Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

The Impact Of Culture On Firm Performance: A Study On The Effect Of Respect, Teamwork, Innovation, Quality And Integrity On Corporate Profitability, Raphael Mwangi Wambugu

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the intricate relationship between organizational culture and firm performance, focusing on specific cultural dimensions of respect, teamwork, innovation, quality, and integrity as possible determinants of firm performance. The main objective is to find out the impact of these cultural elements on the dependent variable, return on assets (ROA).

As organizations strive for sustained success and competitive advantage, understanding the interplay between culture and financial performance becomes important. The cultural variable of respect is examined as a catalyst for fostering diverse perspectives and collaborative interactions within the organization. Teamwork is analyzed for …

Does Contingent Reward Leadership Enhance Or Diminish Team Creativity? It Depends On Leader (Un-) Predictability, Debjani Ghosh, Martin Buss, Amita Shivhare

Management Faculty Publications

Although prior research has shown that reward provision might sometimes increase creativity, little is known about how leadership that clarifies effort-reward contingencies (i.e., contingent reward leadership) is related to team creativity. Drawing on the theory of learned industriousness, we argue that contingent reward leadership can enhance team knowledge exchange and, in turn, team creative performance. However, we propose that this relationship is moderated by leader unpredictability, which can create uncertainty about resource allocation, thereby undermining the otherwise positive effect of contingent reward leadership. In a two-source, lagged design (three-wave) field study with data from 60 organizational teams, we found a …

Hitting The ‘Reset Button’: The Role Of Digital Reorientation In Successful Turnarounds, Michael A. Abebe, Chanchai Tangpong, Hermann Ndofor

Management Faculty Publications

Seismic shifts in industries brought about by radical technological innovations usually lead to a misalignment between the capabilities of many incumbent firms and the requisites of their new environment, and eventually, organizational decline. The current turnaround literature, while emphasizing operating and strategic responses to organizational decline that focus on efficiency and fine tuning product/market strategy respectively, ignores such organizational decline that requires fundamental reengineering of the whole firm and its value chain. This paper introduces the concept of digital reorientation as a long term turnaround strategy to respond to situations in which a firm’s environment has been fundamentally restructured. Digital …

An Island Of Sanity During Covid-19 Pandemic: Does Pet Attachment Support Buffer Employees' Stress Due To Job Insecurity?, Min Maggie Wan, Thomas K. Kelemen, Yejun Zhang, Samuel H. Matthews

Management Faculty Publications

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, the current study investigates whether employee job insecurity triggers employee behavioral strain reactions (i.e., alcohol use, marijuana use, and cigarette use) and psychological strain reactions (i.e., emotional exhaustion and depression) through stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we integrate social support theory and expect the moderating role of pet attachment support in the above relationships. By collecting two-wave data from 187 employees with pets in the United States, we found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress mediated the relationships between job insecurity and predicted behavioral and psychological reactions. Moreover, pet attachment support …

How To Attract Low Prosocial Funders In Crowdfunding? Matching Among Funders, Project Descriptions, And Platform Types, Yuanqing Li, Frank Cabano, Pingshu Li

Management Faculty Publications

Highlights

• Crowdfunding research shows inconsistent evidence about the impact of prosocial project description on crowdfunding success.

• We integrate elaboration likelihood model and language expectancy theory and propose distinct decision-making patterns from high and low prosocial motivation funders.

• Our findings show low prosocial participants are more likely to contribute to a project that aligns platform types (donation-based vs. reward-based) and prosocial project descriptions (high vs. low).

• We did not find these alignment effects for high prosocial participants.

Abstract

The amount of crowdfunding research that investigates funding success factors has been increasing. The existing research shows inconsistent evidence regarding how a prosocial …

On Or Off: The Triggering Effect Of Underperformance Duration On Cooperative Innovation, Taoyong Su, Yuzhu Yu, Yongheng Chen, Wanrong Hou

Management Faculty Publications

By complementing performance feedback theory with organizational pressure, we argue that underperformance duration breaks the balance between growth pressure and survival pressure and triggers the shift from “on” to “off” of cooperative innovation, which shows an inverted U-shaped relationship between the duration of underperformance and cooperative innovation. Moreover, compared with firms with historical underperformance, firms with peer underperformance will reach the inflection point of the inverted U-shaped relationship after a longer duration. In addition, we find that managerial overconfidence weakens the above relationship. Our hypotheses receive general support by testing the sample of 70 public biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies between 2007 …

Communication Quality And Relational Self-Expansion: The Path To Leadership Coaching Effectiveness, Angela M. Passarelli, Mai P. Trinh, Ellen B. Van Oosten, Amanda Varley

Management Faculty Publications

Leadership coaching—a relational process by which a professional coach works with a leader to support their development—is a common component of learning and development portfolios in organizations. Despite broad agreement about the importance of the coaching relationship, relational processes remain undertheorized, failing to account for the growth and intertwining of coach-leader self-concepts as they engage in a generative and co-creative coaching process. To address these shortcomings, we reconceptualize the relational process within coaching as one of relational self-expansion and theorize that the communication channel and communication quality impact relational self-expansion which, in turn, influences coaching effectiveness. Our hypotheses are tested …

The Effects Of Commitment And Trust On The Relationship Between Service Quality And University Brand Loyalty In Time Of Crisis, Dongjun Rew, Wonsuk Cha, Joo Y. Jung

Management Faculty Publications

Existing literature on university brand loyalty (UBL) has less focused on a marketing-oriented perspective, or relationship marketing, and its impact on testing UBL. The aim of this study is to identity the roles and impacts of trust and commitment, which are main factors that create a relationship, in the relationship between university service quality, student satisfaction (SAT), and UBL and discuss its implications for university approaches of the marketing-oriented perspective. A self-report study was conducted with a total sample of 301 undergraduate students from four universities in the USA. PLS-SEM and path analysis were employed to test each hypothetical relationship. …

E-Governance As Good Governance? Evidence From 15 West African Countries, Patience I. Akpan-Obong, Mai P. Trinh, Charles K. Ayo, Aderonke Oni

Management Faculty Publications

This research examines assumptions about the relationship between e-governance and governance in 15 West African countries through an analysis of the 2016 and 2018 World Governance Indicators (WGI) and E-government Development Index (EDGI), proxies for governance and e-governance, respectively. A Pearson correlation analysis demonstrates a significant positive correlation between WGI and EDGI. When disaggregated, however, some dimensions of governance fail to correlate with e-governance. Notably, governance indicators correlate positively with each other thus reinforcing the critical role of traditional institutions of governance in achieving good governance. The study concludes that while ICTs are effective in advancing the goals of governments, …

Does Internationalisation Give Firms A Second Life? Evidence From Turnaround Attempts Of Declining Firms During Performance Decline, Xin Liang, Rongji Zhou, Jugang Yan, Sibin Wu

Management Faculty Publications

Based upon a sample of 97 US public firms that attempted turnaround from performance decline, we tested the influence of internationalisation on the outcomes of turnaround attempts of firms. We found that internationalised firms had a better chance to recover from performance decline than their domestic counterparts. In addition, the greater the degree of internationalisation, the better chance a firm would recover from performance drop. The chances of recovery do not demonstrate a tendency to decrease even as a firm moves into very high stages of internationalisation.

Intergenerational Power Gap And R&D Investment: Evidence From China, Yong Zhao, Xi Yang, Daqi Xin, Wencang Zhou, Shuaijun Zhang, Liying Wang

Management Faculty Publications

Family firms face the dual challenge of succession and innovation. Based on the attention-based view, this study empirically investigates the effect of intergenerational power gap on corporate R&D investment, using a sample of Chinese listed family firms. We find that intergenerational power gap has a negative effect on corporate R&D investment, and this negative relationship is amplified in traditional industries and in firms with a low proportion of institutional ownership. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications for R&D investment in the family business succession process.

Experience, Empathy, And Emotions: What Our Academic Systems Need To Support (Not Just) Women Professors, Mai P. Trinh

Management Faculty Publications

The arguments in the focal article go like this: “Women professors during pregnancy, postpartum, and caregiving phases face real struggles in their academic career and we have a moral obligation to help them succeed; otherwise, it could be very costly to our institutions. Department heads and other faculty members, take actions to support female caregivers. We will give you some suggestions.” While Iresonate with this message both on a personal and a professional level, Icould not help but notice a fundamental assumption underlying this argument: that faculty members actively want to be good moral agents and want to help their …

The Effect Of Syntax Simplicity On Crowdfunding Performance, Yuanqing Li, Sibin Wu, Wencang Zhou

Management Faculty Publications

Using elaboration of likelihood model, this study examines how syntactic structure (structural and lexical simplicity) and nonverbal cues (smiling and professional attire) interact to influence crowdfunding performance. By studying 209 crowdfunding projects, we show that both structural simplicity and lexical simplicity are positively related to crowdfunding performance. Further, professional attire strengthens the simplicity and performance relationship. However, smiling shows mixed effects.

Perusall—An Interactive Tool To Facilitate Online Reading And Discussions, Mai P. Trinh, Sophia R. Thomas, Tejal Wagadia, Christine V. Williams

Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Do Tourism Clusters Contribute To Low-Carbon Destinations? The Spillover Effect Of Tourism Agglomerations On Urban Residential Co2 Emissions, Qiang Zhou, Shen Qu, Wanrong Hou

Management Faculty Publications

A burgeoning literature has investigated the relationship between tourism and regional CO2 emissions. However, the results are equivocal. Some scholars find that tourism induces more emissions, while others find that tourism benefits emission mitigation. Previous research suffers three deficiencies: (1) the CO2 emissions induced by tourism beyond the tourism sectors are neglected; (2) the role of tourism agglomerations in sustainable destination development is underrated; (3) the tripartite mechanism of tourism agglomerations, household income, and urban direct residential CO2 emissions (DRCEs) remains to be determined. Based on the theories of complex adaptive system and an empirical study of 30 provinces in …

Instrumental Variables Estimation: Assumptions, Pitfalls, And Guidelines, Nicolas Bastardoz, Michael J. Matthews, Gwendolin B. Sajons, Tyler Ransom, Thomas K. Kelemen, Samuel H. Matthews

Management Faculty Publications

Researchers striving to ensure rigor in their scientific findings face a common pitfall: Endogeneity. To tackle this problem, scholars have increasingly adopted instrumental variables estimation (IVE). Although there are many published works showing how IVE should be used, many applied researchers still have trouble understanding how to use the method correctly. In this article, we provide a methodological overview of IVE by discussing the underlying conditions valid instruments must satisfy as well as common mistakes made in using IVE. Using simulated data, we further demonstrate the sensitivity of IVE to violations of its conditions. We then take stock of …

Examining Incivility Through A Moral Lens: Coworker Morality Appraisals, Other-Condemning Emotions, And Instigated Incivility, Gerardo A. Miranda, Jennifer L. Welbourne

Management Faculty Publications

While much is known about the prevalence and impact of incivility in the workplace, relatively less is known about those who instigate workplace incivility. This research aims to investigate incivility instigation through a moral lens by examining the roles of other-condemning moral emotions (contempt, disgust, and anger) and appraisals of coworkers’ morality as predictors of this behavior at work. In Study 1, we used structural equation modeling to analyze two waves of self-report data collected from a sample of 447 full-time United States (U.S.) working adults. Findings from this study indicate that appraising coworkers as low in morality elicited feelings …

Great Recession And Corporate Recovery: Empirical Evidence Of The Impact Of Firms' Internal Control System, Gbolahan Oladayo

Theses and Dissertations

In Previous studies, we are made to understand that recession has a detrimental effect on corporate valves. Hence, I investigate substantial evidence that firms with a good internal control system, even during the financial crisis of 2008, were able to minimize redundancies that could have negatively affected the recovery of their company’s post-recession. Thus, firms with effective internal control systems are able to recover from negative events significantly faster (as measured by the firm’s values) than those without such systems.

Antecedents Of High Performance Work Practices In Smes: An Attention-Based View, Javier Martínez-Del-Río, Pingshu Li, James P. Guthrie

Management Faculty Publications

Relative to the large body of work in the broader strategic HRM (SHRM) literature, knowledge about determinants of SMEs’ approaches to HRM remains limited. We argue that heterogeneity in the use of high performance work practices (HPWPs) is influenced by top managers’ exposure and attention to information obtained via environmental scanning. Invoking an attention-based view (ABV), we develop hypotheses suggesting that competition tracking, participation in trade associations, and social network embeddedness will be associated with greater use of HPWPs. We also propose direct and moderating roles for top managers’ perceptions of competitive intensity. We test our hypotheses using a database …

Can You Escape? Using Mobile App Escape Games To Create A Holistic Experiential Learning Process Online, Mai P. Trinh

Management Faculty Publications

Mobile app escape games are excellent tools to create an experiential learning process in online contexts. Through the act of solving puzzles to escape the rooms, students experience a process in which they need to discover new information and clues, adjust their strategies repeatedly, and become more aware of the way they learn. Their emotional and behavioral reactions when they encounter difficulties can shed light on their learning identity and learning flexibility. The experiential learning cycle is complete with the addition of after-game reflection, debrief, and discussion. Escape games are versatile and can be used to teach a variety of …

Entrepreneurial Imaginativeness: A Janusian-Cognition Lens On The Role Of Multicultural Experience, Robert J. Pidduck, Daniel R. Clark, Yejun Zhang

Management Faculty Publications

A burgeoning stream of research is emerging on the importance of entrepreneurial imaginativeness in the new venture development process. Empirical studies so far have focused predominantly on its ideation-based outcomes—the number and quality of ideas produced. Knowledge remains scant, however, on its antecedent mechanisms and mediating role in nascent venturing. Drawing from a novel Janusian-thinking lens, we integrate another growing research stream in entrepreneurship—multicultural experience—to probe how the creative, social, and practical cognitive schemas underpinning entrepreneurial imaginativeness can be cultivated through dimensions of perhaps the most distinctive form of cultural exposure: living abroad. We find evidence across two studies that …

Teaching A Difficult Subject? Try Gamifying Your Class, Mai P. Trinh

Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Forging Paths To Interdisciplinary Research For Early Career Academics, Mai P. Trinh, Robert Kirsch, Elizabeth A. Castillo, Denise E. Bates

Management Faculty Publications

Interdisciplinary research is a promising approach with which to generate innovative solutions to real-world problems and create social value, yet it is a risky choice for early career academics (ECAs). This essay outlines the risks and rewards associated with interdisciplinary scholarship within the context of business schools. We use structuration theory as a guiding framework to identify how institutional structures can constrain the agency and interdisciplinary aspirations of ECAs and others who do not fit within the current narrow definitions of disciplinary excellence. Sharing examples from the authors’ journeys as ECAs from different disciplinary backgrounds who study leadership and management …

How To Effectively Mentor Students Online, Mai P. Trinh

Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Does Restricted Stock Turn Ceos Into Risk-Averse Managers? Insights From The Regulatory Focus Theory, Rong Ma, Wanrong Hou, Richard L. Priem, Peter Wright

Management Faculty Publications

Restricted stock awards carry upside and downside risks for CEOs. We follow a socio-cognitive perspective by suggesting that awards of restricted stock are viewed as potential gains or potential losses depending on each CEO's dominant regulatory focus. Regulatory focus, therefore, helps determine how a CEO responds to restricted stock awards. We also propose that the moderating effect of regulatory focus strengthens as firm complexity increases and as CEO tenure lengthens, because complexity and tenure both increase CEOs' reliance on heuristic information processing. Specifically, complexity restricts a CEO's cognitive capacity for thoughtful deliberation during decision making, and tenure affects …

The Machiavellian Organization: A Multilevel Model To Understand Decision Making In Organizations, Michael J. Matthews, Thomas K. Kelemen, Samuel H. Matthews, Jacob M. Matthews

Management Faculty Publications

We introduce a three-phase model of decision-making as examined through a Machiavellian lens. Distinct from previous research, we broaden our research premise from Machiavellianism exhibited by an individual to Machiavellianism at the organizational level. We examine this type of organization beginning with an emphasis on organizational values and practices, which we define as climate emergence. After establishing the process of climate emergence, we examine employee sensemaking within a Machiavellian climate by drawing on Rest's decision-making model. Our research culminates with an exploration of resultant employee behaviors while emphasizing the moderating role of dispositional Machiavellianism. We conclude with a discussion centered …

Tweet, Like, Subscribe! Understanding Leadership Through Social Media Use, Michael J. Matthews, Samuel H. Matthews, Dawei (David) Waang, Thomas K. Kelemen

Management Faculty Publications

The proliferation of digital data has opened the door for a 21st-century social science that explores human relationships on an unprecedented scale. A particular area of interest is that of leader social media (SM) usage. As studies on leader SM usage have grown dramatically in the past several years, we take stock of the extant literature across various research disciplines. Within this manuscript, we contextualize leader SM usage and demonstrate how it compares to analogous concepts. We subsequently abridge relevant findings and reflect on methodological and theoretical components of the research studies identified in this review. Further, we outline the …

License To Heal: Understanding A Healthcare Platform Organization As A Multi-Level Surveillant Assemblage, Handan Vicdan, Mar Pérezts, Asım Fuat Fırat

Management Faculty Publications

Platform organizations bring renewed attention to power disparities and risks in the rise of surveillance capitalism. However; such critical accounts provide a partial understanding of the complexity of surveillance phenomena in such shifting socio-technical and digital environments.The findings from a netnographic investigation of a healthcare platform organization, PatientsLikeMe, unravel how platforms become the locus where multi-level flows of surveillance converge, thereby constituting what we identify as a surveillant assemblage. We develop a comprehensive approach for understanding how platforms constitute a dynamic crossroads of micro-, meso- and macro-surveillance phenomena within and beyond the online communities they create.This study highlights this surveillant …

Practical Wisdom As An Adaptive Algorithm For Leadership: Integrating Eastern And Western Perspectives To Navigate Complexity And Uncertainty, Mai P. Trinh, Elizabeth A. Castillo

Management Faculty Publications

In this paper, we integrate Eastern and Western perspectives of practical wisdom to answer the question, how can practical wisdom transfer across cultural boundaries in a world of increasing interconnection? We describe key properties of practical wisdom in early Western and Eastern schools of thoughts and explain how the concept of practical wisdom in ancient philosophy aligns with modern-day complex system science. We identify seven qualities of complex adaptive systems as a universal pattern that underlies both Eastern and Western perspectives. From these qualities, we develop an integrated conceptual framework of practical wisdom as factors both internal and external to …

Factors Affecting Irs Audit Rate Probability: Empirical Evidence From Rgv Region, Issack Guyo

Theses and Dissertations

IRS tax audits are intended to curb tax evasion; however, they are costly to conduct and have negative impacts on taxpayers. The purpose of this study is to find out factors that lead to high IRS audit rate in a region from the perspective of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Relationship between IRS tax audit rate and determinants of tax evasion identified by Davis, Cebula, & Boylan (2020) among others are studied. A regression analysis is conducted on the regions scores on poverty rate, demography, unemployment rate and general level of education with the IRS audit rate. The results suggest …