Business Commons^™

Market Timing And Cost Of Capital Of The Firm, Kyojik Song

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Graham and Harvey’s (2001) survey evidence and Baker, Greenwood, and Wurgler (2003) indicate that firm managers try to time debt markets based on term spreads or excess bond returns when choosing the maturity of new debt issues. Whether debt market timing increases firm value via a reduced cost of capital is an empirical question. I examine differences in firm value across non-timers and timers, where timers are defined as firms that follow either a naïve strategy of choosing long-term debt when the term premium is low or a complex strategy from Baker et al. (2003) based on the predictability of …

The Effects Of Employee Service Quality Provision And Customer Personality Traits On Customer Participation, Satisfaction, And Repurchase Intentions, Jeannie Denise John

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigates customer-employee interaction during service encounters, and whether the relationships between customer personality traits and quality of the employee’s service delivery will impact the customer’s participation, satisfaction, and repurchase intentions. Consumer personality is differentiated in terms of the self-monitoring (Snyder 1987) and locus of control (Rotter 1966) traits. Service quality provision is manipulated in terms of technical versus functional quality inputs, and whether these inputs are provided in a positive (i.e., good/superior) or negative (i.e., bad/poor) manner. These manipulations yield four combinations of service quality inputs: 1) positive technical and functional quality inputs; 2) positive technical, but negative …

Program Participants' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Effectiveness Of The French Quarter Formosan Termite Program, Alan L. Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine program participants’ knowledge and perceptions of the effectiveness of the French Quarter Formosan Termite Program. The management of the Formosan subterranean termite is critical to the economic well-being of not only Louisiana, but the U.S. Estimates of property damage, repairs, and control measures exceed $1 billion per year in the U.S., of which $500 million is in Louisiana and $300 million is in the New Orleans area. In 1998, the LSU Agricultural Center, a statewide agricultural research and extension campus of Louisiana State University, in cooperation with the Agricultural Research Service, began …

Non-Business Use Of The World Wide Web : A Study Of Selected Western Australian Organisations, Craig Valli

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Employees undertake a wide range of activities when they use the World Wide Web in the work place. Some of these activities may leave the modem Internet connected organisation vulnerable to undue or unknown risk, potential productivity losses and expense us a result of misuse or abuse or the Internet provision. Much of the existing literature on this subject points to a purported epidemic of misuse in the workplace. If this practice is so prevalent and widespread, what can modem Internet connected organisations do to identify the abuse and reduce the risks and losses that these abuses represent? To what …

Voluntary Disclosure Of Segment Information In A Regulated Environment : Australian Evidence, Mui Ching Chan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is an empirical examination of the relationship between six firm characteristics, namely: firm size, industry membership, minority interest, financial leverage, firm diversification, ownership diffusion, and voluntary disclosure of segment information in a regulated environment. This study provides empirical evidence that there are incentives for Australian companies with specific firm characteristics to voluntarily disclose segment information in a regulated setting. The theoretical frameworks employed in this research study are agency theory and contracting theory. Compensation contracts are employed to resolve the potential conflicts of interest between the shareholders and managers giving rise to agency cost of equity. Debt contracts …

An Heuristically Critical Reflective Practititioner Researches The Explication Of Tacit Knowledge In Three Case Studies Investigating A Web-Based Knowledge Management System And In Professional Academic Practice, Edward Sek Wong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this thesis, I report on a critical and reflective practitioner heuristic inquiry investigating three case studies on the adoption and use of a Web-based knowledge management system. In addition, I investigate the research process itself and my own professional academic practices. Of particular interest is the conversion of group's, individual's, and eventually my own tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, whether in the organisational or personal domains. In this thesis, I seek to explain why the explication of tacit knowledge is important for individuals, organisations, and me, with a potential to motivate efficiency and effectiveness and especially empowerment within an …

Overreaction, Heteroscedasticity, And Spillovers In Stock Returns: Evidence From The Kuwait Stock Exchange, Mohammad Yousef Al-Hashel

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This research examines stocks' returns and volatility in the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). The research is organized in five chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction of the research, its importance, and its main goals. The second chapter presents a historical background of the KSE and the stages it experienced to reach its current situation. The main goal of this chapter is to pave the road for the subsequent chapters. Then, the third chapter tests the overreaction hypothesis using monthly data for stocks listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange over the 1993–2002 period. Similar to the findings of De Bondt …

Market Valuation Of Corporate Diversification In The Presence Of Internal Capital Markets In Emerging Countries, Supannee Buasook

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This study examines the valuation of corporate diversification in three emerging countries: Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Over the period of study (1992–2001 for Thailand and 1994–2001 for Indonesia and the Philippines), it is found that there is evidence of diversification discount in all three countries. The largest amount of discount exists in the Philippines (60.1%), followed by Indonesia (25.5%) and Thailand (15.1%).

Then, the sample is divided into two sub-periods: before the crisis (1992–1996) and after the crisis (1997–2001). Before the crisis, the diversification discount existed only in the Philippines, with the average of 49%. There is not enough …

The Ism Code Implementation And Its Effects On Maritime Claims, Lankadhar M. Golapalli

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Statistical Approach To Analyzing Investment Strategies, Michele L. Jackson

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

It often takes very little to make the difference between financial failure and success, but in times of extreme market volatility, even the relatively sophisticated investor can sometimes be caught off guard. People cannot afford to ignore their investments. Without a coordinated strategy, it can be difficult to build an effective investment portfolio that meets individual financial needs. As an individual investor, it is important to evaluate each investment in the context of the overall objectives. A fundamental key to being successful when building a stick investment portfolio is understanding the history of the stock market. This makes investors aware …

An Analysis Of The Role Of Regional Safe School Program Administrators, Bobbi Mattingly

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1996, legislation created the Regional Safe Schools Program in Illinois. Alternative public school programs were established for disruptive or violent students who were unable or unwilling to conform themselves to the expectations of a traditional school setting. There has been limited research on alternative education administration. The purpose of this research was to study RSSP administrators to determine their leadership type, the effect of organizational culture on their leadership approach, and their beliefs and dispositions of alternative education. The problems of the study were approached from the conceptual framework of a system that interlocks alternative education, educational administration and …

Examining The Similarities And Differences In Benefits Of School-To-Work As A Workforce Development Strategy: A Study Of Key Stakeholder Involvement Using A Multiple Case Study Approach, Alton Leon Alford

Dissertations

As we enter the new millennium, there is considerable evidence which indicates that in the 1990's many U.S. business were experiencing rapid growth and expansion resulting from a robust American economy. As a result, business activity in most employment sectors has shown many signs of future growth with projections of continued growth well into the 21st century. This growth in the new economy has resulted in a critical need for highly skilled entrants into the workforce whose working life times will extend toward the mid-twenty-first century (Judy & D'Amico, 1997). With an identified skills shortage looming over many U.S. corporations …

Affects Of Organic Fertilizers On The Growth And Biomass Production Of Agricultural Crops, Deanna Marshik

Honors Capstones

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

An Empirical Analysis Of Auditor Resignations, Harold Edward Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

There were two main objectives of this study. The first objective was to develop a theoretical model that will explain auditor resignations. To meet this objective, a model was developed which was primarily grounded in prior research related to auditor resignations as well as prior research addressing auditor switching. The second objective was to estimate the model at four different quarterly dates immediately prior to an event date (i.e., the resignation date) so that the effects of time on the explanatory power of the model and each independent variable could be ascertained. This objective was met by identifying and collecting …

Survival Analysis Of Internet Companies: An Application Of The Hazard Model, Khaled Elkhal

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a model that predicts failure and estimates the time of survival of dotcoms using a number of financial and non-financial factors. This model can be used as a warning tool for stockholders, creditors, and consumers to protect themselves from such failures.

I employ the Cox (1972) Proportional Hazards Model in a cross-sectional and time-varying context using financial data over the 1998–2001 period. Results from a cross-sectional analysis reveal that the coefficient estimates for variables CFTL and NSTA are consistently negative and highly significant. This suggests that higher sales and cash flows lower …

The Effects Of Communication Modality On Teamwork Processes, Thomas D. Fletcher

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Since the onset of the digital age, organizations have been able to make use of teams of individuals distributed geographically to remain competitive. While strides have been made to understand the effectiveness of collocated teams, research has yet to sufficiently explore the effects of emerging technologies on team processes and effectiveness. A laboratory study, where dyads were asked to create a spreadsheet by following a set of explicit instructions (i.e., a psychomotor task), was conducted to manipulate the communication modalities most commonly used between collaborators (i.e., face-to-face vs. audio) and compare the effects of adding a shared workspace application. The …

Predicting Team Performance Over Time: A Secondary Data Analysis, Hope S. Hanner

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Teams occupy a strong presence in the modern workplace. However, few studies have tracked the evolution of team behavior over time. The use of cross-sectional team research fails to appreciate the stages that teams pass through as they evolve and mature. The present study had three goals in mind. The first goal was to arrive at a causal model of team performance via a secondary statistical analysis on the research conducted by Cunningham (2001) and Strobel (2001). Strobe1 and Cunningham tracked the performance of eleven student-learning teams over the course of a semester. A team training intervention was administered after …

宗法宗族思想觀念與中國私營企業管理, Ping Wang

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

No abstract provided.

Knowledge Discovery And Modeling In Genomic Databases, Michael M. Yin

Dissertations

This dissertation research is targeted toward developing effective and accurate methods for identifying gene structures in the genomes of high eukaryotes, such as vertebrate organisms. Several effective hidden Markov models (HMMs) are developed to represent the consensus and degeneracy features of the functional sites including protein-translation start sites, mRNA splicing junction donor and acceptor sites in vertebrate genes. The HMM system based on the developed models is fully trained using an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and the system performance is evaluated using a 10-way cross-validation method. Experimental results show that the proposed HMM system achieves high sensitivity and specificity in …

Intramural, Collaborative Learning Systems, Robert S. Friedman

Theses

This thesis focuses on three related concepts: problem-based collaborative learning; the use of multimedia tools in learning systems; and participatory design as a software engineering methodology to create multimedia tools to be used in learning systems. A literature review of the three areas is followed by an overview of the pedagogical, technological, and business trends that affect the direction of innovation in education, including problem-based learning. A discussion of a software engineering project to develop a multimedia application that enhances the learning of geography skills and puts the programming, interface design and multimedia systems capabilities of college students into action …

Branding Of Professional Service Firms, Aditi Balasubramaniam

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Study On Intercollegiate Athletics: Should Student-Athletes Receive Pay For Play?, Darryl Matus

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

As can be said for many organizations, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will have many issues to contend with in the 21' century. New rules and regulations have been implemented over the past 10 years among all three divisions. Different and similar issues face all universities and colleges holding membership in the Association, which is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of the major issues facing the NCAA is whether student-athletes should be paid for their services due to the commercialization that has taken place over the past 25 years.

All NCAA sponsored sports are amateur based. However, with many …

Community, Fortitude, Satisfaction, And Loyalty: Tests Of Oliver's Proposed Frameworks, J. Martin Fraering

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper discusses tests of two competing loyalty frameworks proposed by Richard L. Oliver. The cognition to action (CTA) loyalty model specifies four phases: cognitive loyalty, affective loyalty, conative loyalty, and action loyalty, a framework originally discussed by Oliver. The fortitude-community (F-C) loyalty model argues that loyalty is a function of the degree of personal fortitude and the extent to which customers feel that they are members of a community of consumers. In both of these models loyalty is posited to arise from customer satisfaction. Research hypotheses are formulated that assert positive relationships between satisfaction and various loyalty constructs. The …

Behavioral Finance: Psychographics, Curt W. Becker

Student Work

This research is a review of psychographics and its impact on rejoinder. Experiments were conducted to ascertain the association between two stimuli and changes in habitual behavior. The foci of this review are to examine applicable, previous research and compare with results on the two stimuli. Statistically different responses to the stimuli were observed.

An Empirical Investigation Into The Personal Value Systems Of Accounting Managers Of Cpa Firms, Morsheda T. Hassan

Doctoral Dissertations

The objectives of this dissertation were to empirically examine (i) the primary value orientation of CPA firms' managers; (ii) the value profile of these managers; (iii) the relationship between the personal value systems of CPA firm's managers and their managerial decisions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and managerial success; (iv) whether the personal value systems of CPA firms' differ by gender or age; (v) differences between the personal value systems of CPA firm's managers affiliated with the departments of auditing, taxation, consulting, information technology, general administration, or others, and (vi) differences between the personal value systems of CPA firms' managers and …

An Exploratory Study On The Relationships Among Electorate's Voting Behavior, Party Identification, Personal Values, And Demographic Characteristics, Kuan-Shun Chiu

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was proposed to examine if there existed significant differences in voters' party identification and voting behavior due to gender, race, age, income, education and personal values.

The sample was chosen from eligible voters in Florida. Of the 1500 questionnaires managed, 161 were identified as useable. The sample was representative of the results of 2000 presidential election in Florida with respect to voters' gender, race, income, and voting choice by party identification. Statistical techniques used were ANOVAs, Chi-square statistics, factor analysis, and logistic regression.

This study demonstrates how personal values may be associated with demographic characteristics to create a …

A Simulation Study To Investigate Runway Capacity Using Taam, Prakash Subramanian

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This study outlines a method to evaluate runway layouts using simulation, to aid in the airport planning and decision making process. As a sample study, the maximum throughput capacities of proposed expansion alternatives at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), constrained at varying levels, are identified. The objective is to compare the ultimate airport capacities achievable for each of the different layouts to estimate their respective efficiencies in terms of runway system utilization. Given its capabilities for modeling at a very high level of detail and closely representing reality in terms of applicable separation standards and air traffic control procedures, TAAM (Total …

R&D, Advertising And The Market Value Of Internet Firms, Damir Tokic

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to explain the valuation of Internet firms during the valuation “bubble” period from 1996 to 2000. The theoretical foundation of the study is the investment opportunities approach to the valuation of growth shares. Consistent with predictions of the investment opportunities approach, the results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between the market value of Internet firms and investments in R&D and advertising in each year of the sample period. These findings strongly support the view that R&D and advertising are intangible assets. The investment opportunities approach also predicts a positive relationship between market …

Stock Return Volatility In Emerging Equity Markets: The Relative Effects Of Country And Global Factors, Benjamin Adam Abugri

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The rapid growth of capital markets in developing countries has come as a major event in recent financial history. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), portfolio flows to emerging countries has kept rising since the early 1980s and the trend has continued even after a number of financial crises (IFC, 2000). Probably one of the most commonly known characteristics of these markets is their high volatility compared to the more developed markets. But results of studies on volatilities in these markets are often based on estimates of the variance of market indexes or asset returns over relatively long periods …

Aligning Hierarchical Goals In An Organization: The Path From Training To Performance, Jeanette Denise Selby-Lucas

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Training is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and with the advent of the training technology revolution and the possibilities it provides to business and government, as well as to the academic community, it is important to determine if the money invested in training by these communities is providing the expected performance on the part of those who are trained. This can be done by quantitatively evaluating the relationship between training and performance.

This study extends the scholarly literature by developing the concept of organizational alignment through a combination of Human Performance Technology literature and traditional engineering methodologies. Organizational training and performance is …