Business Commons^™

Mindfulness And Individual Error Orientation In High Reliability Organizations, Ellen Choi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mindfulness is a concept drawn from the contemplative traditions that refers to present-moment, non-judgmental awareness. Exactly how applicable mindfulness is in the workplace requires further empirical validation, particularly on outcomes immediately relevant to organizations. This study contributes to literature examining the effects of mindfulness in organizational settings by considering the effects of an 8-week workplace mindfulness training program in a high-reliability organization (hospital) on individual error orientation, an individual’s propensity to learn from error, worry about error, or hide error. This study adds to the current state of knowledge by providing further insight into why one holds a particular error …

The Role Of Organizational Buy-In In Employee Retention, Serena Hsia

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the role of organizational buy-in, the acceptance and willingness to actively support and participate in the organizations plans, in the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay. Furthermore, this study proposed that job position would moderate the influence of organizational buy-in, as those in higher positions may be more invested in the organiation’s strategy. Two models were tested – a moderated moderation model, and a double moderated model. Support was found for the double moderated model. Organizational buy-in acted as a buffer between job satisfaction and intent to stay, such that those who have low job …

The Role Of Family Endorsement In Venture Creation And Sustainability, Thomas Daniel White

Doctoral Dissertations

Entrepreneurship research has shown that family social support is an important factor in an entrepreneur’s venture creation and sustainability efforts, yet little is known about the nature and impact of family processes that occur prior to venture start, or how early endorsement of a venture impacts the entrepreneur. These processes are important to consider, because they may facilitate or inhibit ongoing family social support and influence the entrepreneur’s venture creation and sustainability decisions. Utilizing a family systems theoretical framework, I draw on theories of self-perception, social support and conservation of resources to address three issues. First, I introduce the construct …

Disaster Relief Logistics: An Academic Framework Evaluation Of The 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires, Clay Edward Daniel, Alexandre Medeiros Rodrigues

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Culture On Hispanic Entrepreneurs As Mediated By Motivation, Challenge, And Success, Valerie V. Ballesteros

Theses & Dissertations

In the modern economic environment, demographic shifts in U.S. population resulting from changing immigration, changing economic policies and environments, and growing socioeconomic disparity, scholarly research examining the business behavior of specific groups and the impact of behavior on the broader marketplace is valuable and necessary. Hispanic entrepreneurs, when compared to both minority and non-minority business-owners, started and flourished in successful business ownership at a greater growth rate than any other group (Davila, Mora, & Zeitlin, 2014). Since the beginning of the 21st century, Hispanic entrepreneurs have become a measurable economic force. The cultural experience of the Hispanic entrepreneur is important …

Hormonal Influence On Female Consumption Of Revealing And Sexy Fashion Products, Ngoc B. Pham

Theses and Dissertations

This doctoral dissertation addresses the biological and psychological components of consumers’ decision-making processes. Particularly, it investigates the impact of female sex hormones on women’s consumption behaviors regarding fashion products. These hormones reach peak level when women are near ovulation, and this research examines how these hormones, when at peak level, influence women’s attitudes and purchase intention towards sexy and revealing fashion products.

The research is based on two theoretical frameworks: ovulatory shift hypothesis (OSH) and theory of reasoned action (TRA). Specifically, the OSH, based on the female ovulatory cycle postulates that women change their sexual preferences for men with perceived …

Essays On Financial Decision Making, Corey A. Shank

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals make financial decisions daily, yet the literature on the mechanisms that drive financial decisions is limited. This dissertation looks to examine how physical characteristics, and personality subconsciously influence financial decision making by conducting an experiment. Furthermore, this dissertation examines biased decision making in the betting market by using data from covers.com. First, this dissertation finds that the cognitive impairments associated with having a higher body mass index is positively related to poor financial decision making and being more likely to commit the present bias, and distorting probabilities. Second, this dissertation finds that business students are more apt to fit …

Two Essays On International Capital Flows And Cross-Listings, Lu Sui

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores two interesting issues: international capital flows and cross-listings. With high volatility of capital flows and imbalance of capital flows between emerging and advanced economies, the topic of capital flow management is always attractive to researchers and policy makers. The first essay explore how capital flows in G20 countries are significantly impacted by pull and push factors. The results show that international capital flows are significantly associated with domestic financial development, which is measured by stock market liquidity and domestic credit. Moreover, international capital flows are affected by some push factors such as, the growth of world economy …

Regression-Discontinuity Analysis Of The Effects Of Government Housing Policies, Alejandro Rojas

Theses and Dissertations

An influential literature has applied regression-discontinuity (RD) analysis to investigate the effects of government housing policies. This literature has failed to identify substantial effects of these policies, but may also suffer from various biases and limitations. This dissertation carefully examines what, if any, issues face RD analysis in this context. Chapter II considers the Affordable Housing Goals (AHGs) and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), affordable housing policies that compel Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (F&F) and depository institutions, respectively, to increase access to mortgage credit for borrowers perceived by some as “underserved” by the mortgage market. Chapter III considers the overall …

Exploring Wireless Technology Applications In Clinical Staff Response Time Reduction In Healthcare Facilities, Chase R. Johnson

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Chase R. Johnson on November 13, 2017.

Multi-Step Tokenization Of Automated Clearing House Payment Transactions, Privin Alexander

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since its beginnings in 1974, the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network has grown into one of the largest, safest, and most efficient payment systems in the world. An ACH transaction is an electronic funds transfer between bank accounts using a batch processing system.

Currently, the ACH Network moves almost $43 trillion and 25 billion electronic financial transactions each year. With the increasing movement toward an electronic, interconnected and mobile infrastructure, it is critical that electronic payments work safely and efficiently for all users. ACH transactions carry sensitive data, such as a consumer's name, account number, tax identification number, account holder …

Virtual Commissioning For Industrial Automation, Saihiranmitra Mudiki

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Saihiranmitra Mudiki on November 7, 2017.

Game Theory For Security Investments In Cyber And Supply Chain Networks, Shivani Shukla

Doctoral Dissertations

In a constantly and intricately connected world that is going digital, cybersecurity is imperative to not just the success but also the survival of a business. The ubiquitous digital transformation is fueled by a convulsive growth of devices and data that are leading important innovations in the domain of cyber-physical systems. However, this growth has also enabled internal and external threats to skyrocket, depicting the inherent dichotomy. With an evolving threat landscape, a perpetrator has to be successful once, while the defenders have to continually succeed in fending-off attacks to protect critical infrastructure and digital assets. Businesses are facing a …

Exceptionally Employable: A Study Of The Value Of Contrasting Educational Modalities Within Christian Liberal Arts Universities In Preparing Students For Employment Suitability, Sam Heinrich

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in suitability of employment of unique student groups (academic clusters) at four geographically dispersed Christian higher education universities (CHEU) as represented broadly by membership in and association with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). The four academic clusters identified for this study were Residential Traditional Students (RTS), Deferred Professional Students (DPS), Accelerated Traditional Students (ATS) and Other Students. This research used a quantitative quasi-experimental method with an emailed, survey instruments designed to measure the impact of a student’s educational experience on employability through self-efficacy and employment experience. Yorke and …

Considerations For Small Businesses Implementing Marketing Technology, Matthew Stallings

Selected Honors Theses

Small businesses are crucial components for not only the US economy but for economies around the world. Many of the firms struggle to stay in business and do not perform effectively and profitably, especially in the marketing aspects of business. The marketing strategies that larger organizations use do not necessarily work the best for small businesses. Therefore, small businesses are mostly conducting basic marketing principles by practicing customer relationship management (CRM). However, many of them are not unlocking their full potential by utilizing the Internet, E-mail, database software, and other marketing technologies. Thus, this paper offers research evidence to provide …

Scoping Job Enlargement With The Cultural Dimension Of Individualism: An Industrial, Mark Wm. Cawman

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Job satisfaction and sustainable job performance require managers to find the right balance between job enlargement and the division of labor in designing the optimum scope of work toward a continuum of employee engagement. This dissertation explores the cultural dimension of “Individualism” and its’ implication in this balance. If a manufacturing line is transferred from the United States (91 mean individualism score) to China (20 mean individualism score) does the scope of the work need to change to ensure that a greater population of workers is engaged and that they have work passion toward sustained performance (Hofstede, n.d.)? Does the …

Defining Data Science And Data Scientist, Dana M. Dedge Parks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The world’s data sets are growing exponentially every day due to the large number of devices generating data residue across the multitude of global data centers. What to do with the massive data stores, how to manage them and defining who are performing these tasks has not been adequately defined and agreed upon by academics and practitioners. Data science is a cross disciplinary, amalgam of skills, techniques and tools which allow business organizations to identify trends and build assumptions which lead to key decisions. It is in an evolutionary state as new technologies with capabilities are still being developed and …

Physician Practice Survival: The Role Of Analytics In Shaping The Future, Janene Jones Culumber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation joins an ongoing discussion in the business management and information technology literature surrounding the measurement of an organization’s business analytic capability, the benefits derived from maturing the capability and the improvements being made toward maturity. The dissertation specifically focuses on the healthcare industry in the United States and more specifically independent physician practices specializing in orthopaedics. After an extensive literature review along with expertise from industry leaders and experienced academic faculty, a survey instrument was developed to measure organizational capabilities, technology capabilities and people capabilities which together measured an organizations overall business analytic capability maturity. The survey instrument …

The Great Recession Of 2007 And The Housing Market Crash: Why Did So Many Builders Fail?, Mohamad Ali Hasbini

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The “Great Recession” of 2007 created havoc in the homebuilding industry, more than any other previous economic down cycle. Countless seasoned local homebuilders across the country did not survive. The impact of their failure on the economy, community, employment, lenders, suppliers, and subcontractors was devastating. While previous studies have sought to identify the symptoms and causes of business failure, very little research has been done on home builder business failure due to acts, omissions, characteristics, or other events which are non-financial. Specifically, those that are attributable to the failed entities' top management and leadership during the housing crisis and the …

Facilities Management: How Public Leadership Is Responding To Crisis, Rebecca Jane Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative investigation to understand the challenges of public sector facilities management and maintenance to include the negative impact of deferred maintenance, it’s history, the current industry practices and the potential to reverse the negative impact of the current trend.

History has been known to speak loudly, and with accuracy relative to the expansion of public facilities and the challenge to maintain them. The challenge to keep pace with the growing population and the ever-changing requirements for contemporary designs are felt in every sector of our public facilities. Regardless, we, the public …

Kinetic Problem Solving, Charles Arant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Government leaders stand to benefit from improved program management capabilities within their organizations. Often, they are faced with crisis situations that require a rapid-fire, precise, effective problem solving process. Some of these programs are more severe or complex than others. With time and certainty of the solution as constraints, efficient program management supporting the Defense Acquisition Life Cycle remains an enigma for organizations at best and a hazard at worst.

Program management dealing with crisis problem solving, which is characterized by critical events and high cost, is a real-time process where requirements are identified and resolved to achieve a desired …

Evaluating Volatility Forecasts In Various Equity Market Regimes, John P. Felletter

Doctoral Dissertations (DBA)

Forecasting volatility is a critical component of asset allocation, risk management, and option pricing. Many different methods and models are used to predict volatility, and many studies have examined the efficacy of one method or another. This study investigates whether the abilities of historical volatility, GARCH models, and VIX to forecast volatility vary in different market conditions, as distinguished by levels of volatility and returns. It is found that market conditions do impact the abilities of the variables to forecast volatility. Overall, the forecasts implied by the GARCH models perform best according to the various metrics, while the VIX forecast …

A Study On The Efficacy Of The Medicare Bundled Payments For Care Improvement Initiative At A Large Community Hospital In The Southeast United States, Elizabeth E. Kerns

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, Medicare launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative which linked payments for multiple services for a complete episode of patient care. With this innovative reimbursement model, hospitals accepted fixed target payments for certain types of clinical diagnoses that were intended to support better care coordination and better outcomes for patients at lower cost to Medicare. This was one of many programs aimed at addressing the serious challenges facing United States healthcare, including costs that are skyrocketing to unsustainable levels and lack of coordination of care across venues.

Preliminary Medicare results showed that bundled payments might lead …

Toward A Systemic Model For Governance And Strategic Management: Evaluating Stakeholder Theory Versus Shareholder Theory Approaches, James A. Stikeleather

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research’s intent is improvement in governance and strategic management initially by comparing Shareholder Theory and Stakeholder Theory and making results useful for both Practitioner and Academic audiences. A conceptual model for how a society establishes and evolves the roles it legitimizes for a business to support reasoning about those roles and the process originating the expectations, responsibilities, obligations, contributions and freedom to act in the roles is proposed. Understanding this process would enable better governance and strategic management of a firm while avoiding unintended consequences when fulfilling the role and consequences for failing the role. The model becomes a …

Self-Determination And Human Resource Retention: Employee And Volunteer Motivation To Stay In Rural Oregon Nonprofit Organizations, Nicole Richman

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The present study used an existing model, the Volunteer Functions Inventory, to test the functional motives of volunteers and employees to engage in or continue service with a rural nonprofit organization. Self-Determination theory provides the underlying framework for the Volunteer Functions Inventory and the six motivational functions: understanding, values, enhancement, career, social, and protective. The model was tested using a sample of 168 employees and volunteers from Area Agencies on Aging located in rural Oregon. The results indicated that the protective function, reducing personal guilt by serving others in the community with less means, similarly motivates employees and volunteers to …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Effects Of Cognitive Awareness Training On Transaction Processing Accuracy: An Introduction To The Ace Theoretical Construct, John Townsend

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of Cognitive Awareness training on transaction processing accuracy rates within the US Financial Services Industry. Grounded in the theories of Inattentional Blindness and Error Management Culture, this paper supports and extends both theories through the development of a new theoretical construct. The ACE Construct is a novel approach that combines cognitive science, organizational development, and operational efficiency practices into a single approach designed to improve transaction processing accuracy. The study involved the design and implementation of a novel training program, with performance data observations sampled over seven months, to evaluate the impact of Cognitive Awareness …

Is Every Tweet Created Equal? A Framework To Identify Relevant Tweets For Business Research, Thad Chee

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Theses & Dissertations

It is a life or death matter for a firm to observe its environment and identify new threats or opportunities quickly. Information technology has increased firm’s speed and agility in responding to environmental changes. Social media offers a vast and timely source of environmental information that firms can readily use gauge public sentiment. Twitter is a high-speed service that allows anyone to “tweet” a message to any interested parties. Firms can access near instantaneous changes in the public mood about any topic by using Sentiment Analysis. These topics range from predicting equities prices to predicting election outcomes. A gap exists …

Enhancing The Internet Of Things Architecture With Flow Semantics, Allen Ronald Deserranno

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internet of Things (‘IoT’) systems are complex, asynchronous solutions often comprised of various software and hardware components developed in isolation of each other. These components function with different degrees of reliability and performance over an inherently unreliable network, the Internet. Many IoT systems are developed within silos that do not provide the ability to communicate or be interoperable with other systems and platforms. Literature exists on how these systems should be designed, how they should interoperate, and how they could be improved, but practice does not always consult literature.

The work brings together a proposed reference architecture for the IoT …

What Factors During The Genesis Of A Startup Are Causal To Survival?, Gilbert T. Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative investigation into what factors are present at time zero that increase the probability that a startup will achieve long term sustainability.

Survival rates for startups in the United States (U.S.) are disappointingly low and economically inefficient. The data shows that the U.S. clearly lags its peer countries in the survival rates of startups. The U.S ranked an unacceptable 11th of 14 among its peer countries in first-year survival rates in recent years. Startup failure does not only impact the entrepreneur; it also impacts creditors, vendors, community stakeholders, and employees. While …

Crashapp™ –Concurrent Multiple Stakeholder Evaluation Of A Dsr Artefact, Timothy M. Papp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The successful design, implementation, deployment, and use of mobile software applications is rare. While many mobile apps are developed, few succeed. This design science research project builds and evaluates CrashApp™, a mobile application that connects lawyers and clients before, during, and after car accidents. The effective, widespread use of this app depends on satisfying the needs of three groups of stakeholders – the end-users (clients), the owners (lawyers), and the software developers. The research objective is to investigate the key differences among the three stakeholder groups on evaluation criteria for mobile app success. Evaluation strategies and methods are selected to …