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Full-Text Articles in Business

Social Entrepreneurship: Pattern-Changing Entrepreneurs And The Scaling Of Social Impact, David A. Sherman Dec 2005

Social Entrepreneurship: Pattern-Changing Entrepreneurs And The Scaling Of Social Impact, David A. Sherman

Student Scholarship

This paper presents findings from an investigation of pattern-changing social entrepreneurs. We examined the efforts of fifteen entrepreneurs and sought to understand the factors that enable successful ones to scale their social impact. All the entrepreneurs were operating in capital constrained environments and scaling required overcoming funding constraints. The findings indicate that pattern-changing social entrepreneurs are more concerned with scaling their impact than with growing their enterprises. Hence, many were pursuing both direct scaling where they grew their own enterprises and indirect scaling where they pursued impact through influencing other organizations. Social entrepreneurship is not a linear process; rather it …

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Barriers And Enablers Of A Successful Transition To Nurse Manager, Pamela C. Hudson Dec 2005

Barriers And Enablers Of A Successful Transition To Nurse Manager, Pamela C. Hudson

Student Scholarship

The transition from staff nurse to nurse leader is a natural promotional pathway in a nursing career. Yet seldom are staff nurses who are promoted to management prepared--either practically or psychologically--for the job. This study, based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with 13 nurse leaders, describes from their perspectives, the perils of ill-prepared promotion to management. Our findings suggest that nurse leaders often "do" management but continue to "be" nurses. The schism between doing and being, as seen in previous research in other contexts, impacts nurse leader's attitude, job satisfaction and performance. In an era where the nurse leader is seen …

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"Retained Equity": Understanding The Impact Of Self Service Technology On Brand Trust Within The Context Of Financial Aid Administration, Matthew J. Gymer Dec 2005

"Retained Equity": Understanding The Impact Of Self Service Technology On Brand Trust Within The Context Of Financial Aid Administration, Matthew J. Gymer

Student Scholarship

Investment in self service technology (SST) is transforming the customer service encounter in virtually all industry sectors, pushing interpersonal service to a more automated and self initiated process. While firms are more familiar with operational implementation and customer acceptance factors of SST, there is much to learn concerning the cumulative implications of shifting customers from an interpersonal to a SST based service encounter. Of particular importance is what happens to trust between student and school the more students use self service technology to meet their financial aid service requests. Two groups of undergraduate students – some predisposed to SST based …

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A Qualitative Study Of Employee Self-Limiting Behaviors In Non-Dominant Culture Organizations, Monika L. Hudson Dec 2005

A Qualitative Study Of Employee Self-Limiting Behaviors In Non-Dominant Culture Organizations, Monika L. Hudson

Student Scholarship

In this qualitative research paper, social/ethnic identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Berry, 1993) and relative deprivation theories (Dion, 2001) and their application to organizational identity are used to look at “self-limiting” behaviors – conscious or unconscious acts of non- cooperation and/or lower work effort (Metayer, 2003). The intent is to identify how management practice can be improved by better understanding the derivation and reasons for these behaviors in one type of non-dominant culture workplace – organizations where African Americans constitute the majority of the employee base. Among the major findings of this segment of the research is that while managers …

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Silence Please: The Case For Cell Phone Rejection, Nina Aversano Dec 2005

Silence Please: The Case For Cell Phone Rejection, Nina Aversano

Student Scholarship

Cell phone density in G8 countries ranges between 80 and 90 percent – except in the US where some 35 % of Americans have failed to adopt the technology. The relative reluctance of US consumers to embrace cellular technology is puzzling given that the barriers for use appear to be low and the benefits high. If rejection was the simple inverse of adoption, we would expect people to reject cellular telephony based on negative evaluations of usefulness and ease of use, dominant constructs in technology acceptance models. This research suggests, however, that barriers to cell phone rejection transcend those traditionally …

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Social Change - Making The Improbable Possible Through Collaboration: Barriers And Enablers To Ngos Working Together In South Africa To Tackle Hiv/Aids, Jane Cooke-Lauder Dec 2005

Social Change - Making The Improbable Possible Through Collaboration: Barriers And Enablers To Ngos Working Together In South Africa To Tackle Hiv/Aids, Jane Cooke-Lauder

Student Scholarship

Three intersecting trends create an interesting arena for this study – collaboration is increasingly being portrayed as the way to solve wicked problems at a time when significant cross-border social issues are ever more pressing and when the number and level of activity of Non Government Organizations (NGOs) is on the increase. The result is a world where NGOs are working together differently, more collaboratively, to address these intractable social issues. But results indicate that their collaboration efforts are not always successful. This study was based on interviews conducted with 19 leaders of NGOs working collaboratively to tackle the HIV/AIDS …

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Startup/Seed Stage Investment By Venture Capital Funds (In Israel): Entrepreneurs In Residency And Executive In Residency Programs, Jimmy Schwarzkopf Nov 2005

Startup/Seed Stage Investment By Venture Capital Funds (In Israel): Entrepreneurs In Residency And Executive In Residency Programs, Jimmy Schwarzkopf

Student Scholarship

What constitutes venture capital and what constitutes angel financing is a natural question. In the time period after the bubble burst in 2000 it became easy to differentiate: 1. Angel investors: usually high status individuals, former successful technology entrepreneurs who use their financial wealth, which financed birth and initial growth of ventures. 2. Venture capital (VC): independently managed, dedicated pools of capital that focus on equity-linked investments in privately held, high growth companies needing mid stage financing. Startup/seed financing were usually not acceptable VC funding phases, because of the greater risks involved. The growth in Startup/Seed Financingby VCs (almost 100% …

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Technology Rejection Of Mobile Telephones, Nina Aversano Sep 2005

Technology Rejection Of Mobile Telephones, Nina Aversano

Student Scholarship

Over 40% of all consumers in the United States reject mobile telephones. Exploring this puzzling question becomes all the more interesting given that mobile telephones clearly meet the criteria of the prevailing Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2). Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, social influence, and cognitive instrumental processes all influence user acceptance or adoption behavior, yet there are still a large number of people who do not accept this innovation. There is a dearth of academic research on why consumers reject technology; specifically mobile telephone technology. The review of the literature and the …

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Asian Drama: Discovering And Unleashing The Mobile Services, Amit K. Maitra Sep 2005

Asian Drama: Discovering And Unleashing The Mobile Services, Amit K. Maitra

Student Scholarship

Telecommunications privatization, competition, liberalization, and regulatory independence in several countries have been embarked with the goals of maximizing universal access to telecommunications services as a developmental goal, promoting efficiency through competition and establishment of world class telecommunications networks. Using interview data from India and China--the two countries that have very different governments and policies, leading to differing approaches to the introduction of telecommunication competition and infrastructure development--this paper provides analyses of privatization, competition, liberalization processes and legal frameworks governing telecommunications. India has set policy via recommendations of publicly visible independent regulatory authority while China has pursued a strategy of competition …

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Trust, Education And Development In Jamaica, 1950-2000, Beverley J. Morgan Aug 2005

Trust, Education And Development In Jamaica, 1950-2000, Beverley J. Morgan

Student Scholarship

Education is considered to be the greatest predictor of social capital which, in turn, is said to be the greatest predictor of socio-economic development. In order to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this apparent chain of causation the study looked closely at the variables of interest among a population of highly educated Jamaicans. Certain highly educated members of the cohorts who graduated from high school in Jamaica between 1950 and 2000 show a high propensity for Generalised Trust that finds expression in the extent of their sociability, the range and heterogeneity of the groups to which they belong …

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Growth, Adaptation And Success In Mid-Career Leaders Experiencing Disruptive Midelife Transitions: An Exploration Of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Hope And Resilience, Kathryn V. Kamisnky Aug 2005

Growth, Adaptation And Success In Mid-Career Leaders Experiencing Disruptive Midelife Transitions: An Exploration Of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Hope And Resilience, Kathryn V. Kamisnky

Student Scholarship

This study explores the experience of disruptive, midlife transition among mid-career leaders. The genesis of life cycle theory, over the past fifty years provides an important foundation to the exploration of midlife transition. While theses theories offer an explanation of the types, expected timing and frequency of transitions in life, they do not address the core competencies that the mid-career leader leverages to achieve success through disruptive periods of transition. The central hypothesis of this research is that there are four independent variables or competencies within leaders that affect the outcome of their experience and management of disruptive life transitions. …

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Awareness Of Advance Planning For End Of Life: A Qualitative Study Of 'Baby Boomers', Elizabeth Lada Morse Aug 2005

Awareness Of Advance Planning For End Of Life: A Qualitative Study Of 'Baby Boomers', Elizabeth Lada Morse

Student Scholarship

This qualitative study examined factors that contribute to end of life decision-making regarding formulation of advance directives for individuals within the 'baby boomer' age range. Using a grounded theory methodology a substantive theory of awareness of end of life identifies four contexts under which advance directives are formulated and implemented. The L-A-M-P awareness model was identified through a series of interviews with fifteen individuals, who are considered generally well, and not anticipating imminent incapacity or death. My findings indicate that one's prior personal experiences with death and dying are unique and these experiences may influence formulation of their own advance …

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Assessing The Role Of Values In Developing Service Competence And The Relationship Between Competence And Job Performance, Bernard J. Brunsman Jul 2005

Assessing The Role Of Values In Developing Service Competence And The Relationship Between Competence And Job Performance, Bernard J. Brunsman

Student Scholarship

This paper describes research to establish and test a model that proposes relationships between Learning Experiences and Job Performance. Service Competence--a construct that integrates technical, cognitive, and social/emotional competencies--was adapted from social learning, emotional intelligence, and emotional labor theories and was proposed as mediating the relationship between learning experiences and job performance. Individual values were proposed to moderate the relationship between Learning Experiences and Service Competence. Alignment of an individual's dominant value with the organization's dominant value was proposed to moderate the relationship between Service Competence and Job Performance. Technical help desk employees at a major US retailer participated in …

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"Retained Equity": Understanding The Impact Of Self Service Technology On Brand Trust Within The Context Of Financial Aid Administration, Matthew J. Gymer Jun 2005

"Retained Equity": Understanding The Impact Of Self Service Technology On Brand Trust Within The Context Of Financial Aid Administration, Matthew J. Gymer

Student Scholarship

There is little research in service literature that provides a contextual framework for understanding the impact of web-based self service technology on brand trust. Of particular importance is what happens to trust between customer and firm the more customers use self service technology to meet their service requests? The author synthesizes service encounter and brand trust variables to construct a contingency framework useful for effective resource allocation. From a customer perspective, this longitudinal study will integrate the variables that shape student use of web-based self service technology and the variables that define brand trust. Within higher education administration, service encounter …

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Developing New Knowledge From Health-Care Industry Quality Practices To Identify And Report Patient Incidents, Anna H. Gibson Jun 2005

Developing New Knowledge From Health-Care Industry Quality Practices To Identify And Report Patient Incidents, Anna H. Gibson

Student Scholarship

The focus of this study is to develop a sense of managements' approach to removing medical error or occurrence reporting barriers within their hospital system. Managers perceive leadership, communication, policy changes, procedure changes, education, training, and feedback as fundamental approaches. Yet, scholarly research indicates a reporting barrier can be attributed a lack of feedback to staff on previously reported errors. The staff not only desires constructive feedback, but views feedback as a means to learn from mistakes. The study findings indicate there are three levels of feedback. Although institutional and managerial feedback is provided, what appears to be missing is …

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Role Innovation And Self Identity Change In Staff Nurse To Nurse Leader Transition, Pamela C. Hudson Jun 2005

Role Innovation And Self Identity Change In Staff Nurse To Nurse Leader Transition, Pamela C. Hudson

Student Scholarship

Transitions are a way of life and traditionally the transition from staff nurse to nurse leader is the natural promotion pathway or transition in one’s nursing career. The transition from staff nurse to nurse leaders produces change in self identity and role innovation. This preliminary conceptual model uses the theory of possible selves in trying to explain the degree of self identity change and role innovation when the staff nurse transitions to nurse leader. As the staff nurse transitions to the role of nurse manager, the use of “possible selves” mediates the organizational and individual influences, as the independent variables, …

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Sources Of Social Capital In Community Engagement Efforts: Qualitative Study Of Public School Boards, Suzanne K. Moore May 2005

Sources Of Social Capital In Community Engagement Efforts: Qualitative Study Of Public School Boards, Suzanne K. Moore

Student Scholarship

Never before in the history of public education has it been more critical for school boards to connect with their communities. As more and more demands are made on public schools, districts must rely on their communities to boost the value of their schools by increasing resources, building support, co-producing results and overcoming obstacles. The objective of this study was to understand the factors –within the framework of social capital - related to board members that either promote or hinder community collaboration with their school districts. As part of this exploratory case study, the superintendent and two board members in …

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Subtle Effects - Significant Consequences: An Examination Of Presentation And Framing Effect Conseqences On Mutual Fund Selection Behavior, Gary A. Walker May 2005

Subtle Effects - Significant Consequences: An Examination Of Presentation And Framing Effect Conseqences On Mutual Fund Selection Behavior, Gary A. Walker

Student Scholarship

Reliance on mutual funds is vast and continues expanding with more than half of all U.S. households collectively investing $7 trillion in fund assets. During the 1990s, frequently encountered shareholder confusion prompted SEC mandated Plain English disclosure revision to clarify risks and costs. Despite comprehensive changes in 1998, consumers continue investing billions in consistently underperforming high fee funds pushing 2004 fees to nearly $68 billion. Two competing causal theories from the literature center on consumer rationality. Either disclosure of critical selection attributes is transparent and consumers behave irrationally, or rational consumers are not given information necessary for advantageous behavior. Isolating …

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An Institutional Theory Perspective: Corporate Responses To Section 404 Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002, Richard R. Clune May 2005

An Institutional Theory Perspective: Corporate Responses To Section 404 Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002, Richard R. Clune

Student Scholarship

Institutional theory is explored as a way of explaining Section 404 first year experiences as the constituents set about to socially construct the law that regulates them. The normative pressure from the professional network of consultants emerges as most influential. By examining the Section 404 process in this fashion, it focuses attention as to whether the external auditors, taking turns as consultants at their competitors' external audit clients, drove the Section 404 compliance process and in a manner that resulted in perceived protection for them but with less than optimal benefit for their clients. Perhaps this study's results open up …

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A Conceptual Study Of Employee Self-Limiting Behaviors In Non-Dominant Culture Organizations, Monika L. Hudson May 2005

A Conceptual Study Of Employee Self-Limiting Behaviors In Non-Dominant Culture Organizations, Monika L. Hudson

Student Scholarship

In 2005, most large cities in the United States--those with populations of 400,000 or more--find that the majority of their residents are persons of color (US Census, 2000). Various non-profit and/or public sector organizations try to serve these populations; often, these agencies will employ a preponderance of persons from the communities they are attempting to serve to assure that clients can have direct contact with people who "look, speak and act like them". For the purpose of this analysis, when the majority of the employees are non-Euro-Americans, the agencies are called "non-dominant culture" organizations. This paper conceptualizes the impact that …

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A Framework For Maximizing Board Member Outcomes In Organizations Of Higher Education, Susan D. Williams May 2005

A Framework For Maximizing Board Member Outcomes In Organizations Of Higher Education, Susan D. Williams

Student Scholarship

A higher standard of ethical accountability has emerged as a social movement in the nonprofit sector in response to the legislation mandated in the for-profit corporate sector requiring greater accountability. In response to this social movement and driven by a personal commitment to improve nonprofit board outcomes, this study explores a new model of governance which seeks to explain what drives a board member's performance in terms of oversight of management and the provision of resources, the desired outcomes of board membership. The model takes into consideration the complex and ambiguous nature of volunteer board work within the dynamics of …

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Technology Collaboration Between Competitive Firms In The Upstream Oil Industry: The Effect Of Operational Control On Collaborative Behavior, Arun K. Sharma May 2005

Technology Collaboration Between Competitive Firms In The Upstream Oil Industry: The Effect Of Operational Control On Collaborative Behavior, Arun K. Sharma

Student Scholarship

This paper investigates the relationships between oil company competitors as they collaborate to develop and deploy new technologies within mutually owned oil-field development projects. Although the formal governance for these relationships is well defined, multiple informal managerial strategies are employed between partners to manage perceptions of potential opportunistic behavior. These perceptions and resulting managerial strategies may vary with the imbalance of operational control between partners. Thus, partners with less operational control may employ defensive strategies while those with greater control may leverage their power to seek short-term gain. The following is a conceptual model considering the effect of operational control …

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Collaborative Advantage In Volatile Business Environments, Baldev Singh May 2005

Collaborative Advantage In Volatile Business Environments, Baldev Singh

Student Scholarship

A changing business environment with market consolidation and convergence is imposing new demands on organizations where old ways of doing business are fast becoming obsolete. Much of the resulting interconnectivity and interdependence in the environment is obscure to organizational business units. As such they are unable to select a viable course of action- forcing the organizations to reexamine their operational strategies both at the organization and business unit levels. Constant restructuring to maintain differentiation among business units and alignment with shifting market segments is simply infeasible and disruptive. This paper explores intra-organizational collaboration as an alternate means for developing business …

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Corporate Governance In The Era Of Sarbanes-Oxley: Governance Types And Trust Dynamics, Larry W. Ettner May 2005

Corporate Governance In The Era Of Sarbanes-Oxley: Governance Types And Trust Dynamics, Larry W. Ettner

Student Scholarship

This research focused on corporate independent directors and senior executive officers: their perceptions of Sarbanes-Oxley; their roles and responsibilities as officers and directors; how board relationships have transformed as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley; and how the CEO-board and board member-board member trust dynamics impact the management of the board. Implicit in Sarbanes-Oxley is agency theory and the responsibility of independent directors to monitor and control management. The central findings are that independent directors and executive officers are culturally adapting to the new institutional environment of Sarbanes-Oxley, and their new relationship is characterized by "creative tension" whereby distinct and separate roles …

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Intrapreneurship In Nonprofit Organizations: Examining The Factors That Facilitate Entrepreneurial Behavior Among Employees, Michael G. Stull May 2005

Intrapreneurship In Nonprofit Organizations: Examining The Factors That Facilitate Entrepreneurial Behavior Among Employees, Michael G. Stull

Student Scholarship

Multi-source data from 18 organizations was utilized to examine intrapreneurship in the nonprofit sector. Specifically, individual level and firm level variables were introduced concurrently to explore competing and complementary mechanisms in an effort to provide a better understanding of intrapreneurial orientations and behaviors. Employing structural equation modeling on the multi-source cross sectional survey data, results suggest that employee entrepreneurial orientation is greater when (a) high managerial trust is perceived by an employee, and (b) and the employee feels a strong fit between his/her own personal values and those held by the organization. In turn, this individual entrepreneurial orientation has significant …

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The Rx For Electronic Medical Records: A Research Proposal, Edward W. Wright Apr 2005

The Rx For Electronic Medical Records: A Research Proposal, Edward W. Wright

Student Scholarship

Rising US healthcare costs are a growing societal concern. President Bush has called for a voluntary initiative by health care providers to adopt electronic health record technology (EMR) in an effort to save an estimated $140B annually. Despite the anticipated benefits, less than ten percent of US physicians have adopted EMR. This paper proposes research to discover the main influences on the IT technology adoption decision by physicians. Mediating variables from previous studies of IT adoption by small and healthcare businesses are melded with those of economic rational choice theory to provide a plausible conceptual model to explain what is …

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Transformational Leadership Development In Adolescent Youth: Authoritative Parenting, And The Mediating Effect Of Psychological Autonomy And Mastery Orientation, Franklin T. Kudo Apr 2005

Transformational Leadership Development In Adolescent Youth: Authoritative Parenting, And The Mediating Effect Of Psychological Autonomy And Mastery Orientation, Franklin T. Kudo

Student Scholarship

This is an empirical research study exploring how adolescent youth can develop into transformational leaders. It investigates the question whether adolescent children through proper parenting practices develop specific leadership capabilities. It is argued that certain parent-child interactions promote adolescent psychological autonomy and mastery-orientation, and that these interactions lead to the development of leadership qualities similar to those found in the literature of the adult transformational leader. Through the use of specific measurement survey instruments, data from adolescent boys and a few girls was collected and analyzed. The results obtained help explain the possible interactions between parenting and leadership development in …

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Executive Style Not Gender: Moving Toward A Clearer View Of The Consequences Of Executive Transition In The Nonprofit Sector, Jane A. Van Buren Apr 2005

Executive Style Not Gender: Moving Toward A Clearer View Of The Consequences Of Executive Transition In The Nonprofit Sector, Jane A. Van Buren

Student Scholarship

The primary purpose of this research is to clarify the operational characteristics in nonprofit organizations and to propose a framework for organizational success. This study aims to conceptualize and disentangle gender, board power and executive style effects and examine the relationship between board power and executive style under the possible scenarios of executive transition. We explore and refine the dimensions of board power and executive style and discuss the usefulness of viewing an organization's orientation as a multidimensional construct. We suggest an alternative model to outcomes of financial performance which includes the interaction of internal and external executive style, and …

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Social Change - Making The Improbable Possible Through Collaboration. The Effectiveness Of Ngo Collaboration Arrangements In South Africa Tackling Hiv/Aids, Jane Cooke-Lauder Apr 2005

Social Change - Making The Improbable Possible Through Collaboration. The Effectiveness Of Ngo Collaboration Arrangements In South Africa Tackling Hiv/Aids, Jane Cooke-Lauder

Student Scholarship

HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa has reached pandemic proportions, with an adult prevalence rate of 8.4%. Of the 30 million African people infected with AIDS at the end of 2002, 58% were women. The economic impact is devastating as is the effect on society and families as measured by reduced life expectancy, family income, and agricultural and industrial efficiency. While funding and the number of aid organizations (including non-government organizations [NGOs]) operating in Africa have increased exponentially, their effectiveness is being debated. Worldwide, a trend is discernible for organizations from a range of disciplines and sectors to work together in tackling …

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Social Entrepreneurship: Scaling Social Impact, David A. Sherman Apr 2005

Social Entrepreneurship: Scaling Social Impact, David A. Sherman

Student Scholarship

This paper presents a conceptual model and research questions for qualitative research of pattern-changing social entrepreneurs who catalyze social transformations by introducing new paradigms at critical leverage points. The research will be conducted during the summer of 2005. The objective of the research is to understand the factors that enable successful pattern-changing social entrepreneurs in the nonprofit sector to scale their social impact. The results of the qualitative research will be used to inform the design of quantitative research to be conducted during 2006. The dependent variables or outputs of interest center around three concepts: changes in scale, social impact …

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