Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Emerging Capability Or Continuous Challenge? Relocating Knowledge Work And Managing Process Interfaces, Stephan Manning, Thomas Hutzschenreuter, Alexander Strathmann

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

This study examines interface management as a dynamic organizational capability supporting an increasing global distribution of knowledge work, based on an in-depth case of an automotive supplier. We show how local responses to experiences of task and interface ambiguity following the relocation of R&D processes may lead to a shift of organizational attention from ex-ante process design to continuous process and interface management. Findings suggest that flexible interface manager positions and partnership structures across locations facilitate local experimentation with effective transfer and handling of ambiguous and partially tacit tasks. This enhances the firm’s capacity to distribute an increasing variety of …

New Silicon Valleys Or A New Species? Commoditization Of Knowledge Work And The Rise Of Knowledge Services Clusters, Stephan Manning

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

This paper explores knowledge services clusters (KSCs) as a distinct and increasingly important form of geographic cluster, in particular in emerging economies: KSCs are defined as geographic concentrations of lower-cost skills serving global demand for increasingly commoditized knowledge services. Based on prior research on clusters and services offshoring, and data from the Offshoring Research Network (ORN), major properties and contingencies of KSC growth are discussed and compared with both high-tech clusters and low-cost manufacturing clusters. Special emphasis is put on the ambivalent effect of commoditization of knowledge work on KSC growth: It is proposed that KSCs attract most projects if …

Culture And Management Control Systems In Today’S High-Performing Firms, Michael T. Lee, Sally K. Widener

Accountancy Faculty Publications and Presentations

You might think that firms with bureaucratic cultures would emphasize their use of management control systems. Contrary to expectations, firms with bureaucratic cultures are not users of management control systems!

Awareness And Usage Of Collaboration And Communication Technologies In Student Teamwork, Manouchehr Tabatabaei, Marco Lam

Information Systems & Analytics: Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigate students’ awareness and usage of collaboration and communication technologies (CCTs). Coordination and communication are two of the key processes for effective teamwork that have been identified in the literature. We find significant differences in awareness of CCTs between various student groups. However, when controlling for awareness, we find no difference in usage. While the proportion of students that are aware of various CCTs is high, the reported usage of CCTs is low. Because of the increased emphasis on teamwork, students need to be taught the technologies they need to use for collaboration and communication in …

The History Of The Investment Tax Credit, Rachael I. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

A tax credit is an incentive for businesses and individuals, which allows them to reduce their tax obligation. Federal and state governments grant tax credits in areas such as employment and the environment. An investment tax credit (ITC) allows businesses and individuals to reduce their tax obligation when they venture into new businesses and developments. It is natural for businesses and individuals to invest for continued growth. If the economy is in a decline, however, investments may drop by businesses and individuals. In hard economic times, the federal and state governments provide the ITC incentive to stimulate economic growth. The …

Perils And Profits: A Reexamination Of The Link Between Profitability And Safety In U.S. Aviation, Peter M. Madsen

Faculty Publications

In many industries, for-profit business organizations make decisions that critically impact the safety of their employees and the public. Managers in such organizations often argue that there is no trade-off between profitability and safety because “safety is good business.” However, prior studies examining the profitability–safety relationship report inconsistent and conflicting results. In the present study, the author reexamines this issue, building on insights into managerial risk taking from the behavioral theory of the firm and hypothesizing that the slope of the profitability–safety relationship reaches an inflection point at the organizational profitability aspiration. Using data from the U.S. airline industry, the …

Should My Spouse Be My Partner? Preliminary Evidence From The Panel Study Of Income Dynamics, W. Gibb Dyer, W. Justin Dyer, Richard G. Gardner

Faculty Publications

This study examines how firm performance and family income are affected when an “owner-managed” firm transitions to a “copreneurial” business. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to track changes in firm performance and family income from 1996 to 2006 during which time an owner-manager decided to partner with his spouse. The findings suggest that (a) involvement of one’s spouse in the business had no significant impact on firm profits and (b) working with one’s spouse had a significant impact on family income. The authors hypothesize that the lack of spousal influence on firm performance is because …

How To Spot A Careerist Early On: Psychopathy And Exchange Ideology As Predictors Of Careerism, Dan S. Chiaburu, Gonzalo J. Munoz, Richard G. Gardner

Faculty Publications

Careerism refers to an individual’s propensity to achieve their personal and career goals through nonperformance- based activities (Feldman, The Indus Org Psychol 39–44, 1985). We investigated the role of several dispositional predictors of careerism, including Five-factor model (FFM) personality traits, primary psychopathy, and exchange ideology. Based on data from 131 respondents, as expected, we observed that emotional stability was negatively correlated with careerism. Primary psychopathy and exchange ideology explained additional variance in careerism after accounting for FFM traits. Relative importance analyses indicated that psychopathy (relative weight percentage of explained variance = 42.1 %) and exchange ideology (relative weight percentage = …

History Of Accreditation: Coaprt Model, Marcia Jean Carter, Ramon Zabriskie, Lynn Anderson, Maridith Janssen

Faculty Publications

Accreditation in therapeutic recreation began with undergraduate competencies identified in 1975 through the Council on Accreditation ( COA) sponsorship by the National Recreation and Park Association. This article chronicles the adjustments in these original standards. Accreditation criteria are at the heart of defining entry-level professional competencies in the profession of therapeutic recreation while also being used as quality indicators of academic programs. Therapeutic recreation was the first specialization recognized by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions [(COAPRT) formerly COA] during the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, while undergoing enhancements and expansion, controversy arose over …

Voicing Across Cultures: The Role Of Communication Style And Relationships In Employee Voice And Subsequent Influence, Anna-Katherine Ward

Theses and Dissertations

Constructive input from a diverse workforce can enhance firm performance. However, cultural norms and differences in communication behavior expectations may prevent concerns and suggestions from being expressed, or from being implemented when they are expressed. The purpose of the current study is to bridge the Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Communications, and International Management literatures in an attempt to understand how subordinates with different communicaton norms voice and how (or whether) managers use the content of the voiced messages. Two models are presented examining prohibitive and promotive voice as central variables in the relationship between subordinate communication style and subordinate influence …

Diffusion Of Csr In Global Business Networks: An Embeddedness Perspective, Valentina Marano

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of firm embeddedness in its global business network, relative to the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. Global business networks refer to the nexus of inter-firm and intra-firm relationships, in which focal actors are engaged. These networks are focal firm specific, span multiple countries and involve different types of economic relationships between the focal actor and its business partners. This study argues that global business networks affect a focal organization's CSR adoption decisions, since they provide access to resources and information and also channel CSR-related institutional influences from the various countries where the focal …

Graduate Bulletin, 2013-2014, Minnesota State University Moorhead

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Success At The Base Of The Pyramid: A Relational View Of Competitive Advantage, Carol M. Sanchez, Alexandra Schmid

Peer Reviewed Articles

In this paper, we propose a new framework to measure the success of projects at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), based on the relational view of strategy (Dyer and Singh, 1998; Lavie, 2006; Mesquita et al., 2008), and we test the framework using new case studies. We argue that the success of BoP projects depends on relation-specific resources and capabilities resulting from partnerships among participating organizations. Typical partners involved in a BoP project are firms that make a product or a service designed for BoP customers, a public or private agency that has local knowledge and presence, and a …

Determining The Optimal Values Of Exponential Smoothing Constants--Does Solver Really Work?, Handanhal Ravinder

Department of Management Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A key issue in exponential smoothing is the choice of the values of the smoothing constants used. One approach that is becoming increasingly popular in introductory management science and operations management textbooks is the use of Solver, an Excel-based non-linear optimizer, to identify values of the smoothing constants that minimize a measure of forecast error like Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) or Mean Squared Error (MSE). We point out some difficulties with this approach and suggest an easy fix. We examine the impact of initial forecasts on the smoothing constants and the idea of optimizing the initial forecast along with the …

Knowledge Management: Style, Structure, And The Latent Potential Of Documented Knowledge, Sean Mcmahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the volume, growth, and accessibility of documented knowledge – the insights and experiences stored on paper and in electronic form - management research has yet to demonstrate the same usefulness for documented knowledge as that found in knowledge residing in human sources. This dissertation explores two areas of potential for documented knowledge, suggesting the efficacy of a piece of documented knowledge is contingent not only on content, but upon the style and structure associated with that content. Style, how cognitively 'concrete' and affectively 'memorable' documented knowledge is perceived to be, is hypothesized to affect how much attention it draws …

Exploring The Development Chain – An Inquiry Into The Linkages Between New Product Development And Supply Chain Management, Dirk J. Primus

2013

This dissertation conducts an inquiry into the linkages between new product development and supply chain management. Simchi Levi, Simchi-Levi and Kaminsky (2008) coined the term "Development Chain" for the area where product development and the supply chain intersect. The first chapter of this research (Chapter 2) contributes to a more thorough understanding of the Development Chain (DC) and its impact on financial success with new products. We expand the term Development Chain and provide precise definitions for its scope and its activities. We develop a conceptual view of the DC at the single product/project level which can be understood and …

User Resistance And Trust In A Clinical Rfid Employee Location Tracking Information System, Wilson Wong

2013

User resistance has been identified as a factor in information systems implementation failures in the health care industry. RFID, radio frequency identification, is being incorporated into new health care information systems in order to effect cost reductions by tracking, identifying and monitoring individuals and medical items. This is the first study to research the relative contributions of vendor trust and IT artifact trust components to user resistance and, as a result, makes a unique contribution to the information systems literature. An understanding of the degree to which technology adoption behavioral beliefs, and particularly system trust, affect user resistance towards information …

Practicing Technology Implementation: The Case Of An Enterprise System, Yukika Awazu

2013

Drawing on four theories of practice – Communities of Practice (CoP), Bourdieu's theory of practice, Pickering's mangle of practice, and Actor Network Theory (ANT), the study provides an in-depth understanding about technology implementation practice. Analysis of an Enterprise System implementation project in a software manufacturing company reveals five stories of practice that relate to the major challenges faced. The story of mentoring related to the challenge of developing skilled analysts, and is examined by focusing on episodes about newly hired staff members. The story reveals the inhibiting impact of past habits and the role of occupational status. The second challenge …

The Challenge Of Intervention To Monetarily Support Or Not Support The National Airline Carriers: A Case Of The Airline Industry In Eastern Europe, Dawna L. Rhoades, Tamilla Curtis

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

The airline industry has been considered a special case in national and international business virtually since its beginning. Because of this status, national governments have repeatedly intervened to support national carriers in order to prevent bankruptcy and failure. The nations of Eastern Europe are no exception to this rule and are currently considering additional intervention to support their carriers. This paper explores the rationale for intervention, particularly the suggested economic impact, using traffic and financial information from the Flightglobal database. The conclusion is that the case for intervention is weak at best and that the results may not justify the …

Omni-Channel Retail And The New Age Consumer: An Empirical Analysis Of Direct-To-Consumer Channel Interaction In The Retail Industry, Alec J. Dorman

CMC Senior Theses

It is indisputable that the internet has become a necessary component of contemporary multi-channel retail, as more consumers are choosing to purchase goods online each year. As online spending continues to grow, many have called into question the future of brick-and-mortar retail. This thesis seeks to empirically prove that brick-and-mortar retail remains not only relevant, but indispensable in direct-to-consumer business models. The basis of this conjecture is the idea of channel synergism, in which online and brick-and-mortar operations are complementary. This theory is predicated on the emergence of the omni-channel retail, which is characterized by the integration of the various …

Portfolio Company Selection Criteria: Accelerators Vs Venture Capitalists, Cody Chang

CMC Senior Theses

The explosive growth of ‘accelerators’ in the United States has given entrepreneurs and their startups the opportunity to pursue seed-stage financing. While the specific economic role of accelerators remains unclear, a study comparing the selection of portfolio companies between accelerators and venture capitalists was performed. A difference of means was performed on the responses per question between the collected 19 accelerators’ response and the 100 venture capitalists’ response, recorded from a prior study. It is found that venture capitalists place significantly more weight, than accelerators, on the potential of the startup’s product or service to be proprietary, to enter a …

The Impact Of Prior Performance On Leadership Appointment In A Merger Of Equals, David A. Hirsch

CMC Senior Theses

Leadership appointment during mergers has a logical and established precedent when there is a clear target and acquirer. However, in the extraordinary case of Merger Of Equals (MOEs) – where this is relative equal ownership, board representation, earnings contribution etc - this process is much less defined and can often have serious consequences on the merger, both in closing negotiations as well as post-merger performance. Intuition assumes the better performing CEO should and will be appointed. In practice, however, that is often not the case. It is arguable that performance can be defined through objective means (financially & operationally), yet …

Aligning Strategy And Talent In Creative Professional Service Firms, Deirdre Canavan, Pamela Sharkey Scott, Vincent Mangematin

Articles

Purpose – Reliance on individual talent and motivation renders creative professional service firms (PSFs) highly dependent on their ability to attract and mobilise the right individuals. This paper aims to build an integrated framework showing firstly how creative industry PSFs can differ in their strategy for growth, and secondly how these alternative strategies for growth can influence the firm's approach to organising and the type of talent required.

Design/methodology/approach – The findings are based on a series of interviews with managing directors, senior management and practitioners of architectural organisations in a single country, combined with an extensive literature review.

Findings …

Case Study Of 2008 Beijing Olympics, Gina-Marie Dipierro

Whittier Scholars Program

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was one of the most highly anticipated mega sporting events of the last century. Three billion people worldwide were expected to watch the opening ceremonies. In an international poll, 90% of adults planned on turning their television sets to games. Tourism experts predicted that approximately 2 million tourists would flock to Beijing within the two-week time period of the games, with an estimated 500,000 of these visitors coming from overseas. China invested $42 billion dollars, and time into preparing the city for the competition. China looked to use the games to catapult them into being …

An Exploration Of Determinants Of Organizational Commitment: Emphasis On The Relationship Between Organizational Democracy And Commitment, Boya Chen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In public organizations, organizational commitment plays a significant role in determining both efficiency and efficacy of the organization. Organizational commitment is just like an invisible hand affecting the performance of staff. The degree of organizational commitment can also be a double-edged sword, by which performance outcomes can either be promoted dramatically or impaired greatly. The purpose of the paper is to examine the determinants of organizational commitment, especially the relationship between organizational commitment and organizational democracy.

From the literature review, I build a model including several variables. The dependent variable in my model is organizational commitment. Independent variables in my …

The It-Business Equilibrium Model: Understanding The Dynamics Between Business Demand And It Supply, Lawrence Ness, Shankar Babu Chebrolu

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The factors that could be used to define, measure, and improve IT flexibility are not considered to be well-defined or understood. A theoretical framework for understanding and determining such factors is proposed in this article, which could be used by business and IT leaders to assess their IT flexibility. Organizations can use this framework, termed the IT-business equilibrium model, as a tool to improve their own IT flexibility as a means to improve their IT effectiveness and ultimately achieve sustained competitive advantage for their businesses.

The Contribution Of Social Simulation In The Advancement Of Marketing Issues And Challenges, Mario V. González Fuentes

School of Business Faculty Research

For some years now, marketers have been praising for a more holistic approach of a company’s marketing efforts across all areas. However, traditional models show serious limitations to address the complexities of managing all of a company’s touch points with a customer. Agent-based modeling (ABM) has opened the door to explore the unfolding behaviors and outputs of an increasingly connected and interactive marketplace. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it provides researchers with a state-of-the-art repository for this strand of research. This facilitates the identification of relevant gaps in the literature and future research avenues. …

Understanding Supply Chain Resiliency: Identification Of The Factors Contributing To Performance, David Widdifield

Student Scholarship

Businesses view supply chain operations as critical components to customer satisfaction, market competitiveness, and profitability. Over the last decade, these operations have been exposed to ever increasing levels of disruption risk from sources such as cultural differences, geography, managerial actions, shifting market demand and supply, and technological changes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types and management of risks within the supply chains of large US base companies in the apparel, footwear, nutritional supplement and supply chain services sectors operating on a global basis. We intend to compare relevant frameworks within extant literature and data obtained during …

Design For Social Change: Consequential Shifts In The Designer's Role, Mariana V. Amatullo

Student Scholarship

This study focuses on the shifting role of the designer as change agent in the 21st century. The investigation includes four case studies in which designers are addressing human needs linked to large-scale social, cultural and economic challenges. These cases underscore how designers contribute to and experience complex projects in which their expertise is deployed among multidisciplinary teams with a transdisciplinary focus across a variety of organizational structures. Key aims were to uncover 1) what the distinct methods to inquiry put forth by the various design groups are, and in turn, what critical implications arise for organizational practice as a …

Leading In Combat: The Role Of Situation Awareness And Perceived Control During In Extremis Situations, Deirdre Dixon

Student Scholarship

For military teams faced with the threat of death, this study found that the generally accepted positive effects of training and experience may be insufficient to ensure survival and met mission goals. Positive outcomes of acute--or "at the point of death"--events encountered by military team leaders did not correlate with general training, overall team leadership experience or frequency of experience. Survey responses of 494 military team leaders reveals situation awareness and perceived control trump training and experience in positive outcomes of in extremis events. These results empirically support the rapidly accreting, but, to date, mostly theoretical literature on situation awareness …