Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

African American Graduates' Experiences Of Managing College Debt, Christal Blalock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Higher education is a means to improve professional status and economic mobility; however, mounting college debt has become a hindrance to college graduates, primarily African Americans. A disproportionate number of these graduates incur significant debt while attending college. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American college graduates who were managing debt incurred to pay for their education. Human capital theory and critical race theory provided the conceptual framework. Two research questions motivated this study: How do African American college graduates living in the state of Georgia manage their college debt? What …

Management Strategies To Improve Employee Engagement In The Credit Union Industry, Joy Keiondra Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement is the main topic of discussion among researchers and managers for over 24 years. Managing employee engagement is critical to the success of an organization, but 85% of manager's struggle with engaging employees. The purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies that credit union managers use to increase productivity and organizational effectiveness. Expectancy theory was used to explore employee engagement, performance, and motivation of people in the workplace. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and observations with 6 credit union managers and company documents using thematic coding. Analysis of the data revealed that, …

Exploring Student Loan Personal Financial Management Decisions Using A Behavioral Economics Lens, Michael J. Wermuth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a student loan debt problem in the United States. Seven million student borrowers are in default and another 14 million are delinquent on their loans. A high level of college loan debt leaves students with insurmountable payments and holds them back from starting a family, buying a home, or saving for retirement. The problem is that financial managers may not understand the student loan decision process well enough to help students make a loan decision that prevents an unmanageable level of debt. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the student's loan decision process using …

Effective Leadership Practices Of Bank Leaders In Nigeria, Olatunji Joseph Ajiboye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Nigerian banking industry has recently witnessed a major scandal resulting from financial impropriety of some corporate leaders in the industry. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) invested the sum of N620 billion ($4.1 billion) as part of a direct bailout package to 8 banks, and removed top executives of those banks for gross leadership ineptitude. The leadership ineptitude is an indication of the need to better understand effective leadership practices in the Nigerian banking industry. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore bank leaders' effective leadership practices used to sustain bank …

Market Capitalization And Firm Value: The Size Factor, Rajiv.Issar Issar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current multifactor valuation pricing models use size (measured by market capitalization) of a firm as one factor to determine the value of a security. The problem with current standard models was that none of them could explain the value of a security consistently and accurately based on current factors and in particular the size factor. The purpose of this quantitative study using existing time-series data over a 10-year period from 2006 to 2015 was to examine the impact of size factor on the realized rate of return of financial securities, while controlling for the impact of market rate of return. …

Strategies For Effective Financial Management In Vincentian Small Businesses, Kishore Nalin Shallow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of strategies for effective financial management has been an impediment to the survival and growth of many small businesses in Saint Vincent (St. Vincent), an island in the Caribbean. Inadequate adoption of strategies by small business owners is a prime contributing factor to small business failure. The purpose of this research was to identify strategies that small business owners use for effective financial management. Institutional theory served as the conceptual framework for this multiple case study. Participants consisted of 4 St. Vincent small business owners who had demonstrated effective financial management strategies in the operation of their businesses. …

Growth Capital Strategies For Defense Industry Women-Owned Small Businesses, Karen Renee Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to growth capital, a critical factor for growing a successful, sustainable business, is a challenge for women-owned small businesses. Following the resource based theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what capital growth strategies 6 small women-owned business leaders in the defense industry in Dayton, Ohio used to ensure business sustainability beyond the initial start-up period of 1 year. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documents. Methodological triangulation, member checking, reflexivity, and an audit trail were used to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness. Based on thematic analysis of the data, emergent themes included growth …

Examining Poverty, Entrepreneurship, And Multinational Corporation Participation In South Africa, Stephanie Furlough-Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Economic development is seen as the best means of accomplishing the goal of eradicating extreme poverty, and at the heart of this development are for-profit companies, especially multinational corporations. The specific problem examined in this study was whether levels of poverty in South Africa had been significantly impacted by the activities of multinational corporations and the level of entrepreneurship in its 9 provinces. To build upon empirical research on the sources of poverty alleviation and the impact of large global enterprises, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of entrepreneurship and multinational corporation presence on the change …

Implementation Variables Of Corporate Social Responsibility In The Financial Services Industry, Gregoire Kokomo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Seventy percent of small and medium-sized U.S. companies experience negative performance because of leaders' lack of knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) program implementation. CSR implementation is complex and requires organizational resources such as expertise, personnel, time, and money. Implementing CSR programs is challenging for many leaders. Research on CSR implementation in the U.S. financial services industry is scarce, and leaders of financial services firms do not have a clear understanding of how to make CSR implementation successful. The purpose of this study was to explore optimal strategies for making corporate social responsibility program implementation effective. The central research …

Relationship Between Mutual Fund Type, Portfolio Turnover, Longevity, Management Turnover, And Performance, Medhanie G. Mekonnen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mutual fund portfolio managers do not always meet risk-adjusted performance expectations, resulting in loss of capital reserves. Out of 3,612 U.S. based open-ended mutual funds, the risk-adjusted performance of 2,890 (80%) failed to meet or beat the S&P 500 (index fund) performance between the year 2006 to 2016. Grounded in Markowitz's modern portfolio theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between mutual fund class type, portfolio turnover, fund longevity, management turnover, and annual fund risk-adjusted performance. Archival data were collected from 88 U.S. based equity mutual funds companies. The results of the multiple regression analysis …

Multigenerational Financial Values: Differences Between Leaders In The Workplace, Terrence S. Ransom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Company leaders in the workplace represent all generations with diverse values, and those values influence their financial decisions in the workplace. The problem is that multigenerational company leaders and their employees possess different values from one another, which in turn creates different financial priorities for the company. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of how the financial values of company leaders from different generations are developed, and how those values influence their financial decisions in the workplace. The key research question for this qualitative study examined how the financial values and decisions of company …

A Case Study Exploration Of Blue-Collar Worker Retirement Plan Investment Decisions, Mark Griffin, Steven Tippins

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The finances of blue-collar workers were the most acutely impacted as these workers lost their jobs during the Great Recession of 2007 through 2009. The literature revealed a minimal understanding of how blue-collar workers allocated funds for their retirement, and what their investments might be when they invested. To address this problem, the current qualitative study addressed (a) how blue-collar workers chose to invest or not invest for retirement and (b) how blue-collar workers diversified their portfolio if they chose to invest. Theoretical foundations of the study were based on regret theory and prospect theory. A nonrandom purposeful sample of …

The Impact Of International Financial Reporting Standards On Key Financial Indicators Of Canadian Companies, Clint W. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Companies throughout the world use different methods for reporting their financial information to capital market investors and regulators. These different methods have caused financial reporting of statements to become less transparent, has increased adjustment errors and forecasting errors, and has reduced investor confidence. As a result, the International Accounting Standards Board created International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to establish a global standard. Currently, 140 jurisdictions worldwide have implemented IFRS. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of IFRS on 248 Canadian companies and to analyze whether the 2011 implementation of IFRS affected corporate stock prices, key financial …

The Dimensions Of Customer Satisfaction In The Jamaican Financial Service Industry, Dr. Lydia Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bank leaders spend an average of $727 to acquire a new customer and $287 to retain current customers. Grounded in customer relationship management and adaptation level theories, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between service quality and customers' intention to switch banking service. An online survey was administered to 203 Jamaican banking customers. The target population was selected to identify if the Jamaican banks' customer service adhered to the customer satisfaction principles developed by Parasuraman. The independent variables were the 10 dimensions of service quality. Competence, courtesy, credibility, and access were removed because of multicollinearity …

Exploring Bank Managers' Strategies For Developing Millennials For Leadership Roles In Commercial Banks, Kenneth Morton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding strategies to prepare Millennials for leadership roles in commercial banks is critical to ensure organizational stability and success and to avoid knowledge gaps and leadership deficiencies created by large numbers of retiring Baby Boomers. Guided by learning network theory and generational theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that 3 bank managers in North Carolina and South Carolina used to prepare Millennials for leadership. These 3 bank managers had a minimum of 2 years of experience leading teams of employees which included Millennials. The study included semistructured interviews to elicit detailed narratives from …

Strategies For Real Estate Professionals To Compete With Internet Organizations, Jennifer Dorwart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been slow growth among traditional residential real estate organization managers to communicate among the real estate industry successful e-commerce strategies. Grounded in diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore strategies traditional residential real estate managers use to compete with e-commerce real estate managers. The study population comprised traditional real estate office managers in western Nebraska who had at least 5 years' experience in developing successful e-commerce strategies and had sold a home in the past 5 years. I conducted a thematic analysis on the data collected via semistructured interviews and company …

Relationship Between Working Capital Management, Policies, And Profitability Of Small Manufacturing Firms, Zelealem Tadesse Temtime

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Working capital optimization, as an act of balancing liquidity and profitability, presents significant challenges when small businesses lack managerial expertise and access to affordable capital and credit facilities. To remain successful through efficient utilization of working capital, small business leaders need to understand the association between working capital management (WCM), working capital policy (WCP), and business profitability (PFT). Anchored in the cash conversion cycle theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between WCM, WCP, and PFT. The study employed a retrospective secondary analysis of financial data from 2004 to 2013 from a random sample of …

The Effects Of Using Invoice Factoring To Fund A Small Business, Ivan Justin Salaberrios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners often do not possess the financial literacy to implement invoice factoring to fund their business. Despite that lack of knowledge, an increasing number of small business owners are using invoice factoring as their primary source of funding. Guided by a systems thinking approach, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to understand the effect of invoice factoring of 5 small business owners, 5 small business finance managers, and 5 factoring program managers, all of whom managed factoring programs and technical services companies with less than $3 million in annual revenues. Participants were located in 6 …

Relationship Between Financial Knowledge And Business Performance For Truck Owner-Operators, Tahsen H. Alqatawni

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Owner-operator lack of knowledge about financial and operation costs is a serious impediment to business survival. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between the knowledge of financial and operational costs among trucking owner-operators and their business performance. The theoretical framework for the study was the resource-based theory and knowledge gap theory. A convenience sample of 78 owner-operator truckers across the United States participated in this study. The response rate was 17% for a web-based survey that was distributed to owner-operators in Facebook, and 83% for the paper-based surveys from the owner-operators who were visiting more …

The Credibility Of Government Budget: The Case Of Sierra Leone, Patrick Saidu Conteh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fiscal reports have, since 2010, documented weak budget credibility in Sierra Leone public financial management noting that the government budget does not constitute a dependable framework for the planning, allocation and efficient use of the nation's resources. The purpose of this study was to develop a budgetary reform agenda and the research question that guided the study related to the reasons for the high monetary variances between the approved budget and the year-end financial reports. Government budgets and financial reports were reviewed for 2010-2014 and senior government officials were interviewed regarding the main stages of the annual budgetary process. The …

Strategies For Accessing Credit By Small And Medium Enterprises, Henry Jefferson Ogoi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium enterprise (SME) business owners play a significant role in the Kenyan economy as they account for approximately 78% of total employment and 57% of the new jobs created. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore what strategies some Kenyan SME business owners used within the past 5 years to access credit to improve company profitability and growth. The target population consisted of 4 SME owners of businesses located in Kakamega Town, Kenya, who have had access to credit within the past 5 years. The conceptual framework for this study was the social capital …

The Effect Of Regulations On The Bottom-Line Of Traditional And Shadow Banks, Tsatsu Emmanuel Nyamadi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Return on equity is often associated with prudent risk-taking and the attraction of new clients in advanced economies like the United States, where shadow banks are not regulated. Researchers have contended that freedom from regulation encourages risk-taking and earning of higher profits, but there is a lack of empirical evidence addressing this relationship. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether lack of regulations result in increased return on equity. The theoretical framework was regulatory arbitrage by Ricks M, Gennaioli N, Shleifer A, and Vishny R. The research question addressed the relationship between regulation, profit margin, leverage, asset …

Empirical Forecasting Of Returns During The Great Recession Through Economic Value Added, Godwin Ohene Sekyere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

US economic recession from 2007- 2009, also known as the Great Recession, negatively impacted the financial sector as well as other aspects of society. Researchers have found value-based measures and accounting measures as effective performance measures, but they have found inconclusive results when comparing the strengths of economic value added (EVA) and accounting measures in predicting stock performance. This study used data from the Great Recession to further compare EVA and accounting measures. The purpose of this cross-sectional or correlational study was to determine the relative predictive strength of EVA during the Great Recession to determine whether a model with …

Corporate Governance Issues In The Nigerian Banking Industry, Oyebola Bejide Akande

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate governance issues resulting from bad governance, fraudulent activities, insider abuse, and corruption have attracted the attention of shareholders and regulators in the banking industry. The financial crisis that erupted from the United States affected the financial institutions of both developed and developing countries, among which Nigerian banks belong. The Central Bank of Nigeria removed 8 managing directors and executive directors due to bad governance, nonperforming loans of 61%, and toxic assets of $13.3 billion; the Central Bank injected 620 billion naira into the banks. The purpose of this multiple case study was to develop an understanding of corporate governance …

Sustaining Dental Practices Longer Than 5 Years, David Gagner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dentists graduate dental school ready to practice dentistry, but 85% do not feel prepared by the dental school to open and manage the operations of a general dental practice. General systems theory grounded this multisite case study. The research provides information on 3 solo practitioner dental practices that sustained beyond 5 years in the Washington, DC suburbs. At each operating practice, the dentist who owned the practice and 1 employee that also worked at the practice during the first 5 years were interviewed. The dentist provided marketing documents used during the first 5 years of the practice operations. Data triangulation …

Valuing Commercial Finance Companies, David Earle Coit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stakeholders are increasingly insistent that companies increase firm value. The problem is that stakeholders of financial services firms are unable to accurately determine firm value. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the accuracy of 4 valuation models in predicting the market value of equity of commercial finance companies. Study participating companies were 8 listed U.S. or Canadian commercial finance companies. The theoretical constructs of the study included the accuracy of valuation models, modern portfolio theory, and the correlation of book value of equity to market value of equity. Financial information on participating companies obtained from public filings …

Corporate Social Responsibility And Financial Performance Of Banks In The United States, Waidi Alani Gbadamosi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate social responsibility has evolved as a business strategy, but the business worth of voluntary social conduct has not been well understood. The contradictory research findings mean that social performance is not maximized, which constrains economic growth and sustainable development. Grounded by stakeholder theory, this correlational study was aimed at examining the effect of social responsibility factors on the market-based Fama-French cost of capital. Within a sample of 71 United States banks, the publicly available ethical ratings, financial data, and stock market data were analyzed using multiple regression models. Contrary to the positive effect of social conduct on financial performance …

Budgets As A Primary Control In New Hampshire Governmental Units, Dennis C. Shea

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The annual budget process is a primary financial control mechanism over community resources. However, in New Hampshire, some business school leaders do not have effective strategies for proper budget creation and execution. Using agency theory to frame this study, the purpose of this explanatory case study was to explore strategies for proper budget creation and execution in local school administrative units (SAUs) in New Hampshire. The targeted population was comprised of New Hampshire SAU business administrators who had operational responsibility for the administration of the yearly public budgets in each school district. Data were collected from SAU document review and …

Multinational Corporations' Return On Investment Optimization In Nigeria's Business Environment, Funlola Francesca Fajinmi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Trade between the United States and Africa decreased 32% from US$125 billion, in 2011, to US$85 billion, in 2013; however, MNCs from other regions have continued to increase investments in Africa. Multinational corporations (MNCs) generate most of their return on investment (ROI) from the Western world. Globalization, increasing middle classes in emerging markets, and decreasing population in the Western world have lead to unsustainable ROI. Nigeria, the most populous and largest economy in Africa and the 27th largest economy in the world, offers new opportunities with an annual growth rate forecast of 6% to 8%. Utilizing the diamond theory of …

Assessing The Level And Impact Of Financial Literacy On African Americans, Robert A. Amoah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals are faced with making important economic decisions regarding retirement, savings, investing, and insurance. Across the globe, developed and emerging economies are experiencing growth in the sophistication of financial markets and products. Individuals require a greater degree of financial literacy to understand and explore these sophisticated and emerging financial markets and products. A review of literature revealed African Americans, however, lack the decision-making tools to function in the financial world. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which African Americans have financial knowledge. The sample size was 382 African Americans residing in Columbus, Ohio. The study …