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Opportunity Finding By Nascent Entrepreneurs: Accidental Or Purposeful?, Rongji Zhou, Sibin Wu

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose: This research studies an important, but relatively unexplored entrepreneurial aspect: motivation and aspiration on opportunity finding/discovery.

Design/Methodology/Approach: This study surveyed 230 nascent entrepreneurs on their opportunity finding behavior. A poisson regression and a logistic analysis were conducted to discover the relationship between motivation/aspiration and opportunity search behavior.

Findings: Motivation and aspiration interact to influence active search in a positive way. However, only willingness to become an entrepreneur is found to search for opportunities purposefully. Research Limitations/Implications: Participants of the research are from a Midwest state in United States. Future research may collect sample from more and larger areas.

Practical …

A Qualitative Study On Grooming Talent For Higher Education, Christine Holt

Dissertations

A vast number of higher education leaders and staff have reached the age and service requirements to be eligible for retirement. In the modern workplace, higher education institutions have become more complex and have to adapt to technological advances. As a result of these occurrences, the skill level of employees must keep pace and continue to evolve. Higher education institutions must prepare and sharpen the skills and competencies of employees through leadership development programs.

In this qualitative case study of 24 participants representing three universities and two search firms, the focus was on designing and implementing succession planning and leadership …

Factors That Influence Nonprofit Sector Employees’ Motivation: A Case Study From Egypt, Nada Shaaban Miry

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of employee motivation received much attention in the last few decades. That attention came from its significant practical and theoretical role in the field of management. To understand how motivation influences employees’ behavior, we have to know that every employee is motivated differently based on their preferences and characteristics. Therefore, it is essential to discover individual motivation factors for each employee. This study examines the factors that stimulate employees’ motivation and explain how to use those motivational factors to improve employees’ performance and engagement. It focuses on three non-profit organizations in Egypt and provides empirical evidence of the …

Decolonial Feminist Theory: Embracing The Gendered Colonial Difference In Management And Organisation Studies, Jennifer Manning

Articles

Feminist theories in management and organization studies, each with their own ontological and epistemological assumptions, offer critical perspectives of the status quo to challenge our idea of progress in the discipline, yet there is limited engagement with ideas, theories, or practices from the lived experiences of Global South women. Decolonial feminism engages with debates pertaining to coloniality/ modernity and indigenous identity and gender in Latin America, while providing a space for the voices and lived experiences of marginalized, non‐Western(ised) women. Positioned in the context of Guatemalan Maya women and deploying critical insights from decolonial feminists, I unpack how the discourse …

Turnover During A Corporate Merger: How Workplace Network Change Influences Staying, M. Woehler, Theresa M. Floyd, N. Shah, J. E. Marineau, W. Sung, Travis J. Grosser, J. Fagan, G. Labianca

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

The upheaval created by a merger can precipitate voluntary employee turnover, causing merging organizations to lose valuable knowledge-based resources and competencies precisely when they are needed most to achieve the merger’s integration goals. While prior research has shown that employees’ connections to coworkers reduce their likelihood of leaving, we know little about how personal social networks should change to increase the likelihood of staying through the disruptive post-merger integration period. In a pre–post study of social network change, we investigate over 15 million email communications between employees within two large merging consumer goods firms over 2 years. We use insights …

The Duality Of Reality: Perception Creation Using Symbolic Management, Christopher J. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People have historically used different types of symbols to signal an ideology, to create a sense of prestige, or to gain legitimacy. Examples of these types of symbols can be seen in displays ranging from marketing ads to presidential election materials. While these types of symbols tend to be socially constructed, and universally identifiable, the consequences of their use are less uniform in nature. This study explores the gap that currently exists between a symbol’s inherent value and the expected consequences of its use. My theoretical prediction includes two principles: The use of symbolic management to create symbolic environments and …

The Purpose Of Business In An Acquisitive Society, Richard H. Jonsen

Rohrer College of Business Departmental Research

Christian historian R. H. Tawney’s book, The Acquisitive Society, was published in 1920 as Britain and the world emerged from the human tragedy and economic disruption that followed World War I and the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic. Tawney sought to influence the direction of reconstruction in the United Kingdom, arguing for an alternative path for business – serving the common good – as opposed to building personal wealth. This article examines Tawney’s functional society and contemporary common good conceptions of business for application in our emerging post-pandemic context. Several examples of businesses serving the common good are explored, and a framework …

Models For Brand Relationships, Marc Fetscherin, Cleopatra Veloutsou, Francisco Guzman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Study On Innovation Ecosystem, Technological Trajectory Transition, And Innovation Performance, Yu Sun, Ling Li, Yong Chen, Mikhail Yu Kataev

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper explores technological trajectory transition in the perspective of innovation ecosystem and their effect on innovation performance of latecomers in market. A structural equation model is developed and tested with data collected from 366 firms in China. In specific, this paper categories technological trajectory transition creative accumulative technological trajectory transition (CCT) and creative disruptive technological trajectory transition (CDT). The results indicate that firms' organizational learning ability positively affect their technological trajectory transition and innovation performance. Firms' network relationship strength negatively affects their technological trajectory transition and positively affect their innovation performance. Governments' environmental concerns positively affect firms' technological trajectory …

Marketing Agility: The Concept, Antecedents, And A Research Agenda, Kartik Kalaignanam, Kapil R. Tuli, Tarun Kushwaha, Leonard Lee, David T Gal

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Changes in the way customers shop, accompanied by an explosion of customer touchpoints and fast-changing competitive and technological dynamics, have led to an increased emphasis on agile marketing. The objective of this article is to conceptualize and investigate the emerging concept of marketing agility. The authors synthesize the literature from marketing and allied disciplines and insights from in-depth interviews with 22 senior managers. Marketing agility is defined as the extent to which an entity rapidly iterates between making sense of the market and executing marketing decisions to adapt to the market. It is conceptualized as occurring across different organizational levels …

Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective financial decision-making strategies in nondenominational churches that support long term sustainability. Participants were 10 church leaders who successfully used financial decision-making strategies to support long-term sustainability in Central North Carolina was used for this study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and internal church documents relating to church leadership's financial decision-making and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: budgeting …

Empowerment, Personality, And Leader-Member Exchange Quality In Physicians, Tony S. Reed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly 100,000 people suffer injury or death each year due to errors in the United States healthcare system. Researchers have identified that empowerment by physicians can address this significant social issue. Despite this knowledge, qualifications to empowering behaviors in physicians have not been identified. A quantitative nonexperimental correlation approach was used to determine the role that personality type and high-quality leader-member exchange may play in the physician’s ability to create empowerment at academic medical centers in the United States. The theoretical framework of empowering leadership, Jung’s psychological types, and leader-member exchange quality informed the research design and contributed to the …

Leadership Strategies For Implementing Organizational Change, Aljanal Hamer Carroll

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Change initiatives within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry fail because business leaders are not successful in implementing change readiness strategies. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies that some leaders in HVAC companies use to implement change initiatives successfully. The participants consisted of 4 business leaders from 4 HVAC companies who successfully implemented change initiatives within their organization. The 4 businesses have fewer than 100 employees located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Data collection procedures included semistructured interviews and a collection of organizational documents. Validating the study …

Exploring Systemic Collaboration Across Organizational Strata Within Public Schools’ Improvement Systems, Lori L. Foltz-Rea

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite government policies and reform efforts, the adoption of improvement systems that include collaborative practices has failed to increase student achievement as measured on Ohio’s state report cards for public school districts that have implemented the Ohio Improvement Process. Systemic, collaborative practices hold promise, but a gap existed in understanding how members engaged in collaborative practices across the organization. The study's purpose was to qualitatively explore principals’, teachers’, and district-level administrative members’ behaviors, perceptions, and practices across one Ohio school district’s three organizational strata associated with teaching and learning to discover how collaborative practices influence continuous improvement. Gronn’s leadership distribution …

Catalyzing And Implementing Innovation Strategies In The Information Technology Industry Workforce, Sameh Mohamed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) business leaders fail to meet business goals because of a lack of innovation and strategies for catalyzing and implementing innovation. IT industry leaders understand that a lack of innovation can increase the risk of not maintaining business sustainability and competitive advantage and, potentially, business failure. Grounded in the dynamic capabilities theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies IT business leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use to catalyze and implement innovation to meet business goals through their IT workforces. The participants comprised five business leaders from an IT company located …

The Relationship Between A Supervisor’S Emotional Intelligence, Employee Engagement, And Turnover Intention, Sloan Leane Rawhoof

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover costs employers billions of dollars annually, negatively impacting an organization’s bottom line. Business leaders must align employee engagement and supervisor emotional intelligence to reduce turnover and improve profitability. Grounded in employee engagement theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationships between employee engagement, supervisor emotional intelligence, and turnover intention. Data were collected from 74 hourly employees and seven supervisors in a manufacturing company in Georgia using two paper surveys for hourly employees and one online survey for supervisors. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the data, assumptions were evaluated, and no violations were …

Trust-Building Strategies Laboratory Managers Use To Cultivate The Engagement Of Laboratory Employees, Jessica Treadway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement significantly impacts organizational outcomes; however, it is also a significant issue for leaders since employees who are not engaged impact organizational performance and profitability. Through the perspective of the social exchange theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore trust-building strategies laboratory managers use to cultivate the engagement of laboratory employees. The population comprised five laboratory managers across various industries and geographical locations in the United States who successfully implemented trust-building strategies that cultivated employee engagement. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and public organizational documents such as annual reports, employee testimonials, and media/news articles. …

Leadership Styles Of Millennials And Organizational Effectiveness In Business Consulting Organizations In Lebanon, Hiba Hamade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe engagement of millennials in organizations today is growing fast, and they are expected to be major change makers in organizations by 2025. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore how leadership styles of millennials and gender influence organizational outcomes in terms of extra effort, effectiveness, and satisfaction in business consulting organizations in Lebanon. The theoretical framework was based on the full range leadership model developed by Bass and Avolio. This model focuses on three different leadership styles: transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire. Organizational outcomes is a composite of three subscales including extra effort, satisfaction, and effectiveness. This quantitative …

Using Design Thinking For Organizational Development And Addressing Change, Keith Tadao Matsumoto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations that lack competitiveness may not survive changes in market conditions due to the inability to understand customer needs and problems. Small business leaders who do not address customer needs, identify market changes, and market demands may not maintain competitiveness. Grounded in the design thinking framework, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore organizational development processes used by small business leaders to address evolving market conditions and maintain competitiveness. The participants included five executive management team members from one organization in Hawaii who used effective organizational development processes to manage evolving market conditions and maintain competitiveness. …

Personal Initiative Differences Between Combat Arms And Non-Combat Arms Field Grade Officers, Gregory Morris Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior U.S. Army leaders have indicated shortcomings in personal initiative (PI) among Army officers, especially between combat arms and non-combat arms field grade officers. PI is a critical contributor to individual and organizational effectiveness and to the Army’s approach to command and control. However, the Army does not measure PI differences. This quantitative causal-comparative study involved an online, Self-Report Initiative Scale (SRIS) to measure PI. The target population was U.S. Army field grade officers attending resident Command and General Staff School between August 2020 and June 2021. The study used three research questions to address differences in PI scores between …

Effective Leadership Strategies To Sustain Small Businesses’ Operations Beyond 5 Years, Sulemana Jawula

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses play a critical role in the job creation and overall growth of the U.S. economy; however, many small businesses fail soon after startup. The failure of small businesses results psychological, social, and financial turmoil for small business leaders. Grounded in transformational leadership theory and Chamberlin’s theory of strategy, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies small business leaders use to sustain their operations beyond 5 years. The participants were five business leaders of five selected small businesses in the Bronx, New York, who used effective leadership strategies to sustain their operations beyond …

Principals' Leadership Style As A Predictor Of School Climate In Urban High Schools In Baltimore, Kelly Alicia Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To improve student achievement in urban public schools with high poverty, it is important to address specific leadership styles (i.e., transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles) in relationship to their school climate. The purpose of this multivariate correlational study, framed by leadership theory, was to investigate the relationship between principals' leadership and school climate as perceived by high school teachers in an urban school district. The relationship between three predictor variables (average class size, years of experience of the teacher, and leadership style) and one criterion variable (school climate) was examined. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure leadership …

Strategies For Implementing A Successful Customer Relationship Management System, Samuel Adebayo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Customer relationship management (CRM) software implementation fails in thepackaging industry because of ineffective CRM implementation strategies. Effective strategies for CRM software implementation are essential to CRM managers for improving CRM project success rates. Grounded in Kano’s customer satisfaction theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies CRM managers in the packaging industry used to operate a profitable business. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and documents of CRM strategies. Participants were four CRM managers located in Illinois who had a minimum of 10 years of successfully managing CRM systems with high success rates. Data …

Navigating The Human Side Of Workplace Conflict: A Comparative Study Of Organizational Ombuds' Similarities And Differences, Linda Kovack

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Navigating the human side of workplace conflict poses challenges. A gap in knowledgeexists within an alternative dispute resolution option known as the organizational ombuds. Prior research referenced the ombuds' perception of his/her own role and functionality yet did not explore ombuds in differing organizational sectors. The research I explored was: What are the similarities and differences among and between ombuds in employment environments of higher education, the public or private sector, and the federal government? To address this question, I presented comprehensive case study profiles on a total of 8 organizations: 3 in higher education, 3 in the federal government, …

The Benefits Of Evidence Based Practices In Public Administration: Does Therapeutic Listening Training Increase Emotional Intelligence To Affect Change Management Outcomes In Public And Private Sector Organizations, John Sillup

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation considers change management as it relates directly to evidence-based practices in public administration. The problem under study was the lack of scholarly research on the effect of an administrative leader’s emotional intelligence (EI) has on follower self-efficacy during change management. This study provided findings on the effect of therapeutic listening training as a means to increase emotional intelligence to potentially affect change management outcomes in public and private sector organizations. Change management is a systematic and structured process of developing and implementing strategies and interventions for organizations transitioning from current state to a desired state. The …

Research Framework Of Human Factors Interactions With Technical And Security Factors In Cloud Computing, Hongjiang Xu, Sakthi Mahenthiran

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

There are many advantages to adopt cloud computing, however, some important issues need to be addressed, such as cybersecurity, cost-saving, trust, implementation complexity, and cloud provider’s reliability. This study developed a research framework to study the human factors that interact with technical and cybersecurity factors to affect the cloud-computing provider’s performance from the user’s perspective. Research hypotheses were developed and a survey was conducted to test the hypotheses and validate the research framework.

Leaders’ Strategies For Motivating The Millennial Generation To Sustain High Levels Of Performance, Juan M. Alvarez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to identify and implement strategies to address the needs of the Millennial workforce can lead to a decrease in productivity in the organization. The increasing number of Millennials in the workforce creates a challenge for many business leaders in maintaining or surpassing the productivity levels found in organizations where the baby boomer employees are the majority. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies that warehouse supervisors use to enable Millennial employees to maintain or surpass productivity levels in organizations. Interviews were conducted with six warehouse supervisors who had …

Electric Cooperative Managers’ Strategies To Enhance Organizational Commitment To Increase Employee Productivity, Michael Edward White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of effective leadership strategies contributes to a reduction in employee engagement and productivity. Managers are concerned about the lack of effective leadership strategies because it negatively affects employee engagement and productivity, reducing organizational growth. Grounded in Bass’s transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore effective leadership strategies used to enhance employee engagement and increase productivity. Five managers from an electric cooperative in Northwest Florida who implemented effective leadership strategies participated in the study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five-step approach. …

Covid-19 And Work-Family Conflict: A Gendered Lens Required For Developing Organizational Benefits And Programs, Qendresa Isniqi

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted people's work and family lives. The work-family conflict has seen an increase with the onset of the pandemic as families have found themselves in complex roles such as family sustainers, teachers for their children, and family caregivers while quarantined with the same individuals for months. Concurrently there have been expectations grown from the employers to introduce effective programs or services to support employees so that an expected amount of productivity is maintained while also maintaining a sense of care for their employees. Some of the strategies suggested in the literature include flexible scheduling, leadership communication, …

Federal Employee Views Across Administrations: An Examination Of The 2010 Obama And 2018 Trump Leadership Capital And The Perceptions Of The Agency Employees, Dimple Sunayna Johnson

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

One of the many responsibilities of the president is the management of the expansive federal government. From agenda planning to reform implementation, a political leader can impact the federal employees’ job role. The federal government, however, does not administer alone, top-down mandates are managed by tiers of management, with the front-line supervisors acting as the liaison to federal employees. Understanding a president’s leadership capital alongside the federal employee perceptions of job satisfaction and supervisory support can provide opportunities to gain insight into establishing and maintaining a public sector landscape that is effective and efficient.

The study consisted of a quantitative …