Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

#Thirsty4change: Bubble Tea, Coding And Data Visualisation, Singapore Management University

Social Space

In our introductory article to #Thirsty4Change, we met Ishan and Elyza, undergrads of Singapore Management University who have teamed up with LASALLE College of the Arts students to explore design interventions to bring about a more sustainable-looking future for bubble tea packaging and consumption. Throughout six weeks of workshops, the students embarked on data collection, and learned more about coding and data visualisation.

Social Responsibility: Preparing Students For The Real World, Alicen Flosi, Jeff Dyson, Gisele Moss

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Ethics and corporate social responsibility are widely discussed in business and in the classroom. In fact, many mission statements for Colleges of Business include ethics as a major component. As corporations become increasingly aware of their impact on the environment, sustainability and social responsibility have become significant issues for many executives.

How to “teach” ethics and social responsibility is a dilemma that has been addressed with no definitive solution. Research shows that the traditional model of teaching and/or learning is outdated. In many disciplines, instructor/lecture and student note-taking are outdated methods of teaching. To increase student engagement and to reach …

An Examination Of How Environmental, Social, Governance (Esg) Investing Influences A Company's Stock Return, Sam Marty

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Using a random sample of 184 companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019, this paper investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investing on a company’s stock return. The results show that ESG investing has a positive and statistically significant impact on a company’s stock return. An increase in one ESG rating leads to an increase between 0.4% and 3.6% in the return of a company’s stock. Additionally, the results show that individual ESG factors are each statistically insignificant. This indicates that the three ESG factors need to be viewed together rather than individually. Lastly, the …

Sustainability Of Rural Hospitals In The United States, Stephanie Cole, Kathleen Lanhan, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

Introduction: Rural hospitals experienced both challenges and opportunities in providing healthcare to the community. As these facilities were one of the largest employers in the area, their impact was significant. The purpose of this study was to determine the sustainability of rural hospitals in the U.S. by examining variables that affect these institutions such as accessibility, availability of services, quality outcomes, and effective administrative practices.

Methodology: This qualitative study utilized a literature review and open-ended survey of an expert in Hospital Administration within or collaborating with rural areas. Five databases were used to collect 48 total sources. These sources were …

Explaining Heterogeneity In Environmental Management Practice Adoption Across Firms, Rick Hardcopf, Rachna Shah, Ujjal Mukherjee

Management Faculty Publications

There is extensive academic research examining why firms adopt environmental management practices (EMPs), reflecting an increasing focus on firm environmental activity in research and practice. However, there is little understanding of why firms vary within and across industries in the number of EMPs they adopt (EMP adoption). In this study, we seek to identify the sources of variation and quantify the relative importance of each source. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) and a 12-year panel data including 880 firms from 258 industries, we show that temporality (variation over time), firm-specific choices and characteristics, and industry membership account for 40%, 26%, …

B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery: Can Last-Mile Bicycle Delivery Survive The E-Commerce Minefield?, Madeleine Pullman, Jacen Greene, Wanying Shi, Stephan Kaplan

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the population of cities in the western United States continues to boom, the demand for retail and wholesale food has followed suit. To deal with the accompanying increase in traffic and congestion from population and business growth, the city of Portland planned to increase bikeways and reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles to less than 30% of total commuters by 2026. Despite efforts to decrease dependence on vehicles, traffic congestion in Portland
continued to increase, and traditional vehicle delivery in the urban area became less and less efficient. As ride-sharing services and online retailers increased their presence in the …

Two Essays On Limiting The Negative Impact Of Product Recalls, Seyyed Amirali Javadinia

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation is composed of two essays. In the first essay, authors conceptualize recall environment, test its effect on post-recall stock returns and identify the role of recall and product characteristics in moderating this relationship. The authors test their hypotheses on a sample of 90 recall announcements in the automobile industry from 2011 to 2016. The results show that on average, announcing a recall in an intense environment aggravates negative stock returns accruing from the recall. Further, while low reputation brands are mostly prone to this negative impact of recall environment, high reputation brands are less susceptible to this negative …

How Co-Creation Increases Employee Corporate Social Responsibility And Organizational Engagement: The Moderating Role Of Self-Construal, Bonnie Simpson, Jennifer Robertson, Katherine White

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This research merges literature from organizational behavior and marketing to garner insight into how organizations can maximize the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for enhanced CSR and organizational engagement of employees. Across two field experiments, the authors demonstrate that the effectiveness of employee co-creation activities in increasing employees’ positive CSR perceptions is moderated by self-construal (i.e., whether an individual views the self as relatively independent from or interdependent with others). In particular, the positive effect of co-creation on CSR perceptions emerges only for employees with a salient interdependent self-construal (either measured as an individual difference or experimentally manipulated). Moreover, …

Selling Off-Grid Light To Liquidity Constrained Consumers, Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Ioana Popescu, Serguei Netessine

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Problem definition: A large proportion of the world’s population has no access to electricity and so relies on noxious kerosene for their lighting needs. Solar-based solutions require a large up-front investment and are often unaffordable in this market owing to consumers’ tight liquidity constraints. As an alternative, there are business models relying on rechargeable light bulbs that are sold at a subsidized price (which renders them affordable) and require regular micropayments for recharges (which eases liquidity constraints). These bulbs provide a cheaper and healthier light source than kerosene, yet their adoption is lower than expected, and some consumers continue …

Rural Hospital Health In The United States, Stephanie Cole, Kathleen Lanham

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: Rural hospitals experienced both challenges and opportunities in providing healthcare to the community. As these facilities were one of the largest employers in the area, their impact was significant. Additionally, accessibility to necessary medical services was essential. Thus, sustainability of rural hospitals was vital. In order to assess sustainability, exploration into financial and quality outcomes could help support their ability to thrive.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study was to determine the sustainability of rural hospitals in the U.S. by examining variables that affect these institutions such as accessibility, availability of services, quality outcomes, and …

Challenges And Opportunities For The Development Of River Logistics As A Sustainable Alternative: A Systematic Review, Ademar Vilarinho, Lara Bartocci Liboni, Jane Siegler

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

In the last decades there has been great concern about sustainability, especially in companies, where the concept of sustainable development is no longer a trend, but a reality. In the logistics field it should not be any different, since it´s importance to the movement of goods and people. This movement is carried out by four transportation modals, road, air, rail and river. The road transportation is widely used in relation to the others, bringing some problems in large urban centers like traffic jams, climate change, pollution, high CO2 emissions, among others. Thus, it is currently a great challenge to make …

Leadership Style And Smes Sustainability In Nigeria: A Multiple Case Study, Vincent Ikechukwu Okeke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has remained an under-researched area in the management literature, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. SME owner-managers in Nigeria lacked in-depth understanding of their leadership style to objectively evaluate its implication on long-term performance and growth of their enterprise. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the experiences of SME owner-managers in Nigeria to gain an in-depth understanding of their leadership style and its implication for long-term performance and growth of their enterprise. The conceptual framework for this study was anchored in two key concepts; leadership styles and leadership …

Exploring Sustainable Capital Acquisition Strategies Of Small Businesses, Naieche Brooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners encounter various difficulties in funding businesses. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that some small business owners used to acquire capital to sustain their businesses longer than the first 5 years of operation. The resource-based theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with a sample of 3 owners of small businesses in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States and review of company profit statements. Five themes emerged from data triangulation and analyses: start-up capital access, private lender networking, motivation, self-realization, and external perceptions. …

The Effectiveness Of Collaboration Within Supply Chain Management: A Case Study Of Adidas Group, Daniel Carr

CMC Senior Theses

For a multi-national company like Adidas, supply chain management is one of the most crucial aspects of business operations. Products cannot be sold unless Adidas’s supply chain is well-managed and efficient, and public perception of a brand/company is critical to success.

This case study analyzes the effectiveness of Adidas's distinct “collaborative approach” to supply chain management, which is characterized by not only monitoring and auditing suppliers, but also training them to make Adidas’s standards their own and approaching suppliers with the intention of building long-term relationships where the suppliers can become self-sufficient.

This study reviews the structure of Adidas's supply …

Strategies For Small Business Sustainability, Victor K. Adoukonou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses represent more than 99% of all employers in the United States, but more than 50% of small businesses have failed before 5 years. Climate change, digitization, and social media contribute to a paradigm shift in consumers' habits, as more consumers have become environmentally and social justice conscious. Business leaders who are unable to follow the consumers' trends and changes of habit may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of small businesses in the District of Columbia use to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years …

Sustainable Supply Chain Management In The Nigerian Consumer Goods Manufacturing Sector, Ekpen Theophilus Owie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Supply chain practitioners in developing economies, like Nigeria, experience challenges in implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Poor sustainability implementation engenders the negative effects of supply chain operations on people, the environment, and business continuity. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of supply chain practitioners in the consumer goods manufacturing industry in Nigeria about sustainable supply chain management based on the theoretical foundations of stakeholder and general systems theories. The focus of the research question was to examine the experiences of supply chain practitioners to understand the challenges in implementing sustainable …

Stages Of Corporate Sustainability: Integrating The Strong Sustainability Worldview, Nancy E. Landrum

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Businesses are increasingly adopting sustainability, yet the environment continues to decline. This research responds to Dyllick and Muff’s assertion that this paradox is caused by a constricted understanding of the meaning of corporate sustainability, lack of inclusion of constructs from related streams of literature, and failure to integrate micro and macro perspectives of sustainability. The current research addresses these concerns through an integration of 22 microand macro-level models of stages of development from literature in corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility, environmental management, and sustainable development. This integration results in a new unified model of stages of corporate sustainability that broadens …

Sustainable Leadership And The Relationship To Profitability In U.S. Banking Institutions, Kendra Harvey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined if sustainable leadership in U.S. banking institutions had a statistical correlation to profitability between the period of 2008 and 2017. The problem addressed was the impact of sustainable leadership on the profitability of banking institutions in the U.S. was not known. The study was significant because of the increased amount of pressure within the financial sector to increase long-term stability while maintaining profitability. The research applied a quantitative correlational study to conduct the research. The study found there was no statistically significant correlation between net income or market value but did find a positive correlation for return …

The Internal Effects Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Firm Performance, Lindsay Harris

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the internal effects of corporate social responsibility on firm performance. It also examines the definition of corporate social responsibility and two varying theories about the topic. This thesis explores the human resource, quality and financial aspects of firm performance and how those aspects of a company are affected by adopting significant corporate social responsibility programs. This research seeks to answer the claim that corporate social responsibility programs do not have a positive effect on the actual performance of an organization. It will examine the effect of CSR on employee attitudes, moral and …

Marketing Practices Of Socially Responsible And Sustainable Businesses, Brooke A. Bivins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The topic of this research is marketing practices of socially responsible and sustainable businesses. It examines the strategies companies and brands use to represent themselves to the public through products, advertising, and philanthropy. This includes an evaluation of existing frameworks and case studies, as well as in-depth interviews. The question that this research will answer is as follows: How can new or existing companies embrace and integrate social responsibility or sustainability in a way that is authentic and contributes to a positive public reputation?

Younger generations are increasingly willing to switch to and, in some cases, pay more for products …

Sustainability Strategies For Successful Small Businesses, Barbara Stovall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses struggle to survive for longer than 5 years because owners lack knowledge of strategies to sustain financial capital. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners used to maintain financial capital to ensure survivability for longer than 5 years. The sample included 3 successful service- related small business owners located in the southeastern United States. Systems theory and the theory of entrepreneurship provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection involved face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of company websites and organizational documents. Member checking enhanced the credibility of the findings. …

Reshaping Management Effectiveness And Its Effect On Organizational Resilience In Multinational Enterprises, Franzelle Pertilla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Given the state of accelerating change in technology, globalization, and society, long-term planning has become challenging, thus improving organizational resilience to environmental change has become more important. The management problem addressed the need for strategies to improve organization resilience in the face of environmental change. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of managers to use a firm's human, financial, and technological resources to improve organizational resilience. The lived experiences of organizational leaders in addressing organizational resilience was the central research question. The conceptual framework was built on the World Economic Forum's National Resilience Beta …

Sustainable Homes And Going Green In La, Eric O'Brien

Whittier Scholars Program

This project will dive into the realm of sustainable homes or as it’s more commonly known, “Green Homes. The idea of building sustainable homes and structures in general is not a new concept in here Los Angeles, California, but with the consistent rise in population and the wide demographic held here in Los Angeles County, some folks are being left to conventional and environmentally detrimental homes. This project will begin with a brief overview of the history and current use of energy in the housing sector, then into the basis of sustainable building. Following this will be the topic of …

Scarcity In The Twenty-First Century: How The Resource Nexus Affects Management, Simon J. D. Schillebeeckx, Mark Workman, Charles Dean

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Since theadvent of the 21st century and especially since the food andfinancial crisis in 2008, concerns about natural resource availability haveresurfaced. While scarcity concerns date back hundreds of years and arefoundational to economics, how scarcity is interpreted or framed has evolved significantlyin the last two centuries. In this chapter, we recount the evolving scarcity discourseand specifically address the most recent iteration that centres on the idea ofa resource nexus. While significant attention to the nexus has been paid bypolicy-makers and scholars interested in especially water, management scholarshave so far remained absent from these debates. Given recent calls to address grand …

Strategies For Improving Energy Conservation On A Military Installation, Samuel Francis Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Energy is an essential component required to execute missions throughout military organizations. Failing to sustain energy efficiency in military units could cause mission failures throughout the Department of Defense. As a result, efficient energy management has become a major priority for Air National Guard units as well as other military organizations around the globe. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to gain an understanding of strategies used by front-line military supervisors to reduce energy consumption through behavioral change on a military installation located in Maryland. The central question explored strategies that front-line military supervisors use to change …

Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies To Provide Quality Sustainable Services, Karen Cobb Love

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations are essential in providing goods and services to the under-resourced in the community. Nonprofits have experienced a growth rate of 47% in 2014 and yet 53% of nonprofits reported less than 3 months cash on hand needed to meet the demands of their clients. This explorative and descriptive study analyzed nonprofit fundraising strategies for providing sustainable quality services. The purpose of this study was to determine what strategies successful nonprofits used to increase funding as it relates to the delivery of quality sustainable service and what conditions influenced fundraising effectiveness. The methodology consisted of a qualitative, thematic research …

Stakeholder Collaboration Strategies In The Hawaii Tourism Industry, Catherine Kaehu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Travel and tourism are concepts that date back to 3000 B.C. with globalization extending possibilities of travel to people across the world. Addressing stakeholder concerns is especially important in promoting the development of sustainable tourism contributing to the protection of Earth's natural resources and long-term sustainability of tourism businesses through collaboration and participation. This qualitative case study incorporated a strategic stakeholder management framework, focusing on exploring strategies that Hawaii tourism industry leaders use for increasing stakeholder participation in sustainable tourism development. The population consisted of individuals across 6 categories of Hawaii tourism industry stakeholders identified as visitors, residents, government or …

What Factors During The Genesis Of A Startup Are Causal To Survival?, Gilbert T. Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative investigation into what factors are present at time zero that increase the probability that a startup will achieve long term sustainability.

Survival rates for startups in the United States (U.S.) are disappointingly low and economically inefficient. The data shows that the U.S. clearly lags its peer countries in the survival rates of startups. The U.S ranked an unacceptable 11th of 14 among its peer countries in first-year survival rates in recent years. Startup failure does not only impact the entrepreneur; it also impacts creditors, vendors, community stakeholders, and employees. While …

Creating Sustainable Supply Chains: Influencing Sustainable Practices In The Supply Chain, Saif Mir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations worldwide are reporting their commitment to create sustainable supply chains. Ultimately, supply chain professionals are the drivers of change within their respective organizations, so this dissertation examines the role of communication as a tool to persuade supply chain professionals to create sustainable supply chains. The three studies within this dissertation employ different methodologies to examine the role of communication in the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives. The first study, a grounded theory investigation, highlights the network, communication, and structural factors that provide a strong business case for the development of sustainability initiatives. A strong business case influences the …

Fossil Fuel Asset Risk Analysis: Clark University Endowment, Travis A. Dodge, B. Maiwand Akbari

Student Works

The environmental and social risks of climate change are well known and perhaps inevitable. The economic and financial risks are less so. The many financial risks associated with climate change embedded in endowment portfolio fossil fuel holdings are leading many institutional stakeholders to enter into dialogue and take action. Divestment is emerging as an effective strategy for limiting portfolio exposure and tackling climate change itself.

Our team’s goals were to assess whether the Clark University endowment portfolio faces any of these risks and evaluate the impacts on asset values. Our findings show that the Clark endowment does face these same …