Business Commons^™

Fear Of Asking: Factors That Inhibit Latinos In Seeking And Obtaining Credit For Small Business, Brenda Hernandez

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

Latino owned businesses and any minority business in general are important for the economy of the United States. They generate money that helps the economy grow and work. In the fiscal year of 2010, the Minority Business Development Agency of the United States Department of Commerce created 6,397 new jobs and helped minority owned businesses obtained almost 4 billion in contracts and capital. The numbers are record highs for the MBDA and it shows that minority businesses are growing now more than they were ever before. While the number is growing, the number of minority owned businesses is still small …

Risk Aversion And Former Collegiate Athletes As Financial Investors, Tyler Buccetti

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

Risk aversion is a concept that tries to understand an individual’s choice, when two options are presented with different levels of risk and reward. This concept can be applied to finance when looking at investors decisions to invest in options with different levels of risk and returns. This study examines if having played a collegiate sport will impact the level of risk aversion an investor has. In order to determine this, an experiment was given to Graduate students working on a Master’s degree in business. The experiment consisted of six different stock options representing different levels of risk. From this …

Java Applet Awareness Impacting User Web Browsing Behavior, Norilyz Figueroa

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

The purpose of this study is to investigate the web browsing behaviors of computer users and how awareness about threats impacts their behaviors. This research focused on how users behave towards web browser alerts which prompt users to install Java Applets. Applets have become common tools for enhancing user experience. However, installing these features overrides security mechanisms inherent in browsers and provides complete access to users’ computing resources. A survey was administered to two separate groups of students from the University of Massachusetts Boston to collect data. The first group took the survey after being given a few details about …

Employee Compliance With Information Systems Security Policy In Retail Industry. Case: Store Level Employees, Bertrand Muhire

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

In this digital era, information has become a very important component to any type of organizations. For some, it is not only an important component of daily routine operations but also required for competitive advantage. From big corporations to small businesses, non-profit organizations and governments, organizations need to safeguard and secure their information by implementing information security policies and make sure that all employees comply with such policies.

Since information is growing faster than in the previous decades, there is a need to safeguard and manage that information efficiently and effectively in order to make it useful. One of the …

The Impact Of The Arab Spring On Social Ventures In The Mena Region: A Case Study Of Morocco, Nacik Sadiq

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

In this study, I analyzed the effect of the Arab Spring on the development of social ventures in the MENA region. Using a case study of Morocco, I tried to evaluate in which proportions the new Islamic governments transformed the social venture development context. After a detailed review of the Arab Spring and current literature on social ventures, I conducted a series on interviews of miscellaneous actors of the political, economical and social life of Morocco.

The study found that the Arab Spring did not have a direct impact on social ventures. Nevertheless, it was proven to be a main …

Sustainability Of Mfis Through Governance Mechanisms: A Cross-Country Analysis Of Regulation On Outreach And Operational Self Sufficiency, Daniel Muwamba

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

Poverty is an age long problem that has been part of mankind ever since civilization and the fight against poverty is as old. There are many efforts to fight poverty of which microfinance is one. One theory to explain prevalence of poverty especially in the age of capitalism is that poor enterprising people cannot lift themselves out of poverty because they lack capital to develop their enterprises. Start up businesses and enterprises commonly start operations with credit support from financial institutions but there are prerequisites to attaining this credit and numerous poor individuals do not possess these prerequisites. Such individuals …

Extreme Enthusiasts In Online And Offline Radio Control Helicopter Communities, Eyal Stein

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

The focus of this study is to explore the notion that it is possible to optimize a marketing plan for a specialized industry to leverage individuals that are addicted to specific products in specialized product communities. This study addresses the following research questions: Can individuals that are addicted to products be leveraged for marketing purposes in specialized online and offline communities? The study is conducted with respect to the Radio Control Hobby Industry, and incorporates qualitative personal interviews at local RC clubs in the Greater Boston Area. The aim of the interviews is to help define people who are addicted …

The Correlation Between Off-Shoring And Tax Avoidance, Elena Svetlov

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

This research paper intends to examine the relationship between U.S Multinational Corporation off-shoring and tax avoidance. This paper will address the following research question: How does off shoring affect the difference between taxable and book income of U.S. multinational firms? The research is conducted via statistical analysis of data from the Off shoring Research Network (ORN) database. The findings of this research paper will potentially be valuable to tax economists, policy makers, and business managers as the findings will provide a better understanding of worldwide tax allocation. Also, the findings of this research may be useful for the potential establishment …

Effect Of Corporate Venture Capitalism On The Post-Ipo Performance Of Companies, Devansh Bajaj

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

There is substantial evidence that Corporate Venture Capitalists (CVCs) backing provides value to companies. This study aims to find what the benefits provided by CVCs are to public companies after they have gone through their initial public offerings (IPOs) and have begun trading on the stock market. Matched by CVC backing, Tobin q, leverage ratio, research and development (R&D) ratio, size of market capitalization, and the sector in which the firm operates, over a given period of time, this study explores whether or not CVCs add value to companies. Additionally, this study analyzes the success companies backed by CVCs. The …

Fashion Enthusiasts, Casey Finigan

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

The focus of this study is to explore the fashion industry’s “fashion enthusiast” in comparison to the “average” fashion consumer, and to take that understanding of these fervent consumers as a tool to observe the underlying patterns and factors which comprise these consumers to be enthusiastic ones in this particular industry. The aim of this study is to benefit the fashion industry from a marketing standpoint, by developing a much better understanding of what comprises heavy fashion users, and what drives them more than other fashion not-so-heavy fashion users. The fashion industry is constantly changing and has several media outlets …

Arguments For A Living Wage In The United States: Prospects For Persuasion And Expansion, Corinne Bazzinotti

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

This thesis explores the living wage, and in particular the varied arguments that support the adoption and spread of the living wage. A “living wage” is a decent wage. “It affords the earner and her or his family the most basic costs of living without need for government support or poverty programs,” and takes into account a, “complete consideration of the cost of living.” The topic is timely, as the economy in the United States remains in decline, and now more than ever the American workforce is struggling to stay afloat, along with businesses across the country.

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