Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Exploring The Mechanisms, Conditions, And Effects Of Communication Styles On Individual Performance Effectiveness, Michelle Gigowski Caplan

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Communication is a crucial component connecting individuals to organizational processes, ultimately impacting firm performance outcomes. While numerous studies have investigated communication in the workplace, few have examined communication behavior styles and the mechanisms by which they come to impact individual performance outcomes. This dissertation investigated how communication behavior styles and impression management tactics affect individual performance outcomes (communication effectiveness, citizenship performance, and task proficiency) across variable situational constraints in organizational settings. Participants were 152 working professionals enrolled in graduate business programs, with performance outcomes derived from supervisory ratings. This dissertation makes four primary contributions to the existing literature. First, this …

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 …

Exploring Entrepreneurial Orientation In First- And Continuing-Generation College Graduates, Ryan D. Butt

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have explored first-generation college student experiences leading up to and throughout their time seeking a bachelor’s degree. Other research has investigated the relationship between risk perception or self-efficacy traits and entrepreneurial orientation. The purpose of this study is to fill the gap between these two research streams by exploring the relationship of entrepreneurial orientation in, and between, first- and continuing-generation college graduates, specifically evaluating their post-graduation experience. This project explores entrepreneurial orientation, risk-taking, self-efficacy, and familial obligations to explore potential similarities and differences between first-and continuing-generation graduates. Specifically, this study hypothesized that first-generation college graduates would have greater …

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 …

The Cost Of Success For Black, Racialized Minority, And Indigenous Academic Leaders, Helen Ezenwa

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Black, racialized minorities and Indigenous leaders (“BrmI”, Henry et al., 2017) in higher education are part of an elite group of educators. Less than 5% of full professors are Black and Hispanic (Taylor et al., 2020), and it is typically from this pool that academic leaders (e.g., Provost, Department Chair) are selected. Given this finite population, this research aims to understand one potential reason for lack of ascension into positions of power for academic leaders of color: the cost of that success. Through the lens of stigma and discrimination, I hypothesize that academic BrmI leaders consider the interpersonal and intrapersonal …

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 …

Growth Strategies Through Mergers And Acquisitions In Knowledge-Based Companies – The Case For Architect/Engineer (A/E) Professional Service Firms (Psfs), Terry A. Ruhl

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Analyses of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across industries are prevalent in the literature. Yet, this research reveals that at least half, if not more, of all M&A activity fails to meet strategic, operational, and financial objectives, and can result in declining employee and customer satisfaction. The research herein develops a model framework for alternative growth strategies in the architecture/engineering (A/E) industry, with a specific focus on the antecedents of successful M&A among A/E professional service firms (PSFs).At the center of the model is the Resource Based View of the Firm, where leadership capacity, cash, and capital flows yield an affordable …

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 …

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 …

University Internationalization As A Method Of Human Capital Development, Kari Costello

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

University internationalization involves a complex set of initiatives that provide students and faculty with opportunities to gain global perspectives and intercultural skills which can enhance human capital. Typically, these activities are evaluated in terms of participation numbers or financial costs. But little attention is paid to understanding the intangible benefits of internationalization activities. This study aims to understand the benefits of international educational experiences and determine whether they can be considered investments from a human capital perspective. This mixed methods study involved qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey of over 400 students and faculty at a university. The results demonstrated …

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 …