Business Commons^™

A Novel Penalized Log-Likelihood Function For Class Imbalance Problem, Lili Zhang

Doctor of Data Science and Analytics Dissertations

The log-likelihood function is the optimization objective in the maximum likelihood method for estimating models (e.g., logistic regression, neural network). However, its formulation is based on assumptions that the target classes are equally distributed and the overall accuracy is maximized, which do not apply to class imbalance problems (e.g., fraud detection, rare disease diagnoses, customer conversion prediction, cybersecurity, predictive maintenance). When trained on imbalanced data, the resulting models tend to be biased towards the majority class (i.e. non-event), which can bring great loss in practice. One strategy for mitigating such bias is to penalize the misclassification costs of observations differently …

Phenomenological Study Of Military Veteran Ceos: The Transition Experience And Mentorship From The Battlefield To The Boardroom, Anthony Gagliardo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the transitional and mentoring experiences as described by veterans who achieve civilian executive leadership positions within Fortune 500 companies.

Methodology: The participants in the study were 8 former military leaders who subsequently achieved senior executive positions within Fortune 500 companies. Participants answered questions about their experience as a military leader and mentee during the service to civilian transition, organizational enculturation, and promotion to a civilian leadership position. Interview transcripts and artifacts were reviewed for the emergence of major topics and themes.

Findings: The participants unanimously credited mentorship experiences …

Rising Action: The Effect Of Narrative Transportation On Consumer Purchase Behavior, Bryan Samuelsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

We investigate whether narrative transportation can have an effect, not only on beliefs and purchase intentions, but on purchase behavior. Participants watch a video related to digital assistants and choose whether to enter a drawing for their choice of a digital assistant or a gift card; we hypothesize that those whose transportation is inhibited will be less likely to choose the digital assistant. We successfully inhibit transportation in the pretest, but do not see similar results in the study and are thus unable to determine if there is an effect on behavior.

The Effect Of Effective/Ineffective Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting On Customer Satisfaction, A. Dwayne Powell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The net benefits of compliance with sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX or the Act) have been a point of contention since its enactment. Emerging research suggests a spillover effect from internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) to operations (Bauer, 2016; Bauer et al., 2018; Caplan et al., 2017; M. Cheng et al., 2013; Q. Cheng et al., 2018; Feng et al., 2015; Su et al., 2014). This study seeks to extend this line of research by investigating the benefits of effective ICFR for customer satisfaction. Satisfying customers is a primary operating objective of …

Essays On The Disposition Effect, Matthew Henriksson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains two essays that shed new light on the disposition effect – that is, the tendency for investors to be especially eager to realize gains over losses. The first essay combines county-level natural disaster data with individual investor transactions to document an increased disposition effect for investors impacted by a natural disaster. This effect is increasing in disaster severity and decreasing in the length of time following the event, suggesting that extreme natural disasters can significantly influence investor behavior, especially in the short term. These findings are not explained by liquidity needs, tax incentives, or informed trading. The …

An Analysis Of The Competitive Advantages And Threats For Micro, Small & Medium-Sized Businesses (Msmes) In Mexico, Jose Luis Pool Sierra

University Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the Micro, Small & Medium-sized (MSMEs) businesses in Mexico, their current threats and competitive advantages. The research explores the major issues business owners face and potential strategies they could implement in order to thrive and promote growth for their organizations, using strategies in Supply Chain Management and Good Managerial planning practices, such as the application of the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR). The thesis also analyzes a medium-sized business in Mexico and recommends strategies based on the SCOR framework that such an organization could apply to their business operations in order to avoid obstacles and potential …

Essays On Mortgage Portfolio Diversification, Timothy Patrick Dombrowski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Portfolios of mortgage loans played an important role in the Great Recession and continue to compose a material part of bank assets. The distribution of mortgage portfolio returns, and consequently, the risk of these portfolios, is quite distinct even from other fixed income asset classes. This dissertation contains three essays, each aiming to analyze a specific component of risk in mortgage portfolios and role of geographical diversification in reducing this risk.

The first essay investigates how cross-sectional dependence in the underlying properties flows through to the loan returns, and thus, the risk of the portfolio. In addition to demonstrating this …

Exploring Consumer Psychographics Of Ethnic Representation Within The Cosmetic Industry, Johnny A. Hickman

University Honors Theses

Consumers are more sensitive than ever to a brand that has contrived messaging. Despite brands like Maybeline and Covergirl featuring famous women of color in their ads, there has never been a reaction to their brand like there has been for Fenty Beauty. This is because of Fenty Beauty's authentic mission to fulfill a need for consumers. This is a level of authenticity that cannot be matched by simply show-casing women of various skin tones and proceeding to provide a limited amount of products. Is brand authenticity the key to winning over consumers and significant enough for consumers' ability to …

Leadership In Extremis: Authentic Leadership In Recreational Scuba Instructors, Geoffrey E. Sutton

Doctor of Management

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the operational environment was chaotic and uncertain. Effective leadership in these circumstances was internally centered and values-based, rather than externally centered and rule-based. Theorists named this leadership style authentic leadership. Research into leadership in dangerous circumstances revealed that effective in extremis leaders display authentic leadership. Dangerous circumstances include not only military combat and traditional occupations such as law enforcement and firefighting, but also dangerous sports such as parachuting and mountain climbing. This investigation extended the existing research to a different dangerous sport, scuba diving. Data collection consisted of a single stage cross-sectional survey …

Comparative Analysis And Best Practices Of Experiential Marketing, A Look Into Sensory Marketing, Cameron J. Bielat

Experience Industry Management

As the experiential marketing industry has begun to take precedent over prior marketing methods, organizations are learning to capitalize on customer immersion and relationship development, done so through sensory marketing. This review works to evaluate and measure multiple large experiential conferences within their respective industries. The purpose of this study is to examine the sensory-activating marketing practices, also known as sensory-marketing activations, present within the emerging experiential marketing industry, with a highlight on the best practices within major organizational conferences. Within this study there is a detailed instrument that is used as a guideline to evaluate key experiential marketing tactics. …

Too Good To Eat? Cosmetic Standards And Waste In Agricultural Supply Chain, Jiahui Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

There is a significant amount of food wasted at the farm level due to high cosmetic standards adopted by retailers. We examine the economic incentives for retailers to adopt such high cosmetic standards and their impact on food loss. We build a sequential game between a retailer and a farmer, where the retailer signs a contract with the farmer specifying both the wholesale price and cosmetic quality standard. By adopting high cosmetic standards, retailers can motivate farmers to exert a higher effort to improve the cosmetic quality, e.g., using better seeds and applying more pesticides. As for the drivers of …

Financial Market Implications Of Marketing Actions And The Disclosure Of Marketing Information, Sungkyun Moon

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation contributes to marketing literature by examining the effects of marketing actions and the disclosure of marketing information through the financial market perspective that has high managerial relevance and policy implications. Specifically, the first essay provides the first empirical examination of the effects of the disclosure of advertising spending on investors’ and analysts’ uncertainty. It is responsive to calls by Marketing Science Institute and Marketing Accountability Standard Board to examine the consequences of disclosure of marketing metrics. The second essay examines the effect of advertising spending on firm value and explores firm and market level contingency effects. By doing …

Qështjet E Sigurisë Në Blockchain, Fjolla Gashi

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë punim do të trajtohet teknologjia Blockchain si dhe qështjet e sigurisë që lidhen drejtpërdrejt me këtë teknologji.Kjo teknologji është duke ndryshuar industrinë anë e kënd botës. Ajo është duke i sjellë organizatat, qeveritë, institucionet financiare, si dhe platformat e tjera të pagesave në një epokë të re digjitale.Duke u nisur nga fakti që qdo ditë, bota rreth nesh udhëhiqet nga kontratat dhe transaksionet,mënyra se si ne i regjistrojmë këto kontrata dhe transaksione ka ngelur në të kaluarën. Kjo është arsyeja që shumë kompani kërkojnë të vënë në funksion teknologjinë blockchain në industri të ndryshme duke parë benefitet e …

Roli I Arsimit Kosovar Në Zhvillim Të Vendit, Fortesë Qerimi

Theses and Dissertations

Kjo temë diplome ka për qëllim hulumitimin e “Arsimit Kosovar në zhvillim të vendit, këtu janë të përmbledhura pikat kryesore si: ndikimi arsimit në zhvillimin ekonomik dhe anasjelltas, roli i arsimit në zhvillim të vendit, mbështetja e BE-së për arsimin në Kosovë, domosdoshmëria për arsimin profesional dhe cilësor, plani strategjik i arsimit në Kosovë 2017-2021, organizimi dhe struktura e sistemit arsimor.

Në bazë të këtyre qështjeve ose problemakave të trajtuara ne kemi bërë të ditur se sa i rëndësishëm është arsimi i një populli dhe se qfar roli ndikues ka ai jo vetëm në aspektin ekonomik por në gjdo lloj …

Roli I Menaxhimit Në Zhvillmin E Bizneseve Të Vogla Dhe Të Mesme Në Republikën E Kosovës, Kushtrim Hamiti

Theses and Dissertations

Punimi përfshin përkufizimin duke i dhënë një kuptim të plotë termit lidhur me “Rolin e Menaxhimit në Zhvillimin e Bizneseve të Vogla dhe te Mesme në Republikën e Kosovës”. Ky punim paraqet në mënyrë sa më të detajuar koncepte kyqe lidhur me llojet kryesore të Menaxhimit, karakteristikat e tijë, rëndësinë e tijë, fuqinë që ka menaxhimi ne bizneset në Kosovë si një mjet funksionimi dhe rritjeje e tyre. Për studimin është përdorur edhe pyetje kërkimore që fokusohet në qëndrimet e bizneseve pjesëmarrese në tregun e Kosovës lidhur me menaxhimin dhe rolin e tijë. Menaxhimi ka rëndësi për çdo biznes dhe …

Objektivat E Zhvillimit Të Qëndrueshëm Ekonomik Të Kosovës, Iliriana Berisha

Theses and Dissertations

Qëndrueshmëria ka objektiva të shumta, një ndër më të rëndësishmet është stabilizimi i prodhimit të brendshëm, maksimizimin e kapacitetit të kapitalit njerëzor, rregullimin e shëndetit monetar, ngritjen e qarkullimit të monedhës brenda vendit përmes konsumit, etj.

Shtjellimi i temës dhe literaturës është bërë përmes metodës kuantitative të mbledhjes së njohurive, informatave dhe zbërthimit të tyre, përmes raporteve anuale të validuara si Banka Botërore, Fondi Monetar Ndërkombëtar, raporteve të institucioneve shtetërore, agjencive shtetërore statistikore dhe librave (ESA 2010).

Analiza dhe prezantimi i rezultateve është e mbështetur nga metoda e One-Way Anova. Në bazat statistikore analiza One Way Anova, është një teknikë …

Sin City Platforms: A Comparative Analysis On The Social Media Practices Of Select Hotels On The Las Vegas Strip, Kaitlin Beuschlein

Experience Industry Management

Social media has become a popular form of communication in recent years due to the prevalence of mobile devices. This has prompted companies to implement platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter into their marketing strategies to better reach customers. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the social media marketing strategies of select hotels on the Las Vegas strip. The Cosmopolitan and The Venetian hotels were selected for this study. The study strategically analyzed the Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for both hotels utilizing a comparative analysis guide developed by the researcher. It was concluded that …

The Effects Of Funding Gaps On Depot Maintenance Hours, Carlo S. D'Amato

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between expenditures and readiness level is a topic of interest to military senior leaders, defense resource planners, and the American taxpayer alike. Senior leaders within the Air Force (AF) justify increased defense budgets by pointing to the potential adverse effects that decreased funding could have on military readiness. Resource planners within the AF are then tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that budgets are allocated most effectively to maximize the AF's ability to project airpower across a variety of contingency operations. This thesis investigates the relationship between budgets and readiness by examining the relationship between depot level funding …

Determinants Of Small Business Innovation Research Performance, Ethan E. Blake

Theses and Dissertations

This analysis shows that the Air Force SBIR Program has seen a high rate of failure (over 91%) in Phase II efforts that have completed funding within the last three Fiscal Years. The Joint Capability Area assignment process and subsequent analysis identified several high and low performing groups. Force Integration, Battlespace Awareness, and Protection JCAs were top performers while Command/Control, Logistics, and Force Application were low performers. Additional analysis showed that small businesses have more than double the commercialization rate of large businesses. The commercialization rates for businesses with 150 employees or fewer is 9% while the rate for businesses …

Analysis Of Beta Distribution For Subjective Uncertainty Analysis In Cost Models, Ryan D. Stafford

Theses and Dissertations

Subjective uncertainty exists within the realm of cost estimation. Typical methodology for subjective uncertainty involves elicitation from a subject matter expert to provide a high, low, and most likely value -- defining a triangular distribution -- to model said uncertainty. This manuscript explores ways to leverage research on elicitation geared towards defining a triangular distribution and provide a simple conversion to a beta distribution usable by cost analysts with various degrees of mathematical knowledge. Furthermore, this manuscript attempts to demonstrate the benefits of using a beta distribution through its application as a conjugate prior for Bayesian updating in cost models.

Recognizing Potential Cyberspace Warriors Through The Use Of Suspicion Propensity Index, Meghan G. Strang

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force currently suffers from excessively high attrition rates in the cyberspace career. The field is currently aiming to develop an entrance examination for the career, striving to improve personnel selection and decrease these high attrition rates. The attribute of suspicion is a key focus of the preliminary examination development, theorizing that it is a potential indicator present among competent cyber operators. This research makes use of the Suspicion Propensity Index (SPI), a reliable measure of one’s tendency to be suspicious, along with the highly cited Mayer’s trust questionnaire in order to compare the attributes that appear in successful …

Parklets San Luis, Owen Kenny, Preston Jag Stebel, Leonidas Goodman, Lukas Braun

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Downtown San Luis Obispo has been a popular destination for tourists, students, families, and roadtrippers. However, according to Ryan Betz, Interim Assistant to the City Manager, foot traffic and retail business revenue has been decreasing. Downtown SLO does not have enough free public spaces. Recent projects such as sidewalk bump outs and lighted crosswalks have aimed at making SLO more pedestrian accessible, but they have not actually made downtown more pleasurable. These projects have not seemed to drive any more business or traffic downtown. There are a myriad of ways to rectify this; studies show that having a free place …

Analysis Of Us Accidents And Solutions, Swapnil Kisan Nikam

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Reducing traffic accidents is an essential public safety challenge all over the world; therefore, accident analysis has been a subject of much research in recent decades.

The objective of the project is to analyze the US accident data from 50 states to inform the US government agencies and the general public on trends and possible causes of traffic accidents and what could be done to reduce them. The analysis include number of accidents by year, number of accidents by state, best time to travel by month, day and hour, accident-prone area in each state, factors responsible of the accidents like …

How Does Status Affect Performance And Learning From Failure? Evidence From Online Communities, Tengjian Zou

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation is composed of two essays. In the first essay, I investigate the factors that can alleviate the detrimental effect of hierarchy on team performance. I first show that hierarchy negatively impacts team performance, which is consistent with recent meta-analytic evidence. One mechanism that drives this negative effect is that hierarchy prevents low-ranking members from voicing their potentially valuable insights. Then I propose that team familiarity is one factor that can encourage low-ranking team members to speak up. I contend that team familiarity can be established either by team members’ prior experience in working with one another or can …

Travel Big Spend Less, Jessica Sharpe

Journalism

Travel Big Spend Less is a blog designed for college students who are looking for inspiration and ways to travel on a budget. I started this website after taking Advanced Digital Journalism (JOUR 410) and finding a way to keep my study abroad spirit alive. Creating the website from scratch as well as creating multimedia journalism components for the website have been one part of this project.

After starting this platform my friend and I who studied abroad together decided that we should write a book as well. The book is titled “A Guide to Studying Abroad.” Both the blog …

The Utility Of Self-Assessment In Predicting Program Office Estimate Accuracy, Dana P. Luketic

Theses and Dissertations

The ability of the Program Offices to provide accurate cost estimates is an essential element in planning and programming. Historically, cost estimating has led to budget overruns and continues to be an area of scrutiny and concern. A series of legislative reforms have sought to address each of these perceived underlying causes which are located at all levels of decision making – from the SPO to CADE. The current study is specifically interested in determining how well SPOs are doing. There have not been comprehensive studies on SPO performance. In large part, this deficiency is due to the inability to …

Behavioral Antecedents Of Fuel Efficiency, James A. Cotton

Theses and Dissertations

The US Department of Defense is the largest institutional petroleum consumer in the world. In addition to the financial cost of petroleum-based fuels, the US DoD generates more CO₂-equivalent greenhouse gases than the entirety of modern, industrialized nations like Sweden and Norway. Other dangers and externalities arise from the fuels supply chain, like toxin risks to fuel handlers, and human costs to transport fuel in-theater. Within the DoD, the USAF alone often rivals or exceeds the consumption of all other services combined. While the USAF prefers technical, hardware-based solutions to problems, and has given increasing attention to logistical …

Changes In Decision-Making Authority When Chaebol Firms Grow: From The Perspective Of Non-Family Managers, Changhwan Kim

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

What changes do non-family managers in large family firms such as chaebols (Korean conglomerates) observe in their decision-making authority when their organizations grow? The intuitive expectation is that non-family managers' decision-making authority will grow in conjunction with the successful expansion of the business and growth of the firm.

Based on 45 in-depth semistructured interviews with non-family managers from a wide range of chaebol firms, this study analyzes how non-family managers perceive the change in their decision-making authority and the cause of this change.

The findings indicate that respondents perceive that their decision-making authority does not increase with the growth of …

Workplace Communication: Examining Leader-Member Exchange Theory, Uncertainty Avoidance, And Social Styles, Guy Robinson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There are numerous books, articles, and papers written about communicating in the work environment; especially how to communicate to the work force at large. However, not much is written or studied concerning the dyadic communication between supervisor and subordinate. The paper will use leader-member exchange theory (LMX) as a basis for communication between supervisor and subordinate. LMX gives steps to aid in the communication process and helps guide the relationship between a supervisor and subordinate; however, there are two other elements in need of attention. In order to communicate effectively with their subordinates, supervisors need an understanding of the subordinates’ …

Sharepoint Design And Implementation - An Enterprise Architecture Solution, Zachary Mckellar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Having a solid enterprise architecture foundation is critical to the success and growth of a business. Considering the volatility of many industries, businesses must consistently grow, innovate, and advance their technology to ensure high availability of their products and systems. Seeing that projects fail more than they succeed, it stresses the importance of having a strong enterprise architecture (Schneider, 2020). With this said, it is imperative that a business creates a proper collaborative environment to ensure that all future implementations and developments within their environments are successful. Without these foundations, an enterprise will fail to grow.

This project provides an …