Business Commons^™

Coffee In Brasil: Sustainability And The Role Of Intermediaries, Livia Petzinger

Capstone Collection

ABSTRACT

Coffee is traded in a highly complex global value chain where countless sustainability initiatives have emerged to address social, economic, and environmental issues, challenges which persist due to dominance of the market structure by largescale traders and roasters. Specialty coffee and direct trade have emerged as alternative trade arrangements that promote high-quality coffee through the use of sustainable practices, transparency, and a shortened supply chain. This research analyzes the role that intermediaries in the Brazilian specialty coffee supply chain play in the implementation of sustainability initiatives asking what kinds of sustainability practices they implement and why, and how this …

Agile Methodologies On Software Product Project Success, Ying Wang

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Despite the popularity of using agile methods in software development, many companies still struggle with efficiency problems. These issues lead to financial losses and make it harder for them to compete in the fast-paced software industry. This study aims to find solutions to these problems by looking into effective ways to improve how agile methods are used and to overcome the challenges of putting them into practice. By examining what factors contribute to the success of agile project management, this research hopes to offer useful advice for making software development projects more efficient and productive. The findings from this study …

Identifying And Mitigating The Challenges Of Relocating Facilities From America To Southeast Asia Region Through The Case Study Of Transferring Nail Polish Factories From Mexico To Vietnam, Thanh Dinh

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Market globalization and increased competitiveness in the manufacturing region have prompted several enterprises to contemplate shifting their operations. The decision to relocate manufacturing infrastructures to countries in the Southeast Asia regions has been a recent trend to capitalize on lower labor costs, favorable tax incentives, and cheaper material. To reflect this global trend, the paper will centralize around one detail case of relocating nail polish manufacturing from Mexico to Vietnam, considering multiple aspects such as pricing efficiency, market access, and strategic positioning. This study aims to analyze the complex web of factors that influence the kind of selection and to …

Human-Ai Collaboration In Project Management, Tanisha Singh

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into project management has emerged as a transformative trend, promising enhanced efficiency and strategic capabilities. This study explores the dynamics of human-AI collaboration in project management, focusing on factors that influence effective implementation, the impact of AI on project outcomes, and the challenges encountered in AI adoption. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data were collected from project management professionals across various industries, revealing that trust and transparency are crucial for successful collaboration. The findings indicate that AI positively impacts project efficiency and cost-effectiveness by automating routine tasks and optimizing resource allocation. However, challenges such as …

Corporate Philanthropy: Catalyst For Sustainable Alignment Or Mere Gesture? Unveiling The Impact On People, Planet, And Profits, Cameron L. Cleveland

Masters Projects

Corporate philanthropy and sustainability initiatives have become pivotal components of modern business strategies, underscoring the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR). As businesses face mounting pressure to address global challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality, their commitment to CSR reflects a broader recognition of their role in fostering sustainable development. This research paper conducts an in-depth examination of the philanthropic and sustainability efforts of several major corporations, including Chevron, Steelcase, MillerKnoll, Ikea, Sherwin Williams, Whirlpool Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Stryker Corporation, General Motors Company, and Kellogg Company. These companies were selected for this research study …

Agile And User-Centered Project Management In E-Commerce Startups: Enhancing Outcomes For Online Supermarkets, Qingcheng Han

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

The world of e-commerce startups, especially online supermarkets, has its own set of challenges and chances when it comes to managing projects. This research paper looks into how project management is used in such a lively area, focusing on an online supermarket as a case study. We dug into a lot of books and articles, talked to people who know a lot about the industry, and looked at how project management strategies are used at different steps when a startup is growing. This includes coming up with ideas, researching the market, developing the platform, managing the supply chain, and talking …

Radiating Excellence: Leadership Styles In Nuclear Power That Influence Operators Towards Industry Best Practices, Joshua Copeland

Dissertations

Poor leadership is the root cause for the three most significant accidents in the nuclear industry. The purpose of this research was to determine the best leadership characteristics of operating supervisors at nuclear plants that could help prevent future accidents from happening. Operating supervisors are the leaders that have the greatest impact on how safe the nuclear plant is operating. A mixed method approach was used, where the quantitative study surveyed 77 supervisors about their leadership style and how well they influence standards adherence, and the qualitative study interviewed 11 subordinates of supervisors to determine how supervision helps them follow …

Sales Professional Preservation: Examining The Impact Of Incongruent Ideological Belief Systems On Intentions To Quit Among Sales Professionals, Brian Lee Morgan

Dissertations

Organizations that lead with ideologies of moral tradition, politics, and social economics are playing a losing game. The ideological belief system congruence within the organization between leaders and members creates a better atmosphere with less turnover and better recruitment. Sales professionals want an environment free of ideological incongruence. Without ideological alignment, they will defect from the organization. Leaders are miscalculating the negative impact on members’ intentions to quit when they are faced with leaders acting upon ideology changes that affect the member-customer ecosystem. In addition, leaders should be aware of the personal attributes that can exacerbate turnover and work to …

Organizational Leaders' Strategies To Detect And Prevent Occupational Fraud, Pamela Denise Henderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inadequate strategies to detect and prevent occupational fraud may adversely affect nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit leaders are concerned about occupational fraud because it increases the risk of organizational failure. Guided by the fraud triangle theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore techniques some nonprofit organizational leaders used to detect and prevent occupational fraud. The participants for this study were three senior leaders in a nonprofit organization located in the central part of the U.S. state of Alabama who successfully implemented strategies for detecting and preventing occupational fraud. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and a review of …

Pineapple Express: The Legality Of Introducing Cannabis Tourism To Arkansas, Chloe Tyner

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research delves into the legal aspects of introducing cannabis tourism to Arkansas. The objective of this study was to create a framework for hospitality professionals in Arkansas to understand what areas of recreational cannabis law would impact their industry should Arkansas legalize recreational cannabis. Through a document analysis comparing Arkansas and Colorado’s liquor and cannabis laws, this study investigated how both states regulate alcohol and cannabis and the legal challenges Colorado has seen since its inception of recreational cannabis sales.

Challenges to this study included a limited existing body of knowledge for cannabis tourism and the contradicting federal and …

Exploring Effective Leadership Qualities Of Rural Hospital Ceos: A Qualitative Investigation, Karl Hittle

Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Exploring Effective Leadership Qualities of Rural Hospital CEOs:

A Qualitative Investigation

By: Karl Hittle

University of the Incarnate Word, 2024

Competent healthcare executives who successfully lead the healthcare delivery systems in small communities are limited in number despite the tremendous need for their expertise. Information describing the specific characteristics of successful Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) for rural medical centers is lacking in the current body of literature. This study investigates the leadership characteristics of successful rural hospital CEOs using information gleaned from those who have proven to be successful in this critical section of the healthcare industry. A qualitative …

Addressing Transportation Equity For Local Populations Using Emerging Technologies, Marcus Peoples

Theses & Dissertations

ADDRESSING TRANSPORTATION EQUITY FOR LOCAL POPULATIONS

USING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

By

Marcus Peoples Jr

This qualitative study examines the persistent issue of transportation inequity in the United States, focusing on its impact on marginalized and underserved populations. The study employs a generic qualitative inquiry from Social Justice Theory to investigate how senior public transportation decision-makers perceive and address institutional barriers, technological opportunities, and strategic improvements in transportation equity. The study underscores the pressing need to address the intricate interplay of socioeconomic conditions, racial and ethnic diversity, and varying levels of urbanization that contribute to transportation inequity. Historical and contemporary factors, such …

Enhancing Visitor Experience Through Marketing For The Mayflower Bocawina National Park, Samantha O'Flaherty

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis outlines a summer internship in Dangriga, Belize, where the author worked with Mayflower Bocawina National Park facilitated by Dr. Amy Farmer and Steve Darr. Dangriga faces challenges in the tourism industry due to competition from larger entities who have more resources and infrastructure. The author and their partner developed a marketing strategy for the park's new glamping experience and mountain bike trail, evolving into a comprehensive plan encompassing SEO, website management, and operational optimization. The project aimed to enhance the park's competitiveness, generate sustainable revenue, and support its growth and improvement initiatives.

Research On Digital Platform Capabilities And Entrepreneurship Empowerment Performance Of Science And Technology Industrial Parks, Jieyu Zheng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the era of the digital economy, industries are shifting toward platform-based and ecological trends, with industrial parks similarly adopting digital and platform-based patterns. The systematic planning, functional layout, and service efficiency of science and technology industrial parks (sci-tech industrial parks for short) are designed to address emerging industries’ spatial and organizational needs. This approach aims to create a system where digital transformation is employed as the mechanism and digital platforms empower entrepreneurial enterprises within these parks, fostering high-quality park development. However, despite efforts to build digital platforms for transforming into digital parks, many industrial parks have found their platform …

The Lived Experiences Of Women Working In The Construction Industry As They Transition To Motherhood, Stacy Kolegraff

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to understand women’s transition to motherhood in the North American construction industry. This study sought to understand what it means to be a woman working in the construction industry while making the transition to motherhood, experiences of re-entry into the workplace, emergent essential themes, and the way women interpret their career decisions and opportunities leading up to, during, and following their transition to motherhood. A qualitative research design was employed to analyze the complexities and dimensions of complex career decisions, and the phenomenological research method was used to understand the full extent of the problem. A total …

Corporate Crisis Management: A Contemporary Best Practices Template, Vivek Narayan

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to re-envision the crisis management framework used by organizations in their day-to-day activities. In the modern world, with exponential technological advancements, the social media age, and the 24/7 news cycle, crises have worsened in severity. Despite this, most literature on the subject is more than a decade old.

Incorporating past literature, this thesis demonstrates that society is in an “era of crises,” then defines and discusses the types and origins of these crises. It compares the topics of issues and crisis management before commentating on corporate and academic literature and ultimately previous 3-stage models for crisis management. …

Breaking The Silence: Exploring The Impact Of Supervisor Vulnerability On Menstrual Disclosures At Work, Marilla Hayman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Management research has traditionally overlooked the significance of the human body in the workplace. However, recent recognition of organizational body work has prompted the examination of biological processes such as pregnancy and breastfeeding. Menstruation, however, has received little attention, despite the challenges faced by menstruating employees. The invisibility and silence around menstruation at work hinders managers' understanding of employee needs and prevents employees from accessing needed accommodations. An important first step in remedying this problem is understanding the factors influencing employees to disclose their menstrual symptoms and seek support. Bringing together theories of organizational body work and concealable stigmas, this …

Evaluating The Cost Of Gain And Financial Returns Of Cattle Fed Hydroponically Produced Barley Fodder, Lex Peterson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Hydroponically produced fodder continues to garner attention as a feed source within livestock production. This attention in part is due to a belief that hydroponically produced fodder is more efficient in its use of inputs such as water when compared to conventional feeds. Water efficiency is especially appealing in areas like the Intermountain West region of the U.S where water availability is often constrained. This analysis looks to understand how using hydroponically produced barley fodder to finish steers compares economically to finishing steers on a nutritionally equivalent conventional finishing ration. To do so, a stochastic simulation model is constructed to …

Enhancing Fan Engagement In Medium-Sized University Athletics: A Case Study Of The University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga, Colin Thompson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore how medium-sized universities, specifically the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), can mimic the successful fan engagement strategies of other universities to build a sustainable and engaged fan base. This study analyzes previous research into the factors that contribute to fan engagement, including the segmentation of attendees into fans or spectators, and compares financial records of selected peer institutions. Peer institutions were contacted in an effort to gain insights from their marketing departments. A randomized survey of the current student population was conducted to analyze what factors motivate athletic event attendance. The …

Enhancing Youtube Spam Detection, Sai Charan Pesaru

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project investigated various methods for enhancing spam detection on YouTube, a prevalent issue impacting user experience and platform integrity. The research questions addressed were: Q1) How do different spam detection methods compare regarding robustness, efficiency, and accuracy? Q2) What role do deep learning approaches like RNNs and CNNs play in improving spam comment identification? Q3) What are the unique benefits of using deep learning models for spam comment identification on YouTube? Q4) How can machine learning models be optimized for real-time spam detection on YouTube?

The study gave adequate findings that explained each research question. In the …

Do Investors Value Firm's Application Of Cryptocurrency And Blockchain Technology?, Shensi Wang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper examines how investors view a firm's involvement with cryptocurrency or blockchain technology, measured by 10-K disclosures containing the related keywords. I find that investors negatively react to the information related to cryptocurrency or blockchain in the three-day window, but the negative trend is reversed after day four. Surprisingly, the topic analysis indicates that the market reacts positively to all topics related to cryptocurrency and blockchain, except for the "competition environment," suggesting that factors outside adopting cryptocurrency or blockchain affect the negative correlations observed before.

Analyzing Market Dynamics: Effects On Quality Grade Premiums And Discounts For Alfalfa Hay, Colby Wilkins

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This paper looks at how market strength affects the price premiums and discounts associated with alfalfa hay quality grades. Previous research has mainly focused on how attributes of alfalfa hay influence the price received. In this study, we use ordinary least squares linear regression and visual data representations to examine the effects of market strength on price received in conjunction with hay quality. The results demonstrate that during periods of relatively high average prices of alfalfa hay there is no significant impact on the average premiums and discounts associated with hay quality. However, during periods of relatively low average prices, …

Balancing The Scales: Evaluating Variables Of Greatest Impact To Profit Margins When Finishing Cattle, Ryan Bake

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examines the risk associated with finishing cattle in a feedlot, specifically in the context of historically high cattle prices and quality grade grid marketing systems that have not adjusted to these elevated prices. The analysis also looks at performance factors that drive profitability differences in pens of cattle in a commercial feedlot, and how market factors also impact profitability. Regression analysis determines the significance of performance variables such as days on feed, average daily gain, feed conversion rates, and carcass characteristics on pen profitability. The impact of cattle breeding and pre-feedlot management of the cattle are also considered …

How Supply Chains Respond To Disruptions: Three Essays On Responses To Operational, Geopolitical, And Natural Disaster Disruptions, Travis Kulpa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ability to respond to supply chain disruptions efficiently and effectively is a highly sought after capability, particularly in light of recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and major natural disasters. These events have led researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to ask: how can we better use our resources to respond to supply chain disruptions? This dissertation examines responses to the three main types of supply chain disruptions: operational disruptions, geopolitical disruptions, and natural disasters. The first study examines how US importers adjust between air and containerized transportation in response to shipment delays and abnormally high demand from …

Ah, You’Re One Of Those Entrepreneurs: An Investigation Into Investors’ Evaluations And Support Of Typecasted Entrepreneurs, Jonathan C. Preedom

All Dissertations

Chapter 1: In this qualitative study, I examine how entrepreneurial investors assess and decide which early-stage ventures to support based on the entrepreneurial pitch. These decisions are made in highly uncertain environments where the risk of incorrect evaluations is significant. Drawing on the literature on categorization and sensemaking, I induce a typology of five common ways investors typecast entrepreneurs based on salient auditory and visual cues from the pitch. This work provides an important foundation for understanding biases in the investor-entrepreneur dynamic, as well as the implications of such typecasting for entrepreneurial resource support.

Chapter 2: In this quantitative study, …

Ceo Career Variety And Corporate Entrepreneurship, Shuang Liu

All Dissertations

Corporate entrepreneurship enables more nimble, responsive, effective and efficient corporate response to increasingly demanding competitive conditions. To fill the gap in the literature concerning the role of CEO experiences on CE, this study, based on upper echelons and ambidexterity theory, examines the influence of CEO career variety on CE by classifying CEO industry and function experiences into four categories: Functional Orchestrators, Focused Experts, Industry Navigators, and Holistic Polymaths. Utilizing a dataset with 22,544 observations from the S&P 1500 index, spanning from 1992 to 2024, ANCOVA analyses are used to assess the impact of each CEO type on CE. The findings …

Value Of Transportation Information Systems: Implications Of Digital Platforms, Third-Party Forecasting, And Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems, Ali Shirzadibabakan

All Dissertations

This three-essay dissertation focuses on understanding the impacts of IT, or IT enabled business models, on transportation and supply chains. Specifically, it empirically examines the market and societal implications of digital freight platforms, third-party forecasting, and cyber-physical systems in the transportation and supply chain sectors. Leveraging the entry of the Amazon Freight platform into the trucking freight industry as an exogenous shock, the first essay finds that adding a digital platform-enabled spot marketplace addresses the prevalent problem of the performance (rejection) of nonbinding contracts in the trucking industry. Specifically, the platform’s effect manifests through two primary mechanisms: increasing suppliers’ transportation …

Essays On Esg, Trang Pham

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay examines the effect of local corruption on a firmâ??s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance by taking into account the role of liberalism in each state. I propose that since liberals are generally more environmentally and socially concerned than conservatives, ESG performance of firms located in states with liberal views will be less negatively impacted by the local corruption than conservative-leaning states. The results provide some support for my projection. I find that for a particular level of corruption, firms located in states with liberal leaning views exhibit better ESG performance …

The Role Of Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits In Accounting: Impacts On Corporate Information Quality And Audit Fee Determination, Md Zubair Zuven

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays on shareholder derivative lawsuit issues in accounting. In the first essay, I investigate the causal effect of shareholder litigation rights on information quality by using the staggered adoption of universal demand (UD) laws as an exogenous variation in litigation risk. My empirical findings from the difference-in-differences methodology align with the theory that shareholder litigation risk plays a deterrence role and acts as a corporate governance mechanism. I find a significant drop in information quality measures for firms incorporated in states that adopted UD laws, which is consistent with the notion that higher (lower) shareholder …

Ai-Driven Cybersecurity Threats And Organizational Consequences, Apeksha Kale

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project used a case study research strategy to investigate the impact of AI-driven cybersecurity threats on organizations. The research questions are: Q1: How can different types of organizations improve their defenses against AI-driven cybersecurity attacks? Q2: How will future hackers most likely access AI tools, and what AI tools will they use? Q3: What strategies can organizations implement to enhance resilience against phishing emails? Three Case Studies were selected and analyzed to answer the three research questions. The findings are Q1: AI-driven cyberattacks pose significant risks, but organizations can improve defenses by investing in AI technologies like Vectra …