Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Financial Strategies Of Small Businesses To Gain Access To Capital, Atta Boateng Owusu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, total small business outstanding loans declined by 2.5 % in 2013, compared to a 10.4% increase in 2012. Scholars and business practitioners have indicated that small business entrepreneurs experience constraints in accessing capital to grow their businesses. Many small firm owners lack the financial strategies for gaining access to capital to sustain their businesses. Building on system functionality theory, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to explore the financial strategies among 3 purposefully-selected small business owners in Washington DC metro area who successfully overcame the financial constraints. Six themes emerged from the thematic …

A Comparison Between Administrative Leadership In Higher Education And Change-Oriented Leadership In Banks, Glenn King Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational environments continually change. Organizations that do not meet the demands for change do not survive. The required changes differ for banks versus universities, suggesting that leaders in each type of organization need to use unique styles to adapt to their unique environments. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to test a contingency theory of leadership that leaders of banks are change-oriented, whereas leaders of higher educational institutions are administrative in their style. The research questions dealt with differences in the uncertainty of internal operations and the external environment of banks versus universities, and the leadership style most …

Factors Affecting Debt Decisions: Syndicated Loans Vs. Corporate Bonds, Theerut Winaikosol

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Following the recent developments and expansions in syndicated loans market, syndicate loans are currently accounted for around one-third of borrowers' total public debt and equity financing. It is one of the main alternative debt instruments for corporations. Syndicated loans are bank loans by their settings but also have many of the corporate bonds' characteristics. These characteristics have made syndicated loans hybrid debt instruments which combining features of both bank loans and bonds. This study investigates the financial factors behind syndicated loans issuance for a comprehensive sample from 2000 to 2016 of United States non-financial companies which are listed in New …

African American Graduates' Experiences Of Managing College Debt, Christal Blalock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Higher education is a means to improve professional status and economic mobility; however, mounting college debt has become a hindrance to college graduates, primarily African Americans. A disproportionate number of these graduates incur significant debt while attending college. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American college graduates who were managing debt incurred to pay for their education. Human capital theory and critical race theory provided the conceptual framework. Two research questions motivated this study: How do African American college graduates living in the state of Georgia manage their college debt? What …

Leadership Adaptation To Changes In Public Funding Of Community Colleges, James Hightower Simpson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although growth in U.S. community colleges has been exponential, a major challenge accompanying that growth has been the source of funding, which has consisted of shifting proportions of tuition, local taxes, and state aid. The shift away from state aid toward fundraising, profit-oriented research, sophisticated financing, and higher tuition presents challenges and unintended consequences. This shift could threaten the community college access mission and contribute to a perception of higher education as a private good rather than a public good. With a framework of academic capitalism and resource dependency theories, the purpose of this basic qualitative interview study with 7 …

Financing Strategies For Real Estate Investments, Joshua Parr

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Most people have a dream of being financially independent and in order to do so it is necessary to save and invest their money. The key is to invest wisely so that one can earn a solid return on their money. Real estate investments are a great way to build wealth because of the benefits they have over other investments. Many are under the misconception that they cannot invest in real estate because of a lack of capital. This belief is entirely untrue and there are dozens of different strategies for investing in real estate with little or no capital …

Using Accounting Information To Forecast Market Performance, Tyler Atanasov

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study examines how accounting information can be used to forecast market performance of stocks. We used the specific accounting information of earnings-to-price and book-to-market value ratios, in relation to a stocks 5-year holding period return to determine market performance. The most current, quarterly data with a longer sample period than previous studies was used. First, portfolios of stocks were formed based on the value of each stocks ratio. Next, univariate tests were then run on each ratio’s portfolios to determine if there was statistical significance in the differences among the portfolios returns. Lastly, we determined that investors could earn …

The Impact Of Socially Conscious Initiative Announcements On Coffee Company Stock Values, Glenn Thomas Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stockholders invest billions of dollars in the purchase of new corporate coffee stock while producers of these commodities exist in poverty of developing nations. Corporate managers may miss the opportunities for offering humanitarian aid if potential stockholders do not know of corporate social change initiatives. Little research in the influence of socially conscious initiatives exists in the coffee sector and none concentrating on socially conscious initiative announcements. If a relationship exists between socially conscious initiative announcements and stock investments, then managers could justify funding social change initiatives. This quantitative study used a 5 day pre and post event study methodology …

Relationship Between Mutual Fund Type, Portfolio Turnover, Longevity, Management Turnover, And Performance, Medhanie G. Mekonnen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mutual fund portfolio managers do not always meet risk-adjusted performance expectations, resulting in loss of capital reserves. Out of 3,612 U.S. based open-ended mutual funds, the risk-adjusted performance of 2,890 (80%) failed to meet or beat the S&P 500 (index fund) performance between the year 2006 to 2016. Grounded in Markowitz's modern portfolio theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between mutual fund class type, portfolio turnover, fund longevity, management turnover, and annual fund risk-adjusted performance. Archival data were collected from 88 U.S. based equity mutual funds companies. The results of the multiple regression analysis …

Exploring Student Loan Personal Financial Management Decisions Using A Behavioral Economics Lens, Michael J. Wermuth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a student loan debt problem in the United States. Seven million student borrowers are in default and another 14 million are delinquent on their loans. A high level of college loan debt leaves students with insurmountable payments and holds them back from starting a family, buying a home, or saving for retirement. The problem is that financial managers may not understand the student loan decision process well enough to help students make a loan decision that prevents an unmanageable level of debt. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the student's loan decision process using …

Successful Strategies Used By Small Business Owners For Company Sustainability, Robert Oppong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, African Americans are the fastest growing entrepreneurial minority group in the United States. However, they suffer the highest business failure rates. The research design for this study was a multiple case study to explore the strategies small business owners used to succeed in business beyond 5 years. The conceptual framework for this study was the systems theory. The population was small business owners in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolis, Texas. Data collection sources included semistructured interviews, company documents, company websites, and site visit observations. The data analysis process included data cleaning, uploading transcribed interviews …

Three Essays On Liquidity In Modern Markets, Konstantin Sokolov

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recent technological advancements have challenged financial markets. Academic researchers, regulators and market participants voice concerns that modern markets bear the negative externalities of such advancements. Specifically, they are concerned that today’s markets are becoming more fragile and unfair to less sophisticated traders. This work employs empirical methodology to test whether these concerns are justified. This thesis contains three essays:

The first essay studies whether modern markets become less liquid during intraday extreme price movements (EPMs). When a price moves in a certain direction, liquidity providers face two opposing incentives. The first incentive is to stay in the market to accumulate …

Three Essays On Banking, Capital Market Frictions And Corporate Payout Policy, Hosein Nooriaan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The prevalence of financial market frictions is far from uncommon. Between 1970 and 2011, Laeven & Valencia (2012) identify 147 banking crises, along with 218 episodes of currency crises, and 66 episodes of sovereign debt default. Thus, understanding a firm’s behavior in the presence of financial crisis is an important issue for future financial research. My dissertation explores corporate payout and liquidity policy either during a financial market crisis, or in anticipation of a financial market crisis.

In the first essay, “Capital Market Friction and Corporate Payout Policy”, I focus on the role of supply of capital on corporate payout …

Examining Poverty, Entrepreneurship, And Multinational Corporation Participation In South Africa, Stephanie Furlough-Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Economic development is seen as the best means of accomplishing the goal of eradicating extreme poverty, and at the heart of this development are for-profit companies, especially multinational corporations. The specific problem examined in this study was whether levels of poverty in South Africa had been significantly impacted by the activities of multinational corporations and the level of entrepreneurship in its 9 provinces. To build upon empirical research on the sources of poverty alleviation and the impact of large global enterprises, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of entrepreneurship and multinational corporation presence on the change …

Strategies For Maximizing Revenue Collection In Public Water Utility Companies, Nicholas Gracious Namaliya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Africa has a high rate of revenue under-collection in public water utility companies. This rate currently averages 20-50%, and the rate is 18% for Malawi alone. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore credible business strategies senior managers of water utilities use to address inefficiencies in collecting water fee revenues. The conceptual framework for this study was revenue management, which includes strategic constructs for increasing amounts of revenue collection. The target population for this study was 5 senior managers of a public water utility in Malawi, which is located in the southeastern part of Africa. Data collection included …

Internal Controls: Identifying Control Elements And Implementation Dynamics Facing Retail Companies., Ike Chima Iwejor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retail company managers face challenges that include how to protect their companies from theft, embezzlement, and fraud. Retail companies lose up to 5% of their revenue to frauds annually. However, in most cases, managers' understanding, design, and implementation of strong internal control systems could minimize the problem. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies managers used to strengthen internal control. The purposive sample included 5 experienced company managers from large and medium-size retail companies in Virginia. The conceptual framework consisted of the treadway committee of sponsoring organizations model and the criteria of control. Participant interviews, document reviews, …

Crowdfunding As A Financing Resource For Small Businesses, Melissa Cohen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although small businesses borrowed $1 trillion in 2013 from traditional lenders, 35% of small business owners were unable to obtain adequate financing and subsequently sought alternative sources such as crowdfunding. Guided by the pecking order theory, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore how 6 small business owners in Tennessee successfully used crowdfunding to start, grow, or sustain their businesses. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of crowdfunding project data on the internet platform including the project description, target goal, amount achieved, number of backers, and locations of the funders. Data were inductively analyzed, …

Credit Strategies For Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Within A Changing Environment, James Edward Wilkinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to credit in the changing environment is the primary challenge to survival for many small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners. The purpose of this multicase study was to understand how seasoned small business leaders in wholesaling and manufacturing in Northwest Arkansas strategically adapted to obtaining access to credit in an environment of bank mergers and acquisitions, disruptive information technology, federal and state regulations, and globalization. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was adaptive leadership and change management. Although, small business leaders prefer to obtain credit from community banks through relationship financing, leaders of SMEs can adapt to the …

Impact Of Corporate Governance On Capital Structure Of Pakistan, Irfan Haider Shakri

ECU Posters

Corporate Governance-CG is a mechanism that protects the interest of all stakeholders specially shareholders in a modern economic and corporate world that is responsible for economic growth of an economy. Capital structure is one of the weightiest decision that effects the performance of the firm. This study empirically finds how corporate governance practices impact the capital structure of the firm.

A Story Of The Red Lantern, Anh Do

ECU Posters

The aim of my research is to understand how a sotck market in one country reacts to a "shock" from a stock market in another country, using the Generalised autoregressive conditional heterosedasticity model (GARCH)