Business Commons^™

Internationalization And Hotel Performance: Moderating Effects Of Agglomeration, Linda Woo

Doctoral Dissertations

The relationship between internationalization and performance has been extensively examined in international business studies, but the findings remain mixed. Furthermore, recent studies have failed to reflect the complexity of internationalization and the unique nature of the hotel industry. The relationship between internationalization and hotel performance is not simple: there are many variables in the middle that affect this relationship, and a failure to account for these variables may result in poor hypothesis testing. This study aims to fill these literature gaps by providing a more robust analysis of internationalization-hotel performance relationship. To capture the complex patterns of internationalization, this study …

The Impact Of Growth, Governance, And Geography On Franchise Performance, Moeen Naseer Butt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Growing franchise systems are admired and rewarded favorably by press, seen as “growth engines” in investor stock portfolios, and attract significant interest from potential franchisees. Yet growth brings with it the specter of intra-brand competition, and its attendant ill effect of sharply reducing the motivation of franchisees – the very drivers of such growth. Facing competition from their very own, franchisees indulge in shirking, in turn eliciting franchisor terminations in ever greater numbers as they run afoul of the franchise agreement. These franchisor terminations, in turn, may subsequently affect the financial position of franchise systems in terms of sales and …

Leadership And Performance In Various Group Dynamics, Jonathan Fedczuk

Business/Business Administration

This thesis will begin by providing a summary of the differences between flat and tall organizations. The bulk of the research will aim to explore leadership styles and demands that are effective in flatter organizations. More specifically, it will examine several aspects of autocratic and participative leadership in relation to managerial success. It will also assess certain need satisfactions of managers in flat organizations and the extent to which they have achieved success. The second portion of this thesis is intended to explore whether structural differences influence performance. A number of laboratory studies are evaluated to measure performance in tall …

Active Vs. Passive Management: The Elusiveness Of Alpha To The Modern Hedge Fund, Robert Wesley Long Jr

Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis stated off with one question: are hedge funds worth the fees? This seemed like it would simple to answer, but the measurement of hedge fund performance turned out to be far more complex than one would imagine. The first complexity that became apparent was the bias to overly weight returns as a measure of performance. This is the simplest metric to comprehend and universally can be understood by investors. It seems like common sense that the fund with the highest return would be the best investment opportunity. But this rush to judgment often overlooks other …

Employee Perceptions Of Merit Pay And Its Influence On Work Performance, Michael John Mcknight, Sr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The work performance of employees remains a vital factor both in an organization's viability as well as in the prosperity of its employees. Merit pay can influence employee performance and is one of the most frequently used monetary reward incentives for motivating employees to achieve a higher level of performance. The problem is the limited knowledge on how state employees in a southern state perceive merit pay and how those perceptions may influence employee work performance. Using a conceptual framework built from elements of various motivational theories including Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's 2 factor theory, the purpose of …

The Contextual Impact Of Innovation And Operational Spillovers On Firm Performance, Cherry Singhal

Theses and Dissertations

Extant literature across various research disciplines has investigated the influence of a firm’s technological innovation on its performance. However, the findings on this relationship remain inconclusive as it is subject to many strategic and environmental factors. In this dissertation, the relationship between a firm’s technological innovation and performance is evaluated. Additionally, this relationship is examined in the presence of various contextual factors.

In the first study, meta-analysis is utilized to quantitatively aggregate existing empirical research in this domain. Cultural and institutional aspects of the nation in which the firm operates are examined for their potential in explaining variability within the …

Team Member Selection Strategies, Robert Carl Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business teams have been losing millions of dollars every year in cost and schedule over-runs from incomplete or failed projects. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that business managers use to determine team fit when selecting employees for assignment to cross-functional project teams. The participants for this study were 3 senior management personnel and a 6-member employee focus group, all from midsized, nonprofit organizations located within 200 miles of the tri-state region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The conceptual framework for this study was Werbel and Gilliland's theory of person-group fit, McCrae's and John's …

Strategies To Improve Engagement Among Public Sector Information Technology Employees, Michelle Dawn Benham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees decrease organizations' efficiencies and profitability. Engaged employees provide greater productivity and performance while being less likely to incur job burnout and exhaustion. However, public sector organizational leaders still struggle to engage their information technology (IT) employees. Partnering with a large public sector organization in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, in a case study design, this study explored the strategies that public sector business leaders use to increase productivity through engaging IT employees. The conceptual framework for this study was the job demands-resources framework. Four participants were selected through purposeful sampling from a population of 7 IT leaders who …

The Sustainability Management Control System: Factors To Consider In Metric Conceptualization, Corne Mouton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The performance metrics embedded in sustainability management control systems (SMCS) provide organizational leaders the ability to affect the implementation and continual improvement of sustainability strategies. Leaders in oil sands companies lacking adequate information on the efficacy of the sustainability performance metrics and their use to enhance their SMCS could be at a competitive disadvantage. Guided by stakeholder theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies Alberta-based oil sands company leaders use for critical planning, developing, and implementing SMCS performance metrics. The target population comprised of 20 oil sands company leaders from an Alberta, Canada, organization who …

An Analysis Of Performance Claims In Athleisure, Katherine M. Hahnel

Theses and Dissertations--Retailing and Tourism Management

The purpose of this research was to evaluate performance claims in athleisure, in order to confirm or refute their authenticity. Aesthetic properties and functional claims were evaluated initially, and after repeated home laundering. A convenience (nonprobability) sample of activewear with performance features consisted of ninety garments that are currently on the market and commonly used by consumers. The garments included men’s and women’s t-shirts, polos, leggings, windbreakers, hoodies, sweatpants, and warm-up pants of various fiber contents and performance chemistries. The focus of the garment selection was on garments with performance properties relating to moisture management. Performance claims listed on the …

Favorability Of Financial And Nonfinancial Performance Measures And Analysts' Recommendations, Thomas F. Lewis Jr

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the extent to which sell-side analysts make full use of available financial and nonfinancial information signals in formulating stock recommendations. Prior research shows that investors rely strongly on sell-side analysts’ recommendations and that sell-side analysts pay considerable attention to nonfinancial measures in making their decisions. However, prior research has primarily focused on the mere presence of nonfinancial measures and not the extent to which the direction of such measures (i.e. favorability) is associated with firm value, or assessed the extent to which any interaction between financial measures and the direction of nonfinancial measures may influence analysts in …