Business Commons^™

Are Nudges For Alternative Transit Persistent?, Mitchell J. Allan

CMC Senior Theses

The benefits of converting single-person drivers to alternative transit options are well-established. One option to accomplish this is for employers to provide alternative commute incentive programs. However, the research on the implementation of such programs is lacking. To provide a test, this research analyzes data obtained from a field experiment on daily alternative transit commute choices for a seven-month period. Participants are divided into four treatment groups in a two-by-two design for the first three-month period: incentives with either loss or gain framing, and messaging nudges with either the private or public benefits of alternative transit commute choices. The participants …

International Music Preferences: An Analysis Of The Determinants Of Song Popularity On Spotify For The U.S., Norway, Taiwan, Ecuador, And Costa Rica, Brendan Joseph Suh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines data from Spotify’s API for 2017-2018 to determine the effects of song attributes on the success of tracks on Spotify’s Top 200 Chart across five different countries: the U.S., Norway, Taiwan, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Two dependent variables are used to measure the success of a song – a track’s peak position on the charts and the number of days it survives on a country’s Top 200 Chart. Using ten separate regressions, one for each dependent variable in all five countries, it is concluded that the presence of a featured guest on a track increases a song’s …

The 2011 Nfl Collective Bargaining Agreement: Intentions Vs. Incentives, Andrew Friedlander

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the impacts of four major negotiating elements in the 2011 NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. This first entails considering the financial impacts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement through adjustments to the salary cap and changes in the rookie pay scale in conjunction with the increase of the veteran minimum salary. Veteran players sought to improve their earnings potential through the creation of the rookie pay scale and increases in the veteran minimum salary, but research has shown that these policies may not have actually accomplished the goal. Next, I inspect the changes in preseason training rules, which were …

Are The Public Subsidies Of Professional Sports Stadiums Worth The Cost Of Building Them?, Spencer Abraham

CMC Senior Theses

The results generated by this research argue that, in the future, communities should take into account crime and other social costs as they analyze the merits of investing in new sports complexes and that a failure to consider these factors could constitute a serious dereliction on the parts of the public officials who are ultimately responsible for new facility investment decision making. Moreover, both this research and previous studies of the economic effects of new sports facilities, strongly indicate that public entities considering funding new facilities do a more in depth independent study of the likely economic consequences of their …

Pipe Discounts, Premia, And Performance, Jason S. Barbarosh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores private investments in public equity (PIPE) deals as a means of alternative firm financing. Poorly performing companies often look towards PIPEs to quickly raise capital when traditional means of financing are limited. This study provides an analysis on both the discount and premia that PIPEs are issued at, as well as the performance of firms after the deal announcement. Overall, this study finds that successful PIPEs from the investor’s perspective are issued at a discount of close to 17%, and unsuccessful PIPEs are issued at an average of a 15% premium. I find substantial cumulative abnormal returns …

The Predictive Power Of The Vix Futures Prices On Future Realized Volatility, Siran Zhang

CMC Senior Theses

Many past literatures have examined the predictive power of implied volatility versus that of historical volatility, but they have showed divergent conclusions. One of the major differences among these studies is the methods that they used to obtain implied volatility. The VIX index, introduced in 1993, provides a model-free and directly observable source of implied volatility data. The VIX futures is an actively traded VIX derivative product, and its prices are believed to contain market’s expectation about future volatility. By analyzing the relationship between the VIX futures prices and the realized volatilities of the 30-day period that these VIX futures …

Does Managerial Risk-Taking Incentive For R&D Investments Translate To Future Earnings?, Ha Yun Cho

CMC Senior Theses

The convex pay-off structure of executive stock options (ESO) incentivizes CEOs to increase their firm stock-return volatility, thereby increasing their wealth in option portfolio. In this paper, I address two research questions. I first test if this managerial incentive induces executives to take on more risky projects in R&D that increases stock- return volatility, hence, boosting their personal wealth. I derive vega to measure managerial incentive, and vega is a dollar change in ESO for a 0.01 change in stock- return volatility. I find that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between vega and R&D investment, which suggests …

The Nature Of Latin American Markets In The Presence Of Credit Events, Patricio Aguilar

CMC Senior Theses

In the past two decades the Latin American region has experienced a number of credit crises stemming from large sovereign debt levels and sharp currency devaluations. This study aims to discover whether or not the sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) in the Latin American region lead equity markets prior to these sovereign credit events. Through a sample of the seven largest Latin American economies and daily return data from 2001 to 2018, I try to empirically test this question through a Generalized Least Squared model. The paper finds little significant evidence of CDS leading equity markets in price discovery prior …

Accounting For Goodwill: The Effectiveness Of Amortization And Impairments Before And After Asc 350, Jessica Cruz

CMC Senior Theses

Prior to the implementation of FAS 142 in 2002, goodwill was amortized annually. Now, companies with goodwill on their books must test it annually for impairment. This paper examines the effectiveness of goodwill amortization and impairment of goodwill both before and after the adoption of FAS 142 by analyzing their effect on abnormal stock returns. My results regarding the effect of goodwill amortization on stock returns are inconsistent, suggesting that goodwill amortization is not useful in determining the value of a company. My results also suggest that the stock market anticipates goodwill impairments before they are announced.

The Growth Of Socially Responsible Investing Practices In U.S. Equity Markets And Abnormal Sin Stock Returns, Jack Lori

CMC Senior Theses

In my Senior Thesis, I explore the growth of socially responsible investing (SRI) practices in U.S. equity markets and abnormal sin stocks returns. I analyze the historical performance of socially responsible ETFs and portfolios of current sin stocks—alcohol, tobacco, gaming, and aerospace & defense stocks. I propose that as socially responsible investing practices continue to grow in U.S. equity markets, more industries will eventually be deemed sinful—such as sugary beverages, fast food/sugary food, biotech & pharmaceuticals, and tech/social media. I examine two sinful industries—alcohol and tobacco—by comparing the performance of these sinful portfolios before and after their industries were widely …

How Organizations And Their Brands Leverage Marketing Partnerships To Enhance Their Success: The Guidelines To Navigating Both Reaffirming And Repositioning Strategic Partnerships, Remi A. Edwards

CMC Senior Theses

Understanding the different factors, influencers, and outcomes that form a successful brand partnership allow for marketers to make informed decisions that benefit their company. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature regarding partnership marketing and issues a set of guidelines for marketers to strategically market their brand by way of collaboration. With two distinct strategic frameworks, reaffirming partnerships and repositioning partnerships, this paper seeks illustrate the efficacy of brand collaboration and how to achieve success based on varying brand goals.

Welfare Losses From First-Come-First-Serve Course Enrollment: Outcome Estimation And Non-Market Maximization, Rory Fontenot

CMC Senior Theses

College course enrollment operates as a market under supply cap. Because of the limited number of seats available for any given course some students who have a higher demand for a course are unable to enroll. The current registration system at the Claremont Colleges functions as a random draw system with added time costs. The lack of price signalling in the markets leads to a loss in overall welfare of the student body. By running data through simulated demand curves I am able to determine, on average, how much welfare is being lost by a random draw system. The percent …

Fostering Transformational Leadership In Asian Americans: How To Reach The C-Suite, Khadija Ganijee

CMC Senior Theses

This paper investigates what has caused a lack of Asian American leadership in the corporate space and how transformational leadership can be the solution for these people by using their culture to their advantage. This was accomplished through a comprehensive review of transformational leadership and the personality traits associated with it, as well as psychological research on Asian American issues in the workplace and the role of Asian American culture. Stereotyping and discrimination play a role in the workplace, but usually, what a person can do to combat these issues is not explicated. This thesis aims to fill in that …

Leveraged Buyouts: The Predictive Power Of Target Firm Characteristics, Yutao (James) Jiang

CMC Senior Theses

This paper utilizes a hazard model to predict the probability of leveraged buyout transactions for public firms. Rather than testing specific hypotheses, this paper incorporates all plausible predictors identified in existing literature to better delineate the effects of different characteristics. Largely confirming past results, I find that LBO transactions are more likely to occur for companies with more stable cash flows, less market visibility, lower market valuation, lower ownership concentration and lower costs of financial distress. By including LBO transactions from 1980 to September 2018, I find preliminary evidence that since the financial crisis of 2008 – 2009, private equity …

The Changing Nature Of Work, Leadership, And Organizational Culture In Future Ready Organizations, Saloni Dhir

CMC Senior Theses

Abstract

The relationship between individual and organizational performance is a key challenge for leaders in modern organizations, especially with the current disruption in technology and innovation. This thesis is a literature review and compilation of the relevant empirical evidence on various processes of industrial groups and organizational characteristics such as the changing nature of work, leadership, and company culture in detail. I investigate the complex challenges that millennials and organizations are facing in the current VUCA work environment as well as their potential responses to these changes. I map out the evolution of the concept of work and compare changes …

The Effectiveness Of Collaboration Within Supply Chain Management: A Case Study Of Adidas Group, Daniel Carr

CMC Senior Theses

For a multi-national company like Adidas, supply chain management is one of the most crucial aspects of business operations. Products cannot be sold unless Adidas’s supply chain is well-managed and efficient, and public perception of a brand/company is critical to success.

This case study analyzes the effectiveness of Adidas's distinct “collaborative approach” to supply chain management, which is characterized by not only monitoring and auditing suppliers, but also training them to make Adidas’s standards their own and approaching suppliers with the intention of building long-term relationships where the suppliers can become self-sufficient.

This study reviews the structure of Adidas's supply …

Are Women Executives Hurting Firm Performance? An Examination Of Gender Diversity On Firm Risk, Performance, And Executive Compensation, Krystal Diane Sung

CMC Senior Theses

In order to assess the continuing imbalance of top executives between genders, I examine the effects of gender diversity within top management teams on firm risk, performance, and executive compensation. Capitalizing on previous analysis, I apply three unique differentiators. First, I utilize current data from 2012 to 2017 from Compustat, CRSP, and ExecuComp. Second, I provide a unique subset view on a firm and individual performance of female CEOs to examine executive compensation. Third, my scope of analysis expands to S&P Composite 1500 companies. I use separate models to estimate the effect of gender diversity on firm risk by examining …

Liquidity Risk And Mutual Fund Manager’S Stock Choice, Hannah Berg

CMC Senior Theses

Liquidity risk is a large issue faced by mutual funds. Large funds typically trade in size, and these large sizes often have a significant impact on prices. My hypothesis is that large funds will not invest in illiquid assets as much as smaller funds due to the price sensitivity of illiquid assets. While this seems obvious, the results from this study are not in agreement with this hypothesis. My paper finds that as the illiquidity of a stock increases, so does the probability that a large fund invests in the stock.

The Transition Tax: Why It Was Created And How It Could Be Altered, Ryan Motter

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I talk about Section 965, also known as the transition tax, enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). First, I examine loopholes under the old tax regime that allowed for the accumulation of offshore earnings and how the TCJA closes those loopholes. After detailing the legislation of the transition tax and a comparison with Section 965 included in the American Jobs Creation Act in 2004, I compare firms’ recorded provisions of the transition tax with an estimation based on the past disclosures of firms’ permanently reinvested earnings and finds that the transition tax will generate …

Momentum 2019, Stephanie Clarke

Momentum

A journal of undergraduate research

Computing The Role That Women Hold In The Technology And Computing Fields, Rachel L F Mccombs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research was conducted as a thesis project to study what roles women have played in information technology over time, how those roles have changed over time, and what caused those roles to change. It was also to study how personal life experiences may have affected their roles and careers in the technology field. Influential women in IT of the past were studied and compared to determine any common factors between them.

The Role Of Strategic Leadership In The Profitability Of Large Organizations, Bernard Yaw Owusu-Boadi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Large organizations in the United States endure a 30%-50% failure to achieve profitability. Senior executives' lack of strategies to ensure profitability diminish performance and economic growth. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies senior executives use to ensure profitability in large tax preparation organizations. The conceptual framework for this study was the resource-based view theory. The sample consisted of 2 board members and 3 senior leaders from a large tax preparation organization located in the United States. Study site participants had at least 15 years of experience in enhancing organizational profitability and 5 years of …

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Questioning Youth Services In Urban Homeless Shelters, Rajahm Sellers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeless shelter administrators provide shelter, food, and other basic needs to the homeless population. Because policies, environments, and services adhere to the general population, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth suffer when homeless shelter administrators do not address specific needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of homeless shelter administrators and bridge the gap in knowledge about the policies and environments that impact the homeless LGBTQ youth community. The theoretical framework for this study was Tajfel and Turner's theory of social identity. Research questions included significant differences between developed shelter policies and environments based …

Self-Leadership To Servant Leadership: A Metatheoretical Antecedent To Positive Social, Allen Lloyd Carn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A majority of current leadership programs are failing to deliver a comprehensive approach to leadership development by not providing middle and frontline managers the skills to enhance their potential to develop others. In failing to generate a comprehensive system, animosity towards all types of leadership has been festering for over 40 years as first identified by Greenleaf in 1977. The purpose of the study was to establish a link between the theoretical paradigms of servant leadership and self-leadership using the lens of emotional intelligence to generate an integral leadership development framework. The conceptual framework used Goleman et al.'s version of …

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Perceived Meaning In Work, Denise Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have conducted correlational studies on transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work; however, researchers have not used an experimental design to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reading information on transformational leadership, which focused on charisma and individualized consideration, influenced participants' hypothetical judgment of perceived meaning in work. The quantitative study included a 2 x 2 between-subjects design in which information on the independent variables of charisma and individualized consideration was manipulated in a description of a hypothetical leader. The dependent variable was the hypothetical …

Capital Financing Strategies Of Small-Scale Contractors In Nigeria, Tony Emeka Anamege

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small-scale contractors in Nigeria, as small business owners, face challenges accessing external sources of capital financing. Inadequate sources of working capital is one of the major reasons for poor business performance and failure. A multiple case study approach was used in this study to explore how small-scale contractors obtained capital financing to grow their businesses. The study population included small-scale contractors in the construction industry in Nigeria. Credit rationing model was chosen as the conceptual framework for the study. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 5 participants. Data analysis included thematic coding of the data using qualitative data …

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 …

Leadership Style And Smes Sustainability In Nigeria: A Multiple Case Study, Vincent Ikechukwu Okeke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has remained an under-researched area in the management literature, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. SME owner-managers in Nigeria lacked in-depth understanding of their leadership style to objectively evaluate its implication on long-term performance and growth of their enterprise. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the experiences of SME owner-managers in Nigeria to gain an in-depth understanding of their leadership style and its implication for long-term performance and growth of their enterprise. The conceptual framework for this study was anchored in two key concepts; leadership styles and leadership …

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: …