Samford University alumnae Camilla Lemons ’22 and Kayleigh Hudson ’19, graduates of the Brock Scholars program in Brock School of Business, recently collaborated on a new academic publication with Matt Mazzei, chair of the Entrepreneurship, Management and Marketing department. “Experience design: Creating value for non-profits,” discusses how nonprofit organizations can use experience design (XD) to strengthen connections with donors, volunteers and partners, which can lead to more support and greater organizational impact.
In the article, the co-authors explain: “Experience design focuses on stakeholder encounters to deliver a connected, end-to-end experience with a brand, helping to create a unique advantage for the organization relative to competitors and substitutes...It is an integrated and strategic operational approach that creates relevant value for stakeholders of an organization by designing customizable yet consistent brand experiences.”
The concept of incorporating XD into nonprofit organizations originated in 2019 when Hudson was developing her senior Brock Scholars thesis. Her thesis discussed the fundamentals of XD and examined how nonprofits could learn from the successful implementation of for-profit entities.
Three years later in 2022, Lemons drew inspiration from Hudson's work and proposed expanding the concepts for her own senior thesis. Lemons brought the idea to Mazzei and they brainstormed ways Lemons' research could complement Hudson's findings. That resulted in Lemons’ thesis focusing on the implementation of XD through internal collaboration and how nonprofits could adapt the stages applied by for-profit XD firms.
In 2023, Hudson, Lemons and Mazzei reconvened as co-authors and crafted a publication combining their research.
“Camilla, Kayleigh, and I have stayed in touch since their respective graduations, as we always felt their Brock Scholars’ senior research projects had the potential for a scholarly impact,” Mazzei said of the collaboration. “Both were researching experience design at different levels. Kayleigh researched case examples of for-profit firms’ adoption of XD to learn more about the why of XD, while Camilla focused more on the processes and execution of XD to explain the how. As they both got settled into their careers, we ramped up efforts to combine their projects into a single article intended for a practitioner audience. Their research and experience shows the viability and impact XD can have for non-profit organizations. It was very rewarding to work with these alums, both now experts in the organizing and implementation of XD, to share their knowledge with a broader audience.”
Hudson reflected on the importance of implementing experience design in every business.
“To me, this work is about how every organization can create meaningful, connected experiences for their end users by listening well, solving problems creatively and empowering employees to act," Hudson said. "This requires us to thoughtfully slow down to consider the person our work directly impacts and how it makes them feel.”
Hudson and Lemons are currently employed at Compassion International, a Christian child sponsorship organization, working to release children from poverty by meeting their right-now and long-term needs in partnership with the local church.
“Both Kayleigh and Camilla are exceptional thinkers and writers,” said Sara McCarty, Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor of Economics and Brock Scholars program coordinator. “They have a tremendous ability to synthesize information and learn from their experiences. In addition to their impressive work ethic, they used their experience as Compassion International interns to inform their senior research theses. We are so proud of their hard work, their dedication, and the driving force behind their work—to make the world a better place by living faithfully to carry out the gospel call.”
The collaborative work was published in August 2024 in Business Horizons, a bimonthly journal of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Read the article here.
