Business Commons^™

Board Recruitment And Development For A Nonprofit Farmers' Market Organization, Tammy B. Bass

Education Dissertations and Projects

Community nonprofit organizations operated by a Board of Directors rely heavily on the commitment and goodwill of volunteers. By 2017, Foothills Farmers’ Market (FFM), a community nonprofit organization, had experienced rapid growth in sales, grant funding, and programs while experiencing highs and lows in volunteer Board leadership. The organization needed very committed volunteer Board members who would put in the time to run the small nonprofit business that was growing quickly. Board members were becoming less committed as the demands of the organization became greater, to the point that there often were not enough Directors present to meet quorum and …

Consumer Considerations Of Local Value-Added Dairy Products In North Carolina's Triangle, Gabriel Adjei Agyekum

Theses

The global and domestic dairy markets promise exciting opportunities for companies willing to adapt to a continuously evolving consumer market. However, local dairy farmers face a myriad of challenges as they navigate low milk prices, shrinking margins, increasing production cost, and a rising demand for plant-based varieties of milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy-based foods. The goal of this research was to investigate consumer behavior towards value-added local dairy products in North Carolina’s Triangle cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Data were used from an overarching project with collected data from food consumers in the triangle tri-city area using …

Impact Of Usmca On The U.S. Beef Industry, Theophilus Amoah

Theses

Policies implemented to govern trade between two or more countries have proved vital as it affects the economies of nations. Political inputs into trade certainly establish effects that impact the livelihood of people in the economy. Every sector in an economy faces its impacts when there are changes in trade agreements. The extent to which this impact is always significant to note as it helps to determine the sustainability of trade agreements, which in turn sets the path for sectorial and national developments. This study utilizes the Computable General Equilibrium modeling to predict the impact of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement …

Effects Of International Trade On Food Security Of Selected Low Income And Low-Middle Income Economies, Rose Anapoka Anaabah

Theses

Food security has been a challenge for most people all over the world, especially among people living in low income countries. Food security is considered a complex sustainable development issue and is linked to health through malnutrition due to poverty. Food security became a major challenge following the sharp increase in global food prices during the last decade. Several factors contribute to food security. One factor is international trade which plays a major role in shaping the economy in most countries of the world. Access to food which is supposed to be an entitlement, or a basic right can be …

Farm Financial Analysis For Small-Scale, Organic Mixed Vegetable Operation, Janet Ayobami Osawere

Theses

The small farmers in the United States face challenges from market uncertainties and climate variations. Many small farmers do not keep consistent financial records, thus making it difficult to analyze their profitability and make decisions in planning. This research is to use a real farm production stimulation from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to collect data from 2017 to 2018 for farm financial analysis that mimics a small-scale certified organic mixed vegetable production. The goal is to use the stimulating information from Goldsboro, North Carolina to help small-scale organic mixed vegetable farmers to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of farm operation; …

Research On Marketing Channel Of Container Lines, Bai Ge

International Transport and Logistics

No abstract provided.

Two Essays On Input Substitution And Optimal Decision Making In Crop And Livestock Production Systems, John T. Allison Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The thesis presented consists of two essays that analyze input substitution and decision making in crop and livestock production systems. The first essay consists of a whole-farm analysis that sought to optimize feed mixes and enterprise combinations for an organic dairy operation in the Southeastern United States. This was accomplished through mathematical programming where whole-farm net returns were maximized, and total feed costs were minimized simultaneously for four milk production level cases. Additionally, the sensitivity of the system and break-even milk price were explored. Results suggest substitutability in ration components where an increase in supplemental feeds is justified by additional …

Successfull Implementation Of The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program In Small Businesses, Valentina Parra

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, companies have been focused on improving organizational performance and the loyalty of customers to improve sustainability in increasingly complex markets. The Baldrige Performance Excellence framework, generally referred to as the Baldrige criteria, was created to guide professionals in achieving these goals including defining a set of excellence criteria and offering an award program to recognize high-performing organizations. The principles of excellence focus on understanding and working for the stakeholders, improving performance and quality management, and strategically driving continuous improvement. The framework can be used for organizational self-assessments; however, many organizations find it challenging to interpret and apply …

The Role Of Context In Country Level Entrepreneurial Activity, Naeimah Alkhurafi

2019

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role of context in entrepreneurship. I intend to shed light on the role of context in facilitating country level entrepreneurial activity through a multi-method approach in this three-paper format dissertation. In paper one, I systematically review two country level measures of entrepreneurship, namely Total Entrepreneurial Activity from The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and New Business Density from The World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey (WBGES), to understand how used in extant literature and investigate the research question: What are the primary antecedents and outcomes associated with country level entrepreneurship?

In paper two …

From Photoshop® To Photoshop: Knowing How And When To Protect Your Brand Name, Joseph M. Dery

2019

Forbes Magazine's 2018 publication of "the World's Most Valuable Brands" illustrates a dramatic statistic: of their 100 top ranked brands, each had an estimated brand value of over $7B! In the US, however, the very legislation that protects brands from dilution also contains language on how to cancel a trademark that has become generic. This phenomenon is known as Brand Genericide. To best equip marketers with the ability to strategically influence this phenomenon, I offer an explanation as to "why" it exists, a detailed a methodology for tracing it, a series of strategic interventions for influencing it, and a …

An Analysis Of Tourism’S Impact On Our Modern World And Possible Solutions To Creating Sustainable Tourism Management, Morgan Hack

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

→ This is an in-depth analysis of how tourism impacts communities around the world, looking at four specific case studies, taking into account each nation’s human development index (HDI), population, location, and the number of tourists traveling to these destinations each year. The research concentrates on the strengths and weaknesses of each city’s tourist management practices, and then there are proposed solutions based on their needs and available resources. When talking about sustainable tourism, it is essential to understand it in terms of future maintainability. Sustainable tourism is defined as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future …

The Future Of The Euro In A Post-Greek Environment: Opportunities And Perils, Mallory Orr

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis will discuss the integration across Europe within the past century that led to European monetary union with the creation of the euro currency. It will then explain how the global financial crisis manifested in Europe, namely with the European sovereign debt crisis. This crisis deeply affected the economy of the eurozone, notably Greece and other southern European nations. Finally, this thesis will examine the future of the currency as well as the European Union.

Building International Business Competencies, Human Capital, And Service Capabilities: A Study Of Emerging Market Professional Service Small-And-Medium-Sized Enterprises, Nicholas Mathew

ETD Archive

Prior research has shown that a firm’s intangible resources are an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. This dissertation focuses on the intangible resources of Professional Service Firms that are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (PSF SMEs) from an emerging market (namely India). PSF SMEs from emerging markets (such as India) are expanding globally and are attempting to compete with developed country market firms. This research study examines the factors that allow these PSF SMEs to compete successfully in the global marketplace. Examining these factors will enable developed country market firms as well as other emerging market firms to better understand …

Turning Passion Into Profit: When Leisure Becomes Work In Modern Roller Derby, Amanda Nicole Draft

Wayne State University Dissertations

Modern roller derby operates as a “by the skater, for the skater” business model, where participants are not paid but must devote a certain amount of time, effort, and money to sustaining their sport and respective organizations. At the same time, while derby is grounded in anti-corporate values, a growing industry has sprouted to support the sport, the larger share of which consists of small business retailers selling gear, apparel, and other accessories. I use the context of modern roller derby to examine the changing natures of work and leisure, specifically how they operate as greedy institutions and emphasizing the …

A Mixed Methods Case Study Of Evidence-Based Practice In A Knowledge Organization, Josh Villanueva

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Evidence-based practice offers a key strategy for closing the gap between research and practice in organizational and management studies. This approach calls for practitioners to apply key critical thinking competencies to gather and use the best available evidence to inform decision making and action (Rousseau, 2006). As a result, efforts to try and develop the evidence-based practice capabilities of practitioners abound, mainly in the form of workshops and university courses offered by leading proponents in the field. Yet, we know little about the impact of these training approaches and whether they transfer to actual differences in practitioners’ behaviors on the …

Integrating Coaching And Self-Determination Theory: The Development And Validation Of The Managerial Coaching Questionnaire, Hunter Thomas Black

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Despite increasing practitioner application and decades of research on the topic of managerial coaching, the topic continues to lack conceptual clarity, foundational theory, and sound measures. As a result, there is little understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms connecting coaching behaviors to employee outcomes. This dissertation develops a new theory-based framework and survey measure of managerial coaching behaviors (the managerial coaching questionnaire; MCQ) grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Time-lagged results support the theoretical propositions of the framework with results showing a positive relationship between the MCQ and employee wellbeing mediated by employee need …

An Investigation Of Peer Accountability In Healthcare, Angela Demichele

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Peer accountability is the practice of providing feedback to, and receiving feedback from, one’s colleagues (Lockett et al., 2015)—both for the purposes of recognizing good work when it happens, and correcting risky behaviors in the moment. The concept of peer accountability has been overshadowed by research focusing on teamwork, which tends to focus on reducing the power distance among team members and increasing an individual’s ability to speak up the hierarchy. Our next opportunity for achieving safety and reliability in healthcare will come from peers monitoring one another’s actions. This study analyzes the untapped links between peer accountability behaviors, psychological …

Basketball Officials' Training And Development: Links To Retention, Nathan Ferdinand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The sharp decline in retention from year-to-year among sport officials is considered a “crisis” among the officiating community and research has attempted to explore the issue by identifying factors that impact retention (Warner et al. 2013). The seven-factor “Referee Retention Scale” (RRS) seeks to predict the likelihood of retention for officials one factor being officials’ ratings of their continuing education (Ridinger et al. 2017). However there is a lack of study for examining the relationships among methods and outcomes of training continuing education and referee retention across sporting contexts. A cross-sectional design was created using an online survey which combined …

Wage Disparity In The Accounting Profession And Information Quality, Russell Williamson

Theses and Dissertations--Accountancy

Does wage disparity, measured as the difference between highest and lowest paid workers, affect the quality of reported financial information? I collect accounting professional wage data from an international accounting and finance employment placement firm for the period of 1972 to 2017. I investigate to what degree wage disparity in corporate and public accounting has affected accounting information quality by testing predictions derived from equity theory and tournament theory. I find that vertical wage disparity within, as well as horizontal wage disparity between, corporate and public accounting is associated with measures of the relevance and reliability of accounting information. Specifically, …

Effective Manufacturers' Strategies For Service Innovations, Zebulon Fox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, more than 50% of managers offering services in the manufacturing industry report failed service initiatives. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that manufacturing managers used to sustain their business for longer than 5 years. The population consisted of 3 manufacturing organization managers offering business services to support petroleum and coal companies who have sustained their business operations in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States for longer than 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and organization documents were analyzed through the perspective of the strategic service innovation theory conceptual …

Strategies To Sustain A Real Estate Small Business In Postnatural-Disaster Area, Vianka Miranda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small real estate business leaders lack effective strategies to resume and sustain operations in a postnatural-disaster environment. This multiple case study investigated strategies that 3 small real estate business leaders in southeastern Louisiana used to resume and sustain operations in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The chaos theory and stakeholder theory were the conceptual frameworks for this study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, and reviews of business continuity plan documents and member checking. The themes that emerged from data analysis were leaders' strategies relating to business planning and innovation, stakeholder engagement, operations management, and disaster responsiveness. Implications …

Success Factors For Power Project Development Businesses In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kodjo Galevissi Afidegnon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the financing gap in the sub-Saharan Africa power sector, private investors struggle to capitalize on the opportunity because of the high failure rate of power project development companies. Using the conceptual framework of the behavioral finance theory, this multiple case study was conducted to explore the strategies used by executives of 4 companies in sub-Saharan Africa who successfully developed power projects within the last 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of government and institutions' websites. Yin's 5-phased cycle for analyzing case studies provided the guidelines for data analysis. Three themes emerged from data analysis: …

Strategies To Recruit Skilled Workers In Manufacturing, Ina Renee Rawlinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Manufacturing hiring managers in the United States who fail to implement adequate recruitment strategies for skilled production workers experience reduced profits and sustainability challenges. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that successful manufacturing hiring managers in North Carolina used to recruit skilled production workers to sustain business profitability. Inductive analysis was guided by the human capital theory, and trustworthiness of interpretations was strengthened by member checking. The population for the study consisted of 4 business leaders who demonstrated the use of effective recruitment strategies to sustain profitability in manufacturing businesses in southeastern North Carolina. …

Global Mindset Strategies For Increasing Hotels' Performance, Robert A. Donato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2010 and 2014 there was a 25% increase in international visitors to the United States, which signifies an opportunity for leaders and managers with a global mindset to take advantage of the opportunities derived from globalization to increase competitive advantage. However, some organizations have not prepared executives and managers to operate in a global environment, which can lead to business failure. The purpose of this multicase study was to gain an understanding of what global mindset strategies hotel executives developed to increase competitive advantage. The target population consisted of the general managers, directors of sales, and directors of catering …

Nonmonetary Strategies To Increase Employee Job Satisfaction In Nonprofit Organizations, Tawana Lovick-Mcdaniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations' managers face challenges in creating nonmonetary rewards to increase the job satisfaction of staff and productivity of the organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the nonmonetary reward strategies that nonprofit organizations' managers used to increase employee job satisfaction. The targeted population included nonprofit managers who had successfully implemented nonmonetary reward strategies to increase employee job satisfaction. Kalleberg's theory of job satisfaction was the conceptual framework for the study. The primary data collection method was semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 3 participants. Secondary data sources included review of company documents such as employee evaluations and …

Effective Human Resources Recruiting And Hiring Practices For Improving Organizational Performance, Marcus Karl Wardlaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this single case study was to explore the recruiting and hiring practices used by human resources (HR) and recruitment managers to support organizational goals for performance improvement. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 4 HR and recruitment managers from a vegetation management company in Pennsylvania and review of organizational documents. Bertalanffy's general systems theory (GST) and Thelen and Smith's dynamic systems theory (DST) were the basis for the study's conceptual framework. Data reliability and validity were achieved through an interview protocol, member checks, interview transcriptions, and methodological triangulation. The study included an inductive analysis of interviewees' …

Successful Demand Forecasting Modeling Strategies For Increasing Small Retail Medical Supply Profitability, Arica Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of effective demand forecasting strategies can result in imprecise inventory replenishment, inventory overstock, and unused inventory. The purpose of this single case study was to explore successful demand forecasting strategies that leaders of a small, retail, medical supply business used to increase profitability. The conceptual framework for this study was Winters's forecasting demand approach. Data were collected from semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 8 business leaders of a private, small, retail, medical supply business in the southeastern United States and the review of company artifacts. Yin's 5-step qualitative data analysis process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding was …

Bicultural Managers’ Competencies And Multicultural Team Effectiveness, Eric Tetteh Batsa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Biculturals are increasingly recognized as an important segment of managers, yet U.S.-based global organizations’ limited knowledge and recognition of this group’s distinctive experiences and related implications within their work environment limit the value placed on bicultural managers’ leadership of multicultural teams and the use of their competencies and skills to improve the effectiveness of multicultural teams. Notwithstanding, traditional leadership models are lacking in diversity and unanswered questions remain regarding the role of multiculturalism in global leadership and team effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to gain deeper understanding of the management experiences of biculturals in …

Sharing Of Threat-Related Information Among Public Safety Agencies In Honolulu, Hawaii, Cortney M. Chambers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of knowledge regarding how public safety organizations communicate threat-related information at the local level. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the benefits and challenges of sharing threat-related information between public safety agencies (law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services, and public health) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conceptual framework for the study was general systems theory. The sample for this study was a subset of 13 individuals from the larger population of approximately 50 subject matter experts who worked within four public safety agencies and had extensive experience analyzing and sharing threat-related …

Building Long-Term Donor Relationships In Nonprofit Organizations Through Social Media, Debora Johnston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that leaders of a nonprofit organization used to build long-term donor relationships through social media. Participants included a purposeful sample of 3 senior leaders of a small nonprofit organization in Southern California who demonstrated successful approaches to using social media to manage donor relations. The conceptual framework for this study was Hon and Grunig’s concept for measuring long-term organization–public relationships. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with organization leaders, review of publicly available organizational documents, and information including financial statements, strategic planning documents, organizational budgets, employee handbooks, and …