Business Commons^™

Corporate Sustainability, Rawan Barri

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays that examine the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in finance. In the first essay, we examine the bondholder wealth effects of socially responsible firms. Using an extensive U.S sample from 2006 to 2016 and two methodologies – corporate yield spreads and bond credit ratings – we provide evidence that proactive environmental and social practices are reflected in the price of corporate bonds. Furthermore, we examine the impact of managerial ownership on the relationship between CSR and bondholder wealth effects. We postulate that higher equity ownership induces managers to take on more firm risk …

Otter Tail Corporation, Heather Strese

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

In my valuation model I gathered Otter Tail Corporation’s financial statements, historical and industry data, public information and ratio analysis from Mergent Online, Yahoo Finance and Otter Tail Corporation’s 2018 annual report. I discount the expected free cash flows at the WACC and estimate that Otter Tail Corporation’s stock is price is at USD 56.36 per share as of November 1^st, 2019, given the small difference between my estimated price per share and the current price per share in the market, and consistent with the EV/EBITDA multiple, I recommend a HOLD on the stock of the company.

Consolidation In Liner Shipping: An Analysis Of Market Concentration In Liner Shipping In Ghana, Kwesi Saforo

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Essays On Corporate Debt Features, Capital Structure, And Cash Policies, Xiaoyu Zhu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Chapter 1: This chapter examines variations in corporate debt features with respect to changes in macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions. The features seen in corporate debt issues have evolved substantially over the past four decades in response to changes in the corporate financing landscape. In particular, this chapter studies the evolution of active debt provisions such as fixed-price calls, make-whole calls, and callable conversion features in corporate bond contracts. By integrating corporate bond data from the Mergent Fixed Income Securities Database (FISD) and Securities Data Company (SDC), This chapter reveals new temporal and cross-sectional patterns in active debt provisions.

Chapter 2: …

Essays On Corporate Sustainability, Aditya Malateesh Kashikar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dissertation provides an extensive literature review of topics in Corporate Sustainability. It further examines two key topics: ESG Pay and ESG Investing. For ESG Pay, I examine Bloomberg’s ESG linked pay measure using the largest panel (to date). I confirm several important results from the nascent literature on ESG Pay. Firstly, I find that Country and Industry play a major role in determining ESG Pay adoption. Secondly, among firm characteristics, Big and Value firms tend to have a greater probability of adopting ESG Pay. Thirdly, higher ESG scores increase the chance of ESG Pay adoption in the subsequent year. …

Paths And Modes Of Port Enterprises’Global Operation, Zhenyi Sun

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Executive Compensation Incentives Impact On The Tone And Readability Of Financial Reports, Xiaoyan Mi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Financial disclosures do not only influence the future reaction of customers, they also imply the financial strategies of the managers of corporations. Through analysis, we find a strong causal relationship between tone and readability of financial disclosures and incentive methods of managers. Controlling executives’ pay-performance sensitivity (delta) and other variables, executives with higher sensitivity of executives’ wealth to stock volatility (vega) (Coles, Daniel, Naveen, 2004) tend to announce reports with more negative tone and low readability.

Mass Shootings And The Performance Of Tourism Stocks, Marshall Deem

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This study investigates the effects of mass shooting events on the performance of the tourism industry within the United States. The results of the study show that outside of the market-wide returns, the performance of tourism stocks is negatively impacted after a large-scale mass shooting event. Furthermore, when separating extreme outliers in the data such as the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooting, the results of the study find that tourism stocks surrounding other large-scale mass shootings are significantly negative. Overall, the results of the study demonstrate a negative response in the tourism industry to large-scale mass shootings.

Is There A Relationship Between The Gender Of The Ceo And Short-Termism Or Long-Termism?, Kerry Calnan

Doctoral Dissertations (DBA)

Based on a panel of S&P 1500 firms from the period of 2008-2016, we evaluate whether firms managed by female CEOs exhibit the same short-termism or long-termism as firms managed by male CEOs. We evaluate in terms of market based, firm based and investment indicator. Our goal is to better understand if there is a relationship between the gender of the CEO and short-termism or long-termism.

Our results find firms with female CEOs have lower Tobin’s Q, lower ROA, however, they spend more on research and development than firms run by male CEOs.

Auditor Information Spillovers And Company Operating Performance: Evidence From Targeted Auditor Switches, Tyler Kleppe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine whether companies realize operational benefits from making “targeted auditor switches” (i.e., engaging a new auditor recently dismissed by a competitor company). While prior work provides evidence consistent with companies perceiving that auditor information spillovers are costly, there is sparse extant evidence as to whether auditors actually do transfer operational information across companies. I find that companies that switch to a competitor’s former auditor realize significant subsequent improvements in operating performance, and I provide evidence that the association between targeted auditor switches and improvements in operating performance varies predictably with several across- and within-market factors. In …

Money, Fdi And Economic Growth In Mena Countries., Huda Alsayed

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

First chapter examines the link between FDI, trade, capital formation and economic growth in 12 MENA countries using panel analysis for yearly data between the period 2001 to 2017. Using cointegration and Hausman test, our results indicate that, all the variables are stationary at first level, and long run relationship exist between our variables. A model of endogenous growth highlight that MENA countries favored FDI to trade, where trade has negative relation with economic growth. Capital formation and labor has positive and significant relation. We also, address the relation of education level, as we know that increase in Education level …

Investigating The Effects Of Tax Cuts On Capital Expenditures As An Alternative To Restore The United States Economy From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Carlos M. Parodi

Honors College Theses

The Corona Virus has interrupted several years of strong economic expansion in the United States. In fact, it has disrupted the lives of every single person and organization in the world. After reaching its peak in mid-April, the rate of cases and related deaths has finally started to slow down. The U.S. Government passed three different pieces of legislation to address the effects of the virus. It is now considering legislation (referred to as Phase IV) to accelerate the return of the U.S. economy to its pre-pandemic level. Studies have shown that capital expenditures have been essential during periods of …

Stock Market Drivers: Corporate Share Repurchases, Parker Wolf

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Such financial tools as share buybacks are coming under scrutiny by many investment experts. Evidence suggests that share repurchases foster a short-term focus in corporate managers who have a share-based compensation. Recent studies and research draw attention to the negative consequences of corporate share repurchases. While share buybacks were originally intended to create financial value for intrinsically undervalued shares, they are increasingly coming under scrutiny for enabling shareholders to increase their value of wealth at the expense of other stakeholders. With increased stock option plans for corporate executives, the association between increase in open market share buyback activity and compensation …

Shattering Glass Ceilings: Where Are All Of The Women In Finance?, Rebecca Schubach

Business and Economics Honors Papers

At a time when women are equally represented in professional fields such as medicine and academia, the finance industry is still facing a lack of gender diversity, most notability at the C-Suite level. Statistics on the paucity of women paint a bleak picture, despite the fact that women are awarded majority of undergraduate and graduate degrees in the United States, a reversal from just one generation ago. This begs the question, what is deterring women from a career in finance? Are compensation discrepancies at play? This paper seeks to examine if being a female truly penalizes a woman in regards …

The Cost Of Big Data: Evaluating The Effects Of The European Union’S General Data Protection Regulation, Kara Rebecca White

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Essays On Corporate Finance, Shuyu Xue Shuyu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation has two essays on corporate finance. In the first chapter, I investigate the dual-class structure. The dual-class structure is often regarded as poor corporate governance and the source of agency problems. However, I find that, for companies with high information asymmetry and long investment horizon, dual-class structure delivers higher operating performance and valuation ratios. These performing dual-class companies tend to have a higher investment in intangibles, more innovations, less pay-out, and less CEO compensation. The findings suggest that dual-class structure could be optimal in empowering information-advantageous inside shareholders and ensuring corporate long-term goals.

In the second chapter of …

The Adoption Of Cryptocurrency Technology Into The Us Banking Infrastructure, Trevor Melito

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the possibility of using Blockchain technology to permanently change the payment structure of the US banking system. First, I examine the current technology that dominates the banking sector. I introduce the most frequently used payments methods including Automatic Clearing House transfers and wire transfers, both domestically and internationally. In addition, I highlight the major players controlling these transactions. Under the current system, frictions between senders and receivers cause billions of dollars in losses each year.

Next, I examine Blockchain’s roots along with some similar cryptocurrency technology, namely Distributed Ledger Technology and Smart Contracts. The transparency, security, and …

Permanent Equity: Successfully Finding And Buying A Small Business, Lewis Wang

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to build off the existing research on the advantages of permanent equity within the micro-cap market space. This strategy combines many advantages from private equity, venture capital, small-cap, and value / quality investing in order to generate a differentiated return. While the pros and cons of these various strategies have been explored by previous academic research, not much has been written on the actual implementation and choices practitioners must make when they decide how to deploy capital. In order to dive deeper into implementation, this thesis presents several anecdotes of various firms that invest in this space …

The Impact Of American Economic Aid On Post-World War Ii Germany, Gabriella Barber, Emily T. Carlstrom

Senior Theses

This paper examines the state of Germany immediately after World War II, describing how the American government intervened in West German reconstruction. It analyzes three specific German companies that overcame hardship in the 1940s and 50s and have become powerhouses today. Additionally, an overview of the current German economy shows how the country is positioned as a world leader.

Research was conducted using literary print sources, scholarly internet databases, and a formal interview with Klaus Becker, Honorary Consul to Germany. He is a German-American businessman who has held roles in several non-political associations, including President of the Charlotte World Trade …

Analysis Of Jamie Dimon: Impact Of Leadership And Culture At J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Abigail Elisabeth Chapman

Honors Theses and Capstones

Jamie Dimon is one of Wall Street’s most effective and intelligent leaders who has transformed J.P. Morgan Chase into one of the largest and most well-respected banks in the world. To understand why this is, it’s important to analyze Dimon’s leadership style and how this has impacted the performance of J.P. Morgan. This paper investigates the performance of J.P. Morgan Chase under Dimon, how his character embodies both a Transformative and Transactional leadership style, and how his leadership has transformed the culture and performance of J.P. Morgan today.

Essays On Financial Institutions And Advisors, Joseph D. Farizo

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

In my first chapter, I examine how index funds vote their proxies on firms in its index that their family does not hold in its actively managed funds. For a given proxy proposal at a given point in time, I find that an index fund is more likely to oppose management on shares its family does not hold in its active funds than on shares its family does hold in its active funds. I further demonstrate that index fund governance has positive effects on the probability a proposal passes and on shareholder value. In my second chapter coauthored with Will …

Essays On Corporate Finance And Institutional Investors, Ang Li

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

The dissertation consists of three chapters spanning two areas of finance: corporate finance and institutional investors. In the first chapter, “Board Gender Diversity, Firm Culture, and Female Inventors”, I study how employee's Research and Development (R&D) activity is affected by firm culture. Using board gender diversity as a proxy for female-friendly culture, I find that a greater representation of women in the boardroom is associated with increased productivity and innovation output by female inventors relative to male inventors. Female inventors file more highly cited patents and less uncited patents. The effect is driven by female directors with R&D or high-tech …

Harmonizing The Disjointed: Economic Integration And Risk Sharing, Samuel Acheampong

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays examining the role of risk diversification in European markets. At the economy level the first two essays seek to identify whether economic integration efforts among European countries result in sharing risks to consumption with regional neighbors, as opposed to global partners. At the firm level, the third essay seeks to understand whether managers of large companies in the United Kingdom choose less financial leverage if they are specifically compensated with more cash bonus as opposed to other forms of performance incentives.

In Essay 1, I assess the extent to which European countries diversify consumption …

Essays On Risk Management Of Insurance Companies, Olga Kanj

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the risk management of insurance companies. It consists of three essays, which study the risk management of property and casualty (P/C) insurance companies. The first essay examines the impact of board diversity on firms’ risk-taking strategies using Canadian P/C insurance companies. The findings show that board ethnic diversity significantly decreases company risk as measured by reinsurance, asset risk, and leverage risk. Ethnic background values of the board members could be the reason behind this effect, board members with ethnic backgrounds from countries with high (low) Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) decrease (increase) the risk. Results also show that …

Modelling Cross-Market Linkages Between Global Markets And China’S A-, B- And H-Shares, Thi Tuan Anh Do

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

One of the biggest challenges in quantifying joint risk and forming effective policies in financial management and investment strategies is to fully understand the characteristics of market associations in low and high volatility periods. Market interdependence, therefore, is a hot topic that has received interest from academics and industry experts, especially since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. China, being the world’s second-largest economy, has been the centre of many studies investigating stock market dependencies. While China has three major share types, namely A-, B- and H-shares, with different market players, market characteristics and operating efficiency, the number of studies …

Estrategias De Negocio Para El Turismo Sostenible En El Municipio De Útica, Colombia, Paola Andrea Morales Vargas, María Alexandra Fernández Muñoz

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

La base del turismo sostenible es satisfacer las necesidades de los turistas logrando que prevalezca lo económico, cultural y ambiental de un sitio a generaciones futuras. El proyecto propone estrategias de negocio que pueden contribuir al desarrollo de las empresas de turismo sostenible del municipio de Útica Cundinamarca. Se quiere identificar actividades que generen ventaja competitiva a empresas de turismo sostenible, evaluar herramientas estratégicas para su fortalecimiento y establecer un plan de acción que consolide el turismo sostenible. El enfoque de esta investigación es cualitativa y se llevó a cabo en tres fases: la primera es documental, donde se realizó …

China: Nuevo Líder Global En Robótica, Andrei Camilo Enriquez Rodriguez, Mateo Arcila Gómez

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

Con el crecimiento económico y empoderamiento de China profundizado en el siglo XXI, Estados Unidos, hegemón hasta ahora en el sistema internacional, ha visto debilitado su poder especialmente en el desarrollo de algunos sectores tecnológicos; de ahí la importancia de investigar esta coyuntura global, donde China se perfila como actor principal del sistema internacional. En este sentido, la presente investigación se propone profundizar en los intereses tanto de Estados Unidos como de China, en investigación y desarrollo de las nuevas tendencias en materia de tecnología y su incidencia en el desempeño del sistema internacional, cuyos efectos, por la interdependencia global …

Propuesta Para Un Conocimiento Más Detallado Sobre La Regulación Aduanera 1165 Del 2019, Sebastián Suarez Ferro, Deiby Steven Franco Ávila

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como propuesta mejorar el conocimiento acerca de la regulación aduanera 1165 mediante una plataforma interactiva. Es muy importante para las personas naturales como jurídicas, comprender de una manera más clara la nueva normativa aduanera, ya que al operar sea exportando o importando es necesario saber cuáles son las reglas que se debe cumplir para tener un proceso de comercio exterior libre de cualquier riesgo. Se recolectaron datos cualitativos, por medio de informes institucionales, gubernamentales, repositorios institucionales y bases de datos institucionales y gubernamentales. Se realizó un análisis de los cambios más relevantes del decreto …

Google Search Sentiment And Sector Etf Performance, Andrew J. Williamson

Honors Theses

This paper utilizes data from Google searches in an attempt to utilize online investor sentiment as a predictor of sector exchange traded fund (ETF) performance. The paper tests the assumptions of the Efficient Market Hypothesis that all known information about a stock is incorporated into the price of the stock. With the emergence of ETFs as a popular form of investment for casual investors, there is a possibility that these investors may use Google as a way to collect information about potential stock picks. Thus, this paper investigates the association between online search interest and excess ETF returns by collecting …

The Impact Of California Senate Bill 826 On Employee Perspectives And Stock Performance On California Tech Firms, Kimberly M. Kaneshina

Scripps Senior Theses

On September 30, 2018, California Senate Bill 826 (CA SB 826) was passed. This Bill requires a quota for women to serve on California headquartered and public corporate boards. This study focuses on California tech firms, which I define as firms that are reliant on technology to create their main product or platform; but, are not aerospace or telecommunication firms. My thesis is a two-part analysis: exploring employees’, who worked at companies that were impacted by this Bill, perspectives, as well as, discovering if there is a relationship between percentage of female directors and stock price performance. Most employees were …