Business Commons^™

The Impact Of Sustainability Reporting On Firm Profitability, Lancee L. Whetman

Undergraduate Economic Review

Using a hand-collected representative sample of 95 publicly traded American firms from various sectors in 2015-2016, I examine how corporate sustainability reporting affects the financial performance of firms. I find a positive and significant effect of sustainability reporting on a firm’s return on equity, return on assets, and profit margin in the subsequent year. However, this relationship is found only for firms with low institutional ownership. These results suggest that sustainability reporting would be a worthwhile use of corporate resources for this subset of firms. Further, corporate sustainability reporting is shown to be an effective substitute for monitoring by institutional …

Dave Moravec, Dave Moravec '84, Francine Krieger 2015

All oral histories

In this interview, Mr. Moravec reflects on a dorm tradition that led him to his future wife Susan, changes to campus over the years, and his time as Tommy Titan.

Other topics include the campus jobs he had (Admission, Saga, and Dolan Hall), and the benefit he later found to the rigors of his English Composition class.

He briefly discusses his wife Susan’s activities on campus and the annual student-faculty basketball competition.

Mr. Moravec is a businessman in the Bloomington-Normal community and active in mentoring students through the Hart Career Center. In 2009, he and Susan took part in the …

Mary Beth Phillips, Mary E. Phillips, Abigail Szunyogh 2014

All oral histories

Mary Beth Phillips worked at IWU for 27 years. In that time she served as Administrative Assistant for three different Presidents and for two of the Vice Presidents for Business and Finance.

Her stories include the office's role in the campus building projects during her tenure and the changes she's seen to campus's connection to the Methodist Church.

Lobbying In The Defense Aerospace Industry, Austin Smiley

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research paper is to identify the main variables that impact an aerospace defense firm’s decision to lobby. This study focuses on important accounting and financial measures specific to each company. It also takes into account government and public variables such as the level of public scrutiny the company experiences and national defense spending. This study finds that cash flow and profitability are both negatively correlated with the decision to lobby. It also finds a positive correlation between inventory turnover and the decision to lobby the following year. Additionally, there is a positive relationship between public scrutiny …

The Finance Behind Conference Realignment, Brian Piotrowski, Elisabeta Pana, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Dow Jones Returns, Cory Sloan, Elisabeth Pana, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Nature Versus Nuture: Sexual Orientation, Mackenzie Astling, Tim Reardanz, Darryl Brown, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Banks' Total Risk: Accounting Ratios And Macroeconomic Indicators, Mike Salkeld, Jeungbo Shim, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Internal Revenue Code §6015: A Viewpoint On The Social Injustices Of The United States Tax Law, Caitlin Giudice, Amy Zumbahlen, Darryl Brown, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Bill Wright, William Wright '53, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Bill Wright is a graduate of the 1953 Business Administration program and is a member of Theta Chi. This interview was conducted at Westminster Village in Bloomington.

An Empirical Investigation Of Poison Pill Use In The Banking Industry, Zachary Hooper '07

Honors Projects

This study examines the use of poison pill plans in the banking industry. This research demonstrates that the increasing number of banks adopting a poison pill plan is related to increasing market concentration. There are two hypotheses explaining the intent of these adoptions: (l) Managerial Entrenchment and (2) Shareholder Interest. This study specifically examined these hypotheses in the banking industry between 1986 and 2003. Results indicated that comparison banks not adopting a poison pill had a significant improvement in ROE the year after their peers adopted a poison pill. Additional results of this research contradict the popularly held belief that …

Baseball And Its Anti-Trust Exemption, Jason Korczak '04

Honors Projects

Somewhere in small town America there is a group of young boys with an old tattered ball and a game tested Louisville Slugger playing a pick up game of baseball. It doesn't matter that there is no crowd cheering them on, or that none of the players have a uniform, or even that not one of them is being paid. All of these youngsters are playing simply for the love of the game. And this is how the majority of people in America view baseball, as a game that people play for fun and enjoyment. This is not the case …

Privatization In Lithuania: General Environment And Case Studies, Ginte Sabaliauskaite '00

Honors Projects

The crumble of the Soviet Union left Lithuania, like many of its former republics, at a standstill. With the demise of USSR came the demise of markets in the east and it became important for Lithuania to establish economic ties with the west. The first step in this direction is to privatize much of the public property so that it can be managed with a goal of profitability. The privatization of housing and small firms is very important, but the successful privatization of large enterprises plays a crucial role in the country's overall economic success. Profitability of a large enterprise …

Firm Size And R&D; Testing The Schumpeterian Hypothesis, Melissa Goodwin

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

This paper aims solely to look at the question of R&D, research and development, expenditure. More specifically, this paper asks the question, "What is the relationship between the size of the firm and R&D? And do larger firms spend more on R&D relative to their size than smaller firms?" The answers to these questions have important implications concerning a firm's incentives for growth and innovation. These answers will also put us a step closer to understanding the functions performed by firms as Coase suggests.