Business Commons^™

Equilibrium Implications Of Social Utility And Reference Dependence, Kangkang Wang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

It is well-known that consumers can deviate from the assumptions of standard economic theory in many ways. My dissertation examines the strategic implications of some behavioral anomalies of consumers in an equilibrium framework. In particular, I focus on how these behavioral anomalies could affect the optimal strategy and profitability of firms. The dissertation is comprised of two essays. In the first essay, I study the implications of consumer utility having a social component for competitive strategy of the firms and propose a model to explain the randomness of fashion hits observed in the fashion market. In the second essay, I …

An Examination Of Localization Success Factors Of Chinese Big Four Accounting Firms, Alexa Mcisaac

Honors Projects in Modern Languages

In May 2012, the Chinese government mandated that once the Big Four accounting (KPMG, PwC, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte) joint venture agreements expire, the firms must begin to localize most of the senior management. Although most of the Big Four firms employ many locals, there are more expatriate partners than Chinese counterparts. Because of this, the Big Four firms must quickly find qualified local senior management personnel. Amongst compliance and global regulatory issues, the Big Four firms must develop a strategy for localizing. Through a survey, this study aims to examine how expatriates and local Chinese managers perceive the …

Inclusive Business: Using For-Profit Business Models To Address Global Poverty, Samuel James Conner

Senior Honors Theses

Due to the rise of globalization, modernization, and the Internet revolution, awareness of global poverty has expanded, making its eradication a chief goal of the global development community for the twenty-first century. Though corporations are often expected to participate in social and community development initiatives without regard for profits, this paper presents inclusive business as a way for businesses to profitably engage impoverished segments of society. Inclusive businesses seek to expand their consumer bases or strengthen their supply chains by moving into new markets among the poor that have limited access to global markets and remain largely untapped. The research …

Three Essays On Return Predictability And Decentralized Investment Management, Dashan Huang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My research field is asset pricing with a focus on return predictability, innovation and market efficiency, and delegated investment management.

In Chapter 1, "Maximum Return Predictability", I develop two theoretical upper bounds on the R2 of the regression of stock returns on predictive variables. Empirically, I found that the predictive R2s are significantly larger than the upper bounds, implying that existing asset pricing models are incapable of explaining the degree of return predictability. For example, the predictive R2 of the price dividend ratio for the U.S. market forecasting is 0.27% with monthly data. However, the theoretical upper bound is at …

2013-04-22 Executive Council Meeting With President Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Executive Council Meeting with the President Minutes for April 22, 2013.

2013-04-19 General Education Council Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., General Education Council.

Faculty Senate Records

General Education Council meeting minutes from April 19, 2013.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Daniel H. Brown

Senior Honors Theses

This paper will address Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its far-reaching implications. Initially, the term CSR will be introduced and defined to provide the backbone for the following discussions. The paper will address the theoretical constructs of CSR, managerial strategies for implementing CSR and the application of stakeholder theory. The thesis is built upon Dr. Archie Carroll’s four-part CSR construct. In addition, international standards of CSR, with a focus on Nike, Inc.’s actions, will be evaluated.

2013-04-18 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes for April 18, 2013.

2013-04-17 Executive Council Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Executive Council Meeting Minutes for April 17, 2013.

2013-04-16 Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., Intercollegiate Athletics Committee

Faculty Senate Records

Intercollegiate Athletics Committee meeting minutes for April 16, 2013.

2013-04-16 Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes for April 16, 2013.

Innovators And Imitators In Product-Market Competition And Accounting Reporting, Carlos Corona, Lin Nan, Ran Zhao

Accounting Faculty Articles and Research

In this study, we examine firms’ investments in explorative initiatives and their choices of capitalization method in a product-market competition setting. Since the capitalization of exploration expenditures may contain information on whether a firm’s exploration investment is successful, financial reports may reveal important information to competitors, and thus may have real consequences in product-market competition. In our paper, we identify two driving forces that induce firms to choose different capitalization methods: an information-spillover effect and a preempting effect. We also find that enforcing an accounting method that requires firms to capitalize expenditures of only successful explorations may increase or decrease …

The School Based Family: Coaches And Teachers As Parental Figures For Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Ugandan Schools, Dr. Stacy Taniguchi

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the possible formation of surrogate families within Ugandan schools to potentially provide a context for positive development experiences, especially for orphans who lack positive development opportunities provided by parents. The sample for this study consisted of 66 Ugandan Secondary School students from eight schools the Mukono district of Uganda. In 1994, the United Nations declared families are the basic unit of society and require special attention (Bowen & McKechnie, 2001). However, the failure of the biological family is seen on a mass scale in Uganda due in large part to the …

Great Places To Work, Caty Beard, Bayley Birdwell, Chelsea Bogue, Rachel Bostick

Undergraduate Research Conference

As prospective employees, we want to know what kinds of values our employers possess and which of our values they welcome. By researching what to look for in a company before graduating, we will have a better understanding of what a company stands for so we can narrow our search to a place where we can fit in, yet stand out and contribute effectively to our employers' mission and success. In order to find that perfect company, we looked at several lists of the top 100 companies in the areas where we plan to live upon graduation, then we narrowed …

The P.E.R.K. Program, Kayla Morton, Juan Duarte, Bryan Wells

Undergraduate Research Conference

Research shows that empowering employees and providing a mutually beneficial environment creates a more productive workplace for employees. The P.E.R.K. program will help us achieve the top Gen Y talent. As we attract top talent, we forsee an increase in year-over-year profits resulting in an outstanding P.E.R.K. program return-on-investment ratio.

"A Shade Of Swaby" Fashion Startup Business Plan, Shirmyra Swaby

Undergraduate Research Conference

A well-researched and comprehensive business plan is invaluable to an entrpreneur. In Fashion Entreprenuership, authors Granger & Sterling (2003, p.16, 18) state, "A tremendous amount of research should go into the creation of a business concept before investing large amounts of time, money, and energy into the business." Researching this entrepreneurial venture involved library and internet searches. It also encompassed seeking the advice of friends, bankers, other entrepreneurs, buisness advisers, and professors. Research was conducted and a 36-page business plan prepared for "A Shade of Swaby" in Human Sciences 452: Fashion Enreprenneurship in fall 2012. The plan included an exclusive …

Effects Of Changes In Temperature On Mechanical Behavior Of Bulk Metallic Glasses And Bmg Composites, Jessica A. Booth, S. Mohsen Seifi, John J. Lewandowski

Student Scholarship

Fracture and fracture toughness behavior of Zr-based metallic glass composites were investigated while varying test temperature. Samples were tested in tension and three-point bending to determine the effect of temperature change on the tensile strength, ductility, fracture toughness and fracture surface appearance. Significant effects of changes in the test temperature were observed. Fracture surface observations showed ductile and brittle features which were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques.

2013-04-05 General Education Council Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

General Education Council meeting minutes from April 5, 2013.

2013-04-04 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes for April 4, 2013.

2013-04-02 Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes for April 2, 2013.

The Comprehensive Soldier And Family Fitness Program Evaluation. Report #4: Evaluation Of Resilience Training And Mental And Behavioral Health Outcomes, Peter D. Harms, Mitchel Herian, Dina V. Krasikova, Adam J. Vanhove, Paul B. Lester

P. D. Harms Publications

The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the effectiveness of Master Resilience Training, which is a pillar of the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2) program. The report evaluates the relationship between resilience training and diagnoses for mental health or substance abuse problems and whether this relationship was mediated by Soldiers’ self-reported resilience/ psychological health (R/PH). In other words, we tested whether Soldiers with MRT trainers in their units experienced increases in self-reported R/PH, and whether increases in self-reported R/PH were associated with reduced odds of Soldiers receiving diagnoses for mental health or substance abuse problems.

The results revealed …

Corporate Evolution: From Ngos And Social Enterprises To ‘Good Companies’, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Frequently seen as an alternative to the realities of hardcore corporate life, social entrepreneurship and its emphasis on giving back to society after a life of abundance, may well become a thing of the past, along with Non Government Organisations (NGOs), which often act as watchdogs of corporate and government policy and practice. Both will likely transition into and underpin new ‘good companies’. At least that’s the view of leading Singapore social entrepreneur, Jack Sim, the founder of the World Toilet Organisation (WTO).

The Future Of International Trade: Sustainability Is Key, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

What can multinational companies do to ensure that international trade flourishes in years to come? Gerry Craggs, the Far East managing director of steel trading company Stemcor, says that companies like his need to focus on developing sustainable trading policies rather than immediate gain. "Sustainable trading is not driven by short term profit but by providing optimal medium and long-term supply chain solutions that benefit all participants," he told Perspectives@SMU on the sidelines of the 5th anniversary celebration of the university’s International Trade Institute (ITI). Craggs is also Chair of the International Trading Concentration Sub-Committee at the institute that consists …

The Influence Of Enterprise Systems On Business And Information Technology, D. Lance Revenaugh, Ph.D., Myles M. Muretta

Business & Information Technology

Business strategy is important to all organizations. Nearly all Fortune 500 firms are implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to improve the execution of their business strategy and to improve integration with its information technology (IT) strategy. Successful implementation of these multi-million dollar software systems are requiring new emphasis on change management and on Business and IT strategic alignment. This paper examines business and IT strategic alignment and seeks to explore whether an ERP implementation can drive business process reengineering and business and IT strategic alignment. An overview of business strategy and strategic alignment are followed by an analysis of …

Contextualising Csr In Asia: Corporate Social Responsibility In Asian Economies, Bindu Sharma

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

This publication seeks to present a narrative about the practice of CSR in ten Asian economies – China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The aim is to present a uniquely Asian perspective on the CSR story in these countries that will inform CSR practitioners, researchers and interested corporate stakeholders. Drawing on historical and traditional notions of business responsibility and engagement, the research looks at modern day drivers of CSR in these countries such as the government, civil society, globalisation and enlightened self-interest. The research also throws light on other underlying influences and looks at …

Supply Chain "Mega-Trends": Current Status And Future Trends, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

The supply chain management (SCM) concept has become embedded in the thinking of many organisations in recent years. Originally introduced by management consultants in the early 1980s, SCM has a strong focus on integration of processes across functions within firms, as well as between the organisations that comprise the wider extended enterprise. There is a significant body of research to support the notion that the consistent delivery of value to customers is predicated on higher levels of intra-firm and inter-firm integration. Putting the supply chain integration (SCI) concept into practice is critically dependent on the ability of firms to manage …

Improving Non-Profit Organizations: Mon Ami, Dylan Yang, Kevin Diaz, Santos Miletes, Robert Tonucci

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

For our Collaborative Learning Program winter term group project, we completed community service at Mon Ami [1] and Service by going to the non-profit every Friday to help the teachers in the day care center. While we were there, our group made observations about the non-profit organization. At the end of the community service experience, our group constructed solutions for the problems we discovered at the non-profit organization and recommended ways to implement these solutions. Our research results were presented to our CLP professors in written form and as a formal presentation.

[1 ]The organization's name has been changed due …

Rhody's Run For Dana-Farber 5k, Bryan P. Poston, Mark Albanese

Senior Honors Projects

The event itself was designed to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. In the early stages of the project, it was clear that a charity event would have the largest impact both on our experiential learning as well as the community as a whole. Dana-Farber was selected as the events beneficiary due to their impressive contributions to cancer research worldwide. While the success of the project isn't solely determined by charitable contributions we collected, it provided a form of measurement of progress throughout the semester. With the goal of simultaneously promoting student health, the event was organized …

Imsa360: Spring 2013, Imsa Fund

IMSA Fund Reports

Having recently announced my retirement from IMSA, I am writing my last letter for IMSA360 to share my appreciation and admiration for the engagement and support of the entire IMSA community, which includes each and every reader of this publication. During the past six years, our collaborative work has produced some exceptional results as evidenced by our students’ success in national and international competitions, publications, presentations and leadership conferences. In addition, other highlights include our institutional recognition- especially the 2009 Intel Star Innovator Award-our growing donor base, the expansion of programs and services for Illinois students and teachers, a growing …

2013 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International