Business Commons^™

On The Borders: Black Women’S Multiple And Competing Social Identities And Expectations, And The Impact On Their Intragroup Leadership And Relational Experiences, Clover Baker-Brown

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Black women in the United States are often portrayed as a monolithic and unified group—defined primarily by racial identity and expectations of a shared understanding of common experiences. However, while racial identity is frequently foregrounded in public discourse, this framing often overlooks the overlapping of Black women’s multiple identities and the influence on their sense of belonging in their various groups. This omission can be subtle yet misleading. How Black women choose to self-identify may result in competing expectations or intragroup mistrust, which can impact their overall leadership and relational experiences. Black women's social identities are diverse, vibrant, and transcend …

The Role Of Organizational Culture And Pastoral Leadership In Sustainable Church Outreach: A Multisite Mini-Ethnographic Case Study, Althea P. Gordon-Scott

PhD in Organizational Leadership

This study examined the role of organizational culture and pastoral leadership in sustainable church outreach programs. Two churches were chosen for this multisite mini-ethnographic case study because, for multiple years, they have participated in multiple outreaches each week to their non-Christian neighbors. These two churches differed in terms of geographical location, size, demographics, and budget. Data collection included field observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. The themes that surfaced from the data were altruistic foundations, relational equity, organizational agility, organizational challenges, exemplary pastoral leadership, and the centrality of God. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding …

A Study On The Impact Of Second-Generation Involvement On Digital Transformation In Family Firms And Its Contingency Effects, Wenwu Shao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Family firms, as a vital component of the global economy, dominate China's private sector. However, amid the global digital wave, they face dual challenges of generational transition and digital transformation. The involvement of second-generation successors profoundly influences strategic decision-making and digital transformation in family firms. Yet, existing research lacks a systematic theoretical framework and empirical evidence on the relationship between second-generation involvement and digital transformation in family firms, as well as its underlying mechanisms. The study thus examines the impact of second-generation involvement on digital transformation in family firms and its contingency effects.

Focusing on China's A-share listed family firms, …

A Theoretical Framework For Examination Of Context In Complex System Governance, Meggan M. Schoenberg

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

“A complex system’s identity and viability are directly related and affected by its context. It is important to identify, monitor, and manage (or mitigate risk) system contextual elements” (Keating C. B. et al., 2022, p. 209). Despite this importance, there is very limited research and literature on complex systems context. This research seeks to expand our understanding of complex system context and improve our ability to govern complex technology development programs effectively. The ability to analyze complex systems and their problems is necessary for this improvement.

A “clear understanding of the specific complex system context is fundamental to the process …

Historic Bedrocks Of Volunteer Recruitment: Collaboration Between The Peace Corps And Higher Education Partners, Melanie Elizabeth Graham

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In this study I investigate the collaboration between the United States Peace Corps and their higher education partnership institutions, focusing on Peace Corps Prep Programs (PCPP) which aim to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse Peace Corps Volunteers. The inquiry examines the purpose, structure, and process of these collaborations to uncover successes and shortcomings, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms that contribute to effectiveness or hinder progress. A mixed-method, multiple case study methodology, integrating surveys and individual interviews that parallel The Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory, facilitates an in-depth examination of the intricate dynamics and multifaceted experiences within the collaborative partnerships. By …

Network Analysis Of Sociotechnical Systems, Siva Kadiresan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Sociotechnical networks have become integral frameworks in the accomplishment of organizational objectives by increasingly diverse, cross-functional, and technology-enabled modern teams. In cross-disciplinary teamwork, multiple mediating and moderating factors appear to lend context to the effects of team diversity faultlines on team outcomes. In the several decades of research into teamwork from a network perspective, there has been a paucity of empirical studies that examine how team transition processes and cross-disciplinary connections influence the impact of faultlines on team performance. This study investigates the association among perceived teamwork effectiveness, transition processes, cross-functional team connections, and faultlines in the context of sociotechnical …

Athlete Decision-Making Process In The Liminality After Career-Ending Injuries, Grace Davie

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the decision-making process of athletes in the liminal period immediately following career-ending injuries. While existing research has examined transition challenges and coping strategies, there remains a critical gap in understanding how athletes actively make decisions that shape their post-sport trajectories during this crucial period. Using Crisis Decision Theory (CDT) as a theoretical framework, this study investigated athletes' overall experience, support systems, injury severity assessment, and response option determination and evaluation during the immediate post-injury decision-making process. Key findings demonstrated that athletes' decision-making processes closely aligned with CDT's three-stage framework: assessing injury severity, determining response options, and …

Does Name, Image, And Likeness Increase Gender Inequality In College Athletics?, Aimee Christenson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In June of 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association adopted its first interim policy regarding Name, Image, and Likeness. From here, college athletes have been able to benefit from opportunities regarding their brand as an athlete. While this development has been historic in its expansion of rights to athletes, it highlights the inequities between male and female athletes. Title IX requires equal opportunity for male and female students. This research raises questions about whether NIL is increasing the disparity between male and female athletes. To answer this question, I looked at NIL data collected by Kyle Ems on the NIL …

From Poolside To Profit Margins: A Deep Dive Into Playa Hotels & Resorts, Elisabeth Zygmunt, Hai Tran

Honors Thesis

From a consumer perspective, all-inclusive leisure travel requires few worries coupled with plenty of enjoyment and relaxation. However, from a managerial perspective, there are countless operations to run to ensure a positive guest experience. Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ: PLYA) is a leader in all-inclusive resorts in vacation destinations worldwide. Compared to some of the biggest names and players in the industry, Playa has a relatively small market cap of $1.49B. To maintain its growth trajectory, Playa must capitalize on the increasing popularity of all-inclusive models and consumer health concerns, along with continuing to expand its portfolio through collaborations with …

Teacher Mindset: An Investigation On The Influence Of Teachers’ Transformational Leadership On Growth Mindset, Rodolfo Reyes

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Identifying transformational leadership as a predictor of a growth mindset can be useful in developing teachers’ growth mindset. This nonexperimental quantitative study examined the relationship between teachers’ growth mindset and transformational leadership, and how the dimensions of teacher transformational leadership styles predict teachers’ growth mindset. The current study examined 63 participants in a school district in Florida. Using Dweck’s growth mindset survey (2006) and a researcher-created instrument to assess teachers’ perceptions of growth mindset and transformational leadership, the study resulted in a statistically significant finding of the association and prediction of transformational leadership on growth mindset. Demographics, such as teachers’ …

Estimating Climate Risk In Financial Markets, Olanrewaju Oluwadamilare Olaniyan

Masters Theses

The growing impact of climate change on financial markets necessitates a rigorous approach to climate risk assessment. This thesis examines methods for quantifying climate-related financial risks, with a focus on distinguishing climate risk from broader market movements (represented by S&P 500). Using a factor model, we isolate climate risk factors to better understand sector-specific volatility. The insurance sector is used as a proxy for climate risk exposure, given its sensitivity to climate-related losses and regulatory changes. We apply Extreme Value Theory (EVT); the Block Maxima Method and the Peaks Over Threshold Method, to identify excess risk patterns in financial portfolios. …

Comparative Performance Analysis Of Cryptographic Workloads Across Cloud Providers: A Multi-Language Study On Faas And Iaas Platforms Dataset, Jeremiah Webb

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Cloud computing has become a relatively new paradigm for the delivery of compute resources, with key management services (KMS) playing a crucial role in securely handling cryptographic operations in the cloud. This paper presents the microbenchmark of cloud cryptographic workloads, including SHA HMAC generation, AES encryption/decryption, ECC signature/verification, and RSA encryption/decryption, across Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) in conjunction with KMS offerings from Ama- zon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure to conduct a comparative performance analysis. The methodology involves the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) and the Bicep language to deploy AWS Lambda Functions and Azure Functions, respectively, to …

Corsets Of Empowerment, Dorsa Farzi

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project explores the intersection of fashion and activism, using contemporary design to reflect on significant women’s rights movements from around the world. This exhibition presents four uniquely crafted corsets, each representing a pivotal movement, from the Suffragette era to the ongoing fight for gender equality in Iran. Through modern aesthetics, innovative construction, and symbolic details, this project transforms clothing into a medium for dialogue and advocacy. Fashion becomes more than just design—it becomes a powerful tool for storytelling, sparking awareness, and encouraging new perspectives on gender equality and activism.

This project was exhibited at the Robert Hillestad Gallery, University …

Combating Forced Labor In Global Supply Chains Through Modern Technology: A Case Study Of Uyghurs In Xinjiang, Samuel Donohue

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how modern traceability technologies can help combat forced labor in global supply chains, focusing on the case of Uyghur workers in Xinjiang, China. The research addresses the pressing challenge of verifying ethical labor practices in complex, multi-tiered supply networks, using the case study alongside an extensive literature review. It evaluates advanced technological solutions, including blockchain ledgers, isotope analysis, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging, and microbiome tracing as tools to improve supply chain transparency. Through qualitative case analysis and analysis of current research, the thesis assesses each technology’s capability to trace product origins and authenticate labor conditions. The findings …

Empowered Or Replaced? Ux Designers’ Perceptions Of Ai In The Workplace Through The Lens Of Self-Efficacy, Christine Lee

Executive DBA Dissertations

Designers navigate uncertainty and opportunity as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the UX landscape. This dissertation presents an exploratory study investigating how UX designers perceive the increasing prominence of AI in their professional work. It also applies Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy theory to organize the findings and examine how performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological states influence their adaptation to AI. Findings indicate multiple perspectives in the sample interviewed: In this study, junior designers predominantly express anxiety over job security, while senior designers tend to embrace AI as a strategic partner that grants them a "seat at the table." Designers …

The Role Of Affordable Housing In Enhancing Tenants' Economic Stability In Connecticut: A Focus On Income, Employment, And Housing Stability, Osaid Zubi

Dissertations

This study examined the role of affordable housing in promoting economic stability among low- and moderate-income households in Connecticut. Focusing on income security, employment opportunities, and housing retention, this research highlighted the significance of affordable housing as a means to alleviate financial strain, support job retention, and foster community resilience. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, the study gathered insights from tenants, policymakers, and developers through conducting interviews and a focus group. Connecticut was chosen as the study site due to its high cost of living and affordable housing shortage, exacerbated by its proximity to New York City. Findings underscore the economic …

The Impact Of Moral Courage On Peer-Reporting Intentions, Taterial A. Mcclendon

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Occupational fraud remains a pervasive threat across all organizational levels, with the potential to undermine ethical standards and organizational integrity. Employees are not only central to shaping the ethical climate but also serve as critical agents in identifying and addressing unethical conduct (Brink et al., 2022). Understanding how individuals evaluate unethical behaviors such as occupational fraud through the lens of their own moral standards offers valuable insight into mitigating such misconduct.   In this context, professional moral courage emerges as a key factor, representing the willingness to uphold ethical values despite potential personal or professional risks. This study explores the role …

Seasonal Wages And Program Outcomes In Wisconsin’S Non-Profit Outdoor Education Industry, Michael H. Schneck

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Non-profit outdoor education is an important tool that helps participants build meaningful relationships and positive perspectives of the natural world. Many non-profit outdoor education programs in Wisconsin rely on seasonal staff to fulfill the mission and vision of their programming through meaningful and tedious work. Because these staff are asked to help facilitate ideal program outcomes, it is important to analyze how seasonal wages for these roles influences staff effectiveness. This case-study analyzes the relationships between wages and program outcomes through the lens of human capital and workforce development and equity theory to better understand what most notably influences seasonal …

Reducing Information Asymmetry: Economic Value Of Airbnb Signals In A Small College Town, Hatice Sena Akkurt

Theses and Dissertations

Trust is the backbone of platform operations. Airbnb platform designers implement various methods including trust-building mechanisms, user interface (UI) artifacts, and reputation management systems. Previous research has explored trust in Airbnb, yet little is known about the economic value of trust indicators in smaller cities and rural areas. Thus, this thesis investigates the economic significance of User Interface (UI) artifacts, including the “Superhost” badge, star ratings, and listing photographs, within the peer-to-peer accommodation sector in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. Drawing on signaling theory, we conducted quantitative analysis, to examine the relationship between trust indicators and listing prices, controlling factors like …

Essays On Empirical Asset Pricing, Qi Fan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

My dissertation consists of three studies on how investor behavior affects the outcomes in financial markets. The first study focuses on the investors’ limited capacity on processing the complicated information transmitted through interconnected firms. The other two studies explore the investor heterogeneity on preferred time of trading, due to their personal traits or irrational judgements on the market conditions.

In Chapter 2, I focus on the return predictability across economically linked firms, due to investor limited attention. I document significant outperformance of stocks whose industry peers currently experience salient (attention-grabbing) gains, especially for those with strong social ties. The long-short …

The Impact Of Sustainable Urban Development On The Issuance Of Urban Investment Bonds, Xinglin Shou

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Investment, export, and consumption have been viewed as the three driving forces behind economic development in China. Among these, investment has remarkably contributed to the urbanization in the context of China's sustained growth and development. Urbanization involves the mergingof large and medium-sized cities with surrounding areas, renovation of shantytowns and aging urban neighborhoods, and transformation of rural regions into urban areas, culminating in the establishment of a unified market. Such advancements have promoted infrastructure projects that are spearheadedby local governments and aligned with urbanization, thus catalyzing the growth of China's real estate industry, stimulating the Chinese economy, andextending the urbanization-related …

Internal Control And Urban Investment Bond Issuance, Feixiong Zhu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the rapid growth of China's economy, the financing needs of local governments are increasing, and municipal investment bonds, as animportant financing tool for local governments, play a pivotal role in the capital market. However, the rapid development of the municipal investment bond market has also brought about problems such as inadequate informationdisclosure and accumulation of market risks, which has aroused widespreadconcern about potential financial risks. Against this background, the state has strengthened the regulation of municipal bonds, emphasized the importance of compliance management, and introduced a series of policies and measures toimprove the transparency and standardization of the market. …

The Impact Of Awards And Honors On Project Bidding, Ren Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation conducts a systematic study on the successful transformation and upgrading of China's automotive industry over the past decade, especially the remarkable progress made in the field of Electric and Intelligent Vehicles, and examines how China's automotive industry chain has seized the historical opportunity of the great transformation of the global automotive industry by “Four Modernizations”—electrification, intelligentization, lightweighting and modularization along the path of "Independent Innovation", and realized the overall improvement of both corporate performance and industrial strength under the synergy of strategic investors.

China has newly become the world's largest automotive exporter and successfully built up an advantageous …

Corporate Environmental (Ir)Responsibility Of Chinese Construction Companies, Bin Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Grounded in a multi-stakeholder perspective, this study delves into the impact of Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) on the performance of firms in the Chinese construction industry. Utilizing a panel dataset of listed companies in the Chinese construction sector from 2008 to 2023, the research conducts empirical analysis by incorporating key stakeholder relationship indicators (customer concentration, government support, and bank loan costs) while controlling for firm characteristics, aiming to assess the effect of corporate environmental information disclosure on financial performance. The findings reveal that CER significantly positively affects financial performance. More crucially, this relationship is partly attributed to the strengthening of …

The Effects Of Financial Vulnerability On The Prosocial Behavior Of Medical Staff At Pet Hospitals, Guoxing Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fundamentally disrupted business operations, causing widespread financial strain and uncertainty for employees, and research shows that financial vulnerability – the sense of insecurity regarding one’s economic resources – has reached unprecedented levels among workers. But while conventional wisdom might suggest that financial stress leads to decreased work performance, a critical gap exists in understanding how financial vulnerability influences employee behavior in service-oriented environments.

Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between financial vulnerability and employee behavior within the context of pet hospitals in China, examining how organizational factors moderate this relationship. Data were collected …

Research On The Impact Investment Evaluation System For Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects, Shumeng Tong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study aims to put forward a more comprehensive and scientific impact of photovoltaic power generation project investment evaluation system, in order to make up for the inadequacy of existing research, for photovoltaic power generation project investment decision-making to provide a more powerful support. The conclusions and contributions of this study are as follows.

（1）Build impact of photovoltaic power generation project investment evaluation system, can comprehensively reflect more interests related subject of value, makes up for the traditional investment evaluation tend to focus on economic benefit analysis of the defects.

（2）The impact investment evaluation system of this study highlights the …

Culture And Sustainability: Understanding The Roles Of Values, Norms, And Cultural Tightness In Sustainable Consumption Behaviour, Sook Sum Au

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The past decade has seen an increased interest in environmental sustainability. Yet, few studies have examined the relationship between culture, sustainable consumption intention (SCI), and sustainable consumption behaviour (SCB). This study addresses this gap by examining the roles of values, norms and CTL in an integrative model to predict SCI and SCB. This study focuses on four types of values that are considered most relevant in environmental research (biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, and hedonic). Drawing on data from a sample across the 10 most culturally "tight" and 10 most culturally "loose" states in the US, this study applied multilevel modelling to …

Impact Of Supervisor Support And Organisational Support On Individual Employee Engagement In Environmental Organisational Citizenship Tasks, Yuen Mei Susan Chong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the rising importance of sustainability in the light of climate change challenges and the rising voices of society, government and investors (UNEP, 2024a, 2024b) as well as the recent report that 2024 was the warmest year on record (Bardan, 2025), organisational sustainability is growing in importance and can be achieved when the organisation is able to contribute to sustainable development by achieving the triple bottom line of economic, environmental and social/human performance simultaneously i.e. profit, planet and people (Boyer et al., 2016; Hart & Milstein, 2003a; Kim et al., 2016a; Spreitzer et al., 2012). The triple bottom line with …

The Impact Of Eva Performance Evaluation System On Market Value Management Of State-Owned Listed Companies, Xiaohua Cai

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Against the backdrop of intensifying global economic competition and the deepening reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), improving the operational efficiency of central state-owned enterprises has become a core issue in China’s pursuit of high-quality economic development. Meanwhile, as market-oriented reforms advance and capital markets open further in both directions, central state-owned enterprises’ market value management has increasingly emerged as a pivotal mechanism connecting national strategies with market value, necessitating the establishment of an institutional framework that balances value creation and value realization. In 2009, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council introduced the Economic Value Added …

Flow Experience In Immersive Tourism Performance: Antecedents And Tourists’ Satisfaction, Xiaoli Zhu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the deep integration of culture and tourism, immersive tourism performance has emerged as a new form of experiential consumption and has gradually become an essential vehicle for shaping destination branding and enhancing tourists’ cultural identity. By breaking the boundaries of traditional stages and integrating spatial construction, narrative mechanisms, and multidimensional interactive experiences, immersive performances create a sense of presence and immersion for tourists. This study focuses on the mechanism influencing tourists’ flow experience and satisfaction in immersive tourism performances. A theoretical model incorporating authenticity, interactivity, sense of presence, and value congruence was constructed and tested to reveal how multidimensional …