Business Commons^™

Open Strategy For Social Impact: An Action Research Study Of A Multistakeholder Open Strategy Planning Process, Jo Pang

Dissertations

As social and environmental challenges become increasingly dire, organizations are focusing on creating positive social impacts beyond generating profits. Traditional strategic planning tools were originally created for the purposes of profit maximization and are not sufficient for organizations with the aim of addressing complex social issues. Open strategy offers a promising alternative by increasing multistakeholder involvement in the formulation of organizational strategy. Existing research has supported the idea that multistakeholder collaboration is an effective means for creating positive social impact since societal challenges are too complex for any one organization to sufficiently address. Despite these promises, there are risks and …

The Uses And Gratifications Of Social Audio-Focused Apps: A Case Study Of The Clubhouse Application, Dalia Abdelhamid Younes

Theses and Dissertations

Social audio has recently emerged recently as a new form of social media based on voice. It spread rapidly through the Clubhouse application, which became a significant trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to explore Egyptian content creators' motivations to join Clubhouse, study their motivations to produce their content, and identify the gratifications obtained from using this application. It also seeks to investigate the application`s sustainability within the Egyptian context by outlining the challenges faced by the Egyptian content creators. The study employs the uses and gratifications theory, conducting in-depth interviews with 17 Egyptian content creators. The findings …

The Use Of Personal Disruption Strategies By Female Executives In The Property Management Industry For Career Advancement, Lorri Oliver

Dissertations

Purpose: This explanatory mixed-method study aimed to identify and describe the perceived impact of Johnson and Mohr’s (2019) five disruptive career skills on female property managers’ advancement to executive leadership positions.

Methodology: This mixed method study identified and described the impact of the disruptive behaviors of eight female executives in the property management industry across the United States. The researcher gained a transparent view of female property management executives using quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Findings: Females who challenge and influence authority are more likely to challenge authority figures by providing indisputable facts and using influence tactics. Females are typically …

Medical School Middle Managers Learning To Successfully Work With Leadership To Navigate Organizational Change, Elizabeth G. Smith

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

There is a lapse in research exploring middle managers at medical schools during an organizational change. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of middle managers during an organizational change to mitigate burnout and build resilience. The literature reviewed explored how stressors from organizational changes may impact medical school middle managers, leading to feeling less secure about their position and increasing middle managers’ stress leading to burnout. For an organizational change to be successful, middle managers must build trust with their staff, communicate with middle managers, and engage middle managers in the change process. Burnout …

The Charge Forward: An Assessment Of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure In New York City, Christopher S. Cali

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The federal and local New York City (NYC) governments are actively promoting Electric Vehicles (EVs). This capstone project assesses the state of EV charging infrastructure in NYC and its readiness for EV growth. NYC faces unique challenges due to its dense population and limited space for infrastructure. There's a significant disparity between the number of gas pumps and fast EV chargers in the city, with only 170 Level 3/DC (Direct Current) Fast Chargers publicly available. These Level 3 chargers are most important because they can charge an EV in 15 minutes; Level 2 chargers, also considered in the analysis, take …

Impacts Of The E-Centralized Procurement Platforms On Business Operations - Based On A Study Of Hebei Construction Group, Baozhong Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Thanks to the rapid development of Internet technology, enterprises make an important innovation and they launch e-centralized procurement platforms in procurement activities. Taking Hebei Construction Group for a case study, this paper aims to explore the impact of E-Centralized Procurement Platforms on business operations, and comprehensively evaluates the impact of E-Centralized Procurement Platforms on enterprises’ performance by means of theoretical review, case study, empirical research, and questionnaire.

Chapter 1 firstly presents the problems of this paper and introduces the background and significance of the selected topic. Hebei Construction Group is primarily engaged in the construction industry, so this paper is …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Investigation Of Algorithmic Nudging On Decision Quality: Evidence From Randomized Experiments In Online Recommendation Settings, Yuxiao Luo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Most recently, academic research has started to address the relationship between nudges and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and found that personalized targeting algorithms can influence individual and collective behaviors in ways that may lead to undesired consequences for both end-users and firms. This dissertation investigates the effects of digital nudging, particularly algorithmic nudging, on user’s decision quality in online badge recommendations in the e-commerce context. Nudge is a choice architecture that alters individual’s behavior in a predictable way while preserving all available options and keeping the same economic incentives. In this dissertation, I conducted three independent and relevant studies and …

Essays On Real Estate, Flood Risk, And Political Sentiment, John P. Orellana

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that investigate how climate change, flood risk, and political sentiment influence outcomes in housing markets.

Chapter 1: This chapter offers a brief review and discussion of several recent and seminal papers at the intersection of flood risk, climate change, and real estate, as well as a critique on some of the literature on the effects of sea-level rise on housing outcomes.

Chapter 2: FEMA flood maps serve two functions: they signal risk to homeowners and mandate insurance take-up. How these information and risk transfer mechanisms affect homeowner relocation decisions remains unknown. Combining real estate …

Socially Safe On Smartphones: How Smartphone Use Reduces Social Risk Taking, Diogo Koch Alves

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Consumers are often faced with decisions that carry a degree of social risk, with uncertain outcomes that could impact their social standing. Examples include choosing the ideal outfit to wear to an upcoming party or selecting a gift to give to a friend. Given the prevalence of smartphones in consumer decision making, I investigate the effect of smartphone use on social risk taking. Across seven studies, I find that smartphone use, relative to the use of other devices, results in a lower propensity to make socially risky decisions. I propose that smartphone use, by increasing the salience of one’s social …

Accounting Function Hierarchies And Financial Reporting Quality, Shuo Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

I examine how the hierarchical structure of a firm’s accounting function influences its financial reporting quality. Using information from accounting employees’ online resumes to infer the hierarchical layers in a firm’s accounting function, I find that a firm with a more hierarchical accounting function exhibits higher financial reporting quality. Further analysis shows a hierarchical accounting function is associated with a reduced likelihood of internal control weaknesses, in particular internal control weaknesses in the segregation of duties and accounting personnel matters. These findings suggest that a hierarchical accounting function enhances financial reporting quality through improving internal control. These effects are more …

Coffee Cactus, Mackenzie Haneman

Graphic Communication

Coffee is one of the most well known and enjoyed drinks in the world. So many people go out to coffee shops to get work done, catch up with friends, or just to simply enjoy a local cup of coffee. Yet, many people find it difficult to bring that experience into the comfort of their own homes or have found tools that bring a personal and unique experience. Espresso machines, coffee tools, and unique terminology can be very intimidating for someone who is just starting to learn about coffee or wants to grow their own at home experience. The problem …

Multi-Perspective Analysis For Derivative Financial Product Prediction With Stacked Recurrent Neural Networks, Natural Language Processing And Large Language Model, Ethan Lo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study developed a multi-perspective, AI-powered model for predicting E-Mini S&P 500 Index Futures prices, tackling the challenging market dynamics of these derivative financial instruments. Leveraging FinBERT for analysis of Wall Street Journal data alongside technical indicators, trader positioning, and economic factors, my stacked recurrent neural network built with LSTMs and GRUs achieves significantly improved accuracy compared to single sub-models. Furthermore, ChatGPT generation of human-readable analysis reports demonstrates the feasibility of using large language models in financial analysis. This research pioneers the use of stacked RNNs and LLMs for multi-perspective financial analysis, offering a novel blueprint for automated prediction and …

Third Mission Accelerator Labs (Tmals): An Exploratory Study On The Strategic Evolution Of Sustainability In University-Business Incubators (Ubis), Abdalla Hassanein

Theses and Dissertations

Globally, higher education institutions (HEIs) are devoting rising resources in order to remain competitive, impactful and attractive within the ever-changing socio-economic developments and to well position and communicate their value among their stakeholders (Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando, et al. 2018). Students today want to do more than just get a degree; they want to create businesses, develop new markets, and start social movements (Kay et al., 2010). Under the open innovation model, universities' third mission (TM) includes deeper linkages and engagements with the private and public sectors, emphasizing the development of entrepreneurial mindsets, skills, and incubation services to encourage new business ventures, in …

Economic Feasibility Of Material Waste Management “Reduction, Reuse, Recycle And Repair’ Strategies In Egypt’S Footwear Industry, Amira Motawea

Theses and Dissertations

The study aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the feasibility of waste management strategies in the leather and footwear industry, both globally and within the specific context of Egypt. It explores the benefits and challenges associated with efficiently recycling, treating, or reusing material waste generated by the footwear industry, with a particular focus on Egypt. The study begins by discussing established waste management practices in the global fashion industry and focusing on footwear material waste.

The study examines successful waste management methods and systems employed globally, highlighting their potential applicability to the Egyptian fashion sector. A key aspect of …

The Effect Of Esg On Indices’ And Firms’ Performance. A Global And An Egyptian Context., Demiana Abdelmalak

Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing has been increasingly adopted by the financial markets. In this paper, we aim to study the effect of ESG on Indices’ and Firms’ performance using Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Indices as a global reference and Egypt’s indices as a national reference. We also study the effect of ESG scores on the Egyptian Firms’ performance over the past 16 years using econometrical models and Fama- French Five Factors Model. Our research shows mixed results which are aligned with the existing literature review. However, one can conclude that there is a positive …

An Examination Of The Determinants Of Ease Of Doing Business: Perspectives From World Economies, Omar Eldarawy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis’ purpose is to explore the correlation between Ease of Doing Business sub-scores and the overall Ease of Doing Business score. The study includes a detailed quantitative study into the previously mentioned relationship. The Ease of Doing Business sub-scores comprise of scores representing starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. This is conducted via a series of diagnostic tests to identify an appropriate regression model. These tests include the Hausman Test, RESET Test, and Breusch-Pagan Test. Based on the tests, …

The Effect Of Pandemic Shocks On The Performance Of Middle Eastern And African Firms: How Did The Debt Strategy Shape This Effect?, Farah Medhat Elnady

Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on financial services firms operating in Middle Eastern and African (“MEA”) countries. The methodology utilized firm-level data from MEA countries, employing the panel regression techniques using fixed and random effects models to control for the potential omitted variable bias. The results of the study underlay that (1) With every 1% increase in new Covid-19 cases market capitalization for firms operating within financial services in MEA countries decreases by 0.11%. (2) Highly indebted financial services firms are more responsive to the Covid-19 pandemic, while low debt firms happen to be more resilient …

Developing An Instrument To Measure Group Dynamics Awareness: A Mixed Methods Study, John Weng

Dissertations

In a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, adaptive leaders are needed more than ever. Based on group relations programs developed by the Tavistock Institute, a pedagogy known as case-in-point has recently been brought to prominence and incorporated into leadership development programs. These methods claim to develop systems thinking and individuals’ leadership capacity with little prior empirical research.

This mixed methods exploratory study explored individual awareness of group dynamics, a key outcome in case-in-point programs, and adaptive leadership theory. The goal was to create an instrument to measure awareness of group dynamics: the Group Dynamics Awareness Questionnaire …

An Examination Of The Impacts Of Macroeconomic Indicators On Conventional And Islamic Equity Fund Returns: Perspectives From The Mena Region, Amr Elshabouny

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the performance of conventional and Islamic equity mutual funds in the MENA region, and the influence of major macroeconomic determinants on the two types, by analyzing 503 conventional and 128 Shariah-compliant funds. It incorporates three major macroeconomic variables using Generalized Linear Models (GLM). The findings indicate no significant superiority of Islamic funds over conventional ones. The study also notes that while market performance and foreign exchange rates positively affect both fund types, GDP growth and inflation have a negative impact. Islamic funds are less influenced by excess market returns, GDP growth, and inflation compared to conventional funds, …

What Factors Affect Employment Decisions Of Employees And Job Seekers Of Different Modalities: Remote, Hybrid, Or In-Person?, Diana White

JWU Dissertations & Theses

What factors affect employees’ and job seekers’ employment decisions? Are these factors different for remote, hybrid, or in-person workers? There are many challenges in recruiting and retaining employees, especially in the times when the labor force demand has far exceeded the supply. The primary framework of the study was grounded on Herzberg’s two-factor theory with internal motivation factors and external hygiene factors as values employees considered as different workplace traits such as work-related conditions (Jehanzeb and Mohanty, 2018), leadership behaviors (Wells and Peachey, 2011; Vanderpyl, 2012), internal Human Resources practices (Gardner et al., 2011), and organization reputation (Baer et al., …

Is Long-Term Survival Higher In Patients Who Receive Propofol-Based Total Intravenous Anesthesia During Colorectal Cancer Surgery Compared To Volatile Anesthesia, Shad Anthony Mitchell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The study reviewed several retrospective cohort studies that examined the impact of propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) versus volatile anesthesia (VA) on the long-term survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery patients. Eight studies found no significant difference in mortality between the two anesthesia types, while three studies indicated a significant decrease in all-cause mortality favoring propofol TIVA. The studies had varying follow-up periods, with some extending to five years. Notably, two studies controlled the type of volatile anesthetic used, specifically sevoflurane and desflurane. The findings suggest a potential survival advantage for propofol TIVA, warranting further investigation.

Don't Make Me Look Bad: A Study On The Relationship Between Ceo Narcissism And Opinion Shopping, Ali Jon Kooti

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

CEO narcissism has become an urgent growing trend in business and accounting literature lately due to its strategic impact on CEO behavior and decision-making. Similarly, the opportunistic behavior of audit opinion shopping is a well-known concern among U.S. and international regulators and has been the subject of academic research for decades. This study investigates the association between the two. Specifically, this study examines whether narcissistic CEOs, motivated by their need for positive self-image, recognition, and praise, as well as their fear of adverse effects on their status and compensation, engage in opinion shopping in order to avoid receiving an unfavorable …

Assessing The Impact Of Human Resource Management (Hrm) Practices On Organizational Commitment: An Examination Of The Role Of Temporal Focus, Monty Clint Taylor

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study explores how organizational commitment is associated with employee satisfaction regarding the human resource management (HRM) practices of training/development and compensation. Drawing on Affective Events Theory (AET), this research also examines the role of past temporal focus as a moderating variable of the proposed relationships. During times of historically low unemployment rates below 4% in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024), organizations face major challenges in hiring and retaining employees to fill existing job vacancies (Conklin, 2022). Overall organizational stability (i.e., productivity and financial capabilities) is maintained when skilled employees are successfully recruited and trained as …

The Effects Of Management Control Systems And Innovation Presence On Bank Efficiency, Marjorie M. Abney

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The banking industry is currently experiencing its most notable period of technological transformation in history. Community banks in the U.S. have invested heavily in technology over the past decade with the goal of improving efficiency but have not achieved the expected outcomes in efficiency ratio. The literature identifies management control systems (MCS) in accounting as having the potential to benefit corporate innovation processes, suggesting that flexible and interactive MCS generally benefit corporate innovation. More specifically, the research suggests that the effectiveness of management controls on firm performance is dependent on the mode of innovation in which the firm operates. Following …

The Impact Of Economic Indicators On The Decreasing Popularity Of Labor Unions In The Us, Patrick Ritz

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Impact Of The Methamphetamine Epidemic On Healthcare, Amanda Brumfield

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: The surge in methamphetamine use in the U.S. has presented various challenges for individuals and healthcare systems. Research has shown high relapse rates, oral health issues, and increased susceptibility to blood-borne viruses among users, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Furthermore, the absence of approved pharmacological treatments and systemic barriers to effective treatment highlighted the pressing need for holistic approaches to address this epidemic successfully.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research was to identify the challenges faced by treatment providers specializing in substance use disorder treatment amid rising instances of methamphetamine abuse, including managing heightened relapse …

An Analysis Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Real Earnings Management, Rachel Brassine

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Real earnings management (REM) is costly in the form of intense loan restrictions, increased interest expense, and public scrutiny. Nevertheless, companies still practice REM. Based on agency and stakeholder theories, this research predicts that as a company’s CSR score increases, REM will decrease, and this association will become more negative when a critical mass of females on the board of directors exists and when a board-level CSR committee is present. This study also predicts that when a company offers an executive incentive plan based on CSR metrics, REM will decrease, and the relationship will become more negative with a critical …

Accounting Firms’ Concerns With The Sec's Proposal To Report Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Julia Ellerbruch

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Unorthodox Ceo Behaviors, Peter Heinzerling

Senior Honors Projects

By investigating erratic activities performed by CEO Elon Musk, we want to examine the relationship between unorthodox CEO activities and the effects that these activities have on the company internally. We want to know how these actions affect employees, which would then impact the financial performance of said companies. While there are numerous examples of Musk saying and doing crazy things, we primarily focused on his involvement in the rise of Dogecoin. This case study serves as an excellent example of Musk’s odd behavior as CEO by continuously influencing the price of a cryptocurrency that is not backed by any …