Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Mission Drift And The Effectiveness Of Resource Dependence Theory In An Internally Resource-Constrained Environment., Kirsten Bullock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why are some organizations able to maintain focus on their mission while others founder? This theoretical and empirical dissertation examines the relationships among funding sources, management practices, and organizational stigma within an internally resource-constrained environment. Using Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) as a basis to manage external resource dependencies, I build a theoretical model and empirically test a research model to understand how funding source affects mission drift, how management practices might help organizations manage that drift, and what effect organizational stigma might have on those relationships within an environment of internal resource constraints. Specifically, this study hypothesizes that nonprofits that …

Three Essays On Ceo Traits, Corporate Investment Decisions, And Firm Value, Rongyao Zhang

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

More and more research has shown that the characteristics of top executives, especially CEOs, affect organizational decisions and behaviors. This dissertation primarily focuses on the role of executives’ managerial ability played in firm investment decisions, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment, and firm value.

Essay 1 examines whether high-ability managers’ earnings smoothing is motivated by the need to mitigate the adverse effects of heightened information asymmetry triggered by M&As on managers’ reputation capital and firm value. I document that acquirers with high-ability managers engage in more pre-acquisition earnings smoothing and experience more significant announcement …

Two Essays On Antecedents And Effects Of Award-Winning Ceos, Veronika Ciarleglio

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

A vibrant stream of research in strategic management examines CEO reputation, status, media coverage, and awards on firm outcomes.

This dissertation examines antecedents that impact the likelihood of CEOs gaining higher visible status —such as winning awards — and the impact of such status on firm behavior. The dissertation addresses these issues in two essays.

In the first essay, we use signaling theory to frame the impact of industry characteristics, firm level strategic initiatives, and demographic factors on the likelihood of CEOs winning awards. Specifically, in this essay we examine how industry structure, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, business strategies, …

Predicting And Mitigating Reactance Impact On Attitude And Behavioral Intention, Matthew Ryan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

At times messaging may be of an instructive nature that can be perceived as an attempt to threaten or limit an individual’s freedom. This freedom limitation can range from individual choice to physical requirements. How a message is framed, or positioned, is very important. In certain instances, even when the message has the best intentions, if framed incorrectly can have the opposite, or boomerang, effect on people. This state is known as psychological reactance. When invoked, consumers will act in a way that eliminates the threat of freedom to restore balance. Such a state can also lead to negative implications …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Investigating Adjourning Phase Behavior In A Sample Of The Product Development Teams In The Light Metal Forming Industry, Pawel Kazanowski

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to integrate existing literature, research, and thinking about team interactions during and after significant events like joint ventures, mergers, or technological changes exhibiting adjourning-like conditions in the team development process. The study of the product development teams representing the light metal forming industry followed the mixed-methods sequential design, including the Straussian approach to grounded theory during the qualitative phase of the study. The quantitative phase of the study included the creation of the Team Interactions Scale, followed by the Exploratory Factor Analysis. Successful verification of the proposed framework stimulated the introduction of the Team Interactions Score, capable …

Does Performance Breed Slack? Ownership As A Contingency To The Performance Feedback And Slack Relationship, Varkey K. Titus Jr., Jonathan P. O'Brien, Jaya Dixit

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Although organizational slack is a prominent construct in strategic management, it is often treated as an antecedent or enabler of other organizational outcomes, and thus our understanding of where slack comes from is underdeveloped. We draw on the behavioral theory of the firm to develop a better understanding about the antecedents of organizational slack. In so doing, we address a gap in the literature on the antecedents of slack by developing base models showing how and why performance feedback influences the three most common types of slack studied in the literature. Moreover, we contend that ownership is an important contingency …

A Development Of A Game-Theoretic Artificially Intelligent Neural Network Revenue Management Forecasting Model, Fatemeh Binesh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this dissertation is to create and test a risk induced game-theoretic price forecasting model. The models were tested with datasets from 3 Upper Midscale hotels in 3 locations (urban, interstate and suburb), one hotel from each location. The data was obtained from STR, a leading hospitality marketing company which consolidates all of the daily hotel data from hotels in the United States. Multiple error measures were used to compare the accuracy of models. Three LSTM models were proposed and tested; LSTM model 1 that relied on ADR to forecast ADR, LSTM model 2 that used ADR, supply, …

Aligning University Of Arkansas Curriculum With Employee Expectations Regarding Analytics Graduates, Ryan Norman

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Institutions around the world need talented data analysts that can handle the influx of data being produced. This is driving an even higher need for well-prepared students that can bring value to the company immediately out of undergraduate or graduate programs. Because of this, what they are being taught needs to align directly with skills and knowledge that are required to be effective within organizations from the jump. This paper considers the alignment of higher education curriculum with employee expectations regarding analytics graduates.

This research paper is designed to determine whether programs, such as the Walton College of Business, need …

Pedestrian Evacuation: Vulnerable Group Member Influence On The Group Leaders’ Decision-Making And The Impact On Evacuation Time, Terra Lynne Elzie

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As pedestrian evacuations of buildings, outdoor venues, and special events occur, dynamic interactions between pedestrians and vehicles during egress are possible. To model pedestrian and vehicle evacuations, simulation models have evolved to incorporate more realistic crowd characteristics and behaviors to provide improved results. Past studies using modeling and simulation, specifically agent-based modeling, have explored pedestrian behaviors such as decision-making, navigation within a virtual environment, group formations, intra-group interactions, inter-group dynamics, crowd behaviors such as queuing and herding, and pedestrianvehicle interactions. These studies have led to relevant insights helpful to improving the accuracy of evacuation times for normal and emergency egress …

Organizational Digital Agility: Strategic Imperative For Digital Transformation And Firm Performance, John Willard Hill

Theses and Dissertations

A firm’s ability to achieve a competitive advantage through the creation of digital capabilities is affected by a firm’s organizational digital agility (ODA). At their heart, both the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities provide vehicles for describing the ‘what’ regarding the role of resources in executing firm strategy. However, these two theoretical foundations do not address the ‘how’ and the manager's role in deploying those resources to achieve a competitive advantage. Resource orchestration theory begins to address this gap and advocates for the manager’s role in deploying these resources. Yet, despite this theoretical foundation, little research has been conducted on …

Assessing The Analytic Competency Gap For Hr Professionals: Providing Hr A Roadmap To Data-Driven Decision-Making, Chandra Kay Marie Talerico

Theses and Dissertations

Human Resource (HR) professionals have fallen behind their peers in utilizing and leveraging analytics to enhance performance. Research indicates that HR professionals need a more prescriptive understanding of competencies required for analytics and the influence on job performance. This study utilizes a novel method to map a newly demanded skill set or competency cluster to a profession, filling a gap in the competency modeling literature for future state occupational needs. The developed and supported HR analytic competency cluster is logic, numeracy, and critical evaluation with special considerations for persuasion. This study utilized a structural equation model (SEM) to test the …

Understanding The Role Of Chief Financial Officers In The Strategic Planning And Decision-Making Process Of Defense Contractors In The Washington, D.C. Region, Carolynn Eileen Stiffler

Theses and Dissertations

The strategic planning and decision-making process of a firm is what drives the future of a firm, but what are all the correct stakeholders involved in that process? Historically, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm has been in charge of the firm’s strategic plan, guiding the firm based on his/her past experiences, and the Chief Financial Officer of the firm has been in charge of the back-office financial records and reporting. This study utilized the case study approach to explore the level of involvement a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has in firms' strategic planning and decision-making processes that contract …

Complex System Governance Leadership, David C. Walters

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a systems theory-based framework for leadership in governance of complex systems. Recognizing complexity and uncertainty as norms for the environments in which organizations exist encouraged researchers to suggest complexity theory, complex systems, and complex adaptive systems as appropriate for addressing these conditions. Complex System Governance (CSG), based in systems theory, management cybernetics, and governance, endeavors to provide for the design, execution and evolution of functions that provide control, communication, coordination, and integration at the metasystem level to support operations and continued system existence (viability). From a management cybernetics perspective, CSG leadership has …

Assessing The Efficacy Of Cites Restrictions On Malagasy Rosewood, Nicholas Cargill

Honors Theses

This paper seeks to determine whether the CITES trade restrictions on rosewood have been effective. Effectiveness will be measured by the amount of illegal logging the restrictions reduce. The Matt Hansen Global Deforestation dataset, which measures deforestation from year to year, will be analyzed in the Google Earth Engine Code Editor to determine the yearly amount of deforestation in Madagascar. This output will then be loaded into R and assessed using OLS estimation techniques to determine whether the ban had a significant impact on the amount of illegal logging occurring in Madagascar. Because CITES restrictions are lifted and restored with …

Effects Of Perceived Scarcity On Covid-19 Consumer Stimulus Spending: The Roles Of Ontological Insecurity And Mutability In Predicting Prosocial Outcomes, R. Bret Leary, Rhiannon Macdonnell Mesler, Bonnie Simpson, Matthew D. Meng, William Montford

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

In 2021, the United States government provided a third Economic Impact Payment (EIP) for those designated as experiencing greater need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a particular focus on scarcity and ontological insecurity, we collected time-separated data prior to, and following, the third EIP to examine how these variables shape consumer allocation of stimulus funds. We find that scarcity is positively associated with feelings of ontological insecurity, which, interestingly, correlates to a greater allocation of stimulus funds towards charitable giving. We further find evidence that mutability moderates the relationship between ontological insecurity and allocations to charitable giving. In other …

The Worker Bee’S Dilemma: Move Out To Move Up?, Tyechia Paul

College of Business and Economics

Theoretical basis

This case is underpinned by multiple motivational theories, including Maslow’s Hierarchy, Alderfer’s existence relatedness growth, equity theory, expectancy theory and Herzberg’s two-factor theory.

Research methodology

This data was gleaned from the protagonist and corporate documents. Names have been changed to conceal the identity of the firm and its employees.

Case overview/synopsis

Vivienne consistently earned high-performance ratings at her firm. She designed the internal firm university, a permanent learning program. She then noticed other employees being promoted based on her work. She was not offered a promotion, so she conducted a job analysis. Based on those findings, Vivienne decided …

Starbucks Strategic Analysis, Jillian Jacoba

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Starbucks is a multinational chain of coffee shops and roasteries that was founded in 1971. Starbucks has continued to grow for the past 51 years and continues to dominate the coffee industry. This strategic analysis evaluates the general environment using a PESTEL analysis, the industry using Porter’s Five Forces, and the company’s overall strategy and competitive advantages. This paper will evaluate Starbucks’ position in the industry and the strategic choices that have led the company to its extraordinary success.

Covid‑19 Vaccine Distribution: Exploring Strategic Alternatives For The Greater Good, Arben Asllani, Silvana Trimi

Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics: Faculty Publications

The dire state of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis symbolized the urgency for efficient distribution and administration of vaccines to combat the virus as the most urgent public health service. This paper presents a prototype multi-criteria decision support model based on goal programming that can effectively support vaccination plans for the greater good of society. The optimization goals of the model include minimizing the number of fatalities and risk of spreading the disease, while complying with government health agency’s priority guidelines for vaccination. This study applied the model to a real-world dataset to demonstrate how it can be effectively applied as …

An Exploration Of Groups Dynamics And The Impact Of Unconscious Processes, Phil Hanlon

Level 3

Despite extensive research on groups, organisations continue to experience problems with them. Is this an inherent feature of the nature of groups? This article aims to provide a practical understanding of the unconscious processes in groups and how these impact on group functioning. It further elaborates some guidelines for managers on optimising team / group performance.

The article interrogates the work of Sigmund Freud regarding his views on how groups function, drawing mainly on his work Group Psychology and Analysis of the Ego (1921).

It asks if a study of Freud’s work can help organisations reconsider the nature of groups, …

Creation Of A Home Bakery: A Business Plan, Erika Prusak

Honors Projects

Nothing exemplifies business knowledge more than creation of a business plan, and subsequently, creation of a business. Both pull together business knowledge of marketing, management, accounting, business law, supply chain, and finance. Business knowledge is then tied together with the mentality needed of an entrepreneur to tackle challenges and thrive for the moments when everything works out perfectly. Completing a business plan will organize my ideas and help me see my business clearly. It will help me identifies areas that I need to research more as well as areas I cannot figure out until I start it. My business plan …