Business Commons^™

Influence Tactics Used By Information Services Project Managers, Gail R. English

Professional Projects

This case study explored the influence tactics used by successful information services project managers at Harley-Davidson. The participants were chosen via purposeful sampling for this study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted, which brought out some themes on the qualities needed to be successful as an information services project manager. The predominant skills sets included active listening, effective communication, relationship building and organization. The influence strategies primarily mentioned by the participants were consultation and bargaining, which was similar to what was found in the review of prior research. Other findings from this research included the challenges faced by project managers and the …

Is Simpler Always Better? Consumer Evaluations Of Front-Of-Package Nutrition Symbols, J. Craig Andrews, Scot Burton, Jeremy Kees

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Consumers of packaged goods products in the United States recently have faced an onslaught of front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbols and icons, including the controversial “Smart Choices” single summary indicator. In a between-subjects experiment with 520 adult consumers, the authors compare effects of the Smart Choices (SC) icon, the more complex Traffic Light–Guideline Daily Amounts (TLGDAs) icon, and a no-FOP icon control for a nutritionally moderate food that qualifies for the SC icon. Drawing from principles of heuristic processing and halo effects, the authors predict and find that the SC icon can lead to positive (and potentially misleading) nutrient evaluations and …

It's Not Easy Being E, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Hyper Norms: Searching For A Global Code Of Conduct, Gene R. Laczniak, Ann-Marie Kennedy

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

As organizations continue to increase their level of operations across international borders, their ethical conduct becomes a greater social concern. A global code of ethics allows organizations to follow one code for all countries rather than creating and administering multiple separate codes. Currently, there are several thoughtful global codes of ethics developed by different stakeholders. This paper provides an analysis of some of the major global codes of ethics available to multinational corporations. Their shared norms are identified and synthesized into three Hyper Norms that can both aid marketing organizations in formulating their core principles and be applied to research …

Generational Differences Of Personal Values Of Business Students, Don Giacomino, Jill Brown, Michael Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines the values and value systems of business students from a private mid-western university using the Rokeach Value Survey and the Musser and Orke Typology of Personal Values. The findings of this study are compared with the results of studies in the latter part of the 1990’s and early 2000 in order to provide some insights regarding generational differences. There is evidence of changes in several individual variables during the past decade. For example, the value with the greatest change is National Security. Students in 2010 place more importance on this value than did the students in 1998. …

Warnings And Disclosures, J. Craig Andrews

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

This chapter reviews nearly six decades of research on warnings and disclosures, including common misperceptions and their importance to public health policy, and offers an answer to the key question, “Do warnings and disclosures really work?” Supporting theory and research applications are discussed.

Accelerated Share Repurchases, Leonce Bargeron, Manoj Kulchania, Shawn Thomas

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Accelerated share repurchases (ASRs) are credible commitments by firms to repurchase shares immediately. Including an ASR in a repurchase program reduces the flexibility that firms have to alter an announced program in response to subsequent changes in the price and liquidity of its shares, unexpected shocks to cash flow and/or investment, etc. Thus, we investigate whether firms’ decisions to include ASRs in their repurchase programs are associated with factors expected to influence the costs of lost flexibility and the benefits of enhanced credibility and immediacy. We find robust evidence consistent with the costs of lost flexibility and the benefits of …

Exploring Internal And External Supply Chain Linkages: Evidence From The Field, Mark Barratt, Ruth Barratt

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In their pursuit of improved operational performance, organizations in supply chains have sought to develop external information-based linkages with their customers and vendors. Has this course of action been at the expense of developing similar internal information-based linkages? This research explores the specific roles of internal and external information-based linkages in achieving improved operational performance. Based on a single case study that comprises a supply chain containing twenty-four internal and fourteen external linkages this research develops a series of propositions. We find that the individual internal linkages may be useful for extending externally derived visibility, and for addressing to some …

Marketing To The Poor: A Justice Inspired Approach, Nicholas J. C. Santos, Gene R. Laczniak

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Managing Uncertainty: Lessons From Xenophon's Retreat, David R. King

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Propositions on dynamic capabilities and organizational politics are developed from management literature and are then evaluated using case analysis. The goal is to identify complementary aspects of these perspectives to change from an ancient example that can offer insights for management thought and practice today. Initially chronicled by Xenophon, roughly 10,000 Greek mercenaries spent over two years confronting demanding circumstances as they fought their way into and out of ancient Persia. The mercenaries' response to changing circumstances offers a unique case for integrating literature on responses to uncertainty that range between rational and haphazard explanations. The analysis suggests uncertainty management …

Security Assurance: How Online Service Providers Can Influence Security Control Perceptions And Gain Trust, Soumya Ray, Terence T. Ow, Sung S. Kim

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Security researchers agree that security control is a difficult to observe credence quality of online services that Internet users cannot easily assess through research or experience. Yet there is evidence that users form perceptions of security control that strongly determine how much trust they put in online services. This study investigates whether users’ security control perceptions arise solely from their predispositions or whether online service providers can influence them. The study also examines whether these seemingly undependable perceptions of security control lead to trust or whether more traditional factors might offer a better explanation of trust under security risks. To …

Harley-Davidson Values, The Experience, P. Jason Marino

Professional Projects

This study explored the extent to which the stated corporate values are enacted by leaders at Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The participants were chosen by a criterion based sampling method. The criterion used included the researcher’s personal subjective perceptions of the participant, tenure within the company, and level within the company. The study provided insight into employee perceptions related to leadership’s engagement with the values. It also provided insights into the relative engagement levels between immediate supervisors and higher level supervisors based on the stated corporate values. All of the participants had both positive and negative perceptions of leadership at all …

Explaining The Alumni Relationship And Giving Tendencies Of Multigeneration Alumni Legacy Families At Marquette University, Lauren Edmonson

Professional Projects

This research examines the donative relationship legacy alumni of Marquette University have with their alma mater. As universities are relying more heavily on donations to finance portions of their budgets, university administration has invested heavily in fundraising offices to identify alumni with strong giving potential. Legacy alumni are a deeply emotionally vested group, with a high giving potential. Previous research has focused on the different determinants of alumni giving; this research focuses specifically on the different generations of legacy families at Marquette (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) and how their donative nature differs from non‐legacy constituents and from each other. Also …

Organizational Culture In Wisconsin Large Law Firms, Susan Balzer Spoerk

Professional Projects

Culture can be defined as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another. Organizational culture is an idea in the field of organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. There are many studies on Organizational Culture applied to corporations. There are very few studies of Organizational Culture applied to law firms. This is a study of Organizational Culture in Wisconsin Large Law Firms. This study does not attempt to define specific cultural knowledge of large Wisconsin law firms but …

Student-Centered Learning, Alex Stewart

Management Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Broadening Journal Of Public Policy & Marketing’S Outreach: My "Tour Of Duty” As Editor, J. Craig Andrews

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

The article offers the insights of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing's former editor on his tenure, objectives, and initiatives. He states that on editor tenure, he observed that a crucial time in a journal's life is the handoff or transition between retiring and incoming editors. He says that the aim in his term was to provide information regarding public policy issues's impact on marketing behaviors. He adds that he promoted ethnography topics during his tenure.

The Corporate Choice Between Public Debt, Bank Loans, Traditional Private Debt Placements, And 144a Debt Issues, Matteo Arena

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The main purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of the corporate choice between different forms of debt financing. By analyzing the most comprehensive sample of U.S. corporate debt issues to date, I find that firms that issue 144A debt have significantly lower credit quality and higher information asymmetry than firms that issue traditional non-bank private debt. Further, the study shows that traditional private placements, rather than bank loans, are the favorite private debt source for firms with good credit quality. I also show that the firm characteristics of traditional private debt issuers have significantly changed after 1990 …

Putting Off Tomorrow To Do What You Want Today: Planning For Retirement, Gary A. Adams, Barbara L. Rau

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In this article we note that in the coming years, a larger number of people will be experiencing retirement for a longer period of time than ever before and that despite this fact, many will find themselves unprepared for this stage of their lives. We review the literature on retirement preparation, structuring our review around the key questions that need to be addressed when planning for retirement: (a) What will I do? (b) How will I afford it? (c) Where will I live? and (d) Who will I share it with? We make a number of suggestions for research and …

(Wp 2011-01) It Takes Two: The Incidence And Effectiveness Of Co-Ceos, Matteo Arena, Stephen P. Ferris, Emre Unlu

Department of Finance Working Papers

This study examines the phenomenon of co-CEOs within publicly traded firms. Although shared executive leadership is not widespread, it occurs within some very prominent firms. We find that co-CEOs generally complement each other in terms of educational background or executive responsibilities. Our results show that firms most likely to appoint co-CEOs have lower leverage, a more limited firm focus, less independent board structure, fewer advising directors, lower institutional ownership and greater levels of merger activity. The governance structure of co-CEO firms suggest that co-CEOships can serve as an alternative governance mechanism, with co-CEO mutual monitoring substituting for board or external …

Qualitative Case Studies In Operations Management: Trends, Research Outcomes, And Future Research Implications, Mark Barratt, Thomas Choi, Mei Li

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Our study examines the state of qualitative case studies in operations management. Five main operations management journals are included for their impact on the field. They are in alphabetical order: Decision Sciences, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Operations Management, Management Science, and Production and Operations Management. The qualitative case studies chosen were published between 1992 and 2007. With an increasing trend toward using more qualitative case studies, there have been meaningful and significant contributions to the field of operations management, especially in the area of theory building. However, in many of the qualitative case studies …

The Interface Of Work To Family Conflict And Racioethnic Identification: An Analysis Of Hispanic Business Professionals, Robert Gregory Delcampo, Kristie M. Rogers, Andrew T. Hinrichs

Management Faculty Research and Publications

This article examines work to family conflict for Hispanic Business Professionals with varied levels of Hispanic identity. Based on this study of 971 Hispanics from across the United States, results show that level of Hispanic identity moderates the relationship between work to family conflict and job satisfaction. The authors posit that identification with a culture of collectivism may attenuate the negative impact of work to family conflict on job satisfaction, enabling Hispanic professionals to view work as a way of supporting the family and contributing to the greater good of the groups to which they belong.

The Antecedents Of A ‘Chilly Climate’ For Women Faculty In Higher Education, Cheryl Maranto, Andrea Griffin

Management Faculty Research and Publications

The literature on women’s under-representation in academia asserts that faculty women face a ‘chilly climate’, but there are few theoretically based studies examining this proposition. Relational demography, organizational justice, and social network theories all identify possible antecedents of ‘chilly climate’. Using survey data of faculty at a private Midwestern US university, we test whether the perception of exclusion (chilly climate) is influenced by demographic dissimilarity, and perceptions of fairness and gender equity. We find that faculty women perceive more exclusion from academic departments with a low representation of women, consistent with relational demography. Perceptions of procedural fairness and gender equity …

An Effective And Efficient Analytic Technique: A Bootstrap Regression Procedure And Benford's Law, Ikseon Suh, T. Christopher Headrick, Sandra Minaburo

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Examining An Online Investment Research Service: The Motley Fool, Don Giacomino, Michael Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

The Motley Fool has been described as “the most popular Internet stock chat website” (Hirschey et al, Financial Analysts Journal, 1999). Per the company‟s website, the mission of the privately-held multimedia financial services company is to educate, amuse, and enrich” in order “to build the world‟s greatest investment community” (www.fool.com/press/about.htm). The Motley Fool notes that their products are designed to “help people take control of their financial lives”. While other internet financial services exist, this article examines the performance of the investment services/advice provided by The Motley Fool (TMF) because of its notoriety. We use investment publications, information posted on …

Beyond Service Attributes: Do Personal Values Matter?, Srinivas Durvasula, Steven Lysonski, A.D. Madhavi

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – Service firms constantly look for ways to differentiate their offering. Recently, personal values have emerged as a way to understand how customers fulfill deeper needs when consuming a service. This paper aims to examine how personal values operate in the evaluation of higher education services. Like other services, marketing has become essential to higher education as universities compete aggressively for students and differentiate their service offerings. Although attribute-based measures such as SERVQUAL provide useful information to service providers, personal values may offer a deeper understanding of how customers judge the quality and desirability of an educational institution’s services. …

Foundations In Wisconsin: A Directory [30th Ed. 2011], Mary C. Frenn, Jeremy Blackwood, Anne Carpenter, Nathan Lunsford, Sarah Martin

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory

The 2011 edition of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 30^th production of the print directory and the 11^th year of the online version (www.wifoundations.org). The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. Additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation Web sites, annual reports, and newsletters.

While the national economic downturn …

The Effects Of Disclosure Type And Audit Committee Expertise On Chief Audit Executives’ Tolerance For Financial Misstatements, Carolyn S. Norman, Jacob M. Rose, Ikseon Suh

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

This study involves an experiment where 73 Chief Audit Executives and deputy Chief Audit Executives determine the amount of adjustment required to correct a misstatement. We manipulate the financial reporting location of the misstatement (recognized vs. disclosed) and the level of audit committee expertise (high vs. low). The results indicate that financial reporting location has significant effects on internal auditors’ decisions to correct misstatements. Specifically, internal auditors are more willing to waive disclosed misstatements relative to recognized misstatements. Contrary to expectations, the results do not indicate that increased audit committee expertise and associated increases in audit committee members’ perceived powers …

Can Brazilian Firms Survive The Chinese Challenge: Effects Of Globalization On Markets, Strategies, And Performance, Syed H. Akhter, Paulo Fernando Pinto Barcellos

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply the structure-conduct-performance theory and the strategic fit concept to examine the effects of globalization on markets, strategies, and performance of business-to-consumer firms in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a qualitative approach to answer the research questions. Top decision makers such as president, chief executive officer, chairman of the board, vice president, and director of the companies were interviewed. The elite approach to in-depth interviewing was followed to obtain reliable information from the decision makers.

Findings – Findings indicate that globalization and especially the entry of Chinese firms significantly changed …

An Empirical Note On Regionalization And Globalization, Syed H. Akhter, Colleen Beno

Marketing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – Is it regionalization or globalization that more accurately depicts the state of the global economy? Exports and foreign direct investments (FDI) data are analyzed with the aim of answering the question and determining how intra- and inter-regional integration has changed over time.

Design/methodology/approach – To address the research questions, this paper covers the following. First, it takes a longitudinal perspective in examining the changes taking place in exports and FDI at the regional level. Second, it draws strategic business and marketing implications of this development.

Findings – The results show a trend toward regionalization in the Quad (North …

Industry Implications Of Value Creation And Appropriation Investment Decisions, David R. King, Rebecca J. Slotegraaf

Management Faculty Research and Publications

As managers weigh their resource investment decisions, we argue that these investments have a direct impact on the growth and volatility of the firm’s industry. With data covering 377 industries across 16 years, we investigate relationships for aggregate firm investments on the growth and volatility of industry profit and sales. Results reveal important, complex relationships between investment in value creation and appropriation and different elements of the industry environment.