Business Commons^™

Risk Response Strategies In The Supply Chain: Examining Attributes Of Stakeholders And Risk Attitude, Shu Jian Lim

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Supply chain management is about managing flows of material, information and funds in a complex network of entities of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers. Companies are now connected in this network as an extended enterprise and any company may be involved in more than one such extended enterprises. But, such a network of relationships is very much vulnerable to disruptions of all sorts ranging from internal to inter-firm and to external turbulences. Companies now need to be prepared for risks associated with their participation in the supply chain network. Not many works in the literature have used theories to study …

Pricing And Lead Time Decisions In A Duopoly Common Retailer Channel, Xiuming Niu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This thesis studies a dual-level decentralized supply chain consisting of two suppliers and two retailers facing a price- and lead-time-sensitive demand. We model the suppliers’ operations as M/M/1 queues and demand as a linear function of the retail prices and promised delivery lead-times offered to the customers. Three different kinds of games are constructed to analyze the pricing and lead-time decisions of the suppliers and retailers. We show the existence of a unique equilibrium in all games and provide the exact formulas to compute the optimal decisions for both the suppliers and retailers. We further present numerical examples to illustrate …

Ownership Structure, Financial Structure And R&D Investment: Evidence From Korean Firms, Yanghua Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Understanding factors that can enhance a firm‟s innovativeness is of critical concern in management research. Prior studies in strategy and financial economics have advanced our understanding of how resource allocation into innovation is shaped in a firm, mainly from the perspectives of ownership and financial structures. However, the extant literature is incomplete, because it treats ownership and financial structures as separate determinants, even though theoretical arguments and empirical evidences suggest that they are interdependent. This study investigates the determinants of firm‟s R&D investments by bridging ownership and financial structures. Ownerships held by inside and external owners are considered for ownership …

Procure Financing For Shipping By Auctions, Kekun Wu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

We study a risk management problem in the scenario of ship procurement. A shipping firm faces a certain financing pressure for the procurement of a new ship. On the other hand, the capacity of the ship excesses the demand requirement of the firm. The firm wants to reduce the payment and control the risk by selling a percentage of capacity to another shipping company. We introduce an auction mechanism for the firm to select the partner and determine the sharing percentage. Acting as the auctioneer, the firm announces a certain percentage of capacity to a set of buyers. The payment …

Organizational Slack, International Expansion And Firm Profitability, Anran Liu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

International expansion is a viable growth strategy for firms operating in an increasingly competitive business environment. Understanding the relationship between international expansion and firm performance has been a significant concern for theory development in the strategy and international business literature. The extant literature, however, has paid insufficient attention to the tradeoff between firm growth and profitability that may imply the existence of an optimal rate of growth. Drawing from the Penrosian perspective that emphasizes the role of resources in firm growth, this study investigates whether and how firm slack resources affect the tradeoff between international expansion and profitability. Specifically, this …

The Relationship Between Product And International Diversification: The Effect Of Asset Dispersion And Asset Diversity On Firm Performance, Yulia Muzyrya

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

There is little consensus on the diversification-performance relationship in the diversification literature. We aim to contribute to this literature by looking simultaneously at product and international diversification and the relationship between both. Furthermore, we distinguish theoretically and empirically between two different components of any diversification strategy, i.e. the degree of diversification and the type of diversification. We test our hypotheses on panel data covering 115 firms. We find that the dispersion of a firm’s activities, both internationally and in different product markets, results in higher levels of performance. Contrary, we find that higher levels in the diversity of the firm’s …

The Impact Of Employees' Perception Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Job Attitudes And Behaviors: A Study In China, Dan Zheng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is regarded as voluntary bahaviors that contribute to the soceity welfare. Based on the concept of sustainable development, corporations should not only stress on their economic and business outcomes, but also pay attention to their effect on the society and environment. Corporations are expected to engage in the improvement of their employees' quality of life, as well as the well-being of employees' families, local communities, and the overall society. With the acceleration of global integration, CSR has become a main concern by the public, and is considered as an essential part of the business strategy. It …

Pemakaian Maqasid Al-Shari'ah Dalam Produk Takaful Keluarga Di Etiqa Takaful Berhad., Che Ismail Che Othaman

Student Works (2010-2019)

Takaful is one of the financial instruments that has its own importance. It is the fundamental to Islamic insurance and its existence is as an alternative to the present conventional insurance in the conventional world of banking and finance. Al-Takaful which is based on al-mudarabah, at-tabarru’ and al-wakalah is very supportive towards syara’ in facing the conventional insurance which contains the element of gharar, usury and gambling element. The existence of takaful has aroused various issues, among them is to what extend is the application of maqasid al-shari‘ah in all of the products offered either in Family Takaful or General …

Creating University And Community Connections Via Social Media: Cedar Valley Focus, Cassandra Ann Loecke

Honors Program Theses

The upcoming generations of graduating college students are those that grew up on technology, witnessed the launch of Face book, and posted the first Y ouTube videos. These young adults are engaged in social media each and every day, but when it comes to removing themselves from their on-line social networks and becoming involved in their local community or even on-campus, they tend to be rather apathetic. As these students become local leaders and community members, their involvement will be critical to community growth, development, and enrichment. It is best that students cultivate the mentality and skills needed to fulfill …

The Impact Of Perceived Importance Of An Ethical Situation (Pie) On Ethical Judgment And Intention: Beyond Moral Intensity, Monica Marie Johnston

Honors Program Theses

The importance of ethics to the accounting profession is well established (Turpen and Witmer, 1997; Abdolmohammadi, Read, and Scarbrough, 2003; Guffey and McCartney, 2008). In accounting, a commitment to ethical behavior is regarded as the basis for all other performance standards, (Turpen et al., 1997), and historically most agree that accountants practice honest principles (Leitsch, 2006). However, business headlines such as those related to the collapse of Enron and its auditor, Arthur Andersen, raise concerns about ethical actions of accountants (Abdolmohammadi et al., 2003). Additionally, accountants and auditors have more recently come under fire due to issues related to the …

'Fermenting' A Successful Business: Beyer's Wine Cellar, Connie J. Beyer

Honors Program Theses

Beyer's Wine Cellar will be a vineyard and winery located in Mitchell, Iowa. Donald and Lucinda plan to begin production in the Fall of 2011 and begin selling wine to customers in the Spring of 2012. The wines that Beyer's Wine Cellar produces will be sold through the tasting room. Furthermore, Donald and Lucinda also plan to offer wine and grape education classes for the eager wine consumers in the area.

Collegematchers, Inc: Business Plan & Market Overview, Daniel Black

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis details the business plan of CollegeMatchers, Inc, including a market overview. CollegeMatchers is a quick, easy, and free on-campus marketplace, that strives to create self sustaining communities on campuses everywhere.

Exploring The Association Of The Attributes Of Self-Service Kiosks, Customer Check-In Satisfaction, And Customer Commitment In C, Gary Deel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research regarding self-service technology and its integration into the traditional service environment is relatively limited as it applies to the lodging industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the customer check-in satisfaction and customer commitment impacts of self-service hotel kiosks as implemented in convention hotels by examining perceptions of kiosk users. It has been theorized that customer perceptions of self-service technology attributes are positively related to satisfaction and subsequent commitment. A model was employed in this study that had been previously supported outside of the hospitality industry which demonstrated support for a universal standard of investigating self-service technology …

Do Analyst Earnings Beta Explain Growth Anomaly?, Sophie Phuong Thanh Doan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Using a measure of cashflow risk derived from analyst forecasts, I find that cashflow risk offers a partial explanation for the value – growth anomaly. In particular, the lowest asset growth portfolio has a higher earnings beta than the highest asset growth portfolio. Approximately cashflow risk measured by earnings beta carries a significant positive risk premium of 1.24% with a t-value of 3.51.

Corporate Governance And Earnings Management Before Share Repurchase Announcements In Singapore, Jian Ming Chua

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Share repurchase in Singapore was legalized in 1998. It is well known that investors view share repurchase as good news. This study is based on share repurchase announcements from 2006 to 2009. The mean Cumulative Market-Adjusted Returns (CAR) for the period [0, +1] and [-1, +1] are significant at 1.25% and 1.33% respectively. In Singapore, there are positive abnormal returns following share repurchase announcements in support of the ―free cash flow‖ hypothesis. By using the Singapore Corporate Governance Index as a proxy, the weakly governed companies exhibit the strongest, positive and significant CAR of 2.62% for the period [0, +1]. …

Auditor Choice, Audit Fees And Internal Governance In Family Firms, Shaohua He

Lingnan Theses

I study the role of auditing in mitigating agency concerns in family firms. Family firms face less severe agency problems due to the separation of ownership and control (Type 1) but more severe agency problems between controlling and noncontrolling shareholders (Type 2). As family firms make up a large part of most free enterprise economies it is important to examine these two agency problems with respect to auditor choice and audit effort. I find that family firms are more likely to choose a specialist auditor than nonfamily firms, consistent with the argument that family firms need to signal their non-expropriating …

Auditor Type, Firm Ownership And Auditor Reporting Under A Joint Audit Requirement : Exploratory Evidence From India, Ting Zou

Lingnan Theses

India is one of the largest developing countries in the world. Although many issues and phenomena arising from its transitional economy are worthy of research from an accounting perspective, the Indian accounting market is a field that remains relatively unexplored in the extant literature. One of the institutional features of India is that while it is mandatory for public sector companies and banks to have joint auditors, their appointment is voluntary for other companies. In a thesis motivated by this and other institutional features and the absence of related accounting and auditing studies conducted in an Indian setting, I examine …

The Effects Of Perceived Brand Globalness On Consumer Responses To Brand Failures, Xue Gao

Lingnan Theses

Even big companies cannot guarantee their brands never ever fail customers. Recently the brand failures of Toyota taught us a vivid lesson that a brand takes decades to be built up but to be ruined overnight. Although, the advantages of building global brands are well recognized in literature, the superiorities of global brands in brand failure context are not yet studied. This study aims to investigate the effects of perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer affective and behavioral responses to brand failures. Global brands are perceived superior to local brands due to factors like higher quality perceptions and prestige feelings. …

Goal Interdependence And Conflict Management For Government And Business Collaboration In China, Xinru Wu

Lingnan Theses

This study empirically examines the dynamics and conditions of conflict managing approaches on government and business collaboration. It posits that conflict for mutual benefit critically effects government and business collaboration outcomes. This study adopts Deutsch’s (1973) theory of goal interdependence to understand when and how government officials and business managers adopt the mutually beneficial conflict approach. It proposes that cooperative goals between government officials and business managers promote the mutually beneficial conflict approach and reduce win-lose competitive conflict and avoiding conflict.

A total of 101 interviews were conducted in China in 2009. Results of structural equation modeling and other analyses …

Enhancing Green Tax Measures In Hong Kong : A Means Of Addressing The City's Environmental Problems, Yuzhu Lu

Lingnan Theses

Nowadays, pressures on the environment are increasing around the world. In particular, Hong Kong, a compact city with a population of nearly seven million, one which has undergone remarkable economic growth over the past few decades, has developed severe environmental problems. It also has deficiencies in its taxation system: a small tax base, for example. In today’s world, “green” taxes have been accepted and applied by more and more countries, especially those in the OECD. However, Hong Kong still has not adequately used the tax tool as an integral part of the government’s anti-pollution strategy. Accordingly, the major objective of …

Three Studies Related To The Institutionalization Of International Financial Reporting Standards., Anna Alon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three separate, but related, studies on the institutionalization of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The first study examines the relationship between the national variables and the level of IFRS adoption. Theoretical insights regarding the level of national IFRS adoption come from the world-level institutional theory (Meyer et. al., 1997). Archival data are utilized for the study. The findings indicate that countries with weaker national governance structures and lower economic development demonstrate the highest level of commitment to IFRS. Nationalism was found to influence the extent of adoption. The study contributes to IFRS adoption literature by recognizing …

Three Studies Investigating The Legal Liability Implications Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002, Jillian Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the litigation and legal liability exposure of auditors related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Three separate studies were conducted to examine how auditor's litigation exposure is evaluated by potential litigants (lawyers), and how auditor liability is evaluated by jurors, following the bankruptcy of a client. The first study examines whether the auditor's SOX Section 404 reporting decisions influence lawyers' assessments of their litigation exposure. The second study investigates whether voluntary disclosures of significant deficiencies in internal controls within the SOX Section 404 report, and the subjectivity of the internal control judgments made by the auditor, …

Does Organizational Culture Affect Employee's Readiness To Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices?, Joseph Waller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The emergent trend toward the use of evidence-based practices in children’s mental health services has been gaining recognition (Barwick et al., 2005). The motivation for implementing evidence-based practices is to build quality and accountability in the delivery of mental health services. Children with emotional and behavioral disorders should be able to rely on receiving services that can accommodate their personal needs based on the best scientific evidence available. Most children who receive evidence-based treatment display significant progress and do so much more quickly than children that receive other non evidence-based treatment or no treatment at all.

The importance of implementing …

The Impact Of Stakeholder Collaboration On Effectiveness Of Health Program Implementation In Ghana, Samuel Kwami Agbanu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare providers increasingly recognize the importance of collaboration among stakeholders in cost-effective healthcare delivery. While collaborative relationships offer great advantages, little research has addressed their relevance in an international development aid context, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is a major recipient of international development support, yet health indicators on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and child and maternal mortality indicate the health of the region is among the weakest worldwide. This sequential mixed method, descriptive study of a USAID-funded community health program in Ghana examined the nature of collaboration among six stakeholders and impact of this collaboration on effectiveness of program …

Toward A Grounded Theory On The Management Of Orphanages In South Africa And Zimbabwe, Anna Siyavora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of orphaned children in many parts of Africa is increasing as their parents die from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The research problem addressed in this qualitative study was lack of understanding by others about how the managers of orphanages in 2 African countries -- South Africa and Zimbabwe - were responding to the emotional and social needs of these orphans. The purpose of this study was to develop an orphanage management theory or model that could replicate the African kinship environment in the orphanages under study. Nurturing leadership theory provided the conceptual …

Kajian Aplikasi Akad Mudarabah Di Pt. Asuransi Takaful Umum Jakarta, Indonesia., Marhadi .

Student Works (2010-2019)

This disertation discourses the contract of mudarabah and its application in the general takaful at PT. Asuransi Takaful Umum Jakarta,Indonesia. The study focuses on the application, profit calculation and some relevant issues in general takaful product. The takaful company itself in form of annual report and also from interviews with the respective officers. It was found from the study that Asuransi Takaful Umum has appliced the mud}a>rabah contract in accordance with the shariah requirement which is to uphold justice, ensure mutual benefits and to avoid riba>, gharar ,maysir and dishonesty.

An Assessment Of Business Ethics: From The Classroom To The Workplace, Jenna Michelle Azbell

Honors Program Theses

This thesis will begin with an in-depth look at the major corporate scandals of Enron and WorldCom. After that, the thesis will describe the background history of business ethics in America, looking at how capitalism has evolved and shaped our business environment and sometimes influenced the decisions we make. A description of the legislative history involving business ethics will follow, including explanations of how laws such as Civil Rights Act of 1964 affected business ethics policies and practices in the United States, as well as the expansion of business ethics-related statutes including the recent Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that has changed business …

Evaluating A Wellness Program For Uni Faculty And Staff: Preparing For A Cost-Benefit Analysis, Michelle M. Breen

Honors Program Theses

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) paid total annual employer medical premiums of $17,967,000 for 2008, an increase of 7.37% from 2007. If medical premiums continue to increase at this rate, UNI will pay $29,556,720 in annual medical premiums in 2015. UNI is not alone in facing rising healthcare costs. Healthcare costs were identified as the "most serious challenge to their bottom line" by 41. 7 percent of the employers in a survey by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (Kumar 2009). The Business Roundtable Fourth Quarter 2007 CEO Economic Outlook Survey confirms these results with CEO's ranking the …

The Value-Added Tax: Effects On Tax Revenue, U.S. Corporations, And Individual Taxpayers, Joseph Raymond Pudenz

Honors Program Theses

The importance of understanding how a value-added tax would affect the United States is imperative. Many economists have long stated that a value-added tax system would benefit the United States (Hooper & Smith, 1997), and politicians have periodically brought up the value-added tax since the 1960s as a solution to tax revenue needs (Comptroller General of the United States, 1981). Given these facts, it is likely that the value-added tax will continue to be considered as a possible tax system. An adequate level of understanding regarding how a value-added tax is applied and its effects is essential.

Implications Of Physical Attractiveness On Time Allocations From Salesperson To Customer, Emily Anne Prinsen

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if more attractive females—as compared to less attractive females—received better customer service in terms of time it took the salesperson to interact with the customer. The hypothesis was not supported; in fact, just the opposing outcome occurred. Less attractive females were served more promptly than attractive females. The study was performed in a mid-size city in the Midwest.