Business Commons^™

Remixing Business Models: Technology And The Future Of The Modern Music Industry, Ryan Brown

Honors Theses

The music industry has undergone significant changes throughout the past few decades. The primary basis of these changes is technology, which has impacted everything from finding artists to distributing music. However, record labels have been slow to adapt to these changes, which has led to serious problems such as illegal music downloading. Illegal downloading, also known as "music piracy," has radically changed the entire business and distribution structures within the music industry. Although lawsuits and other strategies have been undertaken to attempt to combat this particular issue, technology will continue to affect the music industry for the foreseeable future. Advances …

Petro-Politics In Venezuela, Zachary Grant

Honors Theses

The twentieth century gave rise to a competition among countries that is exponentially growing vicious. This competition, sometimes referred to as "petroleum politics," has engulfed the late twentieth century and all of the twenty-first century in diplomatic chaos. This has not only stirred animosity among national leaders, it has also caused war and bloodshed on au international scale. In a world where money and nuclear weapons once demonstrated power, countries are now fighting for control of this precious, non-renewable resource and the unlimited amount of power that comes with its control. One man who has strategically used his control of …

Cross-Cultural Influences On Management Practices: It's Impact On Distribution Of Power, Leadership, And Communication. A Comparative Study Between The Dominican Republic And The United States, Paol P. Badia Diaz

Honors Theses

Different nations have particular ways of conducting businesses. At the root of most problems that arise during international negotiations, is a lack of cultural understanding. In a study conducted by Hofstede it was found that over 50% of differences in manager's attitude was due to national culture; a portion that exceeded profession, race, and gender. Many intercultural misunderstandings are due to behaviors of a person from one culture being incorrectly perceived, interpreted and reacted to by a person from another culture (Schmidt, Conaway, Easton & Wardrope, 2007). If the 47 million Latin Americans living in the United States were to …

Essays On Customer Training And Education In Service Design, Uzay Damali

All Dissertations

Customers who can effectively perform the tasks necessary in their service participation, and who are motivated to perform these tasks, experience improved satisfaction and service quality. In order to ensure customers have adequate skills and motivation, service designs incorporate practices which train and educate them. The goal of this research was to investigate how customers can effectively be trained and educated so that they can perform their service tasks. Based on various theories used in the field of management, we developed several research models to investigate this issue. These models were tested through survey data collected from adult patients with …

It-Business Strategic Alignment: Essays Examining Types Of Alignment And Their Relationship With Firm Performance, Jennifer Gerow

All Dissertations

While Information-Technology (IT)-Business Strategic Alignment (hereafter referred to as alignment) continues to be a topic of great concern to both researchers and practitioners alike, it is often misunderstood and, as such, many organizations find alignment difficult to achieve. In particular, alignment is often defined in many different ways, its operational measures are used inconsistently, and it is unclear how it can be attained. In this dissertation, we assert that researchers should include explicit references to the type of alignment under study, that adequate and consistent operational measures of each alignment type are necessary, and that we need a better understanding …

Real Options Models In Real Estate, Jin Won Choi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Our aim in this thesis is to investigate the usefulness of real options analysis, taking case studies of problems in real estate. In the realm of real estate, we consider the following three problems. First, we consider the valuation and usefulness of presale contracts of condominiums, which can be viewed as similar to call options on condominiums. Secondly, we consider the valuation of farm land from the perspective of land developers, who may think of farm land as being similar to call options on subdivision lots. Third, we consider the valuation of opportunities to install solar panels on properties, in …

The Newsvendor Problem With Pricing, Craig Sorochuk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the newsvendor problem with pricing, the seller of homogeneous items attempts to maximize expected profit by setting price(s) and inventory level(s) before realizing exact demand for the items. The first step in solving the problem is to model this demand, which in the literature, is most commonly done using additive or multiplicative uncertainty, often without justification for either choice. From here, the problem is solved in a variety of ways. In this document, a model for demand is derived from two basic quantities: size of customer base and distribution of reservation prices of the population, where a reservation price …

Transformational Leadership For Conflict Management Between Leaders And Employees, Yang Guo

Theses & Dissertations

This study empirically investigates the dynamics and outcomes of leader-member conflict. It validates the values of cooperative conflict and damages of competitive conflict between leaders and employees, testing the effectiveness and universality of Deutsch's (1973) cooperation and competition theory. By bridging leadership and conflict management literature, it also identifies the role of transformational leadership in managing conflict effectively. Specifically, transformational leadership induces cooperative conflict and undermines competitive conflict between leaders and employees, which in turn increases task performance and leader effectiveness.

A total of 112 interviews were conducted in mainland China from 2010 to 2011. Results of structural equation modeling …

Understanding The Role Of Embeddedness In Shaping It Professional Behavior, Michael Dinger

All Dissertations

This dissertation studies how information technology (IT) professionals become embedded and, in turn, how embeddedness influences organizational behaviors. Embeddedness refers to the extent to which an individual is attached to an organizational or professional setting. Traditionally, embeddedness is defined as having three components: social links, fit and sacrifice. We analyze the traditional conceptualization of embeddedness and identify weaknesses. As a result, we refine these three components to belongingness, fit and utility.
To deepen our understanding of embeddedness and its influence on organizational behavior, we develop a theory of embeddedness. We propose that embeddedness grows over time. As embeddedness increases, we …

Social Capital: Measurement, Dimensional Interactions, And Performance Implications, James Turner

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Recent OM literature conceptualizes social capital as being comprised of three inter-related dimensions: the relational dimension, the structural dimension, and the cognitive dimension. Existing research suggests that ocial capital offers firms the potential to leverage their interorganizational relationships to create sustainable advantage and superior performance opportunities for the firm.
However, despite the interest and attention of social capital theory among operations management (OM) and supply chain management (SCM) researchers, there is a surprising shortage of cohesive empirical research on social capital theory. The absence of reliable and valid empirical measures of social capital has limited OM researchers' ability to …

The Role Of Age In Technology-Induced Workplace Stress, Stefan Tams

All Dissertations

Recent research shows that such Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as instant messengers can cause workplace interruptions, which lead to stress for employees and substantial productivity losses for U.S. organizations. Since the introduction of ICTs, workplace interruptions have evolved in both frequency and nature from irregular phone calls to a continuous stream of e-mail notifications and other electronic interruptions, mediated through a large number of technological devices that constantly beep and buzz. This trend of an increasing frequency of workplace interruptions closely relates to another workplace trend: the graying of the workforce, implying that the U.S. workforce is aging at …

Examining The Knowledge Sharing And Uncivil Behavior Of Envious Employees: An Affective Events Theory Perspective, Ankur P. Nandedkar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Envy is deep-rooted within human nature and considered as a socially undesirable emotion. According to social science scholars, competitive situations are breeding grounds for various feelings of ill-will. Researchers have demonstrated that an organization's systems and structure permit envy to exist and thrive even in the workplace. Within a workplace setting, various job-related scenarios such as positions held, promotions, projects assigned, job design, pay increases, and performance recognition can lead to envious feelings, which in turn, can have negative consequences. There are some organizations in which employees engage in close interactions on a regular basis and share a high degree …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Environmentally Sustainable Practices In Municipal Government: A Case Study Of The City Of Knoxville’S Department Of Parks And Recreation, Anthony Michael Brown

Masters Theses

Sustainability practices produce programs and services that meet current needs while preserving the environment and natural resources for the future. City parks and recreation departments are facing budget shortfalls and increasing expectations from customers. Governments are now embracing sustainability practices to create financial savings while also fostering relations with customers.

The purpose of this single case study was twofold: (1) to examine the effectiveness of one city department’s strategies in outsourcing its environmental sustainability program through a performance contract with Ameresco; and (2) to examine the perceptions of key department employees about the effectiveness of the sustainability initiative. A …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Antecedents Of Voluntary Turnover In Studies Involving Active Duty Military Member Populations, Christy A. R. Licklider

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have explored the antecedents to turnover in the military; however, results vary. This research used a meta-analytic method to evaluate reported correlations between antecedents of turnover intent and turnover in an effort to understand the true relationship between them and offer insight to leaders as to where they can affect turnover within their organizations. Included studies reported a military sample and were published between 1973 and 2009. The meta-analysis revealed no correlation between OPTEMPO and turnover intent. Not enough studies were included to evaluate the relationship between OPTEMPO and turnover. Varying definitions and measurements of OPTEMPO raised concern. Additional …

Businesses Going Green: An Analysis Of The Factors That Motivate Firms To Adopt Environmentally Friendly Practices, Emma Currin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this analysis is not to degrade environmentally friendly efforts by firms, but rather to explore their motivations for adopting such sustainable initiatives. Current research would suggest that businesses are motivated to adopt environmentally friendly practices by a combination of legal requirements, corporate social responsibility, and gaining some sort of businesses advantage such as reduced costs, increased market share, and similar financial benefits. Determining what it is that contributes to a firm's decision making process can have several positive implications. It may help a firm to better address the changing needs of an evolving society, the government to …

The Great Recession And Its Effect On Small Businesses And Unemployment Rates, Alyssa Sharples

Honors Theses

The 2007 financial crisis, otherwise known as the "Great Recession," has impacted the economy tremendously in the past three years. Businesses have been drastically impacted, as have the lives of workers in the United States. Many articles have been published about different aspects of the recession. One question that has not been completely addressed is how the Great Recession has affected small businesses and unemployment rates. The reason for addressing these two topics is because they are closely related to one another. Small business owners are reporting that there has been a decline in sales. Consumers are not willing to …

Information Seeking Behavior: The Effects Of Relationalism On The Selection Of Information Sources, Chris Zimmer

All Dissertations

In a world where 'Google' is a verb, this research asks the question 'what influences an individual's decision to select one information source over another?' Previous works have discussed relational versus nonrelational information sources (Rulke, Zaheer, & Anderson, 2000). Other research focuses on the information quality (O'Reilly, 1982), source accessibility (Culnan, 1984, 1985), or source richness (Daft, Lengel, & Trevino, 1987; Daft & Macintosh, 1981) but all these prior works do not address the social aspects of information sources.
This research defines and develops the construct of relationalism which is reflective of the social aspects of information sources. An important …

Financial Performance And Capacity Analysis For The Mice Industry In Las Vegas And The United States, Li-Ting Yang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) industry is comparatively young and diverse. As a result, there has been limited research conducted in this field, especially from the financial performance and capacity management perspective. The purpose of this study is to fill the gap by analyzing the MICE capacity optimization issue in Las Vegas, a leading MICE destination, and in the U.S., a leading MICE country in the world. The findings and results of this study should help industry practitioners better understand the current status of the U.S. MICE industry in terms of assets efficiency, operational costs, and profitability. …

Multiparty Negotiations And Their Settings: How A Change In Location Can Change Bargaining Strategies, Danielle Borel

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Lean Manufacturing - An Integrated Socio-Technical Systems Approach To Work Design, Mohammed Raja

All Dissertations

Over the years, the manufacturing industry has witnessed a number of work design practices, based on different principles, which have significantly shaped the nature of work and have affected employees' behavior and performance. This study compares the socio-technical systems (STS) principles and lean production (LP) principles in to explore the potential for synergistic integration between the two. They are categorized according to the common overarching goals of these principles, and through a process of theoretical rationalization, these categories are operationalized into the work design practices of middle management support, social practices usage, and technical practices usage.
A model of work …

Examination Timetabling With Mathematical Programming An Application In Turkish Air Force Academy, Emrah Koksalmis

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is the educational timetabling problem, which is a very challenging problem to solve especially with a high number of the departments, branches, classes, and students. Due to the large scale of educational timetabling problems and preferences of the stakeholders, it is almost impossible to form a general model that solves all of the timetabling problems in the literature. This resulted in the need to develop and employ specific models for specific institutions.

The purpose of this study is to develop a mathematical programming model that solves the examination timetabling problem in Turkish Air Force Academy …

The Adoption Of International Accounting Standards For Small- And Medium-Sized Entities, Doris K. Feltham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. private entities considering adoption of International Standards for Small- and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) need to understand how the new standards will modify financial reporting. However, there has been no determination of the significance of the financial statement impact of changing from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) to IFRS for SMEs. Without this knowledge, private entities in the United States will not be able to make an informed decision as to the benefits or consequences of adopting IFRS for SMEs. Based on stakeholder theory, this study sought to determine how adoption of IFRS for SMEs …

A Review Of The Department Of The Army's Decentralized Cost Benefit Analysis Process, Gerard M. Acosta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1996 to 2006, the number of Department of Defense (DoD) contract transactions increased, leading to over expenditures and the need for agencies to determine benefit estimation to improve risk management of a project. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply a total quality management theory to explore if a standardized versus decentralized benefits framework within the cost benefit analysis process could improve the Department of the Army acquisition selection process. The two central research questions addressed (a) the differences between successful and failed acquisition systems cost benefit analysis, and (b) whether a standardized or decentralized cost …

Leadership Styles And Faculty Satisfaction In The State University System Of Florida, Justin Ted Bateh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Universities must retain satisfied employees to enhance productivity and reduce turnover. Leadership represents one of the fundamental factors in job satisfaction. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between perceived academic administrator leadership styles and the satisfaction of faculty members. The independent variables were the transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership styles of academic administrators as evaluated by faculty members. The dependent variable was job satisfaction of full-time faculty members. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to identify the leadership style of an administrator as perceived by faculty members. Spector's Job Satisfaction Survey was used to assess …

Asset Reuse Of Images From A Repository, Deirdre Herman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to Markus's theory of reuse, when digital repositories are deployed to collect and distribute organizational assets, they supposedly help ensure accountability, extend information exchange, and improve productivity. Such repositories require a large investment due to the continuing costs of hardware, software, user licenses, training, and technical support. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of evidence in the literature on whether users in fact reused enough digital assets in repositories to justify the investment. The objective of the study was to investigate the organizational value of repositories to better inform architectural, construction, software and other industries whether …

Knowledge Sharing And Competitiveness Of Professional Service Firms: A Case Study, Albert P. Cruz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study is that little action is taken to create the social aspects and social value of knowledge-sharing culture within organizations. There is a need for increased understanding of the behavioral side of knowledge management. The purpose of this study was to focus on knowledge sharing from a behavioral perspective. Knowledge management is defined as the accumulation, protection, and leverage of knowledge. This research study investigated the relationship between knowledge sharing and competitiveness and approached the field of knowledge management from the organizational, cultural, and behavioral perspectives. The research questions examined how knowledge workers described the …

Using Organizational, Coordination, And Contingency Theories To Examine Project Manager Insights On Agile And Traditional Success Factors For Information Technology Projects, Michael J. Doherty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Two dominant research views addressing disappointing success rates for information technology (IT) projects suggest project success may depend on the presence of a large number of critical success factors or advocate for agile project management as an alternative to traditional practice. However, after two decades of research, success rates remain low, and the role of critical success factors or project management approach remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to use views of experienced project managers to explore the contribution of success factors and management approach to project success. Applying organizational, coordination, and contingency theories, the research questions examined …

The Relationship Among Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Styles Of Law Enforcement Executives, Gregory, Jr. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policing in the 21st century is becoming more complex and dynamic as law enforcement executives deal with operational, political, and economic challenges. Organizational theory and research indicate positive relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), leadership effectiveness, leadership styles, and employee outcomes. But these relationships have not been investigated in law enforcement organizations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the above relationships in a sample of law enforcement executives. Situational leadership theory, full range leadership model, and trait EI theory comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected from 139 law enforcement …

Acceptance And Usage Of Electronic Health Record Systems In Small Medical Practices, Ritu Tannan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the objectives of the U.S. government has been the development of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including adoption and use of an electronic health records (EHR) system. However, a 2008 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics indicated a 41.5% usage of the EHR system by physicians in office-based practices. The purpose of this study was to explore opinions and beliefs on the barriers to the diffusion of an ERH system using Q-methodology. Specifically, the research questions examined the subjectivity in the patterns of perspectives at the preadoption stage of the nonusers and at the postadoption …

Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of good communications between team members has been well documented. Yet previous studies on communications between team members have neglected to focus on reasons for information withholding between people working on teams. The purpose of this case study of 16 engineers and 6 educators was to understand why team members withhold information when working together. A convenience sample was selected from a software engineering organization. Collective intelligence theory in a modern communications environment was used as the theoretical foundation. This theory posits that the synergy of full group collaboration results in enhanced performance and the spread of new …