Business Commons^™

Towards Pedagogy Supporting Ethics In Modelling, Marie Oldfield

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Education for concepts such as ethics and societal responsibility that are critical in building robust and applicable mathematical and statistical models do currently exist in isolation but have not been incorporated into the mainstream curricula at the school or university level. This is partially due to the split between fields (such as mathematics, statistics, and computer science) in an educational setting but also the speed with which education is able to keep up with industry and its requirements. I argue that principles and frameworks of socially responsible modelling should begin at school level and that this would mean that ethics …

Grassroots Organizations Using Social Media As A Lobbying Technique, Samantha Vo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Grassroots organizations provide a way for communities to interact and form around topics through grassroots lobbying and direct lobbying. As the 21st Century is referred to as the Digital Age, many grassroots organizations have found it necessary to expand on their lobbying techniques. Rather than utilizing methods like traditional media, email, phone calls, or text messages, methods involving social media are becoming more prominent as society continues to advance. Social media is a distinctive part of the Digital Age, and as the usage of social media increases in popularity, it can be used to reach a large population of people. …

Attracting Applicants With Corporate Social Responsibility: A Social Dilemma Perspective, Shin Han

CGU Theses & Dissertations

There has been a surging interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in society, and business leaders perceive that CSR is essential in business operations. However, CSR can lead to unsatisfactory outcomes when not appropriately understood or practiced. Therefore, I conducted two studies to provide an alternative CSR perspective (Study 1) and empirically test how firms can benefit the most from CSR in applicant attraction (Study 2). In Study 1, I analyzed CSR as an organizational social dilemma (Rockmann & Northcraft, 2018), where the conflicts among stakeholders and between short- and long-term outcomes are inevitable. To minimize these conflicts, firms need …

The Threat Of Activist Intervention: A Determinant Of 8-K Disclosure For Industrial Companies, Audrey Guilloteau

CMC Senior Theses

In the face of an activist threat, management may be inclined to provide additional disclosure to discourage potential intervention. This paper constructs an empirical model to measure the threat of activism and voluntary disclosure using a data set of 92 industrials focused activist events from 2008 to 2019. Propensity score matching is used to identify close peer firms that experience a threat of activism at the time a campaign is announced. Results from a difference in differences analysis indicate that firms targeted by hedge fund activists provide additional disclosure in the two-year period following the campaign announcement, as seen through …

Balance Sheet Strength: A Retrospective Analysis Of Corporate Liquidity And Solvency And Firm Stock Returns, Andrew Wraith

CMC Senior Theses

The onset COVID-19 Pandemic caused rippling effects throughout the global economy. Social distancing and stay at home orders shifted consumer demand, as the firmwide impact of these same policies led to supply chain shortages. The COVID-19 Pandemic induced a recession in 2020 that was unique from all others in US history. Throughout the beginning months of the Pandemic, firms rushed to raise debt, equity, and lines of credit, as public financing markets experienced increased volatility. How did the markets adapt to this sudden change? I examine the effect on stock returns of firmwide Balance Sheet strength as it changed throughout …

How Punxsutawney Phil’S Predictions Affect The Stock Market: A Groundhog Day Analysis, Jessica Cuna Zamora

CMC Senior Theses

With its roots dating back to 1887, Groundhog Day has cemented itself as a beloved American holiday where people gather to see if Punxsutawney Phil will predict 6 more weeks of winter, or an early arrival of spring. Utilizing the data and methodology framework from Shanaev, Savva, and Fedorova (2021) to test if Groundhog Day predictions have any effect on S&P 500 returns, this paper revisits and revises the analysis in attempt to replicate and improve the original findings with a dummy-variable regression while controlling for other calendar anomalies. Additionally, this study expands the original analysis by including two new …

Misvaluing Effective Investors In Intangible Capital, Dustin Lind

CMC Senior Theses

Cohen et al. (2013) measure a firm’s ability at investing in knowledge capital, a type of intangible capital, through a model that captures how well a firm translates R&D intensity into future sales growth. Using this model, they show that an investment portfolio comprised of firms that have high R&D spending ability and high R&D intensity earn significant positive abnormal returns. I modify their model to capture a broader investment in intangible capital by replacing R&D intensity with SG&A intensity and substituting sales growth with gross profit growth. My measure of ability at investing in intangible capital has two main …

Securing The Overnight Rates: A Study Of Alternative Reference Rates In Illiquid Overnight Tri-Party Repo Markets, Michael Murphy

CMC Senior Theses

Since 2011, the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) has been on the way out for practitioners and researchers alike due to its manipulation in key bank quotes during the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). This paper intends to examine key rates being introduced as LIBOR substitutes, such as SOFR, BSBY, and Ameribor. Specific to its concern, the paper will back test these rates during times of illiquidity in both their respective markets and the broader financial markets to determine which rates will be able to sustain an abnormal drop in transaction volumes. Furthermore, this paper will try to determine whether a …

Containing Compounding Container Congestion, Curtis Salinger

CMC Senior Theses

The Covid-19 pandemic caused major disruptions throughout the container shipping supply chain. Professor Dongping Song of Liverpool University wrote a paper discussing the logistical vulnerabilities in the supply chain, including the issue of congestion in ports. This paper examines the Port of Los Angeles from 2018-2021 as it relates to Song’s paper to see how its operations were impacted during the Covid-19 timeframe. It is found that labor shortages, chassis shortages, and change in trade behavior each contributed to the congestion. Unfortunately, the implemented policies were insufficient to bolster the port against sustained challenges and congestion continues to worsen.

The Rising Power Of The Individual Investor: How Social Media Sentiments And User Activity Impact Stock Price Volatility And Trading Volume, Nandini Jayaram

CMC Senior Theses

This paper investigates the relationship between social media sentiments and user activity on the ability of online platforms like Robinhood, Reddit, and Twitter to drive volatility in stock returns and trading volume of shares. The research contributes to the existing literature by studying the potential power of social media communities to influence the stock market parameters. The dataset includes information for several stocks of daily Robinhood users, mentions in r/wallstreetbets, number of Twitter followers, as well as closing price and trading volume data. Using a fixed effects panel data model, the regressions yield statistically significant results that indicate higher WallStreetBets …

Case Study On The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Remote Work And Compensation In The San Francisco Bay Area, Carson Stubstad

CMC Senior Theses

COVID-19 has changed the way that organizations conduct business. Stay-at-home orders shifted many workers, who traditionally worked in-person, to remote work. Research has been done to understand the macro impacts and organization impacts of remote work, but very little research has been conducted on the impact of wages. This paper studies the effects of remote work during and after COVID-19 lockdowns on wages. This thesis uses the San Francisco Bay Area as a case study. The findings suggest that remote workers are being paid higher after the lockdown in the area. I analyze these trends by controlling for a variety …

Source Credibility And Persuasive Communication: Effects On Social Media Influencers, Influencer Marketing, And Consumer Attitude Change, Isabelle Jia

CMC Senior Theses

Social psychology has long been researching how source credibility influences persuasive communication. With the world transitioning into a society interested in digital consumption, communication, and connection, this paper serves as a literature review of how different characteristics of source credibility can aid influencer credibility through various modes of social media messaging. The examination of three source credibility characteristics: 1) expertise, 2) trustworthiness, and 3) likability showcase how social media influencers can establish credibility with their consumers and build further connections with them. The results underline the importance of source credibility in influencing consumer attitude change and behavior over continued exposure …

Bubbles Through The Years: An Examination Of Unique And Analogous Characteristics Among Financial Manias From The South Sea Bubble To The Great Financial Crisis, Matthew Hines

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout history, financial bubbles have been shrouded in fear and misunderstanding, with hope, greed, and hearsay fueling inane degrees of risk-taking amongst financial powerhouses and the common retail investor alike. While many studies have been conducted to delve into the unique attributes, causes, effects, and consequences of almost every crisis since adequate data could be recorded and preserved, it is not common for the varying types of crises to be directly compared in their core attributes and price movements. This paper conducts such an examination, with a look into ten different crises across the equity, real estate, and oil markets …

Sex, Money, And Free Speech: The Many Harms Of Fosta/Sesta, Desmond Mantle

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis tracks the development of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act/Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or FOSTA/SESTA, which became federal law in 2018. The law's passage followed as a natural consequence of popular concerns about human trafficking. Congress passed the legislation by large margins in both houses given bipartisan opposition to sex trafficking. This thesis identifies plausible reasons for the only two Senate votes against the bill: those of Senators Rand Paul and Ron Wyden. Though these senators came from opposite sides of the aisle, they shared concerns about the future of free speech online and the potential failure …

Cross-Cultural Examination Of Vacation Policy On Employee Satisfaction And Happiness, Ketan D. Parekh

CMC Senior Theses

With the advent of technological advancement, entrepreneurship, and a higher emphasis on meritocracy, societies across the globe have experienced intense competition to outdo one another. This has pushed companies to place increased importance on worker productivity; large and small companies want to see their employees work harder, longer, and faster. With this increased demand for work, companies today are making sure they have suitable reward systems to ensure worker satisfaction and quality work production. However, what these reward systems look like and how they function contrast significantly across cultures, especially as it pertains to corporate leave policies. This thesis examines …

Evaluating The Impact Of Streaming Service Subscriber Acquisition Strategies In India On Firm Value: An Event Study Analysis, Ajitha Anand

CMC Senior Theses

For streaming service providers who are reaching a plateau in subscriber growth in the western market, India presents a rich opportunity for subscriber acquisition. However, the three major streaming service providers, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+Hotstar, have faced challenges growing and sustaining a strong subscriber base in India. This thesis offers three contributions. First, I explain and categorize the approaches of these providers from 2016 to 2022. Second, using event study methodology and the Fama-French Five factor model, I estimate the effect of India-related SVOD press releases on firm returns. Third, I estimate the impact that each firm’s announcements …

Media Merger Madness: An Event Study Analyzing Acquiror Returns In Media & Entertainment, Samuel Johnson

CMC Senior Theses

Utilizing an event study methodology, this paper studies the effect that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announcements have on media acquirors’ stock returns. This study also examines the effect that various characteristics of the target and acquiror have on acquirors’ returns. These characteristics include: location of the acquired company, year of the acquisition, industry of the acquired company, price of the acquired company, size of the acquiror, and serial acquiror status of the acquiror. My findings are consistent with previous literature that find that, in a short-term event window surrounding the announcement of a merger or acquisition, acquirors experience returns that …

The Supplier Shield: Covid-19 Effects On Suppliers Of Highly Affected Industries, Maisy Mills

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the effect Covid-19 has on hard-hit industries and their suppliers. By looking at the widening of credit spreads on corporate bonds, a shield can be observed through the disproportionate way Covid affects hard-hit companies compared to their suppliers. The dataset looks specifically at three highly affected industries which are accommodation, air transportation, and full-service restaurants. This paper runs a linear regression that looks at the effect that being one of the main 3 frontline industries has on credit spreads of corporate bonds versus that from being a supplier of these industries. The regression highlights the effects that …

Crisis Response In The Global Supply Chain Of The Fashion Industry, Caitlyn Arce

CMC Senior Theses

The fast fashion industry has developed a supply chain that optimizes profits by manufacturing garments from developing countries at extremely low costs. With consumer preferences pressuring brands to produce new cheap trends and products at rapid speed, the brunt of the costs is placed in countries where managers, suppliers, and governments turn a blind eye for the sake of economic stability and development. In moments of crisis, key players have chosen to respond in ways that reflect their priorities and incentives. Brands have reflected in their decision-making the influence of consumer demand and sensitivity to media through the risk of …

Round After Round: Understanding Dry Powder As A Determinant Of Spread In Leveraged Loans, Raizel Yu

CMC Senior Theses

Given the rise in private equity companies’ dry powder reserves, as well as the increased prevalence of covenant-lite loans pointing to a change in the overall dynamic of leveraged loan dealmaking, this paper aims to determine whether dry powder is a significant determinant of leveraged loan spreads. This paper uses a sample of loan level contract variables, borrower characteristics, and macroeconomic conditions from DealScan, Compustat, Pitchbook, and the Federal Reserve Economic Data. My findings are consistent with the hypothesis that availability of funds, measured in dry powder, is a good determinant of spread. As leveraged loans are a necessary component …

An Analysis Of Impacts Of Covid-19 On Salary Cap Allocation And Performance In The National Football League, Abai Houser

CMC Senior Theses

Professional sports are one of the most successful industries in the world. The live spectacle and in-person nature make sporting events a unique and individual experience. COVID-19 shifted how athletic events were operated, financed, and viewed, thereby changing leagues as well. The National Football League was one of the last sports to start its season during 2019 and 2020, setting the stage as the only league to not isolate its players in a safe operating space. This paper studies the effects of COVID-19 on the salary cap management of teams after the pandemic. The findings suggest that financial metrics analyzed …

In Search Of Unicorns: An Analysis Of Japan's Startup Ecosystem, Kaito Komoriya

CMC Senior Theses

While Japan previously dominated global consumer markets in innovative electronic products, the economy has failed to live up to this performance since the burst of the asset price bubble in 1992 and the subsequent lost decades. In the modern economy, startup companies have become synonymous with innovation. Most of these companies have emerged from Silicon Valley, as well as other startup hubs around the globe. However, critics have criticized Japan for the limited number of notable startup companies from the country.

My thesis seeks to answer the two following questions: First, what is the current state of Japan’s startup ecosystem? …

The Transforming Importance Of Social Skills In The Labor Market In The 2010s, Andrew Bradjan

CMC Senior Theses

The growing importance of social skills has led to an increase in returns to wages and employment for workers specializing in social skill-intensive occupations. Between 2012 and 2019, social skill-intensive occupations grew by 3 percentage points as a share of the U.S. labor force. Math-intensive occupations also grew by a similar amount during this time. To analyze these patterns, I utilize a model of team production where workers trade tasks to exploit their comparative advantage. Social skills reduce coordination costs between workers and allow them to specialize and cooperate with other workers more effectively by trading tasks. This model predicts …

Greenpeace In Germany And The U.S.: A Case Study In Non-Profit Web Design, Maximilian J. Weirauch

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis draws on Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model, connects it to basic principles of web design, and applies it to a website analysis of the global non-profit organization Greenpeace. This case study of cultural dimensions in web design utilizes Hofstede’s framework from 1974 throughout all its chapters and focuses on the cultural differences between Germany and the U.S. My hypothesis that successful marketing materials such as websites must communicate differently with their U.S.-American and German audiences is partially borne out. But it is important to note that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model cannot fully account for certain intercultural dimensions of …

How A Supply Chain Stumble Changes A Company’S Policies And Progress 20 Years Later: A Case Study Of Gap Inc., Alexandra Futterman

CMC Senior Theses

Gap Inc. is the third-largest American retailer. Founded in 1969, Gap Inc. holds four brands, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Gap Inc. made headlines for child labor abuses along with many other large brands. After this negative attention, Gap Inc. began developing policies and practices to combat ethical supply chain issues. These policies included a Human Rights Policy, a Code of Vendor Conduct, working conditions standards, and even capacity building programs that boarded company reaches into communities they touch. In conjunction with the policies Gap Inc. has published several social responsibility …