Business Commons^™

Board Of Director Composition: An Examination Of How Director Age And Board Innovation Committees Impact Corporate Social And Financial Performance, Sami Ghaddar

2021

This dissertation explores how director age affects a firm’s social domain, and how board-level oversight of firms’ innovation activities affects financial performance. Specifically, the dissertation points to board configurations that can potentially improve social and financial performance. The first chapter reviews the literature by examining two research streams linking board composition to corporate social performance (CSP) and innovation. The chapter presents the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of these two streams. It details the descriptive and thematic findings and offers an understanding of the different contexts in which board composition relates to both CSP and innovation. This chapter also discusses inconsistencies …

Less Commute Miles. Decreased Tire Wear. What Would You Do?, Dylan Schwarz, Brendon M. Ford, Brandon D. Hadinger, Abbie N. Pearce, Jacinta M. Pikunas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With the flagrant recognition of the coronavirus as one of those most impactful viruses in the history of the world, it is important to study how the effects of such a disease can create troublesome ripple effects in the world. Covid-19 has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of individuals and has negatively impacted the lives of American’s all across the country during the nationwide lockdown. Decreased work commuters, minimal road travel, and little need for car repairs hit the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company hard. The University of Akron has teamed up with Goodyear to explore such effects …

A Systems Perspective In Examining Industry Clusters: Case Studies Of Clusters In Russia And India, Anton Klarin, Rifat Sharmelly, Yuliani Suseno

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article explores an examination of industry clusters from a systems perspective. We analyze Russia’s pharmaceutical clusters and India’s automobile clusters in terms of the systems concepts of holism, emergence, and open systems. We further consider the aspects of human capital investment and the availability of professional labor, infrastructure, private–public sector collaboration, support for funding and commercialization, as well as innovation corporate culture, when examining the institutional pillars supporting the development and growth of industry clusters within the national innovation ecosystems. The findings illustrate how industry clusters can be viewed from a systems perspective. We also highlight how the institutional …

Examining The Relationships Between Innovation, Quality, Productivity, And Customer Satisfaction In Pure Service Companies, Dongjun Rew, Joo Y. Jung, Steve Lovett

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose – This study investigates the relationships between innovation, quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction in pure service companies. Previous studies have shown a negative relationship between quality and productivity in services. However, we argue the two can be positively related when innovation is present.

Design/methodology/approach – We develop and test our hypotheses using secondary data from COMPUSTAT, KLD STAT, and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). We test our hypotheses using ordinary least squares regression and conduct additional testing using path analysis.

Findings – The findings show that quality and productivity are positively related when innovation is present in pure …

Assessing The Financial Mechanisms For Innovation Support In The Republic Of Uzbekistan: A Comparative Analysis Of Enablers And Constraints To Innovation Across Two Industries, Ravshan Rakhmonovich Khaydarov

Doctoral

Innovation is fundamental not only to individual firms but ultimately to a country's economic growth and stability. Innovation Systems assert that innovation depends not only on how individual firms and external actors operate, but also on the dynamics of their interaction as part of the system. While funding for innovation is a central theme of Innovation Systems models, there is a gap in the literature on this topic, particularly in regard to the role played by government in transition economies (Bruton, Su, & Filatotchev, 2018). The majority of the research has focused on micro/meso-level support, but there is a significant …

Trust And The ‘Hive Effect’ In Family Firms, Rameshwari Ramachandra

Asian Management Insights

Boosting creativity and innovation in family firms.

Peer-To-Peer Consumption In 3d Printing Design, Weizhi Chen

Dissertations

Three-dimensional printing or additive manufacturing is a new element in new product development that emphasizes on digitalization and innovation. However, due to its new emergence, existing research has rarely explored its mechanism and benefits especially in marketing, new product development and innovation. This research addresses the mechanism of 3D printing under collaborative consumption in the age of personal fabrication. The primary focus of this research lies at the intersection of marketing, 3D printing in collaborative consumption, and data science. Online peer-to-peer 3D printing sharing platform myminifactory.com is utilized as primary study context. In this research, two types of product design …

Examining The Relationships Between Innovation, Quality, Productivity And Customer Satisfaction In Pure Service Companies, Dongjun Rew, Joo Jung, Steve Lovett

Faculty Publications - College of Business

Purpose – This study investigates the relationships between innovation, quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction in pure service companies. Previous studies have shown a negative relationship between quality and productivity in services. However, we argue the two can be positively related when innovation is present.

Design/methodology/approach – We develop and test our hypotheses using the secondary data from the COMPUSTAT, KLD STAT, and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). We test our hypotheses using ordinary least squares regression and conduct additional testing using path analysis.

Findings – The findings show that quality and productivity are positively related when innovation is present …

Outcomes Of Platform Openness In Complementary Markets, Franck Loic Soh Noume

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mobile platform ecosystems are hyper-competitive environments. They provide important entrepreneurial opportunities for businesses that develop mobile apps. Platform openness is foundational in mobile platform ecosystems as it enables interactions between complements and platform. Although there are several studies on the impact of platform openness, our understanding of the outcomes of platform openness remains limited. In this dissertation, we examine thoroughly underexplored facets of platform openness as well as understudied outcomes. In the first essay, we investigate the impact of platform openness on incumbent complements’ performance outcomes. We unravel important causal mechanisms related to competition dynamics between new entrants and incumbent …

Green Delivery: A New Approach For The Arbor Day Foundation, Cassandra Arritt, Vincent Malene, Anthony Hare, Sarah Schilling, David Petersen, Ross Grieb

Honors Theses

The Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) will partner with online retailers to create a ‘Green-Delivery’ option wherein customers can opt to delay the shipment of their order by a day in exchange for a tree being planted in their name. Each partner would fulfill their donation obligation to the ADF by allocating a portion of the cost savings generated by shipping their orders via a slower service.

Dod Mission Engineering And Integration Explorative-Exploitative Architecture For Technology Innovation, Jose L. Bricio-Neto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The ability of U.S. Department of Defense to achieve timely innovation in support of U.S. National Defense and Military Strategies continues to increase in significance. The growing challenges in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) technological innovation in a context of global security and rapid pace of global competitiveness continue to reveal many shortcomings in current weapon systems development and acquisition practice. As the pace of technological innovation is accelerating, the DoD faces the challenge that the same disruptive technological advances are also being made available to or developed by its adversaries. Based on literature review, no innovation system theory exists …

Tim Brown, Change By Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations And Inspires Innovation (2009), Esra Gonen

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Achieving Effectiveness And Innovation In U.S. Public Organizations Through Ability-Enhancing And Opportunity-Enhancing Soft/Commitment High Performance Work Practices, Kingshuk Saha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is well-established in the management literature that HPWPs improve productivity in the private sector. But does HPWPs work in the public sector? A thorough literature search revealed only 45 HPWPs studies done in the public sector. The first purpose of this Dissertation is a thorough literature review of these 45 studies. Out of these 45 studies, only 12 had samples obtained from the U.S. Hence, it can be argued that there is much to be discovered about HPWPs in the U.S. public sector. The second purpose of this Dissertation is to categorize HPWPs in the U.S. public sector based …

Conducting And Analysing Semi-Structured Interviews: A Study Of Open Innovation In Food Firms In Ireland., Anushree Priyadarshini

Articles

This case study examines the use of semi-structured interviews that I used in my PhD research as a method to explore open innovation in food firms in Ireland. Literature in the field highlights that exploring innovation and the extent to which firms are open and collaborative with people outside of their organizations in conducting innovation requires detailed understanding of the concept in its natural settings. To interpret or make sense of the phenomena in terms of the meaning managers bring to it, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with managers in Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, the food and beverage sector. Demonstrating …

Building Renewed Relevance: Portraits Of Ceos Rebranding Iconic Nonprofit Organizations, Helen A. Lowman

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In the United States, we often refer to the social sector as one leg of a three-legged stool. The private and public sectors support the other two legs. The social sector made up of nonprofit, nongovernmental, and charity organizations, contributes to the development of American society by focusing on social good rather than the desire to make profit. For decades, the sector has functioned as the social conscience of our society. However, many iconic, legacy nonprofits have struggled to keep their relevance in today’s world: their creation tied to a past societal problem, their mission and brand no longer germane …

The Prosperity Paradox, A Review, Ryan Stenquist

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Successful Venture Building: What Matters! An Empirical Examination Of Effective Incubation Practices, Patrick Thng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Incubator models have evolved since the first known US incubator in 1959. From the first generation of a facilities-focused incubator model in the 1960s to the fourth generation of emerging models, commonly referred to as, the “Accelerator” model and the “Venture Builder” model.
Since 2006, there has been a significant increase in the number of venture builders and accelerators. Yet very little is known about a) their performance and the antecedents; b) the key differences between venture builders and accelerators; c) the factors and practices that characterise highly successful venture builders and d) their (venture builders)comparative advantages or disadvantages compared …

Logistics Salience Impact On Logistics Capabilities And Performance, Peter M. Ralston, Scott J. Grawe, Patricia J. Daugherty

Peter Ralston

Purpose – The purpose of this manuscript is to assess the impact of logistics salience on logistics capabilities and performance. Specifically, the impact of logistics salience on logistics innovativeness and logistics service differentiation is measured along with logistics innovativeness and logistics service differentiation effect on logistics performance. Design/methodology/approach – Conclusions were drawn from survey data gathered from logistics and supply chain managers at US firms. Structural equation modelling was utilized to measure the statistical significance of the hypothesized model paths with all findings meeting the basic requirements of interpretation. Findings – The results suggest that logistics salience positively impacts both …

Technology Licensing And Innovation – A Correction On Two-Part Tariff Analysis, Yuanzhu Lu, Swapnendu Banerjee, Sougata Poddar

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The main purpose of this note is two-fold: (i) Correcting an error in the two-part tariff licensing contract, and (ii) Altering one of the main results following the two-part tariff analysis in Mukherjee and Mukherjee (2013). This also strengthens the primary conclusion of Mukherjee and Mukherjee (2013).

“Can Entrepreneurs Sell Their Firms And Still Own Them?”: The Adoption Of Dual-Class Structures And Their Effects On Ipo Performance, Nitin Kumar Singh

Management Dissertations

Dual-class Structures enable entrepreneurs to separate voting rights and cash-flow rights in arbitrary proportions to exercise control of the firm. Dual-class structures allow entrepreneurs to retain the benefits of being private and reap the benefits of going public. This dissertation identifies the governance, firm-specific, and strategic antecedents of firms that adopt dual-class structures and determines its effect on IPO performance. This study finds that firms that adopt fewer governance mechanisms, have a greater number of insiders, are younger, have a higher level of sales, pursue risky strategies (such as internationalization, acquisition, and innovation) are more likely to adopt dual-class structures. …

Microfoundations Of Innovation In Organizations, Trey Cummings

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation weaves together three distinct chapters that are unified in their focus on the microfoundations of innovation in organizations. Chapter 1 utilizes a unique NASA employee data set to investigate the effect of promotion reward incentives on knowledge worker innovation. This study is the first to empirically show a positive relationship of promotion incentives with individual innovation outcomes in a field setting while also revealing a decrease in collaboration. This result exposes promotion structure as a potentially powerful tool for affecting innovation. Chapter 2 develops a unique measure of R&D structure and finds that the incentives created by long-term …

Google Ads: A Strategic Audit, Jessee Zhang

Honors Theses

Google began as an internet search product, allowing users to find relevant sites based on a search query. Over the past several decades, Google has become an extremely large and profitable business though online digital advertisements. While Google has a diverse product mix, the overwhelming majority of its revenue is generated through ads. This strategic audit first looks at the current external environment, looking at the political, economic, social, and technological changes and opportunities relevant to the industry. Then, it looks at the current competitive environment and shows the profitability of the business because of the large barrier to entry. …

Entrepreneurship In Silicon Valley: The Road To Sustainable Prosperity, June Y. Lee

Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Strategy

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Secrets In Marketing And Value Creation, Ivan Fedorenko

2019

Keeping secrets is common to both corporations and public organizations. However, secrets have, until recently, received little attention in the marketing literature. The research on secrecy, to date, has been focused on the appropriating value from innovation. The purpose of my dissertation is to explore how secrecy can be used to create value for consumers. Paper one integrates the existent research on secrecy to develop an overarching framework and categorize four common types of secrets: reputational secrets, trade secrets, managerial secrets, and marketing secrets. The drivers and consequences of secrecy are identified across all three levels of analysis: individual, organizational …

Virtual Proximity To Promote Expatriate Cultural Adjustment, Innovation, And The Reduction Of Stress Levels, Tom Coughlan, David J. Fogarty, Sara R. Fogarty

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Given the dramatic increase in the number of expatriates living and working abroad, there is a need to advance the research into how to make sure these employees achieve success on their assignments. Often, these expatriates assume managerial roles and are intended to be the gatekeepers of information. Typically, this information is necessary for the success of their colleagues, in both their home country and their host country. The expatriate’s role is to facilitate the integration of organizational knowledge from both their home and host countries, as well as key sources in their host country’s local environment. However, historically, there …

Innovación En El Sector Textil: Incidencia De La Educación Sobre La Producción De Bienes Y Servicios Nuevos En La Industria Textil Para El Periodo 2007 - 2012, Jessica Andrea Nieto Martínez, Edwin David Ramírez Colorado, Julieth Tatiana Lozano Mondragón

Economía

La innovación tecnológica ha sido fundamental dentro de la evolución del mercado a nivel global, sin embargo, es necesario que dentro de la misma exista capital humano capacitado para que junto con la innovación se impulse la optimización de la productividad de las empresas y a gran escala el crecimiento económico de las naciones. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la incidencia del nivel educativo para la producción de bienes o servicios en la industria textil para los años 2007 – 2012. Para el desarrollo de la investigación se realizó un estudio econométrico a partir de …

Effective Manufacturers' Strategies For Service Innovations, Zebulon Fox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, more than 50% of managers offering services in the manufacturing industry report failed service initiatives. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that manufacturing managers used to sustain their business for longer than 5 years. The population consisted of 3 manufacturing organization managers offering business services to support petroleum and coal companies who have sustained their business operations in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States for longer than 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and organization documents were analyzed through the perspective of the strategic service innovation theory conceptual …

U.S. Government Acquisition Reform And Its Influence On Defense Contracting, Innovation, Diversification, And Collaboration, Edgar Quiñones Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Acquisition reform has been active within the Defense Industry for over two centuries and continues to this day for the Federal Government. Recently, due to sequestration, high national debt, and political pressures, the Weapon System Acquisition Reform Act (WSARA) and Better Buying Power (BBP) was put into action, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, as a way to further streamline the Defense Industry. This study examined the Defense Industry’s attitudes and coping strategies (focused on ‘countervailing power’) deal with the actions and the influence of a monopsonist (sole) buyer on the contracting process and how that ultimately affects costs, industry strategy, …

Organizational Innovations That Stick: Best Practices In Sustainable Organizational Change, Abdoulie Jammeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational change is an essential ingredient of organizational growth/life and can be difficult to accomplish. Many researchers and practitioners have studied the challenges and opportunities surrounding effectuating change and innovation in organizations. However, there has been little practical analysis of the theoretical relationships among the key apparatuses that make change stick, institutionalizing innovation in big bureaucratic organizations. In order to develop practical insights that can inform best practices, this paper aims to provide a collection of successful organizational innovation examples based on responses to a critical incident analysis survey of 12 participants from a 2018 World Bank – USC Annenberg …

Banking On Blockchain: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Innovation Evaluation Process, Priya D. Dozier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Blockchain technology emerged as the underlying database structure for Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, in 2008. Interest in blockchain by the Financial Services industry grew because of its purported transparency, security, and trust elements which resulted in over $240 million in venture capital funds raised by blockchain firms mostly from banks in the first half of 2017.

The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying innovation evaluation process that Financial Services organizations employed as they evaluated blockchain technology. In this research study, blockchain was considered a technology innovation, which drove the research question: “How do financial services organizations evaluate blockchain …