Digital Commons Network^™

Ceo Compensation Changes Following Acquisitions, Leonce Bargeron, David J. Denis

Finance and Quantitative Methods Faculty Publications

We find that CEO compensation increases following acquisitions only in those deals in which acquirer stock is used as the method of payment. These compensation increases are driven by increases in equity-based compensation and are concentrated in riskier acquirers, in riskier acquisitions, and in acquirers whose CEOs have low exposure to the stock price. We find little support for traditional agency cost explanations of changes in CEO pay following acquisitions. However, our findings are broadly consistent with compensation changes representing a contracting solution to a two-sided adverse selection problem that is present only in stock acquisitions.

We Can Be Heroes: Sustaining Vitally Engaged Social Heroes In A Heroic Organization (Act Up/New York), Michael Condren

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Contextual factors are particularly important in understanding social heroism, which is characterized by heroic action in the service of existing and emerging community values, principles and ideals (Franco et al., 2011). Social heroism almost always entails serious risks for the hero and frequently requires committed action over long time periods to achieve positive social change. Unlike other types of heroism, social heroism frequently emerges from and is enacted through organizations. However, heroism research has focused largely on individual factors involved in different types of heroic actions, such as character, moral development and courage. The goal of this study was to …

Work Disengagement: Motivational Regulation Shaped By Psychological Need Frustration And Perceived Injustice, Stephanie R. Dailey

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Employee disengagement represents a persistent global challenge, yet remains theoretically underdeveloped and is frequently conflated with burnout, behavioral withdrawal, or deviance. Building on Kahn’s (1990) original conceptualization, this dissertation reconceptualizes disengagement as a distinct motivational state characterized by the withdrawal of cognitive, emotional, and physical energies from role performance. Drawing on Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), Conservation of Resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), and the Job Demands–Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), I test a model where disengagement emerges as a motivational response to psychological need frustration, where organizational justice functions as an upstream contextual antecedent. Two complementary studies …

Moderating Role Of Perceived Staff-Replacement Likelihood On Self-Ordering Kiosk Adoption: Evidence From The Restaurant Industry, Wanmo Koo, Archana Kumar

Department of Marketing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The restaurant industry widely employs self-ordering kiosks (SOKs). However, the increased use of automation in restaurants is causing job displacement, raising concerns about the lack of sufficient human support in restaurants. The study examined variables influencing customer willingness to use SOKs while considering how staff replacement perceptions alter these effects. Partial least squares structural equation modeling reveals that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and perceived security significantly influence behavioral intention to use SOKs, and behavioral intention strongly predicts actual kiosk usage behavior. Among the moderating effects, only perceived staff replacement likelihood significantly influences the relationship between perceived security and …

The Emergence Of Buy Now Pay Later Platforms: A Business Analysis Study, Asher Frye

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis dives into the growth of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) financing and its implications for consumer financial health. Using Affirm’s 2019-2024 data and recent reporting from regulators, it documents strong BNPL expansion alongside emerging concerns about repayment risk and credit score impacts. These insights motivate me to conduct an experiment testing whether clearer disclosure affects consumer BNPL choices. While the experiment shows no statistically significant effects, it underscores the need for further study of BNPL understanding and consumer behavior.

The Prestige Paradox: Can Venture Capital Prestige Lead To Lower Startup Exit Rates?, Charlie Fenollosa

Honors Theses

This project investigates how the prestige of VC firms investing in early-stage startups affects the likelihood of successful exits, defined as IPOs or acquisitions. Using Crunchbase data on companies, funding rounds, and investments, I construct six measures of prior VC success to proxy for prestige. Contrary to conventional expectations, VC prestige is not associated with increased exit probability, a finding robust to composite, LASSO-selected, and PCA-based indices. Further analysis suggests this relationship is driven by mechanisms through which high VC prestige paired with large syndicates and high funding may create frictions, while prestigious VCs help smaller companies grow more effectively.

Brewing Resilience: Cooperatives, Micro-Mills, And The Quest For Survival In Costa Rica's Changing Coffee Landscape, Leila N. Iredell

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how different organizational models in Costa Rica's coffee sector shape producers’ ability to capture value, build resilience, and sustain rural livelihoods in a rapidly changing global market. In comparing traditional cooperatives and new micro-mills, I examine specifically how control over the value chain, access to markets, and social infrastructure differ across models and what these differences mean for the farmers who depend on them. This project analyzes how the collapse of international price agreements and decades of market volatility drove producers toward new strategies, from independent processing and direct trade to coffee tourism. Costa Rica stands as …

Ai-Driven Risk Forecasting For Strengthening The United States Food Supply Chain Resilience: Case Study: A National Ai-Enabled Food Supply Chain Risk Forecasting Framework And A Data Analytics Approach To Predicting Disruptions, Sarah Onyeche Usoro, Itua Austin Omogiate, Rahab Zhewe Felix, David Azikutenyi Galadima

Student Publications

The United States food supply chain is one of the most complex and interconnected systems in the world, spanning agricultural production, processing, transportation, storage, and retail distribution. While this complexity enables efficiency and scale, it also increases vulnerability to disruptions caused by climate change, labor shortages, geopolitical shocks, transportation failures, cyber threats, and public health crises. Conventional risk management methods, often reactive and siloed, have proven inadequate in predicting and mitigating systemic shocks that have become frequent occurrences in today’s world. This article examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics can transform risk forecasting in U.S. food supply chains …

Pedagogical Readiness And Adaptability In Higher Education In Egypt: An Exploration Of Generational Disparities In Ai Adoption, Maha Ahmed Zaki Dajani, Israa Lewaa Elhamd, Hadia Fakhr Eldin

Business Administration

This study investigates generational differences in the adoption of AI tools in Egyptian higher education, examining how pedagogical readiness and adaptability influence engagement among students and educators. It addresses a key gap in the literature—the lack of an integrated pedagogical framework combining Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and Constructivist Learning Theory to explain AI adoption across generations. Prior studies have seldom compared Generations X, Y, and Z within one empirical model, and evidence from Egyptian universities remains limited despite distinctive cultural and institutional contexts shaping AI readiness.

Using a survey-based design grounded in these theories, the study employs structural equation modelling …

The Financial Effects Of Clinically Significant Readmissions In Florida Hospitals, Brian Patrick Cotton

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

This study examines how the financial performance of hospitals in the state of Florida impacts the quality of care. This study used data from 2017-2019 to evaluate how the number of hospital readmissions – a proxy for care quality – are associated with and vary in relation to the stability of the financial resources held by the hospital. The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), a Medicare value-based purchasing program, uses a mandatory pay-for-performance process that was initiated to decrease the 30-day hospital readmission rate. Hospitals with high readmissions are held accountable and financially encouraged to increase their quality of care …

Employing The Marketing Mix Framework To Increase Usage Of Academic Libraries, Chantelle Swaren

The Southeastern Librarian

Academic libraries face a regular influx of new students, creating an ongoing need to increase awareness and usage. To accomplish this, many academic libraries rely on short-term outreach tactics that focus on only one element of the marketing mix: Promotion. This article introduces the complete marketing mix framework, including seven elements (7 Ps), and explains how they can be applied in academic libraries. Definitions and library-specific examples are provided for each element: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Proof. The integrated approach of marketing mix theory and planning can be employed by academic libraries to increase patron awareness, …

Heat-Related Injuries And Fatalities In Roofing: Osha Investigations From 2003-2024, Kenneth S. Sands Ii, Benjamin Marshall

The Professional Constructor

This study examines 52 heat-related roofing incidents recorded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) between 2003-2024 to describe patterns in outcomes and identify trade-specific prevention opportunities. Researchers built a structured dataset from OSHA investigation summaries and analysed frequencies of the incidents and their associations with month, time of day, project type, end use, and age to complement a thematic review of narrative abstracts. Fifty-eight percent of cases were fatalities, with the remainder split between hospitalized and non-hospitalized injuries; these statistics underscore the consequences of heat events that trigger OSHA reporting. There was a clear relationship between number of …

Shaping The Future: Emerging Technologies And Their Role In Industry 4.0 And Beyond, Liuliu Qin

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper provides a comprehensive review of emerging technologies driving the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0. It examines the foundational concepts and pillars of Industry 4.0 and explores the transformative roles of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), Collaborative Cobots (Cobots), Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs), quantum technologies, and next-generation connectivity (5G/6G). By integrating technological, human-centric, and sustainability perspectives, the study outlines how these emerging technologies reshape industrial systems and enable intelligent, adaptive, and inclusive futures.

Inequality In Education, Lantz Mcclanahan, Madison Tucker

SPARK Symposium Presentations

No abstract provided.

Brief #1: Collaborative Aggregation & Marketing Of Local Farm Food: A Qualitative Analysis Of Farmers' Collaboration Strategies, Evan England, Rachel Filippone, Hannah Stokes-Ramos, Cindy (Luyue) Zheng, Olivia Burton, Analena Bruce

Food Practice Research

This report presents research findings from a comparative case study of four Collaborative Aggregation and Marketing Models: Local Harvest, a cooperative non-profit, farmer-owned, and certified organic CSA, Three River Farmers Alliance, an online food hub and regional distributor, Vernon Family Farm Store, an on-farm, year-round store that aggregates from local farms, and Fresh Start Farms, a food hub, farmers’ market, and CSA operated by the nonprofit Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success.

The Adolescent Development Of Small Business Owners’ Entrepreneurial Mindset, Fern Arredondo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how small business owners in Southern California interpret experiences before age 20 that influenced the development of the eight domains of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Entrepreneurial Mindset Index (EMI). This study used a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore how adult small business owners reflect upon and interpret experiences before age 20 that influenced the development of their entrepreneurial mindset. By examining the influence of pre-adulthood on these owners, the study aimed to deepen the understanding of how early experiences shape entrepreneurial mindsets and contribute to long-term entrepreneurial success. …

Performance Outcomes Of Critical Access Hospitals: A Resource Dependence Theory Evaluation Of Change Of Ownership Versus Independence, Colette Christina Martin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) play a vital role in sustaining healthcare access in rural communities, yet many face persistent financial and operational constraints. A change in hospital ownership is frequently seen as a strategy to sustain these hospitals, improve access to capital, supplement administrative infrastructure, and leverage system-level expertise. However, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of acquisition for CAHs remains limited and mixed. Guided by Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and the Balanced Scorecard framework, this study examines whether ownership change is associated with differences in financial performance, utilization, staffing, and quality outcomes among CAHs.

Using Medicare Cost Reports, the American …

Trump Accounts: New Irs Guidance On A New Retirement Account For Children, Heath Mcconnell, Michelle Freeman

Faculty Open Access Works

Excerpt: 

Among the changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was the creation of a new type of account called the “Trump account.” In simple terms, these accounts are designed to allow individuals under age 18 to begin saving for retirement, typically through contributions made by their parents or other eligible contributors. This article will begin with a discussion of the underlying reasons for creating these accounts and their enactment as part of the OBBBA. Following that, it will discuss the rules relating to these accounts from both the OBBBA’s statutory language as well as recently published …

Internal Talent Development Integration With Organizational Strategy: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Hermenia Faith Ricks

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of executives in a healthcare organization regarding internal talent development and integration with organizational strategy. The purpose of the study addressed the problem statement by examining the meaning executives ascribed to internal talent development as it relates to organizational strategy and the fostering of human capital. The problem addressed in this study was that internal talent development is often inadequately embedded in organizational strategies, limiting organizational competitiveness and long-term performance. The study sought to address the research question How do executives in a healthcare organization exploring the …

Should More Teams "Trust The Process" Of Tanking?, Eduardo G. Minuci, Alexander Cardazzi, Candon Johnson

Economics Faculty Publications

In many professional sport leagues, the worst-performing teams receive higher probability of earning top draft picks. This provides teams incentives to purposefully lose, or "tank," if they are not likely to contend for the playoffs or championships. We evaluate the effectiveness of tanking to improve team outcomes by examining the most explicit tanking case in the NBA: the "Trust the Process" Philadelphia 76ers. Using synthetic control, we demonstrate that tanking caused the 76ers to be more successful in terms of winning and operating income. However, only operating income had a plausibly positive present value when calculating discounted present values.

Signals Of Value: A Comparative Analysis Of Sde And Ebitda In Predicting Microbusiness Sale Price, Joseph E. Turley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This dissertation compares the predictive accuracy and stability of Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) in explaining realized sale prices of microbusinesses. Microbusinesses, defined as firms with fewer than ten employees and annual revenue below $2.5 million, face persistent valuation challenges due to information asymmetry, owner dependence, and informal financial reporting. The study analyzes 5,499 completed U.S. transactions from the DealStats database (2014–2024) after applying microbusiness criteria and outlier trimming. Predictive accuracy is measured by absolute percentage error between actual sale prices and prices implied by each metric. Findings show that SDE-based predictions …

Meeting Battery Electric Vehicle Demand With A Focus On Throughput Capacity Across The Transport Nodes In The Upstream Cobalt Supply Chain, Nicholas J. Visconti

Dissertations

This study assesses whether cobalt transport capacity in sub-Saharan Africa is sufficient to support projected battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand under the Paris Accord. Using open-source data from ArcGIS, the Highway Capacity Manual, and the World Bank, the analysis applies a simplified linear programming approach to estimate the maximum throughput of the primary transport corridor connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Port of Durban. The model identifies significant constraints along the Rutenga-to-Beitbridge segment, reducing network capacity to an estimated 42,494 tons of ore per day. When converted to refined cobalt, this capacity falls well short of the …

Design Principles For Customer-Engaging Digital Service Systems: An Action Research Study, Keng Leng Siau, Xiaofeng Chen, Xin Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Digital services represent a business approach employed by organizations to operate in the digital environment. However, systematic development guidelines for developing quality digital service systems are lacking in the literature. The authors identified four general challenges for developing and implementing customer-engaging digital service systems (CEDSS). By employing the method of canonical action research in a digital service system project, they derived 10 design principles for developing high-quality CEDSS. They empirically evaluated the design principles in the development project and through follow-up focus group sessions. The design principles provide applicable and actionable guidelines for the development of CEDSS.

Freedom Of Expression Protection And Corporate Concealment Of Bad News: Evidence From State Anti-Slapp Laws, Jimmy Lee, Shaphan Ng, Il Sun Yoo, Liandong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The protection of free speech enhances the ability of various public stakeholders to disseminate privately observed adverse information about public firms, making it difficult for corporate managers to conceal negative information about their companies. Using the staggered enactment of anti strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) laws across U.S. states as a shock that strengthens free speech protection, we show that stronger protection is associated with less concealment of bad news. This is evidenced by a lower likelihood of stock price crashes, a decreased probability of accounting fraud, and an increased frequency of firm-initiated negative press releases. These results are …

Peer Effects Of Corporate Disclosures: Evidence From The Registration-Based Ipo System In China, Ruilin Liu, Beng Wee Goh, Dan Li, Zheyuan Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China launched the registration-based IPO system in 2019 whereby all firms listed on the newly established STAR board (“peer firms”) are required to disclose specific innovation and industry-related information in their prospectus. Using this event as a quasi-experiment, our study investigates the causal effects of peer firms’ disclosures on individual firms’ disclosure strategy. We find that individual firms’ management earnings forecast (MEF) precision, both its form and width, significantly decreases when peer firms disclose more information during the IPO period. In cross-sectional analyses, we find this effect to be more pronounced for individual firms that are likely to experience greater …

Does Auditor Quality Enhance Csr Disclosure?, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo, Yanping Xu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate the relation between auditor quality and client firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. Using an international sample of firms from 36 countries over the period 2009–2018 and a measure of the extent of CSR disclosure from Bloomberg, we find strong evidence that client firms with higher quality auditors provide more CSR disclosure. In cross-sectional analyses, we show that the relation between auditor quality and CSR disclosure is accentuated when the information environment is poorer and when the financial reporting environment and the legal institutions are weaker. Lastly, we document that firms with higher quality auditors also exhibit better …

Sociocultural Outsidership In Entrepreneurship: Rethinking The Double-Edged Role In Marginalisation, Robert J. Pidduck, Susana C. Santos, Eric W. Liguori, Reginald Tucker, Alexander Newman

Management Faculty Publications

This editorial introduces the special issue on marginalisation and entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurship research has long examined the impact of economic deprivation and structural barriers, far less attention has been given to sociocultural elements of outsidership – such as status incongruence, class-based identity conflict or cultural misalignment, among other related facets. We bring these dynamics to the fore, offering a conceptually rich yet ideologically neutral lens through which to understand how outsider dynamics can shape entrepreneurial cognition, legitimacy and venture development. Further, by synthesising emerging work across fragmented literatures, we propose a research agenda that explores sociocultural outsidership not only as …

Editor's Note: Economic Resilience In Contested, Noisy, And High-Pressure Environments, Marites Tiongco

DLSU Business & Economics Review

No abstract provided.

Health Status In East Texas, Manuel Reyes-Loya, Cecilia Cuellar, Marilyn Young, Luisa Moraes

Hibbs Newsletter

This issue of the Hibbs Newsletter examines the key economic drivers of East Texas, highlighting trends in GDP, employment, and wages across major metropolitan areas. From 2015 to 2023, the region experienced steady economic growth, led primarily by healthcare, manufacturing, and mining industries. The report emphasizes healthcare as a dominant contributor to both employment and high-wage occupations, offering insight into the region’s evolving economic structure

Corporate Disclosure Meets Natural Language Processing: Topic Modeling, Disclosure Strategy, And Audit Implications, Wanxin Yu

2026

Corporate disclosures serve as a critical channel for firms to communicate their financial performance, strategic initiatives, and firm-specific risks. In recent years, rapid advances in natural language processing (NLP) have provided powerful new tools for extracting insights from the growing volume and complexity of corporate disclosures. This dissertation consists of three studies that explore how advanced textual analysis can reveal deeper insights into corporate disclosures, managerial behavior, and auditor practices.

The first paper (co-authored) develops a topic-based approach to measuring the substantive content of risk factor disclosures. Using an embedding-based topic modeling framework, we identify 30 interpretable risk topics and …