Business Commons^™

Hospitality And Destination Marketing's Role In Medical Tourism: A Call For Research, Dan Cormany

Faculty Publications

Like business travel, where the primary focus is on business and travel is the simply the conduit by which it is performed, medical tourism is a growing trend in which individuals journey to foreign countries primarily to secure specific medical procedures or health benefits. The medical tourist is a newly defined segment of the travel industry, and while still small in numbers, is growing rapidly. This paper seeks to identify research questions related to the hospitality elements that contribute to the medical tourism experience. The answers to these may aid hoteliers, tourism operations, and visitor bureaus better understand, service and …

The Main Determinants Of Bollywood Movie Box Office Sales, Marc Fetscherin

Faculty Publications

The Indian film industry produces more movies and sells more tickets than any other movie industry, with revenues second only to those of the US film industry. We employ a two-by-two research design using a set of multiple regression analyses for two different countries of destination for Bollywood movies for two dependent variables. By examining data and testing our hypotheses on a sample of 330 films, we identify effects related to brand, product, distribution and consumers on opening week as well as total box office sales both individually and collectively. Our results show that the categories of variables affecting Bollywood …

Assessment Measures And Rubrics In A Business Communication Course, Marsha L. Bayless, S. Ann Wilson

Faculty Publications

Assessment to assure continuous improvement has increasingly become a requirement imposed by accrediting agencies and state legislatures on secondary and post-secondary schools. This paper describes a seven-semester study conducted at a regional university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Using existing course assignments in the Business Communication course, the study, conducted from fall 2006 through fall 2009, measured student performance related to six state-mandated communication objectives. The faculty used the results to close the loop for continuous improvement, the driving force of the assessment movement.

Financial Statement Overview: Ferreting Out The Secrets, Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

A presentation for the Lake Union Conference on how to analyze financial statements

Current Issues In Accounting: Will London Rule The Accounting World?, Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

A presentation on the Converging U.S. GAAP and International GAAP (IFRS)

U.S.-Based Fast-Food Restaurants: Factors Influencing The International Expansion Of Franchise Systems, Ilan Alon, Liqiang Ni

Faculty Publications

Studies of international franchising are scant, but increasing, and can be divided into two streams of research: those focusing on environmental predictors of internationalization and those focusing on strategic, firm-level characteristics. Examingin the latter category, this study empirically explores a set of firm-level attributes as predictors of decision-making on whether or not firms seek international expansion. using longitudinal data from Bond's Franchise Guide 2001-2000, we draw on a sample of U.S.-based fast-food franchise systems to test our hypotheses. Specifically, out database is comprised of 1,058 observations of 158 chains and we estimate a semi-parametric logistic modlel for international franchising. The …

Financing The Next Silicon Valley, Darian M. Ibrahim

Faculty Publications

Silicon Valley’s success has led other regions to attempt their own high-tech transformations, yet most imitators have failed. Entrepreneurs may be in short supply in these “non-tech” regions, but some non-tech regions are home to high-quality entrepreneurs who relocate to Silicon Valley due to a lack of local financing for their start-ups. Non-tech regions must provide local finance to prevent entrepreneurial relocation and reap spillover benefits for their communities. This Article compares three possible sources of entrepreneurial finance—private venture capital, state-sponsored venture capital, and angel investor groups—and finds that angel groups have distinct advantages when it comes to funding innovation …

Assessing The Export Competitiveness Of Chinese Industries, Marc Fetscherin, Ilan Alon, James P. Johnson

Faculty Publications

This article presents a framework for measuring, illustrating and comparing industry export competitiveness that takes into account (i) industry specialization, (ii) industry export growth rate and (iii) relative industry size. We apply the framework to a data set of 97 different industries from China over a 5-year period (2001–2005). According to our results, over 70 per cent of Chinese industries are ‘dynamic’, meaning that their export growth is higher than the world average export growth. Almost 50 per cent of the Chinese industries examined are competitive in global markets, with 20–25 per cent of the world export market share in …

The 2010 Racial And Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association, Richard Lapchick, Christopher Kaiser, Christina Russell, Natalie Welch

Faculty Publications

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida publishes the Racial and Gender Report Card to indicate areas of improvement, stagnation, and regression in the racial and gender composition of professional and college sports personnel and to contribute to the improvement of integration in front office and college athletics department positions. Each year the National Basketball Association (NBA) has made progress in almost all categories examined for both race and gender.

The NBA continues to set the standard for the industry as the leader on issues related to race and gender hiring practices. …

30 Years Of Foreign Direct Investment To China: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review, Marc Fetscherin, Hinrich Voss, Philippe Gugler

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine how scholarly research on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the People’s Republic of China has evolved and been shaped using bibliometrics analysis of 422 journal articles published in 151 journals between 1979 and 2008 on that topic. The literature is dominated by the fields of Economics, followed by Business and Management, Planning and Development and International Relations, which together account for 95% of all publications. Ten percent of the most productive journals are responsible for 40% of all publications and 63% of all citations received. By means of citation mapping, four main …

The Relationship Between Strategic Orientation, Growth Strategies, And Market Share Performance, Richard A. Heiens, Larry P. Pleshko

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Transnational Integration Regimes As Development Programs, Laszlo Bruszt, Gerald A. Mcdermott

Faculty Publications

In drawing on recent advances in international and comparative political economy, this paper argues that diverging paths of institutional development among emerging market democracies are driven by the Transnational Integration Regimes (TIRs), in which a country is embedded.

As development programs, TIRs differ in their effectiveness not simply in terms of their incentives and largess and more in terms of their emphasis on building institutional capacities, empowering a variety of domestic state and non-state actors via multiplex methods of assistance and monitoring, and their ability to merge monitoring and learning at both the national and supra-national levels. We develop a …

‘I Don’T Lend Money; It Causes Amnesia!’ Money, Culture And Ethics., Annetta M. Gibson

Faculty Publications

Christian leaders seek to be ethical people and make ethical decisions, but often the ethical dilemmas a leader must face do not have clear-cut answers. Ethical dilemmas can be even more troubling when they occur in a culturally diverse situation that is coupled with decisions involving financial transactions. Views of money and how to handle money are culturally influenced and may not be the same as the views of the leader, who may come from a different culture. This leads the Christian leader to ponder: When working in a culturally diverse environment, how can one tell the difference between a …

Measuring College Students’ Technology Selfefficacy, Debbie D. Dufrene, Timothy W. Clipson, S. Ann Wilson

Faculty Publications

The pervasiveness of computer technology and continuing developments in software, multimedia, and Internet resources have led to the implementation of new teaching and learning methods. Educators committed to the integration of technology into the learning process believe it will expand learning and better prepare students to participate effectively in today’s workplace. Employers demand workers who can not only use technology to complete a variety of work tasks and processes but who can leverage technology to advance the firm’s strategic operations.

While many students perceive themselves to be computer competent, research indicates that their preparation is not always complete or adequate. …

Youtube Video Project: A" Cool" Way To Learn Communication Ethics, Carol M. Lehman, Debbie D. Dufrene, Mark W. Lehman

Faculty Publications

The millennial generation embraces new technologies as a natural way of accessing and exchanging information, staying connected, and having fun. YouTube, a video-sharing site that allows users to upload, view, and share video clips, is among the latest “cool” technologies for enjoying quick laughs, employing a wide variety of corporate activities, and also communicating relevant, engaging instructional content for today’s students. This article describes a YouTube video class project that is a natural fit with today’s students because it involves cutting-edge social media while addressing a critical component of professional development—communication ethics. This project encourages critical thinking, creativity, and applied …

User Information Risk: How It Improves Audit Quality, Jack R. Ethridge, Treba Marsh

Faculty Publications

Audited financial statements are the basis for the communication of essential financial information. Accordingly, the reliability of the financial statements is of extreme importance to all parties involved in the process. This paper identifies the three primary parties as the organization, the auditor, and the user and recommends the user play an increased role in this process. The user should be allowed to analyze the quality of the auditor and audit process based upon five critical factors that should be required to be disclosed by the auditor. This paper discusses the five factors and how each one could benefit the …

Survey Responses: Mail Versus Email Solicitations, Rodger G. Holland, Aileen Smith, James R. Hasselback, Bryson Payne

Faculty Publications

Surveys, particularly electronic surveys, are becoming popular methods of eliciting consumer responses. For example, many businesses now have survey sites printed on the bottom of receipts with some future discount as an enticement to participate. Clearly, the intent of such incentives is to stimulate participation. Surveys have also become popular in academia, but rarely are incentives offered. Clearly, those in academia also prefer a high participation rate, but without financial incentives what can be done to encourage participation? This research attempts to address that question.

The Persistence Of Accounting Versus Economic Profit, Matthew J. Holian, Ali M. Reza

Faculty Publications

Drawing on Schumpeterian theory, this article presents estimates of a first-order autoregressive model of profit persistence for large US firms, using Economic Value Added (EVA), the popular measure of profits produced by Stern Stewart and Company, and simple (unadjusted) accounting measures from the Compustat database. We hypothesize about the differences we should expect to find between these two sets of estimates, and also provide a fresh normative assessment of the dynamic competitiveness of the US economy.

Moving Towards A Culturally Diverse Accounting Profession, Elizabeth K. Jenkins, M. Calegari

Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the increasing diversity in the accounting profession. Evidence is presented substantiating that over one third of recent accounting graduates are from ethnic minority backgrounds, the majority of whom are Asian/Pacific Islanders. In our university specific data, we find an even higher percentage (71%) of ethnic minorities receiving accounting degrees, with Asian/Pacific Islanders as the majority group. We also show that over one fourth of new accounting graduates hired by accounting firms are ethnic minorities of which fifty percent are Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Corporate Social Responsibility And Earnings Reporting, Mary F. Calegari, T. Chotigeat, M. A. Harjoto

Faculty Publications

Despite increasing interests on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities among managers, the relationship between CSR and firm value through earnings reporting quality is still unclear. Absence of a strong positive effect of CSR on firm value has led researchers to believe that CSR is a res ult of a principal-agent issue between shareholders and managers. This study argues CSR represents a corporate culture that influences how a corporation reports its earnings. CSR influ ences earnings reporting ·instead ofearnings reporting drives CSR to delude shareholders. CSR induces better earnings reporting quality, therefore, CSR has an indirect but positive effect on firm …

Changing Careers -- Six Options For Becoming A Cpa, Elizabeth V, Grace, T. G. Black

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Almost Famous: The Foster Boat Company, Geoffrey D. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

Almost Famous: The Foster Boat Company is an article concering the history of the Foster Boat Company of Charlevoix, Michigan, from 1940-1952. The company made plywood boats for the American consumer, storm boats used in Germany during World War Two, and boats and other equipment for use in the Korean War conflict in the early 1950s. People associated with the company included Gar Wood, Jr., Harry G. Foster and Preston Tucker.

The Ethics Of Technology, David J. Cherrington

Faculty Publications

Earlier today, I used my credit card to pay for a purchase. As I handed my card to the merchant, he asked if I had used my card to purchase gas recently. When I said yes, he warned me that I should never do it again. He explained that technology experts have developed something that fits inside the credit card reader and copies your credit card information. Another customer overhearing our conversation nodded in agreement. The merchant acknowledged that carrying cash to make gas purchases was much less convenient, but he cautioned me that I should never again use a …

Analysis Of The Relation Of Corn And Soybeans Futures And Etf Prices., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

In this study I examine the relation between corn and soybeans exchange traded funds and their respective futures contracts. Considering that the exchange traded funds for these commodities track an index based on a basket of the futures instruments a natural link exists between exchange traded funds and futures contracts. This is the first study, to the best of my knowledge, to examine this relation by using cointegration methodology and provide a Vector Error Correction Model of the relation between these two prices.

Discretionary Deletions From The S&P 500 Index: Evidence On Forecasted And Realized Earnings., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

The literature in the area of index changes finds evidence that index changes are information free events. However, Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) find evidence contrary to this theory. This study extends the work of Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) in an attempt to complete the assessment of the information hypothesis of index changes. Denis, McConnell, Ovtchinnikov and Yu (2003) address only index additions and do not examine index deletions in their study. Our contribution is in filling this void in the literature by examining forecasted and realized earnings of firms discretionary deleted from the S&P 500 index …

Esops And Corporate Officers' Compensation., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

In the literature two major hypotheses have been developed for Employee Stock Ownership Plans used as a takeover defense, the management entrenchment and shareholder interest hypotheses, with the existing research not finding conclusive evidence for either one. In this paper we provide evidence that the entrenchmenthypothesis is not supported by finding that Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms pay less to their managers than non-Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms. If managers were truly entrenched they would have been able to expropriate wealth from the existing shareholders, which appears not to be the case for Employee Stock Ownership Plan firms.

Clusters And Upgrading: A Purposeful Approach, Gerald A. Mcdermott, Héctor O. Rocha

Faculty Publications

We develop a theoretical model to investigate how backward societies can improve their upgrading capabilities by transforming existing industrial agglomerations into dynamic clusters. Our main assumptions are two: first, emerging market economies are not uniform but characterized by variety of subnational regional and sectoral organizational and institutional configurations; second, the basic building block and unit of explanation in social sciences is personal action guided by some intention, which is heterogeneous across different actors. Based on these assumptions and the literature on human motives and social networks, we develop a purposeful approach to clusters and upgrading. We argue that governments can …

The Determinants And Measurement Of A Country Brand: The Country Brand Strength Index, Marc Fetscherin

Faculty Publications

Purpose: A strong country brand can stimulate exports, attract tourism, investments, and immigration. The purpose of this paper is to construct and present a country brand strength index (CBSI) which assesses the strength of a country brand based on objective secondary data.

Design/methodology/approach: By applying a company-based brand equity approach, we present a standardized country brand strength index.

Findings: Our results show that the countries with the strongest country brand are smaller, developed countries in Europe. Our proposed index leads to results similar to the widely used Anholt GfK Roper Nation Brand Index (NBI), which measures perceptions of a country …

Development Of Franchising In The Emerging Market Of Croatia, Ilan Alon, Mirela Alpeza, Aleksandar Erceg

Faculty Publications

Franchising is a new sector in transitioning and emerging Croatia. Those companies involved in retailing, distribution, and wholesaling operations are now becoming aware of the benefits (and costs) of franchising as an organizational method and are considering its adaptation to the local context. However, franchising is underdeveloped with only a handful of active firms, lack of regulatory structure, lack of support from institutions, disinterested banks and little experience in the marketplace. Our contribution is an assessment of the franchising model in the Croatian context.

Tao Of Downfall: The Failures Of High-Profile Entrepreneurs In The Chinese Economic Reform, Wenxian Zhang, Ilan Alon

Faculty Publications

Through historical reviews and case studies, this research seeks to understand why some initially successful entrepreneurs failed in the economic boom of past decades. Among various factors contributed to their downfalls are a unique political and business environment, fragile financial systems, traditional cultural influences and personal characteristics. Notwithstanding that these factors should be further tested through empirical studies, those high-profile entrepreneurs are oblivious but essential actors in the grand theatre of China's economic transformation and their failures have contributed to the swift development of the Chinese entrepreneurship over the last 30 years.