Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing Self-Service Technologies And Human Interaction Services In The Hotel Industry, Soona Park

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the development of technology, one of the major trends in the hospitality industry is service migration from human interaction services (HISs) to self-service technologies (SSTs). Therefore, it is important to examine customers service perceptions based on two different service provisions: SSTs and HISs. This study investigated similarities and differences between SST and HIS customer service perceptions based on several service quality dimensions, their effects on customer satisfaction and service loyalty in the hotel industry. Initially, this study conceptualized the service quality dimensions with six major dimensions (i.e., reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, competence, efficiency, and enjoyment) and hypothesized to have …

Destination Image And Tourist's Imagination: The Forgotten Component, Jalayer Khalilzadeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this dissertation was to 1) develop a comprehensive scale to measure visitors' imagination, 2) investigate the structural relationship between imagination and tourism destination image (TDI) components of cognitive, affective, and conative, 3) compare and contrast the various qualities of vividness, richness, saliency, control, and spatial between imagination and prospection, and 4) study the impact of different information sources on the evolving process of prospection to imagination. By conducting four different studies and seven data collection phases, the imagination scale was developed, validated, and utilized to test the proposed structural and differential hypotheses. In study 1, the phenomenology …

Identifying Type Of Expertise As A Means To Measure Crm Knowledge Structures, Camilo Jimenez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has evolved since its inception in the 1980s to better accommodate the operational needs of flight crews. However, even as the aviation and research communities have pointed to the potential benefit of providing CRM training, some criticism continues to emerge periodically which claims that there is no concrete evidence of its impact on flight deck performance and safety. Therefore, it is imperative to develop tools that allow researchers and, more importantly, practitioners, to more effectively and objectively assess training effectiveness and identify whether or not desired CRM behaviors are being put to practice during line …

Two Applications Of Financial Economics To Real Estate, Jeffrey Dibartolomeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My first essay examines the effects of dividend policy on the liquidity risk of REITs. I argue that the mandatory high cash payouts of REITs reduce investor reliance on the stock market to satisfy their liquidity needs. Using a sample of equity REITs from 1980 through 2015, I find strong empirical evidence consistent with this paradigm. Unlike non-REIT property companies, I find REITs exhibit negative sensitivity to marketwide liquidity shocks; a result that is evident across most property type sectors. Moreover, while my findings are robust across a wide range of portfolios based on size, dividend frequency, leverage, market-to-book, operations …

Virtual Reality Technology And Customer Delight In Theme Parks: The Role Of Experience Quality, Chenge Jia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid development of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, theme park companies are eager to apply VR technology to their attractions. Operating as highly hedonic consumption businesses, theme parks need to make sure that they offer unique and memorable experiences to customers in order to enhance their competitive advantages. However, empirical data is needed to understand whether and how VR technology will enhance visitors' experiences, including the quality of their experience, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Therefore, this study aims to examine how VR influences visitor's theme park experience quality, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Based on an in-depth literature …

Online Product Reviews: Effects Of Star Ratings And Valence On Review Perception Among Those High And Low In Need For Cognition, Jacquelyn L. Schreck

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Internet is becoming the main source for various tasks, from learning, to working, and shopping. There are many websites one can use to shop. Almost all stores have a website from which you can order anything you might want. As online shopping becomes more prominent, it is important to understand the effects of the Internet and its product reviewers and, specific to this study, consumer decision making. This study seeks to understand the effect of star ratings and valence on review perception between the different cognitive levels of individuals. Recognition review perception, and intent to purchase were being measured. …

Marketing Practices Of Socially Responsible And Sustainable Businesses, Brooke A. Bivins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The topic of this research is marketing practices of socially responsible and sustainable businesses. It examines the strategies companies and brands use to represent themselves to the public through products, advertising, and philanthropy. This includes an evaluation of existing frameworks and case studies, as well as in-depth interviews. The question that this research will answer is as follows: How can new or existing companies embrace and integrate social responsibility or sustainability in a way that is authentic and contributes to a positive public reputation?

Younger generations are increasingly willing to switch to and, in some cases, pay more for products …

Understanding The Implication Of Blockchain Technology On The Audit Profession, Brittany Jackson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase, assumptions of risk, and audit completions will change with the developing technology. The goal of this research is a better understanding of how auditing …

Changing Traditions: Examining The Factors That Determine The Probability Of Bidding To Host The Olympic Games Over Time, Jessie R. Dickens

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In September 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that, for the first time in its history, it would award the hosting of two different Olympic Games at the same time, giving the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic Games to Paris and Los Angeles respectively. As a result, the question is raised as to why the IOC broke tradition in its host city selection process. The break of tradition is presumably due to a lack of candidates to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. With prior host cities reporting astronomical costs and high debt balances associated with hosting, many cities have …

A Study On The Impact Of Technological Advancement On Community Bank Performance, Andre Ong

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigates the impact of technological advancement in community bank lending, more specifically, how online financial product and service offerings affect community banks' performance. Community banks, institutions with assets under $1 billion are praised as relationship banking specialists, are important source of credit to individuals and businesses. Their productive performance is highly beneficial for the economic development of the communities and customers that they serve, yet community banks' competitive power against large banks has become increasingly more challenging. Technological advancements radically shift all production and service based industries, including the banking industry and its institutions' offerings. The increasing use …

The Pay Equity Dilemma Women Face Around The World, Lana D. Mcmurray

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this research, I examine the pay equity dilemma women face around the world and how it is different in various regions of the world. My research question focuses on “how a nation’s cultural characteristics affect pay equity?” It is already documented that men are paid more than women. The goal of this study is to explain how individual characteristics of national culture (such as masculinity, individualism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) impacts this inequality. By increasing the understanding of pay inequality, changes can be made that will improve the lives of not just women but the families of those …

Three Studies Examining Accountability In Auditing, Amy Donnelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is dissertation consists of three studies investigating accountability in auditing. It is aimed at gaining a better understanding of how auditors make decision in the presence of accountability pressure. The first study is a literature review of the experimental audit research on accountability. It provides a conceptual framework for organizing prior research on this topic and offers opportunities for future research. The second study experimentally investigates accountability as a potential mitigating mechanism for the performance declines caused by ego depletion. Auditors are shown to be susceptible to depletion, but research has yet to consider how a natural element of …

Assessment Of Physical Workload, Ergonomic Problems And Prevalence Of Pain Among Low Wage Hotel Housekeepers In Orlando, Rachel Mammen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined the work conditions, ergonomic problems, and prevalence of pain among low wage hotel room cleaners in Orlando. In most hotels, the cleanliness of guestrooms is one of the most important service standards expected by customers. The role of the housekeeper is thus critical to service provision and hotel profitability. The hospitality industry is a major recruiter of low wage workers with the majority working in housekeeping departments. Due to the nature of the research problem, a positivist quantitative approach was adopted although the survey instrument included space for qualitative comments to some of the latter open-ended …

Determinants Of Continuance Intention And Word Of Mouth For Hotel Branded Mobile App Users., Liza Cobos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the cognitive and affective factors that influence users' post-adoption behavioral intention. Specifically, based on the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) (Bhattacherjee, 2001b) the impact of cognitive factors (i.e., perceived usefulness, confirmation of expectations, mobility, personalization and responsiveness) and affective factors (i.e., satisfaction, perceived enjoyment) on hotel branded mobile applications (apps) users' continuance intention and WOM were examined. Hospitality firms invest considerable resources on technology solutions that are aimed at improving the consumer experience. However, for investments to be profitable firms must ensure that technology solutions are continuously used and ensure post-adoptive behaviors such as continuance intention and WOM. …

Driven To Dishonesty: The Effects Of Commuting On Self-Regulatory Depletion And Unethical Behavior, Matthew Griffith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most people must commute to and from work each day, yet little research has examined this critical time between home and work and the potential spillover effects of commuting on employees' subsequent workplace behavior. Drawing on self-regulation theory and the commuting stress literature, I propose that stressful driving conditions on the way to work (e.g., bad weather, traffic congestion, long routes) can cause employees to subsequently behave unethically at work. Specifically, I suggest this occurs through a depletion of self-regulation as resources are consumed while driving under stress and thus unavailable for deterring tempting, unethical behavior. I test this mediation …

Three Essays On The Compensation, Structure, And Decision Making Of The Board Of Directors, Duong Pham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My first essay examines compensation of newly formed boards of directors following tax-free corporate spin-offs. The empirical results show newly formed spin-off boards are paid significantly more than peer boards in the same industry with similar firm size. Higher compensation is observed for spin-off firms where the CEOs are not formerly employed by the parent firms but not for spin-off firms with parent related CEOs, indicating that new directors demand higher compensation for the work involved in setting up the new governing system for the spun-off firms especially when there is a brand new CEO managing the spinoff firm. Differences …

Gee, Thanks: The Emotional And Structural Forces That Influence Subordinates' Upward Gratitude Expressions, Sharon Sheridan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, relationship scholars have demonstrated the importance of expressions of gratitude in cultivating relational bonds and relational satisfaction between close friends and romantic partners. Although there is growing evidence that gratitude facilitates improved relationships, organizational scholars have largely ignored the importance of gratitude in the workplace. What little we know indicates that expressions of gratitude in organizations may be rare. Indeed, a recent national survey revealed that 74% of the participants rarely, if ever, expressed gratitude to their supervisors (Kaplan, 2012). What might explain this apparent lack of gratitude? Research demonstrates that when individuals feel grateful for the generosity of …

The Workplace Consequences Of Obesity: Impacts On The Organization, The Employee, And The Proximal Coworker, Michael Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a condition affecting billions of people around the world. Its societal, psychological, and health outcomes have been well documented across multiple disciplines. Moreover, obesity leads to serious workplace outcomes for the organization, the obese individual, and the coworkers working around the obese employee. With this multi-chapter dissertation, I review the literature on the workplace consequences of obesity and extend one potentially fruitful area within this literature base: obesity's impact on a proximal employee. Chapter 1 reviews the workplace consequences associated with obesity. The purpose is to evaluate and integrate this multidisciplinary literature so that management scholars can take …

Three Essays On Market Efficiency And Corporate Diversification, Fawzi Jaber Hyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In my first essay, I use additions to the S&P 500 index as a laboratory to investigate how the interaction between arbitrageurs and arbitrage risk affects security prices. I find that the price effect is strong when there is high arbitrage risk (as measured by the lack of close substitutes) and low presence of arbitrageurs (as measured by low ownership by active institutions). Furthermore, a strong presence of arbitrageurs moderates the effect of arbitrage risk on the post-addition price reaction of added stocks. I also find a significant decrease in arbitrageurs' ownership in the added stocks post addition. More importantly, …

Three Studies Examining The Effects Of Informal Management Control Systems And Incentive Compensation Schemes On Employees' Performance, Kazeem Akinyele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of three studies investigating the effects of informal management control systems (MCS) and different types of incentive compensation schemes on employees' performance. Prior research describes informal MCS as implicit sets of structures that management adopts to encourage employees to act in a way that aligns with overall organizational goals (Berry et al. 2009). Management usually puts informal MCS in place to inspire self-regulation behaviors among employees; hence, management may not reward or penalize employee behavior that is consistent or inconsistent with this informal MCS (Berry et al. 2009; Christ et al. 2008). Informal controls are implied …

Power Effects On Consumer Well-Being: Two Essays On The Power Effects On Donation And Material/Experiential Consumption, Yue Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Power is a fundamental concept in social science (Russell 1938), which has gained much academic attention in various disciplines. Two essays of this dissertation examine the theoretical and practical implications of power effects on donation decisions and material/experiential consumption. The first essay demonstrates power's moderating effect on the relationship between publicity and donation. Specifically, it is proposed that powerful people tend to donate more in public (vs. private) situation, whereas powerless people do not show such a difference. This effect is driven by people's concern about self-presentation in a donation scenario. Additionally, this effect only holds when people strongly believe …

What's Black And White And Not Read All Over?: An Examination Of The Evolving Landscape Of Newspapers Through The Lens Of The New York Times, Anne Reiber

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The research and statistics gathered in this thesis begin in 2000. Newspapers began experiencing change due to technology before 2000. However, the information necessary to complete this thesis only goes back to that year. Since the year 2000, the newspaper industry has struggled to adapt to the age of ever-changing technology. Newspapers across the US, including large and well-established publications have been forced to find new strategies that allow them to keep up with new digital technologies. The New York Times was the focus of this study, but it is only one part of a very large industry. However, it …

Marital Status Of Executives And Company Performance, Ilona Day

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research paper explores differences in company performance levels, as measured by selected company fundamentals and annual return, with regard to the marital status of top executives, specifically the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer. It examines whether the differences in firm performance are determined by the marital status of the respective business executive. Groups of never married, married, and divorced executives are compared against each other to establish if and how the company performance changes between these groups. Summary statistics of the examined variables in conjunction with the results of the simple and multiple regression analyses indicate …

The Effect Of Food Labeling And Environmental Cues On Food Consumption Judgments And Choices., Sarah Lefebvre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As obesity levels reach epidemic levels globally, an understanding of the multitude of factors that influence both eating behavior and food choice is necessary. This dissertation attempts to investigate the role of emerging food categories, namely organic foods, and the influence of environmental cues on eating behaviors and choices. This goal is accomplished through three essays. The first essay focuses on the organic food trend and consumer taste expectations. Specifically, this essay explores how the presence of an organic label influences taste expectations differently for minimally processed versus highly processed foods due to the level of consistency (congruency) between the …

Two Essays On Investors' Attention To Economically Linked Firms, Mahsa Khoshnoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My first essay examines the degree to which the market prices of publicly traded firms reflect and respond to new information regarding the economic viability and vitality of organizations to which they are strategically linked. More specifically, I exploit the uniquely transparent nature of the lessor-lessee relationship across commercial real estate markets to evaluate whether future returns to real estate investment trusts (REITs) are systematically affected by the financial return performance and/or operational opacity of the tenants who lease their investment properties. Using a hand collected data set identifying the principal tenants of 96 publicly traded REITs, I find those …

The Expansion Of Financial Regulation To Include Humanitarian Issues:An Examination Of The Development Of Conflict Mineral Reporting Requirements Using Actor-Network Theory, Robert Tennant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study conceptually and empirically examines the establishment of certain financial regulation that resulted from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009. The crisis led to the establishment of the most extensive change in the regulation of the financial sector since the Great Depression (Green, 2011). During the forty years leading up to the crisis, the United States had engaged in a process of increased deregulation to promote greater efficiency (Yaron & Hendershott, 1998). The belief that reduced regulation would improve efficiency and foster innovation became the mantra of many economic advisers to policy setters, to the point that as …

Under-Researched Areas Of Audit Quality: Inputs, Firms, And Institutions, Jared Eutsler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Francis (2011) lists three under-researched units of analysis that affect audit quality: inputs, firms, and institutions. This dissertation analyzes how each of these units of analysis contributes to audit quality. Study 1 examines audit inputs, specifically, characteristics of the individual auditor that affect professional skepticism. Study 2 examines how firm staffing decisions affect audit quality. Study 3 examines how the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB"), as a regulatory institution, promotes audit quality through their risk-based inspection program. The first study reports the results of two experiments that examine professional skepticism as a function of moral agency. Consistent with the …

Team Cohesion In The Restaurant Industry: The Influence Of Core Evaluations, Marissa Orlowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Team cohesion has been clearly established in the literature as an essential component of effective work teams, yet little research has been conducted in regard to what factors lead to cohesion within a restaurant management team. What is currently known about the antecedents of cohesion indicates that it emerges from individual team member attitudes and perceptions as a collective property of the team. This, in turn, suggests cohesion is influenced by the dispositional traits of team members. The core evaluations construct, which represents a model of dispositional traits existing within each individual at the most basic level, offers implications for …

Decision Making In Corporate Taxation, Bonnie Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of three experimental studies that examine corporate tax aggressiveness through an investigation of judgment and decision making in the corporate tax environment. Studies 1 and 2 examine individual judgment involved in decision making (i.e., assessments of tax positions based upon tax scenario facts and tax authority). Study 1 examines how advice from external tax advisors and a tax advisor's association with the company's audit firm influences the aggressiveness of experienced in-house corporate tax decision makers. Study 2 examines how situational factors in the corporate tax environment interact with individual traits to affect individual-level tax aggressiveness, focusing …

The Missing Middle: Understanding The Effects Of Social Enterprise On Nonprofit Performance, Angela White-Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 2008 financial recession has seen increased poverty, job loss, and homelessness as well as decreased spending in health care, education, sanitation, and housing. These factors can lead to tensions across a number of sectors and underscore the need for innovation in for-profit, nonprofit and government organizations. One area of innovation in the nonprofit sector to supplement revenues is by adding social enterprise activity. Social enterprise is the pursuit of earned income activities for an organization that is driven by a community mission or value. Because financial and social problems are becoming increasingly intertwined, this study seeks to understand the …