Business Commons^™

The Role Of Employee Proactive Behaviors In Influencing Supervisors’ Trust In Employees, Ngai Meng Ho

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In organizations, proactive employees make things happen. They anticipate, initiate, and drive meaningful changes for a better future. Such proactive behaviors can be manifested in different forms. Initiating work improvements and voicing for changes are examples of the different proactive behaviors commonly demonstrated by employees.

Empirical studies have associated proactive behaviors at work with a range of positive workplace outcomes. However, only limited research has examined how proactive behaviors might be related to one particularly important outcome, trust, i.e., whether an employee’s proactive behaviors will influence the supervisor’s trust toward the employee. Accordingly, in this present research, I conducted two …

Improving Engagement: The Moderating Effect Of Leadership Style On The Relationship Between Psychological Capital And Employee Engagement, Scott Beatrice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect that different leadership styles (Transformational, Transactional, and Passive-Avoidant) can have on the relationship between Psychological Capital and Employee Engagement. Additionally, it explores the direct positive relationship that Psychological Capital and Transformational Leadership have on Employee Engagement. This study examines 238 adults that work at least 20 hours a week. The results show that Psychological Capital and Transformational Leadership have strong, positive effects on Employee Engagement and Transformational Leadership positively moderates the direct relationship between Psychological Capital and Employee Engagement. The importance of Psychological Capital in its relationship to Employee …

Trust Issues: A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Trust And Reform Implementation, Courtney R. Wilson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Reform creation and implementation tends to focus on the mechanics needed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. School relationships are affected by the tension caused by reform implementation. Research suggests trust among teachers and between teachers and their administrator affects the way teachers make sense of, implement, and use new reform efforts. Given the demands reforms place on schools, trust has the potential to impact and encourage the implementation of reform and the maintenance of relationships. A qualitative case study method was used to decipher the impact trust plays in the implementation of reform. The concept of trust is used …

Recognizing Potential Cyberspace Warriors Through The Use Of Suspicion Propensity Index, Meghan G. Strang

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force currently suffers from excessively high attrition rates in the cyberspace career. The field is currently aiming to develop an entrance examination for the career, striving to improve personnel selection and decrease these high attrition rates. The attribute of suspicion is a key focus of the preliminary examination development, theorizing that it is a potential indicator present among competent cyber operators. This research makes use of the Suspicion Propensity Index (SPI), a reliable measure of one’s tendency to be suspicious, along with the highly cited Mayer’s trust questionnaire in order to compare the attributes that appear in successful …

The Social Media Machines: An Investigation Of The Effect Of Trust Moderated By Disinformation On Users’ Decision-Making Process, Zulma Valedon Westney

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Social media networking sites (SMNS) have become a popular communications medium where users share information, knowledge, and persuasion. In less than two decades, social media's (SM) dominance as a communication medium can't be disputed, for good or evil. Combined with the newly found immediacy and pervasiveness, these SM applications' persuasive power are useful weapons for organizations, angry customers, employees, actors, and activists bent on attacking or hacking other individuals, institutions, or systems. Consequently, SM has become the preferred default mechanism of news sources; however, users are unsure if the information gathered is true or false. According to the literature, SMNS …

Why We Use A New Currency: The Role Of Trust And Control In Explaining The Perception And Usage Of Bitcoin, Joseph B. Walton

Theses and Dissertations

Social media, e-commerce, global peer-to-peer technologies, and the near ubiquity of computers and smartphones allow people to interact, trust, and exchange value across traditional socio-economic control boundaries and over significant distances. Since the creation in 2008 of a new cryptographic currency system called Bitcoin, a financial technology market sector of about 250 billion USD has rapidly emerged, raising questions about the nature of currency in society and whether new types of non-national money are warranted and viable. This debate has pitted heterodox economic interests against orthodox economic interests while it has rekindled interest in theories that view money as a …

Strategies For Small Businesses Negotiating Contracts With Hospitals, Patricia Gale Mccoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to successfully negotiate contracts can have negative impacts on business survivability. Contract negotiations are ways medical suppliers and hospitals establish mutually beneficial relationships to increase profitability and longevity while innovating to improve patient care. Grounded in the resource dependency theory and the grand theory of negotiation, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies used by Texas physician preference item (PPI) suppliers to successfully negotiate contracts with hospitals to improve profits and sustain their small business beyond 5 years. The participants comprised 11 small business leaders in Texas who successfully negotiated contracts with hospitals to …

Strategies To Improve Employee Retention In The Small Retail Industry, Martin Anokwah Owusu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high turnover rates of entry-level employees adversely affect the profits of small retail businesses. Small business owners in Ghana may benefit by retaining entry-level employees and reducing replacement and training costs. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this descriptive, single-case study was to identify strategies some small retail business leaders in Accra, Ghana, used to reduce the high rate of entry-level employee turnover. The participants were 6 retail business leaders recommended by their director of human resources because of the participants’ experience implementing strategies to minimize entry-level employees’ high turnover rates. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews …

An Evaluation Of A Transorganizational Development Process Promoting Positive Social Change, Erin Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Humanity's largest and most complex social problems are not going to be adequately addressed by one organization working alone. This study addressed two research questions: (1) what ingredients enable successful transorganization collaboration seeking positive social change? and (2) what roles does trust play? Using a case study methodology, participants and observers were interviewed. The data was analyzed using Ainsworth and Feyerhem's diagnostic model of transorganzational systems and Vangen and Huxham's trust-building and trust-sustaining theory. The findings emphasize the interdependence of transorganizational system (TS) design components and, in particular, of trust with each of the components.

Once Upon A Team: The Impact Of Personal Storytelling Types On Desire To Collaborate, Matt Ebeling

Theses and Dissertations

Personal story disclosure supports the development of interpersonal relationships through the building of trust and feelings of closeness. In organizational teams, trust is key to the promotion of cooperative behaviors and team performance, and collaboration within a team and across teams becomes exceedingly important as organizations grow and increase in complexity. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of specific types of personal storytelling on a person's desire to collaborate with others in the workplace. I conclude that the following characteristics of personal story sharing by co-workers have a positive impact on desire to collaborate with the …