Digital Commons Network^™

Empirical Assessment Of Big Data Technology Adoption Factors For Organizations With Data Storage Systems, Ahmad B. Alnafoosi

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Many organizations have on-premises data storage systems. Data storage systems are evolving in multiple ways. One way is the adoption of Big Data. Big Data is a data storage system with the ability to analyze large volumes, velocity, and a variety of data. Per the Economist, data is now the most valuable resource (Parkins, 2017). Big Data holds the promise of unlocking a substantial value of data stored. Yet many organizations are not implementing Big Data. There is a need to identify key factors affecting adoption for such organizations. The literature review revealed multiple gaps in studied adoption factors (un-studied …

An Empirical Study On Email Use, Stress, And Employee Job Satisfaction In A Covid-19 Environment, David J. Bouvier

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

April 2020, COVID-19 (COVID) changed the world and how society functions, transforming the means in which we communicate. Face-to-face interactions were abruptly and immediately replaced with technology mediums. The increase in technology use changed our interpersonal communication habits, placing greater reliance on new and existing electronic methods. Although new forms continue to evolve, the predominate electronic communication method utilized is email. This research uses grounded theory on stress and technology acceptance, and further assesses perceived email volume changes to analyze the relationship of these constructs to job satisfaction during COVID. The data was collected from 147 employees of a mid-sized …

Impact Of Hospital Inventory Management Of Ppe On State-Level Healthcare Worker Infections During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nidhal Bouazizi

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain and its inability to keep up with the fluctuating demands of a global pandemic. Limited research examines the resilience of the PPE supply chain in times of stress, and very few studies rely on quantitative retrospective analysis. This dissertation studies the impact of hospital inventory management, a portion of PPE supply chain preparedness, on infections in healthcare workers (HCWs). Our research shows that there exists a statistically significant negative relationship between PPE preparedness and infections for HCWs, but this relationship is only significant for N95 …

Stakeholder Capitalism: An Investigation Of The Linkage Between Corporate Social Responsibility And Financial Performance, Cynthia Walsh

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a large sample of firms over a 13-year period, we examine the impact of ESG Score on profitability. While we fail to find a significant effect for the continuous ESG Score variable, we find conditions where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays an important role in financial performance. Specifically, after controlling for relevant firm characteristics and fixed effects, we find that the highest quartile of ESG Scores experience an average increase in return on assets of 4%. This effect is amplified for the CSR-sensitive energy industry. Additionally, CSR can play an important role in mitigating loss during times of economic …

The Effect Of Management’S Focus On Sasb Measures On Financial Performance: A Study Of The Health Care Supply Chain Sector, James C. Morell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Publicly traded companies are coming under increasing pressure from investors and the media to demonstrate their commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainability, and there are many ESG models competing for the attention of the board and senior management team (Burke, 2020, Fatemi, 2017, and Jebe, 2019). In response to this pressure the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has prepared a “Directors’ Guide to the SASB Standards” for eleven industries (Value Reporting Foundation, 2021). The objective of this study was to provide evidence to support the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s claim that organizational adoption and strategic focus on its …

Veteran Entrepreneurs – Founder Social Identities, Edward Papabathini

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, entrepreneurs assume a pivotal role in creating jobs, driving innovation and productivity growth, and contributing to the success of the national economy. An often-overlooked segment of this population, Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces create nearly $1 trillion in cash receipts, employ nearly six million Americans, and lead one of every six entrepreneurial initiatives. This study was an investigation of the founder social identities of the 10% of veterans who become entrepreneurs: Darwinism, communitarian, and missionary. Additionally, this study was a means to assess the relationship between specific identities, innovation, financing pattern, and entrepreneurial commitment among …

Does A New Product Development Project’S Name Influence Internal Stakeholder Commitment?, Dianna Akin

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore whether a new product development project’s name and or charter effects commitment of senior management sponsors, product development team members and project leaders to the project. Leveraging signaling, internal marketing and imprinting theory to influence internal stakeholder project commitment, I executed three studies to 1) evaluate the validity of my research, 2) identify strong and weak project names, and strong and weak project charters, and 3) a 2x2 between-subjects experiment to test the main effect of project name, the main effect of project charter, and the interaction effect of project charter strength …

A Brand New Day: How Commitment Impacts Trust And Perceived Motivation Of A Firm’S Corporate Social Responsibility And Brand Activism Efforts, Tara-Ann Dugan

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

As consumers’ expectations for brands to “do good” continue to grow, companies are simultaneously increasing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and communication. Communicating on the “good” a company is doing may seem like it would yield a positive outcome; however, such is not always the case. Companies face the challenge of wanting to engage in CSR activities that address topical issues while simultaneously avoiding the perception of engaging in CSR efforts for self-serving reasons, a phenomenon referred to as “virtue signaling,” where the company’s prosocial efforts are perceived as primarily self-motivated. Furthermore, as companies engage in greater brand activism, …

Does Relevant Information Exchange Create Relationships Between Buyers And Sellers That Affect Sales?, Christopher Hansen

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

This study quantitatively and qualitatively tests the influence of sales-deployed relational marketing material using an ongoing information stream (OIS) of relevant literature, and measures the impact on a buyer’s likelihood to purchase in the future, the allocation of dollars to a purchase, and the development of relationship, trust, expertise, and reduction of uncertainty in decision making. The study produces generalizable results from a large cross-section sample of 400 buyers under specific conditions that included both imminent and no imminent sale conditions, and varying levels of deployment of the OIS. It was found that relevant information exchange by itself does not …

Examining Dimensions Of Patient Satisfaction With Telemedicine, Robert Garcia

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

During the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) medical institutions and practitioners have drastically increased their adoption of telemedicine. The proliferation of telemedicine systems has sparked renewed interest among IS researchers in evaluating its usage. One of the main indicators used to measure the success of telemedicine services is patient satisfaction. Yet several problems exist with current methods used to evaluate telemedicine satisfaction. Patient satisfaction with telemedicine is frequently evaluated using either single question items or handmade instruments that are seldom assessed for validity. While telemedicine satisfaction is typically evaluated through single measures, satisfaction is considered a complex and multidimensional …

The Effect Of Effective/Ineffective Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting On Customer Satisfaction, A. Dwayne Powell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The net benefits of compliance with sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX or the Act) have been a point of contention since its enactment. Emerging research suggests a spillover effect from internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) to operations (Bauer, 2016; Bauer et al., 2018; Caplan et al., 2017; M. Cheng et al., 2013; Q. Cheng et al., 2018; Feng et al., 2015; Su et al., 2014). This study seeks to extend this line of research by investigating the benefits of effective ICFR for customer satisfaction. Satisfying customers is a primary operating objective of …

A Desire Fulfillment Theory Of Digital Game Enjoyment, Owen M. Schaffer

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Empirical research on what makes digital games enjoyable is critical for practitioners who want to design for enjoyment, including for Game Design, Gamification, and Serious Games. But existing theories of what leads to digital game enjoyment have been incomplete or lacking in empirical support showing their impact on enjoyment.

Desire Fulfillment Theory is proposed as a new theory of what leads to digital game enjoyment and tested through research with people who have recently played a digital game. This theory builds on three established theories: Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory, Theory of Basic Human Desires, and Flow Theory. These three theories are …

Impact Of Supply Chain Design On The Relationships Between Strategy Type, Firm Performance, And Supply Chain Outcomes, Kyle Pudenz

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

While the impacts of corporate strategy and supply chain design on firm performance have been independently studied, the role of supply chain design as an integrated element of corporate strategy is not well understood. This study aims to understand whether alignment between an organization’s strategy type and supply chain design positively impacts financial performance and supply chain outcomes. The study design involved a quantitative survey of 95 management professionals knowledgeable about their corporate strategy, supply chain design, and firm performance. Firm performance was measured in financial terms of perceived profitability and market share gains as well as through use of …

Overcoming The Race-Sex Barrier: What Matters Most In The Executive Sponsorship Of Black Women, Stephanie B. Smith

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the factors that are common, different and most important in the executive sponsorship of Black female protégés in comparison to the executive sponsorship of White male protégés. Drawing on social capital and social exchange theory, I propose a model that examines specific protégé and sponsor attributes relevant to career mobility and sponsorship for White male and Black female protégés. A sample of existing sponsors (n=72), comprised of C-suite executives (CEO, President, Managing Directors), and their protégés (n=59) who were senior level professionals (Division Presidents, General Managers, and Vice Presidents) participated in the study. Notwithstanding …

When Objective Price Information Is Not Available: Impact Of Unpublished Or Missing Prices On The Purchase Journey For High Costs, High Involvement Products, Thomas J. Dammrich

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Every model of the consumer purchase journey includes an evaluation phase, during which consumers search for product attributes including price. While much has been written about search, knowledge uncertainty, and the role of price in continued search and purchase intent, very little, if any, empirical work has been done to understand the impact on the path to purchase when objective price is not available. This study undertakes a field experiment with random assignment in a natural setting to examine the impacts on consumer behavior related to continued search, lead generation and purchase intent when objective price is not available. The …

A Human Capital Approach To Pay Disparity, Kay Howell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Measuring And Managing Customer Profitability: Implications For Identifying And Managing Unprofitable Customers, David P. Stubing

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Supply Market Analysis: The Moderating Effect Of Social Networking On Cost Reduction, Adam Cockrell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

As organizations look for more efficient ways to grow and optimize their supplier network to meet demands, the sourcing process must be streamlined through social networking. Kraljic’s (1983) purchasing portfolio approach argues that different types of purchases need different sourcing strategies. This study extends beyond this strategy by introducing a novel approach of social networking as a mechanism to amplify cost reduction. Through the theoretical underpinning of Transaction Cost Theory, this study builds upon the use of social networking to establish the foundation for future research in this area. In this study, existing and former Purchasing Managers (Sourcing Managers, Procurement …

The Influence Of Cognitive Moral Development And Leader Regulatory Focus On Employee Ethical Decision Making And Behavior, Brandon Hendrix

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Recent events in business, private, and public settings suggests that people continue to struggle with ethical issues. This study drew on theories of cognitive moral development and leader regulatory focus to increase our understanding of the forces that shape ethical perceptions, decision making, and behavior. I hypothesized that employee cognitive moral development is negatively related to the approval of questionable/unethical behavior. Results indicate employees exhibiting lower levels of cognitive moral development were more accepting of unethical or questionable moral behavior. I also hypothesized that leader regulatory focus would moderate the negative relationship between employee cognitive moral behavior and tolerance for …

The Relationship Between A Firm’S Ownership Structure, Governance, And Innovation, Erica J. Wagner

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Firm innovation is key for many companies to continuously thrive in the marketplace. Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to making innovative investments because of the upfront costs and riskiness of future returns. This creates conflicts because managers are under pressure to meet short-term earnings forecasts. A managers’ short-term focus on a firm’s business strategy may not be in the best interests of the shareholders’ long-term vision of a firm. For this reason, a strong corporate governance system can trigger an increased level of monitoring of the decision-making of managers so that it’s aligned with shareholders’ goals. Often, a firm’s long-term strategy …

A Confident Culture For Creativity? Creative Self-Efficacy And Innovation Behavior Moderated By Perception Of Culture: Millennials Versus Generation Xers, Karen Bartuch

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Innovation is a strategic priority for many companies today and some are more successful at it than others. This study aims to understand what factors affect the innovation behavior of employees. Specifically, this study examined the perceptions of creative self-efficacy (CSE) in individuals and their innovation behavior. In addition, individual perceptions of culture for innovation within their organization were measured to determine how culture affects the relationship between CSE and innovation behavior. According to social cognitive theory (SCT), an individual’s behavior, cognitions and the environment influence each other in a dynamic fashion.

Given the prevalence of millennials in the workforce …

Smart Or Shirking? The Effect Of Aggressive Tax Avoidance On Corporate Repuation, Jennifer Mcgarry

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I investigate how news that a company has engaged in aggressive tax avoidance affects the company’s reputation. If the general public believes companies have a responsibility to pay their “fair share” of the national tax burden, then they will likely view aggressive tax avoidance negatively. If instead the public believes companies have a responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits by minimizing tax, then they will likely view aggressive tax avoidance positively. I examine these two possibilities by conducting an experiment. I find that people tend to view aggressive tax avoidance negatively and thus companies suffer reputational damage …

Empirical Assessment Of The Role Of Technology-Related Factors And Organization-Related Factors In Electronic Medical Records Implementation Success, Rangarajan Parthasarathy

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

The objective of this research was to investigate if certain technology-related and organization-related factors that have most often been associated with successful IT/MIS implementations in other information technology and information science domains are also associated with successful Electronic Medical Records (EMR) implementations. This research uncovered a unique set of technology-related factors and organization-related factors associated with successful EMR implementations from the perspective of healthcare enablers and healthcare providers. Specific technology-related factors considered in this research were the innovativeness of EMR (measured with respect to the relative advantage, compatibility and complexity of EMR), privacy and security attributes of EMR, and usefulness …

Technology Acceptance In A Mandatory Environment: A Test Of An Integrative Pre-Implementation Model., Mohanned Al-Arabiat

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Technology acceptance has been studied extensively within the IS discipline. The introduction of the technology acceptance model (TAM) has given researchers the opportunity to produce a vast body of knowledge; however, existing gaps within the technology acceptance literature warrant further investigation of these understudied areas. Namely, few if any have studied end users’ acceptance of newly implemented technologies within organizational contexts before end-users start using the technology. Additionally, leadership is one of the areas that has not yet been sufficiently integrated with the technology acceptance literature. The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory with its roots in the social exchange theory offers …

An Exploration Of Engagement: A Customer Perspective, Laura M. Flynn

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study examines a proposed framework for measuring customer engagement with support from employee engagement literature. Archival data was utilized to evaluate these relationships which included 4.530 participants that were customers of a business-to-business (B2B) organization and utilized the business' website. A similar factor structure resulted for the measurement of customer engagement. Structural equation modeling showed partial support for the hypothesized predictors of engagement (i.e. commitment, brand image, preference and decision making) because the relationship between satisfaction and engagement was not significant. The hypothesized outcome variables of engagement were also partially supported with loyalty, sales, average order value, and website …

A Qualitative Examination Of Workplace Bullying Experiences Among Temporary-Laborers, April A. Gonzalez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative field study that utilized face-to-face interviews to examine workplace bullying experiences of temporary-laborers.

Seminal Barriers To Female High School Students’ Choice Of Information Technology As A Career Alternative, Donna M. Grant

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

The under-representation of women in the IT profession is a well-known Information Systems phenomenon. Unlike the other sciences and mathematics, where the percentage of women receiving bachelor’s degrees has increased over the past two decades, the percentage of women obtaining degrees in technology has decreased. Information Technology started strong in 1984 with 37.06% women receiving bachelor’s degrees; however, 2004 brought a decrease to a low of 25.05%, near the level of three decades earlier. The consequences of this under-representation include non-diverse IT solutions, a predicted IT workforce shortage, and the United States losing its ability to participate as a fervent …