Business Commons^™

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Trace Dna Detection Using Diamond Dye: A Recovery Technique To Yield More Dna, Leah Davis

Master's Theses

This study aspires to find a new screening approach to trace DNA recovery techniques to yield a higher quantity of trace DNA from larger items of evidence. It takes the path of visualizing trace DNA on items of evidence with potential DNA so analysts can swab a more localized area rather than attempting to recover trace DNA through the general swabbing technique currently used for trace DNA recovery. The first and second parts consisted of observing trace DNA interaction with Diamond Dye on porous and non-porous surfaces.

The third part involved applying the Diamond Dye solution by spraying it onto …

Tax Planning Under The Inflation Reduction Act Of 2022, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Inflation Reduction Act of2022 (the "Act"), signed by President Biden on 8/16/2022, contained an array of tax provisions that should be considered in tax planning for clients.

The Act is a budget reconciliation bill whose origins can be traced back to the American Rescue Plan Act of2021, as well as the American Jobs Plan (AJP) and the American Families Plan (AFP). Each plan contained aspects of tax incentives for green energy construction, conservation, and infrastructure improvements, as well as for healthcare benefits. What we see in the Act is the last iteration of these developing tax incentives.

The Act …

Planning Strategies Under Recent Tax Law Changes, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

In the days when it was more common to see major stand-alone tax reform legislation, practitioners would devote large amounts of time to understanding tax law changes and formulating how these changes affected tax planning strategies. Now that we often see tax law changes peppered piecemeal into larger pieces of legislation, they often go under the radar. This means that tax planning opportunities may be missed.

Tax law changes that have appeared in just the past year provide numerous instances of tax planning strategies that warrant attention.

Expanded Tax Incentives For Energy-Efficient Construction And Improvements, Martin A. Goldberg, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act), included an array of tax-law changes that may not have gotten the attention they deserve.

There are several reasons why for many these changes may have been under the radar. First, as part of a much larger legislative package, much of the attention has been given to the ongoing political debates rather than individual provisions. In fact, the Act is part of a larger political saga. It's a scaled-down version, and immediate successor, to the Build Back Better Act which passed in the House of Representatives in 2021 but failed to pass …

Current Trends In Corporate Tax Inversions, James N. Mohs, Martin A. Goldberg, Rajendra Shrestha

Accounting Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to describe how changes in corporate tax rates affect the relocation of Corporations to lower tax jurisdictions. Historically, there was a direct correlation between high tax rates and the relocation of Corporations to lower tax jurisdictions. By further examining the relationships that tax rate cuts may have on future onshoring relocations and how changes in government tax policies will affect the relocation of multinational corporations to avoid or minimize tax liabilities. This paper extends the work of Mohs, Goldberg, Butler, and Heath (2016), which noted that there is a correlation between divergent tax rates. …

Effects Of Product And Product Company Information On Generation Zs’ Purchasing Preferences, Steven Dahlquist, Michael Scott Garver

American Business Review

The generational cohort now commonly referred to as Generation Z numbers approximately 65 million in the United States. They share a number of traits with their millennial predecessors, such as the aspiration to purchase from, and work for socially conscious companies. They are also the first generation to grow up with instantaneous access to information via digital mobile technology and rely on digital platforms and social media for information. To better understand how this emerging consumer category processes product information and product company information regarding social behaviors, an experimental design and two methods of analysis (Choice-Based Conjoint and Latent Class …

Opportunism Vs. Excellence In Academia: Quality Accreditation Of Collegiate Business Schools, João Ricardo Faria, Franklin G. Mixon Jr.

American Business Review

This study extends the literature on the (in)effectiveness of quality accreditation by examining how standards adopted by an accrediting or research agency, such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), can be manipulated by academic units, such as collegiate schools of business. We present a hierarchical differential game between a collegiate business school and its accrediting agency to advance the hypothesis that strategic or opportunistic behavior occurs where heterogeneity in academic achievement exists, as represented by an uneven distribution of academic achievement resulting either from the presence of both unproductive and highly productive faculty or periods …

Economic Freedom, Capital, And Growth: Evidence From The States, Sarah Ihlenfeld, Joshua C. Hall, Yang Zhou

American Business Review

Hall et al. (2010) develop a growth model where the allocation and productivity of human and physical capital depend on the quality of institutions in a country. We apply their model to the US states from 1980 to 2000. Using the Economic Freedom of North America as our measure of institutional quality, we find evidence that increases in human capital lead to increases in output per worker only in states with average EFNA scores above 5.91. Physical capital, unlike in the cross-country case, always has a positive effect on output per worker.

The Role Of Multiple Large Shareholders In Dividend Payouts: Evidence From India, Samridhi Suman, Shveta Singh

American Business Review

This study examines the impact of multiple large shareholders (MLS) on a firm’s dividend payouts in a low-investor protection regime, India, where minority shareholders’ expropriation concerns are severe and firms have an incentive to build a capital market reputation. Therefore, we purport for the prevalence of the substitution hypothesis, whereby MLS cooperate in paying larger dividends to assuage expropriation concerns for reputation-building. The empirical analysis using non-financial firms with MLS listed on NIFTY 500 from 2009 to 2019 yields that both the controlling owner and MLS positively influence dividend payout intensity. Additional analyses also demonstrate that the positive effect of …

Volatility Spillovers And Nexus Across Oil, Gold, And Stock European Markets, Chao Ren

American Business Review

This paper utilises a trivariate VAR-BEKK-GARCH model to investigate the dynamic relationships between global oil price, gold price, and European stock markets. This paper observes weak return spillover effects from the oil market to 6 European stock markets (Netherlands, Lithuania, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovenia) and from gold to Iceland, while there is no evidence of return spillovers from stock markets to oil and gold. The non-existence of return linkages between gold and stock (oil) suggests that the gold market plays a haven role. With reference to volatility spillovers, the results show obvious asymmetric bidirectional volatility interaction between the …

When Failure Is Neither Fatal Nor Final: Understanding Re-Internationalization Processes, Salman Ali, Ajeet N. Mathur

American Business Review

Re-internationalization, or firms’ re-entry into international operations after completely withdrawing from initial international business failures, is a neglected phenomenon in international business research. This research develops theoretical underpinnings for understanding re-internationalization processes through an inductive theory-building approach using case studies of four Indian firms from diverse industries. We examine various aspects of firms’ initial internationalization, including the learning and experiences gained during such activities, the role of networks and relationships, valences in organizational commitment to internationalization during the exit and time-out periods, and the significance of dynamic capabilities that facilitate successful re-internationalization of firms. Our theorizing is relevant for scholars …

Does Absorptive Capacity Protect Shareholder Wealth In Times Of Crisis? Evidence From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amanjot Singh

American Business Review

R&D capital increases firms’ ability to identify, absorb, and utilize new external information. Firms with absorptive capacity become resilient to external shocks while providing an opportunity to protect shareholder wealth during a crisis period. This study examines the role of firms’ absorptive capacity in protecting shareholder wealth around the COVID-19-induced stock market crisis. Our findings report that firms’ absorptive capacity is positively related to stock returns of US firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This positive relationship exists irrespective of investor attention and is robust to the propensity-score-matching approach. Overall, the results imply that R&D capital makes firms resilient to external …

Why And When Do Leaders Express Humility? Leader Expressed Humility As Psycho-Social Signaling, Kelly G. Manix

American Business Review

Humble leadership has generated immense research interest. Yet, little is understood regarding why or when leaders may choose to express humility to their followers. Drawing upon self-determination and signaling theories, this conceptual research seeks to explain why some leaders display humble behaviors toward their followers more than other leaders. Needs for relatedness and competence are proposed as antecedents of humble expressions. Leader optimism is proposed as a moderator of this relationship. I contend leaders sustain expressions of humility to signal their values of relatedness and growth to followers and to encourage humble behaviors among them for mutually beneficial outcomes. Optimism …

Carry Forward Modeling For High-Frequency Limit-Order Executions: An Emerging Market Perspective, Aritra Pan, Arun Kumar Misra

American Business Review

In this study, we estimate the order execution probability of a limit-order book (LOB) and analyze its determinants using high-frequency LOB data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India. For this purpose, we propose an algorithm that estimates the LOB execution time. Using a survival function with log-normal distribution, this study analyzes the significant determinants of the limit-order execution times. The average execution probability is found to be higher for stocks belonging to the information technology and telecom sectors. The limit-order execution probability increases with a larger bid–ask spread, lower limit-order size, and deeper opposite order book. On the …

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) Based Virtual Organization Model For The Coordination Of Sustainable Textile Supply Chain, Patanjal Kumar, Dheeraj Sharma, Peeyush Pandey

American Business Review

The lack of attention on the forward and backward supply chain issues, i.e., the transparency between supply chain agents, information sharing, resource deployment, workforce knowledge, waste reduction, cost efficiency, and resource management are the major problems of textile supply chain. The coordination of forward and backward supply chain becomes difficult due to the players' self-interest and firmographics. It becomes much complicated when we consider the triple bottom line of sustainability (TBLS) in the supply chain. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an Industry 4.0 (I4.0) based virtual organization model for the coordination of the forward and backward supply chain. The …

The Co-Evolution Of Global Legitimation And Technology Upgrading: The Case Of Huawei, Sihong Wu, Di Fan, Yiyi Su

American Business Review

This study explores the underlying relationship between acquisition of global legitimacy and the search for technology upgrading by Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs). Using Huawei’s investment in Russia, Kenya, the United Kingdom and Canada as an in-depth case study, we observe that through corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in foreign markets and engaging with local community, Chinese MNEs can acquire global legitimacy and gradually catch up with industry leaders. However, the process of global legitimation and innovation continues to evolve. We find that, together with engaging in CSR activities, acquisition of sophisticated knowledge and creation of innovation bring more legitimacy challenges …

The Trilemma Of 2020: Understanding Higher Education’S Fall 2020 Reopening Decision Amidst The Covid Crisis, Rob Weitz, Viswa Viswanathan, David Rosenthal

American Business Review

In the summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread around the world, institutions of higher education were faced with three options in terms of their teaching modality for fall 2020: resume in-person education, switch to online delivery, or adopt a hybrid approach. This observational research study aims to tease out the variables that explain the decisions announced in summer 2020 by various colleges and universities in the United States for their planned instruction for fall 2020. We propose and test eight hypotheses related to the decision. The study found statistical confirmation that universities with higher financial stability …

Antecedents And Outcomes Of Duty Orientation Among Salespeople, James Deconinck, Drew Carnes, Mary Beth Deconinck

American Business Review

This study analyzed the relationship among ethical leadership, duty orientation, perceived organizational support (PSS), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and job performance among a sample of 45 sales managers and 203 salespeople. Duty orientation and perceived organizational support were found to mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and performance outcomes. Ethical leadership was a direct predictor of OCBs but not job performance. This study shows the importance of analyzing ethical leadership, duty orientation, and PSS and their relationship with OCBs and job performance in the salesforce.

Do Black-Owned Banks Substitute For Payday Lenders? An Exploratory Study, James R. Barth, Richard J. Cebula, Jiayi Xu

American Business Review

The annualized interest rate charged on payday loans can reach 1,950 percent, whereas similar rates charged by banks are typically less than 25 percent. Also, persons borrowing from payday lenders and paying the higher interest rates are disproportionately lower-income Blacks. This provides an incentive for Blacks seeking loans to turn to banks rather than payday lenders. This may be more likely to happen when there are Black-owned banks in communities with greater percentages of Blacks. Indeed, offices of such banks may substitute for payday loan stores, providing a greater opportunity for Blacks to avoid the higher interest rates associated with …

Post-Great-Recession Human Migration Patterns In The U.S.: The Overlooked Impacts Of Entrepreneurial Activity And Personal Freedom, Richard J. Cebula

American Business Review

Effectively no scholarly research has been published in peer-reviewed journals on the potential migration impacts of environments that are more conducive to entrepreneurship. Similarly, the potential migration impact of personal freedom also is essentially ignored in the literature. This study seeks to add to the literature by investigating the impacts of both entrepreneurial activity and personal freedom on state in-migration patterns. Using a panel dataset for the post-Great Recession period 2010-2017, the empirical analysis reveals that all three of the Kauffman indices of entrepreneurial activity are found to exercise a positive and statistically significant impact on both net in-migration and …

A Bibliometric Analysis Of Behavioral Finance And Behavioral Accounting, Bharati Singh

American Business Review

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of relevant publications in the field of behavioral finance and behavioral accounting. The analysis shows that the emerging themes of research in recent years in behavioral finance is on investors’ sentiment, social media, investors’ attention, and financial literacy. In the field of behavioral accounting, biases such as  overconfidence, framing effects or cognitive constraints on information processing, have been explored in greater detail. Other than cognitive biases, this field includes studies such as behavioral tax, organizational ecology, and performance evaluative style of organization, among others. Interestingly, our analysis suggests that research in behavioral accounting …

Does Innovation Explain The Skewness Of Stock Returns?, Ahmed Baig, Hassan Anjum Butt, Abrar Fitwi, Joey Smith

American Business Review

This paper investigates the impact of firm-level innovation on the skewness of stock returns. Using data on a broad sample of equities from the major US stock exchanges, we find that innovative companies exhibit strong positive skewness. Our results are robust to both input and output measures of innovation as we find that increases in both firm-level research and development expenditure (R&D), as well as the number of patents, are positively associated with future stock return skewness. Our results hold using both systematic and idiosyncratic measures of skewness while controlling for various stock characteristics, time, and industry-fixed effects.

Financial Frictions And Macroeconomy During Financial Crises: A Bayesian Dsge Assessment, Eric Martial Etoundi Atenga Dr., Maman Hassan Abdo, Mbodja Mougoué

American Business Review

The recent global financial crisis and the Eurozone sovereign default have rekindled the debate on the interactions between the real sector and the financial sphere. The present paper provides an assessment of the role of financial frictions on business cycles in Canada, the Euro Area, the U.K., and the U.S. during these recent financial crises using an extension of the DSGE methodology described by Merola (2015). The main goal is to examine whether and the extent to which those crises enhanced the contribution of financial frictions in driving macroeconomic fluctuations. The models’ properties are examined with posteriors distributions, variance decomposition, …

Exchange Rate Pass-Through Into Japanese Import Prices: Evidence At Both Bilateral And Product Levels, Channary Khun, Sokchea Lim, Hem Basnet

American Business Review

This study investigates the degree of the exchange rate pass-through to Japanese bilateral import prices at the product level for major Japan's trading partners (US, EU, and Asian NIEs) for a period (1998:1-2010:12) dubbed as Japan's lost decade and marked by a gradual the exchange rate appreciation against the US dollar. By considering both country and product dimensions in a unified framework, this study makes one of the first attempts to analyze the responsiveness of Japanese import prices to exchange rate movement. The empirical analysis suggests a declining exchange rate pass-through to Japanese import prices at the bilateral level in …

Change In Illiquidity Of Family Firms With Institutional Pressure: Evidence From India, Amit Chakrabarti, Kaveri Krishnan

American Business Review

This paper investigates the impact of the family business on illiquidity in an emerging market and how it evolves with regulatory changes. The study uses panel data multiple regression on a sample of 25,418 observations on 3,606 firms from India within nine years from 2006 to 2014. The study finds that family firms have significantly higher illiquidity compared to non-family firms. Moreover, family businesses have successfully resisted the institutional pressure to decrease illiquidity and have also defied these coercive pressures to increase the illiquidity of family businesses finally. The study also found heterogeneity in the behaviour of family businesses based …

When Virtual Spaces Meet The Limitations Of Traditional Sport: Gender Stereotyping In Nba2k, Lindsey Darvin, Ceyda Mumcu, Ann Pegoraro

Sport Management Faculty Publications

Video games have continued to increase in popularity. While the growth has been substantial, representation and acceptance of women throughout gaming environments, including those with traditional sport influences such as NBA2K, a basketball simulation game, have been lacking. Recently however, the NBA2K franchise added Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player avatars to the NBA2K20 game. While this recent inclusion of WNBA avatars may be a great step in improving upon the concerning state of inclusion and representation of women throughout gaming, the reactions to and receptions of this change have not been fully explored. As a result, the current investigation, …

Exploring The Impact Of Tariffs On Foreign Direct Investment And Economic Prosperity, Vanessa Fong, James Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

The global economic environment has become more interconnected, a significant portion of which can be attributed to countries welcoming foreign businesses through foreign direct investments (FDI). FDI is powerful in its ability to grow and develop home companies while shaping host economies, which lays out a critical role in the generating opportunities, strengthening economies, and the circulation or velocity of capital. This paper extends the initial work of Ranish, Mentz and Mohs (2015) relating to global value chain decision making. The purpose of this research is to review and outline the sensitivity to Tariff’s on FDI and economic growth. The …

Asymmetric Cost Behavior: Exploring Ethical Issues Facing Management, Kelly Flannery, James Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

Asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness is a relatively new phenomenon in accounting. Cost accounting initially assumed that traditional cost behaviors follow a symmetrical pattern, whereas sales and costs rise and fall equivalently with each other. Extending the research of Anderson, Banker and Janakiraman (2003) which introduced a theory that contradicted the normal symmetrical cost behavior by suggesting that internal factors, such as management decisions impact spending resulting in asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness. The objective of this paper is to explore whether asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness impacts corporate earnings of enterprises and if so, does this …

Evaluating Flat Tax Theory: A Conceptual Framework, James N. Mohs

Accounting Faculty Publications

Tax receipts form one of the key tools of current macroeconomic fiscal policy. As governments are forced to increase spending levels satisfy their respective social, political or economic goals, they are consequently are forced to review new or additional sources of tax review. Government officials and political candidates theorize that new expensive programs can be paid for by increased taxes. A flat tax system has also been theorized to be an equitable solution to satisfy the increased tax revenue requirements. This paper reviews in general terms the current progressive tax system as well as a regressive flat tax system. This …