Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Reappraising International Business In A Digital Arena: Barriers, Strategies, And Context For Internationalization Of Digital Innovations, Noman Ahmed Shaheer

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation builds on the eclectic paradigm to explore internationalization strategies in the burgeoning digital economy through a rigorous empirical analysis of a unique big data archive tracking international penetrations of more than 1.5 million mobile apps across 58 countries. While traditional firms internationalize by internalizing physical assets to reap location advantages from foreign markets, many digital businesses internationalize by orchestrating networks of information flows across borders. Such digital internationalization may not be constrained by cross-national distance or lack of resources as digital businesses leverage globally disperse knowledge and innovation networks to develop scale free digital innovations and seamlessly transmit …

Self-Affirmation And Perspective Taking In Organizations: An Integrated Framework For Examining Process-Oriented Phenomena As Trajectories Of Change, Patrick J. Flynn

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals’ perceptions of their fit within in an organization unfold as a process over time that is subject to influence and change. This dissertation is a program of research that takes a process-oriented approach to understanding change from patterns of outcome trajectories and trajectory changes. Appendix A presents a study that introduces a conceptual framework for a temporal approach to change. Appendix A showed that strong events serve to change the trajectory of individuals’ affective commitment. Appendix B presents a first intervention study with surprising results where instead of self-affirmation, perspective taking appeared to facilitate positive trajectory changes in individuals’ …

Three Essays On Banking, Xinming Li

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation includes three essays related to banking. In the first essay, I identify an important channel through which stronger legal enforcement boosts the real economy – by increasing bank liquidity creation. Results suggest that effective enforceability of contracts increases total, asset-side, liability-side, and off-balance sheet- side liquidity creation, implying favorable causal real economic effects.

In the second essay, we conduct the first broad-based international study on bank- level failures covering 92 countries over 2000-2014 and investigate national culture values as bank failure determinants. We find individualism and masculinity are positively associated with bank failure but operate through different channels. …

A Model Of Impression Formation In Recruitment, Jonathan Levi Hendricks

Theses and Dissertations

Applicant impressions of organizations are a critical antecedent to applicant decisions within the recruitment process. Recruitment research has examined how applicant perceptions are influenced by organization-specific information within a given industry. However, current recruitment models fail to describe the process of impression formation during recruitment, which inhibits understanding of the recruitment process. Specifically, only limited research has considered how applicants integrate context- related associations (such as perceptions about an industry) with recruitment materials in forming initial perceptions about the organization. Over the course of two experimental studies, I integrate social cognitive research on impression formation into recruitment models to develop …

U.S. Air Force Maintenance Group Aerial Ports: Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, And Threats, Parker H. Alford

Theses and Dissertations

In 2005 the Base Closure Realignment Commission and Secretary of Defense recommended joint basing; as an indirect result starting in 2009 and culminating the following year, Charleston, Dover, McChord, McGuire, and Travis maintenance groups (MXG) took command of aerial port squadrons (APS). Various entities have discussed at length the impact; however, there did not appear to be a documented hard look into the strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats (SCOTs) which emerged. This study utilized the Delphi method to flesh out MXG APS SCOTs by anonymously surveying MXG and APS experts through three panel rounds. This study discovered and documented 24 …

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Pilot Training Next, Talon M. Pope

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) is currently facing a 2,400-pilot shortage in an increasingly constrained budgetary environment. Without pilots to engage the enemy, deliver weapons, and provide logistics support for operations, the USAF could lose the ability to fly, fight, and win global engagements and defend the homeland. This study focused on Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) as a means of producing the USAF’s pilots to offset the current shortage. Specifically, this study compared UPT to the recently initiated Pilot Training-Next (PTN) program through a cost-benefit analysis. Like any new technology integration, PTN’s virtual reality training will require further study …

Estimating Total Cost Of Ownership For United States Air Force Chiller Assets, William C. Berner

Theses and Dissertations

In order to make the most cost-effective choice when purchasing high-value assets, organizations must be able to quantify and compare the costs associated with acquiring, maintaining and disposing the alternatives. Currently, the United States Air Force (USAF) Civil Engineer (CE) enterprise has no standardized model to accurately and efficiently predict the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the acquisition of new assets. As such, acquisition efforts throughout the enterprise are disjointed and performed without leveraging the considerable buying power wielded by an organization as large as the USAF. This research developed a TCO model using a standard, dollar-based approach that …

Investigating Schedule Length Of Space And Missile Systems Center Contracts, Loyd A. Bradley Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Acquisition reform has long been the goal of the Department of Defense to save, recover and redistribute funds in an efficient manner. The Space and Missile Systems Center Program Management and Integration Directorate (SMC/PI) and Acquisitions Center of Excellence (ACE) have shared the same effort and have made strides to better their acquisition processes. Many different angles have been examined to try to discover cost and schedule growth however, little research has been done to find the drivers of schedule length. This research is aimed at finding contributing factors to the length of schedule of the pre-acquisition process. By using …

Analysis Of Cross-Cultural Training Efforts, Competencies And Implications, And How Cross-Cultural Competency Affects The Success Of Construction Projects On Air Force Installations Overseas, Katie L. Macgregor

Theses and Dissertations

US Air Force (AF) Civil Engineer (CE) Officers stationed at overseas bases lead and manage construction and engineering efforts for projects totaling billions of dollars annually. Budget overruns in the Department of Defense (DoD) and specifically the AF, have been under stringent investigation by government officials in recent years. 92% of CE Officers overseas work with local nationals (LN) and the host nation weekly or daily, but most receive less than 2 hours of formal cross-cultural training prior to arrival overseas. Host nation partners include foreign military, local contractors, LN workforce and local government agencies. Based on a previous Delphi …

An Analysis Of Defense Contractor Profit Margin Percentages, Sara K. O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Profit earned by defense contractors is a controversial issue among government officials and the defense industry. It is recognized that profits earned by defense contractors are not strictly the product of the dynamics of a competitive market, but of federal profit statutes, contractual incentive schemes, the quality of government oversight, and in a market of less than full competition. As such, there is always concern of whether contractors are earning “excessive" profit -- through policy or failed oversight. The purpose of this research is to investigate the question of reasonable profits from one particular angle -- whether profit margins differ …

Commercialization Analysis Of Sbir Funded Technologies, Theodore A. Rask

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program invests $2.2 billion annually into domestic innovation stimulation. The Department of Defense (DoD) contributes almost $1 billion of that investment; of which the Air Force accounts for 25%. Commercialization, either the transfer to programs of record or further industrial investment, is the program’s objective. Data from this research indicates that Air Force programs have a 7.6% commercialization rate; representing an opportunity to improve. Leveraging best practices from industry; this research provides a method to align investments with needed capabilities. This method exploits established user need taxonomies, the DoD Joint Capability Area …

Selecting A Construction Contract Acquisition Strategy To Support Foreign Military Sales Facility Construction, Robert H. Shuler

Theses and Dissertations

“Strengthening Alliances and Attracting New Partners” is one of the three Department of Defense’s primary lines of effort as outlined in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. The Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate (AFSAC) aides in the execution of this line of effort through the execution of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases. FMS cases vary in complexity depending on the type of end-item and the capabilities of the purchasing nation. AFSAC must balance multiple objectives and criteria to ensure the needs of the purchasing nation, the end-item, and U.S. government entities are met. A decision analysis model using …

An Assessment Of The Air Force’S Return On Investment For Product Support Business Case Analysis Processes, Robert E. Tyson Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

There have been many fiscal challenges over the years facing the Department of Defense (DOD). With these challenges, cost savings initiatives have become commonplace. To meet these fiscal challenges head-on, new policies to improve estimating and control costs have been implemented. Senior leaders within the cost analysis community are tasked with managing these changes while continuing to provide timely and accurate cost estimates. The purpose of this research is to focus on one of the more important cost savings initiatives -- Product Support Business Case Analyses (PS-BCA). Our research questions explore the current cost and impact of this DoD cost …

Avoiding The Restart Button: Examining The Critical Factors Of The Onboarding Process That Encourage Team Cohesion, Gregory James Connell

Theses and Dissertations

The process of onboarding new employees critically impacts a firm’s overall success. Previous studies have looked at the relationship between onboarding and outcomes such as employee satisfaction, turnover intention, and performance. One area understudied is the correlation between onboarding processes and team cohesion. The topic is relevant to the business sector because there is an increase in firms that are organizing employees into teams. Using a sample population of resident assistants and reserve officers’ training corps cadets from six different teams, this quantitative study implemented a survey to explore if there was a positive correlation between new team member onboarding …

Group Decision-Making, Edward Cook

Theses and Dissertations

The present work explores improvements in group decision-making. It begins with a practical example using state-of-the-art techniques for a complex, high-risk decision. We show how these techniques can reveal a better alternative. Although we created an improved decision process, decision-makers were apt to protect their own organizations instead of the project. This tendency was reduced over the course of the decision-making process but inspired the first conceptual component of this work.

The first concept describes the “Cost of Conflict” that can arise in a group decision, using game theory to represent the non-cooperative approach and comparing the outcome to the …

A Contingency Approach For Supply Chain Preparedness To Pursue Circular Economy Business Models, Santosh Nandi

Theses and Dissertations

A growing stream in circular economy (CE) research is about circular economy business models (CEBM). It suggests how firms could learn to adopt unique material and product designs, newer business models, value chain networks and potential enablers that satisfies CE ideologies about economic, environment, and society. However, the understanding about how firms could integrate CEBM practices at internal, supply chain, and external levels is limited. Given the rising complexities in supply chains, the goal of this dissertation is to: (a) understand the landscape of CE concepts within the supply chain management context, and consequently (b) comprehend how firms’ preparedness about …

Exploring Person-Organization Fit And Gender Bias In The Hiring Process Of Engineering Firms: Is Selection Impacted?, Vicky W. Knerly

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to discover whether intentionally considering person-organization (P-O) fit during the selection process of workforce planning is impacted by gender bias on the part of the hiring manager. Utilizing a comparative case study of hiring managers and employees of small, for-profit engineering firms, the study attempted to discover whether firms that specifically screen applicants for fit with the organization also exhibit gender bias in their selection decisions and whether this differs from firms that do not necessarily hire or rigorously screen for fit with the organization. The theoretical framework for the study follows the Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) framework first …

Understanding Department Of Defense Employee Perceptions Of Performance Appraisals: Making A Connection Between Performance Appraisals And Motivation, Kenneth Dewayne Welch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine employee perceptions of performance appraisals in the Department of Defense (DoD) and to examine potential connections between the performance appraisal process, employee motivation and ultimately turnover intent. There is a paucity of qualitative, interview-based research focused on DoD employee perceptions of DoD performance appraisal processes and potential impacts on their motivation and turnover intent. The research study findings revealed a potential gap between the DoD performance appraisal process as outlined in DoD regulatory guidance and the lived experiences of the performance appraisal process by DoD employees. The study did not find significant …

The Role Of Human Capital And Innovative Entrepreneurship In Developing Countries, José Rolando Torrech Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Human capital, innovation and entrepreneurship have long been associated with economic development in different contexts. However, in the recent past, several research studies carried out show that the complexity and technical nature of the everchanging business environment necessitated by technology have superseded the current human capital required to address innovative strategies in developing countries. Several scholars assert that although inadequate skills are a great challenge for entrepreneurs, more research needs to be done to break down the varying units affecting the impact of human capital on entrepreneurial development and economic growth. The purpose of the study was to investigate the …

Barriers To Mentoring Women Of Color For Corporate Leadership: Implications For Organizations, Donna Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring as a human capital development initiative is critical to leadership development for organizational sustainment. Previous research has identified that barriers to mentoring relationships for women of color in organizations exist, confirmed by the finding that a factor in barriers to corporate promotion for women is a lack of mentoring. This dissertation explores the implications that barriers to workplace mentoring relationships may have for organizations from the perspective of women of color. Findings suggest that barriers to mentoring relationships experienced and perceived by women of color have evolved in presentation or diminished since those found by previous research. This research …

U.S. Government Acquisition Reform And Its Influence On Defense Contracting, Innovation, Diversification, And Collaboration, Edgar Quiñones Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Acquisition reform has been active within the Defense Industry for over two centuries and continues to this day for the Federal Government. Recently, due to sequestration, high national debt, and political pressures, the Weapon System Acquisition Reform Act (WSARA) and Better Buying Power (BBP) was put into action, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, as a way to further streamline the Defense Industry. This study examined the Defense Industry’s attitudes and coping strategies (focused on ‘countervailing power’) deal with the actions and the influence of a monopsonist (sole) buyer on the contracting process and how that ultimately affects costs, industry strategy, …

Does Economic Policy Uncertainty Strengthen Peer Effects On Investments?, Jiawei Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The paper demonstrates that firms are more likely to follow their peers when they face economic policy uncertainty. Using a newly developed economic policy uncertainty index and the financial data from COMPUSTAT of US firms, I find evidence that economic policy uncertainty strengthens peer effects on investments. In this paper, I propose a reputation-based theory and information-based theory to support the findings. Peer effects are stronger for less successful firms and financial constrained firms during periods when economic policy uncertainty is notable. Accordingly, I use four standards (i.e. firm profitability, financially constrained status, growth rate and market to book ratio) …

The Hierarchical Effects Of Employee Choice Of Language: The Role Of Customer Bilingualism And Self-Concept Clarity, Fuad Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of the choice of language is continuously widening and deepening in different socio-political contexts due to globalization and multiculturalism (Heller, 2010). A nascent stream of research (Zolfagharian, Hasan, & Iyer, 2017) also suggests that, in multicultural service encounters, employee choice of language affects customer perceived interaction quality, which in turn influences a host of outcome constructs germane to service researchers. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on how employee choice of language works in customer mind and shapes their attitude toward service interaction and the service itself. The exploration of this underlying psychological mechanism is expected to provide answers to …

Essays On American Depositary Receipts: New Fears, Investor Attention And Financial Bubbles, Juan P. Gutierrez

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of four chapters, focusing on American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and how they are affected by new measures of investor sentiment, new proxies of investor attention, and financial bubble detection. ADRs are negotiable certificates of ownership in foreign companies that are traded in the U.S. financial markets.

In Chapter I, I make a brief introduction of ADRs. The types of programs there are, the market capitalization and volume in general and to some specific countries.

In Chapter II, I show that negative investor sentiment measures, derived from internet aggregate search indices, have a contemporaneous negative effect on ADR …

Three Essays On Economic And Financial Development In Latin America: Evidence From The 2000s Commodity Boom, Andre Coelho Vianna

Theses and Dissertations

The dynamic forces of commodity prices have become a subject of large interest due to the uprise of a commodity supercycle in the beginning of the 21st century. The main purpose of this dissertation is to assess the role of commodity shocks and international trade in Latin American financial and economic development in the last two decades. The first essay examines how commodity market structural shocks explain the variations in commodity prices. Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) results from 1997 to 2015 show that aggregate demand shocks are more evident during the recent commodity boom period and are robust to different …

Essays On Financial Markets And Investments, Shahil Sharma

Theses and Dissertations

Essay I examine regime-switching in the response of U.S. stock price to oil price shocks. We find statistically significant, time-varying, and dynamic state dependent response that resembles to high and low response regimes. Furthermore, we examine whether the timing of the regime shifts are consistent with three (direction, magnitude, and business cycle) manifestations of asymmetry by modeling the transition probabilities governing the switching process as functions of state variables. We observe strong and statistically significant support that stock price responds more aggressively to oil specific shocks during recessions than during expansions, while findings suggest weaker evidence of asymmetry pertaining to …

Execution: A Catalytic Capability In Firm Performance, Robert Frank Keimer

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the nature of business execution. Specifically, it seeks to understand the nature of a firm’s capability to execute, how and why some firms execute better than others, and the impact that this capability may have on firm performance and outcomes. A review of the organizational routine, organizational capability, and dynamic capabilities literature reveals a gap where no theory, model, or framework of analysis can be found for the concept of execution. The author proposes a novel definition of execution as a “catalytic capability”; that is, a stored behavioral capability comprised of repetitive, recurrent actions, shaping principles, …

The Relationship Between Recidivism Rates And Post Release Employment, Richard Louis

Theses and Dissertations

The Relationship Between Recidivism Rates and Post Release Employment. Richard Louis 2018: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: Ban the Box; Conviction, Incarceration, and Recidivism; Disparate Impact; Human Resources and Negligent Hiring; Parole, Probation, and Ex-Offenders

This applied dissertation was designed to study the relationship between recidivism rates and post release employment. This study utilized three survey instruments with human resource or hiring officers, probation or parole officers, and direct service providers as the respective participants. The survey instruments were distributed anonymously to each of the populations via Survey Monkey. The research study and …

The Effects Of Developed Country Equity Markets On Developing Country Trading Partner Growth, Jorge S. Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters, focusing on the effects that developed countries have on their developing country trading partners with the consideration of macroeconomic variables. In Chapter I, I explore the differences in the drivers and the corresponding magnitude effects on domestic real stock returns during fixed and floating exchange rate regimes. In Chapter II, the equity developed market effects on domestic real stock returns is determined during the pre- and post-great recession periods under floating exchange rate regimes. Chapter III summarizes the findings and provides concluding remarks regarding the benefits and disadvantages in adopting a floating exchange rate …

Spirituality As A Human Resource Attribute To Facilitate Employee Engagement And Retention, Wesley Dale Sumner

Theses and Dissertations

Spirituality as an important component of American workplace success is a phenomenon only better understood during the past two decades. Until now, little research has been done to understand workplace spirituality in the human resource context of employee retention and engagement. The pioneering study with a focus on workplace spirituality led by Mitroff and Denton (1999a) signaled a theoretical and empirical convergence highlighting spiritual practice influence on organizational outcomes (Benefiel, Fry, & Geigle, 2014). The inclusion of spirituality in the workplace is an avenue to more fully engage workers who wish to express themselves at work, resulting in their deeper …