shaped academic thinking and student learning.”

Dianne has made tremendous contributions to DSEF’s work to partner with university professors throughout the country to achieve our goal of reaching more than 75,000 students per year through DSEF events and direct selling curriculum development. Under Dianne’s leadership, seven UNCG Entrepreneurship Cross-Disciplinary Program (ECDP) professors each developed one week of direct selling lectures and assignments for courses in sales, marketing and entrepreneurship. The modules, distributed by DSEF to our 250+ Fellows, were designed to be incorporated easily into business classes across the nation.

“I am humbled and honored to win the DSEF Educator of the Year Award,” says Dianne. “Through the support of the DSEF Foundation, we can reach students who are looking for opportunities in their lives no matter their background. I have personally seen the difference in students when they understand direct selling. I can speak to their questions personally because of the knowledge I’ve gained through your generosity of including educators at your meetings and supporting our research and educational outreach.”

As an innovative thinker, Anne has co-authored award-winning research on the lifecycle of direct selling distributors and a paper assessing the validity of economics-based analytic models of direct selling in academic literature. She is sole author and ideator of a ground-breaking paper on consumer harm in voluntary business arrangements and a book chapter on direct selling compensation plans examining business and legal issues.

“Two goals have guided my career efforts:  exercising freedom as an academic entrepreneur, and focusing on projects I hoped would have impact,” says Anne. “My work in the direct selling area – where these words have special resonance – has enabled me to pursue both of these strategic goals, so it is a special delight for me to receive the 2021 DSEF Educator of the Year Award.  I hope to continue making contributions to this field for some time to come.  Thank you very much!”

ABOUT DSEF
For nearly 50 years, DSEF has partnered with members of the academic community to support research and education programs. These programs expand the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of direct selling. The Foundation works with more than 250 professors in a variety of disciplines—such as entrepreneurship, marketing, ethics, sales, consumer studies, business and economics—to develop direct selling-related academic research, case studies and teaching content. In 2020, retail sales from direct selling achieved a record high of $40 billion annually and through 7.7 million U.S. micro-entrepreneurs selling on a part-time or full-time basis. More than 41.6 million people actively purchased products and services through the direct selling channel in 2020.

News

Direct Selling Education Foundation Awards 2021 Doctoral Sales Grant

Allison Crick, University of South Florida, Named Grant Recipient

WASHINGTON, DC—June 15, 2021—The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) is pleased to announce its 2021 Sales Doctoral Student Grant Program recipient. Allison Crick, a student at the University of South Florida (USF), was awarded a grant that will help Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited doctoral granting institutions build, recruit and retain the next generation of aspiring sales-focused faculty and scholars. Allison is working with Dr. Andy Artis, Dr. Doug Hughes and Dr. Nathan Hartmann at USF’s School of Marketing and Innovation.

“On behalf of all of us at DSEF, I’d like to congratulate Allison Crick,” said Kimberly Harris Bliton, DSEF Senior Director, Academic Initiatives. “Four years ago, DSEF Fellow Dr. Jaramillo and I were discussing how we might encourage more PhD students to pursue an academic career in sales to meet current and future needs. The DSEF Doctoral Sales Grant Program was born from that conversation. We’re pleased to offer the grant for a third year.”

Dr. Fernando Jaramillo, (Professor and Associate Dean for Students and Programs, University of Texas at Arlington) and Dr. Greg W. Marshall, (Charles Harwood Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College) administer the grant program, along with Bliton and DSEF Executive Director Gary Huggins.

“Now more than ever, funding for innovative new research on best practices for direct selling is of the utmost importance,” said Marshall. “The DSEF Sales Grant program recognizes and rewards the best of the best of next generation sales scholars whose work can positively impact direct selling practices well into the future.”

The grant recipients were selected from a pool of applicants who submitted proposals relevant to the direct selling channel, DSEF and Direct Selling Association (DSA) member companies. Over a four-year period, the recipients will receive $4,000 to develop and execute a research project focusing on a topic of relevance for DSEF and DSA member companies.

DSEF 2019 Doctoral Sales Grant recipients Carissa Harris, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Jen Riley, Kansas State University, will continue to receive grant disbursements through 2022. DSEF 2020 recipients Molly Ahearne from the University of Georgia and Scott Hachey from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa will receive disbursements through 2023.

ABOUT DSEF

For more than 40 years, DSEF has partnered with members of the academic community to support research and education programs. These programs expand the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of direct selling. The Foundation partners with nearly 250 professors in a variety of disciplines—including sales, marketing, management, economics, ethics and entrepreneurship—to develop direct selling-related academic research, case studies and teaching content. In 2020, U.S. retail sales from direct selling totaled more than $40 billion, with 7.7 million independent salespeople building full-time or part-time businesses in the United States.

###

News / Newsletter

Direct Selling Education Foundation Awards 2020 Doctoral Sales Grants

WASHINGTON, DC—May 15, 2019—The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) is pleased to announce its 2020 Sales Doctoral Student Grant Program recipients. Molly Ahearne from the University of Georgia and Scott Hachey from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa were each awarded grants that will help Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited doctoral granting institutions build, recruit and retain the next generation of aspiring sales-focused faculty and scholars. Molly is working with Dr. John Hulland and Scott is working with Dr. Nathan Hartmann.

“All of us at DSEF congratulate Molly and Scott,” DSEF Executive Director Gary Huggins said. “We recognize the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on sales programs across the country and the disruption on education broadly. We are pleased to award doctoral sales grants for a second year running.”

Dr. Fernando Jaramillo, (Chair, Marketing Department, Professor and Associate Dean for Students and Programs, University of Texas at Arlington) and Dr. Greg W. Marshall, (Charles Harwood Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College) administered the grant program, along with Huggins and DSEF Senior Director of Academic Initiatives, Kimberly Harris Bliton.

“Now more than ever, funding for innovative new research on best practices for direct selling is of the utmost importance,” said Marshall. “The DSEF Sales Grant program recognizes and rewards the best of the best of next generation sales scholars whose work can positively impact direct selling practices well into the future.”

The grant recipients were selected from a pool of applicants who submitted proposals relevant to the direct selling channel, DSEF and Direct Selling Association (DSA) member companies. Over a four-year period, the recipients will receive $4,000 to develop and execute a research project focusing on a topic of relevance for DSEF and DSA member companies.

DSEF’s 2019 Doctoral Sales Grant recipients Carissa Harris, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Jen Riley, Kennesaw State University, will receive grant disbursements from 2020 through 2022.

ABOUT DSEF

For more than 40 years, DSEF has partnered with members of the academic community to support research and education programs. These programs expand the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of direct selling. The Foundation works with 240 professors in a variety of disciplines—including sales, marketing, management, economics, ethics and entrepreneurship—to develop direct selling-related academic research, case studies and teaching content. In 2018, retail sales from direct selling were more than $34 billion annually and currently there are 6.2 million direct sellers building full-time or part-time businesses in the United States.

 

###

News

DSEF Awards Best Papers at USASBE Annual Conference

DSEF Awards Best Papers at USASBE Annual Conference

DSEF, in partnership with the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), held a Best Paper competition at the USASBE Annual Conference, January 3-7.

DSEF funds research and case studies to advance understanding of the direct selling channel. Eight out of the 12 authors of these winning papers are DSEF Fellows.

Social Entrepreneurship & the Direct Sales Channel: Trades of Hope
Dr. Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley

Predictive Models of Independent Salesforce Performance: The Case of Direct Selling Micro-Entrepreneurs
Dr. Caroline Glackin and Dr. Murat Adivar

Direct Selling as a Path to Business Ownership: Molly’s Mary Kay Journey
Dr. Sara Cochran

Empowering Minorities and Women Direct Sellers through Integrated Digital Marketing Strategies: An Intersectionality Perspective
Dr. Doreen Chung, Dr. Kyuree Kim, Dr. Angie Lee, Dr. Jessica Hurst, Dr. Linda Niehm, Dr. Ann Marie Fiore, Dr. Malvika Rajagopal and Dr. Rebecca Tang

DSEF Fellows received prominent recognition and visibility throughout the meeting. All of the winning papers were selected for presentation at the conference. Congratulations to all!

Uncategorized

DSEF Case Study: Connie Tang and Princess House

DSEF Case Study: Connie Tang and Princess House

 

The newest addition to DSEF’s Case Study Series features Princess House President and CEO Connie Tang and was written by DSEF Fellow, Kathy Korman Frey, Entrepreneur in Residence at the George Washington University School of Business.

Connie Tang: Leading Fearlessly Through Crisis, Change & Growth touches on a wealth of topics that DSEF’s 227 Fellows can share with students, including crisis management, community, the direct selling business model, the Hispanic market, leadership, childhood and adult influences and mentors, work/life balance, entrepreneurship and the fine line between “nice girl” and passive observer.

In addition to serving a terrific teaching tool for the classroom, Kathy says the case is a rich resource for direct selling executives as well. “Some of the business insights in the Connie case for DSA executives are, first of all, crisis management,” she says. “This case starts with Hurricane Harvey. What do you do, who do you call, what messages do you want to convey?

“Number two, we’re talking about brand revitalization,” Kathy continues. “How is this done? It’s tricky business, and Connie really walks us through how to do it in the case and the supplemental materials.”

Kathy says number three is a little bit different. “It’s an opportunity to use a case like this to connect with your team. Coaching, mentoring and role modeling are things that our teams want from us these days, and this opens the door to that type of discussion. Whether it’s a big group or a small group, they can read the case and volunteer something right away.”

Coming in Winter 2020 are several videos that will complement the written case, featuring Connie describing how Princess House’s brand continued to evolve. For more information about our Case Series, contact Nancy Laichas.

Newsletter

DSEF Welcomes Its Newest Fellows

DSEF launched the Fellows Program to support educational and research efforts to foster a deeper understanding of the direct selling channel and its impact. We now have more than 180 Fellows around the world from a wide range of disciplines – management, marketing, economics, entrepreneurship, sales, consumer studies – and provide them a rich offering of benefits and opportunities.

DSEF warmly welcomes our newest Fellows:

Mr. Darrin Duber Smith
Senior Lecturer
Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr. Channelle James
Lecturer
University of North Carolina Greensboro

Dr. Thuy Nguyen
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Midwestern State University

Dr. Vicki Eveland
Associate Professor
Seattle Pacific University

Dr. Natalie Wood
Associate Dean and Professor of Marketing
Saint Joseph’s University

Dr. Caroline Munoz
Associate Professor of Marketing
Mike Cottrell College of Business

Dr. Eileen Fischer
Professor of Marketing
York University

Dr. Tiffany Reynolds
Lecturer
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Dr. Nadia Pomirleanu
Associate Professor of Marketing
University of Nevada at Las Vegas

Dr. Anjala Krishen
Professor
University of Nevada at Las Vegas

Dr. Charles Wood
Associate Professor of Marketing
University of Tulsa

Dr. Gary Futrell
Associate Professor of Marketing
Valdosta State University

Dr. Terrence Brown
Head of Divison, Associate Professor
The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Mr. Les Charm
Senior Lecturer
Babson College

Mr. Jon Duchac
Professor of Accounting
Wake Forest University

Dr. Vivek Natarajan
Associate Professor of Marketing and Management
Lamar University

Dr. Suzanne Altobello
Associate Professor of Marketing
Fayetteville State University

Dr. Jim Blair
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Eastern Kentucky University

Dr. Colin Campbell
Assisant Professor of Marketing
University of San Diego

Mr. John Chapman
Adjunct Professor
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Dr. Ginger Killian
Associate Dean
University of Central Missouri

Dr. Sheela Pandey
Assistant Professor of Management
Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg

Dr. Keith Ferguson
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Florida State University

Dr. Shelley Davis
Assistant Professor of Management
Troy University

Dr. Daniel “Danny” Butler
Thomas Walter Professor of Marketing
Auburn University

Dr. Charles “Chuck” Ingene
Siegfried Professor of Marketing
University of Oklahoma

Dr. Lei “Lilly” Ye
Associate Professor of Marketing
Frostburg University

Dr. Edward Nowlin
Associate Professor of Marketing
Kansas State University

Ms. Carissa Harris
Ph.D. Student
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Dr. Joy Robbins
Associate Professor in Apparel Marketing
Kansas State University

Mr. Jen Riley
Visiting Professor
Alabama A&M University

Dr. Naz Onel
Assistant Professor of Business Studies, Marketing
Stockton University

Dr. Kelly Weidner
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Saint Mary’s College of California

News / Uncategorized

The Future of Commerce: How Direct Selling Fits

The Future of Commerce: How Direct Selling Fits

At the Direct Selling Association’s Annual Meeting in June, newly-inducted Circle of Honor award recipients, Drs. Greg Marshall, Linda Ferrell, and Vicky Crittenden, shared the main stage for a dialogue on how direct selling can shape the future of the marketplace.

“The panel discussion was a meaningful way to provide insights in the way business is changing and the way work is changing,” Linda says. “It also addressed some generational challenges that are being faced within the workplace.”

Vicky told the audience that customer satisfaction is key. “We have to keep customers engaged to deepen the relationship with the company since engaged customers are our advocates in the marketplace,” she say. “Part and parcel in that engagement is personalization. When each and every current customer feels a personal connection to our company, our costs will decline and our profits will be boosted.”

Moderating the panel of experts was DSEF Chair and President & CEO of Team National, Angela Loehr Chrysler. “It was a pleasure to moderate an interesting discussion on the future of direct selling,” Angela says. “The panelists shared insightful information from their research about the viability of direct sales today and in the future.”

Uncategorized

Seventeen Fellows Share Expertise at Direct Selling Conference

Industry Awards Judges
For the past three years, DSEF in partnership with our sister organization, the Direct Selling Association, has invited Fellows to serve as judges for DSA’s Industry Awards. Each year at the Annual Meeting Gala, DSA recognizes those companies that empower independent direct sellers, fuel business processes or make the world a better place.

By serving as a DSA Awards Judge, Fellows have the opportunity to:

  • Gain in-depth knowledge of direct selling companies, their innovations and best practices
  • Discover business insights that can be applied to the study of business through case studies, classroom content or research

We would like to thank the following Fellows, who served in this capacity:

Dr. Ricky Fergurson
Dr. Paige Beal

Fellows Workshop
Our annual Fellows Workshop is designed to share knowledge of how to get started as a Fellow, whether your interests are in research, teaching, case writing or hosting a guest speaker or campus event. Special thanks to Dr. Robert Peterson, who hosted us at The University of Texas at Austin and moderated the workshop.

Nine Fellows shared their experiences in working with DSEF corporate partners to create teaching content, share real-world examples of business throughout their departments and produce publishable research.

Dr. Adam Mills
Dr. Debra Zahay-Blatz
Drs. Linda and OC Ferrell
Dr. Caroline Glackin
Dr. Vicky Crittenden
Dr. Anne Coughlan
Dr. Sandy Jap
Dr. Sara Cochran
Dr. Wendy Ritz

CEO Roundtable
Dr. Stefanie Boyer, an expert in design thinking, led a group of CEOs in a group exercise to bring creativity to strategic thinking for the problem-solvers of the direct selling industry. “What I found most encouraging was the openness of the CEOs to learn and try something new,” Stefanie said. “This gave me so much hope and confidence to know that everyone in that room is going in the right direction.”

Special thanks to Drs. Adam Mills, Mark Groza and Eric Liguori who facilitated table discussions and ideation.

Academic Insights You Can Use to Grow Your Business
DSEF Fellows Drs. Victoria Crittenden, Caroline Glackin, and Sandy Jap presented their latest direct selling research insights during a panel discussion.

During the panel discussion, Vicky described how her research and book on women’s entrepreneurship help mainstream direct selling by demonstrating the power of the channel and its ability to empower women personally and professionally. Sandy discussed the synergistic effect of increasing in the number of routes to market – home parties, digital parties, online sales, websites and other channels – and their impact on the economic welfare and performance of sales consultant representatives.

“For me, the immediate positive response from key channel leaders, and their offers to collaborate were fantastic and will allow a deeper and more robust understanding of my topic,” said Caroline, who shared findings from her research on Hispanic acculturation of the direct selling salesforce.

The Future of Commerce: How Direct Selling Fits
Newly-inducted Circle of Honor award recipients, Drs. Greg Marshall, Linda Ferrell, and Vicky Crittenden, shared the main stage for a dialogue on the future of the commerce and how companies can prepare and adapt. The panel discussion provided insights on the way business and the workforce are changing, including trends in e-commerce, personalizing the customer experience and how to attract new salespeople in the gig economy.

Third Party Experts Panel
Today’s consumers do not want to be sold to: they want to be engaged, educated and even entertained.
In a workshop on how third-party voices can enhance trust and transparency among consumers, Dr. Greg Marshall, stepping in for Dr. Anne Coughlan, joined Todd Eliason, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Direct Selling News; John Kloosterman, Manager, Amway Brand, Amway; and Mark Stastny, Chief Marketing Officer, Scentsy; to discuss how companies can maximize the range of third-party voices to demonstrate that they are credible, respected, popular and worthy of consumers’ business.

“For my part, I shared specific strategies on how direct sellers can benefit from the credibility of members of the academic community who are doing research on the field, and especially from those of us who are DSEF Fellows,” says Greg.

News

How to Engage with Third Parties

How to Engage with Third Parties

Today’s consumers do not want to be sold to: they want to be engaged, educated and even entertained.

In a workshop on how third-party voices can enhance trust and transparency among consumers, Dr. Greg Marshall joined Todd Eliason, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Direct Selling News; John Kloosterman, Manager, Amway Brand, Amway; and Mark Stastny, Chief Marketing Officer, Scentsy; to discuss how companies can maximize the range of third-party voices to demonstrate that they are credible, respected, popular and worthy of consumers’ business.

“The panel session at the DSA Annual Meeting on ‘How to Engage with Third Parties’ afforded a very unique opportunity for attendees to hear different approaches to making the most of external-to-industry endorsers,” Greg says. “For my part, I shared specific strategies on how direct sellers can benefit from the credibility of members of the academic community who are doing research on the field, and especially from those of us who are DSEF Fellows. The DSEF Fellows program boasts over 200 academics from across business fields such as entrepreneurship, ethics, management, marketing, sales and others and aims to foster productive partnerships between the academic community and DSA member firms.”