Business Commons^™

Families Facing The Demands Of Military Life: New Research Directions, Lolita Burrell, Gary A. Adams, Doris B. Durand, Carl A. Castro

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Military families, whether Active-duty, Reserve, or National Guard, face a multitude of demands in times of both peace and war, and these demands will shift throughout a Servicemember’s career. Our research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), as well as research done at other institutions, has shown that the demands experienced by military families have both negative and positive effects in terms of health, marital satisfaction, and satisfaction with the Army. Appraisal of these demands and the ability to obtain the necessary resources to deal with them are important determinants of a variety of well-being–, family-, and …

The Yin And Yang Of Kinship And Business: Complementary Or Contradictory Forces?, Alex Stewart, Michael A. Hitt

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Are the social domains of kinship and business on balance complementary or contradictory? Do ventures that invest heavily in both – conventionally referred to as “family firms” – bear a net gain or net loss? We are scarcely the first to raise these questions. How then will we try to contribute to an answer? We try this in five ways, all of them based on previous literature. First, we develop the dichotomy of kinship and business by taking seriously the metaphor of yin and yang, merging it with the anthropological constructs of structural domains such as “domestic” and “public.” This …

Technology And Its Crm Implications In The Shipping Industry, Srinivas Durvasula, Steven Lysonski, Subhash Mehta

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates the relative importance of service factors such as technology and facilities, how service providers are rated on those factors, and their relationship to customer satisfaction in a B2B environment. The results show that in the ocean freight shipping industry, customers placed more importance on factors such as efficiency in complaint handling, prompt availability of delivery information as compared to the use of latest equipment and technology. Most importantly, customers who had a more favourable evaluation of shipping companies on these factors also experienced a higher level of service satisfaction. Implications of these results for the use of …

Money, Money, Money – How Do Attitudes Toward Money Impact Vanity And Materialism? – The Case Of Young Chinese Consumers, Srinivas Durvasula, Steven Lysonski

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – China is undergoing a radical change as the forces of industrialization and modernization transform its society. Money is taking on an increasingly important role, particularly among young Chinese, as the Western ideals of individualism and hedonism thrive. The goal of this research is to understand attitudes towards money in China and how these attitudes affect elements of consumer behavior such as materialism and vanity.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a well-accepted scale (with several dimensions) to explore attitudes towards money. Research questions examine how the dimensions of attitudes towards money affect materialism and achievement vanity. The sample comprises …

Skeptical About Family Business: Advancing The Field Of Family Business In Its Scholarship, Relevance, And Academic Role, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Less polemical authors have published useful overviews of scholarship and institutional development in family business (Chrisman, Kellermanns, Chan, & Liano, 2010; Heck, Hoy, Poutziouris, & Steier, 2008; Schulze & Gedajlovic, 2010; Sharma, 2004). I take this as license for hyperbole. In such a vein, I am skeptical eight times over: that the field can be objective, that it can be defined, that “family business” is the right label, that it will find useful theories, that kinship exists, that if it does exist (all right, I do believe it does) we really observe it in action, that the field can progress …

Development Of An Occupational Embeddedness Measure, Gary A. Adams, Jennica R. Webster, Danelle M. Buyarski

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a measure of occupational embeddedness.

Design/methodology/approach

The construct of occupational embeddedness was defined in terms of the forces that bind people to their occupation. Then a four-part study was conducted to develop a measure of it.

Findings

In Part 1, items were developed and judgmental evidence for their content validity was generated. In Part 2 the initial psychometric characteristics were examined. The results supported the internal consistency reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Part 3, Part 2 was replicated and showed that occupational embeddedness had a negative relationship to …

An Experimental Study Of Executive Decision-Making With Implications For Decision Support, Terence T. Ow, James G. Morris

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Past research in the field of information systems has explored factors and conditions that are relevant to decision-making in many contexts. However, very little is known about how executives consider, weigh, and integrate these factors. One current school of thought holds that intuition and instincts can play a significant role and that when decision-makers use their instincts, they rely on only a relatively small subset of the cues available to them. This has implications for designing and improving decision support systems, which form a major and widespread element of modern organizational computing. We examine the decision-making policies of professional decision-makers. …

Service Attributes Satisfaction And Actual Repurchase Behavior: The Mediating Influence Of Overall Satisfaction And Purchase Intention, Syed H. Akhter

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The study proposes that the effect of service attributes satisfaction on actual repurchase behavior is mediated by overall satisfaction and purchase intention. Data collected through a survey questionnaire were used to test the proposed model. Findings support the mediation hypothesis and show that service attributes satisfaction has a positive and significant impact on overall satisfaction; overall satisfaction has a positive and significant impact on purchase intention; and purchase intention has a positive and significant impact on actual repurchase.

Segmentation In Social Marketing: Insights From The European Union’S Multi-Country, Antismoking Campaign, Gianfranco Walsh, Louise M. Hassan, Edward Shiu, J. Craig Andrews, Gerard Hastings

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – In 2005, the European Union launched a four-year antismoking television advertising campaign across its 25 Member States. This study aims to evaluate the second and third years (2006 and 2007) of the campaign based on telephone interviews with over 24,000 consumers (smokers, non-smokers, and ex-smokers).

Design/methodology/approach – The study focuses on smokers and examines the potential for using segmentation and targeting in informing the campaign. Three important factors are used to identify clusters: attitude toward the campaign; comprehension of the campaign; and inclination to think responsibly about their smoking behaviour.

Findings – Cluster analyses identify three distinct and …

Diagnosing Service Quality In Retailing: The Case Of Singapore, Srinivas Durvasula, Steven Lysonski

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines the service quality perceptions of consumers towards retailers in Singapore. We applied SERVQUAL, a popular measure of service quality to a sample of 172 consumers to assess service quality perceptions, expectations and gaps in service quality. We first examined the dimensionality and reliability of this scale. Subsequently, analysis by various demographic groups revealed significant gaps in service quality; the gaps in quality were much higher for some service quality dimensions than for others. The implications of these results for Singapore retailers and retail entrepreneurs are then presented along with future research directions.

The Influence Of Time On Transactional Use Of The Internet: Buying, Banking, And Investing Online, Syed H. Akhter

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The major objective of this chapter was to test the effect of online time and adoption time on the frequency of transactional use of the Internet. Transactional use of the Internet includes activities such as buying products, banking, and investing online. Findings support the hypothesis that online time and adoption time positively and significantly influence the frequency of transactional use of the Internet. Theoretical and strategic implications and recommendations for future research are presented.

Sources Of Entrepreneurial Discretion In Kinship Systems, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Entrepreneurs may wish to be selective about which relatives to include or exclude in their businesses. For example, their child might be inept but their niece might be outstanding. What aspects of kinship systems affect their ability to make these sorts of choices? What enables them to bend their ties of kinship and marriage to the interests of their business? Most broadly, what dimensions of kinship lend themselves to tactical or instrumental actions? This question is sweeping just as my meaning of “entrepreneurs” is very broad: those who take actions with the goal of growing their capital (Stewart, 1991). This …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Bootstrap Versus Traditional Statistical Procedures Applied To Digital Analysis Based On Benford’S Law, Ikseon Suh, T. Christopher Headrick

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Underreporting Of Time And Premature Signoffs By Internal Auditors, Qianhua Ling, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) heightened the importance of internal controls and accordingly, a key control - the internal audit junction. Consequently, management and external auditors have both increased their reliance on internal auditors' work. While there has been considerable research regarding the impact of the underreporting of time and premature sign-offs on the external audit, there has only been one study that has examined the impact of these two items on the internal auditors' work. Such research is dated (1994) and prior to the passage of SOX. We surveyed members of the Institute of Internal …

Formation And Consequences Of Going Concern Opinions: A Review Of The Literature, Jodi L. Gissel

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

Shortly after the passage of SAS No. 59, Asare (1990) summarized the evolution of research on the going concern opinion (GCO) in order to evaluate the Auditing Standards Board's assumptions regarding the signals sent to the market via the GCO. Over the past twenty years, researchers have continued to investigate the importance of GCOs. The authors objectives are to bring current the evolution of standards, regulations, and literature concerning GCOs, to synthesize a body of research that still presents inconsistent findings, and to suggest future research that could further our understanding of GCO formation and consequences. Given the large volume …

Foundations In Wisconsin: A Directory [29th Ed. 2010], Marquette University - Funding Information Center, Mary C. Frenn, Melanie Baier, Jeremy Blackwood, Anne Carpenter, Sarah Martin, Greg Sikora

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory

The 2010 production of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 29th edition of the print directory and the 10th anniversary of the online version (www.wifoundations.org). 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 Web sites, annual reports, and newsletters.

The nation’s economic downturn continued to have …

Family Businesses Must Be Run More ‘Professionally’, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Locating Decision Rights: Evidence From The Mutual Fund Industry, George D. Cashman, Daniel N. Deli

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Mutual fund advisors make portfolio decisions for their funds on a daily basis. We examine the location of these portfolio decision rights on two dimensions. First, we consider the geographic location of the decision rights. Second, we consider whether the decision rights remain with an advisor or are allocated to an independent sub-advisor. We argue that the allocation of portfolio decision rights involves a tradeoff between the opportunity cost of not matching decision rights with specific knowledge, and the agency costs associated with moving the decision rights to the specific knowledge. The patterns in the location of decision rights are …

Organizational Learning From Extreme Performance Experience: The Impact Of Success And Recovery Experience, June-Young Kim, Ji-Yub Kim, Anne S. Miner

Management Faculty Research and Publications

This paper argues that two different types of a firm’s own extreme performance experiences—success and recovery—and their interactions can generate survival-enhancing learning. Although these types of experience often represent valuable sources of useful learning, several important learning challenges arise when a firm has extremely limited prior experience of the same type. Thus, we theorize that a certain threshold of a given type of experience is required before each type of experience becomes valuable, with low levels of experience harming the organization. Furthermore, we propose that success and recovery experience will interact to enhance each other’s value. These conditions can help …

Mergers And Acquisitions: Overcoming Pitfalls, Building Synergy, And Creating Value, Michael A. Hitt, David King, Hema Krishnan, Marianna Makri, Mario Schijven, Katsuhiko Shimizu, Hong Zhu

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Goodwill And Goodwill Write-Downs: Their Effects On Earnings Quality For 2008 And 2009, Don E. Giacomino, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines goodwill on corporate balance sheets. Specifically, the paper measures the extent to which goodwill exists on corporate balance sheets and the degree of goodwill write-downs that have occurred recently. We report on our study and a study by Intangible Business, which show that many firms carry substantial amounts of goodwill on their 2008 balance sheets. Thus, because of the recent downturn in the economy and the markets, the potential for big bath earnings management for 2008 and 2009 exists. In addition, because of reductions in expected returns on pension plan assets, many firms are likely to record …

Applying Catholic Social Teachings To Ethical Issues In Marketing, Thomas A. Klein, Gene R. Laczniak

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

This article updates earlier work by the authors and proposes the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to be an encompassing and coherent normative theory, a source of principles that address contemporary issues in marketing, especially when a manager faces ethically charged questions. The authors propose that this application of a tradition in moral theology offers a novel approach for helping resolve contemporary ethical problems in marketing. Their approach to this task pursues two paths. First, the main tenets of Catholic social teaching are presented, along with some discussion of sources. Then, some of the ethical issues associated with …

Testing The Financial Literacy And Expertise Of Audit Committee Members, Don E. Giacomino, Michael D. Akers, Joseph Wall

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

"Just" Markets From The Perspective Of Catholic Social Teaching, Nicholas J. C. Santos, Gene R. Laczniak

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The "justice of markets" is intricately connected to the treatment of the poor and the disadvantaged in market economies. The increased interest of multinational corporations in low-income market segments affords, on one hand, the opportunity for a more inclusive capitalism, and on the other, the threat of greater exploitation of poor and disadvantaged consumers. This article traces the contributions of Catholic Social Teaching and its basic principles toward providing insight into what constitutes "justice" in such "marketing to the impoverished" situations.

Revisiting Financial (Accounting) Literacy: A Comparison Of Audit Committee Members And Business Students, Don E. Giacomino, Joseph L. Wall, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

While financial literacy is important for an audit committee in discharging its duties there is no authoritative guidance or definition and limited empirical research as to what constitutes financial literacy of audit committees and business students. Coates et al. conducted a study that examined the financial literacy of corporate board members and MBA students at the University of Chicago using an instrument developed by Schipper and WeiL Their findings suggest that both groups lack the appropriate level of financial literacy. This paper extends that research by using the same instrument to examine the financial literacy of undergraduate accounting finance students …

The Nutrition Elite: Do Only The Highest Levels Of Caloric Knowledge, Obesity Knowledge, And Motivation Matter In Processing Nutrition Ad Claims And Disclosures?, J. Craig Andrews, Richard G. Netemeyer, Scot Burton

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

This study examines the role of the highest levels of caloric knowledge, obesity consequences knowledge, and motivation to search for nutrition information in the processing of relative nutrient content claims in advertisements, such as “half the calories” or “half the fat,” for products relatively high in total calorie levels. After controlling for the impact of demographics, dietary habits, body mass index, relative ad claims and disclosures, perceived weight gain risk, and other variables, the authors find curvilinear (quadratic) effects for caloric knowledge, obesity consequences knowledge, and motivation to search for nutrition information on intent to buy an advertised, high-calorie snack …

Marketing To The Poor: An Integrative Justice Model For Engaging Impoverished Marketing Segments, Nicholas J. C. Santos, Gene R. Laczniak

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The relatively recent entry of multinational corporations (MNCs) into low-income markets, particularly in developing countries, affords the opportunity for the more inclusive capitalism envisioned by globalists. Alternatively, an expansion of MNC marketing in less developed economies might foreshadow the greater exploitation of disadvantaged consumers predicted by many critics of expanded free trade. To diffuse the charge of “exploitative” marketing, it is imperative that corporate marketing efforts seeking to engage impoverished segments be grounded in a strong ethical framework. This article unveils one such framework—the “integrative justice model” (IJM). The IJM is an aspirational model that outlines how to market ethically …

Applying Sarbanes-Oxley Principles To Colleges And Universities, Sean L. Goins, Don E. Giacomino, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

In the wake of the financial scandals that have occurred in the corporate sector, the public is demanding more accountability not only from corporations but also from nonprofit organizations such as universities. Institutions can enhance corporate governance by implementing some of the principles and procedures the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) have mandated for public companies. Because public accounting firms audit universities, the firms can provide a valuable service to such clients by recommending ways in which universities can implement SOX practices that are appropriate and applicable. Although SOX does not currently apply to colleges and universities, it has created …

Reduced Income Can Translate Into Larger Tax Deductions And Credits, James Trebby

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Niches At The Edges: Price-Value Tradeoff, Consumer Behavior, And Marketing Strategy, Syed H. Akhter

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the perception of price-value tradeoff is related to overall satisfaction, purchase intention, word-of-mouth advertising, and actual repurchase behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Data on subscribers and single ticket buyers of a major symphony orchestra in the Midwest are used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The ANOVA results show significant differences across the three levels of price-value tradeoff in each of the response variables. Additional analyses of cross-tabulated data show that some of the bivariate relations conform to, as well as depart from, the rational consumer behavior model. Research limitations/implications – …