Business Commons^™

E-Commerce Digital Information Transparency And Satisfaction. Can We Have Too Much Of A Good Thing?, Slava Ferguson

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Despite core product and service quality improvements and advances in shopping processes and technology, customers often report being unsatisfied with their online purchases. One plausible reason for lower customer satisfaction rates is too much or too little information that is shared with the customers about their orders. We show that when forming their perceptions about the purchases, customers form digital information satisfaction (DIS) levels as they evaluate supplementary informational services in addition to the core product being purchased. We believe that DIS is one of the dimensions of overall customer satisfaction. We also show that supplementary informational services are essential …

Empirical Studies On Global Product Reviews, Maneesh Reddy Ajjuguttu

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This dissertation comprises three interconnected essays investigating the impact of global reviews on Amazon.com and their significance for consumer behavior and decision-making. The first chapter analyzes the interplay between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and global review sharing, focusing on Nike products available on the platform. The study finds that higher levels of USA EPU negatively affect product review rates, while China EPU positively influences review rates. EPU volatility also impacts the sharing of non-English and English reviews, influencing sales and review-sharing behavior. The research also explores the effect of global reviews on customer decision-making for products at different lifecycle stages, …

The Influence Of Premium Finished Paper Packaging On Consumer Behavior, Sahil Bhayani

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Companies face the challenge of determining the return on investment of premium paper packaging features, such as substrate thickness and finishing options. If companies can better understand how consumers perceive “premium,” they could channel their focus on specific design elements and maximize their returns (Dwivedi & Nayeem, 2018). Touch is a critical factor in driving consumer behavior and purchase decisions and influencing trust between brands and consumers (Krishna et al. 2017). While previous studies have explored the impact of design elements like size, shape, color, and font on consumer behavior, this research investigates the influence of touch, substrate, print finishes …

Physical Accessibility And Historic Preservation In Historic House Museums Of The Southeast, Abby Milonas

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Museums are a public good, as they provide educational recreation and preserve cultural history, and so it is crucial that they are physically accessible to as many visitors as possible. The aim of this study was to understand what architectural features of historic house museums are the least accessible and what has been done to ameliorate these challenges. The survey used in the study was developed using the guidelines for making historic buildings accessible as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. It was distributed by email to representatives of 220 historic sites, of …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Entrepreneurship Programs On Student Interest In Entrepreneurship Competitions, Toni Sharp

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According to a survey by ACNielsen International Research, over half of Americans want to start their own business to build wealth and achieve independence (Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2011). In the research community, most entrepreneurship education research happens in business schools (Matlay, 2006). As a result of continually researching one form of entrepreneurship, less attention has been paid to other forms contributing to the “definitional obscurity with important consequences for the direction of the field” of entrepreneurship (Baker & Welter, 2017). This has created a need for research on entrepreneurship at the college level in fields outside of business.

Clemson University …

Leveraging The Granularity Of Healthcare Data: Essays On Operating Room Scheduling For Productivity And Nurse Retention, Jaeyoung Kim

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The primary objective of this dissertation is to provide insights for healthcare practitioners to leverage the granularity of their healthcare data. In particular, leveraging the granularity of healthcare data using data analytics helps practitioners to manage operating room scheduling for productivity and nurse retention. This dissertation addresses the practical challenges of operating room (OR) scheduling by combining the existing insights from the prior literature through various tools in data analytics. In doing so, this dissertation consists of three chapters that operationally quantify the operational characteristics of the operating room and surgical team scheduling to improve operating room outcomes, including OR …

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

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Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Understanding Job Satisfaction In The National Park Service, The Needs Of Black Employees, And The Decision-Making Of Managers, Akiebia Hicks

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According to the 2020 U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, the National Park Service (NPS) was ranked the 353rd best place to work out of the 411 government agencies surveyed, with an engagement score of 61.3%, which was lower than the 69.0% average amongst government agencies. This survey is performed annually and asks employees to score their employer in the following categories: leadership, empowerment, pay, teamwork, innovation, recognition, response to COVID-19, and work-life balance. The scores are divided by a quartile key. In every category except “innovation,” the NPS landed in the lower quartile, causing the need …

Credit Constraints And Innovation, Jun Li

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This paper examines the effects of credit constraints on aggregate innovation when firms face heterogeneous innovation costs and have differential access to credit. Better credit access affects aggregate innovation through (i) a direct effect by facilitating firms to innovate, (ii) a market share effect by encouraging low-cost firms to expand, and (iii) a value effect that increases competition and deteriorates high-cost firms’ innovation. We first develop a structural model featuring the above three channels. We then contrast this theory with the Chinese firm-level data documenting that Chinese state-owned enterprises are less constrained but face higher innovation costs than their private …

Empowering Older Adults With Their Information Privacy Management, Reza Ghaiumy Anaraky

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Literature depicts a deficit-based narrative around older adults and their technology use, suggesting that older adults are not able to keep up with their younger counterparts in adopting new technologies. In this dissertation, I argue that this view is not necessarily accurate or productive. Instead, I argue that the deficit is in the technology design, which is not inclusive and often caters to the needs of younger adults.

I study older and younger adults' privacy decision-making as a showcase. To study the privacy decision-making process with more granularity, I used a dual-route approach (decision heuristics and privacy calculus) to disentangle …

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Developing Mexican And Central American Spanish Phrases For U.S Construction Workforce To Improve Jobsite Communication, Alexis Saborio

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This paper gives an overview of a study conducted with US construction practitioners and Hispanic construction workers to develop Mexican and Central American construction Spanish phrases. Many companies face the challenge of a language barrier between the English construction supervisors and the Spanish-- speaking speaking Hispanic workers. This language gap is creating poor expectations among different sectors in the construction industry. Over the past several years as the number of Hispanic construction w orkers have increased in the United States so has the language barrier. The majority of the Hispanic construction workforce comes from Mexico and Central America. US construction …

The Influence Of A Professional Sport Team’S Philanthropic Initiative On Fans’ Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) Participation Intention, Young Suk Oh

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Within corporate social responsibility (CSR) research, there has been significant evidence of the positive impacts that CSR could bring to businesses. However, few studies, especially in the context of sport, have focused on how CSR benefits an actual social cause. Therefore, through a three-article format, the overall purpose of the dissertation is to examine how a professional sport team could use its CSR as a social marketing strategy to increase its fans’ willingness to participate in the team’s CSR program in contributing to a specific social cause. Specifically, Article 1 assesses whether CSR participation intention significantly differs among fans with …

Covid-19 And Canine Travelers: Determining Likelihood To Travel With Dogs, Angela Rowan

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, dog adoption rates skyrocketed, restaurants focused on outdoor seating, and travelers pivoted away from tightly packed planes out of safety concerns. This study surveyed dog owners in the United States to determine whether pet attachment levels could predict dog owners’ likelihood of traveling with their dogs. In addition, it used Um and Crompton’s (1992) facilitators and inhibitors to establish how different factors affect a dog owner’s likelihood of traveling with their dog. These facilitators and inhibitors were split into three dimensions: needs satisfaction, social agreement, and travelability. Finally, this study sought to learn what effect the …

Public Policy, Economic Development, And Taxes: An Impact Analysis Of Business Incentive Strategies At The State And Local Level, Richard Nanney

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In an effort to promote economic development, state-level policymakers have exercised discretion over the use of public money to incentivize subsidy packages for decades. Estimates suggest state governments spend approximately $50 billion annually on these initiatives. However, there has been little empirical research about the political and economic benefits received by local residents from these subsidy programs. This dissertation analyzes the effectiveness of state subsidy policy by considering induced economic spillover effects and population attrition rates. It examines how subsidy distribution is related to employment rates, average weekly wages, and population attrition. The project offers two methodological innovations. First, to …

Crip Theory And Creative Briefs: Interpreting Disability In The Creative Process, Josh Loebner

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Brands, advertising agencies and other partners collaborate through curated phases to create marketing and advertisements, but within this process, how does the creative brief shape disability inclusion or exclusion? By moving the conversation from interpreting disability representation in an advertisement or finished marketing piece, to analyzing disability at the onset of the creative process, these insights present a critical contribution to scholarship on disability, marketing and consumer culture. Framed within crip theory, the research investigates how disability identity is—or is not—manifest in a creative brief within the creative process.

Much of marketing, advertising and disability studies scholarship centers on finished …

The Effects Of Audio/Visual Stimulation And Virtual Reality To Increase The Rate Of Retention In First Semester Freshmen Graphic Communications Students, Hanna Gibson

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In March of 2020, the world entered the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving educators to answer the question, "how do we teach in a virtual environment?". This was especially difficult for deeply rooted STEM programs such as Graphic Communications at Clemson University. This research aims to analyze multiple methods of virtual teaching for correlation between enhanced retention rates.

This thesis attempts to solve the problem facing global STEM educators when they are attempting to prepare material for students in a virtual environment. This is achieved by presenting them with how different methodologies impact the retention rate on freshmen level students enrolled in …

Essays On Deceptive Counterfeits In Supply Chains: A Behavorial Perspective, Jillian Watson

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This dissertation is comprised of three essays intended to contribute to the operations management discipline, specifically within supply chain management. The first essay provides a research agenda for studying deceptive product counterfeits, which are products that have been manufactured and/or distributed and sold by an entity in violation of another’s intellectual property rights and intentionally misrepresented by the seller as the genuine article. The proliferation of counterfeits into legitimate supply chains presents quality, health and safety and cost concerns for nearly all industries. We identify antecedents of vulnerability to deceptive counterfeits for firms and their supply chain partners using Situational …

Disability Status, Disability Type, And Training As Predictors Of Job Placement, Jessica Stahl

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Human Capital Theory was used as a means to formulate predictions regarding the placement rates for disabled and non-disabled individuals who participated in job training programs at a non-profit agency in the Southeast. Research suggesting that disabilities are viewed as an economic liability by employers was reviewed, along with empirically based rejoinders to this stereotype. The first goal of this study was to address flaws in the existing categorization systems of disabilities, and to justify a categorization system that was more detailed than the typical psychological/physical disability distinction in the I/O and vocational rehabilitation literature (e.g., Ren, Paetzold, and Colella, …

The Influence Of Mindfulness During The Travel Anticipation Phase On Search And Choice Behaviors, Search And Choice Outcomes, And Trip Evaluations, Lorraine Taylor

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Anticipation is the first travel phase (Clawson & Knetsch, 1966) and consists of the vacation planning process. Tourists may exhibit varying levels of mindfulness during this phase. Mindfulness is associated with analytic decision making through a heightened sensitivity to one's environment and openness to new information (Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000). This study considered the influence that mindfulness during the travel anticipation phase has on: search and choice behaviors, search and choice outcomes, and trip evaluations. Analysis was also conducted to determine if there was a significant influence on the relationships based on the mediating effect of the amount of the …

Pressure Kicks: The Effects Of Distracting Variables On The Outcome Of A Pressure Kick In Division-I College Football, Karen Moede

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A field goal kicker in NCAA Division-I college football experiences high amounts of pressure when placed in a game-winning situation. A pressure kick may result in optimal or less than optimal performance due the influence of various distracting factors, such as the evaluative nature of an audience or the pressure of being iced by the opposing team. Pressure kicks are classified as a field goal kick, during the last minute of game time (or during overtime), which will result in a lead or a tie game for the kicking team (Goldschmied, Nankin, & Cafri, 2010). Conflicting literature surrounding social facilitation, …

Identifying The Effects Of Narcissistic Leadership On Employee Job Satisfaction: A Study Within The Accounting Profession, Susan Shurden

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Narcissism is a personality disorder now identified in professionals in both education and business. The disorder is diagnosed when an individual possesses five of nine characteristics listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders/ (fourth edition, text revision version). Narcissism is prevalent in most successful leaders and is both destructive and constructive. The focus of this Dissertation is on the destructive characteristics and how narcissistic leadership affects job satisfaction among employees within the accounting profession.

The Implications Of A University Brand: Institutional Brand Alignment And The Experience Of Honors Students Attending Clemson University, Lori Pindar

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In this research, the process by which honors students interact with the institutional brand and become part of their university is examined. Branding and the brand experience is the process by which institutions differentiate themselves from other competing organizations. It was assumed that the degree to which honor students consume the brand impacts not only how they understand their student identity on campus but also their beliefs about their education, their campus community, and their own intellectual and social development. A single-site case study approach was employed to illuminate and provide an in-depth description and analysis of the effects of …

Social Media Public Relations Practices Of Community Non-Profit Organizations, Megan Stockhausen

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This thesis examines the use of social media for public relations in the non-profit sector. Specifically, self-perceptions and the implementation of social media by non-profit organizations was investigated through both interviews with social media practitioners and content analysis of Twitter. Through the lens of the five principles of dialogic communication, as set forth by Kent and Taylor (1998), eight community non-profit organizations were analyzed in a multiple case study. One interview and 150 tweets from a 12 month period were examined for each organization to determine the motivations for employing social media and whether dialogic communication was used to interact …

Unifying Specific Climate Research With A Molar Climate Measure: A Situational Affordances Approach, Alice Brawley

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Organizational climate - briefly, the shared perceptions of a workplace - was originally studied as a molar concept, but this approach generally lacked focus and thus resulted in unmanageable measures. Organizational climate research has been subdivided into many areas of specific climate research focusing on particular organizational factors or outcomes, such as safety or customer service (Schneider, Ehrhart, & Macey, 2013). While the study of specific climates has been and remains worthwhile, recent literature in the area has called for a return to the molar or global conceptualization of organizational climate (Kuenzi & Schminke, 2009; Schneider et al., 2013). In …

A Comparison Of The Source, Media Format, And Sentiment In Generating Source Credibility, Information Credibility, Corporate Brand Reputation, Purchase Intention, And Social Media Engagement In A Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign Presented Via Social Media, Kristie Byrum

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ABSTRACT This study addresses the impact of source, media format, and sentiment in the influencing source credibility, information credibility, corporate brand reputation, purchase intention, and social media engagement in a corporate social responsibility campaign presented in a social media environment. The study utilized a 2 x 3 x 2 ANOVA to analyze results from an online survey that exposed respondents to various source, format, and sentiment combinations. The source was designated as either a corporation or a consumer. The media format was a news release, an advertisement or a news article. The sentiment was classified as either 'with sentiment' or …

Understanding The Antecedent Competencies Of Organizational Risk Management Capabilities, Jason Riley

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Hurricanes, tsunamis, and terrorism, are visible catastrophes that disrupt continuity for many organizations. Yet behind the curtain, there are multitudes of smaller events that cause supply chain disruptions. For example, quality issues, shipping delays, information system malfunction, demand spikes, and inventory mismanagement can quickly ripple from one supply chain to another. Practitioners work feverishly to contain small interruptions, while large disruptions can upset the supply chain for multiple organizations and depress an organization's financial valuation by up to 40%.
This study extends risk management thinking by exploring behavioral-based practices, rather than buffer inventory, redundant capacity, or financial countermeasures, as these …

Essays On Service Strategies: Evidence From Banking And Healthcare Industries, Sriram Venkataraman

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The primary objective of this dissertation is to provide insights for service providers in general, and retail bankers and hospital administrators in particular, that will help them improve their operational efficiency and effectiveness. In doing so, this dissertation consists of three essays that develop multiple service operations strategies, that identifies key elements affecting efficiency and effectiveness in two key critical industries: banking and healthcare. We contribute to service operations strategy research and practice by incorporating multi-disciplinary theories and approaches from marketing, economics, and quality management. Although operations researchers and practitioners alike realize the importance of productivity and effectiveness, they are …

Fan Motivation For Attendance To Men's Division I College Soccer Matches, Stephanie Withey

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Fan attendance rates are a vital part to college athletics. With most athletic programs already losing money for universities, the recent decline in attendance rates has added further stress to budgets (Fulks, 2010). Most of the research on sports fans examines the socio-motivational and psychological motivations for attending games. Fan research has primarily focused on English soccer and American baseball, with little focus being placed on college soccer. While sports like college soccer do not generate enough revenue to sustain themselves, athletic departments still need to maintain positive attendance numbers at these events. Non-revenue sports provide free publicity and advertisement …

A Leader's Impact On Sense Of Community In One Venue At The London 2012 Olympics, Laura Grouchy

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The importance of creating and maintaining sense of community in workplaces is becoming an increasingly essential facet to help restore bonds and develop support systems which can create happier and more efficient employees. The focus of this research will be on how leadership influences sense of community within one venue at the London Olympic Organizing Committee (LOCOG). This problem is of interest to scholars because Organizing Committees are rapidly growing, temporary and have symbolical strong cultures. In-depth interviews, participant observation and a big five-inventory questionnaire were administered to eight full-time employees at the same venue in London Olympic Organizing Committee. …

Factors That Predict Hispanic/Latino Entrepreneurs' Intentions To Use Thirteen Entrepreneurial Behaviors, Rosanna Saladin-Subero

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The purpose of this study was to determine what attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs most significantly predicted Hispanic business owners' intentions to engage in 13 entrepreneurial behaviors. In 2011, Hispanic business owners from five cities in Greenville Country, South Carolina were invited to participate. Only owners of for-profit business that had been in operation for a year or more participated. Seventy four Hispanic business owners were interviewed or completed an online survey.
Aizen's Theory of Planned Behavior (1980, 1991, 2002a, 2002b, 2006) was used as the framework for constructing a survey to examine stated intentions, and concomitant attitudes, norms, and …