Business Commons^™

Automatic Enrollment With A 12 Percent Default Contribution Rate, Josh Beshears, Ruofei Guo, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, James J. Choi

Faculty Publications

We study a retirement savings plan with a default contribution rate of 12 percent of income, which is much higher than previously studied defaults. Twenty-five percent of employees had not opted out of this default 12 months after hire; a literature review finds that the corresponding fraction in plans with lower defaults is approximately one-half. Because only contributions above 12 percent were matched by the employer, 12 percent was likely to be a suboptimal contribution rate for employees. Employees who remained at the 12 percent default contribution rate had average income that was approximately one-third lower than would be predicted …

Land Prices And The Development Process, Henry J. Munneke, C. F. Sirmans, Barrett Slade

Faculty Publications

As lot area increases, it is commonly believed that land prices will increase at a nonconstant rate. In the case where the land price-area curve increases at a decreasing rate with respect to parcel area, it is believed the cost of subdividing land is the driving factor behind the concavity. This paper uses a unique data set to explore how the area elasticity of price changes over the development cycle as land moves from raw land to finished lots. The results show the area elasticity of price increases as parcels of land move through the phases of development. The results …

The Relationships Among Financial Literacy, Financial Behaviors, Financial Attitudes, And Homeownership Within Low-Moderate Income Households In Los Angeles County, Aliyu Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how financial literacy, financial capability, financial self-efficacy, and future time perspective affect the likelihood of low-moderate income (LMI) households in Los Angeles County owning a home and holding a mortgage. It draws on existing literature on financial literacy, financial capability, financial self-efficacy, future time perspective, and homeownership to develop a theoretical framework that identifies the factors that influence LMI households’ access to homeownership. Using secondary data merged from six surveys conducted by the University of Southern California (USC) Understanding America Study (UAS) from 2015 to 2022, it analyzes the relationships among financial literacy, financial behaviors, financial attitudes, …

On The Volatility And Market Inefficiency Of Bitcoin During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cesar C. Rufino

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing unprecedented economic downturn worldwide. As it wreaks havoc on every aspect of global economic activities, stakeholders are wondering how its impact can be quantified to craft viable responses. In the exotic field of cryptocurrencies, prior to the pandemic, everyone was excited about Bitcoin and its multitude of potentials. However, a day after COVID-19 was officially announced by the World Health Organization as a pandemic, the rate of return to Bitcoin dropped by an unheard-of one-day decline of -46.5%, and people started to rethink the prospects of Bitcoin. A day after this steep decline, Bitcoin …

Dynamic Connectedness In The Asean’S Equity Markets During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yuthana Sethapramote, Suthawan Prukumpai, Lawrence B. Dacuycuy

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed shocks that triggered severe global economic contraction and spawned sizeable financial market fluctuations. This paper examines the dynamic connectedness between ASEAN stock markets and major global stock markets using the dynamic connectedness framework developed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2009, 2012). Empirical results reveal that ASEAN stock markets and other emerging markets have experienced higher spillovers from global equity markets during the pandemic than in normal times. In addition, the role of ASEAN region spillovers has increased significantly during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the extent of dynamic connectedness between …

A Sector Prioritization Index With Carbon Emission Intensity Considerations, Krista Danielle S. Yu, Christine Alyssa P. Solis, Viknesh Andiappan

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Globalization has influenced the production processes. The varying degree of regulation on carbon emissions has caused some economies to continue with their production practices which can cause them to miss their commitments to international organizations. Previous literature has developed prioritization and vulnerability indices for sectors that account for the socioeconomic metrics, but they were unable to integrate the environmental effects that sectors generate. This study proposed a sector prioritization index with carbon emission intensity considerations to include the environmental effects based on a

multiregional input-output model. The results show that electricity sectors, services sectors, transport sectors, and energy- intensive industries …

Nexus Of Innovation And Firm-Level Productivity: Evidence From Philippine Manufacturing Firms, Zandro M. Catacutan, Willington O. Onuh

DLSU Business & Economics Review

We examine firms’ propensity to engage in innovation activities and the impact of innovation on firm-level productivity in the Philippine manufacturing firms using comprehensive firm-level data from the 2015 World Bank Enterprise Survey. We use two main specifications: the probit model to assess firms’ propensity to innovate, and endogenous switching regression to evaluate the impact of innovation on productivity and address endogeneity issues. Our empirical findings suggest that the propensity of firms to engage in innovation is low and negatively affected by R&D intensity and capital intensity. We find evidence of beneficial effects for both product and process innovations on …

Presidential Economic Approval Rating And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Zilin Chen, Zhi Da, Dashan Huang, Liyao Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We construct a monthly presidential economic approval rating (PEAR) index from 1981 to 2019, by averaging ratings on the president’s handling of the economy across various national polls. In the cross-section, stocks with high betas to changes in the PEAR index significantly under-perform those with low betas by 1.00% per month in the future, on a risk-adjusted basis. The low PEAR beta premium persists up to one year, and is present in various sub-samples and even in other G7 countries. PEAR beta dynamically reveals a firm’s perceived alignment to the incumbent president’s economic policies and investors seem to misprice such …

Explaining Racial Disparities In Personal Bankruptcy Outcomes, Bronson Argyle, Sasha Indarte, Benjamin Iverson

Faculty Publications

We document substantial racial disparities in consumer bankruptcy outcomes and investigate the role of racial bias in contributing to these disparities. Using data on the near universe of US bankruptcy cases and deep-learning imputed measures of race, we show that Black filers are 21 and 3 percentage points (pp) more likely to have their bankruptcy cases dismissed without any debt relief in Chapters 13 and 7, respectively. We uncover strong evidence of racial homophily in Chapter 13: Black filers are 10 pp more likely to be dismissed when randomly assigned to a white bankruptcy trustee. To interpret our findings, we …

Fintech Lending With Lowtech Pricing, Mark J. Johnson, Itzhak Ben-David, Jason Lee, Vincent Yao

Faculty Publications

FinTech lending—known for using big data and advanced technologies—promised to break away from the traditional credit scoring and pricing models. Using a comprehensive dataset of FinTech personal loans, our study shows that loan rates continue to rely heavily on conventional credit scores, including 45% higher rates for nonprime borrowers. Other known default predictors are often neglected. Within each segment (prime/nonprime) loan rates are not very responsive to default risk, resulting in realized loan-level returns decreasing with risk. The pricing distortions result in substantial transfers from nonprime to prime borrowers and from low- to high-risk borrowers within segment.

Who Invests In Crypto? Wealth, Financial Constraints, And Risk Attitudes, Darren Aiello, Scott R. Baker, Tetyana Balyuk, Marco Di Maggio, Mark J. Johnson, Jason Kotter

Faculty Publications

We provide a first look into the drivers of household cryptocurrency investing. Analyzing consumer transaction data for millions of U.S. households, we find that, except for high income early adopters, cryptocurrency investors resemble the general population. These investors span all income levels, with most dollars coming from high-income individuals, similar to equity investors. High past crypto returns and personal income shocks lead to increased cryptocurrency investments. Higher household-level inflation expectations also correlate with greater crypto investments, aligning with hedging motives. For most U.S. households, cryptocurrencies are treated like traditional assets.

Machine Learning Techniques For Credit Card Fraud Detection, Amal Alamri

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Credit card fraudulent transactions are becoming an ever-growing problem in the financial market. There has been a rapid increase in the rate of fraudulent transactional activities in recent years producing considerable financial loss to many companies, organizations, and government agencies. These numbers are anticipated to increase in the near future and many scholars in this field are focused on detecting fraudulent transactions early on, using advanced Machine Learning techniques. However, credit card fraud transaction detection is not easy for two reasons: (I) fraudulent methods usually vary for each attempt, and (II) the dataset is extremely imbalanced with many more normal …

Strategies That Small And Medium-Size Business Owners Use To Repay Bank Loan Obligations In Lagos, Nigeria, Taiwo Bamikole Ala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of businesses to repay loans adversely affects credit markets. Small and medium-sized (SME) business owners in Lagos, Nigeria, are concerned because financial institutions are unwilling to provide credit because of the low loan repayment performance of those who have received credit in the past. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies some SME owners use to successfully repay bank loan obligations to sustain their businesses. The participants were three SME owners in Lagos, Nigeria, who successfully repaid their bank loans. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and …

Mortgage Broker Strategies To Overcome The Volatility Of Inconsistent Sales, Marissa Blackwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many mortgage brokers leave the mortgage industry because of unforeseen changes andvolatility. Mortgage brokers are concerned with adequate strategies to mitigate industry volatility and inconsistent sales, which is important to successful sustainability during challenging times. Grounded in relationship marketing theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies seven mortgage brokers from a single organization used to sustain sales during volatile times. Data were collected using semistructured interviews by telecommunication, a reflective journal, LinkedIn, Facebook, and broker websites. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: maintaining a presence with new and existing clients, understanding client needs, …

Mortgage Broker Strategies To Overcome The Volatility Of Inconsistent Sales, Marissa Blackwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many mortgage brokers leave the mortgage industry because of unforeseen changes andvolatility. Mortgage brokers are concerned with adequate strategies to mitigate industry volatility and inconsistent sales, which is important to successful sustainability during challenging times. Grounded in relationship marketing theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies seven mortgage brokers from a single organization used to sustain sales during volatile times. Data were collected using semistructured interviews by telecommunication, a reflective journal, LinkedIn, Facebook, and broker websites. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: maintaining a presence with new and existing clients, understanding client needs, …

Small Business Internal Control System Strategies To Protect Business Assets And Profitability, Edward Gabriel Earl Kuupualeialoha Keaunui

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The absence of financial expertise and internal control systems contributes to losing business assets and profitability. Small business leaders who lack internal control systems and strategies to protect against the financial loss of business assets and profitability may be vulnerable and suffer losses. Grounded in the Committee of the Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission (COSO) internal control-integrated framework, this qualitative multiple-case study explores internal control system strategies that small business leaders use to protect business assets and profitability. The participants were five small business leaders from the Western region of the United States who have successfully operated for over …

Firm Size As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Sustainability Practices And Organizational Performance In Banks, Abel Azuwueze Osuji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bank managers are facing increasing pressure to adopt sustainable finance models that address stakeholders' diverse interests. It is important to understand how ESG strategies relate to corporate financial performance (CFP) to facilitate the adoption by bank leaders. Grounded in the triple bottom line and stakeholder theories, the purpose of this ex-post facto study was to examine the relationship between sustainability practices and the CFP of banks within the contingency of firm size. Secondary data on 226 global banks were collected from the Sustainalytics and FitchConnect databases. The results of the moderated multiple regression analysis indicated the two full models comprising …

Exploring Strategies For Measuring Team Innovation In Small Financial Business, Kimberly Nicole Whitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small financial business leaders cannot maintain a competitive advantage without effectively measuring work team innovation. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to explore the strategies that small financial business leaders use to measure work team innovation to maintain a competitive advantage. The conceptual framework undergirding this study was Schumpeter’s innovation management theory. The research question asked what strategies small financial business leaders use to effectively measure work team innovation to maintain a competitive advantage. Interview data were collected from 15 small financial business leaders who employ less than 100 employees in Madison, Chester, Gibson, Henderson, and …

Community College Management Strategies For Balancing The Budgets, Rachel Ann Sullivan Dodson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During declining revenue, community college leaders may be unable to balance their budgets effectively. Community college managers who fail to balance budgets negatively impact a college’s financial sustainability. Grounded in Burn’s transactional leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies community college managers use to balance their budgets in an environment of declining revenue. Data were collected from eight semistructured community college manager interviews and company documents: enrollment data, budget data, performance-based funding model data, and the strategic plan. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four themes emerged: (a) budget alignment with …

Strategies Community Bank Managers Use To Address Rising Financial Regulations Compliance Costs, Therese Hortense Ngini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasing financial regulations compliance costs have the potential for adverse business outcomes for community banks. Community bank managers are concerned about increasing financial regulations compliance costs because it is the number one predictor of community banks’ failures. Grounded in the resources-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that community bank managers use to mitigate increasing financial regulations compliance costs. The participants were 10 community bank managers and senior staff of a community bank in Maryland who successfully mitigated increasing financial regulations compliance costs. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and reviewing the …

Nonprofit Leader Strategies For Revenue Growth And Financial Sustainability, William David Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit leaders must ceaselessly endeavor to become more entrepreneurial by accumulating strategies for growing organizational revenue and promoting financial sustainability when charitable contributions cannot fund their business operations. The failure to obtain charitable contributions can lead to nonprofit closure. Grounded in behavioral portfolio theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies a leader of a small Wisconsin nonprofit used to increase revenue and financial sustainability when charitable contributions were insufficient to finance business operations. Data collection included semistructured interviews; organizational documents and reports; financial records and reports; social media; and internet reports. Data were analyzed …

Strategies That Small And Medium-Size Business Owners Use To Repay Bank Loan Obligations In Lagos, Nigeria, Taiwo Bamikole Ala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of businesses to repay loans adversely affects credit markets. Small and medium-sized (SME) business owners in Lagos, Nigeria, are concerned because financial institutions are unwilling to provide credit because of the low loan repayment performance of those who have received credit in the past. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies some SME owners use to successfully repay bank loan obligations to sustain their businesses. The participants were three SME owners in Lagos, Nigeria, who successfully repaid their bank loans. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and …

Strategies That Small And Medium-Size Business Owners Use To Repay Bank Loan Obligations In Lagos, Nigeria, Taiwo Bamikole Ala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of businesses to repay loans adversely affects credit markets. Small and medium-sized (SME) business owners in Lagos, Nigeria, are concerned because financial institutions are unwilling to provide credit because of the low loan repayment performance of those who have received credit in the past. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies some SME owners use to successfully repay bank loan obligations to sustain their businesses. The participants were three SME owners in Lagos, Nigeria, who successfully repaid their bank loans. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and …

The Impact Of Using A Financial Advisor On Financial Success, William Lance Hocutt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Planning for retirement is a practical approach to preparing for an excellent financial quality of life post career. However, individuals do not have the human capital to make optimal financial decisions or know whom to turn to for financial advice when they obtain human capital. This quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between having a financial advisor, income, education, age, gender, marital status, racial status, employment status, the number of children under 19 years old in the household, and perceived financial success. The chosen theoretical foundation for this study was human capital theory. They used 944 data sets from the …

Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies To Enhance The Profitability Of Firms, Franklin Alexander De La Rosa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies can negatively impact a company’s competitive advantage. A lack of competitive advantage may lead a business leader to experience poor performance and lost profits. Grounded in the stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies some commercial banking, loan, and savings association leaders used to ensure successful CSR programs to enhance profitability. Participants comprised four leaders in Puerto Rico who successfully established CSR strategies to improve organizational profitability. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and banking websites. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three themes emerged: …

The Effects Of Venture Capital Network Centrality On Earnings Management And Profitability Of Portfolio Company: Evidence From The U.S. Market, Yosavee Niranvichaiya, Sorasart Sukcharoensin

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Based on a sample of 788 U.S. venture capital-backed IPO companies from 2006 to 2015, this research evaluates the impact of network centrality, venture capital (VC), and earnings management on the future profitability of VC-backed portfolio companies. The results suggest that companies backed by VCs with higher network centrality or that are “more centralized” are likely to have better future profitability after an IPO, even with the use of accrual-based earnings management.

When Does Csr Payoff?, John A. Doukas, Rongyao Zhang

Finance Faculty Publications

We investigate whether firms engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) can preserve firm value during normal and unprecedented exogenous adverse events. Our evidence shows, in regular times, a negative relation between CSR engagement and firm value, but under adverse economic conditions, CSR protects firm value by decreasing firm risks. We also find that firms with high managerial attributes engage in greater CSR activities that benefit shareholders in both normal and aberrant financial times. Despite the controversy surrounding CSR, our evidence points out that CSR can be viewed as a set of intangible assets that can improve firm value across good …

Blockchain In Supply Chain Management: A Feature-Function Framework For Future Research, James C. Brau, John Gardner, Hugo A. Decampos, Krista Gardner

Faculty Publications

Purpose – Blockchain technology offers numerous venues for supply chain applications and research. However, the connections between specific blockchain features and future applications have been unclear to date in its evolution. The purpose of this study is to fill this void.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors advance the understanding of blockchain in supply chain management by providing a new research framework built on unique blockchain features as applied across core supply chain functions.

Findings – This study’s framework is a feature-function matrix that integrates four overarching supply chain functions (i.e. supplier management, logistics, production processes and customer management) with nine blockchain …

Life After Death: A Field Experiment With Small Businesses On Information Frictions, Stigma, And Bankruptcy, Shai Bernstein, Emanuele Colonnelli, Mitchell Hoffman

Faculty Publications

In an RCT with US small businesses, we document that a large share of firms are not well-informed about bankruptcy. Many assume that bankruptcy necessarily entails the death of a business and do not know about Chapter 11, where debts are renegotiated so that the business can continue operating. Firms also exhibit bankruptcy-related stigma, believing that bankruptcy is embarrassing, a sign of failure, and a negative signal to employees and customers. Short educational videos that address information or stigma increase knowledge and decrease stigma, both immediately and durably over 4 months. Videos increase reported interest in using Chapter 11 bankruptcy …

Does Esg Matter In Corporate Takeover?, Sann Wai Lhyan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

As Environmental, Social, and Governance scores (ESG) are increasingly becoming aware to the public, it is imperative to understand the impact of ESG on firm values, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, as it is home to a diverse and rapidly growing economy, including emerging markets. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between ESG and firm value using the takeover market as an empirical setting. The primary focus of the study involves examining the influence of ESG on the occurrence of takeovers through binary logistic regression. Subsequently, the study explores the association between ESG and target …