Business Commons^™

The Dynamics Of Social Responsibility: Processes, Positions, And Paths In The Oil And Gas Industry, Paul C. Godfrey

Faculty Publications

I use corporate strategy concepts and tools to focus on the dynamics of firm social initiatives and actions over time. I examine the different paths and positions taken by firms, and the processes that may underlie such paths and positions. My sample comprises 19 firms in the oil and gas industry, and covers the decade from 1991-2000. I use an exploratory approach that mixes qualitative and quantitative cluster analysis as the primary tools to examine this industry, and to isolate and examine distinct social responsibility positions and paths taken by these firms. I also provide evidence about which theoretical processes …

The Role Of Tax Regulation And Compensation Contracts In The Decision To Voluntarily Expense Employee Stock Options, Walter G. Blacconiere, Marilyn F. Johnson, Melissa F. Lewis-Western

Faculty Publications

We show that firms with executive bonuses that qualify for deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) were less likely to expense stock option compensation (SOC) in 2002. Additionally, the more likely it is that a qualified firm will incur re-contracting costs, the less likely it is that the firm will expense SOC. CEOs of qualified firms that also expense SOC receive smaller bonuses than CEOs of expensing firms that are not qualified under 162(m), and the lower 162(m) bonuses are not offset by higher SOC. Our results suggest that 162(m) tax incentives are an important determinant of the decision …

Researching Corporate Social Responsibility: An Agenda For The 21st Century, Paul Godfrey, Nile W. Hatch

Faculty Publications

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a tortured concept. We review the current state of the art across a number of academic disciplines, from accounting to management to theology. In a world that is increasingly global and pluralistic, progress in our understanding of CSR must include theorizing around the micro-level processes practicing managers engage in when allocating resources toward social initiatives, as well as refined measurement of the outcomes of those initiatives on stakeholder and shareholder interests. Scholarship must also account for the influence of diverse, and even maladaptive, stakeholders as well as more fully incorporate non-Western philosophical and economic perspectives. …

The U.S. Health Care System And Labor Markets, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

There is no universal provider of health insurance or health care in the United States. Rather, a patchwork system of institutions exists, each covering different subgroups of the population. Certain types of health insurance are provided as a condition of employment, while other types of health insurance are more readily available when individuals are not employed or not fully employed, and still others are available regardless of employment status. The two most significant sources of health insurance coverage in the United States are employers, who collectively insure 63 percent of the non-elderly (below age 65) population, and governments, who collectively …

Reit Stock Repurchases: Completion Rates, Long-Run Returns, And The Straddle Hypothesis, Gregory L. Adams, James C. Brau, Andrew Holmes

Faculty Publications

This study of real estate investment trusts (REITs) analyzes three possible explanations for the stock price reaction to a repurchase announcement and the subsequent repurchase behavior of managers under each hypothesis. Two of the hypotheses, the signaling hypothesis and the exchange option hypothesis, are established in the existing literature; the third hypothesis is a modification of the exchange option hypothesis. The exchange option hypothesis is extended to allow for additional flexibility in management decisions. This extended exchange option hypothesis is termed the ‘‘straddle’’ hypothesis because it provides management with both a call and put option. The empirical analyses show the …

A Framework For Aligning Testing And Development, Colin Onita, Jasbir Dhaliwal

Faculty Publications

Strategic alignment between an organization’s business strategy/capabilities and those of its information technology (IT) unit has been researched extensively and has found significant application in industry in the last decade. Given the critical interdependencies between development and testing groups within a corporate IT unit, this paper presents a similar alignment model for ensuring that these two functions work together effectively in meeting corporate IT goals pertaining to building new systems. This development-testing alignment (DTA) model is described and an overarching research framework  for investigating its value and application is presented.

Comment: Boosting Algorithms: Regularization, Prediction And Model Fitting, A. Buja, David Mease, A. Wyner

Faculty Publications

The authors are doing the readers of Statistical Science a true service with a well-written and up-to-date overview of boosting that originated with the seminal algorithms of Freund and Schapire. Equally, we are grateful for high-level software that will permit a larger readership to experiment with, or simply apply, boosting-inspired model fitting. The authors show us a world of methodology that illustrates how a fundamental innovation can penetrate every nook and cranny of statistical thinking and practice. They introduce the reader to one particular interpretation of boosting and then give a display of its potential with extensions from classification (where …

Investing Your Lump Sum At Retirement, David F. Babbel, Craig B. Merrill

Faculty Publications

Imagine sitting down on the day of your retirement to plan your financial future. You know what your annual expenses have been and you want to maintain your current standard of living. So, you consult a recent mortality table and find that if you’ve made it to your 65th birthday, you can expect to live to 85 years old. You perform a little calculation and find that, together with your Social Security monthly payments, you have just enough savings to maintain your current standard of living and spend all of your savings and future expected earnings by the time you …

Proposing The Interactivity-Stimulus-Attention Model (Isam) To Explain And Predict The Enjoyment, Immersion, And Adoption Of Purely Hedonic Systems, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Nathan W. Twyman, James Gaskin, Bryan Hammer, Aaron R. Bailey, Tom L. Roberts

Faculty Publications

Traditional TAM research primarily focuses on utilitarian systems where extrinsic motivations chiefly explain and predict acceptance. We propose a theoretical model, ISAM, which explains the role of intrinsic motivations in building the user attention that leads to hedonic system acceptance. ISAM combines several theories with TAM to explain how interactivity acts as a stimulus in hedonic contexts—fostering curiosity, enjoyment, and the full immersion of cognitive resources. Two experiments involving over 700 participants validated ISAM as a useful model for explaining and predicting hedonic system acceptance. Immersion and PE are shown to be the primary predictors of behavioral intention to use …

Praying, Playing, And Successful Families: An Examination Of Family Religiosity, Family Leisure, And Family Functioning, Sarah Taylor Agate, Ramon B. Zabriskie, Dennis L. Eggett

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family religiosity, family leisure, and family functioning. The sample consisted of 121 parents and 99 youth from various religious groups. Results indicated a positive relationship between family religiosity and family leisure. Both family religiosity and family leisure had a significant relationship with family functioning in this sample. Data collected from both parents and youth provided insight into the influence of family religiosity and family leisure on family functioning. Family religiosity was the strongest predictor of family functioning for parents. For youth, both family leisure and family religiosity were significant …

Perspectives On Leisure Of Lds Women Who Are Stay-At-Home Mothers, Patti A. Freeman, Alexis A. Palmer, Birgitta L. Baker

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of leisure for women who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived in Utah, and were stay-at-home mothers. Particular attention was given to the religious, cultural, and role-determined forces that shaped their lives and leisure. A phenomenological approach was used. Thirteen women were identified through a criteria-based snowball sampling technique. Emerging theory indicated that cultural beliefs and values can contribute to feelings of entitlement to leisure because of the support for leisure and life roles given by one’s faith, family, and community.

Ethics, Csr, And Sustainability Education In The Financial Times Top 50 Global Business Schools: Baseline Data And Future Research Directions, Lisa Jones Christensen, Ellen Peirce, Laura P. Hartman, W. Michael Hoffman, Jamie Carrier

Faculty Publications

This paper investigates how deans and directors at the top 50 global MBA programs (as rated by the Financial Times in their 2006 Global MBA rankings) respond to questions about the inclusion and coverage of the topics of ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability at their respective institutions. This work purposely investigates each of the three topics separately. Our findings reveal that: (1) a majority of the schools require that one or more of these topics be covered in their MBA curriculum and one-third of the schools require coverage of all three topics as part of the MBA curriculum, (2) …

Do Secondary Shares In The Ipo Process Have A Negative Effect On Aftermarket Performance?, James C. Brau, Mingsheng Li, Jing Shi

Faculty Publications

We revisit and extend the topic of secondary share sales and revisions in IPOs. First we test to determine if secondary share sales constitute a negative signal that is captured in aftermarket performance. We find secondary share sales in general are not correlated with poorer initial or long-run performance, but selling by officers and directors is associated with poorer long-run returns. Second, we examine if secondary share revisions (1) reflect selling shareholders’ attempts to conceal private information or (2) are contingent upon whether a firm can reach its goal of raising sufficient capital. We find empirical support for a capital …

A Return To Descartes: Property, Profit, And The Corporate Ownership Of Animals, Darian M. Ibrahim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Family Deepening: A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Experience Of Families Who Participate In Service Expeditions, Alexis A. Palmer, Patti A. Freeman, Ramon B. Zabriskie

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the familial impact of participating in a family service expedition. Grounded theory methodology was used. Five families were identified through a criteria-based snowball sampling technique. Based on the data analyses, a core category emerged that encapsulated the meaning and impact of the family service expedition. It was given the description of "family deepening." Emerging theory indicated that experiences that were unique; shared, interactive; purposive; challenging; and required sacrifice contributed to the process of family deepening. The process encompassed and surpassed what was previously captured by the concepts of family strengths, purposive leisure, …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Financial Impact Of Supply Chain Management On Small Firms, James C. Brau, Stanley E. Fawcett, Ladd Morgan

Faculty Publications

In this article we test the value proposition hypothesis of supply chain management (SCM) by examining survey results of 570 US managers. First, we find that large firms use SCM initiatives significantly more than small firms. Second, in univariate and multivariate tests, we find that SCM leads to significant improvements in asset utilization, revenue generation, and competitive performance, regardless of firm size. These two major findings suggest that managers at small firms that are not actively engaged in SCM should reevaluate their opportunity to capture the competitive benefits of SCM that many large firms currently enjoy.

The U.S. Treasury Buyback Auctions: The Cost Of Retiring Illiquid Bonds, Bing Han, Francis A. Longstaff, Craig B. Merrill

Faculty Publications

We study an important recent series of buyback auctions conducted by the U.S. Treasury in retiring $67.5 billion of its illiquid off-the-run debt. The Treasury was successful in buying back large amounts of illiquid debt while suffering only a small market-impact cost. The Treasury included the most-illiquid bonds more frequently in the auctions, but tended to buy back the least-illiquid of these bonds. Although the Treasury had the option to cherry pick from among the bonds offered, we find that the Treasury was actually penalized for being spread too thinly in the buybacks.

Information Sharing And Supply Chain Performance: The Role Of Connectivity And Willingness, Stanley E. Fawcett, Paul Osterhaus, Gregory M. Magnan, James C. Brau, Matthew W. Mccarter

Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how information technology (IT) is used to enhance supply chain performance.

Design/methodology/approach – A large-scale survey and semi-structured interviews were used to collect industry data.

Findings – Two distinct dimensions to information sharing – connectivity and willingness – are identified and analyzed. Both dimensions are found to impact operational performance and to be critical to the development of a real information sharing capability. However, many companies are found to have placed most of their emphasis on connectivity, often overlooking the willingness construct. As a result, information sharing seldom delivers on …

Rituals And Relationships: Examining The Relationship Between Family Of Origin Rituals And Young Adult Attachment, Melissa M. Homer, Patti A. Freeman, Ramon B. Zabriskie, Dennis L. Eggett

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family of origin rituals and young adults’ attachment style when controlling for parents’ attachment style. The sample consisted of 222 paired young adults and one parent (representing 208 families) from 36 different states. Family of origin rituals were measured using the Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ) and attachment was measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (ECR-R) Questionnaire. Results indicated a negative relationship between family of origin ritual meaning and young adult attachment anxiety. Results also indicated that family of origin ritual meaning significantly predicted young adult anxiety after …

Attributes Of Meaningful Learning Experiences In An Outdoor Education Program, Stacy T. Taniguchi, Patti A. Freeman, A. Legrand Richards

Faculty Publications

This phenomenological study sought to identify the attributes of meaningful learning experiences as found in an outdoor education program. Thirteen students in the Wilderness Writing Program at Brigham Young University were the sample of this study. Their participation in outdoor recreational activities and their reflections about their experiences were analyzed. Through written journal entries, group discussions, observations, and writing assignments, a qualitative analysis identified attributes that occurred in their meaningful learning experiences. Meaningful learning was defined as a realization of a person's weaknesses, strengths, and potentials. This realization came through experiences with attributes of a degree of perceived risk, which …

Ranking Scholarly Outlets For Information Technology, Barry Lunt, Michael Bailey, Jospeh Ekstrom, C. Richard G. Helps, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Many well-established disciplines have a number of outlets for scholarly work, including archival journals, conference proceedings, periodicals, and others. These outlets are commonly known within the discipline, and many have an established reputation and even ranking. Faculty seeking to publish in one of these disciplines, and seeking to advance in rank and tenure status, are well served by knowing the most common scholarly outlets and their rankings. The relatively new discipline of Information Technology does not yet have a well established ranking of scholarly outlets. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted among the members of the IT …

Internal Audit Sourcing Arrangement And The External Auditor's Reliance Decision, Steven M. Glover, Douglas F. Prawitt, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effects of internal audit sourcing arrangement on the external auditor’s reliance decision in the presence of different levels of inherent risk and task subjectivity. We posit that external auditors will rely more on outsourced than in-house internal audit functions (IAFs) and that this difference will be more pronounced when inherent risk is high or when the work performed by internal auditors relates to a subjective task. Participants in the study were 127 external auditors from a Big 4 firm who completed an experimental case in which we manipulated internal audit sourcing, inherent risk, and task subjectivity. …

An Overview Of The Near-Death Experience Phenomenon, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Near-death experiences appear to be universal phenomena that have been reported for centuries. A near-death encounter is defined as an event in which the individual could very easily die or be killed, or may have already been considered clinically dead, but nonetheless survives, and continue his or her physical life. Reports of near-death experiences date back to the Ice Age. There are cave paintings, in France and Spain that depict possible after life scenes that are similar to reported scenes related to near-death experiences. Plato's Republic presents the story of a near-death experience of a Greek soldier named Er. In …

Presumptive Adaptation And The Effectiveness Of Knowledge Transfer, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

Adaptation is almost invariably accompanies the cross-border transfer of firm specific practices. The existing literature contains two conflicting approaches to adaptation. The first, more traditional approach, following institutional, motivation, and pragmatic efficiency considerations, presumes that a modified practice can be fine-tuned, stabilized, and institutionalized without consulting a working example and that practices should thus be adapted as quickly as possible to create fit with the local environment. The second approach argues, instead for the need to maintain the diagnostic value of the original practice by adapting cautiously and gradually. In this paper, we report an in-depth field investigation of the …

A Research Agenda For Studying Open Source I: A Multi-Level Framework, Ashley R. Davis, Fred Niederman, Martina E. Greiner, Donald Wynn, Paul T. York

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a research agenda for studying information systems using open source software A multi-level research model is developed at five discrete levels of analysis: (1) the artifact; (2) the individual; (3) the team, project, and community; (4) the organization; and (5) society. Each level is discussed in terms of key issues within the level. Examples are based on prior research. In a companion paper, [Niederman, et al 2006], we view the agenda through the lens of referent discipline theories.

The Macroeconomic News Cycle And Uncertainty Resolution, Arjun Chatrath, Rohan Christie-David, William T. Moore

Faculty Publications

We examine the behavior of return volatility and trading at 5-minute intervals in the treasury bond futures market in the context of the monthly macroeconomic news cycle. We advance and confirm the hypothesis that volatility and trading activity are higher in the first half of the month. The data indicate that these patterns arise from at least two sources: (1) a higher level of uncertainty regarding the value of news in announcements in the first half of the month, and (2) improvement in efficiency of macroeconomic forecasts from the first to the second half of the month.

Conflicts Of Interest, David J. Cherrington

Faculty Publications

Our research on theft and fraud has taught us three important lessons about conflicts of interest: first, they are much more prevalent than one would expect, second, they are much more serious than one might think, and third, some of them can’t be eliminated.

How To Weave Entrepreneurship Into Engineering Education: The Experience At San Jose State University, Minnie Patel, Anuradha Basu

Faculty Publications

There is a growing consensus about the need for engineers and scientists to have entrepreneurial skills to be successful in their careers. However, there is a continued debate as to how best to impart these skills at the undergraduate level. It is possible to identify two routes to accomplish this objective. One route is to offer courses in engineering entrepreneurship and the other is to encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities that help to foster entrepreneurial skills. The most common approach adopted by a growing number of universities is to offer courses in entrepreneurship to engineering students. A more …

Holland Boat Builders, Geoffrey D. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

Holland Boat Builders is an article concerning the history of ship and boat building in the Holland, Michigan area from 1836-2006.

Before The Thoroughbreds: Roy Brady And The Century Boat Company, Geoffrey D. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

Before the Thoroughbreds: Roy Brady and the Century Boat Company is an article about the boat builder Melvin Roy Brady, his family, and his time building boats for Brady Boats of Charlevoix, Michigan, Century Boat Company in Manistee, Michigan and Robinson Boat Company of St. Joeseph, Michigan. It also concentrates on his time as a hydroplane boat racer in the late 1920s and early 1930s.