Digital Commons Network^™

Institutional Influences And The Governance And Administration Of The Programa Produtor De Água Payment For Ecosystem Services Program In Brazil, Thomas G. Safford

Faculty Publications

Payment-for-Ecosystem-Services (PES) has been promoted as an innovative approach to environmental governance capable of simultaneously advancing conservation and sustainable development objectives. While studies commonly assess the ecological and economic performance of PES schemes, less attention has been given to their organizational and administrative effectiveness. This study examines these governance dimensions of one of Latin America’s most prominent PES initiatives—the Water Producer Program (WPP) in Brazil. Drawing on a meta-synthesis of 125 publications, the analysis investigates how regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional forces shaped WPP implementation. Guided by neo-institutional theory and institutional bricolage, findings show that WPP governance operated through hybrid …

Transitioning From The Consolidated Framework For Implementation Research (Cfir) To The Updated Cfir For Quantitative Measurement Of Influences On Implementation Outcomes In A Faith-Based Walking Intervention, Ruth P. Saunders, Sarah Wilcox Phd, A. Caroline Rudisill, Andrew T. Kaczynski, Jasmin Parker-Brown

Faculty Publications

Background Our research team has used the highly cited Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) a priori throughout the research process to better understand influences on implementation outcomes of an organizational change innovation to promote physical activity and healthy eating in faith-based settings. CFIR has recently been updated to include substantial changes in some domains and constructs, and our research team is preparing to carry out a new implementation study of an evidence-based innovation in churches. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process we undertook to map CFIR domains, constructs, and quantitative measures from our earlier studies …

Explaining Variability In Employee Perceptions Of Hr Practices In Strategic Hrm Research: An Integrative Review And Future Outlook, Jeske Van Beurden, Susanne Beijer, Kaifeng Jiang, Karina Van De Voorde, Anthony Nyberg

Faculty Publications

Employee perceptions of human resource (HR) practices have become a central focus in strategic human resource management(HRM) research due to their impact on individual and organizational outcomes. Recent studies highlight the importance of un-derstanding how these perceptions are formed, what they encompass, and why they vary across employees. This special issue ofHuman Resource Management aims to advance this evolving area of research by focusing on variability in employee perceptionsof HR practices. We review the current literature on employee perceptions of HR practices, including (1) theoretical and concep-tual clarity of the employee perceptions of HR practices construct, (2) antecedents of these …

Impediments To Transforming The Healthcare Delivery System: Shifting The Paradigm From Provider Centric To Patient Centric, Elizabeth A. Regan, Manasa Devi Chinta

Faculty Publications

Introduction: 

Stated aims for digital healthcare transformation frequently cite goals for better coordinated patient-centric systems. However, despite advances in medical science, digital technologies, health policies, and billions of dollars invested over the past 25 years, most healthcare providers are far from fully realizing the demonstrated benefits of today's digital technologies for improving patient care. Sharing information across healthcare systems remains challenging. Problems with fragmentation, quality, inequities, and rising costs of care delivery persist. A recent study of 1,026 U.S. hospital systems found that only 15.8 percent achieved a digital maturity level needed to provide digitally enabled healthcare services to better …

The Northeast Snow Survey (Ness) Feasibility Study Interest Holder Engagement Report, Sarah Nelson, G. Murray, B. Lineman, Franklin B. Sullivan, Elizabeth Burakowski, J. Beneš, J. Clayton, Alexandra R. Contosta, A. Grunes, H. Hofman, S. Koehler, C. Mccarthy, S. Mckim, C. Nadeau, K. Phillips, C. Schmitt, M. Stewart, D. Tappa, M. Webb, L. Zukiewicz

Faculty Publications

The Northeast Snow Survey (NESS) Feasibility Study was launched to address a critical gap in snowpack and weather monitoring across the northeastern United States. Unlike the western U.S., which benefits from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) network, the Northeast lacks a coordinated, automated, real-time snow monitoring system—particularly at higher elevations where snowpack dynamics most strongly influence flooding, water supply, ecosystems, outdoor recreation, and working lands.

Funded through the FY2023 federal omnibus bill, the NESS Feasibility Study includes two phases: Phase 1–the content of this report–focused on interest holder engagement and …

Us Federal Budgets And Federal Employee Job Satisfaction, Nathan Favero, Carla Flink, Tingli Qu

Faculty Publications

Researchers have long studied how organizational budgets relate to performance, but how do employees themselves experience the effects of budgetary decisions? Given widespread attention to political dysfunction in US federal budgeting, conventional wisdom holds that employees are negatively affected by budgetary uncertainty (volatility, delays, and stop-gap measures). We test how budget size and uncertainty are associated with US federal employee attitudes using survey and archival data from 2005 to 2020. Results provide some evidence that employee job satisfaction improves with enhanced funds, but there is little to no support for the notion that budgetary uncertainty influences federal employees' job satisfaction.

Excellence In Onboarding: A Case Study Of Campus Leader Support For Early-Career Teachers, Kelsey Bowles, Peter E. Williams, Alicia Piechowiak

Faculty Publications

Purpose: It is critical in industries experiencing labor shortages and high attrition rates, as is the case for early-career teachers (ECTs) in Texas, to understand effective early-career supports and how they contribute to career persistence and effectiveness. This study examines the context-specific onboarding experiences of ECTs and the leadership practices they found valuable.

Design/Methodology: This qualitative, collective case study used a positive deviance approach to examine teacher onboarding experiences. Located in a high-needs, urban public-school campus with atypically low teacher turnover and high student academic achievement. We interviewed eight mid-career teachers about their early-career experiences of supervisor and organizational …

The Risk Of Marginal Inclusion In The Fortune 500: A Quasi-Replication Of Lewis & Carlos (2023), W. Chad Carlos, Yasir Dewan, Ben W. Lewis, Brian P. Reschke, S. Isaac St. Clair

Faculty Publications

Conventional wisdom suggests that being included in an exclusive ranking leads to positive external evaluations. However, Lewis and Carlos (2023) found that firms situated near the threshold for inclusion on the 100 Best Corporate Citizen ranking were devalued by investors. To assess the generalizability of this surprising finding, we quasi-replicate and extend this finding by applying the same regression discontinuity design to the Fortune 500 ranking. We find corroborating evidence: firms near the bottom of the Fortune 500 receive lower external evaluations, not only from investors but also from industry peers. Our findings therefore quasi-replicate and extend Lewis and Carlos’ …

Implementation Outcomes And Associated Constructs From The Consolidated Framework For Implementation Research Among Churches Trained Online To Implement Faith, Activity, And Nutrition In A National Implementation Study, Sara Wilcox Phd, Ruth P. Saunders Phd, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D., Caroline Rudisill Ph.D., Msc, Ye Sil Kim Phd, Jasmin Parker-Brown, Kelsey R. Day

Faculty Publications

Churches hold promise for reaching populations with high rates of chronic disease, yet few faith-based large-scale implementation studies exist. The study purpose was to examine 12-month implementation outcomes and associated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) constructs after converting in-person training to online for an evidence-based intervention designed to improve church organizational practices related to physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE). US churches recruited from 2020 to 2022 participated in eight online lessons prior to implementation. Each church’s coordinator completed an online baseline and 12-month survey assessing church practices for PA/HE components targeted in the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition …

Distribution Comparisons Of Eac Cost Growth For Aircraft Work Breakdown Structure Elements, Kyle P. Marquis, Edward D. White, Brandon M. Lucas, Robert D. Fass, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Shawn M. Valentine

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes and investigates the distribution of cost growth of the Estimate at Completion (EAC) for the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) elements of approximately 60 historical United States Acquisition Category I Research, Development, Test and Evaluation aircraft programs. Using the method of maximum likelihood in conjunction with the Akaike Information Criterion, the authors suggest that both the lognormal and Weibull distributions provide relatively good fit to EAC cost growth, with the lognormal slightly edging out the Weibull. As a summarized finding, the authors present their empirical results for the mean, coefficient of variation (CV), the 15th and 85th percentiles …

Counseling Students’ Perceptions Of Support During The Covid-19 Crisis: A Qualitative Study., Breahannah Hilarie, Galaxina G. Wright, Lea H., Laurie O. Campbell

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the counseling programs in clinical instruction, mentorship, and student’s perception of the university. The qualitative data presented in this paper identifies eight counseling students’ beliefs of support during their time in counseling program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews. An interpretive phenomenological analysis resulted in four themes: including higher education response, personal resources, emotions in crisis, and transitions in crisis.

Catalysts Of Change: How Social Movement Organizations Accelerate Shifts In Social Norms, Katie A. Apker, Michelle Blood Checketts, Taeya M. Howell, Lisa Jones Christensen, Ben William Lewis, Gordon N. Scott

Faculty Publications

We examine how social movement organizations (SMOs), particularly third-party rating agencies, can catalyze rapid shifts in social norms among an organizational population. We propose that rating agencies can instigate new social norms by defining appropriate and acceptable standards of performance that prompt organizations to realign their behaviors to mirror these new standards, thereby accelerating changes in shared understandings regarding appropriate firm behavior. We tested our theory by analyzing how members of the S&P 500 index adapted to a new gender diversity rating by KLD Research & Analytics, focusing on the acceptance and implementation of gender diversity standards on corporate boards …

Workplace Bullying In Louisiana Academic Libraries: Exploring Worker Status And Demographics, Justin Savage, Andrea Hebert, Catherine Baird

Faculty Publications

Bullying is a phenomenon that exists across cultures, societies, and even species. It can be found everywhere, including the workplace. The present study investigates workplace bullying amongst an approximated census sample of Louisiana academic library workers. Using the Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised (NAQ-R), the study explores the relationships between experiencing workplace bullying and librarian status, tenure status, years in the profession, age, gender, and race. Although no statistically significant relationships were found between variables, the findings add to a growing body of literature that explores the interrelations of demographic and environmental contexts and bullying experiences.

Innovation Challenges In The Air Force Sbir Program: From The Small Businesses’ Perspective, Hart J. Holt, Amy M. Cox, Scott Drylie, David S. Long, Alfred E. Thal Jr., R. David Fass

Faculty Publications

Every year the United States invests $3.2 billion in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to promote innovation among the nation’s small businesses. Half of this investment is from the DoD. This research considers the challenges faced by small businesses innovating with the DoD, particularly those awarded SBIR contracts with the United States Air Force. The authors surveyed 286 unique small businesses that were previously awarded an Air Force SBIR contract. By asking the survey respondents open-ended questions and categorizing their responses, they pinpoint unaddressed challenges from the small business perspective. By categorizing survey responses through Qualitative Content Analysis, …

Innovation Challenges In The Air Force Sbir Program: From The Small Businesses' Perspective, Hart J. Holt, Amy M. Cox, Scott Drylie, David S. Long, Alfred E. Thal Jr., Robert D. Fass

Faculty Publications

Every year the United States invests $3.2 billion in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to promote innovation among the nation’s small businesses. Half of this investment is from the DoD. This research considers the challenges faced by small businesses innovating with the DoD, particularly those awarded SBIR contracts with the United States Air Force. The authors surveyed 286 unique small businesses that were previously awarded an Air Force SBIR contract. By asking the survey respondents open-ended questions and categorizing their responses, they pinpoint unaddressed challenges from the small business perspective. By categorizing survey responses through Qualitative Content Analysis, …

Production Box Cost Estimating Relationships For Dod Avionics, Carla J. Cisneros, Edward D. White, Brandon M. Lucas, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Robert D. Fass, Shawn M. Valentine

Faculty Publications

The authors use historical information obtained from the Cost Assessment Data Enterprise to estimate recurring production unit cost for DoD avionics via cost estimating relationships (CERs). The specific modeled responses include mean unit cost, median unit cost, and the 100th production unit cost (T100) utilizing learning curve theory. For T100, the authors adopt both a multiplicative and an additive error for CER comparison. Recommended CERs consist of the mean unit cost and the T100 utilizing a multiplicative error. Moreover, results reveal that weight has a significant effect on cost as well as a potential underaccounting of real price change or …

Secondary School State Athletic Association Health And Safety Policy Development Processes, Susan Yeargin, Rebecca M. Hirschhorn, William M. Adams, Samantha E. Scarneo-Miller

Faculty Publications

Background: The National Federation of State High School Associations provides recommendations regarding health and safety policies; however, policy development is governed at the state level. Given interstate differences in governance, the primary purpose was to describe processes that State High School Athletic Associations (SHSAAs) utilize to develop a new policy. The secondary objective was to determine what methods associations use to implement new policies. Methods: A cross-sectional survey requested SHSAA (n = 51) representatives to report how athlete health and safety policies are introduced, revised, approved, and implemented within their state. The 22-question survey was developed to gather variables for …

Organizational Ghosts: How “Ghostly Encounters” Enable Former Leaders To Influence Current Organizational Members, Jeffrey S. Bednar, Jacob A. Brown

Faculty Publications

Leadership research has assumed that leader group prototypicality enhances leadership influence during a leader’s tenure. Other leadership research has also assumed that leaders, especially founders, can transformtheir leadership influence into a legacy thatwill survive death and departure from the organization and continue to impact followers. However, to understand the historically embedded nature of leadership influence, it is critical to unpack how specific leaders can become group prototypes and influence followers after their departure. We address this opportunity by examining organizational ghosts—former organizational members who become the ideal prototype of an organization’s values and identity. Drawing on qualitative data from an …

The Characteristics Of Successful Military It Projects: A Cross-Country Empirical Study, Helene Berg, Jonathan D. Ritschel

Faculty Publications

In the armed forces, successful digitalization is crucial to ensure effective operations. Much of the existing literature on project factors during the planning and execution phases of public IT projects do not focus specifically on military sector projects. Therefore, the paper aims to provide empirical insights into the characteristics of successful military IT projects. Data from such projects in NATO countries and agencies were collected through interviews and project documents. The findings relating to the main variable of interest, “delivery of client benefit,” supported previous findings on IT project performance. Medium-sized projects performed better than small and large projects, and …

Gender (In)Equity In Global Mental Health Research: A Call To Action, The Women In Global Mental Health Research Group, Kelly Rose-Clarke

Faculty Publications

In this commentary, we build on work by Gurung and colleagues which highlighted gender inequity in the global mental health research workforce in Nepal (Gurung et al., 2021). We seek to increase awareness of the under-representation of women in global mental health research and its consequences, and we call for change. By women, we refer to all people who identify as women, including trans people. The commentary is informed by conversations with women who are global mental health researchers in the Global North and South at various stages of their careers.

A Process For Converting An In-Person Training To Increase Church Capacity To Implement Physical Activity And Healthy Eating Practices And Policies To An Online Format, Sara Wilcox Phd, Ruth P. Saunders Ph.D., Jessica Stucker, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D., Kelsey R. Day, Deborah Kinnard, Lindsay Decker, John A. Bernhart Ph.D., Mph, Ches

Faculty Publications

The implementation of evidence-based public health programs into practice is critical for improving health, but trainings for organizational change agents are often not scalable. To describe the process of converting a training that targets faith-based organizational capacity development from an in-person to an online format. We engaged in an iterative process to convert the training delivery mode from in-person to online that included assessing stakeholder support, consulting the literature on best practices, seeking a design team, consolidating content, designing engaging lessons, and building an online site. Feedback from end-users and other audiences was incorporated throughout. Pilot participants with characteristics like …

Current Issues Faced By Controllers, Anthony C. Bucaro, T. Jeffrey Wilks, Christopher Yust

Faculty Publications

We conduct a series of semi-structured interviews with controllers and chief accounting officers from large public and private companies—over half are Fortune 500—to identify the current issues faced by the controllership function. We map these issues into the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA®) Management Accounting Competencies and highlight recent research that addresses these issues and where there are gaps. Our findings suggest three IMA competencies that weigh heavily on controllers’ minds: (1) collaboration, teamwork, and relationship management; (2) information systems and technology; and (3) talent management. Finally, we describe how the insights from controllers suggest important improvements to accounting curriculum …

Of Systems Thinking And Straw Men, Kate Klonick

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

In Content Moderation as Systems Thinking, Professor Evelyn Douek, as the title suggests, endorses an approach to the people, rules, and processes governing online speech as one not of anecdote and doctrine but of systems thinking. She constructs this concept as a novel and superior understanding of the problems of online-speech governance as compared to those existent in what she calls the “standard [scholarly] picture of content moderation.” This standard picture of content moderation — which is roughly five years old — is “outdated and incomplete,” she argues. It is preoccupied with anecdotal, high-profile adjudications in which platforms …

Women's Power In Hospital-Based Nursing: A Critical Qualitative Study, Kaitlyn C. George, Bret Lyman, Andy Pilarte Alcantara, Maya Stephenson

Faculty Publications

Aim: To understand the factors that affect power in hospital-based nursing and reveal how the female gender affects an individual's ability to feel empowered.

Design: Critical qualitative research design.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses working in inpatient hospital settings in Utah and New Mexico. Data were collected from February to March 2022. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Sixteen participants were interviewed. Six themes were identified from the data, four of which related to nurses' power at work, and two of which specifically related to how gender affects a nurse's ability to use power and feel empowered. …

Avoiding The Appearance Of Virtue: Reactivity To Corporate Social Responsibility Ratings In An Era Of Shareholder Primacy, Ben W. Lewis, W. Chad Carlos

Faculty Publications

We examine why organizations may at times decrease their performance after receiving a positive rating. We argue that in contrast to the prevailing assumption that organizations will strive for favorable ratings to achieve reputational benefits, incompatibility between a positive rating and a dominant institutional logic may cause recognized firms to question the perceived value of maintaining superior performance, thus leading them to strategically reduce their efforts on the rated dimension. Using a difference-in-differences design, we examine how companies responded to being rated as charitable organizations, an evaluation that we argue was generally perceived as incompatible with the dominant logic of …

Incentivizing Innovation: Promoting Technical Competency To Win Future Wars., James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

Despite numerous studies and initiatives, most current Air Force efforts to add science and technology talent have been insufficient. This begs the question: How does the Air Force incentivize and promote the necessary technical competence required to win future competition, conflicts, and wars? Several key initiatives, grounded in behavioral economics, can incentivize innovation and pursue science and technology expertise. Developed in the context of peer adversaries’ actions; global trends in technology, competition, and conflict; and the global competition for science and technology talent, these recommendations have the potential to reform institutional culture and unleash the creativity and talent of the …

Assessing The Testability Of The Multi-Theory Model (Mtm) In Predicting Vaping Quitting Behavior Among Young Adults In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Survey., Manoj Sharma, Kavita Batra, Ravi Batra, Chia-Liang Dai, Traci Hayes, Melinda J. Ickes, Tejinder Pal Singh

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Given the increased exposure to e-cigarettes and nicotine among young adults, difficulty in quitting vaping is likely, which supports the need for effective behavioral interventions. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aims to assess the testability of the contemporary multi-theory model of health behavior change in predicting the vaping quitting behavior among young adults in the United States.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of 619 young adults engaged in vaping behavior and aged 18–24 years was recruited to complete a 49-item web-based survey. A structural equation model was used to test relationships between MTM constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression was …

Change Power Is In The Process: Leading In A Time Of Social Justice Unrest ( A Narration), Judy Rashid

Faculty Publications

This narrative article by Dr. Judy Rashid explores the vital role of leadership in navigating conflict during periods of racial and social justice unrest. Drawing from theories of intergroup conflict and principles of conflict management, Rashid argues that effective leadership must move beyond symbolic gestures to embrace structured, inclusive processes like mediation and truth-telling. She highlights how historical symbols of racism—such as statues, street names, and slave-era landmarks—perpetuate division and obstruct reconciliation. Leaders, she asserts, must learn to use conflict as a catalyst for dialogue, growth, and systemic change. The article presents core principles of conflict management and offers practical …

Transformational It Leaders And Digital Innovation: The Moderating Effect Of Formal It Governance, Linda M. Pittenger, Nicholas Berente, James Gaskin

Faculty Publications

Does formal IT governance encourage innovation in the traditional domains of the IT function at the expense of new forms of “digital” innovation? We report on a study of 158 IT managers and leaders to understand the conditions under which transformational IT leadership can drive innovation in traditional forms of IT, as well as in the emerging “digital” domain. We find that highly formal IT governance practices can reduce ability of transformational IT managers and leaders to innovate in both domains, and this effect is greater for digital innovation. In stable cultures the moderation effect was strengthened, while insignificant in …

Changing The Business Narrative: A Guide To Successful Experience Offerings, J. Robert Rossman, Mat D. Duerden

Faculty Publications

Purpose

Design/methodology/approach