Business Commons^™

Dynamic Entrepreneurial Networks: An Investigation Of Entrepreneurs, New Ventures And Their Networks, Diane Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurs need resources to organize new venture offerings into marketplace-acceptable forms. Entrepreneurs use others' assistance via networks to obtain these resources. Research indicates that firms face resource dependencies, that likely change over time, where they must respond to those controlling resources. Although some work has investigated implications of new ventures' networks at one time period, little work has investigated the dynamic nature and associated outcomes of networks as they change due to different resource requirements as the venture develops. This research examines the dynamic nature of networks, due different resource requirements over time, and how these changes impact entrepreneurial outcomes …

Relation-Specific Capabilities And Barriers To Knowledge Transfers: Creating Advantage Through Network Relationships, Jeffrey H. Dyer, Nile W. Hatch

Faculty Publications

This study examines the role of network knowledge resources in influencing firm performance. More specifically: Can a firm that uses the identical supplier network as competitors and purchases similar inputs from the same plants achieve a competitive advantage through that network? In a sample of U.S. automotive suppliers selling to both Toyota and U.S. automakers, we found that greater knowledge sharing on the part of Toyota resulted in a faster rate of learning within the suppliers’ manufacturing operations devoted to Toyota. Indeed, from 1990 to 1996 suppliers reduced defects by 50 percent for Toyota vs. only 26 percent for their …

Project Management Issues In It Offshore Outsourcing, Kathy Schwaig, Stephen Gillam, Elke M. Leeds

Faculty Articles

Global partnerships are forming to take advantage of the cost savings associated with offshoring as well as other strategic benefits. Not all information technology offshoring projects, however, are successful. Cost overruns, increased complexity and defective code cause organizations to rethink their offshoring strategy and their methods for managing these projects. In this paper, project management issues associated with offshore information technology outsourcing projects are identified and specific recommendations for addressing these issues are presented.

Radio Frequency Identification Technology: Applications, Technical Challenges And Strategies, Suhong Li, John K. Visich, Basheer M. Khumawala, Chen Zhang

Management Department Faculty Journal Articles

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technology behind RFID systems, identify the applications of RFID in various industries, and discuss the technical challenges of RFID implementation and the corresponding strategies to overcome those challenges.

Design/methodology/approach - Comprehensive literature review and integration of the findings from literature. Findings - Technical challenges of RFID implementation include tag cost, standards, tag and reader selection, data management, systems integration and security. The corresponding solution is suggested for each challenge.

Research limitations/implications - A survey type research is needed to validate the results.

Practical implications - This research offers useful …

Potential Added Value Of Psychological Capital In Predicting Work Attitudes, Milan Larson, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Meeting the challenge of effectively managing human resources requires new thinking and approaches. To extend the traditional perspective of economic capital, increasing recognition is being given to human capital and more recently social capital, this article proposes and empirically tests the potential added value that psychological capital may have for employee attitudes of satisfaction and commitment. After first providing the background and theory of PsyCap, this article reports a study of manufacturing employees (N = 74) that found a significant relationship between PsyCap and job satisfaction (r=.373) and organization commitment (r=.313). Importantly, the employees’ PsyCap had a significant added impact …

“The Management Of Creativity”, Managing The Creative Mind: A Business Elective, Peter A. Maresco, John Gerlach

WCBT Faculty Publications

The immediate problem facing the authors was replacing someone with the background and stature of Joseph Abboud with an individual or, as it eventually worked out, four individuals with differing creative backgrounds and levels of success that would be of benefit to the students (in the spring 2006 semester the course was offered to undergraduate business students) enrolled in the course. Replacing Abboud proved to be not as difficult as the authors originally imagined. Within a period of three weeks, four individuals with diverse backgrounds in film, music, sports entertainment, and entrepreneurship were identified and agreed to take part in …

Corporate Governance, Public Accounting Firm And Multinational Corporation: The Us Sox Act Perspective, Marc Massoud, Eunsup Daniel Shim

WCBT Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to review US corporate governance systems and to highlight the mandated roles of audit committee and external auditor within the SOX Act. In addition, it discusses requirements and implications of the SOX Act for the foreign accounting firms and multinational corporations. Finally this paper provides a perspective on improvement of corporate governance and financial integrity. In order to regain trust from the financial market, the SOX Act mandates (1) to improve auditor’s independence by reducing conflicts of interest; (2) to increase corporate financial reporting responsibility by requiring a CEO or a CFO certify accuracy …

A Double-Edged Sword: Organizational Culture In Multicultural Organizations, Mary G. Trefry

WCBT Faculty Publications

The primary premise explored in this paper is that organizational culture has the potentialfor even greater impact in multicultural organizations than mono-cultural ones because an organization's culture can intensify both the benefits and the challenges of employee cultural diversity, and thus indirectly, affect organizational performance, organizational learning and competitive advantage. The assumptions underlying this contention and relationships among variables that contribute to the impact are explored in this paper, along with practical organizational implications.

This study analyzes the dimensions of the 'vitality of development' of banking systems. Fuzzy synthetic decision analysis was used to construct and evaluate an index of …

World Wrestling Entertainment: Achieving Continued Growth And Market Penetration Through International Expansion, Joshua Shuart, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is best known for its promotion of professional wrestling as sports entertainment. Today, World Wrestling Entertainment is an integrated media and entertainment company principally engaged in the development, production, and marketing of television programming, pay-per-view programming, and live events, and the licensing and sale of branded consumer products featuring the highly successful World Wrestling entertainment brand. As the WWE brand continues to grow, a strategic decision has been made to place a greater emphasis on the expansion of the WWE brand globally. This paper will present an overview of WWE from its beginnings as the WWWF …

Is Support For Strategic Flexibility, Environmental Dynamism, And Firm Performance, Michael J. Zhang

WCBT Faculty Publications

Increasingly, strategic flexibility has been viewed as a critical organizational competency that enables firms to achieve and maintain competitive advantage and superior performance. In this study, the relationship between IS support for strategic flexibility and the bottom-line performance of firms is investigated, as well as the moderating effects of environmental dynamism on that relationship. Using both survey and archival data, IS support for strategic flexibility was positively associated with profitability and labor productivity only when there was a high degree of environmental changes and uncertainty.

Family Acculturation, Family Leisure Involvement, And Family Functioning Among Mexican-Americans, Owen D. Christenson, Ramon B. Zabriskie, Dennis L. Eggett, Patti A. Freeman

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between acculturation and family leisure involvement and aspects of family functioning ( cohesion and adaptability) from Mexican-American parent, youth, and family perspectives. Acculturation was measured using the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (BAS), family leisure involvement was measured using the Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP), and family functioning was measured using the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES II). The sample was obtained from communities in Texas and Utah and consisted of 74 Mexican-American families, including a parent and child from each family. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, the …

Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction And Customer Loyalty In Consumer Electronics E-Tailers: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Kuang-Wen Wu

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL scales have been successfully tested in a study by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Malhotra (2005). However, E-S-QUAL and E-RecS­ QUAL are newly developed and lack specific application to different types of e-business. This non-experimental, correlational study is the first to examine and explore the relationships among electronic service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty for consumer electronics e-tailers.

Using quota and snowball sampling, participants from the continental United States received e-mail invitations and voluntarily forwarded the e-mail invitations to their friends and family. A total of 276 participants completed the online survey. This study's demographic characteristics included …

Body Image And Beliefs About Appearance: Constraints On The Leisure Of College-Age And Middle-Agewomen, Toni Liechty, Patti A. Freeman, Ramon B. Zabriskie

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body image, beliefs about appearance, and leisure constraints for college-age women and their mothers. The Body-Image Assessment Scale, the Beliefs About Appearance Scale, and a hierarchical leisure constraints scale were used to assess body image concerns, and leisure constraints. A convenience sample of 116 female students at a private American university and 76 of their mothers was utilized. Multiple regression and t-tests were used to analyze the data. Findings suggested that body image and beliefs about appearance pose leisure constraints for college-age and middle-age women. Findings also suggested that …

Dynamic Pricing Through Discounts For Optimizing Multiple Class Demand Fulfillment, Qing Ding, Panos Kouvelis, Joseph M. Milner

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a multiple-customer-class model of demand fulfillment for a single item, we consider the use of dynamic price discounts to encourage backlogging of demand for customer classes denied immediate service. Customers are assumed to arrive over several stages in a period, and customer classes are distinguished by their contractual price and sensitivity to discounts. Through dynamic programming we determine the optimal discounts to offer, assuming a linear model for the sensitivity of customers to such inducements. We show that customers are served in class order, and allocation of inventory to demand is determined by considering the current number of customers …

Female Entrepreneurship: An Analysis Of Factors Encouraging And Discouraging Female Entrepreneurship In The United States, Katie Patterson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Comparative Study Of Performance Appraisals And The Implication For Management Practices, Sekou D. Bangura

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Closing The "Equity Gap" In Startup/Seed Investment For Ict Ventures (Israeli Experience), Jimmy Schwarzkopf

Student Scholarship

In Israel\, an innovative program called Entrepreneur/ Executive in Residency (EIR) was initiated by venture capital firms to increase the probability that ICT startup/seed ventures will be funded. EIR programs help VCs to maintain 6%-10% of their portfolio (measured in invested dollars per year) in ventures in the startup/seed stage. This research\, based on qualitative interviews with Israeli VC executives and entrepreneurs who participate in EIR programs\, promotes understanding about how EIR programs work to increase the perceived confidence coefficient of the VC partners until it overcomes the “equity gap” that exists in assessing startup/seed entrepreneurial deals. Variant types of …

Hybridizing Discrete- And Continuous-Time Models For Batch Sizing And Scheduling Problems, Siqun Wang, Monique Guignard

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper proposes a new hybrid technique called partial parameter uniformization (hereafter PPU). The technique simplifies problems by ignoring the different values that certain problem parameters can take, which may facilitate the solution of some hard combinatorial optimization problems. PPU is applied to complex batch sizing and scheduling problems. Some information can be obtained from a discrete-time model in which job durations have been made uniform. This information is then exploited by a more detailed continuous-time model to generate feasible solutions and further improve these solutions. Good, or optimal solutions to the Westenberger and Kallrath Benchmark problems have been obtained …

An Exploration Of Theories Of Action In Leadership Development: A Case Study, Scott J. Allen

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The central purpose of the present study was to examine how academic notions of leadership development compare and contrast with the theory of action that guides corporate leadership development initiatives. A secondary purpose was to analyze the process and potential extensions of the user-focused theory of action approach. Initial findings suggest that the user-focused theory of action approach is transferable to the case studied. In addition, an analysis of the leadership development literature and the Frontline Leadership Excellence System yielded a thought-provoking comparison of theory and practice. The study also provided an analysis of literature gaps and useful suggestions regarding …

How Sales Executives Can Avoid Accounting Fraud Allegations, Mark S. Beasley, Dana R. Hermanson

Faculty Articles

Is accounting fraud only a concern for CEOs and financial executives? This article discusses recent cases in which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Sales Vice Presidents for their role in accounting fraud. The authors offer suggestions to help sales executives steer clear of accounting fraud allegations.

Evaluating Support Services For African American Females At A Historically Black College, Sabrina Ferguson Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of the Women’s Resources Assistance Program (WRAP), a support service for African American females attending a historically black college or university (HBCU). The study included 230 participants. The purpose of the study was to gauge, through the use of surveys, each participant’s knowledge and level of participation in the WRAP.

The participants were issued questionnaires and interview forms to complete during the study. The questionnaires contained 11 closed-ended questions that were designed to determine the participating students’ attitude towards WRAP as well as their level of participation. Similarly, oral interviews were conducted to ascertain the …

Port Community Learning Needs: Analysis And Design, Edward Sweeney, Pietro Evangelista

Articles

The port industry is facing a dramatic wave of changes that have transformed the structure of the
industry. Modern seaports are increasingly shifting from a “hardware-based” approach towards “knowhow intensive” configuration. In this context knowledge resources, learning processes and training initiatives increasingly represent key elements to guarantee the quality of service supplied and hence the competitiveness of modern seaport communities. This paper describes the learning needs analysis conducted amongst key port community actors in three ports in the south east of Ireland during 2005 in the context of the I-Sea.Net project. It goes on to describe the learning requirements report …

Strategies For Designing And Implementing Knowledge Management Systems: An Interpretive Case Study Of Two Western Australian House-Building Firms, Geoffrey David Wilson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Knowledge management is a relatively new concept that has received substantial attention in the academic and industry literature particularly in the information systems field. Proponents of knowledge management argue that it has been driven by the desire of organisations for greater innovation, cost reduction and process improvements (Wilson. Jackson & Smith 2003). Little research, though, has been conducted from a knowledge management perspective into how Western Australian house-building enterprises develop and implement information systems. The WA house-building industry forms part of the wider building and construction community. Most construction firms are small to-medium-sized enterprises that differ from large organisations in …

A Dyadic Composition To Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study, Gamze Karayaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design.

This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication …

The Influence Of Issue Management Upon Public Relationships In A Changing Environment: How John Charles Mcquaid, Roman Catholic Archbishop Of Dublin (1940-72) Managed The Issue Of The Second Vatican Council From 1959 To 1972 And The Extent, If Any, To Which This Influenced Change In The Public Relationships Between Archbishop, Diocesan Priests And Laity, Francis Xavier Carty

Doctoral

This research examines the influence of issue management upon public relationships in a changing environment. The example chosen is the management of the Second Vatican Council, from 1959 to 1972 by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and the public relationships are those between archbishop, diocesan priests and laity. Public relations theories on issue management, publics and relationship management are applied to a religious context, one where relationships may be distorted by the religious faith, authority and obedience on which they are based and which is different to the commercial business environment within which they were framed. The methodology is …

Bar Raising Or Navel-Gazing?:The Effectiveness Of Self-Study Programmes In Eading To Improvements In Institutional Performance, Deirdre Lillis

Conference papers

Higher Education Institutes worldwide are investing significant resources in self study programmes to improve institutional performance, to enhance quality and to meet external stakeholder demands. The institutional impacts of both internally and externally mandated self study programmes is an area where little empirical research exists. A key question is whether self study programmes are effective (or otherwise) in leading to improvements in institutional performance and the reasons why. Covering an eight year period, from 1997–2006, this paper reports on the use of systematic evaluation methodology (Rossi et al., 2003) to evaluate the effectiveness of three self study programmes in leading …

The Research Of New Problems In Management Of Regional Ports In China, Jie Zhang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Crm And Scm Principles In Volkswagen, Yao Lei Wang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Study Of Six Sigma Management Applied To Chinese Shipping Companies, Yang Xiaodan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Towards Cooperation And Capacity-Building : An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Approach For The Yangtze River Delta, Yinglei Zhao

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.