Business Commons^™

Spatial Big Data Analytics: The New Boundaries Of Retail Location Decision-Making, Joseph M. Aversa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the current state and evolution of retail location decision-making (RLDM) in Canada. The major objectives are: (i) To explore the type and scale of location decisions that retail firms are currently undertaking; (ii) To identify the availability and use of technology and Spatial Big Data (SBD) within the decision-making process; (iii) To identify the awareness, availability, use, adoption and development of SBD; and, (iv) To assess the implications of SBD in RLDM. These objectives were investigated by using a three stage multi-method research process. First, an online survey of retail location decision makers across a range of …

The Gender Gap In Start-Up Funding: The Role Of Investors' Benevolent Sexism, Nhu Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past research has consistently shown that female-led ventures tend to receive less funding than male-led ventures, but the reasons for this gap are unclear. Drawing on the ambivalent sexism theory, this study examines how investors’ benevolent sexism influences funding allocations to male- and female-led ventures. In particular, I propose that individuals who endorse benevolent sexism are less likely to perceive female-led ventures as viable because they may believe that entrepreneurship is too challenging for women due to their dual roles as home-makers and entrepreneurs. As a consequence, they may want to protect women from failure by giving women less funding …

The Effect Of Taking A Paternity Leave On Men’S Career Outcomes: The Role Of Communality Perceptions, Anja Krstic

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Paternity leave policies, important tools for promoting gender equality that give men an opportunity to care for their newborn children, are becoming increasingly popular and legislated worldwide. However, there has been little research on how paternity leaves impact men’s careers and the research that exists has been inconclusive. This is problematic because, while men are increasingly being encouraged to take paternity leaves, they fear that such leaves may undermine their careers. Counter to these fears, by integrating the literature on changing norms regarding effective leadership with expectancy violation theory, I suggest that taking a paternity leave can enhance others’ perceptions …

Bribery And Export Intensity: The Role Of Formal Institutional Constraint Susceptibility, Randika Eramudugoda Gamage

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the influence of home country formal institutional constraints on firm bribery payments and export intensity. Distinguishing between forms of formal institutional constraints based on their susceptibility to bribery, this study highlights the different mechanisms through which formal institutional constraints impact export intensity. I propose that highly susceptible formal institutional constraints will behave as incentives leading to increased bribery payments. In contrast, less-susceptible formal institutional constraints will act as an added cost, ex-post to bribery payments, in the bribery-export intensity relationship. These less-susceptible formal institutional constraints will further decrease export intensity. Utilizing a firm-level dataset from 25 countries, …

Examining The Tragedy Of The Commons Dilemma: Looking At The New Hampshire Fishing Industry, Peter A. Brown

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Tragedy of the Commons is a widely known problem debated amongst economists for years. Even the topic of the Tragedy of the Commons when applied to fishing has been debated several times. The fishing industry is a major part of the culture and economy here in New Hampshire and the conversation how to properly tax and regulate it to combat this problem is one that has been taking place and will continue to take place for several years. The purpose of this project was to examine this problem at a state level and look at the relationship between State …

Brands Take A Stand For Good: The Effect Of Brand Activism On Social Media Engagement, Alexis A. Gray

Honors Theses and Capstones

Brands are entering an era where brand activism and corporate social responsibility strategies are holding a large influence on consumer purchase decision making, rather than the traditional brand product marketing. A major distribution outlet for the rising brand activism strategy is through social media, where users can directly interact with brands and other users surrounding major issues. Higher engagement with such activism campaigns suggests more consumer support for the brand, leading to higher sales performance potential. This study examines the influence of brand activism campaign qualities on social media engagement, specifically on the Twitter platform. Tweets for 8 different brands …

Uncertainty Across The Pond: An Evaluation Of Equity Market Returns And Currency Fluctuations In Reaction To Key Brexit Events, Sean Michael Andreasson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The citizens of the United Kingdom shocked the world on June 23^rd, 2016 when they voted in favor of leaving the European Union. The 3-year aftermath of the Referendum has created a large amount of uncertainty regarding the future of the United Kingdom economy and its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union. The purpose of this research is to explore how the financial markets react to Brexit news headlines, compare the returns of European and non-European exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and currencies, identify common themes, and ultimately shed light on how investors weigh-in on the interconnectedness of the UK, …

Data Disparity: Tiered Pricing As An Alternative To Consumer Iot Data Privacy Regulations, Matthew Lostocco

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have exploded on the consumer scene. These emerging products bring new technological capabilities into our everyday lives. IoT is projected to contribute anywhere from $4-11 trillion to the global economy and companies are investing billions of dollars into the technology. However, with the vast amount of data that IoT devices collect, consumers are burdening the risk of having their personal data breached or sold to third parties. This paper first identifies why consumers may be weary or willing towards providing their personal data and how unconscious biases in the purchasing process cause …

The Market Reaction To Trump's Trade War, Michael Mccarthy

Honors Theses and Capstones

This event study looks at the market reaction to the global trade tensions that began in the first half of 2018. The events regarding new developments around the use of tariffs are organized in chronological order, and the stocks of certain impacted companies are looked at to see if they were positively or negatively affected by the news. To summarize the market reaction to tariffs, I use a zero cost portfolio consisting of long positions in those expected to be positively impacted and short positions in those expected to be negatively impacted. If this portfolio sees a larger return on …

A Holistic View Of Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud, Andrew J. Hultgren

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis attempts to explain what identity theft tax refund fraud is and how the issue has developed over the years. It presents a holistic, historic view of the problem as well as how it has been addressed. It primarily relies on reports from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Government Accountability Office (GAO) and National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) in its assessment. It does not examine foreign tax administrations’ methods of dealing with identity theft refund fraud or the extent of the issue in other principalities, and therefore this is an area in need …

Measuring The Financial Health Of American Symphony Orchestras, Samantha M. Lulka

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Facts Behind Gmo Food, Wenbin Liu

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Corporate Inversions And The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, Sedona L. Clothier

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Disrupting Complex Systems With Emerging Technologies: A Study On United States Airport Operations, Emily J. Grone

Honors Theses and Capstones

The number of United States domestic commercial flight passengers are growing every year, which means the number of people checking-in, dropping off their bags, and going through TSA within airports is equally growing. With the increasing number of passengers and aging airports, there are several areas of pain points within airports where passengers hit a bottleneck due to the current systems that airports have in place. There are three main areas that we are going to reference. First the check-in process, where customers have to get their tickets, input identification information, and check-in for their flight. Second, baggage-drop off, where …

Employee Volunteer Program In The Eyes Of College Students, Diep Thi Ngoc Tran

Honors Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to understand University of New Hampshire (UNH) students’ opinions about Employee Volunteer Program (EVP), especially what value they place upon EVP and what they are looking for in an ideal EVP. Based on the background and context of EVP among Millennials recently, the paper raises questions about EVP’s value to students generally and how factors like past volunteering experience, gender, and occupation/majors impact students’ valuation of EVP. Data collected from this research leads to several conclusions. Although many students do not fully understand EVP, most of them have positive opinions of the program, leaving …

Challenges International Students And Their Perceive Values At University Of New Hampshire, Win Phyu Phyu Aung

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Portfolio Optimization With International Diversification, Sardar Adam Saeed Khan

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Predictive Analytics For College Basketball: Using Logistic Regression For Determining The Outcome Of A Game, Bryce Brown

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Dialogue During Team Problem Solving Using Visual Representation Boundary Objects: A Case Study, Julie Marie Webb

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Organizations benefit from the knowledge held by individual members as well as knowledge that is shared among those members. In order for knowledge to co-develop between members, and to spread, organizations must provide opportunities for members to collaborate. Organizational teams sometimes require assistance with interpersonal communication, establishing consensus, and sharing knowledge when collaborating. Group facilitators can offer guidance and intervene when teams need support. In addition, teams can find support through the use of visual representation boundary objects (VRBOs) to build trust, improve communication, increase cooperation, and share ideas. This study explores how knowledge is shared between team members and …

Essays On Capital Structure Of Nations, Giovanni Perez

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Labor Protection Laws On The Operating And Financial Risks Of Firms: The Case Of China, Yuxin Huang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A debate exists regarding the effect of labor protection laws on labor costs. Whether labor protection laws increase or decrease labor costs has implications for risk exposure of affected firms. If the labor costs go up, all else the same, the firm’s breakeven point goes up. Facing increased business risk, the firm must resort to strategies that inhibit the risk exposure, especially if the higher labor costs cannot be transferred, without adverse consequences, to consumers. The strategies include reigning in, if at all possible, operating leverage and financial leverage. Conversely, if the labor costs decrease, a firm’s business risk declines, …

Innovation, Ownership And Ipo Underpricing, Roman Bohdan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two empirical essays. The first chapter titled: “Hedge Fund Activism and Dual Ownership of U.S. Multinationals”. Harford, Wang & Zhang (2017) conclude that holding high cash balances abroad to avoid US taxes causes internal capital markets and investments distortions. We posit that hedge funds target MNCs with more severe internal capital and agency problems. We demonstrate that upon acquiring dual ownership in these firms, hedge funds reduce internal capital problems and improve investment, especially innovation, efficiencies. To further reduce agency costs of foreign cash holdings, hedge funds engage dual firms in focused acquisitions. These improvements are …

How To Maximize Your Small Business's Impact On Social Media, Brianna J. Arnaud

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is meant to be a learning tool to help small businesses use free social media accounts as business marketing tools. The manual is broken down into chapters highlighting the importance of “Knowing your Audience,” “Branding,” “Constructing a Post,” “Using Visual Rhetoric,” and “Expanding your Audience.”. This thesis is inspired by scholars of English, internet linguistics, journalism, gender theory, professional writing, and rhetoric. It is also inspired by a survey of 18 small businesses in the Lafayette, Louisiana area. The survey helped to focus my research on the social media issues of small businesses in the southern region of …

The Effectiveness Of Government Mandated Disclosure Reform, Sakshi Raj

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The higher the level of information asymmetry between a firm and its investors, the higher is the firm’s reluctance to raise money externally, potentially leading to investment distortions. An improved disclosure system reduces information asymmetry and therefore, lessens the adverse selection effects of external financing, thereby moderating investment inefficiencies. In this paper, we examine the impact of potentially improved transparency stemming from stricter disclosure requirements (Clause 49) on financing and investment decisions of Indian firms. The results show that reliance of Indian firms on internal financing in the pre-reform period gives way to greater use of external financing …

Analysis Of Cyberoptics Corporation, Laura Benson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This analysis looks at CyberOptics, a Minnesota based company with segments in metrology, semiconductors, and surface mount technology. The goal of the project is to determine an appropriate valuation given recent financial data, and give an opinion on whether to buy, hold, or sell given a closing stock date.

Ford Motor Company's Financial Analysis, Azbayar Enkhbayar

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The goals and objectives of this financial report are to value the common stock of Ford Motor Company and provide a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold. Quantitative and qualitative data about Ford Motor Company, its competitors, and the markets it operates in were analyzed for this report. A discounted cash flow model was used to forecast future free cash flows. The model estimated Ford’s common stock to be fairly valued at USD 9.81 per share. This is slightly higher than the current price of $9.41 and a hold recommendation is made.

Factors Influencing Involvement In Disability Sport Coaching, Evan Siebert

Sport Management Undergraduate

No abstract provided.

Staying Afloat In A Dying Industry, Naomi Yane

Capstones

Staying Afloat in a dying Industry

The storied neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay, which sits on the southern tip of Brooklyn, is named after a fish that once inhabited the waters surrounding the town. Like the Sheepshead fish, the community's once booming fishing industry might soon be wiped out due to increasing regulations. Despite complaints from local fishermen, government agencies have taken their stand.

https://www.naomiyane.com/capstone

Unlocking The Mysteries Of Weed And Mexico, Eddy Martinez

Capstones

An American biotech firm named Phylos Bioscience is interested in entering the Mexican marijuana market once it legalizes. Before it can do that, it must deal with the Mexican government and a conservative society.

https://eddymartinezcunyedu.atavist.com/figuring-out-the-mysteries-of-weed-and-mexico

Trade Rout: As Trade Tensions Built Between U.S. And Canada, This American Border Town Felt The Freeze, Matt Cutler, Isaac Carey

Capstones

A close business relationship with Canada has allowed Plattsburgh to thrive as a manufacturing town. Over 100 Quebec-based companies operate there, and 15 percent of the workforce in the county gets its paycheck from a Canadian company. Even more impressive, this comes at a time when manufacturing jobs are declining nationwide. While factories are shutting down across the rust belt, in Plattsburgh they are opening up.

There is just one problem.

All of this was made possible by the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. And just this April, the Trump administration abruptly threatened to pull out of the …