Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

The Effects Of Emotions On Strategic Decision-Making: A China-U.S. Cross-Cultural Experimental Study, Weichu Xu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation examines how two different emotions—pride and guilt—experienced by managers influence their strategic decision-making. Four different aspects of strategic decisions are investigated: risk, comprehensiveness, speed, and resource commitment. The dissertation also investigates how culture moderates the relationship between emotions and different aspects of the strategic decision-making process.

The hypotheses of this study were tested using a 2 x 2 experimental design with two emotions (guilt and pride) and two cultures (U.S. and China). The experimental design used scenarios to elicit these two emotions. Next, PANAS-X scale was used to check the effectiveness of emotion manipulation. Finally, respondents were asked …

Product Market Competition And Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions, Yen-Chih Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Conventional models assume competition improves corporate efficiency as firms strive to outperform competitors. In the context of agency models, the link between competition and managerial behavior becomes fuzzy. Hart (1983) and Schmidt (1997) posit that competition reduces managerial slack. Scharfstein (1988) argues that competition might increase managerial shirking. Recent studies on the relation between managerial compensation and competition further document conflicting evidence. In this study, I examine the effect of product market competition on corporate mergers and acquisitions. My initial results suggest that the definition of competition is critical in evaluating corporate mergers and acquisitions. Using three new dimensions (product …

Implementing A Functional Iso 9001 Quality Management System In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Andres Sousa-Poza, Mert Altinkilinc, Cory Searcy

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This conceptual paper provides guidance for the implementation of a functional ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To help a SME understand its starting point, four initial states for QMS implementation are defined. Five paths for moving the QMS from the initial state to the desired state are described. To support the transition from the initial to the desired state, some key considerations in implementing a QMS in SMEs are discussed. The paper is based on site visits and implementation assistance the authors have provided to several SMEs. It is anticipated the paper will …

Asian Corporate Governance Or Corporate Governance In Asia?, Shaomin Li, Anil Nair

Management Faculty Publications

Corporate governance has become an important issue for Chinese and Indian firms as they increasingly interact with regulators and investors from developed markets. For instance, tapping into global capital markets to raise funds to finance their domestic and international growth requires firms from China and India to demonstrate strong corporate governance credentials, so that investors do not discount their stock (LaPorta, Lopez-de-Silanes, Shleifer, & Vishny, 2000). The swift action of Chinese and Indian authorities in response to recent corporate scandals – such as the one at Satyam Computers – reveals that even governments in emerging countries such as China and …

An Integrated Probability-Based Approach For Multiple Response Surface Optimization, Okay Isik

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nearly all real life systems have multiple quality characteristics where individual modeling and optimization approaches can not provide a balanced compromising solution. Since performance, cost, schedule, and consistency remain the basics of any design process, design configurations are expected to meet several conflicting requirements at the same time. Correlation between responses and model parameter uncertainty demands extra scrutiny and prevents practitioners from studying responses in isolation. Like any other multi-objective problem, multi-response optimization problem requires trade-offs and compromises, which in turn makes the available algorithms difficult to generalize for all design problems. Although multiple modeling and optimization approaches have been …

The Theory Of The Growth Of The Firm, By Edith T. Penrose. Oxford: Blackwell, 1959 (Book Review), Anil Nair, Joseph Trendowski, William Judge

Management Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] A review (in the pages of this journal) of a book published nearly fifty years ago may appear unusual; not unless the book has become a “classic”. Indeed, many organizational scholars (e.g, Pitelis, 2002) view it as a seminal text for the resource-based view of the firm - arguably one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in strategic management research today.

Balancing Hamiltonian And Jeffersonian Contradictions Within Organizations, Anil Nair, David Ahlstrom

Management Faculty Publications

This article describes how institutions get infused with competing logics and analyzes how such competing logics might aid the design of contemporary organizations. It does so by exploring the contrasting views of American founders Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on the issues they confronted in the years leading up to and after the United States' independence from the British. Their views have had a lasting influence on the character and efficacy of the U.S. government. Although Hamilton and Jefferson contemplated issues related to the governance of the United States, the authors argue that their writings offer insights that can be …

Crisis Management In Projects, Senol Nazikkol

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this investigation is to identify the processes, benefits and important tools of crisis management in projects. Crisis management is a system that helps managers to prevent and overcome crises. In this research, a general review about crisis, crisis management processes and tools are discussed. The research was done by using the information in the literature and expert judgment. This paper can be used by academics as a foundation for further research and development in the area of crisis management in projects. Managers of projects can use this study for improving their projects and project-based organizations' crisis management …

The Analytic Hierarchy & The Analytic Network Processes In Multicriteria Decision Making: A Comparative Study, Ali K. Taslicali

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this investigation is to identify the critical benefits and factors of decision making models in a changing technological environment. Decision making models are helping tools for the managers or decision makers to make future plans by using qualitative or quantitative data. In this research, a general idea about decision making models and, comparison between the two important models, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Analytical Network Process (ANP), are introduced. The research was done by using the information in the literature and expert judgment. This paper can be used by academics as a foundation for further …

Analyzing Faulty Knowledge Systems In Project-Based Environments: An Empirical Investigation In A R&D Organization, Rafael E. Landaeta, Cesar Ariel Pinto, Timothy G. Kotnour, William R. Peterson

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This investigation contributes a framework of the relationships among the faulty elements of a knowledge system in a project-based organization. The framework was developed during an applied research project at a R&D organization. A knowledge system can be defined as a series of inputs, processes, and outputs that interact with each other with the purpose of enhance the performance and capabilities of an organization or work unit through knowledge. The framework was developed using literature, our experience as applied researchers, and data collected from members of a R&D organization. Data was collected through a survey, interviews, and group meetings. The …

A Dyadic Composition To Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study, Gamze Karayaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design.

This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication …

The Role Of Inferential Accuracy In Performance Rating Accuracy: A Field Study Of Teacher Performance Appraisal, Cynthia L. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study first assessed the accuracy of performance appraisal ratings of high school teachers in comparison to the achievement of their students as measured by Virginia's Standard of Learning (SOL) tests. The overall performance rating scores of 145 teachers were compared to the pass rates of their students on SOL end-of-course tests. The rating sub-scores in each of four domains of performance were also compared to the SOL pass rates.

The study then tested the influence of Inferential Accuracy, a model proposed by Jackson (1972), on rating accuracy overall and of individual raters in the study. Inferential Accuracy is comprised …

The Role Of Interfunctional Market Orientation In New Product Program Success: An Exploratory Empirical Analysis, George Grady Gresham

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

A central tenet of the market orientation construct is the need for virtually all departments, not just the marketing department, to participate in gathering, disseminating and responding to market intelligence. Previous academic research provides empirical support for a positive relationship between market orientation and superior business performance. Superior business performance, for many firms, depends upon a continuous stream of new products emerging from their product development programs, yet few studies have demonstrated the link between market orientation and new product development program success. This dissertation conceptualizes market orientation below the strategic business level as interfunctional market orientation (IFMO) for cross-functional …

Multi-National Project Team Communications And Cultural Influences, Morgan E. Henrie

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory case study dissertation examined multinational project teams' communication satisfaction as influenced by the project team's cultural attribute of power distance. Utilizing a exploratory case study, semi-guided interview research approach, ordinal scale data and open-ended contextual based question responses was obtained. This data was gathered from United States---Russia and Canada---Angola multi-national, complex, high technology oil transportation project teams. Triangulation data gathering techniques were utilized to obtain empirical data from multiple sources of data and multiple data types. Subsequent data analyses combined descriptive statistical analysis, graphical analysis, cluster analysis, and content analysis techniques to derive a theoretical construct of multi-national …

An Empirical Examination Of The Moderators Of The Service Recovery Paradox, Vincent P. Magnini

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Some researchers (Abrams and Paese, 1993; Bitner, Booms, and Tetreault, 1990; Etzel and Silverman. 1981; Feinberg et al., 1990; Folkes and Kotsos, 1986; Gilly and Gelb, 1982; Hart, Heskett, and Sasser, 1990; Hocutt, Chakraborty, and Mowen, 1997; Kelley and Davis, 1994; Kelley, Hoffman and Davis, 1993; McCollough and Bharadwaj, 1992; Michel, 2001; Chrage, 2001; Smith and Bolton, 1998; Spreng, Harrell, and Mackoy, 1995; Tax, Brown, and Chandrashekaran, 1998) support the notion of a ‘recovery paradox’ which states that the occurrence of a failure may, if the recovery is effective, offer an opportunity to acquire higher satisfaction ratings from customers than …

Does Baldrige Make A Business Case For Quality?, Mark L. Dean, Cynthia L. Tomovic

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) is a widely accepted model promoting quality management as a means to business success. However, because business results are themselves part of the model, the contribution of the approach-deployment elements to results cannot be determined. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) maintains a history of Baldrige applications and the results of their evaluations. Statistical analysis of these data could yield insight into whether the approach-deployment advocated by the Baldrige model actually produces excellent results. Although NIST does not currently allow access to the data, future empirical evaluation of the data could …

Market Valuation Of Corporate Diversification In The Presence Of Internal Capital Markets In Emerging Countries, Supannee Buasook

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This study examines the valuation of corporate diversification in three emerging countries: Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Over the period of study (1992–2001 for Thailand and 1994–2001 for Indonesia and the Philippines), it is found that there is evidence of diversification discount in all three countries. The largest amount of discount exists in the Philippines (60.1%), followed by Indonesia (25.5%) and Thailand (15.1%).

Then, the sample is divided into two sub-periods: before the crisis (1992–1996) and after the crisis (1997–2001). Before the crisis, the diversification discount existed only in the Philippines, with the average of 49%. There is not enough …

Determination Of The Impact Of A Human Capital Decision Cost Model On The Economic Performance Measures Of A Technical Services Company, Jeffery A. Temple

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Human Capital has a major impact on cash flow management decisions in a Technical Services company. Decisions to hire or terminate employees to meet contract requirements affect the company's economic value. The objective of this research is to develop a model that assists management in establishing a starting point in making, as efficiently as possible, those decisions that impact employees' lives. To understand that impact, the operations and economic parameters of a Technical Services company are compared with those of a manufacturing company. This analysis establishes two · essential points for Technical Services organizations; first, that the capital investment decision …

Controlling Adult Oriented Businesses In Norfolk, Virginia, 1943–1998: A Descriptive Case Study, Janet Gail Nicula

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this case study is to analyze methods used in the city of Norfolk, Virginia to control adult oriented businesses (AOBs). Evidence is derived from several sources: interviews, analysis of government records, documents, historical photographs, and current observations.

The research examines approaches taken by the city to control AOBs in three locations: Main Street-Granby Street, the north end of Hampton Boulevard, and Little Creek Road-Shore Drive. Research questions addressed (1) how AOBs in Norfolk were controlled, (2) what or who instigated the process, (3) the Navy's role in the process, (4) role of Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, …

An Assessment Of The Links Between International Diversification, Product Diversification, Performance And Risk Within Service Corporations, Sally Ann Sledge

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Services currently account for the dominant share of the workforce in all developed nations and are the fastest growing sector of employment in most developing nations. Services comprise approximately two-thirds of the GDP (gross domestic product) or total domestic output of final goods and services in highly industrialized nations from the OECD (Organization for Cooperation and Development). They make up almost half of the GDP in developing nations. All economic forecasts predict that services will continue to grow and account for the vast majority of future economic expansion throughout the world. Despite these facts, services have been studied infrequently among …

Sales Training Practices In Malaysia: Comparisons Of Domestic And Multinational Companies, Mohamad Asri Jantan

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation expands the domestic sales training research into international settings by examining and comparing sales training practices of domestic and multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia. Fourteen hypotheses were proposed and examined: (1) the two groups' comparative sales training practices; (2) the two groups' sales managers' perceptions toward important sales training tasks; (3) the relationships of the different perceptions toward important sales training tasks to sales 9 managers' performance measures; and (4) the effect of two groups' demographic variables on perceived adequacy of the overall sales training programs.

Cross-sectional data were collected via self-administered questionnaires distributed to sales managers, marketing …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Critical Determinants Affecting Commitment And Performance Of The U. S. Firm In The South African Market: Apartheid Versus Post-Apartheid, Sonja Pollard Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as one of the world's Big Emerging Markets (BEMs), South Africa has received vast attention from potential foreign investors (IRRC 1994) and has been recognized by scholars as an excellent base for research (Hofmeyr, Templer and Beaty 1994). Unfortunately, little is known about the export behavior of the foreign firm in South Africa (Calof and Viviers 1995) given the country's history of political, social and economic instability.

This dissertation is an effort to increase the understanding of the factors that contribute to the commitment and overall market performance of U.S. firms in South …

The Parallel Organization And Employee Perceptions Of Participative Leadership In A Mid-Atlantic City, Landis Denise Faulcon

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

Current literature is replete with examples of how bureaucracy hinders organizational performance in rapidly changing social, economic, and political environments. The use of a parallel organization has emerged as one approach to transforming traditional bureaucratic structures into high performance work systems.

This study examines a parallel organization created as part of a high performance organization (HPO) model in a mid-Atlantic city. The purpose of the parallel organization is to conduct the work of leadership, which consists of five functions: identifying customer needs and expectations; developing a shared vision and values; integration and stewardship; creating an environment conducive to learning, thinking, …

Competitive Interaction: The Influence Of Strategic Group Structure, Sherry M. Burlingame

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The assertion that competitive interaction is a central focus of business strategy emerged from the Strategic Management Research Group (SMRG) at the University of Maryland. The premise of this perspective is that competition among firms can be modeled using communication theory to explain how firms in an industry interact. Competition, in this framework, is represented as the series of actions and counteractions, termed responses, that firms undertake to position themselves in their industry. Thus, in this model, interaction (actions and responses) equates with competition. Studies conducted by the members of the SMRG have outlined the relationship of key variables within …

The Long-Term Performance Of Initial Public Offerings (Ipos): Venture Capitalists, Reputation Of Investment Bankers, And Corporate Structure, Halit Gonenc

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) literature has uncovered the underpricing, hot issue markets, and long-term underperformance anomalies. The long-term underperformance of IPO firms has gained the focus of recent academic attention. Recent studies document that venture capitalists, and the reputation of investment bankers are associated with the long-term performance of firms going public. The lack of venture capitalists has been shown to relate with the long-term underperformance of IPO firms. On the other hand, IPO firms underwritten by less reputable underwriters have been found to experience more negative long-term market adjusted returns. Unlike previous studies, this study examines the interactive …

The Effects Of Corporate Diversification And Control On Division Risk-Taking Strategy And Performance, Hae Ryong Kim

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This research explored two major functions of corporate strategic management, corporate diversification (core-business relatedness) and corporate control, and their implications for divisional strategic management. Four research questions were raised to address these issues: (1) does core-business relatedness matter to division performance? (2) how does core-business relatedness influence corporate control? (3) how does core-business relatedness influence division risk-taking strategies and performance? and (4) how does corporate control influence division risk-taking strategies and performance?

Adopting the resource-based view and organizational learning theory, this study proposed that core-business related divisions would outperform unrelated divisions and that core-business related divisions would have higher commitment …

Measuring And Evaluating Sales Force Training Effectiveness: A Proposed And An Empirically Tested Model, Ashraf Magdy Attia

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Recent reports show that 95% of organizations conduct some form of sales training and organizations spend more than $30 billion dollars annually on sales training programs. According to {\it Sales \& Marketing Management\/} (1993), the average estimated field training costs for a sales trainee is \$37,000. Due to the accelerating investments in sales training, Honeycutt, Ford, and Rao (1995) found that 57% of sales training executives said that the major area in greatest need of additional research is determining sales training effectiveness.

The research contained herein addresses a gap in the marketing literature by: (1) proposing and testing a model …

Meta-Ethnographic Development Of A Dialogue Methodology Applied To Organization Discourse, Shelley P. Gallup

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A gap exists between theoretical stances that acknowledge the importance of dialogue as a dynamic within socially constructed structures, and "steersmanship" of those constructs--e.g., directing, intervening or transforming organizations. A "mechanism" which links theory with practice is missing, leaving practitioners with an acknowledgment of dialogue's central position, but without tools to enact this centrality in practice or research. This research constructs a conceptual model of dialogue, derived from the literature. Using this model as a base, the research seeks to generate a dialogue methodology bridging theory and practice with respect to organizational dialogue. The model, methodology, and research results are …

Consortia As Technology Innovation Management Vehicles: Toward A Framework For Success In Venture Based Public-Private Partnerships, Ralph B. Saunders Ii

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the approach by federal/state agencies, university, and private sector consortia to develop and manage commercialization of innovation technologies. The evaluation, support, and management of technologically based consortia has traditionally been held in the private sector. There is a somewhat mature literature guiding innovation management (Utterback 1996; Rosenberg et al. 1994; Quinn 1997, 1992) in the private sector. However, there is an increasing emergence of consortia consisting of universities, industrial/private sector entities, and government agencies joining in collaborative efforts to launch technology based initiatives. These consortia are non-traditional and the applicability of traditional …

The Convenience Orientation Of Services Consumers: An Empirical Examination, Patricia Kramer Voli

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The growth of the convenience industry suggests that time-scarce consumers represent an important potential target market for firms that offer time and/or effort saving attributes in their product offerings. The research contained herein addresses a gap in the marketing literature by examining a proposed series of relationships involving household expenditures for "convenient services." These proposed relationships were captured in a "Conceptual Framework of Convenient Services Consumption" which synthesized the various existing theoretical conceptualizations relating to convenience consumption and the number of factors said to influence consumers' convenience orientation. Specifically, this study sought to profile the convenience oriented services consumer by …