Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Accounting

A careful examination of accounting literature reveals the prospect for developing normative accounting theory that is capable of meeting society's needs at any given time. Despite the importance and the possibility of developing such a type of theory, research concerning normative theorization ceased in favor of the new empirical accounting research, which investigates the usefulness of accounting information to decision-making. Launching this line of research was a consequence of changing the objectives of financial accounting. This study empirically analyzes the shift in academic accounting research as proxied by The Accounting Review (TAR). TAR is the American Accounting Association's premier journal and the American oldest accounting journal devoted to the development of accounting theory. Coding of the articles published in TAR is the research method. Depending on whether or not an article possesses the characteristics of the four variables identified in this study, each article was coded as 0 or 1 under each variable. For each issue, the articles receiving a 1 were counted and summed up. Each issue became a unit of analysis. Samples came from issues published between 1926 and 2007. The years sampled were as follows: 1926-1930, 1952-1956, 1977-1981 and 2003-2007 respectively. This study found accounting theory declined while the use of the empirical archival method, the influence of economics and finance in academic accounting research, and the financial accounting topics appealing increased. This study also found that the use of the empirical archival method is positively associated with the influence of economics and finance. Further, this study found that the influence of economics and finance is positively associated with financial accounting topics. These three trends increased in academic accounting research at the expense of discussing accounting theory as a topic in academic accounting research. The emergence of the new “financial empirical paradigm (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Fogarty PhD (Committee Chair); Claudia Coulton PhD (Committee Member); Larry Parker PhD (Committee Member); Gary Previts PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2013, College of Business and Innovation

Increasingly, supply chains have become quite complex. The growing supply chain complexity challenges arise with intense global competition, turbulent market environments, demanding customer requirements, rapid technological changes and dynamic uncertainties associated with the political, social and economic environmental changes. In supply chain levels, firms are required to coordinate between broad ranges of product/service components, dynamic inter- and intra-organizational processes, and influences of diverse stakeholders. In such an environment, firms often grapple with enormous complexity issues and seek guidance on how to define the drivers of supply chain complexity, formulate supply chain strategies, implement complexity managing practices, deploy network and firm specific competencies and achieve sustainable competitive outcomes. Based on the literature review, this study presents a research model that defines the relevant variables. It proposes strategic and operational complexity practices that enhance Financial Performance via supply chain and operational competencies. The research questions apply to analysis of the fundamental basis for (1) the varieties of supply chain complexity (SCC); (2) synergistic complexity practices; (3) supply chain and operational competencies; and (4) the impact of these on financial performance. The research methodology used for the survey instrument will include an extensive literature review and interviews with practitioners. Interviews will be used prior to large-scale data collection. This study will explore how USA firms manage complexity challenges through effective network practices. Lessons and implications will be discussed. Recommendations for future research will also be included.

Committee: Paul Hong (Committee Chair); David Dobrzykowski (Committee Member); Yue Zhang (Committee Member); Ozcan Sezer (Committee Member); Abdul-Majeed Azad (Committee Member) Subjects: Management

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2000, Business Administration : Quantitative Analysis

This study defines Volume Flexibility as: the ability to profitably increase or decrease aggregate production (output) in response to changes in customer demand. We use a triangulated approach to measure and relate volume flexibility to firm performance. Part 1 uses secondary data to measure volume flexibility. Other researchers use variability in sales to measure volume flexibility and conclude that small firms are more volume flexible than large firms are. But, variability in sales essentially measures diversity in the environment, and therefore, it may not be a valid measure of volume flexibility. Our measures consider the combined impact of the firms technology and environmental diversity by incorporating process properties such as inventory levels and costs incurred in meeting sales variation. Using 20 years (1979-1998) of Compustat data on 550 firms in the capital goods industries (SICs 3510-3590), we identify key sources of volume flexibility that give competitive advantages to small firms. But, when we simultaneously account for environmental uncertainty, production technology, and performance, we find that large firms are more volume flexible than small firms are. We also revalidate these findings with a second data set representing 20 years (1979-1998) of data on 2,100 firms in 93 industries. In part 2, we conduct case studies of three small firms in the capital goods industries. We document and assess the drivers and sources of volume flexibility. Our key findings identify drivers of volume flexibility in two categories: external market forces and internal strategic choices. We also identify key sources of volume flexibility and categorize them into a taxonomy of short-term and long-term sources as well as internal and external sources of volume flexibility. Finally, in Part 3, we conduct a field survey of 750 APICS managers to understand the leverage that volume flexibility provides across small and large firms. Our results validate that the short-term a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Amitabh Raturi (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration, Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Business Administration

A critical question faced by industrial leaders is “which aspects of our value chain should we perform internal to our organization and which aspects should we source externally?” This demarcation of firm boundaries has been increasingly studied from the perspective of outsourcing. Outsourcing can be defined as the complete transfer of a business process that has been traditionally operated and managed internally to an independently owned external service provider. Outsourcing can further be conceptualized as a process which begins with developing a strategic and financial business case for outsourcing, followed by implementing the external sourcing model, and ultimately managing the relationship with the provider(s). Despite the surging popularity of outsourcing in practice, evidence from multiple sources suggests that a surprising percentage of outsourcing efforts fail to realize performance expectations. Given these observations, the research objective was to identify the salient management practices throughout the outsourcing process that drive performance. The research objective was empirically addressed using a cross-sectional survey to collect detailed data on 198 outsourcing initiatives representing a diverse set of outsourcing experiences. Factor analysis was used to establish the validity and reliability of the measurement model, which includes five constructs representing aspects of the outsourcing process. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the hypothesized relationships among these latent constructs and outsourcing performance. The analysis clearly identifies the management practices that are germane to realizing outsourcing performance objectives. The structural model was able to explain 36% of the variance in composite performance. Outsourcing firms that conduct an extensive strategic evaluation of the outsourcing opportunity and are committed to establishing a cooperative relationship with the service provider(s) are significantly mo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: W.C. Benton PhD (Committee Chair); Peter Ward PhD (Committee Member); James Hill PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Management

PHD, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

This dissertation presents a model of translator satisfaction along with an instrument and empirical data that can be used for the assessment of translator satisfaction in the language industry (LI). The model has been adapted to address specific trends widely prevalent in the industry. These trends have emerged over the last two decades due to the widespread adoption of internet technologies and other technological advancements. The subcontracting model has become a very common mode of operation among large corporations and language service providers, leading to the replacement of the traditional translation processes by mass-production methods. Division of labor, higher specialization of skills and higher process standardization are some of the inevitable consequences of mass-production. Subcontracting has radically reshaped the work environment, with increasing virtual teamwork, outsourcing and telecommuting becoming widespread. Subject matter and technical expertise, terminology management and project management skills have become essential in the new professional profile that has emerged due to the trends in the current LI. The model proposed in this dissertation implements Herzberg's framework of job satisfaction in order to investigate the intrinsic and extrinsic predictors that influence three facets of satisfaction among active professionals in the LI—task, job and professional. A survey has been designed to collect data from active translation professionals, and the survey results are comprehensively post-processed and statistically analyzed in order to comprehend the factors and variables for each facet of satisfaction. Study of the work behavior of a highly skilled labor force is important because translators remain a crucial component of the LI despite all the technological advancements. The findings suggest that most predictors come from the intrinsic sources of satisfaction found in individuals, tasks or the profession. Thus, new retention strategies (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gregory M. Shreve Prof. (Advisor); Keiran J. Dunne (Committee Member); Sue Ellen Wright (Committee Member); Marcia Zeng (Committee Member); Susan Roxburgh (Committee Member) Subjects: Linguistics; Modern Language