Business Commons^™

An Examination Of The Determinants Of Audit Quality: Implications From Firms Listed In Us Stock Markets, Abdelrahman Naser Elmaria

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effect of several audit determinants, namely audit tenure, non-audit to audit fees ratio, auditing firm size, and firm size, impact on audit quality. This thesis extends the existing literature on audit determinants effect on audit quality using a Generalized Linear Model, (GLM) regression with robust estimation by analyzing a sample of 446 companies from the USA in the manufacture and service sectors. This is conducted through a series of diagnostic tests to identify an appropriate regression model. Such tests include testing and checking of baseline regression models to check for multicollinearity, …

Partisan Local Media And Corporate Voluntary Disclosures: Evidence From Sinclair Acquisitions, Ming Li

Theses and Dissertations

I investigate the impact of local media’s political orientation on firms’ voluntary disclosure, exploiting the acquisitions of local TV stations by Sinclair Broadcast Group, a conservative media conglomerate. Drawing on the media bias theory and implementing a staggered difference‐in‐differences design, I find that the local partisan media affects management earnings forecasts. Specifically, Conservative-leaning CEOs in designated market areas (DMAs) affected by Sinclair’s acquisitions forecast more optimistically, increasing forecast frequency and inflating forecasted earnings. The impact is stronger if the DMAs are more Liberal-leaning before the acquisitions and when firms have weaker corporate governance. I also find that the stock market …

Burnout And Engagement Among Electric Reliability Compliance Professionals: A Sequential Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study Using A Job Demands–Resources Secure Delphi Method, Michael Ward Dalebout

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed-methods study was to identify key job demands and resources experienced by electric reliability compliance professionals, examine their relationships with burnout and work engagement, and interpret the findings using the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) framework. Methodology: The study used a three-round Job Demands–Resources Secure Delphi (JSD) mixed-methods design. Round 1 reviewed, refined, and expanded a preliminary inventory of job demands and resources. Round 2 prioritized the resulting constructs through importance ratings and participant feedback. Round 3 surveyed 48 electric reliability compliance professionals using the finalized 10 job demands and 10 job resources, the Oldenburg …

Can Extended Asset Pricing Factors Predict Economic Growth?, Muhammad Zaid Imran

MS Finance Research Projects/Theses

This study examines whether the RMW and CMA factors of the Fama-French five-factor model predict future GDP growth beyond the information contained in the MKT, SMB, HML and WML factors and in standard macroeconomic indicators. It extends earlier framework to the United States, Italy, Canada and United Kingdom using samples that begin between 1991 and end in 2025. The six factors are constructed from firm-level data, and future GDP growth is regressed on past factor returns at quarterly frequency with Newey–West standard errors. The original study is also replicated on its 1978-1996 United States sample. CMA does not predict growth …

Machine Learning For Predictive Energy And Emissions Modeling Of Vehicles And Power Grids In The United States, S M Tanvir Faysal Alam Chowdhoury

Dissertations

The environmental benefits of electric vehicle (EV) adoption depend on more than replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric powertrains. EV adoption reshapes electricity demand, interacts with regional generation mixes, and influences travel behavior and congestion, creating a coupled transportation-energy system in which vehicle and power-plant emissions must be evaluated together. This dissertation develops machine-learning frameworks for predicting energy consumption and emissions from vehicles and power grids under rising EV adoption. The first component forecasts grid emissions from EV charging. Using simulation data from NREL's Cambium database, a Prophet-based time-series framework predicts carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emission rates …

Three Essays On Corporate Bond Short Selling, Climate And Credit Risks, Manisha Thapa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation comprises three essays investigating topics on Corporate Bond Short Selling, Climate and Credit Risks.

The first essay addresses the question: Does climate risk influence bond short selling? We address this question by studying how climate risk influences the relationship between corporate bond short selling and subsequent credit default swap (CDS) spreads. We find that future CDS spreads are strongly related to bond short selling for the high climate risk firms. In particular, our fixed effects triple difference-in-differences (DiD) regressions show that sensitivity of subsequent CDS spreads to lagged bond short selling is significantly higher for firms with high …

Exploring The Role Of Cognitive Load In Applicant Faking And Prevention Methods, Sabah Rasheed

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Personnel selection is critical to organizational success, and personality assessment is widely used to identify the best job candidates. However, applicant faking threatens the validity of personality assessments in high-stakes contexts. Faking is widely assumed to be more cognitively demanding than honest responding, and several faking-prevention methods rest on this premise. This dissertation examines that assumption across three studies using the dual-task paradigm to impose cognitive demands during personality assessments. Study 1 used a verbal digit-span task with a student sample and limited faking on the three job-relevant personality composites. Study 2 used a visual dual-task with a student sample …

Timing, Targets, And Teaching: How Employee Help-Seeking Influences Downward Knowledge Sharing, Nicholle E. Kovach

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Knowledge sharing between managers and employees is critical for employee development and organizational performance. However, managers differ in whether they share knowledge, and in the type of knowledge shared. While solution-oriented knowledge offers immediate answers to improve short-term performance, process-oriented knowledge promotes long-term learning and employee development. The purpose of my dissertation is to investigate factors that influence managers’ knowledge-sharing decisions.

I conduct two studies to investigate my predictions. In Study 1, I examine how the timing of employee help-seeking requests, the source of performance targets and employee historical performance influence the type and quality of managers’ knowledge-sharing responses. Drawing …

Identifying Industry-Preferred Automation Software In Engineering: An Indeed-Based Analysis To Inform Engineering Technology Curriculum Design, Triet Minh Phan, Collins Okafor, Winifred Okafor, Devang Mehta, Mohsen Souissi, Jenora Waterman, Connie Mayberry, Misty Thomas, Orlando Ayala, Angie Price, Maurizio Manzo

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In the evolving field of automation engineering, staying aligned with industry software demands is critical to preparing graduates for the modern workforce. This study investigates the prevalence of leading industrial automation platforms—Rockwell / Allen-Bradley (RSLogix / Studio 5000), Siemens (TIA Portal / Step 7), and Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure / Unity Pro)—across job postings collected from Indeed using the keyword "automation engineering." The research compiles a structured dataset of job postings with seven fields: ID, Job Title, Organization, Rockwell / Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Schneider Electric, and Posting URL. Each entry is manually coded to indicate whether the listed software platforms are mentioned, …

Beyond The Stream: Valuing Music Catalogs As An Alternative Asset Class, Amelia Jade Magay

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis builds a quantitative valuation framework for music catalog transactions and tests its limits systematically. The goal is not to produce a formula that perfectly prices every deal. The goal is to identify where streaming-based financial analysis is a useful underwriting tool, where it breaks down, and what categories of value investors appear to be pricing beyond publicly available streaming data.

Understanding Supply Chain Innovation, Kenneth B. Kahn, David P. Cook

Marketing Faculty Publications

Purpose – Supply chain innovation (SCI) represents a complex construct, capturing the interest of practitioners and researchers alike. There is no commonly accepted definition for the term, field research on the construct appears to be highly fragmented and industry examples demonstrate diverse ways in which it occurs.

Design/methodology/approach – Reviewing definitional literature and top winners of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Supply Chain Innovation Award, this manuscript identifies salient points about SCI to guide continued research and industry practice.

Findings – Seven points are made about SCI. These pertain to its multiple definitions, technology, relationships, performance outcomes, conceptual …

Beauty Isn't Always Better: How Salesperson Attractiveness Affects Consumers' Approach Behaviors, Veronica L. Thomas, Stephanie M. Mangus, Dora E. Bock

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines how a consumer's committed romantic relationship influences their decision to approach an attractive salesperson in a retail environment. To date, the majority of research espouses the benefits of salesperson attractiveness in enhancing consumers' perceptions of the salesperson and the represented retailer. This is problematic because it creates a managerial bias toward attractive salespeople and, as we propose, provides an incomplete view of the effect of salesperson attractiveness on consumers' behavior. Drawing on the interpersonal relationship literature on commitment, we propose that consumers in committed relationships activate relationship-maintenance motives that override the beauty bias when a salesperson's attractiveness …

Ideational Behavior And Occupational Identity Achievement: A Study Of Emerging Adult College Students Preceding Entry Into The Fouth Industrial Revolution Workforce, Carrington M. Faulk, Michael F. Kosloski, Philip Reed

Marketing Faculty Publications

As emerging adults transition into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) workforce, it is essential to understand the factors that predict successful occupational identity achievement, as automation will impact human occupational identity crises. This descriptive cross-sectional study employed a correlational design to determine the degree to which ideational behavior predicts occupational identity achievement prior to entry into the 4IR workforce. Using a sample of 166 emerging adult college students from a Mid-Atlantic, diverse, four-year university, data were collected using Runco's Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) and Melgosa's Occupational Identity Achievement subscale (OIA). Results showed that ideational behavior significantly predicted occupational identity achievement …

Advertising With Haart: Introducing Human-Ai Asymmetric Relationship Theory, Veronica L. Thomas, Heather Shoenberger, Andrés Gvirtz, Sean Sands, Lotte Willemsen

Marketing Faculty Publications

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)is rapidly reconfiguring advertising from message delivery and optimization to relationship-like exchanges between consumers and brands. While existing work has explained these interactions through social response accounts and interpersonal relationship theories, this lens risks overlooking a defining structural mismatch: AI agents convincingly enact relational characteristics but cannot experience relational benefits, costs, or commitment. Perceived mutuality can be high even when the underlying relational capacity for reciprocity is absent. We introduce human–AI asymmetric relationship theory (HAART), which conceptualizes AI-mediated relationships as relationally expressive yet structurally one-sided. HAART advances three tenets: (1) inherent AI agent characteristics limit relational reciprocity; …

Artificial Intelligence And Consumer Well-Being: A Cross Domain Systemic Review, Setar Lytle, Mahesh Gopinath

Marketing Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in everyday consumption, yet evidence on its longer-term implications for consumer eudaimonic well-being remains dispersed across disciplines and application contexts. This review integrates that literature to clarify the domains, theoretical explanations, and conditions through which AI shapes consumer well-being. Following PRISMA and SPAR-4-SLR procedures, we reviewed research published from January 2010 to January 2026. From 6058 records, 480 studies across psychology, business, and human-technology interaction met the inclusion criteria. The evidence is organised through psychological, social, and technological perspectives and identifies six interconnected domains: mental health, cognitive development, physical health, personal growth, autonomy and …

Is Being A Shareholder ‘In Name Only’ A Problem?, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This column addresses the legal risks for Michigan dentists entering "shareholder in name only" agreements with non-dentist entities. Michigan law requires dental practices to be owned by licensed dentists to ensure professional control over public healthcare. Arrangements where management companies or manufacturers can reclaim stock for a nominal fee effectively strip the dentist of true ownership. This lack of control can lead to ethical conflicts, such as pressure to sell specific appliances regardless of professional judgment. Engaging in such schemes may endanger a dentist's license by thwarting state laws intended to protect clinical independence.

Empowering Equity: Latinas In Leadership – Navigating Work-Life Balance In The Post-Pandemic Era, Teresa Excinia

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the lived experiences of Latina leaders as they navigated how cultural expectations influenced work–life balance in the post-pandemic era. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped workplace dynamics, blurring boundaries between professional responsibilities and personal life. For Latinas, these challenges were compounded by cultural expectations that shaped their roles both at home and in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to understand how Latina leaders managed the dual pressures of balancing career demands with cultural and familial obligations. Using Testimonio as the methodological framework, this study captured the voices and narratives of Latina leaders across industries, offering an …

Information Asymmetry: A Configurational Perspective In Buyer-Supplier Relationships, Soode Vaezinejad

Open Access Dissertations

Information asymmetry in buyer-supplier relationships has been linked to several influencing factors. However, these factors are often examined in isolation, limiting understanding of their synergistic effects. Grounded in agency theory, signaling theory, and transaction cost economics, this study adopts a configurational perspective to examine which combinations of factors lead to high information asymmetry. Using a three-part study design, we first conduct a systematic literature review to identify relevant factors, which are then refined and prioritized through a Delphi study. Building on this foundation, fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is applied to survey data from 385 buyer managers to uncover equifinal …

From The Classroom To The Workplace: The Role Of Internships In Shaping Student Values, Jasmine Williams

Honors College Theses

A significant degree of research on workplace values has been conducted to better understand how employees are motivated in the hopes of reducing turnover. There also exists a significant body of literature on how internships impact career outcome and can effectively prepare students for the workforce. However, previous studies have not explored the differences between students who have completed internships in comparison to those who have not. The goal of this research is to determine whether internships create a significant impact on students’ workplace values (e.g. intrinsic, extrinsic, altruistic, and social) when compared to students who have not completed an …

Participatory Work Design Intervention In A Disability Support Organization: Effects On Job Demands, Social Support, And Burnout, Arian Kunzelmann, Connie Deng, Lucinda Iles, Ryan Cheng, Helena Nguyen, Anya Johnson, Sharon K. Parker

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a participatory work design intervention to improve job quality and mental well-being in a disability support organization. We investigate whether the intervention is associated with changes in burnout (i.e. disengagement, work-related, client-related), and we assess the changes in work design through which the intervention has its effects. We hypothesized that the effects of the work design intervention on burnout occur via changes in social support (i.e. co-worker instrumental and emotional support) and job demands (i.e. role conflict, time pressure). 72 participants were involved (N = 21 in the intervention group, 66.7% female; N = …

Paid Search Marketing Vs. Search Engine Optimization: Analytical Models Of Search Marketing Based On Search Engine Quality, Kai Li, Chunyang Shen, Mei Lin, Zhangxi Lin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As search engines are leading revenue growth in online marketing, search marketing has become a popular area of academic research. Although search engine advertising has interested researchers for decades and much has been learned, one thing that puzzles scholars is why search engine optimization companies are tolerated rather than excluded from the market, even though they capture a significant share of the advertising market. In this paper, we shed light on this phenomenon and establish an analytical model based on organic search quality. Through analysis of the model, we were able to draw several intriguing conclusions. First, there is no …

Design Principles For Customer-Engaging Digital Service Systems: An Action Research Study, Keng Leng Siau, Xiaofeng Chen, Xin Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Digital services represent a business approach employed by organizations to operate in the digital environment. However, systematic development guidelines for developing quality digital service systems are lacking in the literature. The authors identified four general challenges for developing and implementing customer-engaging digital service systems (CEDSS). By employing the method of canonical action research in a digital service system project, they derived 10 design principles for developing high-quality CEDSS. They empirically evaluated the design principles in the development project and through follow-up focus group sessions. The design principles provide applicable and actionable guidelines for the development of CEDSS.

Enhancing Hospital Length Of Stay Using Ai Agent Modular Capabilities, Dami Fred

Theses and Dissertations

Hospital Length of Stay (LOS) analysis is essential for managing hospital efficiency and financial performance, yet the analytical depth required remains inaccessible to many organizations due to technical and resource constraints. This thesis introduces the AI Agent Modular Capabilities (AIAM) framework, which decomposes LOS analysis into discrete, codifiable capabilities integrated into a single skill activatable with one prompt. Seven AI Agent Modular Capabilities were developed using a Work Breakdown Structure and tested against a simulated hospital scenario across three successive skill versions. Results demonstrate that the packaged AIAM skill produces comprehensive, consistent, multi-section LOS analyses from a single interaction, outperforming …

Data Utilization In Facilities’ Performance Management Decision- Making At U.S. Four-Year Public Institutions: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study, Tanaporn Supanichrattana

Theses and Dissertations

The growing complexity of higher education finance, aging infrastructure, and rising accountability expectations has intensified demands on facilities organizations to manage institutional assets strategically. As colleges and universities face sustained fiscal constraints and expanding operational pressures, the ability of facilities leaders to use data to inform performance management has become increasingly critical. Despite this importance, limited empirical research has examined how facilities leaders integrate data into decision-making within public higher education contexts.

The quantitative study employed a cross-sectional, exploratory survey design to investigate data utilization practices among facilities leaders at U.S. public four-year institutions. Guided by the Data–Information–Knowledge–Wisdom hierarchy and …

Comparison Of Basil (Ocimum Basilicum L.) Cultigens In A Controlled Environment Vertical Farm, Sarah R. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

Vertical farming is the production of plants in a completely controlled, enclosed environment and represents an advanced, sustainable method to grow basil and other leafy crops. Vertical farming offers 365 days of continual production, using minimal input and efficient, low water usage. For this study we compared five different basil cultivars side-by-side under the same growing conditions in a controlled environment. The basil cultivars compared were, Sweet Thai, Genovese, Holy, Cinnamon, and Greek basils. During growth, data was collected three times for each cultivar including plant length, internode length, number of nodes, number of leaves per stem, SPAD (Soil Plant …

Zdolności Dynamiczne A Transformacja Cyfrowa Firm. Kontekst Małych I Średnich Przedsiębiorstw Przemysłu Spożywczego W Polsce, Magdalena Marczewska

Monografie/Monographs

Oparta na badaniach monografia obrazuje charakterystykę dynamicznych zdolności wykorzystywanych przez firmy w procesie transformacji cyfrowej oraz przybliża w jakim zakresie dynamiczne zdolności są warunkiem koniecznym transformacji cyfrowej przedsiębiorstw. Autorka prezentuje w książce nowatorską reinterpretację koncepcji dynamicznych zdolności, a także identyfikację kluczowych barier, których przezwyciężenie jest niezbędne dla transformacji cyfrowej oraz udostępnia Czytelnikowi praktyczny model wspierający jej planowanie i wdrażanie.

Dynamic Capabilities and Digital Transformation of Firms: The Context of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Polish Food Industry

Based on empirical research, this monograph illustrates the characteristics of dynamic capabilities utilized by companies in the digital transformation process and examines …

Securing The Flow: Strategic Storage And Corridor Design For Maritime Energy Security Under Chokepoint Disruptions, Monit Sharma, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Maritime disruption planning requires joint strategic storage and transport capacity decisions under uncertainty. We develop a two-stage stochastic multi-commodity network-design model for national energy security that integrates corridor commitments, port--commodity inventories, storage expansion, and scenario-dependent routing for crude oil, LNG, LPG, and fertilizer. The formulation incorporates decision-dependent probabilities, corridor concentration limits, and mean--CVaR risk, admitting an exact MILP reformulation. In a data-anchored India-inspired case study, stochastic modeling outperforms the expected-value policy by 1.35%, with decision-dependent probabilities worth 0.67%. Service levels are heterogeneous: crude and fertilizer maintain full coverage, while LNG and LPG drop to 34.6% and 33.3% under worst-case scenarios. …

Exploring Management Strategies To Reduce Workplace Violence: Perceptions Of Illinois Healthcare Professionals, Mary Mack

All Student Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined how managers of nonprofit healthcare facilities in the Chicago metropolitan area implement strategies to reduce workplace violence, what these strategies are and how they are carried out, and what organizational factors facilitate or impede their implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven healthcare professionals in management or safety-oriented roles across seven facilities, purposefully sampled through the researcher's professional network. Findings revealed four recurring patterns across the sample. Prevention infrastructure was installed reactively, following specific triggering incidents rather than anticipating documented risk. Facilities consistently favored lower-cost mitigation measures over more resource-intensive prevention strategies. Reliance on short-tenure contract …

Micro-Behavioral Analysis Of Online Shopping Patterns For Blind Users, Yash Prakash, Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Nithiya Venkatraman, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

While online shopping platforms provide convenience and autonomy to blind users, their non-visual interactions remain underexplored at a micro-behavioral level. Existing studies have primarily emphasized accessibility and usability challenges but have overlooked how fine-grained, screen reader-driven keystroke-level behaviors reflect users’ cognitive strategies. In this paper, we present the findings of a longitudinal study with 25 blind participants to examine their micro-behavioral patterns, using keyboard activity and screen reader logs on both familiar and unfamiliar e-commerce websites. We complemented this study with semi-structured interviews to contextualize the uncovered micro-behavioral patterns. Our results revealed patterns in how blind users draw upon cognitive …

Lost In Instructions: Study Of Blind Users' Experiences With Diy Manuals And Ai-Rewritten Instructions For Assembly, Operation, And Troubleshooting Of Tangible Products, Monalika Padma Reddy, Aruna Balasubramanian, Jiawei Zhou, Xiaojun Bi, Iv Ramakrishnan, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

AI tools like ChatGPT and Be-My-AI are increasingly being used by blind individuals. Although prior work has explored their use in some Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tasks by blind individuals, little is known about how they use these tools and the available product-manual resources to assemble, operate, and troubleshoot physical/tangible products – tasks requiring spatial reasoning, structural understanding, and precise execution. We address this knowledge gap via an interview study and a usability study with blind participants, investigating how they leverage AI tools and product manuals for DIY tasks with physical products. Findings show that manuals are essential resources, but product-manual instructions …