Business Commons^™

Reporting Quantitative Methods And Findings: Best Practices Fidelity In The Leisure Science Literature, Mat D. Duerden, Eric Keith Layland, Andrew Lacanienta, Camilla Hodge, Michael Goates, Michael B. Edwards

Faculty Publications

This article identified best practices for quantitative methods and results reporting and then evaluated leisure science articles’ adherence to them. A two-stage stratified sampling method identified 112 articles. A codebook was developed, and 26 universal codes addressing abstract, methods, and results were applied to each article to generate best practices scores (BPS). BPS ranged from 6 to 21 (M¼14.89, SD¼2.95). Articles were more likely to use best practices for abstract, sample selection, recruitment, statistics, and data analysis, and less likely for participant characteristics, instrumentation, and data collection procedures. Comparisons of BPS across journals identified significant differences.

To Link Or Not To Link? Multiple Team Membership And Unit Performance, Eean R. Crawford, Cody J. Reeves, Greg L. Stewart, Stacy L. Astrove

Faculty Publications

Multiple team membership is common in today’s team-based organizations, but little is known about its relationship with collective effectiveness across teams. We adopted a microfoundations framework utilizing existing individual- and team-level research to develop a higher-level perspective on multiple team membership’s relationship with performance of entire units of teams. We tested our predictions with data collected from 849 primary care units of the Veterans Health Administration serving over 4.2 million patients. In this context, we found multiple team membership is negatively associated with unit performance, and this negative relationship is exacerbated by task complexity.

Essays On Financial Incentives, Tyson D. Van Alfen

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

In my first chapter, I use a novel dataset of customer reviews from Amazon.com to study the impact of managerial myopia on product market reputation. Using exogenous variation due to the timing of CEO equity vesting events, I show that short-term incentive shocks predict declines in reputation. A changing product market lineup and a deterioration of existing products are two mechanisms through which reputation is affected. The effect is larger when the CEO has other short-term concerns and when the firm has a low reputation in the product market. However, higher advertising expenses mitigate the negative reputational effect among consumers. …

Applying Blockchain For Dual Use Technologies Supply Chain Security, Babita Gupta, Seema Gahlaut, Shwadhin Sharma

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Blockchain technology is gaining momentum with potential applications in businesses, government, and social context with some impressive applications for storing information, eliminating intermediaries, and enabling greater coordination between entities in issues such as in maintaining data standards (Higginson, Nadeau, and Rajgopal, 2019). While there are aspects of this technology that are still not settled such as the question of whether it is a disruptor or foundational technology, there is an agreement that it has the capability to increase security and transparency of transactions to all parties. Smart contracts using blockchain are theorized to be manifested using machine-to-machine coordination within IoT …

Understanding Key Drivers Of Mooc Satisfaction And Continuance Intention To Use, Yunfan Lu, Bin Wang, Yaobin Lu

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted global audiences who desire to learn. However, the completion rate of these courses is less than 10 percent. Few studies have systematically researched the influence of expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) and user experience (e.g., flow experience, perceived interest) on user satisfaction of and the continuance intention to use MOOCs. The present study examines the drivers of MOOC satisfaction based on ECT and the influence of satisfaction on user behavior. A research model reflecting the relationships among confirmation, usefulness, interest, flow, satisfaction, and continuance intention to use, and intention to recommend was developed and tested …

Digital Transformation Through Internet Of Things Services, Tayfun Keskin, Frederick J. Riggins

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Internet of Things (IoT) have been disrupting industries through shifting novel services, and business models. Organizations should also redesign their business service models to navigate this disruption. A holistic understanding of digital transformation through IoT requires the cooperation of multiple disciplines ranging from engineering to economics. This paper utilizes a conceptual model to develop an analytical framework to investigate a number of pricing strategies enabled by different business models. Our findings demonstrate that the Internet of Things phenomenon has the potential to disrupt the way we do business by connecting markets and enabling new business models.

Data Security Threats Sources: An Empirical Examination Of Institutional Characteristics, Nasim Talebi, Emmanuel Wusuhon Yanibo Ayaburi, Suhail Chakravarty

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Driven by the difficulty in achieving complete security with technical tools, business investigators are looking into organizational and behavioral issues that could help make systems more secure. This chapter looks at the security of systems from the organizational perspective. Specifically, this study attempts to identify if different organizations have different predisposition to particular type(s) of security threat sources. Using publicly available security breach data from a privacy rights clearinghouse to investigate which organizational characteristics predisposes an institution to an external or internal threat source, it was concluded that as size of organization and the number of its valuable documents increase …

Critical Review Of Organization-Technology Sensemaking: Towards Technology Materiality, Discovery And Action, Mostafa Mesgari, Chitu Okoli

Information Systems and Business Analytics Faculty Works

More than two decades of sensemaking research has brought thorough knowledge of how people understand organisational phenomena and attach meaning to them. This stream of research explores varied social and cognitive aspects of the process in the context of organisations and information technology (IT). However, such a large body of literature exhibits some significant shortcomings: there is a lack of IT materiality; a neglect of the discovery aspect of perception; and a lack of action orientation. So, there is limited understanding of the role that the material artefact plays in shaping users’ sensemaking of new IT, as well as how …

A Delicate Balance For Innovation: Competition And Collaboration In R&D Consortia, Dong Chen, Li Dai

Management Faculty Works

This study examines how competitive and cooperative relationships within R&D consortia influence member firms' innovation output. We propose a U-shaped relationship between the presence of market competitors for a member firm and the firm's joint R&D output with other consortium members, and examine how the relationship is mediated by interactions with other members at the firm level and moderated by collaborative efforts at the consortium level. Using a unique sample of 320 firms from 52 R&D consortia in China, we find support for our predictions. This multi-level study extends our understanding of competition and cooperation in multi-party networks and provides …

Time For A Marketing Curriculum Overhaul: Developing A Digital-First Approach, Andrew Rohm, Julian Saint Clair

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Academic programs and educators face numerous challenges related to teaching digital marketing. Today, the world of marketing is digital and marketing programs have struggled to maintain pace with the changes influencing marketing practice. The authors describe the M-School program at Loyola Marymount University, a program developed to address this challenge by placing digital marketing at the center of the curriculum. Through experiential learning and project-based learning, M-School courses expose students to real-life challenges involving ways in which companies and organizations generate consumer awareness, demand, and value given the significant digital shifts taking place in technology and consumer behavior. The authors …

Subsistence Marketplaces: Challenges And Opportunities, Madhu Viswanathan

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

This introductory article is a biennial exercise to reflect on the stream of subsistence marketplaces as a prelude to the special section on this topic following the Sixth Subsistence Marketplaces Conference in 2016. The call for papers was not restricted to conference presentations. At the end of the review process, the special section contained four articles spanning a diverse set of topics. The authors provide an overview of the subsistence marketplaces stream and a background of the conference series. This is followed by a brief introduction to the special issue. They then discuss the what, how, and why for past …

Implementation Of Social Innovations In Subsistence Marketplaces: A Facilitated Institutional Change Process Model, Madhu Viswanathan

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

Implementation of social innovations in subsistence marketplaces often fails as a result of not bringing about institutional change. In this article, we study the process through which social enterprises facilitate local communities in effecting the process of institutional change as they introduce social innovations. Analyzing rich ethnographic data from 19 social enterprises, we develop the process of “facilitated institutional work” for implementing social innovation. We present a process model for implementing social innovation with four distinct stages involving social enterprises—(1) legitimating themselves within local communities, (2) disrupting aspects of the local institutional environment, (3) helping re-envision institutional norms or practices, …

Sherwin-Williams Research Report, Chase Edwards, Krista Mathis, Savannah Frase, Madeline Connolly, Charles Howe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The overall purpose of this research is to gather information from a variety of different sources regarding recruitment and retention strategies. After gathering this information, the findings will be applied to The Sherwin-Williams Company in order to provide them with strategies on how to increase both retention and recruitment efforts in their organization. While there is no universal secret to better recruitment, the findings may transfer to a variety of different solutions.

The study was designed to cover a variety of different generations that companies can pull from. Primarily, baby boomer, generation X, and generation Y were taken into account. …

Goodyear As-A-Service Project Report, Julie Mullet

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of the Project Report is to explain our secondary and primary research findings, our analyses of these, and our solutions and recommendations as well as next steps for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in the “as-a-service” industry. The report begins with our secondary research finding, then moves into our primary research methods, statistical testing and data results, findings, and limitations of our primary research. We will then suggest our solutions and recommendations for the company based on our research. Last, we will detail our expected financial results for the company, as well as the action steps and future …

Emotional Exhaustion And Company Culture, Rosemarie Amore, Anthony Auth, Rebecca Mefford, Taylor Maiher, Jaret Brown

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Everyone loves a growing economy and low unemployment rate. Well, that is everyone except hiring managers. One of the hardest things for a hiring manager to do is retain talent when unemployment is low. The workers can move from job to job without worrying that they will have trouble finding employment. This is especially true in the retail industry. The retail industry is mostly made up of part-time employees who can choose to leave a company very quickly and with very little cost to themselves. The hiring manager, however, knows that it is very expensive for a company to continually …

Strategic Recommendations For Sherwin Williams, Alysha Blanchard, Cara Crookston, Jacob Kaut, Lucas Colantoni, Lillyanne Sweitzer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our project objective was to provide Sherwin Williams with a comprehensive and well researched recommendation to aid recruitment efforts for their Management Trainee Program, as well as increase employee retention. Our team’s primary research was centered around benchmarking Sherwin Williams’ business related practices with those of similar retail companies and employees. Specifically, the research was focused on company culture, training and support, employee referrals, and treatment of part-time employees of the different organizations. To complete the benchmarking effectively, our team created two variations of a survey design to capture the necessary feedback and data. After analyzing our primary research and …

The Effect Of Behavioral Traits And Background On Engineering Students’ Decision-Making Process Compared To Business Students, Joe Scott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper looks to narrow down the reasons that students undertake new credentials, specifically in sales fields. With a focus on character traits and upbringing, the goal is to ensure that there is a better understanding of the reasons that people undertake these credentials. The different benefits of credentials will be analyzed to determine the most influential reason that people would be willing to move forward. The combination of these factors will be used to provide recommendations of the best way to reach and influence the decision of the engineering students.

Brain Drain And Emigration: How Do They Affect Source Countries?, Nicholas Chura

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper examines the effect of different skill levels of emigration on a country’s labor market, from high skill brain drain to low skill emigration. By utilizing an IADB Brain Drain data set to measure emigration rates among those with low, medium, and high educational attainment in a country, the effect of brain drain vs. low skill emigration on productivity and unemployment is examined. These data span from 1980 to 2010 with measurements every five years for 195 World Bank countries. By utilizing two two-way fixed effects models with GDP per capita and unemployment rate as the dependent variables, the …

Accounting For The Environment, Jonathan Konopka

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research will explore the topic of environmental accounting, which is becoming increasingly important in today's climate. Many topics will be covered, including the history of environmental accounting, environmental accounting standards and practices, tax credits relating to the environment, green business practices, and local applications of environmental accounting. It is important to see how businesses are adapting in this era, in which climate and the environment has become a focal point.

Leveraging Internal Resources For Business Sustainability In Independent Quick-Service Restaurants, Mario De' Nell Wallace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Quick-service restaurant owners who fail to apply effective business strategies could risk business closure within the first 5 years of operations. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that independent quick-service restaurant owners used to sustain business longer than the first 5 years. Resource-based theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with 6 owners of independent quick-service restaurants in the southern region of the United States who sustained their businesses longer than the first 5 years, and from the review of business documents pertaining to sustainability. Data were …

Understanding Effectiveness Of A Diverse Board In The Nonprofit Sector: The Role Of Board Inclusion & Critical Mass Of The Diverse Board Members, Suparna Dutta

Theses and Dissertations

Using rated responses from nonprofit CEOs who participated in the 2016 BoardSource national survey, this study investigates whether nonprofit board inclusive behavior or board inclusive practices are positively correlated with nonprofit board effectiveness. It further examines whether a critical mass of racial and ethnic minority or women board members may moderate the relationship stated above. To answer these questions, the study tested six hypotheses using principal component analysis, followed by hierarchical regression analysis, and found no evidence of statistical significance in main or moderator effects. The study recommends that policymakers should frame policies that ensure mandatory quotas for women and …

A Novel Framework For Social Internet Of Things: Leveraging The Friendships And The Services Exchanged Between Smart Devices, Javad Abed

Theses and Dissertations

As humans, we tackle many problems in complex societies and manage the complexities of networked social systems. Cognition and sociability are two vital human capabilities that improve social life and complex social interactions. Adding these features to smart devices makes them capable of managing complex and networked Internet of Things (IoT) settings.

Cognitive and social devices can improve their relationships and connections with other devices and people to better serve human needs. Nowadays, researchers are investigating two future generations of IoT: social IoT (SIoT) and cognitive IoT (CIoT). This study develops a new framework for IoT, called CSIoT, by using …

Employee Commitment Among Direct Care Professionals In An Intermediate Health Care Facility, Sharron Theresa Nicholson-Mccall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of employee commitment affects the overall practice in healthcare organizations and can cause a disruption in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities who are receiving care. Researchers have demonstrated that increasing employee commitment and decreasing employee turnover are related to employee commitment in healthcare organizations. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that leaders of an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities in the northwestern United States used to enhance employee commitment. Meyer and Herchovitch's model of employee commitment was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collecting from semistructured interviews …

Strategies For Reducing Nurses' Turnover In Specialty Care Clinics, Lawrence Benjamin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nursing shortage and high turnover rates are a problem in Canada and the world over. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies that nurse leaders in specialty care clinics in Canada use to reduce nurse turnover. The participants were 7 nurse leaders from a single organization with specialty care clinics across Canada who all had above average nurse retention rates when compared to the case organization's average nurse retention rate. The authentic leadership theory was the conceptual framework. Data sources for this study were company documents, participants' semistructured interview responses, member checking of the …

Corporate Environmental Strategies For Balancing Profitability With Environmental Stewardship, Stephen I. Carmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, citizens concerned with climate change and income inequity scrutinize the activities of corporations. Sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have a critical role in business management, because stakeholders demand transparency in a company's operations. This correlation study, grounded in stakeholder theory, examined the relationship between environmental initiatives, CSR, and net profit for U.S. corporations. Participants included 96 companies with listing on either National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, or the New York Stock Exchange, or both, with and without evidence of CSR and environmental disclosures. The multiple regression analysis significantly predicted higher net profit for …

Employer Strategies For Improving Employee Work-Life Balance, Vernessa Lashawn Johnson-Hoffman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior leaders who fail to implement work-life balance strategies may experience reduced profits and sustainability challenges. This single case study explored employers' strategies for improving employee work-life balance. The population for the study included 4 senior leaders of a hospice care agency in North Carolina who successfully implemented employee work-life balance strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and from the review of company documents, website, and social media pages. The conceptual framework for the study was the transformational leadership theory. The trustworthiness of interpretations was supported by member checking. Four themes emerged from inductive analysis of the data: a …

Strategies To Identify And Reduce Workplace Bullying To Increase Productivity, Dr. Marvalene King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying caused business owners to lose about 80 million employees' workdays each year. Workplace bullying can cost an organization up to $300 billion for increased medical claims, lost productivity, and employee turnovers, and up to $23 billion in additional expenses, such as costs for employee absenteeism and legal costs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore successful strategies to address workplace bullying used by 7 human resource (HR) managers and executives in 1, small-to-medium-sized organization in Central Florida. The HR managers and executives had 5 or more years of HR experience. The risk management framework and …

Relationship Between Sba Loans, Personal Capital Finances, Government Regulations, And Business Profitability, Jennifer E. White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women-owned small businesses have grown 58% between 2007 and 2018. Some female owners of small businesses lack strategies to obtain financial capital to continue growth and raise profitability for their businesses. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the relationship between access to sources of financial capital, government regulations and business profitability. The resource-based theory was the theoretical framework for this quantitative ex-post facto study. Archival data from the 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs were collected. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated a full model, containing two predictor …

The Experience Of Founder's Syndrome In Nonprofit Organizations Founded By Women, Coutanya Moultry Coombs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gaps exist in the literature on knowledge of how founder behavior affects volunteers and employees in nonprofit organizations. Through exploration of founder relationships with volunteers and employees, this study fills some of those gaps and adds to the body of knowledge of how those relationships are perceived by founders, volunteers, and employees. The purpose of this narrative study was to address the question of the impact of founder behavior on founders, employees and volunteers in nonprofit women's organizations founded by African American and Caucasian women. The theory of psychological ownership was used as the framework to understand founder behavior. The …

Small Business Owners' Consumer Brand Engagement Strategies In Social Media, Adam M. Hunsicker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2004, the economic relevance of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United States has steadily declined while large-scale enterprises' contributions have increased. Large-scale enterprises have maximized opportunities to engage consumers through social media and have created competitive advantages compared to SMEs. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the social media consumer brand engagement strategies leaders of SMEs used to positively affect their brands' equity. Relationship marketing and customer relationship management provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews with 8 craft brewery business owners in the Southeastern United States and …