Business Commons^™

Does Economic Policy Uncertainty Strengthen Peer Effects On Investments?, Jiawei Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The paper demonstrates that firms are more likely to follow their peers when they face economic policy uncertainty. Using a newly developed economic policy uncertainty index and the financial data from COMPUSTAT of US firms, I find evidence that economic policy uncertainty strengthens peer effects on investments. In this paper, I propose a reputation-based theory and information-based theory to support the findings. Peer effects are stronger for less successful firms and financial constrained firms during periods when economic policy uncertainty is notable. Accordingly, I use four standards (i.e. firm profitability, financially constrained status, growth rate and market to book ratio) …

The Effects Of Food Security On Socioeconomic Mobility In The United States: A Case Study In Allendale County, South Carolina, Taylor St Clarke

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between food security – defined as accessibility to an affordable, nutritious, and sustainable source of food – and socioeconomic mobility in the continental United States. This thesis is primarily focused on the effects of food insecurity on both individuals and communities, examining the chronic long-term effects of such insecurity on areas known as “food deserts,” which are often given status as areas of persistent poverty. This research further examines the effects of a sustained poor diet, brought about by food insecurity, on the individual and overarching community in a food desert and how such a …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Examining The Effects Of A Lean And Green Supply Chain On Bottom Line Costs And Market Valuation, Sharon Maskin

Senior Theses

This paper examines the link between a firm’s adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the resulting monetary benefits. Specifically, it addresses four major areas of business operations that present great opportunities for supply chain cost reduction and a simultaneous decrease in environmental impact. These four areas include traditional/open-loop supply chains, product packaging waste, pollution at the manufacturing site, and logistics inefficiencies. The paper then identifies several business cases in which companies have addressed several environmental issues and driven down bottom-line costs in each of the four areas through innovation and increased resource productivity. Along with cost benefits, it …

Cultural Disparity And The Impact On Work Life Balance, Bryan Campbell

Senior Theses

This research examines the differences in work life balances between varying countries around the world. In order to do so, a proxy index was created by investigating a portion of questions from respondents of the World Values Survey. Comparing this to Hofstede's Insights on National Culture allowed for a unique perspective as to whether the country individualism ratings could then be used to assert a relationship between these metrics.

The Value Of The Global Supply Chain & Operations Management Capstone Consulting Course On Graduates Careers, Ashley Kathleen Hannon

Senior Theses

The University of South Carolina’s Global Supply Chain & Operations Management [GSCOM] program in the Management Science Department has witnessed incredible growth and success throughout its first ten years as a major in the Darla Moore School of Business. The crown jewel of the GSCOM program is the Capstone project, a consulting course offered for program seniors. This thesis paper examines the value of the Capstone program through analysis of results from a graduate survey. The survey was administered to graduates from the 2013-2017 classes, and aims to capture the value that Capstone had on the first year of each …

Indah: The Unorthodox Rise Of A Columbian Staple, Will Helms

Senior Theses

Over the course of several weeks, I conducted a series of observations at Indah Coffee Co. in order to better understand its marketing and interaction with the neighborhood. After observing the coffee shop several times, I consulted outside sources, a process that is considered to be in the psychological realm of “grounded theory”, constantly comparing them to my own observations. After an interview with Indah’s owner, I began compiling my findings. The following paper is an outline of my findings, including the importance of the product in the coffee industry versus other industries, the power of successful grassroots marketing, and …

Effectiveness Of “Good” Governance Policies Across Contexts: A Test Of The Universal Vs. Embedded View, Sabrina Ferdous Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to examine the effectiveness of “good” governance principles that are commonly benchmarked in shaping the Corporate Governance (CG) policies. Specifically, I examine the firm level internal mechanisms of Monitoring CG and Incentive CG and the country level external mechanisms of legal rules and disclosure provisions. The origin of these CG policies is rooted in the Anglo-Saxon countries, where stand-alone firms are mostly owned by the dispersed shareholders, and Type I agency problem is common between company owners and top managers. For precisely examining the generalizability of “good” CG principles, I have conducted my investigation in an empirical …

Investor Reactions To Complex Financial Accounting Disclosures: Experimental Evidence From The Tax Disclosure Of Permanently Reinvested Earnings, Laura N. Feustel

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates how increasing the transparency of complex financial accounting disclosures affects investor judgments. The income tax disclosure of permanently reinvested earnings is the context of this investigation as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is currently evaluating income tax disclosures and has specifically identified the disclosure of permanently reinvested earnings as an area to be reevaluated. Current standards allow corporations flexibility in their disclosures that can lead investors to be surprised by changes in a corporation’s assertions regarding the reinvestment of foreign earnings. My study suggests that increasing the transparency of complex disclosures through the explicit reporting of …

Mitigating Advocacy Bias: The Effect Of The Reviewer Role On Tax Professional Judgment, Mary E. Marshall

Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature finds tax professionals exhibit advocacy bias, a threat to tax professionals’ objectivity, which can expose accounting firms and their clients to penalties for overly aggressive tax reporting decisions. Mitigating this bias has been the topic of several prior studies; however, research thus far has focused on how reviewers identify bias within tax research memorandums (e.g., stylized writing or other obvious cues). In an experiment administered to seventy-five tax professionals, this study isolates the effect of the reviewer role and compares professionals’ evidence evaluation and conclusions by role (i.e., reviewer or preparer). I find professionals who occupy the reviewer …

Altering Time: The Effect Of Feedback Frequency On Employee Behavior, Nate Waddoups

Theses and Dissertations

Advances in technology have made it possible for employers to provide performance feedback to employees on a more frequent basis. This study investigates how different feedback frequencies can alter employees’ perceptions of time and subsequently how these altered perceptions influence employee productivity. I predict and find that feedback frequency alters the way employees break up or segment their work time—a process that I refer to as feedback-driven time segmenting. Ultimately I find that this process causes feedback frequency to have opposing effects on employee productivity. Specifically employees who receive more frequent feedback find fewer task efficiencies than employees who receive …

Antecedents To The Selection Of Ceos With Higher Levels Of Narcissism And How Ceos With Higher Levels Of Narcissism Affect The Ceo Succession Process, Ormonde R. Cragun

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the antecedents to the selection of CEOs with higher levels of narcissism, as well as their impact on the CEO succession process. The first study predicts how and when boards select CEOs with higher levels of narcissism. I predict when firm performance is low, environmental dynamism is high, and when environmental munificence is high, the board is more likely to select a CEO with higher levels of narcissism. I further predict that environmental conditions (i.e., dynamism and munificence) have a moderating effect on the relationship between firm performance and the level of narcissism of the newly-selected CEO. …

The Impact Of Cmo Tenure On Brand Equity And Cost Of Capital: Insights From Business To Consumer Industries, Tracey A. Swartz

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates the relationship between CMO tenure and firm risk as measured by cost of capital. The author develops a conceptual model linking the direct impact of CMO tenure on the firm’s cost of capital and indirect impact through brand equity. The hypotheses are tested using data on 125 public US-based firms between 2004 and 2013. The findings suggest that longer CMO tenure results in higher brand equity. Further, longer CMO tenure reduces cost of capital through its impact on brand equity. The author also finds that the impact of CMO tenure on brand equity is strengthened when the …

Three Essays On Corporate Finance: A Multilevel Inspection Of Target Capital Structure & Convertible Debt Issuance And Market Valuations Of Innovative Ability, Ashleigh Eldemire-Poindexter

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents empirical analysis of the capital structure, security issuance, value creation, and valuation concepts of corporate finance. Two analysis examine connections between firm capital structure and the use of convertible debt securities, which have mixed debt and equity attributes. The third analysis examines the valuation of implicit and explicit signals of firm quality.

Chapter 1, Convertible Debt & Target Leverage Adjustments, examines how does convertible debt affects advances toward target capital structure. Convertibles may improve leverage adjustments by providing capital that is less costly to issue and less expensive to service. However, convertibles can be risky liabilities with …