Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Management

Entrepreneurs carry the mantle of simultaneously developing and managing relationships with multiple stakeholders and systems under varying conditions. This is entrepreneurial relationship management (ERM) function that entrepreneurs use to perceive, organize, implement, engage, maintain, and sustain relationships with multiple stakeholders, and to manage cross-functional relationships among different areas of business, both internally and externally. The ERM function is activated through entrepreneurial relationship management capabilities (ERMC). These capabilities are manifested in the habitual entrepreneurial relationship management practices (ERMP) of the entrepreneurs. Both the ERMC and ERMP represent a set of unique managerial resources that are central to business value creation, strategic actions, and effective business decision-making. This study seeks to better understand the capabilities and practices that underlie entrepreneurial relationship management and the conditions under which they are effective. A three-part exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was designed for the study. The qualitative study with 29 entrepreneurs and business leaders explores the entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur (E2E) ERM practices of business leaders in America and overseas. The study reveals that three practices—information behavior, interactive practices, and anxiety-uncertainty management practices—are key for E2E relationships. Study 2 uses survey data collected from 363 entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to assess information behavior and interactive practices as predictors of entrepreneurial passion and action. The result confirms the two predictors as ERM practices. Study 3 uses data collected from 321 entrepreneurs to confirm and extend the results in Study 2. The process produced two additional practices—relational mutuality practices and relational attentiveness. It also confirmed relational anxiety-uncertainty management practices as a mediating factor. These (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Salipante Professor Emeritus (Committee Chair); Kalle Lyyntinen Professor (Committee Member); Cola Philip Dr. (Committee Member); Aparna Katre Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Entrepreneurship; Information Systems; Management

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, Weatherhead School of Management

Using mixed methods research we have gained insights into how successful banks continuously adapt to changing circumstances by adopting a higher level of collective mindfulness and absorptive capacity (ACAP), which positively influences firm performance. We found that surprises within the banking sector stemmed from an inability to anticipate and detect early warning signals. Semi-structured interviews with 23 high ranking U.S. banking executives yielded over 50 narrative accounts of decisions gone awry and revealed that bankers are not skilled in detecting and managing the unexpected. In addition, a quantitative survey of 165 bank CEOs revealed that absorptive capacity (ACAP) enhanced a bank's performance during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. We demonstrated the multi-dimensional mediated structure of ACAP and that risk, operating and learning orientations positively affect ACAP and subsequent firm performance.

Committee: Richard Boland, Ph.D. (Advisor); Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Banking; Management

Master of Education (MEd), Ohio University, 2018, Special Education Early Childhood Special Education (Education)

Children receiving special education services in public classrooms in the United States are consistently suspended, physically restrained, and secluded at rates much higher than their peers who do not receive special education services. The use of these negative punitive practices during the early childhood periods of development have lasting, negative outcomes for students such as negative school attitudes, increased risk for dropping out of high school, and incarceration (Diamond, Justice, Siegler & Snyder, 2013; Garcia, Heckman, Leaf & Prados, 2016). These outcomes can be diminished through the use of equitable discipline practices for all students, including those with disabilities. However, scholars have previously identified gaps between the evidence-based practices identified to prevent or reduce challenging behaviors and teachers' use of these practices. In this study, the researcher aims to examine the beliefs (perceptions of students with disabilities and self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities) and knowledge (content knowledge of behavior-specific evidence-based practices) teacher candidates possess about these evidence- based practices. Survey responses by teacher candidates in early childhood education, early childhood special education, and K-12 special education were compared. The researcher found teacher candidates across program types have positive perceptions of children and individuals with disabilities and that teacher candidates held high levels of self-efficacy for teaching, regardless of the type of teacher preparation program. Mean scores for knowledge measures were low for all teacher candidates. Teacher candidates enrolled in dual licensure early childhood and early childhood special education programs, on average, had higher mean knowledge scores than single licensure candidates enrolled in early childhood programs. This disparity may contribute to the disproportionate numbers of students with disabilities that are subjected (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer Ottley Dr. (Advisor); Dianne Gut Dr. (Committee Member); Sara Hartman Dr. (Committee Member); Sara Helfrich Dr. (Committee Member); Dwan Robinson Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Special Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, EDU Teaching and Learning

The present study examines the influence of Indonesia's in-service teacher certification program through teacher professional training, namely Pendidikan dan Latihan Profesi Guru (PLPG), on teacher learning. It is guided by learning leverage interpretive tool, constructivism and social interaction, and adult learning theory. The study looks specifically at what happened in a 10-day PLPG, what English-language teachers learned during the training, how they viewed PLPG as professional development, how their learning experience impacted their routine teaching practices, and how they perceived PLPG as a vehicle for learning research-based instructional practices and classroom management. The study followed a dominant-less dominant mixed-methods research design, beginning with the dominantly qualitative study, and ending with less dominantly quantitative study. Among the English-language teachers attending the 2013 PLPG at a public university in Palembang, Indonesia, six purposively-selected teachers were observed, interviewed three times, and asked to write daily logs over the course of the training. Samples of their works including training-related documents were also collected. Subsequent to their training, the teachers were observed teaching in their classrooms two times and interviewed prior to the first observation and after each of the observations. At the end of the training, 149 teachers completed a survey questionnaire, which consisted of an instructional practices scale (17 items) and a discipline and classroom management scale (4 items). The participants' PLPG results including their initial competency test (UKA) scores were also statistically analyzed. Despite some apparent weaknesses, PLPG certification program provided substantial learning experience for teachers, which included professional/content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary for their professional duties. In spite of considerable variation among the teachers in the qua (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keiko Samimy PhD (Advisor); Leslie Moore PhD (Committee Member); Adrian Rodgers PhD (Committee Member); Tracey Stuckey-Mickell EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; English As A Second Language; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2006, Manufacturing Management

In the current economy, organizations increasingly view knowledge as a critical component of their competitive advantage. However, except for anecdotal and case based illustrations of the value of viewing organizational competitiveness from a knowledge based perspective, there is little large-scale empirical evidence to support these claims. It is also widely recognized that individuals within the organization are the basic elements and the source of organizational knowledge. In spite of this, it has become common to view knowledge management as an organizational or group level phenomenon, and the question of how individuals who constitute the group and organization manage what they know has received relatively little attention in the literature. Drawing on behavioral and learning theories, this research investigates various factors that impact how individuals manage their knowledge, and how such extended behaviors influence the outcomes that are commonly attributed to their better management of knowledge. This research focuses on these individual behaviors in the context of information technology supported knowledge work since today's knowledge work is substantially integrated with diverse information technologies. A manufacturing related environment is chosen to test the proposed hypotheses because of a wide variety of work settings and information technologies available in this context. Following a pre-test and pilot, large-scale analysis utilized data collected from 252 individuals. The results of the analysis suggest that cognitive effort involved in their work, empowerment and information technology support available significantly impact the individuals' knowledge management practice. Other work characteristics such as virtualness of work and slack time available did not have a significant direct impact on their knowledge management practice. Virtualness, however, contributed to the degree to which the work would be perceived as cognitively demanding. The thre (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Doll (Advisor) Subjects: