Business Commons^™

Research On Development Strategy Of New Oriental Based On Cooperation Between Laingyungang Port And China Shipping, Yizhou Wei

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

School Cultures And Their Correlations With Student Achievement: An Analysis Of Schools That Have Improved, Christina A. Fraley

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The two purposes of this mixed-method study were to (1) conduct a quantitative study that would investigate the correlation of collaborative cultures relative to student achievement, by assessing the cultures of 100 schools and (2) to look at specific schools, using qualitative study methods to better understand insights toward improvements in their culture scores and/or IS TEP third, sixth, or tenth grade scores. One hundred public schools were invited to participate with 81 of the schools being those that participated in a similar project four years ago (Gruenert, 2005). From those who chose not to participate or did not respond, …

Diversification Benefits Of Real Estate Assets And Equity Assets In A Regional And Global Perspective, Nafeesa Yunus

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to utilize recently available and reliable high frequency transactions based data provided by FTSE EPRA/NAREIT and employ modern day time series techniques and recently developed diagnostic tests to evaluate the degree of long-run integration and short-run dynamics among major public property markets (in terms of market capitalization) over a period beginning January 2000 and ending March 2006 to evaluate diversification possibilities from the perspective of the US investor. Both Asia and Europe are investigated. A secondary objective is to examine the long-run and short-run interaction among the corresponding major international equity markets to …

The Role Of The International Monetary Fund (Imf) In Kosova, Agron Reçica

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leanness And Agility In Job Shops: A Framework For A Survey Instrument Developed Using The Delphi Method, Zaki Kuruppalil

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Manufacturers are facing new challenges as competition has become global. Manufacturing companies arc looking for strategies which would help them gain an edge over their competitors. In the United States, lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing have been gaining importance among industries. Agile manufacturing was developed when the United States Department of Defense (DOD) requested Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University to develop a manufacturing framework that could give US companies an edge over their worldwide competitors whereas lean manufacturing has its roots tied to the Toyota Production System (TPS). This raises the questions: what is the clear difference between the two …

Take Your Business Elsewhere: A Marketing Plan For The Usu College Of Business, Mckenzie Rae Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The College of Business study abroad program began in the summer of 2007. The study abroad program promises to be a strong point in the scholastic career of any student that chooses to participate, as well as a key strategy to the future success of the College of Business as a whole.

The success of this program comes from overall national growth in the interest of studying abroad, as well as the trend in business of globalization. While there seems to be some competition for the College of Business study abroad program, the specialized needs that the program addresses provides …

The Effect Of Influence Tactics And Contingency Factors On The Adoption And Diffusion Of Is/It Innovations In Social Networks, Anand Jeyaraj

Dissertations

Despite considerable research on the adoption and diffusion of information systems (IS)/ information technology (IT) innovations by individuals in organizations, very little is known about the processes underlying the adoption of innovations, and how those processes contribute to the diffusion and assimilation of innovations within organizations. Viewing processes as sequences of actions, this research conducted two studies to: a) uncover the adoption and influence processes employed by individuals, and b) identify the factors that influence diffusion and assimilation within social networks. The first study, situated at the individual level, involved field interviews with 27 individuals from ten organizations in a …

Contributions Of Family Leisure To Family Functioning Among Single-Parent Families, Laurel Beth Hornberger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of family leisure involvement to the family functioning of single-parent families among a large national representative sample. Two samples were gathered. The single-parent sample consisted of 384 families (384 parents and 384 youth). The dual-parent sample consisted of 495 families (495 parents and 495 youth). Data were analyzed from the parent, youth, and family perspective using two instruments. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (FACES II) was used to measure family functioning and the Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) was used to measure family leisure involvement. Blocked multiple regression analysis …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Family Leisure Satisfaction And Satisfaction With Family Life, Joel Ryan Agate

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family leisure satisfaction and satisfaction with family life. Zabriskie's Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) was used to measure core, balance, and total family leisure satisfaction. The Satisfaction With Family Life Scale (SWFL) an adaptation of Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin's satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), done by Zabriskie and McCormick, was used to measure satisfaction with family life. The sample consisted of 898 parent and youth pairs from throughout the United States. Results indicated that there was a relationship between all family leisure satisfaction variables and satisfaction with family …

An Empirical Assessment Of Party Capability Theory In Federal Tax Cases, Ying Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Party Capability Theory hypothesizes that parties with greater resources, usually "repeat players," fare better in the judicial system and are better able to influence legal changes than "one shotters." The theory also points out that "parties who have lawyers do better." The theory has become most influential since its publication and has been tested by several studies. However, its importance has not been addressed in the accounting academic arena.

The intent of this inquiry is to generalize Party Capability Theory to federal tax cases. The research sample consists of 1,010 trial court cases, 744 federal appellate court cases, and 29 …

What Drives Firm-Level Consensus Growth Forecasts? Cash Flow News Or Expected Return News?, Giao X. Nguyen

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

Recent findings in the finance literature document that analysts adjust their growth forecasts in response to major news, proxied by large changes in company stock price. However, Campbell and Shiller (1988) argue that stock prices, themselves, carry two sets of information: news about changes in cash-flow expectation (i.e. cash flow news) and changes in discount rate (i.e. expected return news). The former one directly relates to changes in expectation about the fundamentals of the company while the latter one to the changes in market expectation. Hence, are analysts more concerned about expectation of the permanent movement in the stock price …

The Effects Of Religious Fundamentalism On Individual Belonging, Thomas W. Moore

Management Dissertations - Archive

In the last several years there has been an increase in the interest of religion in the workforce (Mitroff & Denton, 1999; Konz & Ryan, 1999; Mohamed, Wisnieski, Askar, & Syed, 2004; Marques & King, 2005). A number of reasons for this interest, such as the graying of the workforce, increased distrust of upper management, an increase in demand for longer work hours and higher profits, and recent reductions in employee retirement and health care benefits, have been theorized as some of the causes (Burack, 1999; Bell & Taylor, 2001; Mohamed et al, 2004). Although there has been increasing interest …

Consumer Perceptions Of Rebranding: The Case Of Logo Changes, Saleh Abdulaziz Alshebil

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation explores the topic of rebranding, an important topic that has mostly been covered by practitioner journals and the business press. The focus of this research is on a specific type of rebranding - logo changes. The objective was to get a better understanding of consumer perceptions of logo changes by investigating what goes on in the consumer's mind when exposed to a brand logo change in terms of "coping" with this change. After an extensive qualitative investigation, a model was developed that focused on how exposure to a logo change puts the consumer into a coping process through …

Lead Directorship, Corporate Governance, And Firm Performance, Bo Ouyang

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation empirically explores the role of the lead directorship in the corporate governance system and strives to empirically examine the association between the lead directorship and firm performance. I measure firm performance by three empirical proxies: Tobin's Q, returns on assets (ROA) and stock returns. I explore the research question on the relationship between lead directorship and firm performance in both cross-sectional and inter-temporal contexts. The sample consists of S & P 500 firms from 2001 to 2004 that have all the required financial, stock returns, and other relevant information. Overall, the empirical results of both cross-sectional and inter-temporal …

Strategic Alliances By Financial Services Firms, Hua Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of strategic alliances in the financial services industry is increasing; however, research focusing on strategic alliances is limited. In this dissertation, I intend to enhance the existing literature by examining the effect of strategic alliances on the value of financial services firms and the level of cooperation between partner firms involved in strategic alliances. The specific objectives of the dissertation are to examine the market reaction to strategic alliance announcements, to examine the preand post-announcement long-run abnormal stock performance and operating performance for the participants of strategic alliances, and to examine joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions after …

Leadership Style, Leader-Member Exchange, And Performance For A Family-Run Taiwanese Multinational Enterprise, Yintsuo Huang

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

During Taiwan's modem surge in economic development, family businesses became one of the most important organizational units in the society. Taiwanese family operated enterprises combine traditional values with Japanese and Western business practices; this influences organizational leadership styles. Most leadership theories focus on leader development; however, the relationship between supervisor-leaders and subordinate-managers is important in the leadership process. To be competitive, multinational enterprises are challenged to develop effective global management and leadership relationships and practices when conducting operations between headquarters and subsidiaries that extend across nations and cultures.

The purpose of this explanatory (correlational) and exploratory (comparative) research survey was …

Mediators Of The Leader-Member Exchange And Performance Relationship, Kurt L. Oborn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The relationship of leader-member exchange (LMX) to task and contextual performance was examined using a sample of teleworkers. Path analysis results show evidence for mediation of the LMX and task performance and LMX and contextual performance relationships. Mediators and partial-mediators included self-management, telework satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. LMX is not related to work-family conflict, and work-family conflict is not related to either task or contextual performance. Additional relationships among the mediating variables were also found. This study shows the importance of the leader-member relationship when leading teleworkers. More research is required to further understand differences between teleworkers and …

Two Essays On Ipo Earnings Management, Yong Sun

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation includes two essays that study initial public offerings (IPO) earnings management. The first essay examines the underwriter's certification and monitoring roles in IPO earnings management; the second essay explores the relation between IPO earnings management and post-IPO institutional ownership.

In the first essay, we investigate the certification role played by underwriters. We hypothesize that there is a negative relation between IPO earnings management and underwriter reputation and that there is a positive relation between underwriter reputation and firm operating performance. In addition, underwriters continue providing monitoring to the firms they take public. Using a sample of IPOs, we …

Ex Post Valuation Correction And Motives Of Merger And Acquisition Decisions, Hien T. Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This study seeks to decipher the motives of mergers and acquisitions and identify the source of value creation or destruction. The existing literature on corporate mergers and acquisitions generally agrees on four primary motives of merger and acquisition decisions: (1) market timing, (2) response to industry shocks, (3) agency cost and hubris, and (4) synergy. In studying the motives behind acquisition decisions, prior studies have used incomparable methodologies and measures, which often lead to inconclusive debates. In this study, we address the possibility that there could be multiple motives behind a merger. Instead of using a multitude of methodologies to …

Assessing The Impact Of The Work Environment On Training Trasfer: An Investgation Of The Air Force Acquisition Management Course, Anita C. Springs

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge as it pertains to our understanding of the relationship between work environment characteristics that influence training transfer. Specifically, this research will examine if training transfer is influenced by: top management support, supervisor support, peer support, organization learning culture, opportunity to perform, task difficulty, task constraints and acquisition category levels. The research is based on a 134 question survey completed by Air Force Acquisition Managers participating in the Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management (AFFAM) course, and is designed to determine if knowledge, skills and attitudes learned in the instruction setting …

Financial Instability: Is Regionalism The Answer?, Marco Vasconi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Since the end of World War II there has been a nearly universal trend toward regionalism, best represented by the European case and the rise of more than one hundred other regional agreements. This tendency, however, has experienced a particularly steep increase since the 1980s due to significant political and economic developments. The rise of economic and more importantly financial globalization fostered by impressive technological progress is regarded as one of the key factors in bringing about this new wave of regionalism, as it has raised a number of questions regarding governance, negative effects of financial instability and possible responses …

Firm-Level Entrepreneurship And Performance: An Examination And Extension Of Relationships And Measurements Of The Entrepreneurial Orientation Construct, Justin Davis

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

Academic research in various areas of entrepreneurship has gained momentum over the past three decades. A primary topic of interest has been the characteristics of entrepreneurial organizations, often referred to as the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the firm. The current study investigates past contributions in this stream of literature, seeking to provide definitive evidence of previously examined relationships. Further, the study analyzes several moderating influences and provides a new model for assessing a firm's EO. A meta-analytic statistical procedure is applied in the empirical portion of this dissertation. The base models of interest are the relationships between EO, innovativeness, proactiveness …

Comparative Efficiencies Of Foreign Firms And Local Firms In Egypt, Yasmin Mahdy Fathallah

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Advertising Of In-Flight Magazines In The Middle East: A Content Analysis, Mona Badran

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Strategy And Internet Business Adoption On Performance, Shu-Hung Hsu

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Organizations that implement competitive strategies and Internet business adoption in the market place can gain a competitive advantage and improved financial performance. The purposes of this explanatory and exploratory, mixed method study, were threefold: 1) to describe the relationship between competitive strategies and Internet business adoption, the relationship between competitive strategy and financial performance, and the relationship between Internet business adoption and financial performance; 2) to examine the effects of the different levels of Internet business adoption (prospecting, business integration and business transformation) and different strategic types (cost leadership and differentiation) on financial performance (profit margin, asset turnover, return on …

The Trade Off Between Trade Liberalization And Protectionism: An Application To The Textiles And Clothing Industry In Egypt, Miriam Snefro Ahmos Iskander

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Foreign Direct Investment And Development Objectives In The Republic Of Uganda, David Olanya

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This study develops an analytical framework for investigating Government of Ugandaâ s support for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) development paradigm. It compares macroeconomic and institutional incentives in attracting FDI and institutional weaknesses. This study also discusses the nature of FDI, benefits of FDI in terms of its spillovers, and strategic issues and policies for managing stakeholders in the economy. While Ugandan government maintains the view that improving on policy environment will attract FDI to address the countryâ s development challenges, this study found out that, progress in policy environment (fiscal incentives, political stability, and good regulation) does not automatically lead …

Seminal Barriers To Female High School Students’ Choice Of Information Technology As A Career Alternative, Donna M. Grant

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

The under-representation of women in the IT profession is a well-known Information Systems phenomenon. Unlike the other sciences and mathematics, where the percentage of women receiving bachelor’s degrees has increased over the past two decades, the percentage of women obtaining degrees in technology has decreased. Information Technology started strong in 1984 with 37.06% women receiving bachelor’s degrees; however, 2004 brought a decrease to a low of 25.05%, near the level of three decades earlier. The consequences of this under-representation include non-diverse IT solutions, a predicted IT workforce shortage, and the United States losing its ability to participate as a fervent …

People-Search : Searching For People Sharing Similar Interests From The Web, Quanzhi Li

Dissertations

On the Web, there are limited ways of finding people sharing similar interests or background with a given person. The current methods, such as using regular search engines, are either ineffective or time consuming. In this work, a new approach for searching people sharing similar interests from the Web, called People-Search, is presented. Given a person, to find similar people from the Web, there are two major research issues: person representation and matching persons. In this study, a person representation method which uses a person's website to represent this person's interest and background is proposed. The design of matching process …

Sifting Customers From The Clickstream : Behavior Pattern Discovery In A Virtual Shopping Environment, Peishih Chang

Dissertations

While shopping online, customers' needs and goals may change dynamically, based on a variety of factors such as product information and characteristics, time pressure and perceived risk. While these changes create emergent information needs, decisions about what information to present to customers are typically made before customers have visited a web site, using data such as purchase histories and logs of web pages visited. Better understanding of customer cognition and behavior as a function of various factors is needed in order to enable the right information to be presented at the right time. One approach to achieving this understanding is …