Business Commons^™

Socially Responsible Investment In A Changing World, Desheng Wu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Socially responsible investment funds make up a growing segment of the investment world. This work considers the impact of including SRI in an investor portfolio both normally and during crisis times. Regimes are identified using Markov switching models. This study is based on return data of four indices, namely, the MSCI World Index, S&P 500, Eurostoxx 50, and the socially responsible index - Advanced Sustainable Performance Index (ASPI). The approaches used are portfolio optimization, GARCH and Markov switching models. Our work shows that a socially responsible index is a good asset to keep in a portfolio. Our simulation results suggest …

Real Options Models In Real Estate, Jin Won Choi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Our aim in this thesis is to investigate the usefulness of real options analysis, taking case studies of problems in real estate. In the realm of real estate, we consider the following three problems. First, we consider the valuation and usefulness of presale contracts of condominiums, which can be viewed as similar to call options on condominiums. Secondly, we consider the valuation of farm land from the perspective of land developers, who may think of farm land as being similar to call options on subdivision lots. Third, we consider the valuation of opportunities to install solar panels on properties, in …

The Impact Of Human Capital And Organizational Characteristics On The Business Value Of Information Technology, Shady Fraiha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In order for a company to operate effectively within today’s marketplace, an information system (IS) represents a necessary business asset in terms of efficiency and productivity. Still, despite the ongoing advances in technology, an IS stands out as an expensive asset due to the amount of change that it brings to organizational life. Its real value, however, must be examined in terms of its interaction with other resources of the firm. Hence, it is necessary to understand the factors that affect the business value of information technology (BVIT). This research addresses the human capital characteristics and organizational characteristics of a …

Qu’Est-Ce Que L’Investissement Socialement Responsable?, Diane-Laure Arjaliès

Business Publications

Cet article étudie l’évolution des formes et des objectifs de l’Investissement socialement responsable (ISR) aux États-Unis et en Europe des années 1920 jusqu’à nos jours. En s’intéressant à la fois aux fondements théoriques et aux caractéristiques des fonds ISR au cours du temps, il dresse un panorama des différents types de fonds en fonction de leur appartenance à un référentiel sociétal ou économique. En montrant la complexité et la diversité de l’ISR d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, cet article permet de mieux appréhender les enjeux de définition et de légitimation rencontrés actuellement par les professionnels du secteur de la gestion d’actifs.

This …

The Newsvendor Problem With Pricing, Craig Sorochuk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the newsvendor problem with pricing, the seller of homogeneous items attempts to maximize expected profit by setting price(s) and inventory level(s) before realizing exact demand for the items. The first step in solving the problem is to model this demand, which in the literature, is most commonly done using additive or multiplicative uncertainty, often without justification for either choice. From here, the problem is solved in a variety of ways. In this document, a model for demand is derived from two basic quantities: size of customer base and distribution of reservation prices of the population, where a reservation price …

The Ceo Effect: A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis Of The Relationship Between Executive Orientation And Corporate Social Strategy, Daina D. Mazutis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic issue. Yet, research in this area has primarily focused on establishing a link between CSR and financial performance, with significantly less attention given to the antecedents of CSR at the individual, firm or industry levels. Notably, despite popular anecdotal examples that link the personal values, beliefs or characteristics of business leaders to the socially responsible nature of their companies, very little is actually known empirically about the relationship between executive orientation and the corporate social strategy pursued by the firm.

The empirical research study presented in this dissertation is designed to fill this …

A Managerial Perspective On The Porter Hypothesis - The Case Of Co2 Emissions, Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Jean Pierre Ponssard

Business Publications

Investors and companies are increasingly aware that climate change and its associated needs for reducing CO2 emissions are likely to impact structurally many areas of the economy. This paper offers a contribution to understand these impacts on companies’ strategy, by studying management systems. A typology is introduced based upon a two stage model. At stage one, the firm becomes aware of the risk and CO2 is a compliance issue. At stage two, the firm is involved in a more global re-assessment of its business portfolio including its relationship with suppliers and clients. The construction is based on three case studies: …

Innovation Practice Transfer And Capability Development Within The Multinational Enterprise, Nathaniel C. Lupton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For many firms, there is no long term effective strategy except to continue to grow and evolve through innovation. Hence, investment in developing these capabilities is a significant managerial priority. The original view within international business research holds that these capabilities are developed in the headquarters of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and are subsequently exploited globally through foreign affiliates. However, as MNEs become established in a multitude of foreign markets, affiliates are now often involved in innovation activities themselves.

Establishing innovation mandates within foreign affiliates often requires the transfer of practices from elsewhere within the MNE network. If, in accordance …

Learning From The Enemy: Identity, Conflict, And Inter-Organizational Learning, Patricia Anne Macdonald

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Conflict provides an opportunity to learn. However, conflict also activates identity and dysfunctional learning processes that protect identity. Neither the learning nor the identity literatures provide an explanation for how some organizations overcome that challenge; and relatively little research has considered the connection between identity, conflict and organizational learning.

This thesis attempts to fill this gap through a qualitative research study that examines the relationships between identity, conflict, and organizational learning, using a comprehensive practice based model of inter-organizational learning.

The specific research questions guiding this study are: What is the role of identity in organizational learning between organizations in …

Testing For Hysteresis In Entrepreneurship In 23 Oecd Countries, Simon C. Parker, Emilio Congregado, Antonio A. Golpe

Business Publications

We explore the macro structure of entrepreneurship rates in a panel of 23 OECD countries over 1972-2006. We find that rates of entrepreneurship in OECD’s countries exhibit persistence rather than hysteresis. Implications for the design of entrepreneurship policies are discussed.

Recruitment And Retention Of Immigrants In A Global Labour Market: Implications For Policy, Christopher Robinson

Western Migration Conference Series

Bio:

Chris Robinson studied economics at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago, and has been a faculty member at the University of Western Ontario since 1977. His research has focused on human capital and wage issues including human capital specificity, labour supply, migration, and unions and he has published a wide range of articles on these topics in scholarly journals. From 1993 to 2003 he served as associate editor of the Journal of
Labor Economics. From 2001 to 2010 he held the CIBC Chair in Human Capital and
Productivity at the University of Western Ontario …

The Structural Importance Of Consumer Networks, Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation contains three essays that investigate how a consumer’s social network position (i.e., a person’s location within a web of relationships) plays an important role in the way that consumer influences and exchanges information with others. Using social capital theory as the conceptual framework, I demonstrate that a consumer’s location within a network (network centrality) has an effect on their ability to influence others and, conversely, on others’ ability to influence them. I also show that network positions influence the type of information that is sought from others (information about the self or information about others). Moreover, I demonstrate …

Token Presence Or Substantive Participation? A Study Of Labor Trustees On Pension Boards, Anil Verma, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

In contrast to their absence from corporate boards in North America, labor representatives do have a seat on many pension boards. Given the lack of research on the role of labor participation in these fora, this study reports findings from a survey of labor trustees. We find that labor trustees make greater contributions to procedure-oriented processes such as information sharing, rule-making and rule interpretation; and, fewer contributions to investment-oriented processes such as investment decisions, fund performance and manager selection. Gender does not seem to matter in explaining participation in board activities. Accountability in terms of a requirement to report back …

Library Sector Leadership: Bridging Theory And Practice, Melanie Mills, Charlotte Innerd

Western Libraries Presentations

Explore the issue of leadership in libraries with one current student and one graduate of The University of Victoria's Professional Graduate Certificate in Library Sector Leadership. Looking specifically at Kouzes and Posner's 'Five Practices of Exemplary Leaders' and Quinn et al.'s 'Competing Values Framework', we hope to share our own discoveries and insights and add to the important discussion of leadership in Libraries.

Toward A Sustainable Marketplace: Expanding Options And Benefits For Consumers, Michael Luchs, Rebecca Walker Naylor, Randall L. Rose, Jesse R. Catlin, Roland Gau, Sommer Kapitan, Jenny Mish, Lucie Ozanne, Marcus Phipps, Bonnie Simpson, Saroja Subrahmanyan, Todd Weaver

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

While popular interest in sustainable consumption continues to grow, there is a persistent gap between consumers’ typically positive explicit attitudes towards sustainability and their actual consumption behaviours. This gap can be explained, in part, by the belief that choosing to consume sustainably is both constraining and reduces individual-level benefits. While the belief that sustainable consumption depends on making trade-offs is true in some contexts, increasingly consumers are finding that more sustainable forms of consumption can provide both an expanded set of options and additional, individual-level benefits. In this essay, we discuss and illustrate an expanded set of options and benefits …

Exploring The Role Of Objects In The Transformation Of Logics: A Practice Perspective, Diane-Laure Arjaliès

Business Publications

This article aims to examine the role of objects in the transformation of logics (Thornton & Ocasio, 2008) at the practice level. In particular, it explores how financial actors use, transform and are constrained by their ‘market devices’ – defined as a range of instruments, models and tools used by financial markets (Callon, Millo, & Muniesa, 2007) – when aiming to (re)design their logics and practices towards more sustainability. It develops a theoretical model based on ever expanding, institutional theory by combining it with practice theories. In particular, the article argues that actors transform their practices, logics and objects, by …

Approches Stratégiques Des Émissions Co2: Les Cas De L’Industrie Cimentière Et De L’Industrie Chimique, Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Goubet Cécile, Jean-Pierre Ponssard

Business Publications

La capacité des entreprises à transformer une contrainte environnementale en source d’opportunité stratégique est un sujet controversé dans la littérature. S’appuyant sur une étude comparative des stratégies de lutte contre les émissions CO2 mises en place par les industries cimentière et chimique, l’article1 démontre que la latitude des entreprises à adopter une approche proactive face au développement durable est fortement contrainte par les caractéristiques du secteur en termes de dépendance vis-à-vis des ressources naturelles, de flexibilité dans la composition du portefeuille d’activités et de structure du secteur aval.