Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

The Role Of Mutual Funds In Corporate Social Responsibility, Zhichuan Li, Saurin Patel, Srikanth Ramani

Business Publications

This paper examines the role of mutual funds in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using a fund-level, holdings-based CSR score, we find that CSR-friendly mutual funds improve firms’ CSR standings. This effect is more pronounced for firms with higher mutual fund ownership and stronger corporate governance. We further show that while CSR-friendly mutual funds have influence on almost all CSR categories, they focus on increasing CSR strengths rather than reducing CSR concerns. We also discover that CSR-friendly funds are more likely to vote in favor of CSR proposals, and that firms owned by CSR-friendly funds are more likely to link their …

Hot Or Not – Which Features Make Fintechs Attractive For Investors?, Johannes Klein, Leonard Stuckenborg, Jens Leker

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Attracting investors and generating funding is a key issue for all start-ups. The information asymmetries between investor and start-up need to be reduced. Despite the overwhelming literature on venture capital financing and different signals reflecting venture quality, pinpointing the signals which impact funding decisions remains an open issue. This study presents an empirical examination of the effectiveness of different signals to convince investors and generate funding. We examine the impact of signals concerning venture quality (classic ones such as human capital, intellectual capital and social alliance/network capital as well as the strategic orientation in terms of business model patterns. Based …

A Practitioner's Approach To Implementing Community Bank Internal Controls, Paul A. Dubrey Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some community bank compliance professionals lack strategies to comply with the 2013 Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) internal control framework statement, so they have been slow to adapt to the new COSO framework. However, they will be under increased regulatory pressure to do so. Grounded in Cressey's fraud triangle theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies community bank compliance professionals use to comply with the revised COSO internal control framework. Four compliance professionals at a community bank in the Boston, Massachusetts area who have successfully implemented strategies for internal control …

Post-Crisis Financialization Through Product Innovation: Assessing Complexity, Growth & Design In Exchange Traded Funds, Ryan Clements

Duke Law SJD Dissertations

This dissertation examines emerging risks and regulatory concerns in exchange traded funds (ETFs). It makes four core arguments through four published or accepted (and forthcoming) law review articles, alongside two published blog posts, all of which were written and previously submitted to the SJD Committee during the author’s dissertation research period. These articles are organized herein as dissertation chapters together with a contextual introduction and a summary conclusion which frames the dissertation within the scholarly literature on economic “financialization,” and emerging challenges associated with the growth of large interconnected asset managers.

The four core arguments in this dissertation are as …

Strategies For Improving Rural Small Startup Business Owners Success To Prevent Closures, Hector Lora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners with unsuccessful startup strategies can negatively impact business sustainability. Small business owners are concerned about startup strategies because 50% of new, small business owners fail within the first 5 years of operation. Grounded in the systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies 4 rural, small startup business owners in Tennessee used to prevent closure within the first 5 years of operation. The participants selected successfully implemented strategies to avoid business closures. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and revised reports published by the Center for Rural Affairs, U.S. Economic …

An Examination Of Corporate Financial Performance Within Corporate Socially Responsible Standard & Poor 500 Companies, Kevin J. Utzig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many managers are failing to predict and respond to the evolutionary changes within their firm’s business environment. Some experts believe that any company not utilizing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy will lose customers, which will have a direct impact on the firm’s financial performance. Managers lack a clear understanding of the impacts of CSR strategies on corporate financial performance. The purpose of this quantitative multiple regression-based study was to examine what relationship existed between an organization’s CSR strategy and its financial performance. The conceptual frameworks for this research were stakeholder and triple bottom line theories. These frameworks were selected …

Bidding Strategies For Winning Construction Bids In South Africa, Momoh Vandi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of small business managers to understand various bidding strategies leads to losing construction bids. The lack of management skills, limited access to markets, weak customer relationships, lack of appropriate technology, and government bureaucracy are problems small business managers face when preparing to bid for construction contracts. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore bidding strategies small and medium enterprise business managers use to win construction bids. The participants comprised 5 business owners of small- and medium-sized construction enterprises in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conceptual framework was the theory of constraints. Data were collected using …

Business Funding Strategies For Women-Owned Small Businesses, Jefreda R. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, limitations in funding allocation threaten the viability of small business success. In the United States, women start businesses at faster rates than men do, but women business owners continue to experience challenges in accessing capital to sustain their businesses. Grounded in pecking order theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify business funding strategies women small business owners in Birmingham, Alabama, used to sustain their businesses for more than 5 years. The participants for this study were 3 women small business owners in Birmingham, Alabama, who have used business funding strategies to …

Strategies Small Business Leaders Implement For Outsourced It Solutions For Business Sustainability, Jessica A. Folkes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses in the United States have a high failure rate within their first 5 years of operation. Small business success is vital to the economy because it drives revenue, income, and job creation. Grounded in rational decision-making theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners and leaders implement for effective outsourced IT solutions for business sustainability. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 10 purposefully selected business owners and leaders in the Houston, Texas, metro area and from a review of documentation from archival records. Yin's 5-step analysis guided the coding …

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 …

American Option Pricing: Optimal Lattice Models And Multidimensional Efficiency Tests, Qianru Shang, Brian Byrne

Articles

We introduce a set of lattice techniques to the Leisen‐Reimer and Tian binomial models with a view to accelerating computation time and improving accuracy of American Option valuation. A level of accuracy and efficiency combined can be achieved that surpass commonly used analytical analogues. We compare these efficient lattice models with analytical formulae for pricing different groups of options according to the deepness of American quality and moneyness. Our results reveal that counter to received wisdom, lattices constructs produce greater speed and accuracy for all option categories relative to the best performing closed form American analogues.

Crummer Suntrust Portfolio Recommendations: Crummer Investment Management [2020], Gerardo Abril, James Bishop, Eddie Cutillas, Shawn Fletcher, Bobby Suchor

Crummer Truist Portfolios

The Crummer Investment Management team has the responsibility of managing the Crummer SunTrust Portfolio. Guided by the investment policy statement, our team's focus was on making appropriate investment decisions based on the portfolio's overarching objectives. This year, we were mindful of protecting the value of the portfolio during periods of economic decline. Achieving this objective will allow us to generate cash to support on-going donations to Crummer's scholarship program. In a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty, we have created an economic outlook for the rest of 2020 through Q1 2021. We gathered information, studied economic indicators, and carefully watched the …

Fare Free Public Transportation Bus Systems: An Examination Of Funding Strategies To Replace Passenger Fare Collection, Amy Vanguilder

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

American public transportation systems have been moving people for more than a century. To some, the transit bus may alleviate frustrations related to finding parking or having to pay expensive parking fees. To others, public transportation may be their lifeline for all travel needs including work, school, medical appointments, and even recreation. While these direct benefits assist those citizens that do use public transportation, public transportation can also bring other benefits indirectly to society in the form of decreased congestion and pollution. As more and more people begin using public transportation systems, they will soon find that public transportation systems …

Uni Finance Newsletter, 2020, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Finance.

Department of Finance Newsletter

News about the activities of the Department of Finance.

Single Currency And The Liquidity In Corporate Assets Market, Kamolwan Pavavimol

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The single currency was adopted in 1999. It gave a huge impact on financial system. In this study, we focus on the single currency impacted to the liquidity in the corporate assets market, market whereby the mergers and acquisitions occurred. The studies found that the single currency had positive effect to the liquidity index in the corporate asset market measured by the intensity of the market transactions in each industry. This increasing in the liquidity mainly from the cross-border deals from the countries that stayed outside the eurozone. Moreover, we found that single currency had positive effect to acquirers to …

Armor Holdings Inc.: An Application Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Fatima Alali, Silvia Romero

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has gained significant popularity in recent years across borders due to the increased investigation and penalties under the law. The following case is a real-life case that highlights the main provisions of the FCPA. Using cases in teaching an auditing or ethics course is much needed to develop students’ professional judgment, critical and analytical thinking skills and communication skills. Presently, there are a few cases that address the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and its effect on financial reporting and auditor responsibilities about illegal acts. The Armor Holdings case is interesting and information is …

Mathematical Modelling For Multiproduct Epq Problem Featuring Delayed Differentiation, Expedited Rate, And Scrap, Singa Wang Chiu, Jia Ning Lin, Yunsen Wang, Hong Dar Lin

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The client requirements of present-day markets emphasize product quality, variety, and rapid response. To gain competitive advantages in marketplaces and meet customer needs, manufacturers today seek the most economical and fastest fabrication schemes and strategies to produce their various goods, especially when commonality exists within these multiple end products. Inspired by the above viewpoints, this study uses a mathematical modelling approach for solving a multiproduct economic production quantity (EPQ) problem featuring scrap, delayed differentiation, and expedited rate on the fabrication of the common part. We build a two-stage multiproduct fabrication scheme. Stage one uses an accelerated rate to produce all …

Perceptions Of The Value Of Financial Education In African American Creditworthiness, Melvin Thomas Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests a disparity for African Americans within the banking system, as they are denied credit at a higher rate than other ethnic groups. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of African Americans financial training in regards to qualifying for consumer loans. The conceptual framework was based on seminal theories on credit risk assessment and critical race theory. The research questions were designed to address banking officials' perceptions of financial training and the effectiveness of training in improving African Americans' credit. A phenomenological design was employed with the purposeful sample of 9 banking officials within …

Employee Motivation And Knowledge Transfer In Nonprofit Organizations, Heidi Keam Nors

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIneffective knowledge transfer strategies can negatively affect knowledge creation and employee motivation. Nonprofit business leaders who struggle with knowledge transfer among department staff are at a high risk of not improving employee motivation. Grounded in Kahn’s organizational theory on leadership and structure, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the knowledge transfer strategies used by nonprofit business leaders to transfer knowledge among departmental staff and to improve employee motivation. The participants comprised business leaders and staff, consisting of 2 executives, 2 managers, and 2 departmental staff members from a nonprofit charter school management company in North …

Buyer Beware: Variation And Opacity In Esg And Esg Index Funds, Dana Brakman Reiser, Anne Tucker

Faculty Publications By Year

Evidence of the tremendous rise in the significance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is coming from all quarters. Fund flows into ESG investment vehicles are growing at a sustained and sometimes exponential pace. Fund complexes are rushing to design products, creating and rebranding scores of mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including lower-cost indexed options. Industry leaders, critics, and commentators are all heralding the sea change as a shift in investing - and corporate governance - to more broadly consider environmental and social factors.

This Article provides vital context for this conversation. Its descriptive account of the …