Business Commons^™

Project Managers' Strategies For Megaproject Success, Nkenamchi Benedict Oputa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Africa, most oil and gas megaprojects exceed their original budget and time deadlines despite advancement in project management processes and systems. This study explored strategies project managers used for megaprojects' success in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, from the perspectives of the owner and contractor organizations. Multiple case study design was utilized to collect data by asking open-ended questions in separate interviews with 4 project managers. Archival project data was also reviewed to eliminate information incongruences. The conceptual framework for the study is the contingency theory that there is no universal management structure for every project. The …

Manufacturing Managers' Leadership Efficacy In The Context Of Reduced Union Influence, James Richard Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore whether manufacturing managers had the skills needed to lead union members whose unions have less influence than in the past. Leaders of manufacturing firms can strengthen the relationship between manufacturing managers and union members through positive and effective leadership. Providing union members with leadership can improve cooperation, reduce problem-solving time, and increase productivity through efficiency. The conceptual framework for this study was transformational leadership theory. Data collection involved conducting 20 semi structured interviews with participants affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the Toledo, Ohio, area. The participants (9 manufacturing …

An Organizational Attachment Model: Lmx-Social Comparison, Job Embeddedness And Psychological Ownership, Saul R. Valdiviezo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between employees' comparisons of relationship quality with their leader (LMXSC) and attitudinal workplace outcomes. Building on the theoretical principle of LMXSC, I postulate that job embeddedness mediates the relationship between perceived relationship quality and psychological ownership. Additionally, I examine the effects of overall organizational justice to understand how environmental variables impact our attachment model. Our results indicate that LMXSC is an important determinant of psychological ownership and job satisfaction and that job embeddedness mediates these relationships. I examine the proposed model with 471 employees from 37 organizations. The results show partial support for the proposed …

A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Age, Gender, And Burnout In Public Accounting Professionals In A United States National Firm, Jamie Stowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Scholars and practitioners agree burnout is a significant problem plaguing the public accounting industry. Burnout is a condition that results from long periods of excessive strain on personal resources, and is often found in public accounting professionals due to the high stress and deadline-driven environment. As the causes for burnout are better understood, the focus has turned to why some individuals are more likely to burnout than others. Identifying who has a tendency to burnout can only help in the quest for solutions. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to test the theoretical framework of Maslach and Jackson …

Exploring The Lives Of Women Who Lead, Susan Cloninger

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Scholars have identified various reasons for the underrepresentation of women in the upper echelons of organizations.This study used grounded theory methodology enhanced by situational analysis to explore how American women at senior levels in large organizational contexts engage and negotiate the totality of their situation.Utilizing a predominately White, married, middle to upper class, heterosexual sample, this study sought to understand how women create and consign meaning around their experiences; how they experience the fluidity and boundaries of multiple identities; and how they experience the entanglement of macro, meso, and micro societal forces.It explores relationships among factors participants named as influential …

Asset Management Support Tools To Assist Agencies In The Development Of Guardrail Preservation Programs, Sandra N. Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this Thesis is to develop a Guardrail Asset Management Framework and a Condition-Based Model to assist agencies in the development of guardrail preservation programs. Both of the guardrail asset management tools can be incorporated into an existing asset management program to assist agencies in utilizing guardrail inventory to forecast key asset management parameters such as the guardrail condition, funds necessary for maintenance and repair, backlogged funding, guardrail system value, and the guardrail sustainability ratio. Each of these parameters is described and determined for a case study involving six scenarios modeling funding and maintenance constraints that can arise …

Two Essays On Social Sharing Effects On Consumer Memories, Li Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Social sharing is universal in everyday life. Every day consumers share news, opinions, and personal experiences using different media, including face-to-face communications, cellphones, texting, email, and other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). Word-of-Mouth, a common type of social sharing has been found to be fundamental to marketing and has been shown to significantly impact firms’ sales and revenues. However little is known about the effects of WOM on consumer memories. Since consumer memory is an important variable in marketing due to its significant impact on consumer judgments and decisions, my dissertation addresses this gap and examines the effects of …

Multinational Foreign Affiliates In The Least Developed Countries: A Multilevel Approach, R. Scott Hibbs

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have examined the country-level effects on multinational enterprises that go into the developing countries, including the least developed countries. Few studies have considered the firm-level effects. This study uses the multilevel modeling method as outlined by Klein and Kozlowski (2000), Raudenbush and Bryk (2002), and Bliese and Hanges (2004) to examine whether there are any systemic patterns of multinational enterprises across the least developed countries. This paper uses information on foreign affiliates in the least developed countries to examine the overall trends of multinational firms in the least developed countries. Using data from the United Nations’ most recent …

Toward A Theory Of Full Life Cycle Recruiters, Michael C. Campion

Theses and Dissertations

Despite their operational and strategic importance to their firms, recruiters remain virtually invisible within management scholarship today. In this dissertation, I draw on research from a variety of theoretical perspectives and use role theory as a foundation for developing a theory intended to generate insight into the major individual, social, and contextual factors that underpin their behavior and performance. I define full life cycle recruiters as quasi-agentic brokers of resources among parties internal and external to a firm who operate at the intersection of social systems, are involved in recruiting, assessment, and onboarding processes, and adopt multiple micro roles with …

The Effect Of Social Exclusion On Shoplifting, Christopher Ling

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of social exclusion on shoplifting. Shoplifting is a serious problem for marketers, yet surprisingly little attention in the literature has been paid to its underlying social factors. The current research therefore seeks to document conditions under which, and the process through which, consumers may engage in aggressive behavior in the form of shoplifting. Supporting the proposition that shoplifting is an antisocial response to social exclusion that depends on prior shoplifting experience, four studies provide evidence that prior shoplifters (vs. nonshoplifters) are more likely to shoplift again when they are socially excluded because they expect that …

Three Essays On Privatization, State Ownership, And Corporate Policies, Ruiyuan Chen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of state ownership on corporate policies in the context of privatization. The first essay provides new evidence about the agency costs of state ownership on corporate cash holdings and new insight into the corporate governance role of country-level institutions. Consistent with agency theory, we find strong and robust evidence that state ownership is positively related to corporate cash holdings. Moreover, we find that the strength of country-level institutions affects the relation between state ownership and the value of cash holdings. In particular, as state ownership increases, markets discount the value of cash holdings more in …

Organizational Learning From Failure: Present Theory And Future Inquiries, Vinit M. Desai, David Maslach, Peter Madsen

Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews past and present theoretical perspectives on organizational learning from failure. We begin by describing the organizational learning process and what it means to learn through failure. We outline and describe several challenges for future research: (1) Why do some organizations fail to learn from failures? (2) Why do some organizations fail again after learning from failures? (3) How do some organizations prevent other organizations from learning vicariously through their failures? (4) How can organizations learn from near failures? and (5) How can organizations learn from hypothetical failures? In sum, we hope this chapter motivates and inspires researchers …

ปัจจัยที่มีผลกระทบต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากของร้านอาหารบนเฟซบุ๊ก, ชาญฤทธิ์ คงธนารัตน์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ปัจจุบันความนิยมการใช้งานเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์สูงขึ้น (เช่น เฟซบุ๊ก) ส่งผลให้รูปแบบการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปาก (WOM) เกิดความเปลี่ยนแปลง เกิดการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากบนอินเทอร์เน็ตรูปแบบใหม่ (eWOM) ที่เพิ่มมิติด้านความสัมพันธ์ของผู้รับสารและผู้ส่งสาร จุดประสงค์ของการศึกษานี้เพื่อที่จะศึกษาปัจจัยที่ส่งผลต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของ eWOM บนเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์และการนำข้อมูลจาก eWOM ไปใช้ แบบจำลองการชักจูงสองทางถูกใช้ในการวิเคราะห์ความโน้มน้าวของสาร การศึกษานี้เลือกเฟซบุ๊กเป็นตัวแทนเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์ การเก็บข้อมูลทำโดยใช้แบบสอบถามออนไลน์และออฟไลน์ตามสัดส่วนสถิติประชากรศาสตร์ของผู้ใช้เฟซบุ๊กในประเทศไทย จากนั้นจึงใช้การวิเคราะห์เส้นทางโดยใช้โปรแกรม SPSS และ SMARTPLS 3.0 ตามลำดับ ผลการศึกษาพบว่าตัวแปรที่ส่งผลต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือสูงสุดคือความน่าเชื่อถือของแหล่งข้อมูล ถัดมาคือคะแนนของบทวิจารณ์ ความแข็งแรงของข้อมูล และความสอดคล้องของบทวิจารณ์ ตามลำดับ ผลการศึกษายังช่วยยืนยันการศึกษาในอดีตว่า หากผู้บริโภครับรู้ว่าบทวิจารณ์มีความน่าเชื่อถือก็มีแนวโน้มที่จะนำข้อมูลไปใช้ สุดท้าย Post Hoc Analysis พบว่าระดับความเกี่ยวพันมีส่วนในการควบคุมผลของความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างตัวแปรบางตัว (ทั้งสองประเภท) ต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากบนอินเทอร์เน็ต

The Value Of A Master’S Degree To Recreation Professionals, Camilla J. Hodge, Brian J. Hill, Christian Brinton

Faculty Publications

This study assessed the nature of the relationship between earning advanced degrees and career outcomes such as salary, job satisfaction, social capital, and human capital among professionals in the parks and recreation field. The sample (n = 196) was drawn from parks and recreation agencies located in the United States. Agencies, excluding educational institutions, were identified via an Internet search for parks and recreation agencies in urban areas. Findings indicated there was a positive relationship between earning a master’s degree and salary. Earning a master’s degree, however, was not significantly related to job satisfaction, social capital, or human capital. Furthermore, …

Network Carriers’ Strategic Decision With Low Cost Carrier Entry, Tamilla Curtis

Publications

Good decisions require that each decision-maker accurately predicts the strategic moves of the other parties. Dealing with prospective low-cost carrier (LCC) entrants is critical for global network airlines. This research focused on two main issues. First, it investigates competitive reaction by established US airlines when they face an LCC entrant in the less congested, small-sized US regional airports. Second, it examines which of the market indicators are most likely to influence airline fares out of small regional airports with the LCC entry. While the first stage of research demonstrated mixed results and did not discover any patterns in airline behaviour …

The Contextual Impact Of Innovation And Operational Spillovers On Firm Performance, Cherry Singhal

Theses and Dissertations

Extant literature across various research disciplines has investigated the influence of a firm’s technological innovation on its performance. However, the findings on this relationship remain inconclusive as it is subject to many strategic and environmental factors. In this dissertation, the relationship between a firm’s technological innovation and performance is evaluated. Additionally, this relationship is examined in the presence of various contextual factors.

In the first study, meta-analysis is utilized to quantitatively aggregate existing empirical research in this domain. Cultural and institutional aspects of the nation in which the firm operates are examined for their potential in explaining variability within the …

Institutional Brokerage And The Governance Of Global Value Chains: The Case Of The Us Apparel Industry., Alessandro Perri

Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study of the apparel industry, I analyze the governance of buyersupplier interfaces in outsourced global value chains through an institutional theory lens. I set forth that transactional and relational cross-national barriers, linked to institutional distance between home and host country in outsourced production networks, and supplier capabilities are key determinants of variations in the governance mode chosen by lead buyers for their outsourced value chain. I further posit that lead buyers respond to the additional costs imposed by home–host country institutional distance and by structural supplier capability constraints, by means of governance modes that provide institutional brokerage, …

Leading Change In Complex Systems: A Paradigm Shift, Cheryl Lemaster

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study is an in-depth exploration of the experiences of 20 executive-level leaders from American corporations, government agencies, hospitals, and universities.At the heart of this investigation are stories that reveal the challenge of leading change in complex systems from the leader perspective, creating an opportunity to explore sense-making and sense-giving as guided by individual values and organizational contexts.Complexity Science, the framework for this research, is the study of relationships within and among systems.The aim of approaching this research from a complexity perspective is to gain a more realistic view of the issues and challenges that leaders face during change, …

Design Thinker Profile: Creating And Validating A Scale For Measuring Design Thinking Capabilities, Dani Chesson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study developed a scale for assessing design thinking capabilities in individuals. Many organizations today are turning to design thinking to tackle the complex challenges they face. As organizations move toward adopting this way of working the need to develop design thinking capabilities in individuals becomes imperative. The capabilities needed for engaging in design thinking are skills that we all have to some varying degree, but we do not all use them to their full potential when solving problems. The scale developed in this study measures the degree to which an individual uses design thinking capabilities when engaged in problem …

Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ingratiation is a deceptive, psychological tactic subordinates use to convince their supervisors to treat them better than other subordinates. Subordinate ingratiation is relatively well-known, but the concept of a manager promoting and encouraging ingratiative behaviors to subordinates is less common and seen as uncommonly deceptive. Little is known about how managers feel about ingratiation why any manager would encourage it. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in management positions percieve manager-encouraged ingratiation. Research questions addressed how people in management positions might respond to a scenario wherein a manager encouraged a subordinate employee to act out ingratiation. …

Influence Of Succession Planning On Knowledge Transfer, Robinson Ejakpomewhe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem was the lack of effective succession planning strategies to facilitate the transfer of technical expertise from retiring employees to younger employees. A rebound of oil exploration activities in Nigeria would adversely affect the drilling sector due to lack of preparation and succession planning to meet the demand for technical expertise. The purpose of this case study was to explore how a succession planning program contributes to knowledge transfer and development of expertise for business continuity and prevents loss of knowledge in the oil-drilling sector in Nigeria. Twenty-four participants from one oil-drilling contractor in Nigeria participated in the study. …

Assessing The Influence Of Smart Mobile Devices On How Employees Work, Adam L. Gorski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The smart mobile device market penetration reached 50% and has been increasing an average of 39% per year in the United States. More than 70% of the smart mobile device owners use such devices for personal and work activities. The problem was the lack of management's understanding of the effect smart mobile device use has on how employees work when they are in the office, while traveling, or during the off-hours to improve productivity and customer service. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand why, when, and how employees used smart mobile devices. The transformational technology conceptual framework …

Exploring Which Leadership Styles Are Effective With Millennial Employees, Samuel Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers struggle with how to motivate the Millennial generation employee. Research that explores which leadership styles are effective with Millennial generation employees is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore what leadership styles are effective with Millennial employees, which led to a key research question: Which leadership styles facilitate employee motivation for the Millennial generation? The theoretical framework was based on the social learning, transformational leadership, and servant leadership theories, which were used to identify effective leadership styles. In the theoretical framework, different motivation theories were presented to establish the context in which motivation was discussed. This quantitative …

Clergy Academic Management Training In Non-Denominational Faith-Based Organizations, Patricia Anne Jenks-Greene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little research about how clerics manage and lead small to midsized non-denominational nonprofit organizations. The rate of clergy failures in non-denominational organizations has left many questions about what is needed to create organizational success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of clergy manager-leaders' management training in non-denominational organizations. Fourteen full-time clerics from Bloomingdale, Georgia, Rincon, Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The data analysis process involved the use of Edward and Welch's extension of Colaizzi's data analysis procedures, which resulted in the emergence of 4 themes. …

Aluminum Production Costs: A Comparative Case Study Of Production Strategy, Joseph Nloga Ndjebayi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Slumping world aluminum prices have energized some aluminum producers to institute strategies to reduce product costs. This multiple comparative case study explored the strategies used by 4 aluminum producers in Western Europe: 2 companies that have successfully reduced production costs and 2 companies that have not. Wicksteed's economic theory of production and production costs was the conceptual framework for this research. Data from the companies' strategic and industry reports and from interviews with 32 senior managers were analyzed using pattern finding and clustering, a recursive approach to data gathering and analysis established by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. Six themes emerged: …

Strategies For Mitigating Low-Cost Airlines' Passenger Complaints, Michael Jay Price

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that passenger complaints filed for the first quarter of 2015 were up 14.4% over the same period of the previous year. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies for mitigating low-cost airlines' passenger complaints. Porter's generic strategies provided the conceptual framework for this research study. Data were collected from 3 ground service managers employed by a low-cost airline in Florida using semistructured interview questions, direct observation, field notes, and review of the airline's website and public documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange …

A Complex Systems Simulation Study For Increasing Adaptive-Capacity, Kadambari Ram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Examination of empirical research confirmed that climate change is a complex problem of anthropological origin and revealed the need for a management framework to facilitate strategic decisions aimed at mitigating a rise in global temperatures of 2-°C linked to irresponsible and unsustainable business practices. The purpose of this simulation study was to develop a management framework of resilience, robustness, sustainability, and adaptive-capacity (RRSA) for organizations viewed as complex systems to address the current unsustainable state. As such, the evolutionary-RRSA prisoner's dilemma (PD) simulation was developed using an evolutionary game theory approach to agent based modeling and simulation, to generate data. …

An Inquiry Into Factors Of Leadership And Cohesion In Complex Teams, Jeffrey White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The external competitive environments and internal group dynamics of organizations are increasing in complexity resulting in new challenges for organizational leaders to improve performance in underperforming teams. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address what factors led to high-innovation outcomes in complex adaptive systems using a framework constructed from elements of complexity leadership theory and group dynamics research. An in-depth interviewing approach was used to collect data on the lived experience and meaning the participants attributed to their experiences regarding improved team performance. A total of 21 participants were selected from multiple business settings where their team experienced …

Effective Strategies Small Retail Leaders Use To Engage Employees, Dr. Janet Lynn Deskins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests that 70% of North American employees are disengaged in the workplace. Some small retail managers lack strategies for engaging employees. Using the employee engagement framework, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore successful strategies that small retail managers use to engage employees. The target population was small retail leaders, purposefully selected because of their success with engaging employees at an Orlando, Florida, company. Data collection was through face-to-face interviews with 5 leaders; and a review of archived organizational documents, including company memorandums, central email software, and online customer reviews through social media websites such as …

Strategic Leadership In Public Sector Administration In Nigeria, Joy Onyinye Eliogu-Anenih

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inefficiency in the public sector as a result of leadership ineptitude is said to have contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of Nigeria. This has led to the mismanagement of human and financial resources as well as contributed extensively to poor service delivery to the citizens. The research considered the critical role of public sector administration to the functionality of a society, noting that the major determinant for public sector success is leadership effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify how leadership ineffectiveness could be addressed in public sector administration in Nigeria and consider the implications of …