Business Commons^™

A Time Series Geometric Term Structure Model: Indications For U.S. Treasury Yield Curve Interpretation And U.S. Federal Funds Target Rate Forecasting, Danny L. White

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This quantitative experiment executed an extensive study of the theoretical and exploratory development of a discrete step Federal Funds Target Rate (FFTR) forecast model expressed as the time series geometric average of an applied transform conversion of the U.S. Treasury Yield Curve (USTC). The novel approach, introduced as the Geometric Yield Curve (GYC) model, used USTC data taken directly from the U.S. Treasury Department website as its only input for term structure of interest rate modeling specific to the FFTR. A transform process, presented as term framing, introduced conversion of USTC embedded macroeconomic and macro-finance trend information into a daily …

An Accessible Life Sills Training Program: Mentoring An Individual's Internal And External Growth Simultaneously, Alana Hayes

Doctor of Leadership

Within Lubbock County there is not an accessible life skills training program that mentors an individual's internal (emotional) and external (financial) growth simultaneously. My focus is on mentoring at risk individuals with a hand up and not a hand out within my community. It is also applicable to individuals who want to help strengthen the lives of disadvantaged and/or at risk members in their community. It is most helpful to mentors as business owners, a manager, or a non-profit organization. However, it could also be useful to community members that would like to complete a long term service project. Ideally …

Dare To Serve: The Importance Of Servant Leadership To Christian African American Women Ceos Within The Nonprofit Industry, Sheila Tolbert

Doctor of Ministry

African American Christian women CEOs of smaller nonprofit organizations face multiple challenges in developing the necessary leadership skills to ensure their organization’s success including a deficiency in formal leadership training, difficulties in balancing Christian beliefs with leadership responsibilities, and limitations in interacting with boards of directors. The lack of appropriate leadership skills hinders their ability to effectively lead their nonprofit organizations, improve their organization’s performance, and limits career advancement.

The current options for leadership training do not adequately address the challenges and opportunities faced by these leaders. The lack in leadership development results in a deficiency of African American women …

Examining The Synergy Between The Marketplace And The Church In Ghana: Strategies For Enhancing Socio-Economic Development, Grace Opuni-Darko

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation explores the complex relationship between the marketplace and Church in Ghana, seeking to identify collaborative strategies that lead to sustainable socio-economic development. The study aims to unravel the complexities of this relationship and identify effective strategies that can foster sustainable growth and development within the Ghanaian context. At the core of this research is an in-depth historical analysis, tracing the evolution of the Churches' role in the Ghanaian economy from colonial times to the present day. This historical perspective provides a critical backdrop for understanding current dynamics and trends. The study employs a multifaceted approach, incorporating both qualitative …

Moral Virtues: A Quantitative Study On The Impact Of National Culture On Integrity, Andrew I. Ellestad

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Multinational corporations encounter numerous challenges in making ethical decisions as they navigate diverse factors in every country where they conduct business. Building on the theoretical work of Ellestad and Winton, this study tested a main component of their argument. This quantitative analysis looked at the relationship between the national culture an individual resides in and that individual’s level of integrity. Hofstede’s original four dimensions are used in conjunction with Schlenker’s Integrity Scale to explain and quantify those measures. This study examined 160 working and retired individuals in the United States. The findings demonstrate that national power distance and masculinity are …

Emotional Intelligence, Self-Efficacy, And The Perceived Employability Of Traditional Undergraduate Business Students In A Private Midwest Educational Institution, Michele Ryan

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Emotional intelligence has gained increasing popularity since its definition and subsequent research 30 years ago. Numerous studies have focused on emotional intelligence and undergraduate students, and studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between a student with higher emotional intelligence and their academic and mental abilities. Undergraduate students have also been the focus of research related to self-efficacy and perceived employability, but those two facets have not been tied together with emotional intelligence. Additionally, managers have noted a skills gap for graduating students entering the workforce as students seem to be lacking emotional intelligence while thinking they have a sufficient amount. …

Phenomenological Study Of African American Female Partners In Top U.S. Corporate Law Firms, Tony Kelly

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This doctoral dissertation delved into the intricate experiences of African American female law partners, seeking to unravel the diverse array of factors that shaped their ascension to the pinnacle of their legal careers. Employing a rigorous qualitative research methodology, this study undertook an extensive exploration of narrative data derived from in-depth interviews, with the overarching aim of addressing the research questions articulated at the outset. These questions revolved around understanding how African American female law partners perceived the factors influencing their professional promotion and how race and gender impacted their leadership journeys and broader careers within the legal profession. The …

The Barriers To Active And Experiential Learning In Accounting Education, Elizabeth Holbrook

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the barriers accounting faculty face to incorporating more active and experiential learning into accounting education. Twelve accounting faculty from a variety of universities throughout the United States were interviewed, including those who are part of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and whose business schools are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) or the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). These interviews revealed six significant barriers and 23 sub-barriers that prevent accounting faculty from incorporating more active and experiential learning into their classes. The significant barriers …

Career Shock And Voluntary Turnover Intention Among Current Employees In The Public Sector, Charlena Miller

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Attracting and retaining talent was identified as the most critical growth driver for 77% of U.S. executives in 2022, and they plan to increase investment in talent attraction and retention in the coming years (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2022). The problem in supporting and guiding leaders’ investments in retention through existing turnover research and findings is two-fold. First, past research has primarily used data collection with “leavers” who have already left the organization, sometimes long after the turnover was experienced. Secondly, studies have focused on attitudes, satisfaction levels, employee attributes, and job features, which have shown poor predictive ability for voluntary turnover (Hom …

Analyzing The Effect Of Sponsorship Disclosure On Social Media Influencer Contribution To Engagement In The Test And Measurement Industry, Todd B. Baker

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Audiences are consuming digital content at an increasing rate, and they use social media as a substantial source of information on products and services. Businesses are leveraging influencer marketing to reach their audiences and create a pre-disposition to buy from their brands represented by these social media influencers. Marketers are likely to increase their investments in social media by 53.6% in the coming five years, placing greater attention on this topic for many business executives (Moorman, 2021). This quantitative study explored the varying forms of sponsorship disclosure cues and their effect on engagement rates for different influencer types in the …

Effect Of Black- Or White-Sounding Name And Impact Of Intergroup Contact With Black Individuals On Auditor Judgments, Vanessa J. Tijerina

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The accounting profession in the United States continues to reflect a gap in racial diversity, with the majority of accountants being white. Implicit racial bias results in discrimination in the U.S. today, specifically against Black individuals. Within accounting, the auditing specialty requires exercising professional judgment that could present opportunities for implicit racial bias to affect the financial statements. This study aims to fill gaps in the existing research by answering the following questions: 1) How does the race of the CFO affect the accounting judgments of auditors? 2) How does intergroup contact with Black individuals impact auditors’ accounting judgments when …

Back To Eden: A Practical Ecotheology And Entrepreneurial Endeavor, Laura W. Gordon

Doctor of Ministry

Back to Eden (BTE) practical ecotheology is a presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, anchored in the Garden of Eden story, before the fall of mankind, enculturated in an African ethos within various African perspectives, traditions, and worldviews. It is useful to reclaim God-given African Christian identity and agency. Essentially, BTE ecotheology is mankind divinely integrated vertically with God and horizontally with humanity and His creation, based on Genesis 1–2. It is an appeal to become deeply rooted in the Spiritual soil of divine truth, to become entrenched in the incarnate Son, and to become planted as an ecological …

Kingdom Economy Found In A Cup And On A Mat, Nicole J. Richardson

Doctor of Leadership

My NPO is: Churches struggle being relevant forces but could become restorative and thriving communities by rethinking traditional approaches to ecclesiology through reframing Biblical koinonia, mission, and worship. Curating a well-balanced “third space” that offers opportunities for people to engage in their spiritual pilgrimage will fill a void in our context. Additionally, it will offer the universal church another way to nurture community, define worship, and practice relational mission daily through radical hospitality. I serve a Presbyterian Church in North Carolina. The focus is to serve an 8-mile radius in the Piedmont Triad area focusing on the Nones and Dones …

How Do People Justify Not Paying Their Taxes? A Study On Moral Disengagement And Tax Evasion, Grace M. Hufff

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Early studies on the reasons for tax evasion focused on economics. When economic reasons were deemed insufficient to explain all decisions, researchers added psychological and sociological constructs to their explorations. These studies focused on whether taxpayers see their tax compliance decisions as ethical ones. For those who believe their choice is ethical, they must come to grips with their own internal ethical standards and feelings of guilt when they make an unethical decision. They must then employ some mechanism to disconnect these feelings of guilt from their unethical decision. Researchers have characterized this mechanism of disconnection as neutralization, rationalization, and/or …

W. A. R. Is Worth It, Brandon King, Shane White

Student Scholarship - College of Business

This study is evaluating how much a Major League Baseball player should earn in salary based on their WAR (Wins Above Replacement) metric while controlling for a player’s veteran status and their current team’s market size. All data analyzed in this study was collected from the 2021 baseball season. The population of this study consisted of 213 MLB players that played in at least eighty games throughout the 2021 season. We hypothesized that if a player has veteran status, their team has a large market size, and they produce a high WAR metric that it will result in the player …

How To Win A Nfl Football Game, Ian Johnson, Grayson Ponce

Student Scholarship - College of Business

The purpose of this research is to explain the value of turnovers lost, turnovers gained, total yards, points, and first downs when it comes to winning games. Using cross-sectional data analysis, this study analyzed all of the stats from the 2021 season. Then picked three random teams in the AFC and three teams from the NFC. Results of the study showed that both turnovers gained and lost had the largest impact.

Oregon Counties And Their Effect On Closing Price, Nevaeh Green

Student Scholarship - College of Business

This study seeks to identify relevant input variables which have an effect of closing prices in dollars in six counties in Oregon. This is done first by collecting sample data from a housing agency regarding houses listing price, closing price, Acres, Square footage, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms, garage size, and county. Then, using the ordinary least squares method to run regressions and identify the magnitude of the effect of specific regressors on the output variable and using their standard error, an analysis is done both into the statistical and economic significance. This analysis found that when including most …

Corporate Gaslighting: Can Isolated Training Help? A Narrative Study, Jade Singleton

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this narrative study is to investigate whether isolated anti-corporate gaslighting training, leveraging vignettes, could be of value to organizations. Findings responded to three research questions: (1) How do participants identify when the vignette shifts into corporate gaslighting territory? (2) What perceptions do Learning & Development professionals have of the training experience? (3) What do participants believe the usefulness of this isolated training is for organizations like theirs? Study participants were three professionals across Learning & Development and Human Resource roles. After the anti-corporate gaslighting training session, administering vignette testing, and finally interviewing the group to gauge their …

Financial Literacy And Behavior In Credit Unions: An Exploration Of Member Financial Literacy And Financial Behavior In The Credit Union Model, Peter R. Fisher

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Financial literacy is economically essential and plays a critical role in an individual’s overall financial capability, yet financial literacy is declining. Financial knowledge has been linked to financial behavior, with financially literate individuals displaying positive financial behaviors while those with lower financial knowledge exhibit poor financial behavior. Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives whose purpose is to support their membership’s social and economic goals. Credit unions are well-positioned to deliver financial literacy to members (McKillop & Wilson, 2015). This study examined financial literacy and behavior among credit union members and compared the financial literacy of credit union members with results …

A Biblical, Culturally Relevant, And Contextually Applicable Financial Literacy Curriculum, Wallace Kanyuira

Doctor of Leadership

Poverty in Kenya is high, and the church should respond by economically empowering the people to be self-reliant. People are in poverty, not for lack of opportunities and resources, but because they lack the knowledge and skills to exploit these opportunities, make decisions they are ill-equipped to make, and lack financial literacy. Many people who are financially struggling tend to seek solace in churches. Consequently, pastors need to master and teach biblical financial literacy and reshape the church culture to be responsive. In Hosea 4:6 God says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. . . .” Biblical financial …

Onboarding Autism Employees In Technology Industry, Heung-For Cheng

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population experiences high unemployment, underemployment, and job turnover. Many people with autism have exceptional skills in areas, such as science, mathematics, and art. Companies in the technology industry are interested in tapping into the ASD talent pool because the industry cannot find enough qualified job applicants to meet the hiring demand. Few studies have focused on understanding how to help onboard ASD employees. Understanding the onboarding process can help technology firms retain ASD employees. In return, retaining this talent pool in the technology industry can continue to bring innovation. This research examined how a workplace …

Impact Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Sustainability Practices On Brand Trust And Purchase Intention In The Wine Industry, Sarah L. Cooley

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The wine industry continues to grow and is expected to reach 429 billion U.S. dollars by 2023 (Oloruntoba, 2020) and is a major contributor to environmental degradation. The wine industry plays a role in soil degradation, water pollution, waste disposal, and land/vegetation damage. The wine-making process creates emissions and depletes oxygen in the environment, which is linked with increased death rates of aquatic organisms. The wine industry impacts crop growth, the solubility of metals in soil, increases toxicity of water, and generates destructive algal bloom. The industry has been slow to adopt sustainable practices and has been subject to less …

Predicting The Financial Vulnerability Of U.S. Public Charities: A Test Of The Tuckman-Chang Model, Alesha L. Graves

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Charitable organizations are significant contributors to the U.S. economy, and Americans invest billions of dollars into these organizations through their donations. Without these organizations, additional pressure would be placed on governmental agencies to provide certain services or those services would not be provided at all, indicating that these organizations’ long-term survival is necessary. In 1991, Tuckman and Chang published the seminal work on the financial vulnerability of nonprofit organizations and presented a model that describes a financially vulnerable organization. Subsequent studies of this model indicate that the model is predictive; however, those studies did not utilize an actual financial shock. …

Rural Coopetition: A Consumer Perspective Of Marketing Activities Involving Smes, Cassandra A. Ritzen

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are central to global and domestic economies and are a significant factor in rural economic development. Rural SMEs face unique challenges of geographical location and limited resources requiring strategies that can create an enduring competitive advantage. This study explores market-oriented coopetition as a competitive strategy that forms collaborative relationships between competitors to create value for consumers. Through the analysis of a small cluster of rural SMEs, the focus of this study addresses the underexplored consumer perspective of coopetition events based on quantitative analyses of customer satisfaction and market share.

An Analysis Of The Impact Of An Influencer's Perceived Trustworthiness And Content Quality On Their Follower's Travel Intent, Josh C. Mcnair

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Influencer marketing is quickly becoming an essential aspect of a company's online and social media strategy. This research examines the field of influencer marketing by conducting a quantitative study that researches the impact of two influencer attributes, trust and content quality, and how they affect the travel intentions of a follower. The study was conducted directly by an influencer on their followers, and the analysis showed that trust and content quality impact the travel intentions of followers. This work is important as the travel industry is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. It provides a better understanding of how companies, …

A Content Analysis Of Dissertations On Business Topics: A Quantitative Study, Kat Yamamoto

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Many students explore business topics in their dissertations because they are relevant research areas for future scholar-practitioners such as leaders, educators, researchers, and consultants. Nevertheless, there is limited scholarship on the content of dissertations from PhD and practitioner doctoral programs. Dissertation research methodology choices, page lengths, and research topics have not been studied extensively. Few studies have been conducted to explore the differences and similarities between researcher-oriented and practitioner-oriented dissertations. This study examined dissertations written on business topics in the recent ten years using content analysis to address these gaps. A sample of dissertations uploaded in the years 2010, 2015, …

Factors Motivating Leaders To Volunteer: An Examination Of Volunteer Leadership In Long-Term Post-Acute Care, Christian Allen Mason

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Volunteer literature presents distinct insights into the motives, individual personalities, and socio demographic characteristics of volunteers. Numerous studies exploring the cognitive, behavioral, and functional approaches to volunteerism populate the literature. However, comparatively little research has been conducted focusing on the specific motives leading association members to volunteer in nonprofit health care trade associations. Yet, non-profit health care trade associations offer some of the highest volunteer rates. Using the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI), this study examines the functional motivations of professional long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) leaders volunteering in a member-driven trade association. This research examines intrinsic and extrinsic motivations using a …

A Narrative Analysis Of Virtue Ethics Among Accounting Professors, Gibran N. Zogbi

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore the vision that accounting professors had of teaching virtue ethics in their courses. The study sample consisted of eight professors who have taught accounting and related finance courses full time for at least 2 years at an institution that grants four-year (bachelor) degrees in Accounting. Participants included professors from two public and one private university. The methodology allowed for the discernment of meanings that emerged from participants’ lived experiences of virtue ethics and ethics in general. Analysis of resulting themes and constructionist perceptions created a narrative conclusion that was a …

Impacts Of Public Land And Income On Obesity In The United States, Megan Brower, Gracie Carlsen

Student Scholarship - College of Business

This study looked at state public land acreage, average median income, poverty rates, and unemployment rates to analyze the significance of their impact on obesity in the United States. Percentage of public land for each state was gathered from a data overview of 2018, data for the economic factors of influence were from 2017-2019, and obesity rate information was collected from 2019. The hypothesis was that there would be a negative relationship to obesity with public land and average median income; and a positive relationship to obesity with poverty and unemployment rates. This study found there to be a negative …

The Effect Of Economic Growth On Co2 Emissions, Parker Jackson

Student Scholarship - College of Business

This study looked at the effect of economic growth on the CO2 emissions of each U.S. state. Data from all 50 states and Washington D.C. was collected from multiple sources across the years of 1990 to 2017. This data was tested using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions to test the hypothesis that there was a positive causation between the growth of the economy and an increase of CO2 Emissions. The results of this study were that there was a negative relationship between the growth of the economy, based on GDP per state, and the amount of CO2 emissions produced. However, …