Business Commons^™

Relational Value Exchange: A Grounded Theory Study Of Buyers' And Sellers' Approaches To Building, Maintaining, And/Or Dissolving Interorganizational Relationships, Geoffrey Todd Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate why buying and selling organizations build, maintain, and/or dissolve interorganizational relationships. To address the buyers’ and the sellers’ perspective, the author analyzed a previously collected data set from the buyers’ perspective, and collected and analyzed primary data from the sellers’ perspective. Grounded theory methodology was implemented as a means for building theory which captures the variation within the buyer-seller relationships.

The findings indicate that variation within business relationships can be explained by the approaches buyers (Study 1) and sellers (Study 2) take when interacting with partners. In particular, buyers’ utilized an approach …

Two Essays On Momentum, Seung-Chan Park

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most controversial topics in recent investment literature has been stock return momentum. If an investor buys past winners and sells past losers, he will earn positive profits in the intermediate-term horizon (3 to 12 months). While behavioral theories seem to dominate as an explanation for the momentum phenomenon since momentum has been regarded as direct counter evidence for the efficient market hypothesis, Chordia and Shivakumar (2002) find that momentum can be explained by a set of macroeconomic variables. Chordia and Shivakumar argue that momentum is caused by time-varying expected returns that can be predicted by a set …

Designs For Stated Preference Experiments, Jennifer Lynn Golek

Doctoral Dissertations

We explore the use of different strategies for the construction of optimal choice experiments and their impact on the overall efficiency of the resulting design. We then evaluate how these choice designs meet the desired characteristics of optimal choice designs (orthogonality, level balance, utility balance and minimum level overlap). We further explore the feasibility of using entropy as a secondary measure of design optimality. We find that current algorithms afford little flexibility for using this secondary measure. We further study the impact of misspecification of the assumed parameter values used in creation of optimal choice designs. We find that the …

The Comparative Ordered Influence Of Brand Equity’S Experiential And Functional Antecedents And Dimensions, And Its Consequences On U.S. And Mainland Chinese Consumers, Samuel Allen Broyles

Doctoral Dissertations

Drawing from various social science literatures, this dissertation put forth and examined a theoretical model addressing the question of whether brand equity’s functional and experiential elements (antecedents, dimensions, consequences) have differential influence on Americans and Chinese. The significance of this study is reflected in the fact that variousU.S.firms have attempted, often unsuccessfully, to market their brands inChinaand other countries. This effort at internationalization reflects mounting pressure from ever-increasing competition, and thus the need to find new markets for their brands. A number of researchers have suggested this lack of success is the result ofU.S.firms not understanding the cultural differences that …

Supplier Contracts With Profit Sharing, Open-Book Costing And Associated Audit Rights, Hui Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

Due to the growing trends in outsourcing and supply chain initiatives, inter-organizational control has become an increasingly important issue in today’s business world. Many businesses set up the so-called "partnering" relationship with their key suppliers. The biggest challenge for this relationship is to find the best mechanisms that align the supplier’s incentive with that of the buyer’s and still maximize each individual firm’s payoff. The purpose of this paper is to present a stylized profit-sharing contract, which is a type of contract commonly adopted to mitigate buyer-supplier incentive problems, and contrast several different types of supplier audit associated with it. …

Design, Analysis, And Applications Of Failure Amplification Experiments, Oksoun Yee

Doctoral Dissertations

The main focus of this study is related to the Failure Amplification Method (FAMe) proposed by Joseph and Wu (2004). They suggested the use of an “amplification factor” to increase the information from experiments with a binary response variable. In addition to the amplification factor having a known effect, Joseph and Wu recommended that, for convenience of experimentation, this factor be taken as an easy to change, split unit factor. In such cases, the analysis ought to take into account the possibility of both whole unit and split unit error variation. I present such an analysis here, where the Bayesian …

Technology-Based Self-Service: From Customer Productivity Toward Customer Value, İsmet Anıtsal

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the
concept of customer productivity in a technology-based
self-service context (e.g., self-checkouts in grocery
stores) to understand how customer productivity and
customer value are related to each other. A preliminary
qualitative study initially explored the meaning of
customer productivity and the labor provided by customers
in self-service shopping and TBSS environments. Based on
these exploratory insights and the extant literature, a
conceptual framework was developed to identify the
relationships between customer inputs into a TBSS option
and customer outputs from that option influenced by
customer perceptions of self-service technology (SST) and
contact …

Have We Resolved The Issues Related To International Capital Structure? Empirical Evidence From The Oecd Countries, Joon-Young Song

Doctoral Dissertations

I report that most cross-sectional deviations in international capital structure are caused by the heterogeneities of firm-, industry, and country-specific determinants rather than the influence of legal-institutional differences such as legal environment. In particular, most variations in international capital structure originate in the heterogeneity of firm-specific characteristics. Although the legal environment representing creditor protection could explain some differences in international capital structure, this evidence is at best only suggestive. However, the legal system, in general, seems to have a rather indirect effect on firm leverage through a conduit of firm characteristics. I do not find clear evidence to support that …

A Taxonomy Of Customer Dissatisfaction-Related Coping Tactics Based On Dissatisfaction-Related Goals, Andrew B. Artis

Doctoral Dissertations

Practitioners who want to strengthen their market position and avoid greater government regulation would benefit from research that helps them to effectively resolve the problems experienced by their customers. Unfortunately, research efforts to explore, understand, and ultimately predict the responses of dissatisfied customers have been sporadic and have failed to lead to a sustained program of research. This problem is due in part because classification and taxonomical issues have not been sufficiently resolved. Without a theoretically-supported method to categorize and differentiate the various ways that customers respond to dissatisfaction, research into this phenomenon will continue to be slow and erratic. …

An Examination Of The Logistics Leverage Process: Implications For Marketing Strategy And Competitive Advantage, Lisa Michelle Bobbitt

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on preliminary research on logistics leverage and the lack of research on linking specific logistics capabilities and competitive advantage, it was the primary purpose of this dissertation to develop and test a theoretical model of the logistics leverage process. The model was developed based on the extant literature in logistics, marketing, and strategic management and the data from in-depth interviews with logistics professionals. The nomological network consisted of eight constructs: resource commitment, process capabilities, value-added service capabilities, relational capabilities, logistics performance, competitive advantage, firm performance, and marketing signals of value. Resource commitment and logistics performance were tested as second-order …

Three Essays In Market Microstructure, Kenneth Wayne Small, Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the liquidity impact of NASDAQ security cross-listings on the American Stock Exchange (Amex). Using a comprehensive sample of cross-listing equities, transactions data obtained from the NYSE Trade and Quote (TAQ) database, and market data obtained from the Center for Research in Securities Pricing (CRSP) database, I find positive abnormal returns on days when positive news is released regarding security cross-listings. This indicates that cross-listing creates value for cross-listing firms. I also document significant decreases in trading costs of the cross-listed securities around the cross-listing date. In general, market participants perceive …

The Value-Relevance Of Nonfinancial Information: The Biotechnology Industry, Ya-Wen Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines whether nonfinancial patent information is useful to investors in assessing and valuing biotech firm’s long-term financial performance. The biotech industry requires large R&D investments with uncertain payoffs. Current accounting practice expenses (rather than capitalizes) R&D expenditures. As a result, financial variables are often negative or excessively depressed. Because accounting assets do not reflect biotech firms’ valuable intangible assets, this study examines whether nonfinancial patent information supplement the information content of financial information in market valuation. Using six patent variables measuring both quantity and quality aspects of patents, I found evidence consistent with the idea that nonfinancial patent …

Interfirm Demand Integration: The Role Of Marketing In Bridging The Gap Between Demand And Supply Chain Management, Teresa M. Mccarthy

Doctoral Dissertations

As firms increasingly outsource functions to focus on core competencies, access to resources from trading partners to accomplish goals becomes more important. As such, supply chain management is recognized as critical to creating and sustaining competitive advantage by integrating activities across trading partners that can produce a unique and valuable offering. This dissertation suggests the role of marketing is well positioned to oversee and manage integration of supply and demand activities that have traditionally been practiced separately both within and across firms in a supply chain. The research fills a gap in the literature by presenting a comprehensive model of …

Theory And Construction Methods For Large Regular Resolution Iv Designs, Robert M. Block

Doctoral Dissertations

We define 2k-p fractional factorial designs which use all of their degrees of freedom to estimate main effects and two-factor interactions as second order saturated (sos) designs. We prove that resolution IV sos designs project to every other resolution IV design, and show the details of these projections for every n = 32 and n = 64 run fraction. For k > (5/16)n, all resolution IV designs are a projection from the even sos design at k = n/2. For k ≤ (5/16)n the minimum aberration design resolution IV designs are projections of sos designs with both even and odd words …

The Effect Of Brand Equity In Supply Chain Relationships, Donna F. Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

A systematic review of the marketing literature on brands reveals very few studies devoted to understanding brands in interorganizational exchange; however, the failure to successfully manage relationships with supply chain partners is now seen as a potentially fatal obstacle to the success of a brand (Shocker, Srivistava and Ruekert 1994). Focusing exclusively on managing the brand in consumer markets ignores the needs of important downstream customers such as distributors and retailers and fails to capitalize on the potential for leveraging brand equity to create added value with upstream suppliers.

A multiple method approach was used to explore the phenomenon of …

An Examination Of Interorganizational Relationship Magnitude And Its Role In Determining Relationship Value, Susan L. Golicic

Doctoral Dissertations

As the business environment becomes more complex, organizations within a supply chain realize that in many instances they can benefit from closer, long-term relationships. However, researchers in this area agree that there is no one relationship that is appropriate or necessary for all situations. Since there exists a wide range of relationships within a supply chain, businesses need to manage the development and maintenance of each relationship in their “portfolios.” This entails recognizing the motivating factors that drive companies to a particular relationship, determining the appropriate amount of resources that will be dedicated based on the targeted relationship, and measuring …

Bayesian Analysis Of Threshold Autoregressive Models, Yongjae Kwon

Doctoral Dissertations

Threshold Autoregression is a powerful statistical tool for modeling structural nonlinear relationships. This study presents a Bayesian modeling procedure for threshold autoregressions. To this end, the analytical framework of Bayesian analysis for a univariate SETAR and a threshold VAR were developed. For the estimation of parameters, a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation and an importance/rejection sampling are used to obtain posterior samples. In model determination, this study shows that Bayes factors are reliable testing procedures in model comparison, lag order selection, and threshold nonlinearity tests. However, it is difficult to get the exact figure of a Bayes factor because the …

Competition And Contestability In Central And Eastern European Banking Markets, H. Semih Yildirim

Doctoral Dissertations

This study attempts to analyze the effects of financial liberalization and deregulation on competitive conditions in the banking industries of fourteen Central and Eastern European (CEE) transition economies using firm-level data for the period 1993-2000. The basis for the evaluation of competitive situation is the extant oligopoly theory in the new industrial organization literature, specifically, the competition model developed by Rosse and Panzar (1977), and Panzar and Rosse (1982,1987). This approach relies on the premise that, in their long-run equilibrium, banks will employ different pricing strategies in response to a change in input costs depending on the market …

Factors That Enhance Consumer Trust In Human-Computer Interaction: An Examination Of Interface Factors And Moderating Influences, Eun-Ju Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The Internet coupled with agent technology presents a unique setting to examine consumer trust. Since the Internet is a relatively new, technically complex environment where human-computer interaction (HCI) is the basic communication modality, there is greater perception of risk facing consumers and hence a greater need for trust. In this dissertation, the notion of consumer trust was revisited and conceptually redefined adopting an integrative perspective. A critical test of trust theory revealed its cognitive (i.e., competence, information credibility), affective (i.e., benevolence), and intentional (i.e., trusting intention) constructs. The theoretical relationships among these trust constructs were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis …

Facilitators And Impediments In Moving Firms Toward Supply Chain Management: A Qualitative Field Study, Dewayne Lee Searcy

Doctoral Dissertations

Competing at the supply chain level, instead of at the individual firm level, is widely recognized today as a potential source of competitive advantage (Christopher 1992, Spekman et al. 2001). To compete on a supply chain level implies firms within a supply chain must develop and enhance internal, as well as, external competencies.

Intuitively, firms must have some degree of internal integration before they can reap significant benefits from engaging in supply chain management (SCM). As firms become more efficient and effective coordinating their internal processes and operations they soon realize significant improvements are possible by coordinating and linking their …

Are Markets Rational? Investors’ Response To Persistent Bias In Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts, Seung-Woog Kwag

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation intends to address the following two issues: 1) Persistence of the bias in analysts' earnings forecasts; 2) Investors’ response to such bias. It extends the understanding of information economics in earnings studies, and is expected to improve asset pricing models, suggest better model specifications for earnings studies, provide regulatory policy implications, and facilitate discussions on investor rationality.

Using two look-back portfolio formation methods that capture salient features of analysts' past forecasting behavior, I form quintile portfolios that describe the range of analysts' forecasting behavior. The optimistic portfolios refer to the portfolios containing firm-quarters whose contemporaneous forecast errors are …

Theeffects Of Decision Aid Recommendations On Users’ Cognitive Processes, Memories, And Judgments, Forrest Douglas Roberts

Masters Theses

This study extends the existing decision aid literature by examining the influence of decision aid recommendations on users’ memories, decision processes, and judgments. Existing research suggests that decision aids can be beneficial in a variety of settings. Judgments or decisions, the outputs of the decision- making process, are the focus of most of the decision aid research. This study offers a more comprehensive investigation of the impact of decision aids by examining both the outputs of the decision-making process and the inputs and processes that lead to judgment and decision-making. An experiment is conducted that examines the influence of decision …

Cultural Value Orientations As An Antecedent To The Formation Of International Interfirm Relationships: The Developmentof Cultural Value Dimensions In A Business Context, Susan Forquer Gupta

Doctoral Dissertations

With the importance of international interfirm relationships increasing, it becomes critical to understand the antecedents and consequences of relationship formation. Difficulty in relationships occur when firms with differing cultural value orientations attempt to engage in exchange. Culture affects the international firm in several ways: 1) difficulty in establishing a single organizational culture when a firm is comprised of multi-national employees; 2) difficulty in serving the market when cultural differences exist in the consumer; and 3) difficulty in establishing interfirm relationships across cultural boundaries. Individually, these problems are difficult to resolve, combined they can lead to failure. The first two have …

The Firm's Decision To Issue Debt Privately: Motivations And Costs, David William Blackwell

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the issue cost of public utility debt sold publicly and privately from June 1979 to December 1983 and determines: (1) whether private and public debt have the same issue cost for firms who substitute between private placements and public sales (switch hitters), ceteris paribus; (2) whether issue cost differences between public issues and private placements by switch hitters vary with the degree of market uncertainty; (3) whether firms who do not substitute between private placements and public sales (non-switch hitters) choose to issue debt privately because the agency costs of debt can be resolved less expensively in …

Essays On Investment And Financing Decisions, George P. Tsetsekos

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation contains three essays in the area of Business Finance which are related to the literature of asymmetric information and agency. Our purpose is to demonstrate that the presence of asymmetric information creates possible costly effects that adversely influence the performance and profitability of the firm.

The first essay deals with the value of slack (excess liquidity) and the investment decision under asymmetric information. It is shown that when managers and shareholders hold different information sets with respect to the quality of an investment opportunity, an optimum amount of slack can partially resolve an underinvestment problem. The employed framework …

The Application Of The Psychophysical Law To The United States Army Officer Efficiency Reporting System, James M. Sturgeon

Masters Theses

Statement of the Problem: In rendering the United States Army Officer Efficiency Report, the rater is required to describe in narrative form the performance of the ratee. Too, the rater must express quantitatively his overall evaluation of the performance by placing the ratee in an adjectival, quantitative category. Army regulations declare it is imperative that the rater be consistent in these two portions of the report and that the categorical rating be justified by the narrative description. Clearly some measure of "consistency" or "justification" is needed, yet none is prescribed or even suggested.

Apart from the above two evaluations, the …

Analysis And Review Of The Job Enlargement Concept, William Henry Dyke

Masters Theses

Introduction:

Adam Smith stated that the division of labor is a forerunner of and a necessity to a successful economical system.² Extended and refined, the division of labor results in the type of job specialization that Drucker refers to above - "... split up the operation into its constituent motions ..." - but job specialization goes one step farther and assigns only a few of these motions to any one operator. The division of labor of Smith's day resulted in some men being blacksmiths, some being carpenters, some being millers, etc.; but the job specialization as pioneered by Taylor, …

An Analysis Of The Requirements For The Master's Degrees In The State Universities, Thelma Henry Iles

Masters Theses

(From Statement and Purpose of the Problem)

This investigation was made for the purpose of determining and evaluating the several requirements for the master's degrees in the state universities in this country, in order to establish definite recommendations for the granting of such degrees in terms of the evaluation of present requirements. The findings of this study should be of service to those educators concerned with the problem of administering programs leading to the first degree above the baccalaureate.