Digging Into Selection Criteria For Accelerator Acceptance: What Kind Of Owners Are More Attractive?, Veronika Ermilina, Matthew Farrell, Fatemeh Askarzadeh

Management Faculty Publications

Drawing on signaling theory, we aid in the identification of the rarely acknowledged impact of business owner’s features on acceptance to accelerator programs. Using a multi-national sample of 10,298 observations for startups in 166 countries over 2016-2018, we show that accelerators do not evaluate applicants uniformly. We find that entrepreneurs from developing countries are less likely to be accepted by accelerators than entrepreneurs from developed economies. Counterintuitively, we also find an advantage for female entrepreneurs in accelerator acceptance. Further, our results suggest a positive impact of education. Accelerators are a growing provider of entrepreneurial resources and a main driver of …

Evidence-Based Hospice Care Education For Healthcare Clinicians, Nonie E. Weir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vulnerable populations with a terminal illness, who reside in a nursing home setting, continue to experience psychological, physical, and emotional effects that lead to end-of- life (EOL) suffering and discomfort. Globally, millions of individuals receive care from a hospice provider. By 2030, this figure will triple due to the increased lifespan of the geriatric population. The literature review has revealed that the practical problem is the lack of hospice care education received by healthcare clinicians. It is, therefore, important to prepare and educate healthcare clinicians about a peaceful death through an individualized plan-of-care (POC) from a holistic approach. The purpose …

Strategies For Implementing A Successful Customer Relationship Management System, Samuel Adebayo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Customer relationship management (CRM) software implementation fails in thepackaging industry because of ineffective CRM implementation strategies. Effective strategies for CRM software implementation are essential to CRM managers for improving CRM project success rates. Grounded in Kano’s customer satisfaction theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies CRM managers in the packaging industry used to operate a profitable business. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and documents of CRM strategies. Participants were four CRM managers located in Illinois who had a minimum of 10 years of successfully managing CRM systems with high success rates. Data …

A Systems Perspective In Examining Industry Clusters: Case Studies Of Clusters In Russia And India, Anton Klarin, Rifat Sharmelly, Yuliani Suseno

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article explores an examination of industry clusters from a systems perspective. We analyze Russia’s pharmaceutical clusters and India’s automobile clusters in terms of the systems concepts of holism, emergence, and open systems. We further consider the aspects of human capital investment and the availability of professional labor, infrastructure, private–public sector collaboration, support for funding and commercialization, as well as innovation corporate culture, when examining the institutional pillars supporting the development and growth of industry clusters within the national innovation ecosystems. The findings illustrate how industry clusters can be viewed from a systems perspective. We also highlight how the institutional …

Collaboration And Opportunism In Megaproject Alliance Contracts: The Interplay Between Governance, Trust And Culture, Peter Galvin, Stephane Tywoniak, Janet Sutherland

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Alliance contracts have been introduced in megaprojects to improve the alignment of objectives, risk and reward between client and contractor. However, the relational norms of alliances are not sufficient on their own to eliminate opportunistic behaviors. This study shows that, investing in mechanisms supportive of governance, culture, and trust provides a platform upon which firms may foster collaboration and limit self-interest oriented behavior amongst alliance partners. Our qualitative case study of a major project-based organization reveals the impact of these mechanisms, and more pointedly, how they interact and often reinforce each other. Governance, culture and trust are interlinked and complementary, …

Exploring The Key Challenges Facing Company Secretaries In A Two-Tier Board Context, Stefan Peij, Pieter-Jan Bezemer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose: This study aims to examine the core challenges facing company secretaries in a two-tier board context. This study focuses on the key factors contributing to these challenges and how company secretaries can effectively address them.

Design/methodology/approach: An analysis of the narratives provided by 291 Dutch company secretaries in response to a series of open-ended questionnaire questions led to insights into the key challenges company secretaries face in their day-to-day work.

Findings: Company secretaries perceive a myriad of factors contributing to pressures on their time, the need to work for multiple organizational bodies and the processing of information. They believe …

The Prospective Applicability Of The Strengths-Based Approach To Managing And Developing Employees In Small Businesses, Chamila Kumudunee Wijekuruppu, Alan Coetzer, Pattanee Susomrith

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose: The strength-based approach is promulgated as a management practice that improves individual productivity and performance. This study's purpose is to explore the prospective applicability of the strengths-based approach to managing and developing employees in small businesses. The study focuses on four domains of practice: selection, training, performance evaluation and task assignment.

Design/methodology/approach: The study employed semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to obtain data. The units of analysis were managers and employees of small businesses. Eleven managers and 19 employees were interviewed. Data analysis involved thematic analysis with the NVivo 12 software program.

Findings: First, the small businesses used a strengths-based approach …

Extending Micro-Credentials To Micro-Apprenticeships For The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Enhancing Vocational Education And Training In The Post-Pandemic’S ‘New Normal’, Pi-Shen Seet, Janice Jones

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

As noted in the foreword of this Special Issue, COVID-19 has accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s or Industry 4.0’s disruption to the labour market (Sally, 2021). Beyond Industry 4.0 (I4.0), the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by enterprises, underscoring the need for workers to continuously upskill their digital competencies in order to remain relevant (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2021). Besides digitisation, organisations have had to innovate and adopt new business models to adapt to the ‘new normal’ of surviving and growing beyond the COVID-19 pandemic (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2021). In countries that largely relied on skilled migration …

Fiduciary Duty Or Loyalty? Evidence From Co-Opted Boards And Corporate Misconduct, Rashid Zaman, Nader Atawnah, Ghasan A. Baghdadi, Jia Liu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

We examine the effect of co-opted boards on corporate misconduct and document a significant positive relationship. Utilising a large sample of public U.S. companies from the period 2001 to 2015, we find that a one standard deviation increase in the proportion of co-opted directors on a board leads to a 4.3% rise in corporate misconduct. This outcome is robust to a series of sensitivity tests and continues to hold after accounting for potential endogeneity concerns. Further analyses indicate that co-opted directors propose fewer board agenda items, exhibit lower attendance at board meetings, and receive compensation packages in excess of industry …

Models And Solution Approaches For Integrated Student To School Assignment And School Bus Routing Problem Focusing On Special Needs Students, Azadeh Ansari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation addresses the integrated problem of assigning students to schools and generating school bus routes particularly focusing on the special needs students is addressed. Special needs students generally require supplementary accommodations and must be picked up from and dropped off at their home addresses. This will increase the number of nodes in the network and therefore introduces additional complexities to the problems of assignment and routing for students. An integrated single objective mathematical model is first developed that simultaneously assigns the students to schools based on their needs and generates efficient bus routes to deliver the students to their …

A Learning Curve Model Accounting For The Flattening Effect In Production Cycles, Evan R. Boone, John J. Elshaw, Clay M. Koschnick, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

We investigate production cost estimates to identify and model modifications to a prescribed learning curve. Our new model examines the learning rate as a decreasing function over time as opposed to a constant rate that is frequently used. The purpose of this research is to determine whether a new learning curve model could be implemented to reduce the error in cost estimates for production processes. A new model was created that mathematically allows for a “flattening effect,” which typically occurs later in the production process. This model was then compared to Wright’s learning curve, which is a popular method used …

Making Nice Or Faking Nice? Exploring Supervisors’ Two-Faced Response To Their Past Abusive Behavior, Shawn T. Mcclean, Stephen H. Courtright, Junhyok Yim, Troy A. Smith

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Although extant research has shown that abusive supervision is a destructive and immoral form of leader behavior, theory provides conflicting perspectives on how supervisors respond to their own abusive behavior. We therefore draw upon and integrate moral cleansing theory and impression management and construction theory to explore whether and when supervisors engage in genuine reparations or impression management following episodes of abusive behavior. Results taken from a 3-week, experience sampling study of supervisors suggest support for the impression management path; following episodes of abusive behavior, supervisors higher on symbolized moral identity become more concerned with their image, and thus engage …

The Relationship Of Authentic Leadership And Growth, Retention, And Productivity, Michael B. Horwitz

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership has been heralded a critical component for the achievement of successful organizational outcomes. Recent financial, social, psychological, and environmental challenges that are being faced on a global scale have raised the call for new and effective leadership. Researchers and practitioners have expressed the need for the development of good leaders. Authentic leadership (AL) has been described as the root theory of all other forms of positive leadership and offers a way to describe and develop more effective leadership and drive veritable sustained superior performance.

Authentic leaders are proposed to have greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors, seeking to develop …

The Role Of Parental Generation And Parenting Style With Respect To Work Ethic Of The Millennial Generation, Ember Campbell

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study investigated the possible relationships between parental generation, parenting style, gender, and the work ethic of the Millennial generation. Millennial participants’ work ethic was determined using the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP), with the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) being utilized to determine the parenting style experienced by the 385 participants that comprised the study sample. First, the study investigated the possible difference between parental generation and the work ethic of the Millennial. Second, the study explored the possible difference between parenting style experienced and the work ethic of the Millennial. Finally, the study examined the possible difference between …

Designing Call To Action: Users' Perception Of Different Charateristics, Thomas Mejtoft, Jonathan Hedlund, Helen Cripps, Ulrik Söderström, Ole Norberg

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper aims to provide guidance when designing a call to action in a digital system with the purpose to create an intended feeling and user engagement. The paper is based on a test of four different simple call to action constructions. The users clearly prefer constructions that have a high explainability and feels intuitive. Hence, the design should have a high level of transparency and show the user straight away what it demands from the user and what the result of the action is. Furthermore, the design should have a high usability to make it clear how to use …

Use Of Factors In Development Estimates: Improving The Cost Analysis Toolkit, Matthew R. Markman, Jonathan D. Ritschel, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

Factor Estimating is a technique commonly used by defense acquisition analysts to develop cost estimations. However, previous studies developing factors for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the life cycle are limited. This research expands the current toolkit for cost analysts by developing cost factors in previously unexplored areas. More specifically, over 400 cost reports are utilized to create new standard cost factors that are delineated by five categories: commodity type, contract type, contractor type, development type, and Service. The factors are developed for those elements that are common in a wide array of projects such as program …

Foundations Of Business, Manika Avasthi

Open Textbooks and Course Materials

Foundations of Business was created for use in Virginia Commonwealth University BUSN 201. In this course, students will study the concepts, principles and operations of private enterprise. They will compare and contrast sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations – and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Students will explore the functions of modern business management, marketing, and ethics and social responsibility that can improve or tarnish a brand. They will also look at the human resource management side of running a business and learn how employers can motivate their employees. Finally, students will address the numbers side of running a business …

Mental Health Benefits Of Nature-Based Recreation: A Systematic Review, Nancy Qwynne Lackey, Deborah A. Tysor, G. David Mcnay, Leah Joyner, Kensey H. Baker, Camilla Hodge

Faculty Publications

The demand for mental health services around the world has risen dramatically. Many researchers and practitioners are looking for alternative mental health treatments, including nature-based recreation. However, reviews examining nature-based recreation’s therapeutic effectiveness are limited. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of available research regarding the potential mental-health benefits of nature-based recreation. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines, a global standard established to ensure consistency and quality in literature reviews, a systematic search generated 51 articles for review. Most articles (n = 46, 90%) observed at least one …

Work–Leisure Blending: An Integrative Conceptual Review And Framework To Guide Future Research, Troy A. Smith, Marcus M. Butts, Stephen H. Courtright, Mat D. Duerden, Mark A. Widmer

Faculty Publications

Since the industrial revolution, work and leisure have largely been considered opposing domains. A growing number of organizations, however, enable and/or promote blending leisure activities into the workplace. Similarly, several conceptualizations across different disciplines examine how work and leisure can coexist. These different conceptualizations have yielded a rich but fragmented theoretical account of work–leisure blending. To address this problem, we provide a comprehensive theoretical integration of multiple literature streams where research has explored work–leisure blending. Further, we develop a tripartite dimensional framework designed to elucidate the central dimensions of work–leisure blending (i.e., segmentation– integration, unstructured–structured, and independent–interactive) undergirding this phenomenon. …

What Is Your Status Portfolio? Higher Status Variance Across Groups Increases Interpersonal Helping But Decreases Intrapersonal Well-Being, Catarina R. Fernandes, Siyu Yu, Taeya M. Howell, Alison Wood Brooks, Gavin J. Kilduff, Nathan C. Pettit

Faculty Publications

Individuals belong to multiple groups across various domains of life, which in aggregate constitute a portfolio of potentially distinct levels of experienced status. We propose a two-factor model for assessing the effects of an individual’s status portfolio, based on status average (mean status level across groups) and status variance (degree to which status varies across those groups). Five studies using samples in general-life and work-specific contexts reveal the importance of both status average and status variance, the latter of which has been largely unexplored by status researchers to date. Individuals experiencing higher status variance show greater perspective taking, which in …

More Than Idle Talk: Examining The Effects Of Positive And Negative Team Gossip, Trevor Spoelma, Andrea Hetrick

Faculty and Staff Publications

Gossip is a behavior that has been traditionally viewed as harmful in organizations. However, a more balanced perspective has emerged in recent years that suggests gossip can have important benefits. We propose that one way to uncover potential benefits of gossip in teams is to focus on the valence (positive or negative nature) of the gossip. Drawing on expectancy theory, we propose team gossip indirectly influences team performance through social loafing because it plays a key role in shaping beliefs about effort in team contexts; effects determined by team gossip valence. We hypothesize that positive team gossip decreases social loafing, …

Psychometric Evaluation Of Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale In Academic Environment, Ali Asghar, Muhammad Asif Naveed

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS) using academicians at the University of Sargodha, Sargodha. The quantitative research design was adopted using a survey questionnaire to collect data from academicians. A 28-item KSBS was administered to 300 academicians, recruited through the convenient stratified process by visiting each department with permission. The researchers received 237 usable questionnaires indicating a response rate. The validity (e.g., construct validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity) and reliability (e.g., internal consistency measure Cronbach Alpha) of the instrument was examined using partial least square structural equation modeling with SmartPLS. The results …

Student Retention In Higher Education: Effect Of The Campus Fitness Center On Women, Leslie Marie Gordon

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of the 3.5 million first-time in college, full time students who began college in fall 2017, 74% returned for fall 2018, with 61.7% retained at their starting institution. Covid-19 has negatively impacted retention; in addition to normal attrition, one of every five students did not return to campus in fall 2020. Researchers have gauged both academic and social factors that positively influence retention and note the use of the campus fitness center (CFC) as one social factor; however, women are less likely to use the CFC, are one third as likely to exercise, and experience more numerous fitness obstacles and …

A Computational Simulation-Based Framework For Estimating Potential Product Impact During Product Design, Christopher S. Mabey, Andrew G. Armstrong, Christopher A. Mattson, John L. Salmon, Nile W. Hatch, Eric C. Dahlin

Faculty Publications

The impact of engineered products is a topic of concern in society. Product impact may fall under the categories of economic, environmental or social impact, with the last category defined as the effect of a product on the day-to-day life of people. Design teams lack sufficient tools to estimate the social impact of products, and the combined impacts of economic, environmental and social impacts for the products they are designing. This paper aims to provide a framework for the estimation of product impact during product design. To estimate product impact, models of both the product and society are required. This …

Who Gets ‘To Guru’? Scientist Ted Speakers And The Role Of Collective Identity In Peer Evaluation Of Audience Diversification, Brian P. Reschke, Taeya M. Howell

Faculty Publications

As producers diversify to additional audiences, they invite scrutiny of themselves and the products they provide, both by external evaluators as well as peer producers. We argue that in certain conditions, audience diversification may suggest producers represent their producer group, prompting special scrutiny by peers. In these cases, peer evaluation of diversification depends on the correspondence between the identity of the diversifying producer and the collective identity of the producer group, such that peers sanction non-prototypical producers and support exemplary producers. We develop and test hypotheses in the context of science, examining how appeals to the general public—giving a TED …

Train Your Frontline Personnel From Newbie To Master It Users: A Three-Phase Longitudinal Experiment Focusing On Technology Compatibility, J. Song, Suning Zhu

School of Business Faculty Research

Background: Although many decision makers have recognized the importance of training to the success of their frontline personnel and organizations, hidden technological compatibility issues can lead to training failure especially when different generations, or iterations, of hardware and software are involved. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of different levels (high vs. low) of compatibility between software and hardware on frontline trainees’ gained understanding of the related IT.

Method: Grounded in experiential learning, we designed a three-stage training experiment that involved the use of cloud-based geographical information systems and radio-frequency identification devices. The experiment included compatibility between …

The Effect Of Servant Leadership On Nonprofit Workplace Conflict, Lorena M. Freeborough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Workplace conflict depletes nonprofit organizations of valuable time and energy. Organizations spend millions of dollars because of the financial and human cost of unresolved interpersonal conflict in the workplace that stem from ineffective leadership behaviors. A leader’s ineffective behaviors have been linked to the organizational pressures that can cause and spread counterproductive workplace behavior, which results in interpersonal conflict and great financial cost. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship between servant leadership behaviors and interpersonal workplace conflict in nonprofit organizational settings in the United States. Specifically, the intended goal of this research was to …

Three Essays On Addressing Risks Under The Servicizing Business Model, Tina Arabian

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In view of the recent trend to prioritize access to a product over ownership, manufacturers may consider switching from selling their product to servicizing. The benefits of the servicizing business model, under which a firm sells the use or functionality of a product rather than the product itself, extend beyond providing firms with new economic opportunities. It is also recognized as a sustainable business model because it encourages firms and customers to be more conscious of product design and consumption patterns, respectively. Although this business model offers opportunities to the environment and the economy, it entails the risks of product …

Decipher The Effect Of Gamification In Harnessing Boredom And Improving Performance, Zhuoyi Zhao

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

My thesis investigates the effectiveness of gamification in harnessing boredom and improving performance in a repetitive work process. In video games, “loot” rewards are unpredictable, intermittent gains used to motivate players to repeat boring actions. In a 2 X 2 experiment, I examine how loot rewards in point form may impact 1) disengagement, which is an immediate outcome of boredom, and 2) performance in settings where the points have and do not have cash value, respectively. More specifically, I manipulate the level of point reward unpredictability (fixed versus loot) and whether point rewards have cash value (absent versus present).

In …

Effective Project Management And The Role Of Quality Assurance Throughout The Project Life Cycle, Monier Madison Ouabira, Hengameh Fakhravar

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Quality is a fundamental requirement in effective project management. Effective project management entails a steady focus on quality management as well as achievement of all user requirements as defined during the requirements engineering phase of project implementation. Quality assurance must be executed throughout the project development cycle as a new normal in reducing errors and challenges during project development. Conducting quality assurance throughout the project development cycle has many benefits to both the project as well as the project development team. Understanding the research approach to use is critical in achieving high-quality findings in projects. There is a need to …