Business Commons^™

Can B2g Portals Be Used Effectively To Stimulate Business In Smes?: A Case Analysis Of The 2cities Business To Government Portal, Ian Martinus

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have many options when purchasing goods or services. These include personal contacts and networks, familiar centralised supply sources and other ad hoc means. One purchasing possibility is to buy from and sell to other businesses within a similar geographic area. The benefits of buying and selling locally may not occur to SMEs. They seek, like other consumers, to get value for money, fast and efficient service, and a reasonable level of quality. Many factors can impinge upon an SME's decision to purchase locally. It can be assumed that, given a reasonable local option, SMEs wish …

Are Stock Prices Related To New York's Climatic Conditions?, Matthew M. Cullen

Honors Theses

The past five years has shown tremendous growth in a new wave and style of investing strategy. This new style, known as behavioral investing, attempts to analyze financial markets through the eye of a social scientist rather than a financial professional. Its followers try to see market movements as affected not necessarily by the business or economy but by the cognition and mood of buyers and seller. This paper analyzes the effect of climatic conditions on mood and the effect that has on market movements and volume. For the most part, it was found that there is no significant relationship …

Information Systems And Decision Sciences, Gitanjali Ayesha Appadu

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Mediating Role Of Organizational Learning Between Absorptive Capacity And Performance In Companies Employing Enterprise Resource Planning Software, Edith Galy

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation focuses on the acquisition of information systems technology and how the acquisition of information systems (IS) can improve the performance of a firm. The central purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the literature that explains the success of IS projects. It addresses the organizational processes that contribute to the successful implementation of IS, and explains why some organizations achieve financial returns and strategic advantages from their IS efforts while others do not.

The population in this dissertation consists of top level IS executives in the US or Canada employed in firms who have implemented enterprise resource …

Three Essays On The Use Of Financial Derivatives By Latin American Banks In Brazil, Chile And Mexico, Andres E. Rivas-Chavez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

During the 1990s, Latin American countries implemented policies aimed at liberalizing their financial markets. Latin American countries deregulated the domestic financial and banking industries, removed controls on international capital flows, and promoted development of their domestic stock market. These countries implemented financial liberalization policies and programs in order to stimulate domestic savings and growth. Through financial liberalization they also attempted to reduce the direct intervention of the state in the economy and improve their financial infrastructure.

The implementation of such policies has led to an increase in capital flows to Latin America, an increase in the number of foreign banks, …

The Drivers And Antecedents Of Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, And Loyalty Among Chinese Customers, Yun Chu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation explores the relationship between satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty among Chinese customers. The selection of China as the location for this study is due to a number of factors. China's economic expansion and recent ascension to full membership within the World Trade Association (WTO) has generated “excitement, uncertainty, and fear” (Ghoshal, 2003). In the recent past trade with China has grown at on average of 15 percent a year and foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country has grown even faster (Ghoshal, 2003). This growth may result in an interesting paradox. If China maintains just two thirds of …

The Effect Of Web Interface Features On Consumer Online Shopping Intentions, Jeffrey Sam Siekpe

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Amid the storm of hype over Internet adoption, it is observed that during the past years, organizations have taken considerable interest in eagerly acquiring computer hardware and software to implement electronic commerce (e-commerce) applications mostly to the detriment of human aspects of the information technology (IT) solutions (Freemantle, 2002; Lockwood & Lamp, 2000). Various Internet technologies, mostly the Web, have been implemented to offer online goods and services. Many credible estimates suggest that Internet buying and selling will account for close to $2 trillion of annual economic activity by 2004 (Citrin et al., 2003; Fry, 2000). While the promise of …

The Effect Of Personal And Managerial Capitalism On Firms' Capabilities In Colombia's Grupos Económicos, Carmen Leonor Martinez-Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Researchers have investigated business groups or grupos económicos and personal and managerial capitalism as separate topics. This dissertation integrates these concepts in order to study the effect of personal and managerial capitalism on firms' performance in Colombia's grupos económicos. Colombian grupos económicos were selected as the sample for this study for a number of reasons. For example, Colombian is ranked first in Latin America in the overall ranking for world competitiveness for countries with a population greater than 20 million (The World Competitiveness Year book, 2003). Although small by international standards (Reinhardt and Peres, 2000), since at least the …

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: The Dissolution Of Business Relationships In The Global Market Place, Jennifer A. Pope

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Richard Caves (1998) states that “dead business units tell no tales” (p. 8), and by extension one could argue that dead business relationships also tell no tales. However, it is the purpose of this dissertation to tell the tales of multiple dead business relationships in hope that other businesses can learn from their mistakes. Business relationships have been and continue to be a vital part of business. With the globalization of the economy, most, if not all, businesses will have some form of international contact. For businesses with limited resources or no experience often the most efficient means to expand …

The Impact Of Cultural Values On Email Acceptance : Evidence From The Prc, Linjun Huang

Lingnan Theses

Global deployment in information technology (IT) requires understandings of the cultural constraints in technology acceptance and usage behavior. Prior research indicates that the salient technology acceptance models may not be applicable to all cultures since empirical support was mainly obtained from North America. Cultural impact on user acceptance is still at the early stage of research. There has been little research done on technology acceptance and usage behavior in the context of China, which exhibits distinctive cultural differences from countries in North America. The purpose of this thesis is to test the cross-cultural applicability of Technology Acceptance Model in the …

The Value-Relevance Of Asset Write-Down Regulations In China : The Roles Of Information Relevance And Measurement Reliability, Ziyun Yang

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, China implemented several new asset write-down regulations. This study addresses the claim that these regulations significantly enhanced the usefulness of financial statements for investors in China. The effect of the regulations on usefulness of financial statements has implications for financial accountants, standard-setters, educators, and auditors. This study derives and tests some of the empirical implications of the claim.

I operationalize usefulness of accounting information in terms of the valuerelevance framework, in which information usefulness is construed as a tradeoff between relevance and reliability. These two dimensions are …

Design And Evaluation Of A List Gathering Tool In A Web-Based Collaborative Environment, Yuanqiong Wang

Dissertations

This research focuses on how to build a "list" structure to combine individual items of information into some sort of structure that converts the individual items of information into a structure of knowledge relative to the problem. Software was designed to provide relationships among and comparisons of the contributions in a "list" structure, so that individual members of a group process will be able to understand the contributions of information made by the group as a whole.

A List Gathering Tool was designed and implemented, which is one component in a Web-based Social Decision Support System (SDSS) Toolkit. Then, a …

Design And Evaluation Of A Voting Tool In A Collaborative Environment, Zheng Li

Dissertations

This dissertation researchdesigned, implemented, and evaluated a Web-based Dynamic Voting Toolfor small group decision-making in a collaborative environment.

In this dissertation, theliterature on voting tools in current GDSS research is presented. Variousvoting theories and methods are analyzed, and the advantages and weaknessesare compared, so as to gain a better understanding of how to apply thesedifferent voting methods to diverse decision-making situations. A briefoverview of scaling theories is also given, with an emphasis on Thurstone'sLaw.

The basic features of someweb-based voting tool implementations are reviewed along with a discussionof the pros and cons of Intemet voting. A discussion of Human DynamicVoting …

The Characteristics Of Successful Superintendents, Terry Mcdaniel

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what technical-managerial skills, human relation skills, and personal characteristics made superintendents in Indiana successful and to determine whether these skills and characteristics were innate or could be taught. Four universities and three educational organizations were surveyed to identify successful superintendents in Indiana based on the superintendents' technical managerial skills, human relation skills, and personal characteristics. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the eight professional standards for the superintendency as developed by the American Association of School Administrators. The identified superintendents were asked to participate in the study using the …

Spatial Variations In Wal-Mart Store Location, Clint H. Franklin

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the world's largest retailer, the Wal-Mart Corporation exemplifies unsurpassed store location strategy. The purpose of this study is to identify socio-economic indicators of store location and to determine whether they vary spatially across the United States. First, a linear regression model is employed to identify key socio-economic variables that associate with store location in four regions of the United States. The study includes analyses of Georgia, Indiana, New York, and Washington, which represent the southeast, midwest, northeast and west, respectively. Discriminant and cluster analyses are used to investigate whether there are spatial variations in Wal-Mart location. The results of …

The Utilization Of Perceived Needs Importance In Explaining And Predicting Responsiveness To Organizational Inducements, Melissa N. Castillo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The concern over attraction and retention strategies in organizations has been widely acknowledged through the voluminous amount of research. As functions of human resources management (HRM), the emphasis in utilizing effective attraction and retention strategies cannot be ignored due to their importance to the firm's overall performance. In meeting this concern, inducements have been recently mentioned to be the missing link in providing more effective recruitment and retention strategies. Inducements are deliberate modifications of a job characteristic or the work environment, including benefits for the sole purpose of enhancing the attractiveness of a job to potential applicants and maintaining that …

Helping Cob Students Use Their Business Degree To Get Into Law School, Jon Jeffery Carlston

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Getting into law school these days has become ultra-competitive. GPA's and LSAT scores that worked just a few years ago will not get a law school applicant into the same schools they will today. The economy as well as the attractiveness of a law degree (J.D.) have lead to record increases in the number of students applying for law school. Law schools have been forced to "raise the bar" in order to deal with the demand. Because this is the case, undergraduate students must find ways to distinguish themselves among applicants, stay on top of the application process, and achieve …

The Dimensions Of Customer Satisfaction In The Financial Services Industry, Jose Salvador Lopez-Alarcon

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The objective of this study was to collect and interpret data on the areas that influence customer satisfaction in the financial services industry. Specifically, the research defined and explored the ten dimensions that provide the customers with the product perceived value of the product or service. A survey of 230 customers in the Boca Raton area was conducted; data generated through the survey was analyzed descriptively, as well as subjected to regression analysis.

The study found congruence of customer satisfaction and the dimension: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, credibility, safety, access, communication, and empathy. The study also determined that the …

Market Orientation And Export Performance In Thailand: A Moderating Effect Of International Marketing Strategy, Phattarawan Tantong

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

A lot of literature provides evidence of a positive relationship between market orientation (MO) and performance (e.g., Narver and Slater 1990; Jaworski and Kohli 1993). Some studies, however, found insignificant results of such a relationship (e.g., Selnes, Jaworski, and Kohli 1996; Pelham 1997), resulting in an open question of MO's predictive power on performance. Moreover, most of the research in this area has been conducted in the U.S. context, and the literature shows that there is a need to study MO in a non-U.S. context (e.g., Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar 1993; Grewal and Tansuhaj 2001). Similarly, the standardization (adaptation) literature …

Antidumping Practices Under The Wto, Doaa Mohie Mahmoud

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Managing Information System Integration Technologies--A Study Of Text Mined Industry White Papers, Balaji Ravindran

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Industry white papers are increasingly being used to explain the philosophy and operation of a product in marketplace or technology context. This explanation is used by senior managers for strategic planning in an organization. This research explores the effectiveness of white papers and strategies for managers to learn about technologies using white papers. The research is conducted by collecting industry white papers in the area of Information System Integration and gleaned relevant information through text-mining tool, Vantage Point. The text mined information is analyzed to provide solutions for practical problems in systems integration market. The indirect findings of the research …

Affiliation Of Authors In Production And Operations Management Journals, Steven M. Yager

Honors Theses

This paper will represent an update of the first two POM research productivity rankings published seven years ago (Young, Baird, Pullman, 1996; Malhotra, Kher, 1996). This study will seek to rank business schools and other organizations, both internationally and within the domestic United States. Researchers in the POM field can also view the results to determine who's who and what universities or organizations are demonstrating an increased focus on POM.

Human Resources Practices In Corporate Culture Communication: A Case Study Of Johnson & Johnson, Flavia Xavier

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Corporate culture literature is vast and reflects its importance on management. Mostly, scholars and consultants have researched the impact of culture in organization performance and the nature of culture change. However, few studies have examined a strategy to communicate corporate culture based on the human resources practices.

The purpose of this study was to explore the communication process and the human resources and organizational development practices linked to a strong worldwide corporate culture. By addressing key research questions, proposing and applying the “Corporate Culture Communication Strategy” model, the researcher conducted a detailed ethnographic case study of Johnson & Johnson.

Using …

Social Security Reform: An Expository Report, Nathan J. Voss

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

An Analysis Of Preparedness And Qualifications Of Historically Black Colleges And Universities' Accounting Gradautes [!] Employed In Corporate America, Brandy Alexander

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

Historically black colleges and universities have been accused of not producing a quality education to accountants entering Corporate America. Attributes corporate recruiters look for in employment candidates include leadership, communication, and technical abilities. There has also been continuous concern if corporations are willingly hiring HBCD graduates because of qualifications or just filling the affirmative action quota. In order to determine the preparation and qualification HBCD's provided their accounting graduates, I designed a survey targeting accounting graduates of predominately black populated institutions currently employed in the corporate world . Fifty-two accountants representing twenty-one corporations and eleven HBCDs participated in the survey …

The Implications Of Mentoring Programs On Employee Career Development And Retention In Selected Manufacturing Industries In Central Indiana, Frederick B. Asay

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of mentoring programs and determine the extent that mentoring programs facilitate employee career development and retention. This study was focused specifically on manufacturing industries of selected standard industrial codes (SIC) in Central Indiana. By identifying the advantages and disadvantages of mentoring programs the researcher was able to recommend that manufacturing industries consider implementing a mentoring program if one is not currently in place. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect the data for the study. The sample population for the study consisted of 100 randomly selected manufacturing …

Ownership Variables And Capital Structure: Evidence From Chile, Suad Ghaddar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The relationship between ownership structure and capital structure is one of the less understood areas within the corporate finance literature. This study attempts to address this issue within a unique; organizational and institutional framework that may help explain the intricacies of such a relationship. The Chilean corporate scene with its high ownership concentration levels, industrial group structure, and familial control provides a rich testing ground to analyze how ownership variables define a firm's leverage policy.

Research has supported both a positive and a negative relationship between ownership concentration and leverage levels. On the one hand, firms characterized by high levels …

The Influence Of Apparel Size On Shopping Behavior And Appearance Management Factors Of Caucasian And Asian International Female University Students, Yuko Sugita

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different apparel sizes (apparel sizes smaller than 14 and 14 and larger) on the relationships between appearance management factors and apparel shopping behavior of Caucasian and Asian international females. Appearance management factors were divided into sociocultural factors (media), personal factors, and psychological or behavioral factors. One hundred thirty-eight subjects (75 Caucasians wearing apparel sizes smaller than 14; 17 Caucasian females wearing apparel sizes 14 and larger; and 46 Asian international females wearing apparel sizes smaller than 14) completed a questionnaire, which was designed to measure subjects' appearance management factors …

Leadership Preparation Experiences Of Chief Academic Officers In Two-Year Public Colleges, Delores Rogers Haklin

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore whether leadership preparation experiences for the position of chief academic officers at two-year public colleges contribute to their perceived level of competency for specific tasks in the first year of their careers as chief academic officer. The instrument used in this study was developed by the researcher and was composed of three sections: the preparation experiences section, the self-perceived competency rating for tasks section, and the demographic section. Data were collected via a survey, which had a total of 46 questions in the three sections. The surveys were sent to chief academic …

Consumptive Water Use At The Mirage Hotel And The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Johann A. Feller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the driest regions in the southwest United States. Due to limited water supplies from the Colorado River, rainfall, and groundwater sources, the water requirements of the valley’s growing population is slated to surpass the current available water supply. The purpose of this comparative study is to quantify the amount of consumptive water used at a major Las Vegas resort/casino in one year. This, being of importance, because of the resort/casino industry’s role as one of the largest, most visible, and most resource intensive industries in the Las Vegas valley. The goal of this …