Business Commons^™

Making Good Decisions: An Attribution Model Of Decision Quality In Decision Tasks, Bethany Niese

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

Decision-makers endeavor to obtain the decision quality which puts them in a position to reach their goals. In order to control or influence decision quality, the processes by which individuals form their beliefs must be understood. In addition, many decision makers rely on decision support technologies to help find patterns in data and make sense of the input, so these technologies must be considered in parallel with the processes.

There have been numerous studies conducted to illuminate the factors which affect decision quality, however, many of these studies focused on objective measures and factors. This approach ignores individual perception, belief, …

Entrepreneur-Venture Fit And Burnout: Moderating Effects Of Entrepreneurial Passion, David Witt

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

Entrepreneurial burnout is a worrying problem because it is related to reduced performance and venture failures. Existing models do not adequately explain the causes of burnout among entrepreneurs. Exploring the antecedents and mechanisms leading to this significant issue can thus enhance our understanding and facilitate the design of interventions.

This study proposes an entrepreneur-venture fit model to explain burnout among entrepreneurs. Regulatory focus orientations of promotion and prevention are proposed as defining the characteristics of entrepreneurs and their ventures that determine fit, and passion is proposed to moderate fit effects.

The model was tested using a survey-based field study to …

The Impact Of Audit Engagement Partner Disclosure On Audit Outcomes In The United States, J. Alan Bell

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE IMPACT OF AUDIT ENGAGEMENT PARTNER DISCLOSURE ON AUDIT OUTCOMES IN THE UNITED STATES

by

James Alan Bell

This study is motivated by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) mandate requiring the public disclosure of the audit engagement partner’s identity. Prior to the ruling, the audit engagement partner (AEP) was known only to the company’s management, audit committee, audit firm, and regulators. The PCAOB maintains that disclosure of the AEP will increase the partner’s sense of accountability; and increase transparency in the audit process; leading to improved audit quality; and improved financial reporting quality; thereby improving the credibility …

The Informed Human Firewall: The Impact Of Knowledge Dimensions On Employees' Secure Behavior, Ashraf Mady

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

Organizations implement a variety of knowledge mechanisms such as information security education, training, and awareness (SETA) programs and information security policies to influence employees’ secure behavior. However, skills gained through these knowledge mechanisms have not always translated to secure behavior. Protection motivation theory (PMT) is a widely used and accepted theory in information security behavioral research. Nevertheless, information security research has not examined the impact of knowledge mechanisms on PMT psychological processes. This study explains the key psychological processes that influence employees’ secure behavior and seeks to understand how organizational knowledge mechanisms influence these key psychological processes that form threats …

The Examiniation Of Entrepreneurial Investment Tax Credits: Angel Vs. Crowdfunding Investing, Laura Barthel

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

Equity-investment credits are prevalent in the United States and other countries (Bell and Woodmansee, 2016), yet little evidence exists about the effectiveness of these credits at incentivizing individuals to invest. The intent of these credits is to spur entrepreneurial activity and in turn economic development (Acs, Asterbro, Audretsch, and Robinson, 2016; Bell, Wilbanks, and Hendon, 2013; Erken, Donselaar, and Thurik, 2016). The current study experimentally tests the influence of a tax credit on an individual’s likelihood to invest in startups across two risk settings, which parallel Angel and Crowdfunding investing methods.

The study finds an equity-investment tax credit is effective …