Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Motivating Employee Referrals: The Interactive Effects Of The Referral Bonus, Perceived Risk In Referring, And Affective Commitment, Jenna R. Pieper, Jessica M. Greenwald, Steven D. Schlachter

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Research has provided compelling evidence that employee referrals result in positive outcomes for organizations and job seekers, but it has been limited on how organizations can increase the likelihood of obtaining employee referrals. Using the theoretical lens of social exchange theory and tenets from expectancy theory, we tested two common assumptions of most employers: A referral bonus motivates employees to refer, and higher bonus amounts incite greater likelihood of referring. We theoretically developed and tested a model integrating the effects of perceived risk in referring and affective commitment and their interactions with the referral bonus to better explain the likelihood …

Nonprofit Pay In A Competitive Market: Wage Penalty Or Premium?, Christian King, Gregory B. Lewis

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Two competing theories argue that the nonprofit sector pays differently: Nonprofit employees may accept lower pay to be able to do meaningful work for a good cause, or they may earn higher pay due to nonprofit organizations’ tax exemptions and weaker incentives to hold down wages. To test these opposing expectations, we use the 2005-2013 American Community Surveys to examine pay differences among registered nurses working for nonprofit, for-profit, and public hospitals. We also test hypotheses that public and nonprofit hospitals have smaller pay disparities by gender, race, and relationship status. We find that pay is highest in nonprofit hospitals, …

Three Essays On Capital Structure And Product Market Interactions, Ying Zheng

Theses and Dissertations

Capital structure can have important consequences for firm value. High leverage increases firms’ probability of bankruptcy, and is shown to be the primary cause of financial distress. As suggested by a strand of literature on capital structure and product market interactions, high leverage is costly because financial weakness could induce unfavorable actions by product market participants such as customers and competitors. While the costs of high leverage are well documented in the extant literature, little is known on the factors that influence the costs of high leverage. This dissertation addresses this gap in the literature by examining how the costs …

Toward A Theory Of Full Life Cycle Recruiters, Michael C. Campion

Theses and Dissertations

Despite their operational and strategic importance to their firms, recruiters remain virtually invisible within management scholarship today. In this dissertation, I draw on research from a variety of theoretical perspectives and use role theory as a foundation for developing a theory intended to generate insight into the major individual, social, and contextual factors that underpin their behavior and performance. I define full life cycle recruiters as quasi-agentic brokers of resources among parties internal and external to a firm who operate at the intersection of social systems, are involved in recruiting, assessment, and onboarding processes, and adopt multiple micro roles with …

The Effect Of Social Exclusion On Shoplifting, Christopher Ling

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of social exclusion on shoplifting. Shoplifting is a serious problem for marketers, yet surprisingly little attention in the literature has been paid to its underlying social factors. The current research therefore seeks to document conditions under which, and the process through which, consumers may engage in aggressive behavior in the form of shoplifting. Supporting the proposition that shoplifting is an antisocial response to social exclusion that depends on prior shoplifting experience, four studies provide evidence that prior shoplifters (vs. nonshoplifters) are more likely to shoplift again when they are socially excluded because they expect that …

Two Essays On The Impact Of Memory On Consumer Well-Being And Self-Definition, Kara Bentley

Theses and Dissertations

Consumer memory is an important variable for marketers to study because it is well documented that memories influence consumer attitudes, preferences, and behavioral intentions (Chattopadhyay and Alba 1988). In my dissertation, I focus on two specific types of consumer memories that are important for consumer well-being and self-definition – memories of shared (social) experiences and memories of special experiences. In my first essay, I contend that shared experiences are remembered better than individual experiences because of their positive impact on consumer well-being, while in my second essay, I investigate the manner in which memories of special experiences, which are inherently …

An Investigation Of Buyers’ Forecast Sharing And Ordering Behavior In A Two-Stage Supply Chain, Minseok Park

Theses and Dissertations

Profitably balancing demand and supply is a continuous challenge for companies under changing market conditions, and the potential benefit of collaboration between supply chain partners cannot be overlooked by any firm who strives to succeed. One of the key elements to successful collaboration is sharing of forecast information between supply chain partners. However, when supply shortage is expected, buyers may inflate order quantities and/or order forecasts to secure sufficient supply. An important question that arises is how the supplier should allocate inventory to customers when shortage exists. Literature shows that certain allocation policies can reduce buyers’ order inflation behavior. However, …

Sustainable, Operations-Enabled Solutions For Reducing Product Waste, Erin C. Mckie

Theses and Dissertations

The traditional linear production system where products are created, used, and then disposed of is no longer a viable business model for many firms. A combination of growing populations, increases in consumerism, and urbanization are placing unprecedented pressures on our world’s natural resources. In addition to these motivations, strong demands from consumers and governments are requiring companies to reevaluate and prioritize their environmental strategies. Fortunately, there are several opportunities for firms to engage in more sustainable business practices throughout their entire supply chain, particularly at the end of their products’ useful lives. However, moving from a linear model to a …

Innovative Revenue Management Practices With Probabilistic Elements, Övünç Yılmaz

Theses and Dissertations

Sale of products with a probabilistic nature, where customers do not know which product they will receive at the time of service, has become popular over the recent years. In the revenue management literature, there has been a growing interest in understanding these modern approaches using analytical techniques. On the other hand, customer-centric revenue management has been replacing the long-standing inventory-centric approach because of the availability of rich data sets by focusing on understanding and predicting customer behavior and then optimizing price and/or quantity related decisions. In this dissertation, we take a customer-centric approach and do not only provide analytical …

Three Essays On Relationships Among Financial Institutions, Chia-Chun Chiang

Theses and Dissertations

dissertation investigates relationships among financial institutions. I examine relationships from three different perspectives: relationships among affiliated banks and life insurers, correlated trading among life insurers, and relationships between insurers and bond dealers in the over-the-counter markets. The primary purpose of my research is to examine the benefits and drawbacks of relationships among financial institutions. The main findings are as follows. First, life insurers with bank affiliates had higher growth rates relative to other life insurers during the 2008 financial crisis. However, these Bank-Life Financial Holding Companies performed worse than Non-Bank-Life Financial Holding Companies during the same period. It indicates that …

Exploring Determinants And Consequences Of International Diversification: A Multi-Level Perspective, Ettore Spadafora

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation explores determinants and consequences of international diversification and consists of two essays. Essay I focuses on the relationship between international diversification and firm performance (ID-P). Drawing on the global strategy literature and the institution-based view of strategy, we propose that the mixed findings of extant research on the ID-P relationship can be explained by the contextual conditions in which this relationship exists, including home-country formal and informal institutions. The model is tested in a meta-analysis (HOMA, MARA, and HiLLMA analyses) of firm-, industry-, and home country-level factors driving the ID-P relationship. The sample consists of 359 primary studies …

Two Essays On Social Sharing Effects On Consumer Memories, Li Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Social sharing is universal in everyday life. Every day consumers share news, opinions, and personal experiences using different media, including face-to-face communications, cellphones, texting, email, and other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). Word-of-Mouth, a common type of social sharing has been found to be fundamental to marketing and has been shown to significantly impact firms’ sales and revenues. However little is known about the effects of WOM on consumer memories. Since consumer memory is an important variable in marketing due to its significant impact on consumer judgments and decisions, my dissertation addresses this gap and examines the effects of …

When Auditors’ Skeptical Judgments Do Not Lead To Skeptical Actions, Erin Michelle Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

Auditors are required to maintain professional skepticism through the course of an audit engagement. Professional skepticism is maintained through both skeptical judgment and observable skeptical behavior (skeptical action). However, auditors who exhibit professional skepticism in judgment do not always exhibit professional skepticism in action. The present study examines whether social presence alters the likelihood of auditors acting on skeptical judgments by utilizing an experimental setting where participants interact with a hypothetical client using four different communication mediums varying in social presence. Results suggest that auditor-client interactions high in perceived social presence inhibit auditors from acting on skeptical judgments compared to …

Essays On Bank Loans, Deposit Insurance, And Deregulation, Herman Saheruddin

Theses and Dissertations

In my first essay, using a novel dataset that merges the Dealscan database and 8-Ks between 1994-2014, I find that on average, only about 31% of bank loans are announced by firms. Among those loans announced, about 60% are cleanly announced and 40% are announced together with other events. The three-day Cumulative Abnormal Stock Return (CAR) following a loan announcement is positive and both statistically and economically significant, which on average about +39 b.p., in line with the theory of bank loan specialness. This finding is mainly driven by bank-dependent firms. Next, I find significant evidence of sample selection bias …

Institutional Brokerage And The Governance Of Global Value Chains: The Case Of The Us Apparel Industry., Alessandro Perri

Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study of the apparel industry, I analyze the governance of buyersupplier interfaces in outsourced global value chains through an institutional theory lens. I set forth that transactional and relational cross-national barriers, linked to institutional distance between home and host country in outsourced production networks, and supplier capabilities are key determinants of variations in the governance mode chosen by lead buyers for their outsourced value chain. I further posit that lead buyers respond to the additional costs imposed by home–host country institutional distance and by structural supplier capability constraints, by means of governance modes that provide institutional brokerage, …

Multinational Foreign Affiliates In The Least Developed Countries: A Multilevel Approach, R. Scott Hibbs

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have examined the country-level effects on multinational enterprises that go into the developing countries, including the least developed countries. Few studies have considered the firm-level effects. This study uses the multilevel modeling method as outlined by Klein and Kozlowski (2000), Raudenbush and Bryk (2002), and Bliese and Hanges (2004) to examine whether there are any systemic patterns of multinational enterprises across the least developed countries. This paper uses information on foreign affiliates in the least developed countries to examine the overall trends of multinational firms in the least developed countries. Using data from the United Nations’ most recent …

The Contextual Impact Of Innovation And Operational Spillovers On Firm Performance, Cherry Singhal

Theses and Dissertations

Extant literature across various research disciplines has investigated the influence of a firm’s technological innovation on its performance. However, the findings on this relationship remain inconclusive as it is subject to many strategic and environmental factors. In this dissertation, the relationship between a firm’s technological innovation and performance is evaluated. Additionally, this relationship is examined in the presence of various contextual factors.

In the first study, meta-analysis is utilized to quantitatively aggregate existing empirical research in this domain. Cultural and institutional aspects of the nation in which the firm operates are examined for their potential in explaining variability within the …

ปัจจัยที่มีผลกระทบต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากของร้านอาหารบนเฟซบุ๊ก, ชาญฤทธิ์ คงธนารัตน์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ปัจจุบันความนิยมการใช้งานเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์สูงขึ้น (เช่น เฟซบุ๊ก) ส่งผลให้รูปแบบการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปาก (WOM) เกิดความเปลี่ยนแปลง เกิดการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากบนอินเทอร์เน็ตรูปแบบใหม่ (eWOM) ที่เพิ่มมิติด้านความสัมพันธ์ของผู้รับสารและผู้ส่งสาร จุดประสงค์ของการศึกษานี้เพื่อที่จะศึกษาปัจจัยที่ส่งผลต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของ eWOM บนเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์และการนำข้อมูลจาก eWOM ไปใช้ แบบจำลองการชักจูงสองทางถูกใช้ในการวิเคราะห์ความโน้มน้าวของสาร การศึกษานี้เลือกเฟซบุ๊กเป็นตัวแทนเว็บไซต์สังคมออนไลน์ การเก็บข้อมูลทำโดยใช้แบบสอบถามออนไลน์และออฟไลน์ตามสัดส่วนสถิติประชากรศาสตร์ของผู้ใช้เฟซบุ๊กในประเทศไทย จากนั้นจึงใช้การวิเคราะห์เส้นทางโดยใช้โปรแกรม SPSS และ SMARTPLS 3.0 ตามลำดับ ผลการศึกษาพบว่าตัวแปรที่ส่งผลต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือสูงสุดคือความน่าเชื่อถือของแหล่งข้อมูล ถัดมาคือคะแนนของบทวิจารณ์ ความแข็งแรงของข้อมูล และความสอดคล้องของบทวิจารณ์ ตามลำดับ ผลการศึกษายังช่วยยืนยันการศึกษาในอดีตว่า หากผู้บริโภครับรู้ว่าบทวิจารณ์มีความน่าเชื่อถือก็มีแนวโน้มที่จะนำข้อมูลไปใช้ สุดท้าย Post Hoc Analysis พบว่าระดับความเกี่ยวพันมีส่วนในการควบคุมผลของความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างตัวแปรบางตัว (ทั้งสองประเภท) ต่อการรับรู้ความน่าเชื่อถือของการสื่อสารแบบปากต่อปากบนอินเทอร์เน็ต

Work Engagement: Antecedents And Effects On Student Employee Academic Engagement, Chase V. Moore

Honors Theses

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study explores the effect of the resources student employees receive from management and from the nature of their work on their engagement at work and their engagement in academic pursuits. Student workers make up a significant pool of workers in our institutions of higher education and supporting academic achievement of student workers is consistent with our institutions' missions. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents (supervisory support, supervisory feedback, person-organization fit, and person-job fit) that affect levels of work engagement of students employed in educationally-situated work environments, and …

Recruitment And Selection In A Mass Hiring Event Of A Sme, Emily Sutphin

Honors Theses

Using a qualitative approach, I examined the relationship between formal recruitment and selection practices and the success of a mass hiring event in a small and medium sized enterprise (SME). For the purpose of my study, I will use prominent research in order to examine small and medium enterprises recruitment and selection processes and translate these findings to a mass hiring event with recruitment and selection. My literature review will help guide findings based on the qualitative data I collected. Data was drawn from observation, formal and informal interviews with key individuals within the company, and document analysis. A case …

Exploring The Employability Of African-American Male Ex-Offenders In Local Government, Chandra Latrelle Porter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The public sector is the largest employer that requires a background check. When African-American male ex-offenders return to their communities, they are often unable to find work in local government because of their criminal record. The central research question for this phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of African-American male ex-offenders regarding their employability in the local government sector. Guided by Sampson and Laub's life course perspective theory, a purposeful sample of 5 African-American male ex-offenders who applied for work or who currently work for local government entities in the state of Georgia was selected for this study. A three-interview …

Leadership Strategies And Employee Performance Within Small Business, Letica Carla Sellers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The survival of the small business industry is important to the United Sates workforce and economy. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies of 2 small business managers in a manufacturing setting who had a demonstrable record of improving employee performance to meet organizational goals. The conceptual framework for this study was Burns and Bass's transformational leadership theory. The small business managers were from 2 small manufacturing plants in the coastal plains region of South Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, archival documents, and observations of the managers during their daily activities. Data analysis …

Strategies To Improve Productivity Of A Multigenerational Workforce, Grace Elizabeth Beasley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that millennials will soon represent 46% of the workforce. The anticipated changes in the workforce are of great concern to business leaders who may manage individuals from different generations. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that administrative leaders in an advisory group of community-based organizations and educational institutions used to improve the productivity of a multigenerational workforce. The conceptual frameworks that grounded this study were the social constructivist perspective and generational theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews to elicit narratives from 6 administrative leaders from 6 …

Budget Planning, Budget Control, Business Age, And Financial Performance In Small Businesses, Tracy A. Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 390,000 businesses failed in the United States in 2014. The primary cause for most business failures is poor planning, and budgets are a primary means of planning. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine to what extent, if any, budget planning, budget control, and the age of the business significantly predict financial performance in small businesses. The target population consisted of small business leaders in the Midwest. Churchill and Lewis's theory on the relative importance of selected management factors of small businesses through 5 stages of development formed the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected …

Strategies For Maximizing Revenue Collection In Public Water Utility Companies, Nicholas Gracious Namaliya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Africa has a high rate of revenue under-collection in public water utility companies. This rate currently averages 20-50%, and the rate is 18% for Malawi alone. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore credible business strategies senior managers of water utilities use to address inefficiencies in collecting water fee revenues. The conceptual framework for this study was revenue management, which includes strategic constructs for increasing amounts of revenue collection. The target population for this study was 5 senior managers of a public water utility in Malawi, which is located in the southeastern part of Africa. Data collection included …

Tariffs Eliminations And Exchange Rate Fluctuations Relationships To Trade Elasticity, Folly Kuevey Kuevey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enactment of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was intended to reduce tariffs on most goods by 2008 among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and to create the largest regional market outside the European Union. Early research conducted to investigate the relationships between tariffs elimination and trade volume focused mainly on macrolevel effects with mixed results, without acknowledging the possible influence from exchange rate fluctuations. After 20 years, NAFTA has provided the opportunity to observe a significant reduction in tariffs between 1994 and 2013. Skepticism regarding the relationship between trade liberalization and the regional economy, and the …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Security Practices Of Registered Nurses, Beth Ann Savage

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increased breach occurrences in healthcare cause concern for health information as reported by the Federal Government. Significant effort, regulations, and safeguards are in place to protect the systems used in the healthcare industry. Employee handling of security remains an area of vulnerability related to security protocols. The unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT) served as the model for this qualitative exploratory study with the purpose of understanding registered nurse (RN) perceptions and lived experiences related to IT security. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 participants from the Three Rivers Chapter American Association Critical Care Nurses. Transcribed data …

Succession Planning For Next Generation Business Leaders, Yetta Toliver

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ability to backfill leadership positions has become a key focus of business leaders since 2005 when the baby boom workforce started to age. An aging workforce threatens the capability of business leaders to develop leadership pipelines to ensure business success. Grounded by the social exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore successful strategies that technology services managers used to align core business objectives to improve succession planning at a technology services organization located in Dallas, Texas. Data collection and triangulation included semi structured telephone interviews with 12 technology services managers, company documents, and …

Effects Of Authentic Leadership Style And Nurse Engagement On Patient Satisfaction, Kimberly Dawn Washburn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective leadership and disengaged nurses reduce the quality of care and patient satisfaction in healthcare organizations. Healthcare leaders can benefit from understanding the factors that improve leadership ability and nurse engagement to improve healthcare outcomes. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between the demonstration of authentic leadership characteristics and nurse engagement. The study's population comprised acute care registered nurses in a rural hospital in central Washington State. Authentic leadership theory and engagement theory constituted the theoretical framework. Independent variables were the 4 constructs of authentic leadership theory, self-awareness, balanced information processing, relational transparency, and internalized …

Management Strategies And Intervention Program Readiness For Paroled Offenders And Ex-Offenders, Sylvia Jean Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion for 3 small-sized prisoner-

release intervention programs in Columbus, Ohio, continue to decline. Prisoner-release

intervention programs aid paroled offenders and ex-offenders with societal reentry.

Influenced by the conceptual framework of the social control theory, this exploratory

multiple case study was designed to contribute to the common understanding of the

paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion in the small-sized prisoner

release intervention programs. The 18 participants included stakeholders from the

criminal justice system, prisoner-release intervention programs, community advocacy

organizations, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. Analysis of data collected

from interviews and telephone …