Business Commons^™

An Analysis Of Mongolia’S Resource-Led Development: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Extraction Industry, Belguun Bat-Erdene

Master's Theses

It has been 26 years since Mongolia transitioned to democracy. I decided to evaluate the progress of Mongolia’s development since the transition to evaluate whether the country of only 3 million people with vast land and natural resources successfully implemented policies to attain growth and societal wellbeing. In order to evaluate Mongolia’s development progress, this thesis uses FDI in Mongolian development since 1990 as a case study to examine the relationship between FDI, state development strategies, and development outcomes. My research questions encompass a series of interrelated inquiries including 1) whether human development can be achieved through extraction industries 2) …

Marketing Channel Attitudes Of Chinese Business-To-Business Companies: An Empirical Buyer Behavior Study For U.S. Companies Marketing To Chinese B2b Customers, Jonathan Cooley

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Attracted by the large, growing domestic economy in China, many U.S. companies have decided to enter China providing products and services in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets. Combined with traditional marketing channels, Internet marketing is rapidly evolving and becoming a critical strategic element in the marketing department’s tool chest. While much is written about B2C markets and consumer preferences, little of the literature addresses the B2B Chinese customers’ attitudes toward the disparate array of traditional and Internet marketing approaches. Even less addresses Chinese B2B purchasing agents’ receptivity to Western companies soliciting them as new customers. This research compares …

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Servant Leadership In The United States And Latin America, Ismael Merino

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, the subject matter evaluated is the difference between the United States and Latin America concerning the practice and acceptance of servant leadership. This research compares the practice and the acceptance of servant leadership between the United States of America and Latin America. In order to do this, a cross-cultural comparison was conducted between these two groups. The objective was to find the differences in the leadership styles of these two groups and subsequently analyze the results. The Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used to be able to compare cultural differences, and understand why these differences appear in the …

Investing In China: Opportunity And Barriers In A Complex Chinese Economy, Robert Geer

HON499 projects

Introduction: China’s economy has exploded since the introduction of free market policies which brought the populous nation to the world stage. China now boasts the second largest economy in the world and will overtake the United States in the near future. The easing of restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) allows foreign businesses to enter the marketplace easier than in the past, which is making the switch to China easier for businesses. Obstacles are still prevalent in the communist controlled country, which can cause trouble for businesses not properly prepared for the move into the Chinese economy. However, there are …

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (Fdi) In The Process Of Tacoma’S Globalization, Yi Hui

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

This qualitative research project aimed to provide a comprehensive review of a deficiency in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tacoma, the causes of that insufficiency, and the possible resolutions that could change the stagnation and attract more FDI. By analyzing the data collected mainly via interviews and survey, the paper revealed reasons Tacoma has lagged behind other similar cities in attracting FDI, where the gaps exist, and what kinds of educational programs could be applied to enhance the FDI literacy and competency. Case studies on other similar cities offer Tacoma lessons and experience on how to grow FDI. This project …

Responses To Subpar Performance In Foreign Subsidiaries, Vanessa C. Hasse

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Many multinational enterprises (MNEs) experience subpar performance in some of their foreign subsidiaries. Despite the clear importance to practitioners, there are surprisingly few comprehensive studies on the appropriate responses to be taken when such a situation occurs. Studies addressing the subpar performance phenomenon have been fragmented across research domains, causing there to be a lack of theory-driven studies within an international context to provide insights. Thus, the research questions guiding this thesis are: When a foreign subsidiary experiences (repeated) subpar performance, what determines which specific type of response is chosen (if any at all)? Which type of response (if any) …

The Influence Of The Electric Supply Industry On Economic Growth In Less Developed Countries, Edward Richard Bee

Dissertations

This study measures the impact that electrical outages have on manufacturing production in 135 less developed countries using stochastic frontier analysis and data from World Bank’s Investment Climate surveys. Outages of electricity, for firms with and without backup power sources, are the most frequently cited constraint on manufacturing growth in these surveys.

Outages are shown to reduce output below the production frontier by almost five percent in Africa and by a lower percentage in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Production response to outages is quadratic in form. Outages also increase labor cost, reduce exports …

The Effects Of Is-Bao Implementation And Leadership Performance On Safety Culture In Business Aviation Flight Operations, Christopher Mark Broyhill

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The International Standard, Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), with a Safety Management System (SMS) as its core element, has been widely accepted by both the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the business aviation industry as the mechanism to create a healthy safety culture among the business aviation operators who have implemented the standard. Scholarly literature, however, has presented leadership as the most important factor in the creation and management of a healthy safety culture in organizations in general and aviation organizations in particular. This study examined and compared the effects of IS-BAO progression and leadership performance on the perceptions of …

Two Essays On The Internationalization Speed Of New Ventures, Orhun Guldiken

Management Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation comprises two essays on the internationalization speed of new ventures and contributes to the international entrepreneurship literature at several levels. The first essay reviews and critiques the internationalization speed literature and proposes a multi-dimensional conceptualization of speed of internationalization. In particular, previous studies that examined internationalization speed implicitly assumed that INVs need to enter new countries to grow fast in foreign markets. The key tenet of the first essay is that INVs can also grow fast in foreign markets by expanding rapidly in previously entered host countries. Consequently, the first essay uses three theoretical perspectives — organizational learning, …

Founder Ceos And Initial Public Offerings: The Role Of Narratives, Institutions And Cultural Context, Christina Helen Tupper

Management Theses & Dissertations

This is a two essay dissertation which explores how founder and non-founder CEOs influence the IPO process and seeks to better understand their impact on IPO performance in a cross-national set of firms. Essay 1 addresses the question ‘how founder and non-founder CEOs’ narratives are portrayed differently in business media.’ Using insights from the narrative paradigm and utilizing qualitative content analysis for 1,057 units of data, I find that founders and non-founders’ media narratives differ in three important ways based on the amount of personal information about founders, how founders talk about their business operations, and positive and negative name …

"My Friends, They Are People To Rely On": The Social Foundation Of Business In Ghana, Patrick D. Shulist

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The management and entrepreneurship literatures increasingly engage in poverty alleviation research in the developing world. However, there is a marked tendency to overlook how the Western World, from where most theory comes, differs from the developing world. Such a fallacy has potential deleterious effects on the research itself, but more importantly on the practical applications of that research.

With this in mind, my dissertation uses an inductive qualitative methodology to explore the nature of self-employment in the developing world as it is; that is, not coloured by theoretical priors. In doing this, I lay the groundwork for understanding the …

Better Work And Global Governance, Paul Alois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a case study of Better Work, a program run by the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corporation. It aims to improve working conditions and productivity in the apparel industry. The purpose of this case study is to examine the role that international organizations can play in global governance. The research presented here comes from interviews, document analysis, and an examination of quantitative data on factories’ working conditions. In-person interviews were conducted in the United States, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Indonesia; many phone interviews took place with individuals in other countries. Both publicly available documents and internal …

Όλα Καλά (All Is Fine): Greece And Its Denial Of Economic And Financial Negligence, Jasmine S. Grindle

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper aims to compile past research on the sovereign debt crisis as well as the formation and role of monetary unions, specifically optimal currency areas. It further analyzes the causes as well as possible future consequences for Greece and the European Monetary Union (EMU). It will provide a history of how Greece reached the debt levels it did and the measures taken by the EMU over the past decade. There are multiple responsible parties for the conditions that have prevailed in Greece. These parties include the investors in Greek assets, the EMU, and the rating agencies as well as …

Bienvenido A Chile: A Guide For The International Business Of The Americas Cohort, Jacob William Sims, Julie Grace Whitehead

Senior Theses

This senior thesis projects aims to provide a comprehensive guide to living and studying abroad in Santiago, Chile to accompany the new International Business of the Americas cohort. It covers a spread of issues including macro politics and economics to where to live and how to repatriate to the University of South Carolina.

Evaluating Risk Of Small Business Expansion Into Latin America: A Study In Colombia, Chile, And Peru, Kelly Lynn Faria

Senior Theses

This senior thesis uses Colombia, Chile, and Peru as examples of similarly sized Latin American countries, with similar economic and trade impact, that have vastly different business environments. This report outlines many of the risk environments, competitive sectors, and cultural norms in each country in order to provide a basic understanding of the business environments for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Benefits Of Global Diversification, David J. Tassone

Honors Thesis

International diversification reduces total risk to a portfolio by adding uncorrelated assets and brings higher long-term returns. In this study, the research looks to see if any single country index or continent index consistently outperforms a diversified value-weighted global market index. In order to value-weight the global index, the study uses the International Monetary Fund’s voting shares of each country and equates each voting share to each country or continent’s stake within the value-weighted global market index. To correct for currency exchange, the study uses iShares and other ETFs denoted in the United States Dollar. The value-weighted global market index …

Humanos De Santiago, Ana Maria Gibson

Senior Theses

I am a member of the inaugural class of the International Business of the Americas cohort program of the Sonoco International Business Department at the Darla Moore School of Business. As a participant in this program, I spent two semesters living in Santiago, Chile studying at the Facultad de Economía y Negocios at the Universidad de Chile. During my time in Santiago, I learned about the cultural differences between Chile and the United States both inside and out of the classroom. However, despite the measurable, and often profound, differences between the two countries, what struck me the most were the …

Feminism Made In China: The Impact Of Light Export Manufacturing On Rural Chinese Women, Kathleen Marie Mackenzie

Senior Theses

This senior thesis explores the impacts of employment in light export manufacturing on rural women in China. It first describes the neoclassical economist, feminist economist, and contemporary feminist points of view regarding the effect that manufacturing has specifically on rural women. It then includes a statistical analysis to analyze the empirical data surrounding this issue and draw a conclusion on whether or not light export manufacturing is beneficial for rural Chinese women.

Comparative Organizational Assessments And Partenship Potential For Sekou Pou Nanm-Yo And Asirans Community Counseling Center, Lauren M. Mawe

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper assesses the organizational capacity of two small Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Each NGO has a staff of under 15 members. At the time of the assessment, they were both in early stages of their development, with one in its first year of operations, and the other in its fifth year. Both embody grassroots, community organizations because of their connections to the communities in which they work, their willingness to travel to those communities, and their predominantly Haitian staff. The fieldwork included interviews, focus groups, and three months of participant observation and work with these organizations. In …

More Ethical – Thai Or American Business Behavior?: Ethical Business Practices And Differences Between Cultures, Michelle Carlson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The study and comparison of cross cultural business ethics was conducted specifically in the countries of Thailand and the United States. To study these two countries’ business ethics, a survey was conducted in each country, analyzed, and compared to one another. The research was conducted on a Micro Empirical scale. This approach by definition “hypothesizes the existence of general norms or values and then gathers and analyzes data with a view of determining the extent to which these norms or values prevail in the group surveyed” (Koehn & Leung, 2004). Thailand and the United States are hypothesized in this study …

Emotions Involved In Shopping At The Airport, Alexis D. Tymkiw

Honors Theses

This paper examines the emotional motivations that drive consumers to shop at airport retailers. Airport retailing is a rapidly growing segment as airports continue to expand retail areas and the number of passengers increase each year. With larger retail areas, airports are beginning to resemble shopping areas. However, with higher prices and consumers experiencing time and space constraints, the airport is a very unique shopping environment. This paper explored two unique emotional motivations for shopping at airports: (1) to escape the stress of travel and (2) to eliminate boredom. Analysis of the in-depth interviews led to the development of four …

Why Despite Bipartisan Support, The Embargo Against Cuba Won't Go Down Without A Fight, Victoria Scotte Rasmussen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Within the past decade, there has been a dramatic shift in American politics. Once considered enemies, the United States and Cuba have reestablished diplomatic relations. The reestablishment of relationships is a surprise to many politicians because Cuba has not made the necessary changes to end the trade embargo put into place by the 1996 Helms-Burton act.

The majority of the friction in ending the embargo is from the Republican Party. While over half the Republicans in the country support ending the embargo, the Republicans in congress are not quite as divided on the issue. Still, some republicans are adamantly in …

The Indulgence And Restraint Cultural Dimension: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Mongolia And The United States, Rentsenkhand Enkh-Amgalan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research focuses on one of the least studied cultural dimension, “indulgence versus restraint” (IVR) and how it affects consumer behavior, international marketing, and global business operations in the U.S. and Mongolia. This project is the first research on IVR in Mongolia since the country is rarely studied and there is no available data for this cultural dimension. Samples of undergraduate business students (as consumers) from both countries were studied through surveys. The findings support that Mongolians and Americans are different regarding the “indulgence” cultural dimension. This paper has a significant contribution to the cross-cultural literature regarding the indulgence cultural …

Globalization And Offshoring: The Effects Of A Globalized Workplace On Auditing Procedures, Mignon Farnet

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Intensifying audit competition, increasing audit quality standards, and rising demand for audit services have prompted accounting firms across the nation to adopt new methods to meet client and industry demands while not overextending audit staff or raising audit prices. The use of offshoring to utilize a global workplace has allowed firms to maintain their competitiveness and expand to new markets to creatively respond to the industry demand. While offshoring is not something new on the global scale, the auditing practice was a late arrival to this practice, especially when compared to manufacturing industries or even the tax practice within the …

Oil Prices And A Stronger Dollar: Causation Or Correlation?, Christina Donahue

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

A stronger dollar is accountable for a major effect on declining oil prices. Since oil is traded in U.S. dollars, oil prices are more likely to fall when the dollar becomes stronger. Thus, companies within the oil industry are delivering their worst results of the current decade due to plunging oil prices. However, the stronger dollar is not solely responsible for falling oil prices; the deteriorating demand of oil is the result of slowing growth in major countries such as China.

An Acculturation Program For Foreign-Born Workers At Multinational Companies Transferred To Offices In The United States, Eric Krieger

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study is to create an acculturation program that multinational companies can use to ease the transition of foreign-born employees who are transferred to the United States. There are a number of challenges for these employees, from navigating the logistics of finding a place to live, setting up a bank account and filling out taxes to the social emotional issues of trying to adapt to another culture, build community and be successful in a new work environment. Through interviews with foreign-born employees, Human Resources professionals, and intercultural trainers, qualitative and quantitative data was collected to understand current …

Trashé Designs: A Social Enterprise, Cara Walden

MA IDS Thesis Projects

During my years in graduate school, my understanding of economic inequality has further expanded. While my experience in the Peace Corps and Nepal allowed me to see it in real life, my time in school has allowed me to ground these experiences in academic literature. By means of an action research project, my goal is to create economic opportunity for the HIV/AIDS community in Chiang Mai, Thailand, through the creation of the social enterprise Trashé Designs. A social enterprise is a way to address a social challenge with a market-based solution. My social enterprise, Trashé Designs, uses recycled materials to …

Estudio De La Eficiencia De Las Medidas Antidumping A La Importación De Vajillas De Porcelana Procedentes De China En El Periodo Comprendido Entre 2005 A 2015, Adriana Milena Acosta Ortiz, Lina Paola Bustos Castellanos

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

El presente trabajo, tiene como finalidad evaluar la eficiencia de las medidas antidumping impuestas a las importaciones de vajillas de porcelana, provenientes de la República Popular China. Teniendo en cuenta que, estas son uno de los mecanismos de protección a la producción nacional la cual, se ve afectada por la competencia con precios más bajos. Por tanto, se hará una evaluación de información pertinente, para así, poder determinar si las importaciones que están sujetas al pago de derechos antidumping, han disminuido como se cree y si la medida proteccionista cumple a cabalidad su cometido o principio de resguardo. De igual …

The Importance Of Cross-Cultural Management In International Business: China And The United States, Natalie (Tilly) Barnett

Scripps Senior Theses

Attention to cross-cultural management in today’s globalized workplace and marketplace is paramount to professional success. In this exploration I examine the nuances of Chinese business practices and organizational culture as well as their likely points of divergence from American traditions. The variance between organizational culture across national borders is often significant and, as demonstrated by the cases herein, can prove to be either an opportunity to succeed beyond expectation or fail to the same extent.

Global Reach, Local Markets: The Challenges Of Leading Global Innovation, Sarah Higgins

Honors Theses

This Global Studies honors thesis addresses how managers and leaders of global firms manage innovation across multiple markets. Current research on multinational corporations provides an understanding of different kinds of innovation and the ways to attend to multiple markets. However, there is less documentation of how these innovation strategies are actually implemented on the ground and the tensions that these efforts might produce. Therefore, my research focuses in particular on the challenges and tensions faced by leaders of global firms as they implement transnational innovation strategies. This study is based upon in-depth interviews with 20 participants who held positions in …