Business Commons^™

Sex, Money, And Free Speech: The Many Harms Of Fosta/Sesta, Desmond Mantle

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis tracks the development of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act/Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or FOSTA/SESTA, which became federal law in 2018. The law's passage followed as a natural consequence of popular concerns about human trafficking. Congress passed the legislation by large margins in both houses given bipartisan opposition to sex trafficking. This thesis identifies plausible reasons for the only two Senate votes against the bill: those of Senators Rand Paul and Ron Wyden. Though these senators came from opposite sides of the aisle, they shared concerns about the future of free speech online and the potential failure …

The Gender Bias Burden On Business: Women's Access To Credit In Bahrain, Sandra J. Thiman

Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award

Entrepreneurship is essential to virtually every economy; however, Bahraini women face many challenges accessing business development. In particular, a major constraint for these women is their access to capital support. In 2020, the government signed a law prohibiting gender-based discrimination in access to credit to help the issue; nonetheless, its effectiveness has yet to be systematically examined. Using data from several sources, I test whether the law significantly affected the gender gap in borrowing for business purposes while controlling for other variables. Importantly, I find that women’s labor force participation is a significant factor in reducing the borrowing gap between …

Realtime Event Detection In Sports Sensor Data With Machine Learning, Mallory Cashman

Honors Theses and Capstones

Machine learning models can be trained to classify time series based sports motion data, without reliance on assumptions about the capabilities of the users or sensors. This can be applied to predict the count of occurrences of an event in a time period. The experiment for this research uses lacrosse data, collected in partnership with SPAITR - a UNH undergraduate startup developing motion tracking devices for lacrosse. Decision Tree and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models are trained and perform with high success rates. These models improve upon previous work in human motion event detection and can be used a reference …

Overview Of U.S. Foreign Language Education Policy, Karin P. Hartmaier

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Foreign language education policy has been a topic of concern in the USA since the time of the founding fathers. A paradox of American society is that it is a nation formed from a “melting pot” of immigrants, while the pressure to assimilate to a uniform American culture has resulted in a dominantly monolingual population. With changes in immigration rates and shifts in the national origins of immigrants, the attitudes and perspectives of the general public toward foreigners and foreign languages have also adjusted over time. This literature review will give an overview of how current events and public opinion …

Three Essays On Corporate Finance And Applied Econometrics, Pan Jiang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation comprises three essays that investigate topics in corporate finance and applied Econometrics.

The first essay examines how digital credit, a Fintech technology, improves micro-business owners' performance by comparing an economically important but often financially disadvantaged group, migrants, with their comparable natives. Using the data on micro-business owners registered with the largest Fintech firm in China, we find that with the access to microloans, migrants achieve greater business revenues compared to their native counterparts. The differential impact of Fintech on migrants versus natives is more pronounced in the businesses with more financial constraints, in more economically developed areas, for …

Interlocking Directorates Among The S&P 500: Social Networks, Gender Diversity, And Corporate Governance, Eric P. Magistad

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

This multi-article investigation examines corporate board composition and the implications for regulatory penalties. Director diversity on key board committees and board interlocks influence board behaviors as they relate to regulatory risk. Directors bring experience and inter-industry ties to a board position and subsequently transfer and receive specific knowledge, practices, and contacts with other directors (Hillman & Haynes, 2010). Despite this exchange, firms may suffer regulatory oversight penalties because different directors perceive and respond to risk differently (Douglas & Wildavsky, 1983; Flynn et al., 1994). Leveraging the tenets of the cultural theory of risk perception (Douglas & Wildavsky, 1983) and of …

Approaches To Preventing Applicants From Faking Personality Assessments: Construct Contamination Under Faking Conditions, Peter A. Fisher

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Personality testing is a popular and useful predictor of future job performance in personnel selection. Personality assessment faking behaviour, however, threatens the usefulness of personality in personnel selection by reducing the validity of assessment results and creating distrust in the assessment results. Recent research exploring a new, computer-mediated assessment response format, the Rapid Response Measure (RRM; Meade et al., 2020), has the potential to dramatically change the way personality assessment is conducted in high-stakes, personnel selection. An initial investigation of the RRM suggests that it may significantly reduce personality assessment faking behaviours. The means by which the RRM is proposed …

The Role Of Authenticity In Technology‐Mediated Interactions, Claudia Iglesias

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation investigates the role of authenticity perceptions in technology-mediated interactions from two different perspectives: social perceptions and self-perceptions. The first essay reveals that communication modality can be an important authentic cue of source acceptance in human-machine interactions. The second essay examines how self-awareness can promote feelings of self-authenticity when consumers experience specific types of brands.

The Relationship Between Perceived Fairness In Executive Compensation And Managerial Behavior, Kainan Xiong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the relationship between the perceived fairness in executive compensation and the level of earnings management on the one hand and the propensity for voluntary turnover on the other. Executive compensation has attracted significant academic attention for more than two decades. The ratcheting-up of executive pay raises questions about its determinants and whether the pay-setting process effectively promotes managerial behavior that aligns with the interests of shareholders. Alternatively, executives may simply extract rents at the expense of shareholders because of the informational advantage that they have and their influence over the board of directors, particularly the compensation committee …

Constructing A Company On Purpose: Understanding The Role Of Purpose On Firms' Corporate Brand Identity, Asfiya Taji

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Increasingly, stakeholders are demanding greater accountability from firms and their respective brands. This in turn has pressured firms across industries to address social issues that were once inconceivable in relevance to their operating mission, requiring many businesses to pivot towards embracing a social purpose as part of their corporate brand identity. Purpose in management has been defined as the greater values that promote societal welfare within and outside the firm (Hollensbe et al., 2014) and, as such, purpose-driven firms are those that link their governance practices with the greater pro-social values they espouse(Kim et al., 2016). This dissertation studies the …

Three Essays On Improving Patient Access To Specialized Services, Amin Mahmoudian Dehkordi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation studies how patient access to specialized services in referral networks can be improved. The first study focused on optimizing and coordinating referral and scheduling decisions in a centralized referral network. I proposed a bi-level optimization model which enables the referrer to make optimal decisions for different scenarios based on available capacity in the network and operational competency levels of surgeons. First, I derived optimal scheduling policies for each surgeon in the network. Next, optimal referral decisions for the central referrer were derived for each capacity scenario. Finally, I studied how incorporating fairness in referral decisions can impact patient …

Emergency Department Operational Strategies, Joyce W. Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEmergency Department Operational Strategies by Joyce W. Davis MBA/MHA, Pfeiffer University, 2011 BS, North Carolina A&T State University, 1980

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University December 2022

Gender Leadership Imbalance In Sport Organizations In Latin America, Monica Yamile Gonzalez-Cuevas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of the study was to examine gender imbalance at the leadership level of sport administration at National Olympic Committees (NOC), National Paralympic Committees (NPC), and National Sport Organizations (NSF) of countries members of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). Specifically, this study examined how social and human capital, socio-cultural aspects of each country, and power-based discourses affect the advancement of women’s careers at the micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis.

A total of 12 participants were selected to participate in this study. Participants were all female sport administrators holding the position of president, vice-president, or secretary-general of …

Three Essays On Information Asymmetry Across Heterogenous Agents, Shenru Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis models and explores agents’ decisions in reaction to events that serves to increse the heterogeneity among agents. The analysis is conducted on three aspects of financial economics. In chapter 2, we empirically examine how trading by peers on a new platform influences others’ adoption decision. We model the adoption process and find the relationship to be U-shaped, with first movers greatly discouraging their peers from adoption, while late movers slightly discouraging or encouraging their peers.

In chapter 3, we investigate how managerial incentives influence corporate social responsibility (CSR). We examine the staggered adoption of corporate opportunity waiver laws …

Corporate Values Of Tribally Owned Companies, Halle Hull

All Master's Theses

In this study I examine the corporate values of tribally owned companies in Washington State and compare them with non-native businesses in the same or similar industries. The research objective is to examine the ways in which Washington native businesses integrate native cultural values into their mission and corporate structure. I have developed keywords that follow the themes of spiritual/societal, community, and environmental, and I found that tribally owned companies include these keywords more frequently than non-tribally owned companies. This integration of cultural values, stated corporate mission, and corporate structure, is an area of potential superior performance compared to alternative …

Cloud-Based Machine Learning And Sentiment Analysis, Emmanuel C. Opara

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The role of a Data Scientist is becoming increasingly ubiquitous as companies and institutions see the need to gain additional insights and information from data to make better decisions to improve the quality-of-service delivery to customers. This thesis document contains three aspects of data science projects aimed at improving tools and techniques used in analyzing and evaluating data. The first research study involved the use of a standard cybersecurity dataset and cloud-based auto-machine learning algorithms were applied to detect vulnerabilities in the network traffic data. The performance of the algorithms was measured and compared using standard evaluation metrics. The second …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Corporate Financial Fragility In The Vietnamese Manufacturing Industry, Trang Nguyen

Honors Theses

In the past decades, under the government’s export-led growth strategy, the Vietnamese manufacturing sector – the backbone of the whole Vietnamese economy – has established a deep tie with the international market and the reliance on foreign buyers has fueled the growth of this sector before COVID-19. However, during the pandemic, when the global market contracted at -3.5 percent and demand slumped globally, this existing growth model and the manufacturing sector’s reliance on foreign buyers induced significant risks to this sector from both the demand and supply side. Using the firm-level data on 41 manufacturing exporting companies from the Vietstock …

The Effects Of The Trump Tariffs And The Coronavirus Pandemic On The U.S. Bicycle Industry, Thurston Randolph Mann

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Racial Composition In Advertisements And Its Effects On White Consumers' Perceptions And Purchase Intention, Chung-Ting Wang

Honors Program Theses

Previous marketing research has generally not examined how ethnic majority consumers perceive advertisements featuring mixed racial compositions of model groups. This paper presents an investigation into how White consumers’ perceptions and purchase intentions change depending on the racial composition of the people represented in an advertisement. The study uses a single 12-condition experiment, in which we examine the type of advertisement (product vs. social advocacy advertising), racial composition (all-White vs. diverse mix vs. all-Black), and racial priming effects (racially-primed vs. racially-neutral message). Additionally, consumers’ levels of self-referencing to the ad and strength of ethnic identification are explored as possible mediation …

Fractal Dimension As A Predictor Of Organizational Change Success, Thomas Anthony Seitz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As many as two thirds of organizational change (OC) initiatives fail to achieve their outcome objectives. Researchers have demonstrated that successful change requires alignment among all levels of an organization. However, contemporary OC models do not quantify the degree of hierarchical alignment during the change process. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine whether the fractal dimension of hierarchical alignment (predictor variable) was associated with OC success (criterion variable) as described by the self-organizing fractal theory (SOFT). The research question addressed the association between the fractal dimension related to the alignment of OC beliefs and behavioral intentions …

Exploring The Significance Of Digital Skills Training For Accountants, Limin Zhu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Accounting firm leaders face a challenge with employees who lack digital skills. Employees without relevant digital skills put the accounting firm at a competitive disadvantage. Grounded in human capital theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies regional accounting firm leaders used to help employees improve digital skills. Data were collected from six semistructured interviews with partners, directors, and managers with three years or more of experience who participated in the training and professional development process at four regional accounting firms in the Houston, Texas area. The review of company documents and company website postings …

Strategies Leaders Of Stem-Focused Education Nonprofit Organizations Use To Engage Hiring Corporations, Andrew Kanas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some leaders of nonprofit Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) focused nonprofit education organizations lack strategies to engage STEM-focused hiring corporations to support their organizations’ missions. Nonprofit leaders are concerned about engaging individuals, organizations, and government entities to help support sustainability. Grounded in human capital theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies leaders of nonprofit STEM-focused education organizations use to engage STEM-focused hiring corporations to support their nonprofit organizations’ mission. The participants consisted of five board members of a nonprofit partner organization in the U.S. state of Florida who successfully managed STEM-focused stakeholder engagement. …

Relationship Between Capital Structure And Financial Performance Of U.S. Retail Bank, Nelson Jonah Usoro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe decision to fund the operations of a company through debt or equity has implications for the long-term sustainability of the organization. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to evaluate the impact of capital structure on the financial performance of U.S. retail banks and to observe the behavior of the banks during a time of crisis to determine whether capital structuring decisions could support the bank in surviving financial distress. The research questions focused on the effects of capital structure, including common stock equity with preferred stock compared to common stock equity with secured debt, on earnings, profitability, …

Optimization Of Financial Performance In E-Commerce, Ishmael Fleming

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Financial performance is a challenge for business managers in the e-commerce industry that lack the knowledge to meet their operational objectives consistently. Business managers are concerned with poor financial performance due to the adverse impact on business sustainability. Grounded in total quality management theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between working capital management (WCM), operating expense ratio (OER), and e-commerce financial performance. Archival data were collected from 107 small- to medium-sized publicly traded e-commerce businesses headquartered in the United States from 2019 to 2021. The results of the multiple linear regression were significant …

Strategies To Generate Innovation For Profit Gains Of U.S.-Based Global Retailing, Kazue Goto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective innovation strategies can negatively affect profit gains of U.S.-based global retailing companies (USGRC). Leaders in the retailing industry who fail to use strategies to generate innovation for profit gains can experience decreased profitability. Grounded in the dynamic theory of strategy, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that leaders of USGRC use to generate innovation for profit gains. Participants included six USGRC leaders in California, who used strategies to generate innovation for profit gains. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company documents and analyzed using thematic data analysis. Three themes emerged: customer-centric opportunity identification …

Strategies To Decrease Unethical Financial Management Behavior In Nonprofit Organizations, Cristi Michelle Hargrave

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unethical financial management leadership conduct in nonprofit organizations threatens organizational mission accomplishment. Leaders of nonprofit organizations who fail to decrease unethical financial management conduct can observe a lack of mission accomplishment in their organizations. Grounded in the stakeholder and agency theories, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies nonprofit leaders use to decrease unethical financial management conduct. Participants were three nonprofit leaders from organizations on the East Coast of the United States who implemented strategies to reduce unethical financial management conduct. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of nonprofit regulatory reporting documents. …

Three Essays On The Impacts Of Tax Planning And Earnings Management On The Informativeness Of Taxable Income, Book Income, And Cash Flows From Operations, Yong Qiang Chen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation comprises three independent but highly related essays that investigate the effects of tax planning and/or earnings management. The first essay investigates how high tax planning and/or aggressive earnings management affect the relative and incremental value-relevant information of taxable income, book income, and cash flows from operations (CFO). Regarding the effects of tax planning, first, I postulate and show that high tax planning reduces the relative and incremental information of taxable income to CFO. Second, high tax planning increases the relative and incremental information of CFO to the combined information set of taxable income and book income. Third, high …

Workload, Work–Family Conflict, And Job Satisfaction For Women In Science, Elizabeth Ervin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job dissatisfaction among women working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields costs the United States up to $1.5 billion per year. Understanding work-life balance is important for pharmaceutical leaders to assist in enhancing job satisfaction for women in science. Grounded in the work-life balance theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine workload and work-family conflict in predicting job satisfaction for women in science. Survey data were collected from 76 women employed in the pharmaceutical industry who completed a combined Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and Warr-Cook-Wall job satisfaction questionnaire. The multiple linear regression results were significant, …

Strategies To Implement A Change Management Process For Public Sector Management In Nigeria, Mariam Yakubu Bala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective change management implementation causes a negative impact on business revenue in Nigeria’s public sector. Public sector leaders are concerned ineffective change management causes a negative impact on business revenue in Nigeria’s public sector. Using Lewin’s change management model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore change management strategies Nigerian public sector managers use to implement a change management process to increase revenues. Data were collected from six top management executives in North Central Nigeria through semistructured interviews, note taking, and document review, who implemented change management processes to increase revenues from business operation. Data were …

Strategies To Cultivate Long Term Customer Relationships, Chauncelor Roosevelt Howell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of long-term customer relationships poses a material threat to the profitability and growth of organizations. Financial service leaders who have difficulties cultivating long-term relationships are at risk of not ensuring their business’s financial stability. Grounded in the concept of customer relationship management, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies financial service business leaders use to cultivate long-term customer relationships. Data were collected from 16 financial services business leaders using semistructured interviews and a review of company documents related to customer relationship management and marketing. Data analysis using Yin’s five step method resulted in …