Business Commons^™

Product And Consumer Characteristics As Moderators Of Consumer Response To Sustainable Products, Kealy Carter

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays. In both, product sustainability is broadly focused on the environmental and social performance (Luchs et al. 2010) of a product. The first essay explores the role of firm sustainability reputation in behavioral intentions for sustainable products. Additionally, this essay applies construal level theory (Liberman and Trope 1998; Vallacher and Wegner 1985, 1987) and addresses the situation that exists wherein sales of sustainable products produced by firms founded under sustainability principles are more stable than those produced by traditional firms (Clifford and Martin 2011). The second essay introduces a measure of consumer perceived product sustainability …

When Do Political Ideologies Affect Brand Extension Evaluation? The Role Of Analytic Versus Holistic Mindsets, Cristobal Barra

Theses and Dissertations

Political ideologies are becoming an important focus of attention in the marketing literature. This research examines the impact of political ideologies on consumers’ evaluation of brand extensions. In a series of six studies, this work shows how, and under what conditions, liberals evaluate brand extensions differently than conservatives. Because liberals are more open to new experiences, and tend to seek novelty, while conservatives show stronger preferences for order, structure, and conventional things, liberals are expected to react more favorably to new stimuli, as in the case of dissimilar brand extensions. However, the effects of political ideologies are dependent on some …

Informing Systems, Interventions, And Innovations, William Francis Murphy Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to not only explain the informing system discipline, but to explore cases from the perspective of the basic tenants of informing systems. The first essay explains what informing science is, the need for a transdiscipline, the channels of the Informing Science Institute informing system, and describes the clients of the ISI. The first essay ends with an analysis of the authors, institutions, and countries of origin for every ISI paper published between 1998 and 2009, as well as reporting interviews with the Editor-In-Chiefs of each ISI journal. The second essay investigates a case study …

Job Satisfaction In Minor League Baseball, Justice L. Hoyt

Sport Management Undergraduate

Every individual in the sport industry spends a substantial amount of time at work. Hence the satisfaction of an individual’s job is important. The purpose of this study was to look at the satisfaction levels of full time minor league baseball employees in the International League. This study was the first study in the field of minor league baseball which tried to determine if the satisfaction levels were worth the demand of the work. It is known across the workforce that the more time demanding a job is the less freedom you have for family and leisure. This study was …

Consequences Of Destructive Leadership Through The Experiences Of Millennial Followers, Rhonda M. Martin

Theses & Dissertations

Destructive leadership has serious detrimental effects on organizations and their employees. Today U.S. companies are spending an estimated $23 billion annually on healthcare costs (e.g. chronic absenteeism, high turnover, and dissatisfaction) resulting from the negative impacts of destructive leaders (Tepper, Duffy, Henle, & Lambert, 2006). This emerging theory was worthy of additional research because of the adverse effects it has on the personal and professional lives of followers. According to Padilla, Hogan, and Kaiser (2007), the success of a destructive leader depends on susceptible followers (Millennials) and a conducive environment, which creates a toxic triangle. In 2009, Trickey & Hyde …

The Differentiation And Integration Of Information Technologies: Three Empirical Studies On `Bring Your Own Devices', Zachary R. Steelman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how the management and configuration of organizational IT portfolios enhance organizations and their employees. Specifically, the theory of the differentiation and integration of information technologies is developed with in-depth examinations of "Bring-Your-Own-Device" (BYOD) policies. Four data collections are utilized: survey vignettes, case studies, agent-based simulations, and a questionnaire survey. Each essay uses a mixed-method approach providing insights into the selection, development, and management of ITs across individual and organizational levels.

Essay 1 explores the impact of BYOD on employees' performance, job satisfaction, and work-life conflicts. The results indicate that IT integration improves performance and job satisfaction, and …

Strategic Planning Tool Development Using Portfolio Decision Analysis, Luis B. Vargas Rojas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A portfolio decision analysis strategic planning tool was developed for the Facilities Management Office at the University of Arkansas. The tool provides information to support budget allocation decisions based on their Strategic Planning Project List, project attributes (e.g, seat utilization, scheduling preferences, and sustainability rank), and budget constraints. The projects are evaluated using multiobjective decision analysis. We introduce dynamic value functions, which vary the range of the value measures based on the planning horizon, to evaluate the projects). We determine facilities portfolios based on the project values and constraints using Linear Programming. In addition, insightful reports are generated, which provide …

Does Who We Are Influence What We Say? The Impact Of Organizational Identity On Responses To Ethical Issues, Amy J. Guerber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Business organizations frequently face ethical issues which may lead stakeholders to question the competence or integrity of organizational actors. In such cases, the way the organization communicates with its stakeholders can play a critical role in preserving or restoring organizational reputation, financial performance, and trust. Thus, understanding factors that influence organizational communication in the wake of ethical issues is important. Previous research has focused on the impact of situational characteristics on organizational responses and stakeholder reactions to those responses but has not explored the role that organizational characteristics play in shaping firms' responses to ethical issues.

The current study seeks …

Managing Warehouse Utilization: An Analysis Of Key Warehouse Resources, Vitaly Brazhkin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The warehousing industry is extremely important to businesses and the economy as a whole, and while there is a great deal of literature exploring individual operations within warehouses, such as warehouse layout and design, order picking, etc., there is very little literature exploring warehouse operations from a systems approach.

This study uses the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to develop a focused resource management approach to increasing warehouse capacity and throughput, and thus overall warehouse performance, in an environment of limited warehouse resources. While TOC was originally developed for reducing operational bottlenecks in manufacturing, it has allowed companies in other industries, …

The Dissolution Of Effective Leadership: A Multiple-Case Study Analysis Of Destructive Leadership, Joshua B. Leonard

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

An Importance-Performance Analysis Of Multigenerational Preferences In Guestroom Technology, Sidian Lan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study focuses on generational preferences in terms of guestroom technology. The hospitality technology industry has indicated guestroom technology as their highest priority in terms of hospitality technology investment. Previous studies have investigated in-room technology amenities and ranked them in order of importance and performance. However, it is uncertain which guestroom specific technologies should they invest in when it comes to different generations. Each generation is fundamentally different from the others because each generation was born in different eras with different societal changes. These generations have different values, ideas, needs, and communication skills. Hoteliers are investing time and money into …

A Study Of Airbnb As A Potential Competitor Of The Hotel Industry, Quynh Nguyen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of the study is to examine Airbnb as a possible competitor of the hotel industry using Peteraf and Bergen’s broad-based competitor identification tool. Unlike existing empirical research on the subject, the study takes a qualitative approach to answer the research question. The results of the study assist hotel operators in determining the competitiveness of Airbnb and the need for a business response to the service.

The Influence Of National Culture On Tipping Behavior, Zina Abraham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this professional paper is to explore the various factors that contribute to cultural differences in tipping behavior. This meta-analysis of the current research can be applied to understand the tipping habits of international tourists in Las Vegas, a relatively unexplored topic.

A Model For Meeting And Event Venues To Implement Green Practices, Justine Clewer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2007 green meetings were ranked as the third most anticipated trend by Event Solutions magazine’s survey of 1,350 event professionals, however by 2011 it was an emerging trend (Goldblatt, 2012). Today, meeting and event planners are increasingly including clauses in their contracts with venues pertaining to green practices, and are willing to look elsewhere if a venue does not agree to partake in the green initiatives. For venues the failure to “go green” can mean a substantial loss of revenue. Nonetheless, many businesses are hesitant to engage in green (sustainable) practices, because they are not properly educated on the …

Competitive Market Research And Product Design, Haixiu Wang

Theses & Dissertations

To learn the uncertainty of customer preference on the attribute of new product, usually a firm needs to do market research. Developing a product on an attribute which is less preferred by customer may lead to a failure. In addition, a firm used to take efforts to design the product. In recent years, we observed a new business model in which the firm does not take effort to design new product, nor does she do market research by herself. She provides rewards to attract outside designers to design new product. Some designers may take effort and design products based on …

Optimizing Consumer-Centric Assortment Planning Under Cross-Selling Effects, Ameera Ibrahim

Doctoral Dissertations

Central to modern-time, consumer-focused retailing is the ability to provide attractive and reasonably-priced product assortments for different customer profiles. To this end, retailers can benefit from the use of data analytics in order to identify distinct customer segments, each characterized by their buying power, shopping behavior, and preferences. Further, retailers can also benefit from a careful examination of alternative procurement options and cost levers associated with products that are considered for inclusion in the assortment. Issues of assortment planning lie at the interface of operations and marketing. Profitable planning trade-offs can be identified using an optimization methodology and are simultaneously …

Essays On Pricing Of Cardinality Bundles, Jianqing Wu

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation studies the pricing of cardinality bundles, where firms set prices that depend only on the size of the purchased bundle, a practice that is increasingly being adopted by industry. The first essay develops a fast combinatorial technique to obtain the optimal prices for cardinality bundles. The second essay extend the basic model to solve the problem when there exists fixed costs or economies of scale. The third essay relax a key assumption in cardinality bundling literature, which restricts each consumer to purchase no more than one bundle.

Customer Envy At Service Encounters, Gerardo Anaya

Open Access Theses

Envy has been regarded as a complex emotion which can produce both positive and negative outcomes for consumers. This study explored the subjective experience of customer envy at service encounters in order to better understand how customers respond to unflattering comparisons with an envied customer. A questionnaire was designed to measure the cognitive appraisals, emotional responses, and consequences of customer envy. Study participants were also asked to share their envy incidents in the survey. A sample of 300 participants was collected and used for analysis. The findings illustrate that distinctively different patterns of cognitive appraisals such as preferential treatment, are …

The Effects Of Acquisition On Restaurant Firms’ Performance: Different-Sector Versus Same-Sector Acquisitions, Yongjin Lee

Open Access Theses

This study examines the postacquisition accounting performance of acquiring firms in the restaurant industry between 1992 and 2012. Specifically, this study investigates the effects of different-sector and same-sector restaurants acquisitions between full-service and limited-service restaurants on restaurant firms' performance. Additionally, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and regression model are used to examine return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) for the accounting performance of the acquiring restaurants.

The ROA and ROE reveal that the profitability is significantly negative up to 5 years after firms are acquired. However, negative effects are strongest within the first year after acquisition and decrease …

The Effect Of Six Sigma On Corporate Performance In The Manufacturing And Service Sectors, Luis F. Ojeda

Open Access Theses

As global competition becomes more intense, organizations try to implement strategies that allow them become more efficient, increase quality and productivity, and stay ahead of their competition. Over the years, there have been different programs or methodologies that companies have adopted with the purpose of achieving enhanced operational performance and bottom line impact. Six Sigma is one of the strategies that have gained more popularity during recent years, being adopted by companies in both manufacturing and service. There have been numerous claims by adopting companies about the financial benefits of implementing Six Sigma. However, the number of studies conducting empirical …

Project Portfolio Evaluation And Selection Using Mathematical Programming And Optimization Methods, Hugo Caballero

Open Access Dissertations

Project portfolio selection is an essential process for portfolio management and plays an important role in accomplishing organizational goals. This research explores the feasibility of developing a project portfolio selection tool by using mathematical programming and optimization models, specifically 0-1 integer programming (one objective portfolio) and goal programming (multiple objectives portfolio). These methods select the set of projects which deliver the maximum benefit (e.g., net present value, profit, etc.) represented for objective functions subjected to a series of constraints (e.g., technical requirements and/or resources availability) considering the scheduling of selected projects in a planning horizon, interdependence relationship among projects (e.g., …

Essays On Corporate Bank Loan Contracting, Leann G. Pashnyak

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of two essays on corporate bank loan contracting. The purpose of the first essay is to investigate the effect of loan's designated purpose on loan agreement contracting terms, as well as to examine whether lenders apply different standards to assess the value of borrower's corporate governance for each type of loan purpose. Using a large sample of private bank loans, the results indicate that both price and non-price loan terms vary significantly by loan purpose. Specifically, the spread yield varies by about 182 basis points (bps) for loans made for different purposes. Further, borrowers of operations …

An Assessment Of The Assimilation Of Lean And Supply Chain Management Practices In The Construction Industry, Helen S. Nunez

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this research was to identify and assess the success factors corresponding to Lean and Supply Chain Management that are currently applicable to the construction industry. These factors were originally extracted from manufacturing research and practice and corroborated construction industry literature and expert validation. Using Pearson's correlation coefficients, the researcher was able to identify the correlation among factors and with the identified measures of overall performance. Another important output of this research was the ability to compare the construction industry response level with a preceding study from manufacturing. The data was collected through a survey sent to general …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

Runway Operations Management: Models, Enhancements, And Decomposition Techniques, Farbod Farhadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Air traffic loads have been on the rise over the last several decades and are expected to double, and possibly triple in some regions, over the coming decade. With the advent of larger aircraft and ever-increasing air traffic loads, aviation authorities are continually pressured to examine capacity expansions and to adopt better strategies for capacity utilization. However, this growth in air traffic volumes has not been accompanied by adequate capacity expansions in the air transport infrastructure. It is, therefore, predicted that flight delays costing multi-billion dollars will continue to negatively impact airline companies and consumers. In airport operations management, runways …

Learning During The Transition Period: How Identifying Executives As Designate Ceos Affects Their Learning, Rida Mitri Elias

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

CEO succession is an important event in organizations. Around 80% of succession events are relay successions, where a CEO successor is identified a few years before the actual succession event takes place. The success of relay succession compared to horse race and outside successions has been credited to the learning that an heir apparent acquires during the transition period. However, to my knowledge, none of the CEO succession research examines the learning process of heirs apparent.

This study attempts to fill this gap through empirical qualitative research. Using a combination of learning and sensemaking perspectives, this study builds premises proposing …

Bridge And Ship Collision Risk Assessment And Safety Management Countermeasures In Shanghai Port Waters, Jianlei Yin

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Research On Diversification Strategies Of Shipping Company Groups, Sheng Pan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Study On Panamax Fleet Operating Strategy Of Sinotrans Shipping, Bochang Li

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strategic Value Of Indonesia Port Corporation Ii For International Logistic Competitiveness Of Indonesia, Finan Syaisullah

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.