Business Commons^™

Effects Of Psychological Contract Breaches On Mergers And Acquisitions, Kristine M. Murphy

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates breaches in the psychological employment contract during mergers and acquisitions. An employee's contract is incomplete in regards to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In its place, psychological contracts are formed. Common psychological contracts breached in the M&A process include raises, bonuses, promotions, job responsibilities, job security, and career development. Employees who have experienced an M&A were surveyed to test the severity of various psychological contract breaches and their effect on employee performance, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, organizational deviance, and turnover using t-tests, Structural Equation Modeling, and ANOVA. The mediating effect of feelings of violation was also tested. …

The Effects Of Advertised Exclusivity On Consumer Behavior, Danny Clyde Upshaw Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Retailers routinely counter price competition by matching or beating competitors' prices. However, in addition to offering price-matching guarantees many retailers are increasingly adopting a differentiation or product assortment strategy of using "advertised retailer exclusive products" (AREPs) that are not directly comparable to competitor offerings. Such goods may offer added utilitarian and hedonic benefits to the consumer. With this tactic, products are advertised and labeled as "exclusive," but the nature of the exclusivity may range no further than an exclusive label to more pronounced differences, such as unique or additional features. However, the effectiveness of such tactics at: (1) decreasing search …

May I Help You? How Stereotypes And Innuendoes Influence Service Encounters, Lauren Michelle Brewer

Doctoral Dissertations

"You only get one chance to make a good first impression." The dissertation focuses on marketing agents; among the most visible is the "service provider." Previous research establishes the important role of cognitive social schemata in determining the way consumers react to different types of marketing agents, including service providers. In the literature review, a classification schema is developed for service provider stereotypes derived from theory using social stereotypes. The development of the Service Provider Perception Framework (SPPF) creates a classification for the individual service provider along two main dimensions: competence and affect.

In services design (particularly situations involving a …

Sales Performance And Intuition – The Role Of Gut Feelings, David Locander

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation extends the dual theory of salesperson information processing by examining the relationship between salespersons' emotional intelligence (EI) and their preference for and use of decision-making styles (intuition and/or deliberation) in the selling process. This dissertation contains two studies, Study 1 employs a descriptive research design and Study 2 uses experimental manipulations to investigate the role that intuition and deliberation play within the sales process. Data for both studies come from a sample derived from a national online panel of business to business salespeople.

Study 1, using a survey approach, assesses two competing models and one post hoc model …

Common Method Variance: An Experimental Manipulation, Alison Wall

Doctoral Dissertations

Although common method variance has been a subject of research concern for over fifty years, its influence on study results is still not well understood. Common method variance concerns are frequently cited as an issue in the publication of self-report data; yet, there is no consensus as to when, or if, common method variance creates bias. This dissertation examines common method variance by approaching it from an experimental standpoint. If groups of respondents can be influenced to vary their answers to survey items based upon the presence or absence of procedural remedies, a better understanding of common method variance can …

The Functional Approach To Creating The Self, Obinna O. Obilo

Doctoral Dissertations

Studying consumers is at the heart of the sub-discipline of consumer behavior; to truly understand the core of said consumers however, the marketing literature has focused on studying the self. The extant literature has discussed the self from several conceptual view points. As such, this study provides a rich theoretical review reaching back into the 19th century literature and extending into more recent developments related to cognitive social psychology. James' (1890) global tripartite model of the self is adopted, and the various avenues by which consumers create their `selves' are then explored, with particular focus on James' material self (bodily …

Creating And Fostering Singerian Inquiring Organizations Through Psychological Empowerment In The Context Of Information Assurance, Kristen Lee Brewer King

Doctoral Dissertations

Singerian Inquiring Organizations (SIO) (Courtney, et al., 1998; Courtney, 2001) are knowledge-based enterprises based on Churchman's theory of Singerian inquiring systems (Courtney, 2001). For Singerian organizations to thrive, employees must feel unfettered to quest for knowledge, share what knowledge has been found, and express opinions about the findings of others. In short, employees must feel empowered to act in order to foster the well-being and development of the organization and its stakeholders. Both the psychology and organizational behavior literature have examined psychological empowerment as a way to challenge individuals and/or employees to take control of and interest in organizational situations; …

Two Essays On Insider Trading And Option Grants Around The Filing Of Influential Patents, Liu Pan

Doctoral Dissertations

Research documents that insiders, who have access to private information, appear to trade with profits before major corporate events like mergers, bankruptcy, dividend announcements, and future cash flow news (see, e.g., Seyhun, 1990; Seyhun and Bradley, 1997; John and Lang, 1991; Jiang and Zaman, 2010). Another recent stream of studies find that the size and quality of a firm's patent portfolio are positively related to the firm's future stock returns (Hirshleifer, Hsu, and Li, 2012; Pandit, Wasley, and Zach, 2011). However, there is little systematic evidence on whether insiders act opportunistically when they possess private information about the firm's patent …

Two Essays On Insider Trading And Option Grants Around The Filing Of Influential Patents, Liu Pan

Doctoral Dissertations

Research documents that insiders, who have access to private information, appear to trade with profits before major corporate events like mergers, bankruptcy, dividend announcements, and future cash flow news (see, e.g., Seyhun, 1990; Seyhun and Bradley, 1997; John and Lang, 1991; Jiang and Zaman, 2010). Another recent stream of studies find that the size and quality of a firm's patent portfolio are positively related to the firm's future stock returns (Hirshleifer, Hsu, and Li, 2012; Pandit, Wasley, and Zach, 2011). However, there is little systematic evidence on whether insiders act opportunistically when they possess private information about the firm's patent …

Pay Communication: An Overview, Scale Development, And Analysis Of Its Influence On Workplace Deviance, Shelly A. Marasi

Doctoral Dissertations

Pay communication is an important yet complex organizational practice that assists organizations in achieving their compensation systems' goals and objectives (Gely and Bierman 2003). However, the management literature has neglected the pay communication concept, resulting in a scarce and undeveloped knowledge base on pay secrecy and pay openness. Given this opportunity, this dissertation focuses on pay communication and its influence on employee behaviors.

Chapter 2 presents an overview of the pay communication literature in the management discipline. A broader analysis of pay secrecy practices is provided since it is the practice primarily focused on in the pay communication literature, including …