Digital Commons Network^™

Agency Problems In Target-Date Funds, Vallapuzha Sandhya

Finance Dissertations

Target-Date Funds (TDFs) facilitate retirement planning by varying asset allocation over time with the goal of reducing portfolio risk. We explore potential agency problems in TDFs by examining their return performance and flow-performance relation. We find that TDFs under-perform balanced funds (BFs) which are also approved as a default option along with TDFs in 401(k) plans with automatic enrollment. We show that the under-performance is driven by TDFs that have a fund-of-fund structure and constituent funds with high expense ratios or poor performance within the fund family. Additionally, we discover an absence of flow-performance relation in TDFs while BFs exhibit …

Connected Consumers: Cognizance Of Provision Networks In Mundane Consumption, Stephen T. Weaver

Marketing Dissertations

Many types of product meanings have been investigated in the consumer behavior literature, and these layers of meaning have been shown to influence consumer behavior. However, very little research has attempted to investigate product meanings having to do with provision networks, that is, the people, places, resources and processes involved in creating products and delivering them to the consumer. In addition, researchers in several fields have argued that consumers have lost an awareness of provision networks due to their increasing size and complexity in the modern economy. This research indicates that some consumers are indeed cognizant of the systems of …

Risk And Visibility In Global Supply Chains: An Empirical Study, Hung V. Nguyen

Marketing Dissertations

Working with international suppliers in global supply chains, manufacturing firms now are faced with substantial supplier risks which could be triggered by disruptions in either their suppliers or the supplier’s market. Reactive actions to the risks, however, have usually been shown to be inefficient and sometimes ineffective. In this dissertation, therefore, I develop a theoretical framework linking some key relationship-specific capabilities to supplier risk. My contention is that the capabilities, when developed, can help proactively mitigate the risk. Thus, the model in this study is grounded in the resource-based and the relational views.

In this study, the survey method has …

The Role Of Dividend Policy In Real Earnings Management, Nan Liu

Accountancy Dissertations

Given the importance of historical dividend policy to firms, I investigate whether dividend payers manipulate earnings through real activities to smooth dividend levels and dividend payout ratios. Using Compustat’s Execucomp database, I find evidence that dividend policy impacts both upward and downward real earnings management. I find that payers manipulate earnings upward through real activities to mitigate the shortfall of pre-managed earnings relative to prior year dividends when pre-managed earnings are lower than dividends paid in the prior year, suggesting that dividend levels are an important earnings benchmark. I document a stronger relationship between changes in pre-managed earnings and real …

Health Information Systems Affordances: How The Materiality Of Information Technology Enables And Constrains The Work Practices Of Clinicians, Chad Anderson

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

The IT artifact is at the core of the information systems (IS) discipline and yet most IS research does not directly theorize the IT artifact or its nomological network (Benbasat and Zmud 2003; Orlikowski and Iacono 2001). This research seeks to answer a repeated call for more direct engagement with the IT artifact and its nomological net with affordance theory adopted as the basis for this theoretical work. An exploratory case study was conducted to answer the research question, how do the material properties of health information systems enable and constrain the work practices of clinicians? The study was …

An Investigation Into Appraisal Bias: The Role Of Decision Support Tools In Debiasing Valuation Judgments, O. Alan Tidwell

Real Estate Dissertations

Given the nature of the valuation task environment appraisers are often made aware of previous value opinions rendered by appraisers, commonly in the form of an historic appraisal. And, because an appraisal task involves the rendering of market value, a hypothetical, unobservable construct based on probabilities, direct feedback against this objective is typically not possible. Alternate signals derived from the task environment such as confirmation of previous appraised values may be employed, thereby potentially altering the appraiser’s perception of the valuation objective leading to divergence from the normative model. The real estate behavioral literature suggests commercial appraisers have been susceptible …

The Role Of Dynamic Capabilities In Outsourcing Sales And Marketing Functions: A Resource-Advantage Perspective In The Context Of Consumer Packaged Goods, Belgin Unal

Marketing Dissertations

Outsourcing refers to contracting out the functions to a third party instead of conducting them in-house. The main contribution of this dissertation is to develop and test a model of successful outsourcing in the accomplishment of headquarters selling task. Specifically, it intends to (a) provide a theoretical framework for outsourcing partnership performance, (b) explore the potential complementarities construct in the context of a dyadic outsourcing relationship, (c) examine the role of learning dynamic capabilities in turning potential complementarities into outsourcing success, and (d) explicate the role of structural social capital as an antecedent to learning dynamic capability construct . The …

Earnings Smoothness And Investment Sensitivity To Stock Prices, Xiaochuan Huang

Accountancy Dissertations

Existing research suggests that market misvaluations affect corporate investment, often leading to suboptimal investment. I examine whether earnings smoothness reduces the impact of market valuations on corporate investment and in turn enhances investment efficiency. I find that earnings smoothness has a strong negative effect on the sensitivity of corporate investment to stock prices. Further analyses indicate that this negative effect is driven by both innate and discretionary components of earnings smoothness and is more pronounced for firms operating in more volatile business environments. I complement these findings by demonstrating that firms with smoother earnings have lower over- (under-)investment and higher …

The Effect Of Regulatory Pressures On Earnings Management Behavior Of Nonprofit Hospitals, Brian A. Vansant

Accountancy Dissertations

My study examines the effect of regulatory pressures on the earnings management behavior of nonprofit (i.e., tax-exempt) hospitals. Prior research provides evidence that managers of nonprofit hospitals manage reported earnings to a range just above zero profit in order to conform to regulator low or zero profit expectations. I extend this research by investigating how reported performance on another accounting measure important to regulators, (i.e., charity care), further explains the earnings management behavior of nonprofit hospitals. Specifically, I develop theory to predict that nonprofit hospitals use discretionary accruals to manage positive earnings toward regulator low profit expectations less aggressively when …

Understanding The Barriers To The Assimilation Of Interorganizational Technologies In Channel Relationships, Jennifer L. Fries

Marketing Dissertations

Organizations are increasingly focusing on their value chain activities in an effort to improve their performance, especially in the recent economic times. Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their channel activities has become a focal point for many organizations. Interorganizational systems (IOS’s) have played an important part in this effort. While in theory, IOS’s have the ability to enhance the degree of cooperation and coordination between two channel partners, often the results obtained are not what is expected. Hence, it becomes very important to understand the barriers to the assimilation of these technologies. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives of governance, including …

Examining Scholarly Influence: A Study In Hirsch Metrics And Social Network Analysis, Hirotoshi Takeda

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

This dissertation research is focused on how we, as researchers, ‘influence’ others researchers. In particular, I am concerned with the notion of what constitutes the ‘influence’ of a scholar and how ‘influence’ is conferred upon scholars. This research is concerned with the construct called ‘scholarly influence’. Scholarly influence is of interest because a clear “theory of scholarly influence” does not yet exist. Rather a number of surrogate measures or concepts that are variable are used to evaluate the value of one’s academic work. ‘Scholarly influence’ is broken down into ‘ideational influence’ or the influence that one has through publication and …

The Drivers Of A Successful Corporate Sponsorship And The Quantified Financial Impact: Applying The Attitudinal Triad Of Cognition, Affect, And Conation And Customer Lifetime Value To Corporate Sponsorships, David Nickell

Marketing Dissertations

While the volume of research on corporate event sponsorships as a marketing tool has increased markedly over the past decade, the results have done little to help marketers to justify sponsorship spending. Not only do marketers have little knowledge of a sponsored event’s financial return, they also struggle to demonstrate any impact on consumer behavior at all.

Using multi-wave survey data, we quantified the financial impact of a sponsorship. We predicted the number of new buyers based upon changed brand attitudes, consistent with a hierarchy of effects model. We then established the financial return on the sponsorship spending by estimating …

What Drives The Property-Type Focus Of Reits?, Seunghan Ro

Real Estate Dissertations

Using a sample of 678 property portfolio changes (acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures) of U.S. REITs during the period 1990 to 2009, I investigate the issue of what drives the property sector focus of REITs. Geltner and Miller (2001) argue that investors prefer to make their own diversification decisions using narrowly focused REITs as an explanation for the lack of diversification. On the basis of their argument, I develop and examine the research question of how investors react to a change in a REIT’s property type focus. I find a significantly negative market reaction to acquisition and acquisitional JV events …

Investigating The Relationship Between It And Organizations: A Research Trilogy, Benoit Raymond

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

The overall objective of this dissertation is to contribute to knowledge and theory about the influence of information technology (IT) on organizations and their members. This dissertation is composed of three related studies, each examining different aspects of the relationship between IT and organizations. The objective of the first study is to provide an overview of the dominant theoretical perspectives that IS researchers have used in the last five decades to study the influence of technology on organizations and their members. Without being exhaustive, this study seeks more specifically to identify, for each decade, the dominant theoretical perspectives used in …

What Support Does Information And Communication Technology (Ict) Offer To Organizational Improvisation During Crisis Response ?, Anouck Adrot

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

While evidence of the exceedingly important role of technology in organizational life is commonplace, academics have not fully captured the influence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on crisis response. A substantive body of knowledge on technology and crisis response already exists and keeps developing. Extensive research is on track to highlight how technology helps to prepare to crisis response and develop service recovery plans. However, some aspects of crisis response remain unknown. Among all the facets of crisis response that have been under investigation for some years, improvisation still challenges academics as a core component of crisis response. In …

A Dynamic Analysis Of Variable Annuities And Guarenteed Minimum Benefits, Jin Gao

Risk Management and Insurance Dissertations

We determine the optimal allocation of funds between the fixed and variable sub-accounts in a variable annuity with a GMDB (Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit) clause featuring partial withdrawals by using a utility-based approach. In section two, the Merton method is applied by assuming that individuals allocate funds optimally in order to maximize the expected utility of lifetime consumption. It also reflects bequest motives by including the recipient's utility in terms of the policyholder's guaranteed death benefits. We derive the optimal transfer choice by the insured, and furthermore price the GMDB through maximizing the discounted expected utility of the policyholders and …

The Development And Renewal Of Strategic Capabilities, Mika Tatum Kusar

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation examines the development and renewal of capabilities through acquisitions by drawing from absorptive capacity literature (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Zahra and George, 2002). This dissertation examines four interrelated questions concerning (1) the impact of acquisition experience on a firm’s absorptive capacity, (2) the role of absorptive capacity in the renewal of capabilities through acquisition, (3) the impact of capabilities renewal through acquisition on a firm’s choice of future growth mode, and (4) the impact of capabilities renewal through acquisition on post-acquisition performance. These questions are examined using FDIC data and surveys administered to top managers of banks that …

Why Do Different New Ventures Internationalize Differently? A Cognitive Model Of Entrepreneurs' Internationalization Decisions, David W. Williams

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

What makes entrepreneurs select one international opportunity while rejecting or ignoring others? Furthermore, what makes entrepreneurs decide to exploit an international opportunity earlier or later? Two theories of internationalization provide answers to these questions: the Uppsala Model and International Entrepreneurship theory. However, these two theories provide competing answers to these questions, and empirical research offers inconsistent evidence about what influences entrepreneurs to select an international opportunity – and when to exploit the opportunity. To address these issues, I develop a cognitive model that explains when and why the predictions of these theories do (and do not) explain entrepreneurs’ behavior regarding …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Determinants Of Project Finance: Cash Flow Volatility And Correlation, Zinat S. Alam

Finance Dissertations

This paper investigates the effect of correlation and volatilities of firm and project cash flows on the choice of project finance. I use a pure-play approach to measure unobservable project cash flows for a sample of 440 US and non-US firms that invested in 577 projects from 1990 to 2008 and find evidence that the probability of project finance is increasing in cash flow volatility difference between firm and project cash flows. The likelihood of the project finance is greater when volatilities are different and the correlation between firm and project cash flows is high. I also find that firms …

Essays On Adverse Selection And Moral Hazard In Insurance Market, Jian Wen

Risk Management and Insurance Dissertations

Essay One examines the asymmetric information problem between primary insurers and reinsurers in the reinsurance industry and contributes uniquely to the separation of adverse selection from moral hazard, if both are present. A two-period principal-agent model is set up to identify the signals of adverse selection and moral hazard generated by the actions of the primary insurer and to provide a basis for corresponding hypotheses for empirical testing. Using data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and A.M. Best Company, the empirical tests show that the problem of adverse selection exists in the reinsurance market between the affiliated …

Opportunistic Adaptation And New Venture Growth: Exploring The Link Between Cognition, Action And Growth, Andreea Kiss

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation introduces the model of opportunistic adaptation to explain new venture growth. In established firms processes of change and adaptation usually imply a transition from one steady-state strategy to another and a problem oriented perspective as firms change in response to potential threats to their current positions. However, in the context of new ventures, adaptation is less about moving from one existent strategy to another and more about the entrepreneur’s effort to reach a steady state for the first time by continuously experimenting and combining resources in creative and innovative ways. The model of opportunistic adaptation rests on three …

An Examination Of The Information Content Of Funds From Operations (Ffo) Using Polynomial Regression And Response Surface Methodology, Frank Gyamfi-Yeboah

Real Estate Dissertations

I examine the market reaction to the announcement of FFO by REITs using abnormal trading volume as a gauge of investors’ reaction. I also address the question of whether FFO provides more useful information to investors than net income. Lastly, I examine whether the quality of private information among traders prior to the announcement of FFO affects the level of abnormal trading volume.

Using three different specifications, I find that even though the announcement of FFO leads to abnormal trading, there is no association between the level of abnormal trading volume and the size of the surprise contained in the …

How Does Engagement Risk And The Focus Of The Pcaob Inspection Process Influence Internal Auditors' Reliance Decisions?, Julie A. Petherbridge

Accountancy Dissertations

With the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002, external auditors face a new regulatory inspection process in addition to an increase in litigation (or engagement) pressure. It has been communicated that this new inspection process will place an increased emphasis on the efficiency of integrated audits while maintaining the same level of effectiveness. In an experiment, I explore how external auditors’ reliance decisions on the internal audit function will be affected by different inspection focuses, varying levels of engagement risk, and the level of risk associated with the audit test or procedure. While I expect that there will be significant main …

Effect Of Digital Enablement Of Business-To-Business Exchange On Customer Outcomes: The Role Of Information Systems Quality And Relationship Characteristics, Stephen M. Du

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

This study extends our understanding of how information systems impact business value creation by examining the effect of digital enablement of business-to-business exchange on customer outcomes. We shed light on the connection between information technology investment and firm performance by focusing on how information technology is used (Devaraj and Kohli 2003) in an industrial services context and by highlighting the importance of indirect effects (Mittal and Nault 2009). A conceptual model is developed that combines a customer centric perspective (Sheth et al. 2000) with elements from the information systems success framework (DeLone and McLean 1992, DeLone and McLean 2003). Mediating …

R&D Investment Strategies Of Firms: Renewal Or Abandonment. A Real Options Perspective, Pingping Song

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

This research develops a real options perspective framework for firms‘ valuation of strategic investments. I propose that a real options perspective can provide an effective means of re-examining and revising firms‘ strategic investment decisions in general, and of making individual, investment-level abandonment decisions in particular. The principal purposes of this research are to explore whether firms make abandonment decisions in accordance with real options theory, and the relative strength of the traditional economic theory, the behavioral theory of the firm and real options theory in explaining firms‘ abandonment decisions. I develop a set of hypotheses in the context of firms‘ …

Reinsurance Contracting With Adverse Selection And Moral Hazard: Theory And Evidence, Zhiqiang Yan

Risk Management and Insurance Dissertations

This dissertation includes two essays on adverse selection and moral hazard problems in reinsurance markets. The first essay builds a competitive principal-agent model that considers adverse selection and moral hazard jointly, and characterizes graphically various forms of separating Nash equilibria. In the second essay, we use panel data on U.S. property liability reinsurance for the period 1995-2000 to test for the existence of adverse selection and moral hazard. We find that (1) adverse selection is present in private passenger auto liability reinsurance market and homeowners reinsurance market, but not in product liability reinsurance market; (2) residual moral hazard does not …

Transparency, Risk, And Managerial Actions, Gwendolyn Pennywell

Finance Dissertations

I investigate the relation between firm risk and firm transparency over the period 1992-2006 and find that the level of firm transparency and the level of firm risk are negatively related. I also find that higher CEO pay-performance sensitivity (delta) works to mitigate this inverse relationship. This result is consistent with Hermalin and Weisbach (2007) who suggest that managers reduce risk to protect their pay and performance evaluations under higher levels of firm transparency. I further find that firms in high technology industries are more likely to increase risk relative to firms in other industries when transparency is high. Finally, …

The Mediating Role Of Ethical Decision Making In The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Outcomes: An Examination Of Business-To-Business Salespeople, G. Alexander Hamwi

Marketing Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how the ethical decision making of a salesperson is influenced by job characteristics, and how ethical decision making then influences job outcomes. This research is important because the field of ethics draws from diverse disciplines that have minimal agreement with each other. While calls have been made for a uniform standard of ethics, a better decision may be for each discipline to look internally to determine both what ethics is and how it functions in relation to other variables on in each disciplines unique field. This study examines first how the exogenous …

A User-Centered Perspective On Information Technologies In Museums, Jessie Pallud

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

Information Technology (IT) has been put forth as a reasonable way to sustain visitor interest and encourage visit repetition in museums. Therefore, IT is becoming more common in museum settings and professionals express their need for more information about how their visitors interact with these systems. This dissertation is an attempt to answer this call. We propose three essays that deal with different aspects of museums and IT from a user-centered perspective. The first essay is an attempt to determine with a free simulation experiment how IT and more particularly websites can arouse interest for museological content. The second essay …

Studies On Adaptation To Information Systems: Multiple Roles And Coping Strategies, Christophe Elie-Dit-Cosaque

Computer Information Systems Dissertations

Understanding individual adaptation to Information Systems (IS) has received relatively little attention in IS research. For furthering these issues, a multi-paper dissertation is adopted and studies distinct aspects of user interaction with IT related with adaptation. Thus, in order to better understand how system users adapt to IT disruptions this study examines (1) how system users who become disrupted by IS that provide them with too much information interact with these systems, (2) the influence of espoused cultural values (Srite et al. 2006) on user coping strategies of adaptation to IS, and (3) middle managers responses to the implementation of …