Business Commons^™

Triads Of Interorganisational Conflict: Investigating Asymmetries, Disputes, And Tensions, Li Hao Edson Kieu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Interorganisational relations are critical resources that are enablers for organisations to achieve competitive advantage. Collaborative ties provide organisations access to new markets, distribution channels, information, and present opportunities to develop or enhance capabilities and competencies. However, interorganisational ties are dynamic and susceptible to relational tensions among collaborative, coordinative, and competitive elements. As such, primarily focusing on collaborative elements between organisations presents an incomplete representation. Social relations involve elements of collaboration and conflict that are not antithetical but dialectical determinants of one another. Despite these conjectures of dialectical tensions, the nature of interorganisational conflict remains elusive. Hence, this dissertation is devoted …

Investigating The Relationship Between The James C. Kennedy Center And The Utilization Of The Harvard Policy Model: A Strategic Planning Process, Neely Griggs

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to understand the relationship between the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center and the utilization of the Harvard Policy Model. The Wellness Center in Tallahatchie county, Mississippi has a profound impact in the community by working to decrease the prevalence of preventable diseases, and the Wellness Center’s leadership has decided to engage in the development of a strategic plan. The researchers led the Wellness Center through the first four steps in the Harvard Policy Model of strategic planning. Through focus groups and data analysis, the Wellness Center’s vision and mission statements were re-conceptualized, the core values of the …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …

Harvesting A New Synergy: Exploring ‘Smart And Green’ Hotels Within The Context Of The Irish Hospitality Industry, Yi Sheng Tan

Masters

Hospitality emphasizes the ability for exchange of friendly and generous reception between businesses, guests and strangers. The complex nature of future travel and tourism industry directs the converging forces towards the hospitality industry to develop progressive strategies in response to increasing economic turbulence. Within the hotel sector, particular emphasis on emerging opportunities like sustainability and digitization are quickly shaping the strategic agenda in this competitive sector. It is envisaged that the hospitality industry will differ completely from today, owing to developments in artificial intelligence and smart technology. This research has explored the key components of the overall ‘smart and green’ …

Legal Process Outsourcing: Analyzing And Managing The Prospective "Make Or Buy" Decision By Ontario Law Firms, Brandon Keshen

Major Papers

This paper examines the costs, risks and benefits associated with law firms outsourcing some of their core business activities to legal process outsourcers (“LPOs”). Similar to other outsourcing operations, LPOs supply services for a fraction of the cost of what law firms charge for similar services. Common in manufacturing industries, the decision to outsource, or keep work in-house (also referred to as a “make or buy” decision), has become more prevalent in the area of business services, including client service industries such as consulting and financial management. With respect to legal services, recent and rapid changes to the legal profession, …

Analyzing Local Alcohol Vendor Inventory Management Strategy, Angelo J. Amore

Senior Theses

This paper attempts to analyze how local alcohol vendors maintain their inventory throughout the year in Columbia, attempting to manage factors such as the season, sporting events, and other public gatherings and events. The research question resulted in contacting over 30 local alcohol vendors in Columbia, to ask them questions regarding their strategy in alcohol inventory management. The responses to these questions were then used to organize the vendors into groups by whether or not they utilize a reorder point to purchase/brew alcohol, or if they utilize periodic ordering. The vendors were also asked to rank the seasons from most …

Getting A Top Management Consulting Job From Usc: The Definitive Guide, Cameron Wall

Senior Theses

This thesis is meant to serve as an instructional guide on landing a job at an elite management consulting firm for students of the University of South Carolina. Management consulting is an attractive career path for many reasons, but it also is intense, has long hours, and is not the right career fit for everyone. The first section of this guide seeks to introduce the field, help students understand if the career might be right for them, and outline the steps they should take to make themselves competitive when they apply. In the second section, they will find the personal …

Exploring, Examining, And Explaining How Participatory Governance Adds Value To Saudi Foundations’ Philanthropic Strategy, Afnan E. Koshak

Dissertations

Foundations’ flexibility, given their independence from fundraising imperatives, competition forces, and accountability pressures, enables them to invest in long-term, high-risk, multi-level experiments to deal with the increasingly complex societal problems. This flexibility, coupled with the growing role philanthropy plays in promoting social welfare across the world, is arguably what makes studies that focus on foundations’ philanthropic approaches of utmost importance.

There is a mounting interest among scholars in the governance of foundations, the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall strategic direction of organizations. Influenced by agency and stewardship theories, an increasing number of studies address such topics as …

Business Strategy For Potential Sustainability Organizations Of The Future, Randall Duffield

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The exponential acceleration of globalization in the modern economy has resulted in the creation of new, unexpected job positions. This article explores the possibility of merging strategic business practices with a potential sustainability effort in plastic removal from the world's oceans. Though the current paradigm of political involvement relegated research to focus on a governmental position, the research and organizational methods could, and should, be applied to future private market endeavors in the same field.

Fifty Shades Of Day - The Varied And Incomplete Meanings Of Marketing Capabilities, Gregory J. Tanguay

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Capabilities theories have been the subject of robust research efforts since being bridged into the Marketing domain from the organizational strategy literature approximately 25 years ago. While much empirical work has been performed to establish and clarify the relationships between marketing capabilities and firm performance, little work has been done in the ensuing period to describe and clarify the construct itself in the period ensuing its introduction to the marketing domain.

This has led to a large yet unchanging body of research founded upon a relatively vague construct. Marketing capabilities theory offers the domain an interesting means to explain marketing’s …

Atlassian: Analysis And Strategic Recommendation, Ryann M. Carlson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This research consists of an external and internal analysis of, as well as a strategic recommendation for Atlassian, an Australian software company. The external analysis will use various frameworks to analyze the following: changes and trends in the environment, Porter’s Five Forces industry analysis, competitor analysis, industry segmentation and demand issues and opportunities in the industry. The internal analysis will use various frameworks to perform an internal resource assessment, financial resources assessment and assessment of opportunities for the company. The analyses are used to identify the competitive dynamics in the external environment and the strategic factors that make the company …

Conflicting Voices And Strategic Choices: Capital Structure Heterogeneity And Strategic Actions, Chetan Chawla

Doctoral Dissertations

The mix of debt and equity in a firm’s capital structure has been associated with varied strategic actions, such as diversification and innovation. Different forms of debt and equity have been associated with particular types of strategic actions. Although there are clear differences between debt and equity, I argue there are also similarities across the two forms of capital. I develop a theoretical framework to categorize both debt and equity along the dimensions of time horizon and risk tolerance, so as to categorize the providers of capital as Transient Equity, Dedicated Equity, Transactional Debt, and Relational Debt. I then empirically …

Conversational Dynamics: Decision Making As Discourse, Zackary R. Edens

Theses and Dissertations--Management

This dissertation examines decision making as discourse to capture subtle characteristics and processes within top management team discussions and examines their influence on decision outcomes. Additionally, this approach allows for exploration of decision making processes in real time by utilizing audio analysis techniques that can provide a more dynamic and integrative view of conversations and discussions as they relate to the dialogue and debate that goes on within top management teams, as well as providing an alternate pathway of study for top management team and group research, decision making studies, and the fields of communication and conversational analysis.