Business Commons^™

Finding The Ghost With The Machine: Breaking Through The Assessment Center Validity Ceiling By Exploring Decisional Processes Using New Sources Of Behavioral Data Within Virtual Assessments, Brett W. Guidry

Open Access Dissertations

Decades of assessment center (AC) research has resulted in an inevitable “validity ceiling” whereby increasing the validity of the AC method is becoming increasingly difficult. To overcome this challenge, new avenues for collecting and evaluating AC participant behaviors must be explored, with a particular focus on overcoming the inherent limitations of human observation—a hallmark of the AC method. This study examines detailed logs of AC participant behaviors captured automatically and unobtrusively during a computer-based simulation assessment. Using a decision making framework, basic characteristics of the new behavioral data are tested against existing theories of decisional efficacy. The construct-related validity of …

A Mixed Methods Study: Evaluating The Relationship Of Project Manager Competencies And It Project Management Methodologies, Keith A. Mcdermott

Open Access Theses

Determining skillsets that are particularly important to the development of an effective project manager can be useful for a variety of applications. These applications range from the hiring of a new project manager for an organization to continued training for current employees. Past research has called upon current project managers to rate what skillsets they see as important to the cultivation of an optimal or effective project manager. Additional research has expanded this idea to determine how skillsets vary between project managers and functional managers (El-Sabaa, 2001). While this research is certainly important, skillset grouping can be further explored. This …

User Acceptance Barriers For Warehouse Environment Mobile Wireless Technology, Anran Wang

Open Access Theses

This research adopted Technology Acceptance Model 2 to investigate users’ acceptance barriers for mobile wireless technologies such as RFID, bar-code scanners and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) in warehouse environments in Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana.

Through survey data collections from two companies that met the research requirement and through statistical analysis of the data, the researcher found answers to the research question.

System functionality is the most important factor in determining the users’ intention to use. System failure would be the biggest acceptance barrier. Secondly, it is critical for companies to establish and strengthen the link between job relevance and …

Essays On Value Creation In Online Marketplaces, Warut Khern-Am-Nuai

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that study the transformative impact of new information technologies under three specific contexts using both empirical and theoretical approaches. Chapter 2 examines the online review system, which is the new type of information technology that replaces the traditional word-of-mouth communication. Particularly, we study the practice of the platform owner that uses monetary incentives to attract reviewers. The research problem is important as firms, which seek to strengthen their online review platforms, have considered various forms of incentives, including extrinsic rewards, to encourage users to write reviews. We encountered a natural experiment design where one …

Identifying And Prioritizing Critical Success Factors For Fixed Base Operators In The United States: A Mixed Method Approach, Yu Wang

Open Access Dissertations

Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) are major service providers for the general aviation (GA) sector, which closely connect the public with the aviation industry. However, over the past decade, the U.S. GA industry has experienced a decline in the numbers of registered aircraft, pilots, and airports. Due to the fact that FBOs significantly contribute to the aviation industry, further research studies regarding the FBO-sector at a national level are needed. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) that promote the success of FBO operations in the United States.

The methodology consisted of a …

Facebook And User Experience: Evaluating Brand Equity Of Purdue University Residences, Jackelyn Perkins

Open Access Theses

This study investigated how brand equity was perceived on the Purdue University Residences’ Facebook page by applying a user experience method. From a review of previous literature, Website Experience Analysis was identified and performed to evaluate brand equity. This study addressed and explored various themes throughout the data. The results showed how page content and user interactions within a Facebook page influence participants’ perceptions of brand equity.

Systemic Risk In Financial Networks, Peng-Chu Chen

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis extends the literature of systemic risk in financial networks in two directions.

First, we develop a majorization-based tool to compare financial networks in terms of systemic losses with a focus on the implications of liability concentration. Specifically, we quantify liability concentration by applying the majorization order to the liability matrix that captures the interconnectedness of banks in a financial network. We develop notions of balancing and unbalancing networks to bring out the qualitatively different implications of liability concentration on the system's loss profile. An empirical analysis of the network formed by the banking sectors of eight representative European …

A Mixed Methods Study On Choice Of Media Influence On Construction Industry Communication, Luciana De Cresce El Debs

Open Access Dissertations

This study focuses on the use of different communication media for solving problems in the construction industry. The focus of this research is on design-problems containing spatial information and are informally reported between site supervision and design professionals. Due to the fragmented nature of the construction industry, miscommunication is a well-known and common problem. Yet, this fragmented nature is necessary in order to build a complex product involving many different types of professionals. To better understand the issue, this study uses previous literature, such as those published on media richness theory, problem-solving strategy, and construction specific communications, in a three-phased …

Supporting Space Systems Design Via Systems Dependency Analysis Methodology, Cesare Guariniello

Open Access Dissertations

The increasing size and complexity of space systems and space missions pose severe challenges to space systems engineers. When complex systems and Systems-of-Systems are involved, the behavior of the whole entity is not only due to that of the individual systems involved but also to the interactions and dependencies between the systems. Dependencies can be varied and complex, and designers usually do not perform analysis of the impact of dependencies at the level of complex systems, or this analysis involves excessive computational cost, or occurs at a later stage of the design process, after designers have already set detailed requirements, …

Impact Of Communication Appeals On Recycling Behaviors Among Undergraduate Students, Ning Zhu

Open Access Theses

The present thesis aims to understand factors influencing student recycling behaviors, and to investigate effective communication approaches to increase such behaviors. An online survey was conducted to examine the relationships between student recycling frequency in different contexts, students’ attitudes toward the environment, barriers to their recycling, students’ perceptions of communication messages, and communication media they think to be effective. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs, t-test, simple linear regressions, categorical multinomial logistic regression, and a chi-square test were conducted, and the data was collected from a large land-grant university in the Midwestern United States. A total of 537 questionnaires were answered.

The …

The Path Towards Clear And Convincing Digital Privacy Rights, Frederick V. Greene

Open Access Dissertations

This study was a legal based inquiry to determine to what extend digital privacy rights are adequately protected by existing law. Because the major statutory vehicle that guides privacy rights in America was passed in 1986, the courts have had to address issues not contemplated by the statute. This study reviews the rulings of all twelve United States Courts of Appeal to determine whether or not digital privacy rights are expanded or limited. Comparisons are made between various circuits and different regions of the country. Three questions are addressed in this study, summarized as; a question about the current status …

Essays In Operations Management, Heejong Lim

Open Access Dissertations

In the first essay, we investigate the impact of reciprocity in the dyadic supply chain. Our study is motivated by the experiences of the semiconductor and LCD industries, we investigate the impact of reciprocity in the dyadic supply chain. A notable characteristic in the above technology industries is the alternating possession of bargaining power caused by cyclical demand. We incorporate a reciprocal game in a dyadic supply channel over two periods. We investigate how a supplier is influenced and protects himself during the oversupply period by anticipating the buyer's reciprocal behavior. Our results show that a supplier's understanding of a …

Demand Uncertainty And Investment In The Restaurant Industry, Jayoung Sohn

Open Access Dissertations

Since the collapse of the housing market, the prolonged economic uncertainty lingering in the U.S. economy has dampened restaurant performance. Economic uncertainty affects consumer sentiment and spending, turning into demand uncertainty. Nevertheless, the highly competitive nature of the restaurant industry does not allow much room for restaurants to actively control prices, leaving most food service firms exposed to demand uncertainty. To investigate the impact of demand uncertainty in the restaurant industry, this study focused on the implications of demand uncertainty for investment.

The first essay in chapter 3 examined the impact of demand uncertainty on investment and how the impact …

Connecting Through Smartphones: Cognitive, Social, Emotional Motivations, And The Experience Of Value Perceptions, Song-Yi Youn

Open Access Dissertations

Smartphones became a dominant medium for communication with the emergence of converging technology. Since smartphones enable people to access various services, and to interact with other people within mobile social networks, users have become highly involved with such devices. To understand motivational factors associated with using smartphone, this study was informed by perceived cognition (i.e., expected outcomes) and social influence (i.e., social identity) from a social cognitive perspective, which was expanded to incorporate the dimension of emotional attachment.

To develop its “motivational framework”, this study adopted social cognitive theory and attachment theory. This study also investigated the “experience of value …

Utilizing The Signaling Theory In Order To Enhance Minority Recruitment In Law Enforcement, Donald B. Terheide

Open Access Dissertations

Minority recruitment has been an emphasis for law enforcement agencies for decades. These agencies have attempted to recruit minority officers through different venues, including college visits, career fairs, advertising, high school visits, community organizations, and other avenues in an attempt to have their department more representative of the community. However, there has been a limited amount of research on the potential applicants’ perspective concerning how these recruiting efforts have persuaded them, and the messages conveyed to the applicants.

This dissertation has been written utilizing the Signaling Theory, and determining what signals are sent to minority applicants, and how they are …

Creativity In Organizations: Antecedents And Outcomes Of Individual Creativity, Goran Calic

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation I set out to expand our collective understanding of creativity in organizations. I accomplish this through three related studies, each organized into independent chapters of this dissertation.

The first study explores how demands of organizations, particularly strategic contradictions faced by decision makers, affect creative processes and products. In this chapter I develop the theory of paradoxical creativity, which posits that creative discovery is a function of how strategic contradictions are perceived by decision-makers. The key insight of the theory of paradoxical creativity is that strategic contradictions have independent effects on the two stages of creative discovery (generation …

Examining Law Enforcement Officer Job Satisfaction And Burnout Through The Lens Of Empowerment Theory, Bruce A. Biggs

Open Access Dissertations

This exploratory cross-sectional study examined the organizational factors that influence law enforcement officers’ perception of job stress and perception of job satisfaction. The extant literature is replete with the finding that organizational factors (job context) rather than the aspects of providing police service (job content) cause law enforcement officers the largest amount of stress and job dissatisfaction. However, the literature also shows that the exact organizational factors that wield these deleterious effects are enigmatic.

This situation is further confounded by the lack of a guiding and encompassing theoretical construct through which the myriad of organizational influences and consequences may be …

Optimal Monitoring And Mitigation Of Systemic Risk In Lending Networks, Zhang Li

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis proposes optimal policies to manage systemic risk in financial networks. Given a one-period borrower-lender network in which all debts are due at the same time and have the same seniority, we address the problem of allocating a fixed amount of cash among the nodes to minimize the weighted sum of unpaid liabilities. Assuming all the loan amounts and cash flows are fixed and that there are no bankruptcy costs, we show that this problem is equivalent to a linear program. We develop a duality-based distributed algorithm to solve it which is useful for applications where it is desirable …

Feelings Of Doing Good For Myself Or Others: Discussing Effects Of Self-Conscious Emotions On Sustainable Consumption, Chi-Cheng Luan

Open Access Dissertations

Consumers have increasing interests in sustainable products, but the actual purchase rate is relatively low. To find the reasons of this gap, previous studies focus primarily on cognitive factors of behavioral change based on the theory of planned behavior. Little research, however, discusses such a sustainable consumption issue from emotional aspects. Thus, this research proposed that self-conscious emotions play an essential role of sustainable consumption behavior, and such emotions are driven from private and public self-consciousness. Study 1 examined participants’ general evaluations toward two emotions and sustainable consumption behaviors. The results showed that empathic concern had a significantly positive effect …

Innovation As Everyday Action: A Case Study Of Organizational Discourse And The Local Meaning Of Innovation, Jennifer C. Batra

Open Access Theses

This study describes and explicates the nuanced nature of commonly adopted buzzwords such as innovation by analyzing how innovation is defined and embedded structurally within a single organization. Working to uncover how the individual construction of a local definition of innovation within the global context of a quasi-academic organization changes as organizational priorities and practices evolve over time, I present the varied framings of innovation at the micro, meso, and macro levels, through two research phases (a) the definition phase and (b) the practice phase over the course of one year.

This thesis project is situated within a single Mid-Western …

Responsible Microfinance Bundling: Experimental Evidence On Separating Insurance And Credit Offers, Vance J. Larsen

Open Access Theses

In recent years combining multiple financial products into one package in a process known as bundling has become more common among microfinance institutions (MFIs). While bundling can be beneficial to MFIs by cutting costs and providing protection from client default, the implications for MFI customers are less clear. Bundling the products may take advantage of the existing relationship between the financial institution and the client to expand microinsurance access and take-up, but alternatively offering too many products could lead to low client understanding and thus low take-up of the product. We conducted a randomized field experiment to determine if separating …

Investigating U.S. Resident Perceptions Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Food And Agriculture, Carissa Jae Morgan

Open Access Theses

Corporations are prioritizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities by investing in and actively promoting their social practices. In the U.S. of the modern food supply chain creates a unique challenge for corporations to address concerns about social issues of consumers and non-consumers alike. This study is motivated by the need to better understand individuals’ perceptions of CSR as it pertains to the food supply chain. In April 2015 an online survey collected information from 1,201 U.S. residents with the objective of investigating individuals’ perceptions of relative importance of eight prominent CSR areas relevant to food and agriculture. Demographic, household consumption, …

A Framework For Organizational Performance Assessment In The Construction Industry, Zenith Rathore

Open Access Theses

Organizations have been trying to increase their efficiency and improve their performance in order to achieve their goals. Organizational success is determined by various factors that impact organizational performance. Construction industry is a project based industry which is extremely dynamic in nature. The need to identify the weak points and search solutions to improve performance of construction organization is extremely crucial. Previous research works have primarily focused on the measurement of financial or tangible assets. Industry has always focused on measure of project success. However, previous studies lack the understanding of qualitative factors and their combine effect on organizational performance. …

A Methodology For Cooperation Between Electric Utilities And Consumers For Microgrid Utilization Based On A Systems Engineering Approach, Franklin E. Pacheco Chiguano

Open Access Theses

In recent years, the energy market has experienced important challenges in its structure and requirements of its actors, such as the necessity for more reliable electric service, energy efficiency, environmental care practices, and the incorporation of decentralized power generation based on distributed energy resources (DER). Given this context, microgrids offer several advantages to the grid and its actors. However, few microgrid projects have been implemented, and the participation of electric utilities is lower than the expected. Hence, this research explores how electric utility - customer interactions can accommodate mutual benefits for both parties through the proposal of a Microgrid Reference …

Comparison Of Stakeholder Management And Change Management Factors In Managing Successful Versus Unsuccessful It Projects, Ishita Viren Shah

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis of published case studies of projects, which are driven by information technology (IT) and are using a formal organizational change management method to manage those changes. It also identifies the common factors that influence the success or failure of a project. Change impacts people directly or indirectly and much of the research proves that people tend to resist change. The study reviews recent research and discusses the evolution of change management and current practices. The study focuses on finding the case studies published in well-known journals. It also analysis the …

Implementation And Validation Of A Probabilistic Open Source Baseball Engine (Posbe): Modeling Hitters And Pitchers, Rhett Tracy Schaefer

Open Access Theses

This manuscript details the implementation and validation of an open source probabilistic baseball engine (POSBE) that focuses on the hitter and pitcher model of the simulation. The simulation produced outcomes that parallel those observed in actual professional Major League Baseball games. The observed data were taken from the nineteen games played between the New York Yankees (NYY) and Boston Red Sox (BOS) during the 2015 season. The potential hitter/pitcher outcomes of interest were singles, doubles, triples, homeruns, walks, hit-by-pitch, and strikeouts. The nineteen game series was simulated 1000 times, resulting in a total of 19,000 simulations. The eighteen hitters and …

Three Essays On Competition And Cooperation In R And D Alliances, Wonsang Ryu

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, I investigate the interplay between competition and cooperation in R&D alliances. The alliance literature on this issue has emphasized that product market rivalry (i.e., market overlap) between partnering firms aggravates cooperation hazards by increasing the private benefits from opportunism. However, drawing on the multimarket competition literature, I maintain that market overlap between alliance partners can rather curb opportunism by partners because the multimarket contact between them might increase the expected costs of opportunistic behaviors by enabling broad retaliation against such behaviors across the shared markets. Based on this argument, I theorize and corroborate that the mutual forbearance …

U.S. Farm Capital Investment 1996--2013: Differences By Farm Size And Operator Primary Occupation, Sarah Stutzman

Open Access Dissertations

This study analyzes U.S. farm level investment in machinery, equipment and structures between 1996-2013. A synthetic panel is constructed using annual cross-sectional farm level observations from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Cohorts are formed by grouping farms into similar categories based upon farm production type, region and farm typology. This methodology allows the use of fixed effects to control for cohort specific and time-invariant similarities in investment levels, addresses non-investment in a single period by using cohort average investment rates, and allows links between investment levels and other key determinants across cohorts over time.

Within farm typologies, farms are …

Disability Visibility And Stigma Threat: Effects On The Performance, Stress, And Self-Control Of Disabled Workers, William Brice

Open Access Theses

Having a stigmatized disability is a depleting experience. For those with a disability, there are many factors that contribute to potential performance decrements in any given situation. Visibility of the disability, and the stigma connected to the disability are two such factors—which I argue based on research on motivation, regulation, and stress, contributes to the regulatory depletion experienced by disabled individuals. I conducted an experimental study where participants took part in a workplace simulation. Participants were given an artificially simulated disability and both the visibility of the disability and the stigmatizing nature of the disability were manipulated. I found a …