Business Commons^™

How Does The Audit Report's Structure Affect Nonprofessional Investors' Attention To Its Content?, Brian Matthew Goodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study experimentally examines whether and how two potential changes to the audit report’s structure affect the extent to which nonprofessional investors attend to the report’s content when evaluating a potential investment, and whether the potential effects differ across levels of investor sophistication. Specifically, I examine the impact of descriptive paragraph headings and the relative location of the opinion paragraph on judgments of financial statement reliability and investment decisions. Results indicate that when the audit report includes descriptive paragraph headings, less sophisticated investors perceive the report to be more readable, which, in turn, leads them to attribute higher levels of …

The Prediction Of Future Earnings Using Financial Statement Information: Are Xbrl Company Filings Up To The Task?, Kelly Lawrence Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Financial statement data for large companies became available to the public in XBRL format starting in 2009 in the United States. Proponents of XBRL, along with the SEC, argue that XBRL filings offer several advantages over data provided by data aggregators, such as lower cost, faster availability, and broader coverage. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the combody of knowledge by investigating whether current XBRL company filings are useful in the prediction of future earnings and to attempt to interactively obtain the balances of 70 accounting concepts needed to create an earnings prediction model from a sample …

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, 2015, John Butterworth, Frank A. Smith, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report provides statistics over 25 years from several national datasets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors use abbreviations for both intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in this report. We do this because data sources vary in the specific target groups that can be described.

We provide a comprehensive overview that describes national trends in employment for people with IDD, and the appendices provide individual state profiles with data from several sources. These include the ICI’s IDD Agency National Survey of Day and Employment …

The Interactive Effects Of Citizenship Pressure And Job Embeddedness On Positive And Negative Outcomes Of Engagement, Jeremy Logan Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A more comprehensive understanding of the positive and negative outcomes of engagement could allow for a better conceptualization of the construct. The three goals of this study were: (1) to examine, based on the job demands and resources framework, potential negative antecedent and outcome relationships (i.e., role conflict, role ambiguity, and counterproductive work behaviors); (2) to identify interactions that could negatively impact engagement’s positive outcomes (i.e. citizenship pressure); and (3) to identify interactions that could positively impact engagement’s negative outcomes (i.e. job embeddedness). To accomplish these goals, the study collected data from both employees and their direct supervisors. An employee …

Industry Career Guide: Manufacturing, Kurt Gerrard T. See, Mitzie Irene P. Conchada

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Manufacturing sector in the Philippines has one of the largest contributions to the growth of the economy. Throughout the years, starting from the 1970s, the manufacturing sector has been one of the driving forces behind the country’s growth. It has proven its importance in the economy because of benefits such as employment generation and technological innovation.

Industry Career Guide Ownership Dwellings And Real Estate, Ma. Concepcion G. Latoja, Denise Serrano

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

This industry career guide on Ownership Dwelling and Real Estate (ODRE) aims to inform readers of the range of career options that are open to those who want to work in the industry. By presenting an array of occupations typically found in this field, the reader is informed of the basic requirements to land a specific job in this industry, the associated job environment and possibilities for job movement either in terms of promotion and/or moving laterally from one type of job to another within the industry. In the context of discussing job prospects, it lays out the issues surrounding …

Pagtugon Sa Sari-Saring Panganib: Mga Aral Mula Sa Mga Krisis Pananalapi, Tereso S. Tullao Jr

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Nitong nakaraang dalawang dekada, nakaranas ang mga ekonomiya sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng mundo ng tatlong matitinding krisis pananalapi. Ang mga ito ay nagdulot ng malalawak na pinsala sa mga mamamayan, pamahalaan at mahahalagang sektor ng ekonomiya lalo na sa sektor ng pananalapi.

Ang pagkalat ng krisis pananalapi tungo sa isang malawakang krisis ekonomiko ay nakasalalay sa sektor ng pananalapi lalo na ang pagbabangko. Makikita na maraming sa mga sanhi ng krisis ay nakaugat sa di maingat ng pagbabangko. May mga pagkakataon din na ang krisis ay hindi nagmumula sa mga bangko. Ngunit dahil ang mga bangko ay pangunahing sektor …

Managing Excessive Entitlement In Support Of Family Business Longevity, Maria Andrea L. Santiago

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Family members feel entitled to family wealth because of various reasons. Some claim that they deserve part of the wealth since they are members of the family. Others assert that they earned rights to the wealth through hard work, while still others argue that they deserve part of the family wealth because they are special. When family members do not get what they think they deserve based on their perceptions of entitlement, they declare that it is unfair. This becomes problematic when family members manifest their sense of entitlement in a dysfunctional manner. In a family business, this may result …

The Role Of Motives And Decision Rules In Restaurant Tipping, Jacob Lee Hiler

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this research is to address critical deficiencies in our understanding on how bill size, service quality, motives, and decision rules affect tipping behavior. This research uses social norm and equity theories to define the role of motives and decision rules used in determining tipping behavior. Additionally, it provides further evidence of other operant motives and decision rules through qualitative analysis. A conceptual framework and operational model are developed and empirically tested.

Command Abilities Of Captain Career Course Completers In Maneuver, Fires And Effects: A Self-Perceived Assessment, Michael C. Shaw

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between specific demographics of U.S. Army Company Grade Officers that have completed the U.S Army’s Captains Career Course (CCC) in Maneuver, Fires and Effects and their self-perceived capacity to perform as a successful Company Commander. This study included six objectives. The research hypothesis states: Company Grade Officers in the U.S. Army who have held a command position prior to completion of the CCC will have higher self-perceived abilities to function as a successful company commander than those who have not held a command position. The instrument was …

Territorial Tax System Reform And Corporate Financial Policies, Matteo P. Arena, George Kutner

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We examine the effect of a permanent change to a country corporate income repatriation tax system on corporate financial policies. In 2009, Japan and the United Kingdom switched from a worldwide system to a territorial system for the taxation of repatriated foreign earnings, effectively reducing the tax liabilities of most multinational firms when repatriating earnings. We find that after the change firms accumulate less cash, pay out larger amounts through dividends and share repurchases, and invest less abroad. We do not find that the tax system change has significantly affected domestic investments even when controlling for capital constraints.

Political Risk And The Cost Of Capital In Asia-Pacific Property Markets, George D. Cashman, David M. Harrison, Hainan Sheng

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This study investigates the impact of political risk on the cost of capital for publicly traded real estate firms. More specifically, by using a sample of 102 REITs and listed property trusts, which hold nearly 6,000 distinct investment properties across the Asia-Pacific region, we find strong empirical evidence that increased exposure to political risk increases both the cost of equity financing of a firm and its weighted average cost of capital. Interestingly, no such linkages are apparent between political risk and the cost of debt of a firm. These empirical results are robust to a variety of alternative measures of …

Three Essays In Banking: Corporate Governance, Internationalization, And Government Bailouts, Raluca A. Roman

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation extends a growing literature on banking and finance by investigating bank corporate governance, internationalization, and bailouts. The first essay conducts the first assessment of shareholder activism in banking and its effects on risk and performance. Activism can create value and be an effective monitoring mechanism for banks, but it may also be a destabilizing mechanism, as maximizing shareholder value may cause financial instability. We focus on the conflicts among bank shareholders, managers, and creditors (e.g., regulators, deposit insurers, taxpayers, depositors). We find activism may generally be a destabilizing force, increasing bank risk-taking, but creating market value for shareholders, …

Diagnostics To Evaluate Cost Of Capital Measures : A Discussion, Jeremy Bertomeu

Olin Business School Faculty Research

Christodoulou, Clubb and McLeay (Abacus, this issue) devel op measures of the cost of equity capital that require only accounting inputs, using a s an identification strategy the linear information dynamics of Feltham and Ohlson (1995). I propose to test these mea- sures by evaluating the predictability of innovations to ab normal earnings using various predetermined variables. The over-identifying restricti ons of this model require these in- novations not to be predictable. Using a generalized model, I observe that the estimated measures are probably too low. I conjecture that this anomal y, which occurs jointly with a positive drift in …

Examining The Supervisor-Similarity And Work-Family Conflict Relationship: Is Family-Supportive Supervision A Mediator?, Chela M. White-Ramsey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To say that interest in work-family conflict has increased is an understatement. With the number of dual-earner households increasing, the diversification of the workforce, and women quickly moving into industries that were once primarily male-dominated, the work-family literature is filled with various intonations of the concept. Drawing on insights from social identity and self-categorization theories, this dissertation examined how supervisor-subordinate demographic similarity might relate to the provision of family-supportive supervision and work-family conflict. 102 members of a professional organization dedicated to women who work in technology were surveyed to evaluate whether or not supervisor-subordinate racial and gender similarity would predict …

Career Development Among College Students: Determining The Influence Of Career Services On Student Persistence To Graduation, Anne Wanjiku Sang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of participation in career services activities and selected demographic characteristics on the persistence to graduation among undergraduate students at a research university-very high research activity (RU/VH) in the Southern portion of the United States. The target population was all undergraduate students enrolled at a research university –very high research activity (RU/VH) in the Southern portion of the United States. The accessible population for this study was undergraduate students at one selected research university –very high research activity (RU/VH) in the Southern portion of the United States and the sample …

The Influence Of Selected Demographic And Perceptual Characteristics On The Perceptions Of Distance Education Among Faculty At A Research Extensive University In The Southeastern Region Of The United States, J Gerard Richard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic and perceptual characteristics on the culture and desirability of Distance Education among faculty at a research extensive university in the southeastern region of the United States. The study was conducted using a survey research design. The electronic survey was distributed to full and part time faculty of the College of Agriculture at Louisiana State University using faculty email addresses provided by the college. The survey instrument consisted of questions concerning demographic characteristics, perception of Distance Education, culture of Distance Education, desirability of Distance Education and extent …

The Impact Of Financial Knowledge On Student Retention From The Second To The Third Year At A Public Research University, Eric N. Monday

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of financial knowledge and selected demographic characteristics on student retention from the second to the third year at a public research university in the southern region of the United States. The accessible population was defined as students in the Fall 2013 entering freshman cohort who were enrolled in the Spring 2015 semester. Measurements including the independent variable represented by the financial knowledge score and 17 other independent variables were collected using a survey instrument and downloaded data from the university’s electronic student information system. A total of 695 students …

Supervisory Ratings As A Measure Of Training Transfer: Testing The Predictive Validity Of The Learning Transfer System Inventory, Vicky Katsioloudes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this dissertation was to examine the criterion-related validity of all 16 LTSI General and Specific Scales in relation to training transfer. Using an ex-post facto design the researcher analyzed secondary data that included measures of key transfer system variables, as captured by the LTSI scales, and individual training transfer as indicated by supervisory ratings. The dataset comprised of employees from diverse organizations who had participated in different types of organizational instructor-led classroom training programs. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the construct validity of the LTSI General and Specific Scales (N = 619). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis measured …

Verifiable Disclosure, Jeremy Bertomeu, Davide Cianciaruso

Olin Business School Faculty Research

We develop a unified treatment of truthful disclosure (persuasion) games, providing a joint framework that nests, among other models, unraveling theory (Grossman 1981; Milgrom 1981), costly disclosure (Jovanovic 1982; Verrecchia 1983), uncertainty about information en- dowment (Dye 1985; Jung and Kwon 1988) and multi-dimensional disclosure (Shin 2003). We show the existence of (at most) a unique equilibrium that is reasonable given a commonly used signaling refinement, and provide a constructive proof of the equilibrium strategy and beliefs. We use the model to examine the following question: can the sender benefit from a regulation that commits to disclosing more precise information? …

The Devil At Work: Understanding The Dark Side Of Personality And Its Impact On Performance, Benjamin David Mclarty

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Personality and its impact on work-related behaviors is an area of research that lacks an explanation of causal mechanisms. In this study, the influence of darker forms of personality (e.g., Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy) on workplace behaviors are examined to determine if these behaviors in turn influence job performance outcomes (e.g., task performance, organizational citizenship behaviors). Using socioanalytic theory, getting along and getting ahead behaviors are proposed as mediators for the transmission of dark personality’s impact on task performance. The theory is also used to examine the relationship between dark personality and targeted citizenship. Another important issue that is addressed …

Safety Culture Monitoring: A Management Approach For Assessing Nuclear Safety Culture Health Performance Utilizing Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis, James Harold Warren Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nuclear power plants are among the most technologically complex of all energy facilities. This complexity reflects the precision needed in design, maintenance and operations to harness the energy of the atom safely, reliably and economically. Nuclear energy thus requires consistent, high levels of organizational performance by the highly skilled professionals who operate and maintain nuclear power plants (Nuclear Energy Institute [NEI], 2014, p. 1).

A key element for achieving consistent, high levels of performance in a nuclear organization is its safety culture. Nuclear safety culture is for an organization what character and personality is for an individual: a feature that …

The Effects Of Environmental Consciousness And Menu Information On Consumers’ Perceptions Of Restaurant Image And Purchase Behavior Related To Local Foods, Daniel A.G. Remar

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability initiatives have become increasingly important and relevant to the foodservice industry. Despite the fact that consumer demand for sustainable restaurant practices has grown substantially over the last 10 years, consumers’ pro-environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions are not always turned into concordant behavior. Though foodservice operators continue to make progress in developing new methods and strategies for implementing sustainable practices into operations, getting consumers to behave in accordance with their demand is a major challenge.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to determine if consumers’ attitudes towards local food, widely considered a sustainable restaurant practice, are congruous with their …

Examining The Impact Of Offshoring And Level Of Preparer Judgment On The Audit Review Process, Kristen Kelli Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

Offshoring audit tasks is becoming common among international accounting firms. Although tasks currently performed offshore require preparers to exercise little or no professional judgment, firms are poised to expand the volume and scope of procedures performed offshore. While critics argue that offshoring results in reduced audit quality, advocates maintain that offshored procedures are reviewed and supervised by U.S. auditors, and that offshoring may actually improve audit quality. However, little is known about how offshoring impacts reviewers and the review process. This study explores how offshoring interacts with varying levels of preparer judgment to influence reviewers’ judgments. Because firms plan to …

Three Essays In Finance, Liying Wang

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three essays on corporate credit markets and corpo- rate finance. The first essay examines the impact of unconventional monetary policies (UMPs), including Quantitative Easing (QE), Operation Twist (OT), and Forward Guidance (FG), on corporate credit markets. These policies were expected to reduce credit spreads by decreasing credit risk premium and/or liquidity premium, and to further lengthen borrowing maturity. During the crisis, Quantitative Easing (QE) 1 reduced these risk premia as expected. However, after the crisis, QE 2 and Oper- ation Twist announcements increased fears of a weaker economy and, consequently, widened credit spreads. In contrast, …

The Effects Of Technology Innovativeness And System Exposure On Student Acceptance Of E-Textbooks, Madison N. Ngafeeson, Jun Sun

Information Systems Faculty Publications

The efforts of educators in the last three decades have, among other things, focused on the use of information technology (IT) in education. It has become commonplace to view information systems both as an effective carrier of course content as well as a cost-effective tool to improve student learning outcomes. One of such technologies is the e-book. Decision-makers in the education field need make sense of this technological transformation. However, despite the growing popularity of e-books in higher education, its adoption by students is yet to be crystalized. This study exploits the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework to examine student …

Consumer Acceptance Of Personal Cloud: Integrating Trust And Risk With The Technology Acceptance Model, Murad Moqbel, Valerie L. Bartelt

Information Systems Faculty Publications

This paper conducts a conceptual replication of Pavlou (2003) which studied factors that impacted consumer’s behavioral intentions to make online transactions by integrating trust and perceived risk with the technology acceptance model (TAM). We test the generalizability of the model by replicating the study a decade later using a different online setting—personal cloud computing. Our results that are based on 240 observations, confirm the original study’s research model except perceived ease of use lost its direct predictive power to trust, perceived risk and perceived usefulness. Trust continues to be an important factor in perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness …

Roles Of Information Technology In Supply Chain Management, Akhadian S. Harnowo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Supply Chain Information Technology (SCIT) is a key enabler of effective supply chain management (SCM) activities. In 2013, $300 billion was spent on SCIT by firms globally, an increase by 1.8% and 3.8% compared to 2012 and 2011, respectively. With such significant investments, firms face risks of eroded financial performance if SCIT does not perform as expected. In fact, there is a mix of evidence with some firms benefiting from SCIT while others failing to benefit from investing in SCIT. Despite substantial research relating to utilizing information technology in a SCM context, the impact of SCIT on firm performance remains …

The Landwarnet School, The Army Learning Model, And Appreciative Inquiry: How Is A Centralized Training Organization Improved By Introducing Decentralization?, Lisa Jayne Stamper

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory, qualitative case study describes how a centralized training organization (LandWarNet School) was improved by introducing decentralization (Army Learning Model) toward “the best competitive position” or "sweet spot," defined by Brafman and Beckstrom (2006) as “enough decentralization for creativity, but sufficient structure and controls to ensure consistency” (pp. 189, 191). Any presence of the six chaordic elements of a decentralized organization, as described by Hock (1999), was also considered.

LandWarNet School (LWNS) trains approximately 6000 US Army Soldiers annually and is centrally organized. The new Army Learning Model (ALM) is a vision for a more decentralized training approach where …

Controls And The Asymmetric Stickiness Of Norms, Scott A. Emett, Ronald N. Guymon, William B. Tayler, Donald Young

Faculty Publications

This study investigates how formal control systems and the behavior of peers influence behavior in accounting settings. We manipulate formal controls and peer behavior (social norms) in a laboratory experiment, allowing us to precisely investigate the interactive effect of these two factors on behavior. We provide evidence that weak controls lead to more socially-interested behavior, while strong controls lead to more self-interested behavior. We also provide evidence that individuals conform more to social norms that conflict with the behavior that formal controls induce. Finally, we find that individuals preferentially attend and conform to the self-interested actions of peers (as opposed …