Business Commons^™

Has Electricity Deregulation Eliminated The Nuclear Option?: Rethinking The Coasian Ios For Project-Finance Investments, Stephen Dansky

Theses and Dissertations

Installed electric generation capacity in the United States is expected to grow significantly over the next two decades. This raises concern about climate change as several common methods of electricity generation emit greenhouse gases. Nuclear power, which doesn’t create greenhouse gases while generating electricity, has been heavily promoted by the nuclear industry and a segment of the environmental community ever since it was codified by the United Nation’s 26^th Climate Change Conference of the Parties as an acceptable energy source to fight climate change. However, this dissertation establishes that the increased revenue risk and uncertainty created by the deregulation …

Organizational Cultural Entrenchment: Exploring Cultural Antecedents Of Actively Destructive Employee Behaviors As A Manifestation Of Voice In Mergers And Acquisitions, Keith Dellano Holloway

Theses and Dissertations

Mergers and acquisitions are frequently leveraged as a vehicle for company growth. However, many of these transactions fail to yield a positive result and often cause a net loss of shareholder value.

There are many interrelated factors at work within a merger or acquisition. Structure, leadership, finances, strategic fit, market, and price are just a few variables to consider. However, the factor of culture, and the failure of cultural integration, has surfaced in literature as a significant contributor to losses within mergers and acquisitions.

This study built on the work of Harris, Hirschman, Kotter, and Schlesinger and examined the deleterious …

Stages Of Entrepreneurial Success: A Qualitative Study Of Post-Soviet Immigrant Entrepreneurs In The United States, Nathan Thor Rozea

Theses and Dissertations

The rate of immigrant entrepreneurship continues to grow, affecting economic development in many host country communities. Immigrant entrepreneurs are found in past research studies to be outpacing host natives in entrepreneurial activities, offering additional economic, social, and cultural benefits. This study examined a phenomenon at the individual immigrant entrepreneur level in the United States to provide increased insight into understanding the phenomena of surges in immigrant entrepreneurial startups for continued research on immigrant entrepreneurship to effect related policy formation and decisions. This research examined a cohort of eighteen post-Soviet immigrant entrepreneurs from 11 different Eastern European countries with successful businesses …

Complexity Leadership Theory: The Influence Of Enabling Leadership And Experiential Learning On Emergent Outcomes And Organizational Knowhow, Bruce William Rideout

Theses and Dissertations

As technology advances, businesses find that today's information age is increasingly complex. If an enterprise can prepare the workforce to succeed in a complex environment, it will have a competitive advantage. Complexity is characterized by unpredictability, no recognizable patterns, and nonlinear causes and effects, creating unique challenges for today's workforce. The core or overarching research question that guides the research is: In complex environments, what are the experiences of leaders and team members who use enabling leadership and experiential learning to influence emergent outcomes, and how does it create organizational knowhow? In this constructivist grounded theory study, the efficacy of …

Managing Risks At Early-Stage Investment - An Information Asymmetry And Signaling Perspective, Vineet Malhotra

Theses and Dissertations

Venture Capital (VC) funding for entrepreneurs has traditionally been examined independently without considering risk differentials or idiosyncratic information gaps at various funding stages. As a result, these studies carry either a survival bias (only successful ventures), confirmation bias (interpreting information partial to decisions), or an assumption of information homogeneity across the funding stages. Without tangible and performance-related information at the early funding stage (seed), VCs rely on indicators or signals that create unimpeachable logic for investment. The paper explores VCs’ criteria to manage investment risks through an information asymmetry and signaling perspective and leveraging phenomenological research. The study was conducted …

An Exploratory Study Of The Impact Of Quality Management Practices On Data Integrity Fda-483 Observations Received By Pharmaceutical Manufacturers In Florida, Sarah Mary Christie

Theses and Dissertations

Quality management systems and regulatory compliance have been studied in academic and practitioner settings (Andersson et al., 2006; Beattie & Sohal, 1999; Berrouiguet, 2013; McDowall & Ratcliff, 2016; Unger, 2019; Wechsler, 2019). While research has been performed on both topics independently, there has not been a definitive analysis of the relationship between quality management practices and regulatory compliance, especially in an FDA-regulated manufacturing environment. This research study attempts to link quality management practices and regulatory compliance and provides valuable insights for working managers on the practitioner level.

Human Resource Management (Hrm) Practices And Female Mechanical Engineer Turnover Intentions: The Mediating Role Of Social Capital, Tyrone Walston Gorrick

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of human resource management (HRM) practices on female mechanical engineer turnover intentions while examining the mediating role of social capital. This study drew on insights from the HRM, social capital, and turnover theories and related models in the literature to formulate a set of hypothesized relationships and predictions that HRM practices positively influence social capital and social capital negatively affects female mechanical engineers' turnover intention. Turnover remains a challenging issue for all organizations, driving the need for measures that reduce employee quit intentions and, ultimately, turnover. After all, the …

A Focus On Followers: Examining Relationships Between Elements Of The Leader-Follower Relationship From The Follower’S Perspective, David James Ross

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines followership style, leadership behaviors, and LMX-quality from the follower’s perspective. This research used Kelley’s followership framework, the full range leadership model, and the LMX-6 instrument to analyze each dimension of the leader-follower relationship. Using a sample of 89 followers from various backgrounds, the study collected data regarding each of the followers’ unique relationships with their leader. These data provided insights into the followers’ current followership style (i.e., their current levels of independent critical thinking and active engagement), their leaders ‘behaviors, and the quality of their individual leader-follower relationship. The researcher used the statistical program JASP to measure …

Organizational Culture During The Era Of A Black Swan: A Phenomenological Examination Of New Hire Sales Training Within A Medical Diagnostic Company, Maelyn Zweben Lessard

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional sales training in a medical diagnostic organization takes place in multiple locations over the period of many months. New hires attend classes with a set group of other new hire employees establishing a cohort. It is the responsibility of the sales training department and the new hire’s direct supervisor to incorporate training into the organizations culture. This is done by bringing the new hire into the corporate office and, through the months of training, exposing the new hire to leadership, support functions, manufacturing, and multiple departments that will support their job moving forward. COVID-19 created a rapid market increase …

Human Capital Advantage From Fortitude, Resilience, And Perseverance Of Minority Ceos In Stem Organizations: A Phenomenological Study, Torin Mordel Malone

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored how the inherent lived experiences of minorities can foster the attributes of strength and stamina, collectively referred to as the fortitude, resilience, and perseverance (FRP) of minority executive-level leadership. Specifically, this research considered the lived experiences of ten minority CEOs and assessed the influence of how they lead and communicate within their organizations. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover if and how the attributes of FRP could distinctively serve as a human capital advantage for organizations to consider with regard to utilizing minority executive-level leadership. The implication is that the greater understanding …

Artificial Intelligence Superteams & Augmentation Strategies: Increasing Performance Of High-Functioning Virtual Team Members Via Human Machine Teaming Enhancements, Eric Lawrence Demirjian

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) can impact future workforce business operations in extraordinary ways through human-machine teaming. A human-machine teaming revolution will unleash enormous change upon businesses by merging humans and AI. For years, scholars and mainstream thought leaders have argued that firms must embrace AI and human-machine teaming to advance employee performance and deliver a high-performance, cost-effective, comprehensive business strategy (Raisamo, Rakkolainen, Majaranta, Salminen, Rantala, & Farooq, 2019). The era of human inadequacy, human-only teams, and human performance ceilings is disappearing as AI rapidly augments work and teams (Ashley & Sahota, 2019). AI augmentation and human-machine teaming will drive tomorrow’s blended …

Exploring The Role Of Soft Skills Amongst African American Women Navigating Barriers To Achieving Corporate Leadership, Latoya Newell Burke

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the role of soft skills in African American women's ascension to corporate leadership as they navigate and overcome barriers. The disparity of African American women in corporate leadership is longstanding. African American women's corporate American experience is distinct and often fraught with difficulties. In order to overcome the obstacles they encountered while pursuing executive leadership, this study investigated if soft skills were thought to be a crucial skill required. The study fills a gap in research that addresses African American women specifically. Previous studies have addressed the barriers that African American women face in corporate …

High-Functioning Virtual Team Members & Quality Of Work Life: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Subgroups, Performance, And Standard Occupational Classification Factors, Kate Ashley Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Historical events such as industrialization, the advent of computers, and the dawn of the internet have consistently impacted the employee workforce and created risks and opportunities for increased performance and quality of work life (QWL) (Guest, 2014; O’Halloran, 2015). Modern worldwide businesses are increasingly turning to virtual team members (VTMs) to create efficiencies, lower costs, and adapt to the changing implications of the COVID-19 and worker environment (Garro-Abarca, Palos-Sanchez, & Aguayo-Camacho, 2021). At this intersection between global change and altering work practices, the VTM faces changing societal views on QWL. Therefore, the individual VTM is the unit of analysis and …

Franchising: A Microfoundational View Of Personality Relationships Towards Franchisee Financial Performance, Christopher Heath Rehkop

Theses and Dissertations

The franchisor-franchisee relationship is unique; it provides a blend of entrepreneurial spirit with the structure of an established corporation. Franchisees operate with a degree of independence, taking certain risks and managing the details of day-to-day business, yet are also obligated to follow prescribed systems and processes of the franchisor. Both parties have a vested interest in the success of this relationship. While many macro-level factors (economy, technology, and demographics) come into play for a franchise’s success, one micro-level variable that may be identified early during recruitment is the personality characteristic of the franchisee candidate. A micro-level or “microfoundations” approach addresses …

Employment Transitions From Active-Duty Army Officer To Civilian: An Exploration Of The Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities Possessed By Combat-Experienced, Army Field-Grade Officers, James Daniel Crook

Theses and Dissertations

Two decades of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have concluded, bringing an end to the longest military conflicts in the history of the United States of America. Following the example of post-war history, the military’s posture is to reduce personnel end-strength. The post-war military requires fewer soldiers, and a significant number of transitioning officers make the journey from military to civilian employment. This quantitative study discovered the knowledge, skills, and abilities of combat-experienced, active-duty, Army field-grade officers and explored the change from military to civilian employment. This study addressed the gap in the literature regarding this specific group of transitioning …

Assessing The Analytic Competency Gap For Hr Professionals: Providing Hr A Roadmap To Data-Driven Decision-Making, Chandra Kay Marie Talerico

Theses and Dissertations

Human Resource (HR) professionals have fallen behind their peers in utilizing and leveraging analytics to enhance performance. Research indicates that HR professionals need a more prescriptive understanding of competencies required for analytics and the influence on job performance. This study utilizes a novel method to map a newly demanded skill set or competency cluster to a profession, filling a gap in the competency modeling literature for future state occupational needs. The developed and supported HR analytic competency cluster is logic, numeracy, and critical evaluation with special considerations for persuasion. This study utilized a structural equation model (SEM) to test the …

Understanding The Role Of Chief Financial Officers In The Strategic Planning And Decision-Making Process Of Defense Contractors In The Washington, D.C. Region, Carolynn Eileen Stiffler

Theses and Dissertations

The strategic planning and decision-making process of a firm is what drives the future of a firm, but what are all the correct stakeholders involved in that process? Historically, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm has been in charge of the firm’s strategic plan, guiding the firm based on his/her past experiences, and the Chief Financial Officer of the firm has been in charge of the back-office financial records and reporting. This study utilized the case study approach to explore the level of involvement a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has in firms' strategic planning and decision-making processes that contract …

Organizational Digital Agility: Strategic Imperative For Digital Transformation And Firm Performance, John Willard Hill

Theses and Dissertations

A firm’s ability to achieve a competitive advantage through the creation of digital capabilities is affected by a firm’s organizational digital agility (ODA). At their heart, both the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities provide vehicles for describing the ‘what’ regarding the role of resources in executing firm strategy. However, these two theoretical foundations do not address the ‘how’ and the manager's role in deploying those resources to achieve a competitive advantage. Resource orchestration theory begins to address this gap and advocates for the manager’s role in deploying these resources. Yet, despite this theoretical foundation, little research has been conducted on …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Investigating Adjourning Phase Behavior In A Sample Of The Product Development Teams In The Light Metal Forming Industry, Pawel Kazanowski

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to integrate existing literature, research, and thinking about team interactions during and after significant events like joint ventures, mergers, or technological changes exhibiting adjourning-like conditions in the team development process. The study of the product development teams representing the light metal forming industry followed the mixed-methods sequential design, including the Straussian approach to grounded theory during the qualitative phase of the study. The quantitative phase of the study included the creation of the Team Interactions Scale, followed by the Exploratory Factor Analysis. Successful verification of the proposed framework stimulated the introduction of the Team Interactions Score, capable …

Organizational Effectiveness In Women-Owned Small Businesses Within The Defense Sector Of Northern Alabama: A Case Study Approach, Kerry Shurron Prowell

Theses and Dissertations

Research into how human capital influences organizational effectiveness in WOSBs as they pursue government contracts is lacking. Understanding the impact of human capital upon organizational effectiveness in WOSBs may also help in recognizing how knowledge and skills contribute to the firm's ability to secure a government contract. Using the case study method, the influence of human capital on organizational effectiveness in WOSBs seeking government contracts is a phenomenon this study explored. Firstly, this research has discovered the importance of knowledge within human capital as a contributor to core competencies; furthermore, this finding was meaningfully observed through the lived experiences of …

The Impact Of A Transformational Leader On Employees Displaying Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Two Medium-Sized Customer Support Organizations, Jameen Heleena Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

This narrative analysis study explored the relationship between transformational leadership styles and employees exhibiting discretionary behaviors related to performance in an organization. The study investigated the relationship between transformational leadership and its impact on employee discretionary behavior, the impact that transformational leadership has on the employee, and the organization's overall performance. It investigated whether or not there are any specific dimensions of transformational leadership that influence organizational citizenship behavior in customer support organizations. Understanding how a transformational leader behaves and interacts with employees in an organization is important when considering its contribution to employee performance and workplace behaviors. As employers …

Sales Application Engineer Turnover Intentions: An Exploration Of Education, Age And Job Tenure Through The Met-Expectations Perspective, William Kelley

Theses and Dissertations

Both individually and in combination, globalization and the increasing use of information technology are creating unrelenting competitive pressures on organizations once protected by distance (Porter, 1999; Porter & Millar, 1985; Narus & Anderson, 1985; Boyle, 1996). These once-protected firms, historically operating in competitive landscapes limited to local firms, now compete with organizations located across state lines and oceans. In order to compete and survive, firms must adjust to the new competitive dynamics wrought by these changes (Teece, 2000). As knowledge has been identified as one of the most important sources of competitive advantage (Drucker, 1999) and profitability (Grant, 1991), this …

The Role Of The Top Management Team In Orchestrating Big Data Analytics For Competitive Advantage, Sujatha Rayburn

Theses and Dissertations

In today's big data era, the recognition of big data analytics (BDA) as a competitive differentiator is making companies invest heavily in its potential. However, for most companies, this requires a significant transformation that needs to be led from the top. Thus, the top management team's (TMT) managerial resources will be key to how BDA resources and existing BDA ordinary capabilities are further orchestrated as dynamic capabilities. This study grounded in the Upper Echelons theory, the Dynamic Managerial Capabilities (DMC), and Resource Orchestration frameworks sought to understand the impact of the managerial resources of cognition, human and social capital on …

Strategic Organizational Sustainability Climate: Scale Development And Validation, Petra Brnova

Theses and Dissertations

The Strategic Organizational Sustainability (SOS) Climate encompasses the employee perceptions of the policies, practices, and procedures that promote long term organizational success in the era of pressing economic, social, and environmental challenges. In order to promote such workplace climate, organizations must be able to measure it. To this end, the SOS Climate scale was developed and validated using first a phenomenological approach in interviews with sustainability professionals working in organizations across economic sectors. After this, scale items were generated and judged, followed by a pilot study. Principal component analysis was conducted for preliminary dimensionality and item reduction. Lastly, confirmatory factor …

Navigating The Glass Ladder: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Challenges Women Leaders Experience Throughout The Process Of Promotion In The Manufacturing Industry, Jamie Birdwell

Theses and Dissertations

As the presence of women in the workplace continues to increase and significant strides have been undertaken to ensure fair and equitable treatment of women in industry, a considerable gap remains in the representation of women in leadership roles in male-dominated industries (Saraçoğlu, Memiş, Voyvoda, & Kızılırmak, 2018). Gender discrimination brought on by stereotypical gender beliefs regarding “men’s work” versus “women’s work” is pervasive in the male-dominated industry of manufacturing (Levine, 2009; Massey, 2014; Sweida & Reichard, 2013). This study explored the experiences of women as they navigated promotion in the manufacturing sector. Through the lens of role congruity theory, …

The Effects Of Firm Age And Firm Size On Strategic Agility And Performance, Jonathan Henry Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Strategic agility is a relatively new construct in the field of strategic management which describes the degree to which a firm is flexible with its business strategy. Strategically agile firms are able to change their market focus, product mix, key resources, or business models quickly in order to exploit opportunities. This study advances our understanding of strategic agility by empirically testing the Doz and Kosonen (2010) model of the construct in a cross-section of firms in multiple industries with several contingency factors including firm age, firm size, and environmental turbulence. Using CEO-level survey data, the model is validated, and nine …

Exploring Configuration Management In Department Of Defense (Dod) Projects, Manessa Threatt

Theses and Dissertations

Configuration management has become more important than ever to managers of DoD projects. The study evaluated the relevancy of the facilitating and obstructing factors to the success of the overall configuration management process in DoD projects. It also examined the correlation between years of experience and academic qualification as well as configuration management professionals supporting DoD projects and the criticality of each factor. Hypothesis testing indicated that all facilitating and obstructing factors are relevant to the success of the overall configuration management process in DoD projects. Hypothesis testing indicated four significant positive correlations with years of experience as configuration management …

The Economic Impact Of Anti-Corruption Legislation On Foreign Investor Perceptions Of Corruption, Jean-Marie Marthe Auguste Richard Marcel Van Der Elst

Theses and Dissertations

Corruption has increasingly become an international challenge and the coordination of Anti-Corruption Legislation (ACL) and its implementation, a priority for nations. The economic impact of corruption on economic growth, foreign direct investment flows, and international trade is indicated in international research studies. The significant increase in global financial and trade transactions has presented new and increased opportunities for rent-seeking and increased the need for coordinated action against all forms of corruption. The effectiveness of national ACL measures in combatting and reducing corruption in all its forms, remains poorly defined and the extant research inconclusive. This study explores the economic impact …

Situational Judgement Selection Test Utility: Implications For Police Turnover, Marshall Alan Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Police agencies increasingly find attracting, recruiting, selecting, and retaining police officers challenging. Officer candidates selected can have up to a 25 percent fail rate in basic police training, while probationary officers in field training can fail to complete training with rates as high as 40 percent. Police selection batteries often include situational judgment tests (SJTs) designed to help ensure legal and proper hiring standards. The scores of SJTs, and other selection battery scores, are often filed once the hiring process is complete. This study explored the potential SJT selection battery scores may have in the prediction of field training and …

Distributed Team E-Leadership: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Subordinate Perceptions Of Career Development, Coby Andrew True

Theses and Dissertations

As changes in the global economy coupled with fast-paced advancements in technology continue to evolve and merge, the need to deploy a distributed workforce becomes increasingly important to remain competitive. Just as managers adapt traditional leadership styles to meet the needs of the distributed environment, individual team members must also overcome the challenges of increased geographic proximity, or physical distance between team members and team leader. As distributed teams continue to become more prevalent in the work environment, adaptations of traditional leadership styles must evolve to account for the unique conditions. The increasing use of Advanced Information Technology (AIT) has …