Business Commons^™

The Information Content Of Option Ratios, Benjamin M. Blau, Nga Nguyen, Ryan J. Whitby

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

A broad stream of research shows that information flows into underlying stock prices through the options market. For instance, prior research shows that both the Put–Call Ratio (P/C) and the Option-to-Stock Volume Ratio (O/S) predict negative future stock returns. In this paper, we compare the level of information contained in these two commonly used option volume ratios. First, we find that P/C ratios contain more predictability about future stock returns at the daily level than O/S ratios. Second, in contrast to our first set of results, O/S ratios contain more predictability about future returns at the weekly and monthly levels …

Do Ceos Ever Lose? Fairness Perspective On The Allocation Of Residuals Between Ceos And Shareholders, Kalin Kolev, Robert M. Wiseman, Luis R. Gomez-Mejia

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In this study we introduce a justice perspective to examining the result of bargaining between CEOs and boards over the allocation of firm residuals that ultimately determines CEO compensation. Framing CEO pay as the result of bargaining between CEOs and boards focuses attention on the power of CEOs to increase their share of firm residuals in the form of increased compensation, and the diligence of boards of directors to constrain CEO opportunism. Framing this negotiation through a theory of justice offers an alternative perspective to the search for pay-performance sensitivity. We predict and find that as board diligence in controlling …

Pettit National Ice Center Public Skate Participation Survey, Andrew Christopher Brown

Professional Projects

This research project seeks to identify areas that the Pettit National Ice Center can address in order to increase customer satisfaction, thereby transforming infrequent users into repeat clientele. One hundred-fifty individuals were surveyed utilizing a mixed methods approach which produced qualitative and quantitative results for analysis. Key recommendations for the Pettit National Ice Center include providing improved customer service, improving the appearance and quality of equipment inside the facility, increasing its online presence, and identifying potential revenue generators.

Fostering Fair And Sustainable Marketing For Social Entrepreneurs In The Context Of Subsistence Marketplaces, Tina M. Facca-Miess, Nicholas J. C. Santos

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

In recent years, in-depth, on-the-ground research has generated many insights into the nature and functioning of subsistence marketplaces and the people who operate in them. Such knowledge is bound to be useful to various companies and organisations, as they seek to engage such marketplaces, particularly for marketing managers, who quite likely have not had education or experience in marketing in such impoverished settings. This paper complements these practical insights with a normative ethical framework, presented in the marketing literature and labelled the integrative justice model (IJM) for impoverished markets, so as to synthesise a new framework for fair and sustainable …

How Graphic Visual Health Warnings Affect Young Smokers' Thoughts Of Quitting, J. Craig Andrews, Richard G. Netemeyer, Jeremy Kees, Scot Burton

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Two-thirds of adolescent and young adult smokers become lifetime smokers, and one-half of those lifetime smokers will die from this habit. The authors examine alternative persuasive pathways to thoughts of quitting taken by adolescent and young adult smokers when exposed to graphic visual health warnings on cigarette packages. For adolescent smokers, the authors find that graphic warnings and smoking frequency affect fear, and fear influences negative health beliefs about smoking, ultimately increasing thoughts of quitting. They also find that the graphic warning and a graphic warning × smoking frequency interaction have incremental effects on quit thoughts beyond the effects of …

Differential Impacts Of Structural And Cyclical Unemployment On Mortgage Default And Prepayment, Roberto G. Quercia, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Chao Yue Tian

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The Great Recession (the fourth quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2009) has been characterized by high rates of foreclosures and unemployment. Using a sample of community reinvestment loans, we examine the impact of structural unemployment and cyclical unemployment on mortgage terminations (default and prepayment). We find that mortgage default and prepayment are more sensitive to changes in the structural component of the local unemployment rate than in the cyclical component. In addition, depending on whether structural unemployment rates are high or low, borrowers and lenders react differently to the incentives to terminate a loan.

Consumer Research Needs From The Food And Drug Administration On Front-Of-Package Nutritional Labeling, J. Craig Andrews, Chung-Tung Jordan Lin, Alan S. Levy, Serena Lo

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Americans have increasingly busy lifestyles and desire quick and nutritious food choices. To provide consumers with at-a-glance nutrition information, many food manufacturers have introduced front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labeling systems. The purpose of this review is to reach out to the marketing and public policy discipline by identifying research needs on FOP systems not only to aid decision making for federal agencies, but also to help advance research on this important topic. We describe the many FOP systems, the FDA's regulatory background and approach to FOP systems, recent experimental research and gaps in knowledge, and research needs on FOP nutrition labeling.

Advisor Choice In Asia-Pacific Property Markets, George D. Cashman, David M. Harrison, Michael J. Seiler

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines advisor choice decisions by publicly traded REITs and listed property companies in Asia-Pacific real estate markets. Using a sample of 168 firms, we find robust evidence that firms strategically evaluate and compare the increased agency costs associated with external advisement against the potential benefits associated with collocating decision rights with location specific soft information. Our empirical results reveal real estate companies tend to hire external advisors when they invest in countries: 1) that are more economically and politically unstable, 2) whose legal system is based on civil law, 3) where the level of corruption is perceived to …

Probing The Etic Vs. Emic Nature Of Consumer Ethnocentrism, Srinivas Durvasula, Steven Lysonski

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The consumer ethnocentrism concept and its measure, the CETSCALE, remain very popular in cross-national research chiefly because they serve as a means to understand consumer attitudes toward imports. But the usage of consumer ethnocentrism and its measure are based on the premise that they have universal or etic properties. Conflicting studies, however, find that the scale's structure is far more complicated than initially believed, and that it may not be uni-dimensional as originally proposed. Is it possible that the consumer ethnocentrism concept and its measure are culture bound? The goal of this study is to resolve this ambiguity.

Internationalization Dilemma For Brazilian Firms: China Vs. The Greater Mercosur Region, Syed H. Akhter, Marcilio Machado

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore, using the conceptual frameworks of psychic distance and resource-based view, how Brazilian firms resolve strategic dilemma. Brazilian firms face a strategic dilemma about whether to diversify and exploit the rapidly growing markets of China or to protect and expand the established markets of the Greater Mercosur region. The strategic responses of Brazilian business to business firms are examined within the context of internationalization decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes a qualitative approach to study the decisions taken by Brazilian firms to deal with the strategic dilemma arising from competitive developments in domestic …

Low-Income Consumers In Brazil: Nuances Of A Market That Can No Longer Be Ignored, Luiz Antonio Slongo, Carlos Sergio Valdez Saldanha, Syed H. Akhter

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The main goal of this paper is to better understand the low income Brazilian market, supported by two basic concepts: price unfairness and perceived product value. In order to meet the research objective a qualitative approach, based on two methodological procedures – observation and in-depth interviews –, was used. The findings indicate that small neighborhood retailers, despite lacking adequate physical infrastructure and management skills, play an important role in meeting the needs of low-income consumers. They offer convenience, personalized services, easy and uncomplicated credit (on an informal basis), and a product mix that matches the needs and desires of their …

The Flash Crash: An Examination Of Shareholder Wealth And Market Quality, Thomas J. Boulton, Marcus V. Braga-Alves, Manoj Kulchania

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We investigate stock returns, market quality, and options market activity around the flash crash of May 6, 2010. Abnormal returns are negative on the day of and the day after the flash crash for stocks that had trades that executed during the crash subsequently cancelled by either Nasdaq or NYSE Arca. Consistent with studies that suggest that other sources of liquidity withdrew from the markets during the flash crash, we find that the fraction of trades executed by the NYSE increases during this volatile period. Market quality deteriorates following the flash crash as bid-ask spreads increase and quote depths decrease. …

Gender Composition Of Occupations And Earnings: Why Enter A Female Dominated Occupation?, Peter G. Toumanoff, Timothy J. Keaveny

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Given the inverse relationship between the proportion of females employed in an occupation and earnings, why enter a female-dominated occupation? It has been argued that an individual’s total compensation from work is a combination of wage compensation plus non-pecuniary compensation associated with job characteristics, and when choosing an occupation, one selects the utility-maximizing combination of wages and job characteristics. Our findings support the theory that employee and job characteristics are rewarded differently in non-female dominated (NFD) and female dominated (FD) occupations, and that people choose occupations that reward their attributes more or penalize them less. Comparison of the variables significantly …

Shareholder Engagement And Chevron’S Policy 520 On Human Rights: The Role Played By The United States Jesuit Conference’S “National Jesuit Committee On Investment Responsibility”, Nicholas J. C. Santos, John Sealey, Austin G. C. Onuoha

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

To demonstrate how the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the United States through the “National Jesuit Committee on Investment Responsibility” played a significant role as a socially conscious institutional and religious investor in influencing Chevron’s Human Rights Policy 520 and to analyze the factors that contributed to a successful shareholder engagement with the company.

Methodology/approach

Case study based on firsthand information.

Findings

1. Our conclusion offers support for Allen et al.’s (2012) conclusion of legitimacy (credibility) being the dominant force in a successful engagement.

2. We found that coalition-building is a significant moderating variable in increasing shareholder salience. This finding contradicts …

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Marketing Planning For Social Entrepreneurial Organizations In The Context Of Subsistence Marketplaces: A Pedagogical Reflection For Marketing Education In Jesuit Business Schools, Nicholas J. C. Santos, Tina M. Facca-Miess

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Receptivity Of Young Chinese To American And Global Brands: Psychological Underpinnings, Steven Lysonski

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine psychological variables of young Chinese to determine their impact on identification with global consumer culture, attitudes toward global and USA brands and intention to buy USA brands. The independent or psychological variables examined were self-monitoring, life satisfaction, brand relevance, social demonstration effect, change-seeking behavior and reference groups (interacted and non-interacted). The goal was to understand what forces drive global and USA brand preferences.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in Guangzhou, China, in 2013 through a survey administered to 152 young Chinese respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability coefficients verified the …

Privacy Concern And Online Transactions: The Impact Of Internet Self-Efficacy And Internet Involvement, Syed H. Akhter

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effects of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement on privacy concern and the effect of privacy concern on the frequency of online transactions. The study also seeks to examine the direct effect of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement on the frequency of online transactions.

Design/methodology/approach – A structural equation model was developed to test the hypotheses. The model was tested using the LISREL 8.8 software and both structural and measurement parameters were estimated.

Findings – Findings suggest that internet self-efficacy and internet involvement affect privacy concern negatively; and privacy concern, in turn, affects …

Review Of Psychological Foundations Of Marketing By Allan J. Kimmel, Alexander Milovic

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Whiteness Of A Name: Is “White” The Baseline?, John L. Cotton, Bonnie S. O'Neill, Andrea E.C. Griffin

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypothesis that Whiteness is used as a normative standard when comparing a variety of first names.

Design/methodology/approach– Respondents (full- and part-time business students) evaluated names that sounded common, African-American, Russian, and unusual.

Findings– Results from two studies suggest that “common” or “neutral” names are perceived to be white, and to be more American than African-American, Russian or unusual-sounding names. Results also demonstrate that the common names have more positive attributes, including socio-economic class.

Research limitations/implications– The study found that the basic comparison of American respondents will be to a white …

Narcissism In Public Accounting Firms, Michael D. Akers, Don E. Giacomino, Jill Weber

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

Similar to other characteristics, narcissism is a personality trait that varies by individuals. While the management literature has examined narcissism, there is limited research of narcissism of professionals in public accounting firms. Using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), we assess the level of narcissism in practitioners of public accounting firms by examining differences by gender, age, practice area and position. We also compare our results with a prior study that examined narcissism of accounting majors. Our findings show there are differences between accounting students and accounting professionals for certain traits and gender. We also find there are differences for professionals …

(Wp 2014-01) Is Bitcoin The 'Paris Hilton' Of The Currency World? Or Are The Early Investors Onto Something That Will Make Them Rich? [Updated Version], Abdur Chowdhury

Economics Working Papers

The bitcoin phenomenon, and the technological innovation that made it possible, is interesting - but for investors large and small, the more pertinent question is whether they should buy the digital currency or avoid it. We analyze a bitcoin investment from the standpoint of an investor with a diversified portfolio using both in-sample and out-of-sample settings. Within the in-sample setting, bitcoin does not yield added value to investors with utility function consistent with the mean-variance setting. On the other hand, they do offer diversification benefits to investors with negative exponential and power utility functions. However, these benefits are not preserved …

Foundations In Wisconsin: A Directory [33rd Ed. 2014], Mary C. Frenn, Katie M. Barnhart, Brittany Carloni, Hilary Dabney, Alyssa Gruber, Jakob K. Rinderknecht

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory

The 2014 release of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 33^rd edition of the print directory and the 14^th year of the online version. The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. Additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation websites, annual reports, and newsletters.

Computer-Aided Tools In Negotiation: Negotiable Issues, Counterfactual Thinking, And Satisfaction, Terence T. Ow, Bonnie S. O'Neill, Charles E. Naquin

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Negotiations research has identified both economic and social-psychological outcomes are important for negotiations. Despite the economic advantages of having multiple issues to negotiate, inconsistencies exist between objective economic outcomes and negotiator satisfaction. Although having more negotiable issues yields better objective payoffs, it can result in more thoughts about different possible outcomes. Such counterfactual thoughts about different outcomes can reduce overall satisfaction due to increased cognitive complexity and thoughts about different outcomes. In this study, we explore how information technology can influence negotiator satisfaction and better manage counterfactual thoughts and post-negotiation satisfaction. Results support the prediction that having a computer aid …

Marketing An Established Institutional Repository: Marquette Libraries’ Research Stewardship Survey, Rose Fortier, Emily Laws

Library Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of Marquette University Libraries’ survey measuring faculty knowledge and attitudes about the institution’s repository, for the purposes of creating a marketing plan for the institutional repository (IR).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a quantitative approach through the use of a survey.

Findings

Like many other endeavors to measure faculty engagement with the IR, the investigators discovered that faculty knowledge of the IR is not universal. Moreover, the perceived values and motivators for faculty use of the IR were also not surprising, with faculty viewing online dissemination of their work to …

The Anthropology Of Family Business: An Imagined Ideal, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Investigating American Cancer Society Volunteer Experience, Kari Liotta

Professional Projects

The nonprofit sector is crucial for a vital economy, and volunteers are at the core of many of these organizations. Research has shown many different factors related to nonprofit organization success, including volunteer management, recruitment, and retention techniques. This study adds to the current literature by investigating the American Cancer Society Relay For Life Advisory Team and explores what factors have led to the retention of these high-level volunteers, what skill-based trainings have they received throughout their volunteer career with the American Cancer Society, and what sentiment do the volunteers have toward receiving spokesperson training, facilitation training, and coaching training. …

An Investigation Of Key Factors Impacting Front-Line Service Providers' Efforts To Deliver A Quality Customer Experience, Donna Wells

Professional Projects

The relevance of competitive differentiation for any business that strives to achieve success is undeniable. An awareness of how to best satisfy the customer is instrumental in helping a company to distinguish itself from the competition. Service firms in particular realize that the customer’s perception of service quality can prove to be a valuable asset in the quest for customer satisfaction and retention. In the customer’s eyes, evaluation of the service experience as satisfying or less than satisfying is largely dependent upon the treatment extended by frontline employees during the face-to-face service encounter. The aim of this qualitative study was …

Antecedents And Outcomes Of Employee Perceptions Of Intra-Organizational Mobility Channels, Jennica R. Webster, Terry A. Beehr

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Employees' beliefs about how promotions are awarded within their organizations can have important consequences. We conducted two studies that focus on perceptions of the criteria used to make promotion decisions. In Study 1, we identified two types of perceived promotion criteria, performance-based and nonperformance-based. Then we use justice and social exchange theories to develop a model linking employee perceptions of promotion criteria to performance via their relationships with promotional justice and organizational commitment. In a sample of 305 employee–supervisor pairs, we found that both promotional justice and organizational commitment mediated between perceptions of promotion criteria and supervisor rated in-role and …

A Need For A Sales Course In Academia, Kevin H. Scholz

Professional Projects

Nearly 50% of all college graduates entering the workforce, after earning a business related degree, find themselves initially in a sales role. With only 4.8% of colleges and universities offering a sales course, are the vast majority of recent graduates entering the workforce prepared for a sales role? This exploratory study seeks the feedback of hiring managers in the field to bring awareness to faculty members involved with course selection and academic curriculum design for the purpose of encouraging colleges and universities to consider a sales course. The study provides learning objectives and competencies for a sales course based on …

Experimental Tests For Discrimination By Mortgage Loan Originators, Andrew R. Hanson, Zackary Hawley, Hal Martin, Bo Liu

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.