Business Commons^™

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: January 16, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Summary: The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.87% during December 2014. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, suggests that economic growth will accelerate in mid-2015. Five of six components of the leading economic indicator rose during December. Respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business were particularly optimistic. Respondents predicted a strong increase in sales and employment over the next six months. There also was modest growth in airline passenger counts and building permits, and a slight increase in manufacturing hours. Finally, there was a decline in …

Dispersion Of Marketing Capabilities: Impact On Marketing’S Influence And Business Unit Outcomes, Michael T Krush, Ravipreet Sohi, Amit Saini

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

The marketing function of firms continues to evolve into many configurations, including the dispersion of marketing capabilities. This study evaluates the effects on the marketing function’s influence when marketing capabilities are dispersed across multiple boundaries. Using a sample of marketing executives, we study the effects of two forms of marketing capabilities dispersion: intra-organizational dispersion and inter-organizational dispersion. We examine the impact of these forms on marketing’s perceived influence within the firm. We also investigate marketing’s influence on customer responsiveness, along with three distal outcomes: marketing strategy implementation success, relationship portfolio effectiveness, and business unit performance. Our findings reveal that marketing’s …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: December 18, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.38% in November 2015. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, suggests solid economic growth in Nebraska during the 2nd quarter of 2016. There was a split among components of the LEI-N during November. There was an increase in building permits for single-family homes and airline passenger counts. There also were positive business expectations, with respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business predicting growth in both sales and employment at their businesses over the next 6 months. However, initial claims for …

Relational Behavior Of Leaders: A Comparison By Vocational Context, G. Ronald Gilbert, Robert C. Myrtle, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Organizational researchers widely acknowledge that positive relational behavior is associated with leadership effectiveness. In this exploratory study, we seek to extend previous research examining contextual factors that influence leadership style based on the characteristics of person–vocation fit. Using information derived from a 360° assessment that included one’s top managers, peers, and subordinates (N = 934), we find that leaders working in settings that attract Holland’s Social (S) types demonstrate more positive relational behavior than those who work in Realistic (R) type work settings. Our research also indicates that the relationship between leadership style and perceived effectiveness varies based on …

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: June 19, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.16% in May 2015, marking its fifth increase in the last six months. Consistent increases in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, indicates that economic growth will be strong in Nebraska in the second half of 2015. Business expectations are one reason for the positive outlook. Respondents to the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business were very optimistic about employment growth over the next six months. A decline in the value of the U.S. dollar also contributed to the positive outlook. Other components of …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: July 24, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.40% in June 2015, its fifth increase in the last six months. The rise in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, indicates strong economic growth in Nebraska through the end of 2015. The leading economic indicator rose because of positive business expectations for sales and employment and an improving labor market. Respondents to the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business were optimistic about sales growth over the next six months. Businesses also had positive expectations for employment growth and there was a decline in …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: August 21, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.17% in July 2015, its fourth consecutive increase. The modest increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, portends consistent economic growth in Nebraska through the end of 2015 and early 2016. The leading economic indicator rose because of growth in passenger enplanements and single-family home building permits during July and strong business expectations. In particular, respondents to the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business were positive about sales and employment growth over the next six months. Among other components of the leading indicator, …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: September 18, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.31% in August 2015, for a fifth consecutive monthly increase. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, indicates consistent economic growth in Nebraska through the end of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. The LEI-N rose because of strength in business expectations and the labor market. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply in Nebraska during August, indicating strength in the labor market. Further respondents to the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business were positive about sales and employment growth over …

Quarterly Business Indicators 2nd Quarter 2015, Unl Bureau Of Business Research

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Quarterly Business Indicators for the 2nd quarter of 2015 show a growing Lincoln economy. The rate of growth, however, lagged rapid national growth over the last year.

The Lincoln MSA unemployment rate is below year-ago levels (Figure 1) and is less than half of the U.S. rate (Figure 2). Non-farm employment, which is measured via a survey of business, grew by 1.5% in Lincoln between the 2nd quarter of 2014 and 2015 (Figure 4). This was solid growth but was below the U.S. growth rate. Further, employment as measured by the household survey was flat (Table 1).

Among individual …

The Age Of Quality Innovation, Sang M. Lee

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In this inaugural issue of International Journal of Quality Innovation, the Editor-in-Chief reports the evolution of quality management and the need for innovative research for creating new quality values.

Diffusion Of Innovation: Customer Relationship Management Adoption In Supply Chain Organizations, Vicky Ching Gu, Marc J. Schniederjans, Qing Cao

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The successful diffusion of innovations in rapidly changing supply chain technological environments is essential to support operations and supply chain management functions. In this paper we conceptualize and develop a framework for research into the diffusion of innovations in organizations pertaining to software adoption in supply chain management. Incorporating Task-Technology Fit theory with a network externalities model, we develop a novel approach in customer relations management (CRM) software adoption. An empirical study using Partial Least Squares (PLS) on data from US supply chain managers is utilized to confirm the usability of the proposed framework as well as confirming the efficacy …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: February 20, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.40% during January 2015. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, suggests that economic growth will accelerate in mid-2015. Three of six components of the leading economic indicator rose during January. Respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business were optimistic. Respondents predicted a strong increase in sales and employment over the next six months. There also was a decline in initial claims for unemployment insurance, which suggests strength in the labor market. Building permits also edged up on a seasonally adjusted …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: October 16, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) fell by 0.13% in September 2015. The decline in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, is the first in the last six months. The decline suggests that economic growth will be modest in Nebraska in the first quarter of 2016. The LEI-N fell because of a decline in manufacturing hours and an increase in initial claims for unemployment insurance during September. There also was an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar during the month, which creates a challenge for exporters, particularly in agriculture …

Mobile Security Tips To Help You Be Safe!, Connie Hancock, Glenn Muske

Community Vitality Initiative

No abstract provided.

Finding The Time To Create A Social Media Strategy, Connie Hancock, Glenn Muske

Community Vitality Initiative

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: November 20, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 1.06% in October 2015. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, followed a decline during September. Taken together, results for the two months suggest that economic growth will be modest in Nebraska at the beginning of 2016. Most components of the LEI-N improved during October. There was an increase in manufacturing hours and airline passenger counts. There also was a drop in initial claims for unemployment insurance and the value of the U.S. dollar. The decline in the value of the …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: March 20, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) was flat in February 2015, rising by just 0.01% during the month. The LEI-N predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future. The flat LEI-N, when combined with solid monthly increases in December 2014 and January 2015, suggest that economic growth in Nebraska will be solid in mid-2015. Three of six components of the leading economic indicator rose during February. Respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business were optimistic. Respondents predicted a strong increase in employment over the next six months and an increase in sales. There also was a …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: May 15, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 1.99% in April 2015, marking its fourth increase in the last five months. The sharp increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, portends strong economic growth in Nebraska in the second half of 2015. Business expectations are one reason for the positive outlook. Respondents to the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business were very optimistic about sales and employment over the next six months. The business outlook, in fact, was the strongest recorded in the monthly survey, which began in September 2011. A …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: April 17, 2015, Eric Thompson, William Walstad

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.08% in March 2015, marking its fourth consecutive monthly increase. The increase in the LEI-N, which predicts economic growth in the state six months in the future, suggests that growth will be solid in Nebraska in the second half of 2015. Three of six components of the leading economic indicator rose during March. Respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business were optimistic about sales and especially optimistic about employment over the next six months. There also was a solid increase in building permits in March, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, and a …

Higher Education: Opinions And Participation Among Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Includes

Executive Summary

Introduction

Education or Training Taken

Participation in Education or Training Activities during Past Two Years

Types of Education or Training Taken in Past Two Years

Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training

Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training

Opinions about Education

2015 Nebraska Business

College of Business: Trade Publications

2015 Nebraska Business

The Influence Of Exploration On External Corporate Venturing Activity, Varkey K. Titus Jr., Jenny M. House, Jeffrey G. Covin

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

We utilize the exploration/exploitation framework to examine how a firm’s engagement in exploration influences its portfolio of external corporate venturing (ECV) activities. Three forms of equity-based ECV are considered: corporate venture capital investments, joint ventures, and acquisitions. The organizational learning literature is used to investigate how a firm’s engagement in exploration influences its usage of acquisitions relative to its overall portfolio of ECV activities. The investing firm’s industry technological dynamism is posited as a moderator of the relationship between exploration and the relative usage of acquisitions. Utilizing a sample of 1,326 firm-year observations between 1996 and 2008, we find that …

Quality Management And Innovation: New Insights On A Structural Contingency Framework, Dara Schniederjans, Marc Schniederjans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

With increasing market competition, organizations are striving for greater innovation in products and services. Quality management has the potential to invigorate an organization’s product, process and administrative innovation when strategically aligned with internal contingencies. This paper seeks to address the relationship between social and technical quality management with innovation. Moreover, this paper empirically assesses contingency factors including organization size, task and managerial ethics which play roles in moderating the relationship between quality management and innovation. Based on an empirical study we find social quality management practices, not technical quality management practices, are positively associated with innovation. We also find a …

Racial Differences In Job Attribute Preferences: The Role Of Ethnic Identity And Self-Efficacy, Jakari N. Griffith, Gwendolyn M. Combs

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Using a sample of 149 white and 190 black business students, the authors examined racial differences in job attribute preferences. Results of this study indicate there were significant racial differences in 19 of 21 job attributes examined, with black students placing greater importance on job attributes than white students. Investigation of the mechanisms contributing to this difference reveals that the relationship between race and job attribute preferences was mediated by ethnic identity. Furthermore, the relationship between ethnic identity and job attributes was moderated by personal efficacy, with higher self-efficacy levels leading to greater importance placed on job attributes.

More Than, Joslyn Maenner, Katie Knobbe, Joel Girouard, Desiree Botica, Molly Deaver, Alex Vasey, Ramon Diaz De Leon, Lucy Grant, Kyle Thompson, Adam Weisenberger

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Advertising Projects

This project was developed in response to the following challenge: create messaging to promote a more welcoming and inclusive climate on campus while branding the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center.

Shift Gears, Veronica Vanderbeek, Haylee Carpenter, Sara Slater, Christina Kruse, Jessie Gray, Mollie Sundermeier, Christine Breazier, Garrett Kallhoff, Dexter Mckenzie, Tyler Sells

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Advertising Projects

BicycLincoln challenged the advertising and public relations students to develop a campaign to get more people riding bicycles more often safely in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Resource Planning In Engineering Services Firms, Vincent Hargaden, Jennifer K. Ryan

Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics: Faculty Publications

We develop a model to enable engineering professional services firms to improve the management of their competitive resources, i.e., skilled engineers, to be better able to respond to customer demand. The model was informed by semistructured interviews with senior executives from engineering, information technology (IT) services and technical consulting firms. As a result, we capture many of the complexities associated with the resource planning process in the professional engineering services sector. In the resulting model, the key attributes of supply, demand, and operations constraints are identified. Based on information obtained from the interviews, a number of test firms are created.We …

Deception In Cosmetics Advertising: Examining Cosmetics Advertising Claims In Fashion Magazine Ads / 化妆品广告中的欺骗:分析时尚杂志广告中的化妆品广告, Jie G. Fowler, Timothy H. Reisenwitz, Les Carlson

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

The FDA has only focused upon the physical safety of cosmetics and has ignored the significant reasonability of advertising claims. As such, the present article is intended to examine/ascertain the extent to which cosmetics claims contain deceptive content in fashion ads. Through a content analysis, the study reported herein revealed that cosmetics claims were not evenly distributed. To that end, the preponderance of the claims appeared to be described primarily by three categories (scientific, performance and subjective). The results also showed that more cosmetics claims were classified as deceptive than were deemed as acceptable. Close examination of these trends revealed …

Hedge Fund Replication With A Genetic Algorithm: Breeding A Usable Mousetrap, Brian C. Payne, Jiri Tresl

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This study tests the performance of 14 hedge fund index clones created using parsimonious outof- sample replication portfolios consisting solely of easily accessible assets. We employ a genetic algorithm to integrate two traditional hedge fund replication methods, the factor-based and payoff distribution replication methods, and evaluate over 4500 commonly held stocks, bonds and mutual funds as replicating portfolio components. In-sample performance indicates that hedge funds have return series similar to portfolios of commonly held assets, and out-of-sample results provide evidence that the in-sample relationships can hold with infrequent rebalancing. This hedge fund replication attempt rates well relatively to prior efforts …