Business Commons^™

“Remember, You Are Not A Superhuman”: The Lived Experience Of Rest, Unrest, And Leadership In Special Operations, Trey Zoda

Dissertations

U.S. special operations forces (SOF) operate in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments that demand cognitive clarity, emotional regulation, and relational presence. While previous research on SOF readiness has addressed physical fitness, resilience, and sleep, little attention has been given to the psychological dimensions of rest and their implications for leadership. The purpose of this qualitative, transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of psychological rest and unrest in U.S. government SOF and the perceived influence of these states on their leadership. Guided by Moustakas’s transcendental method, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with SOF personnel. They were …

Healthcare Providers’ Lived Experiences During Pivotal Change, Lisa Raynelle Shelley

Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined healthcare providers’ lived experiences of psychological safety and administrative leader behaviors that influenced those experiences during pivotal change. While much research addressed psychological safety among frontline healthcare staff, a gap was noticed concerning providers. This study aimed to investigate the impact of psychological safety and administrative support on provider engagement, emotional response, and retention during periods of significant change. Data were collected via a survey containing multiple-choice and open-ended questions, followed by semi-structured interviews. Four findings emerged. First, the providers’ pivotal events generated themes of “workplace power dynamics,” “systemic and organizational change,” “transformational crisis,” and “physical …

Ensemble Learning Models For Large-Scale Time Series Forecasting In Supply Chain, Minjuan Zhang

Dissertations

Machine learning and AI techniques are transforming supply chain forecasting, driven by the expanding availability of data assets. These advanced methods offer powerful opportunities to optimize management processes, reduce operational costs, and enhance strategic decision-making, which is crucial for enterprise success. However, conventional statistical approaches, such as Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Models (ARIMA), dynamic regression, and Unobserved Component Models (UCMs)—which have long dominated time series forecasting—often fall short in accuracy and scalability. These traditional models face limitations in batch processing, handling large-scale data, addressing uncertainty-induced disruptions, and synchronizing demand-supply scenarios.

To address these challenges, a novel class of AI-powered ensemble …

Interactive Visualization Workflows For Mitigating Analytical Uncertainty, Kaustav Bhattacharjee

Dissertations

This dissertation takes a process-centric and stakeholder-first perspective for handling analytical uncertainty: the form of uncertainty that confronts data analysts' insight-generation processes in high-consequence decision-making scenarios. The cost of an incorrect decision when data is used for movie recommendations as opposed to when personal data is used to drive insights or when data-driven modeling is used to drive real-time decisions for maintaining the health of a grid are vastly different in terms of consequences. This dissertation looks at analytical uncertainty in two real-world scenarios: i) how sensitive information leakage can be prevented during the open data release process with data …

Impact Of Safety Training On Employee's Perceptions Of Organizational Safety Culture, Brooke Reid-Graves

Dissertations

Workplace safety and well-being are vital for all workers, regardless of their profession (Young et al., 2022). Studies show that providing employees with training focused on recognizing hazards and implementing safety practices is essential for reducing occupational risks (Namian et al., 2020; Rose & Rae, 2017). Research underscores the importance of fostering a positive organizational safety culture for risk reduction (Berry et al., 2020; Downey, 2019). Understanding the impact of safety training on shaping an organization’s safety culture is key to promoting safe working environments (Mahjoub, 2013).

This study utilized the perspectives of high school staff regarding safety training and …

Navigating The Landscape: Perceptions, Motivations, And The Journey Of Data Professionals In Implementing Data Processes And Procedures, Willie Rivers

Dissertations

This explanatory study investigates the motivations behind data professionals' willingness or resistance to implementing data policies and procedures, utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior and Psychological Ownership as frameworks. Through interviews with 21 data professionals, the research explains how factors such as perceived control, ownership, and attitudes towards data processes influence their motivation. The study tests key propositions, including the impact of perceived time burdens, bureaucratic procedures, and organizational expectations on data governance engagement. The findings underscore the critical role of control and access to information in motivating the adoption of data policies, providing insights for organizations aiming to enhance …

Organizational Characteristics As Drivers Of Employer Attraction, Naomi L. Akins-Osuma

Dissertations

This research study examined perceptions of attraction to different organizational characteristics based on an individual’s Career Stage in Super’s (1980) life-span model. Using a diverse sample of 230 participants in the U.S. workforce 18 years or older, the study manipulated the opposing Reputation and flexible working arrangement (FWA) conditions of a hypothetical hiring organization in the technology industry. The results indicated that the main effects of Reputation and FWAs on general attraction, intention to pursue, perceived economic citizenship, and perceived ethical citizenship were significant. Although the high levels of Reputation and FWA yielded the highest mean scores among the dependent …

Accountability For Unethicality: Monitoring, Policy, And Individual Attitudes, Sara Marie Lewis

Dissertations

This research examines the mechanisms that can be used to reduce unethical behaviors, as well as their influence on employee attitudes (e.g., trust, justice, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). Using an experimental design, participants were exposed to varying levels of accountability, monitoring, and policy to examine their interaction effects on unethical behaviors and attitudes. Two significant interactions emerged when looking at the mechanism's influence on attitudes. Policy clarity had a significant main effect on employee justice perceptions, with vague policies reducing perceptions of justice. The interaction between clear policy and accountability significantly impacted justice perceptions, highlighting the value of accountability …

The Influence Of News Media On Esg Ratings: Analyzing Media Sentiment Around Esg Rating Changes, David Beverly

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the complex relationship between media sentiment and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, a pressing issue highlighted by the lack of transparency in the adjustments to ratings from some agencies and not others. The research aims to empirically examine the extent to which news media narratives influence ESG scores and contribute to discrepancies among rating agencies. With ESG investing becoming increasingly significant, as evidenced by the rise in global assets under management in ESG funds, the accuracy and reliability of ESG scores are of increasing importance to investors, policymakers, and academics.

The study explores the potential of …

The Effect Of Work-Life Responsibilities On The Well-Being Of Female Employees: A Uae Case Study, Mouza Mohamed Alqubaisi

Dissertations

This study examines the possible conflict between work commitments and family obligations and its implications for working women's well-being. In this respect, in-depth interviews were held with a sample of twenty female employees working in different departments of the Abu Dhabi Government. The collected qualitative data have been analyzed through frameworks drawn from the concepts of the Work-Life Balance (WLB) and the Work-Family Conflict (WFC), specifically considering the Job Demands- Resources (JD-R) and the Conservation of Resources (COR) theories. The findings probably indicate that working women encounter substantial challenges in their daily work, such as long working hours, lack of …

Human Resource Practices And Employee Outcomes: An Examination Of Performance, Satisfaction And Diversity Climate In The Hospitality Sector Of Saudi Arabia, Tareq Abdullah Al-Jammaz

Dissertations

Tourism and related industries have become essential economic activities that play a significant role in the development, prosperity, and well-being of a country. The tourism and hotel sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is currently undergoing significant development to diversify the national economy in line with the KSA Economic Vision 2030 Initiative. To align this sector with international standards in terms of job satisfaction and performance, human resource management practices (HRMPs) play a key role in determining the job satisfaction of employees in their various work environments. HRMPs include various job-related activities, training and development (T+D) programs, rewards, …

Factors Influencing Innovative Behavior Of Higher Education Students In The United Arab Emirates: An Exploratory Study, Saleha Omer Alseiari

Dissertations

Innovation in the higher education sector is globally recognized as a driving power behind a country's socioeconomic and technological development. This quantitative study explores the primary influences on the innovation of college students in the UAE. Four research goals were proposed: (I) exploring potential input from innovative faculties; (ii) assessing the impact of curriculum excellence; (iii) examining the consequences of students' social abilities; and (iv) researching the moderating impact of supportive leadership. The research also seeks to create a theoretical model connecting various key elements that promote an environment of innovation in the higher education sector of the UAE based …

How Do Lgbt Employees Assess Their Firm’S Organizational Culture Regarding Lgbt Leadership?, Philippe Honore

Dissertations

This study explored Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans (LGBT) employees’ perceptions and assessments of their firms’ organizational cultures and, in particular, the opportunities within the culture that can lead to upper management positions for those who identify as LGBT. The research sought to understand the extent to which inclusivity efforts are reflected in real career progression opportunities for openly LGBT employees working in San Diego County. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design, the study incorporated quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to achieve a comprehensive understanding of participant’s perspectives and experiences. The decision to use both methods allowed the research …

The Meaning-Making Of African American Leaders In Technology Organizations, James Hooks

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to identify and describe behaviors that reflect the character, inspiration, relationships, vision, and wisdom that African American technology leaders use to create personal and organizational meaning for themselves and their followers. It was also the purpose to rate how followers perceive their leader’s behaviors related to character, inspiration, relationships, vision, and wisdom in creating personal and organizational meaning.

Methodology: The qualitative portion of this mixed-method study involved face-to-face interviews with African American technology leaders, while the quantitative segment consisted of electronic surveys completed by their followers. The quantitative survey assessed followers’ perceptions …

Hearing Their Stories: Tailoring Human Resources Strategies For Onboarding, Job Satisfaction, And Retention Of Veterans With Disabilities In The Civilian Workforce, Brian Newsom

Dissertations

Tailored HR strategies play an important role for veterans with disabilities (VWD) as they transition from the military to civilian employment by enhancing their job satisfaction and improving their retention. The literature review helped identify the challenges VWD face during their transition, such as health or mental health problems, cultural adjustment difficulties, and onboarding that is not inclusive. The primary research objective of the study was to determine effective HR strategies to improve the onboarding process for VWD, increase their job satisfaction, and grow their retention rates. Qualitative methods enabled the capturing of data from in-depth interviews with 31 former …

Under The Surface Of Perfectionism: A Qualitative Examination Of Perfectionism In Women Leaders, Rachelle Martin

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the manifestations and management of perfectionism among women leaders, framed through the lens of conservation of resources (COR) theory. By examining the experiences of women across various industries, the research highlights how perfectionism can act both as a strength and a challenge, depending on resource availability and self-awareness. The findings emphasize the compounded pressures faced by women, particularly women of color, and the significant role of self-awareness, coping mechanisms and mitigation techniques. Participants revealed how resource depletion may contribute to heightened perfectionistic tendencies, which subsequently may impact career outcomes. Self-awareness emerged as a moderating factor that, …

Shelf Space Strategy In Alcoholic Beverage Retail: Analyzing The Impact Of Shelf Facings On Sales Performance And Consumer Behavior, Jesse Core

Dissertations

The alcoholic beverage industry faces intense competition and regulatory constraints, making strategic shelf space management critical. This study investigates the impact of shelf facings on sales performance in the alcoholic beverage sector, focusing on how brand size moderates this relationship.

The study collected data from a regional supermarket chain in Arkansas using a quantitative pretest-posttest control group design. It found that increasing shelf facings for smaller brands significantly enhances overall modular sales, with small brand sales persisting even after reverting to their original facings. Moreover, the analysis reveals that brand size significantly moderates the impact of shelf facings on brand …

Differences Are Not Deficits: Women Introverting While Black Through The Ascent To Executive Leadership In Higher Education, Jeri A. Bingham

Dissertations

Diversity of personality type in the workplace can lead to improved morale and productivity when organizations acknowledge and support the attributes and differences of employee behaviors and characteristics. Black women executives identifying as introverted who lead with their authentic personas and intersected marginalized identities, benefit employers, employees, students, and the institution’s brand and bottom line. Introversion and extroversion, ways to describe diversity of personality type, and each having different connotations in office culture, are relevant to this exploration as literature suggests that the population of both personality types is almost evenly distributed. The implications of judgement and the association to …

Order-Picking Strategies And Efficiency Models For The Fulfillment Of Multi-Line E-Commerce Grocery Orders, Zijia Wang

Dissertations

The fulfillment process for Buy Online Pickup from Store grocery orders (BOPS-Grocery) is particularly challenging, given the large item count per order and the low-profit margins. This research investigates the BOPS-Grocery model and pursues the following objectives: (i) Defining and specifying the BOPS-Grocery fulfillment process. Differentiating the process from classical warehouse order picking., identifying performance objectives, and characterizing design options and facility layout. (ii) Modelling and developing order picking algorithms specific to the straight aisle section. Formulated as an order hatching problem with picker movement minimization. No order splitting, and (iii) modeling and developing order picking algorithms specific to the …

It Can Be Lonely At The Top, But It Doesn’T Have To Be: Workplace Loneliness As Experienced By Senior Leaders And Potential Coping Strategies, Kristen Prince

Dissertations

Workplace loneliness is a topic of growing interest among scholars and practitioners, in part because of the known impacts of loneliness on individuals’ well-being and performance. Recent literature has suggested that senior leaders may be vulnerable to feelings of workplace loneliness but lacks a thorough depiction of how leaders experience and cope with the feelings. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences and perspectives of senior leaders through interviews with 26 leaders and seven close confidants who provide a nuanced understanding of how senior leaders experience workplace loneliness and offer insight on mitigating these feelings. The findings suggest that the …

Radiating Excellence: Leadership Styles In Nuclear Power That Influence Operators Towards Industry Best Practices, Joshua Copeland

Dissertations

Poor leadership is the root cause for the three most significant accidents in the nuclear industry. The purpose of this research was to determine the best leadership characteristics of operating supervisors at nuclear plants that could help prevent future accidents from happening. Operating supervisors are the leaders that have the greatest impact on how safe the nuclear plant is operating. A mixed method approach was used, where the quantitative study surveyed 77 supervisors about their leadership style and how well they influence standards adherence, and the qualitative study interviewed 11 subordinates of supervisors to determine how supervision helps them follow …

Sales Professional Preservation: Examining The Impact Of Incongruent Ideological Belief Systems On Intentions To Quit Among Sales Professionals, Brian Lee Morgan

Dissertations

Organizations that lead with ideologies of moral tradition, politics, and social economics are playing a losing game. The ideological belief system congruence within the organization between leaders and members creates a better atmosphere with less turnover and better recruitment. Sales professionals want an environment free of ideological incongruence. Without ideological alignment, they will defect from the organization. Leaders are miscalculating the negative impact on members’ intentions to quit when they are faced with leaders acting upon ideology changes that affect the member-customer ecosystem. In addition, leaders should be aware of the personal attributes that can exacerbate turnover and work to …

Organizational Control And Technological Capabilities: The Moderating Role Of Family Influence On The Firm, Sean Leahy

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the influence of organizational controls on technological capabilities in privately owned U.S. corporations, with a specific focus on family-owned businesses. The primary objective of the study was to investigate how formal controls (process and outcome) and clan controls (informal practices) impact technological innovation and competence. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 177 individuals and analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) path analysis. The findings indicate a significant relationship between formal controls and technological capabilities. However, the interaction of family influence on this dynamic was not supported. Results also revealed a robust association …

Ethical Leadership And Moral Foundations Congruence, Sarah Willey

Dissertations

Research has examined follower perceptions of ethical leadership, but rarely accounts for the (mis)alignment between a follower’s sense of ethics and morality and that of a leader. This research examined the effects of a leader’s expression of each of the five Moral Foundations dimensions on ethical leadership perceptions, moderated by the respondent’s preferences for each of these foundations. To address this question, a policy capturing design was used to manipulate leaders’ high and low levels of each of the five foundations. The results of multilevel analyses indicate that at least for some dimensions of Moral Foundations, a follower’s evaluation of …

Financial Time Series Fusion, Completion, And Prediction With Deep Neural Networks, Dan Zhou

Dissertations

Time-series analysis is essential for a wide range of financial applications, including but not limited to bond valuation, firm earnings forecasts, firm fundamentals predictions, and firm characteristics imputations. Given its considerable value, the financial community has shown a strong interest in refining and advancing time-series analysis techniques. The study in this dissertation contributes to this field by employing advanced machine learning approaches, specifically graph neural networks, deep neural networks, and matrix/tensor methods. The primary objectives are twofold: first, to reveal complex correlations within financial time series to improve prediction accuracy, and second, to enhance the process of integrating and imputing …

Sensing With Integrity: Responsible Sensor Systems In An Era Of Ai, David Eisenberg

Dissertations

Deep and machine learning now offer immense benefits for consumer choice, decision-making, medicine, mental health and education, smart cities, and intelligent transportation and driver safety. However, as communication and Internet technology further advances, these benefits have the potential to be outweighed by compromises to privacy, personal freedom, consumer trust, and discrimination. While ethical consequences for personal freedom and equity rise from these technological advances, the issue may not be the technology itself but a lack of regulation and policy that allow abuses to occur. A first study examines how emerging sensor-based technologies, limited to only accelerometer and gyroscope data from …

Convergence And Divergence: Comparative Analysis Of Procedural Rule Changes Of The Hong Kong And Singapore International Arbitration Centers Within The Framework Of Neo-Institutional Theory, Phillip Hoang Tran

Dissertations

International commercial arbitration (ICA) plays an essential role in resolving disputes between companies engaged in complex, cross-border business transactions. It offers an efficient, neutral, and enforceable mechanism for resolving disputes across different legal and cultural backgrounds. ICA is generally conducted at international arbitration centers located throughout the world. According to the extant literature, there is convergence of procedural rules among these centers. Sabharwal and Zaman (2014), for example, claim increasing convergence of procedural rules among all the major arbitration centers. Similarly, Sharma (2021) proposes that this convergence helps build the international arbitration system. However, there is a near absence of …

A Phenomenological Study On The Perceived Impact Of Bass's Four I'S Of Transformational Leadership, Yarissa Marn

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe World of Warcraft game leaders’ perceptions of the impact on their guilds regarding Bass’s 4 I’s of transformational leadership.

Methodology: This qualitative study interviewed 13 World of Warcraft game leaders who have led their guild members for at least one year. The main source of data collection was semi-structured open-ended interview questions with other resources to include artifacts. The researcher coded and analyzed data for themes and patterns.

Findings: Several domains of Bass’s Four I’s Transformational Leadership framework were found to have an impact on World of Warcraft …

Examining The Career Path Of Certified Public Accountants In Audit And Tax Services: Perceptions Of Accounting Graduates' Competencies, Steven Mulhollen

Dissertations

Accounting professionals claim there is a deficiency of individuals with the appropriate competencies to enter the accounting workforce (Pasewark, 2021; Richardson, 2020; Sandifer, 2018; Thomson, 2017). Also, recent trends indicate a need to increase the number of qualified accounting professionals who can pass the Certified Public Accounting Exam (CPA Exam) and enter the public accounting workforce (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA], 2021a; Dawkins, 2023). This quantitative, causal-comparative study expands existing studies by analyzing the impact of CPA's chosen career path of audit or tax on their perception of the required and attained accounting competencies. This study contributes to …

Onboarding To Retention: First Year Experiences Of Faculty And Staff Of Color At A Predominantly White Institution, Paige Jones

Dissertations

Proactive onboarding is essential to a long-term retention strategy. Past research has highlighted the challenge of retaining diverse faculty and staff and how an unwelcoming climate affects the decisions of leaving or staying for faculty and staff of color differently than their White coworkers. Using Bauer’s Four Cs framework, this study explores the role of first-year onboarding experiences in the retention of faculty and staff of color at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in higher education. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with nine faculty and staff of color at a PWI in Southern …