Proceedings (PDF document) - School Of Business

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A Model for Student Attitudes about Group Work
Rebecca Hutchins, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Gerald Hutchins, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Introduction
It is generally agreed that classroom experience plays a crucial role in the development of
behaviors and attitudes that will affect the professional practices of graduates. The role of business
schools in the development of students is important to the attitudes, values and skills these students
bring to the workplace (Marks & O’Connor, 2013; Rosener & Pearce, 1989). There are questions
about whether business school classrooms reflect the increasing diversity of the workplace
(Sullivan & Buttner, 1992). We develop a model using student psychological and experience
factors to help explain student attitudes about group work.
Literature Overview
The use of teams in business highlights the need for the development of teamwork skills in business
school classes. Educators agree that group work has a place in the classroom. Identifying the
ingredients of good teaching and implementing those techniques are imperative to improving
business education (Beaver, 1992). The Accounting Change Commission urged accounting
faculty to use instructional methods that encourage students to become actively involved in their
own learning (1990).
Cooper et al. (1990) defined cooperative learning as an instructional task requiring students to
work together in small groups in a structured learning task. The goal is to increase and develop
student communication skills and the ability to work cooperatively to solve problems or complete
projects. The increasing use in business classes of groups for class projects raises the question of
why students’ attitudes towards group work are so diverse (Pfaff & Huddleston, 2003). Educators
are interested in accommodating individuals with varied learning styles (Hammer, 2002; Kolb,
1984). Understanding how to identify student attitudes about group work can help with this
accommodation.
A 2001 study (Garber & Clopton, 2001) provided some indication that males and females differ
in their perceptions of and reactions to a marketing simulation performed in teams. Women were
distressed by the uncertainty and ambiguity of the simulation, while men tended to view the
simulation as a competitive exercise. Men tended to express greater confidence in their ability to
perform well on simulation assignments. In another study of a team-based simulation exercise,
males evaluated their teams (team dynamics) more positively than females and, in terms of a selfassessment of overall simulation performance, males assessed their own performance on the
simulation higher than females (Anderson & Coffey, 2006). In this study, a link was found
between the perceived value of the simulation as a learning experience and the dynamics that
occurred within teams. Prior experiences of group work are an important factor in the attitudes
students develop about group work. Collecting information about prior group work experiences is
important in understanding student attitudes.
1
In a study of student perceptions and attitudes (Myers et al., 2009), students who did not like group
work were found to be lacking in “conversational ability” and were less flexible than students who
liked group work. Amato and Amato (2005) looked at the possibility that personality type might
affect the student experience in group work. In our study, we use measures of personality type
(introversion and extroversion) to help explain student attitudes about group work.
Self-efficacy has been found to be relevant for understanding the differences in attitudes towards
certain tasks. Bandura (1986) defined self-efficacy as “people’s judgments of their (own)
capabilities…. It is concerned not with the skills one has but with judgments of what one can do
with whatever skills one possesses.” So self-efficacy can be used to explain confidence and
motivation in performing a task and is also dynamic and changes in response to experiences. In
group work, positive experiences will increase self-efficacy, and negative experiences will
decrease self-efficacy. In this study, measures of self-efficacy are included in the survey
instrument.
Methodology
Questionnaires were distributed and completed in multiple sections of senior-level business
capstone courses so respondents were nearing the completion of their degree program and were
likely to have experienced group work in classes over a 4-year period. In a study published in 2007
(Kaenzig, Hyatt, Anderson, & Griffin 2007), 254 responses were obtained from business majors.
Using the results from this study and findings of other researchers, we developed additional
questions for a follow-up survey of business majors in the final semester of the senior year. This
expanded survey was administered in spring semester 2015. A copy of the 2015 survey is available
upon request.
We would expect that prior group work experiences would affect the attitudes of students about
group work. Our survey asked about:
1. Pressures students felt from other group members to turn in favorable peer evaluations
2. The amount of prior group work experience
3. The perceived quality of prior group work assignments
4. The perceived educational relevance of prior group work experiences
We would expect that other factors related to group assignments might inhibit or promote positive
student attitudes toward group work. Among these we asked about:
1. Work commitments affecting group work
2. Social and personal activities affecting group work
3. Guidance available during projects
4. Professor’s attention to explaining roles and responsibilities within the group
5. Collaboration skills
6. Overall GPA (as a surrogate measure of student focus/interest in grades)
We postulate that the attitude of students about group work is influenced by the psychological
predispositions of the student. These predispositions are of great interest but beyond the scope of
the present paper. For further research with these data we asked scale items to measure:
• Self-efficacy
• Introversion
2
•
Extroversion
In the development of the Group Work Attitude Model, we created a Group Work Benefit (GWB)
scale by combining nine items with five response categories (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
and scored from 1 to 5. The resulting scale has a possible range from 9 to 45.
The scale achieved a Cronbach’s Alpha of .833:
1. I prefer doing projects by myself over working with a group. (Reversed)
2. I am usually more satisfied with the outcome of a group project than with a paper I write on
my own.
3. I don’t like being dependent on others for grades. (Reversed)
4. In the groups I’ve worked in, all group members usually pitch in and do equal amounts of
work.
5. I end up doing more than my fair share on group projects. (Reversed)
6. The group grade is usually lower than I would have gotten if I worked alone. (Reversed)
7. Group projects are usually valuable learning experiences for me.
8. I learn more when I work with others on group projects than I would if I worked alone.
9. The group projects I’ve worked on have helped me build skills important to my future
employment.
Results and Implications
Looking at our model we conducted a regression of the four group work experience items
combined with the six inhibiting or promoting items on the GWB scale. The regression was
significant with p<.000 and an R Square of .329. Five of the items were significant with p<.05,
one was nearly significant with p=.055, and the other four items were not significant with a range
of p=.195 to p=585. The regression coefficients are displayed in Table 1.
Three of the four items measuring prior group experiences were significant factors in the
regression. Prior experience with being pressured to give favorable evaluations to group members
who had not done their work had the highest level of significance with p<.0000. The detrimental
impact of students who do not do their part of the group work (sometimes called slackers or
shirkers) is well documented. The high level of significance in this data is of interest because the
question is framed in terms of pressure to give favorable evaluations while many group work
exercises do not use peer evaluations as part of their process. The distribution of group work
attitude scale means across responses is shown in Figure 1. About 42% of the students agreed or
strongly agreed with the statement that they had been pressured. About 49% of the students
disagreed or strongly disagreed that they had been pressured. Those students who had felt
pressured to give favorable evaluations of peers in the past have scores on the scale markedly lower
than the students who did not experience such pressure.
The perceived educational relevance of the project also has a significant impact on the regression
(p<.01). It is not surprising that students who see the educational relevance of group work projects
view the project work more favorably. The distribution of scale means across this item’s response
categories is presented in Figure 2.
3
Table 1
Regression Analysis of Experience and Inhibitor/Promotor Items on GWB\
Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
(Constant)
Pressured by those who have not done
their work to give them favorable
evaluations
Group projects I’ve worked on have
had little relevance to my education
It is easy to schedule group work
around social and personal activities
(Reversed)
Overall GPA
Assignments for group projects have
been well designed
Professors spend enough time
explaining responsibilities and roles on
projects
Work commitments have made group
participation difficult
Group projects over the past year
No one has been available to guide my
groups on projects
Know how to encourage those not
doing enough to do their part
B
32.427
Std.
Error
5.177
-1.250
.280
-1.306
t
6.263
Sig.
.000
-.283
-4.472
.000
.427
-.210
-3.058
.003
-.876
.322
-.193
-2.718
.007
-2.399
.988
-.154
-2.427
.016
1.131
.494
.157
2.290
.023
.767
.397
.130
1.931
.055
.422
.324
.094
1.300
.195
.451
.519
.056
.869
.386
.397
.506
.051
.784
.434
.213
.389
.034
.546
.585
4
Beta
Pressured by Those Who Have Not Done Their
Work to Give Them Favorable Evaluations
Mean on Group Work Benefit Scale
33
31
29
27.3
27
26.3
25
23.6
23.5
23
21.1
21
19
17
15
Strongly
Disagree N=68
Disagree N=28
Indifferent
N=19
Agree N=63 Strongly Agree
N=19
Figure 1. Mean GWB by Slacker Pressure
Group Projects I've Worked on Have Had Little
Relevance to My Education
33
31.3
31
29
27
25.4
24.2
25
21.9
23
21
18.6
19
17
15
Strongly
Disagree N=11
Disagree
N=108
Indifferent
N=44
Figure 2. Mean GWB by Educational Relevance
5
N=5
Note that the survey question comes from a reversed perspective asking about “little relevance,”
so the disagree responses suggest the projects did have relevance. Although both the strongly
disagree and the strongly agree responses had few responses, the relationship to group work
attitudes is quite strong. A strong majority of students (60%) disagreed with the statement that
project work had little relevance to their education.
The perceived quality of prior group work projects was measured by asking if the projects were
well designed. This item was significant at p=.023. Similar to educational relevance, this item
had few responses in the ‘strongly’ categories. However, the positive perception of group work
clearly progresses from those disagreeing that projects are well designed to those who agree. Fiftyfive percent (54.8%) of students agreed with the statement that group projects were well designed
as shown in Figure 3.
Assignments for Group Projects Have Been
Well Designed
33
31
29
26.1
27
24.1
25
23
23.7
21.7
21
19
17
16.3
15
Strongly
Disagree N=24
Disagree N=3
Indifferent
N=62
N=3
Figure 3. Mean GWB by Project Quality
The amount of prior group project work experience was not significantly related to student
attitudes toward group work. This was true whether students were asked about the number of
projects done in the past year, in the past three years, or were asked whether they had a lot of
experience in doing group projects. This suggests that increased experience in group work does
not contribute to improved positive attitudes about group work. It seems likely that factors creating
negative experiences persist from one group project to another. This bears further exploration.
Among other factors, scheduling around social and personal activities and the student focus on
grades (as measured by overall GPA) inhibited positive student attitudes toward group work.
About 52% of students disagreed with the statement that scheduling around social and personal
activities was easy, while student work commitments were not related to group work attitude.
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Students highly focused on grades as measured by GPA had lower group work scale scores. The
top 25% of students had less positive attitudes toward group work than other students.
Conclusion
This paper presents results from the application of the Group Work Attitude Model. With the data
collected, there are questions about the effects of gender and the psychological measures. The data
collected to date are from one university. We hope to share the survey and collect data from a
wider demographic. In addition, based on the results of this study, we are developing additional
questions for further investigation of some issues not adequately addressed in the survey.
References
Accounting Change Commission. (1990). Objective of education for accountants: Position
Statement No. 1. Issues in Accounting Education, 5(2), 307-312.
Anderson, S., & Coffey, B. (2006). The student’s view of a business simulation: Perceived value
of the learning experience. Journal of Strategic Management Education, 3,151-168.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Beaver, W. H. (1992). Challenges in accounting education. Issues in Accounting Education, 7(2),
135-144.
Garber, L. L., & Clopton, S. (2002). The effects of gender on attitude toward learning by
participation in games. Teaching & Learning at Appalachian, A publication of the
Hubbard Center for Faculty and Staff Support, 6, 35-39.
Grzimek, V., Marks, M. B., & Kinnamon, E. (2014). Do differences in GPA impact attitudes about
group work: A comparison of business and non-business majors. Journal of Education for
Business, 89, 263-273.
Hamer, L.O. (2000, April). The additive effects of semistructured classroom activities on student
learning: An application of classroom-based experiential learning techniques. Journal of
Marketing Education, 22, 25-34.
Kaenzig, R., Hyatt, E., Anderson, S., & Griffin, L. (2007). Gender differences in college of
business educational experiences. Journal of Education for Business, 83, 95-100.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as a source of learning and development.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Marks, M. B., & O’Connor, A. H. (2013). Understanding students’ attitudes about group work:
What does this suggest for instructors of business? Journal of Education for Business, 88,
147-158.
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Nehad, M. A. (1995). Effects of age and GPA on learning electronics via computer-simulationbased and traditional instruction. Presentation: Annual Conference of the Mid-South
Educational Research Association, November 8-9, 1995. Biloxi, MS.
Pfaff, E., & Huddleston, P. (2003, April). Does it matter if I hate teamwork? What impacts
students’ attitudes toward teamwork. Journal of Marketing Education, 25(1), 37-45.
Rosener, J.B., & Pearce, C. L. (1988-89). Men and women in organizations: Are future managers
exposed to the issues? Journal of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society, 13(2),
55-67.
Smith, K.A. (1996). Cooperative learning: Making ‘groupwork’ work. In T. E. Sutherland & C.
C. Bonwell (Eds.), Using active learning in college classes: A range of options for faculty.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Sullivan, S. E., & Buttner, E.H. (1992, February). Changing more than the plumbing: Integrating
women and gender differences into management and organizational behavior courses.
Journal of Management Education, 16, 76-89.
Wang, J., Greathouse, B., & Falcinella, V. M. (1997). An empirical assessment of self-esteem
enhancement in a challenge service-learning program. Presentation: Annual Meeting of
the American Educational Research Association, March, 24-28, 1997. Chicago, IL.
8
A Structural Model of Managing E-commerce Transaction Quality and Perceived Online
Transaction Value
Qian Xiao, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
A significant number of online transactions have occurred through the widespread usage of ecommerce portals as intermediaries. These e-commerce portals, such as www.ebay.com and
www.amazon.com, manage the online exchange network, and facilitate the peer-to-peer business
transactions. Researchers have developed different measures of e-commerce platform quality and
explored its relationships to the user experience and firm performance. Built on the literature of
online transaction quality, this study develops a conceptual framework that illustrates how the ecommerce platform quality and the transaction handling process will shape users’ perceived
transaction value and the resulting experience evaluation.
Literature Overview
This study focuses on the e-commerce portals that mainly function as third-party intermediaries to
facilitate the online business transactions. Previous research on the e-commerce portals mainly
touches on the design of the website itself in terms of easy access, ease of using technology,
payment security, etc.; yet when the e-commerce portals serve as an intermediary platform, both
the technical aspects of online platforms and the transaction handling process (for example,
whether items are delivered as promised, such as in time and in proper conditions; or whether the
online transaction issues would be addressed in a timely manner, etc.) will influence the users’
perceived transaction value and the transaction results. Consequently, we propose that effectively
managing e-commerce transactions should involve an investigation of both functionality of the
web site itself and the transaction handling process expected from the small business owners and
other individual sellers independent of the web site.
First, we drew upon the prior studies of e-commerce as business transaction intermediaries and
integrated multiple scales of e-service quality (e.g., Bauer, Falk, & Hammerschmidt, 2006; Collier
& Bienstock, 2006; Liu, Guo, & Hsieh, 2010). We developed a comprehensive measure of
technical functionality of the e-commerce portal, which consists of five attribute dimensions:
system availability (e.g., a reliable and accurate ordering system), efficiency (i.e., the ease and
speed of accessing and using the website), privacy (i.e., the degree to which the website has
adequate security features to protect user information and facilitate safe transactions), website
service (e.g., responsive services such as live support 24/7, resolving user complaints, etc.), and
fairness (e.g., addressing service failure and assisting users in attaining a fair solution if users
report potential transaction issues, etc.). These five dimensions taken together impact the ecommerce portals’ performance in both routine and nonroutine transaction environments.
Meanwhile, this study tries to fill the research gap of managing the e-commerce transaction quality
in the third-party website context by calling for the attention to the transaction handling process
expected of business owners operating on the e-commerce portals. Specifically, additional
components of e-commerce transaction quality are proposed that involve evaluations of transaction
9
handling process such as transaction fulfillment (i.e., the degree to which the business owners
provide accurate display and description of a product and deliver the right product within the
promised time frame and obey the shipping agreement), and post-transaction service (i.e., the
degree to which business owners are willing to professionally answer and address requests or
complaints in a timely manner).
Finally, we propose that e-commerce transaction quality, reflected in the functionality of the ecommerce portals, and the proper management of transaction handling, will influence users’
cognitive assessment (Rosen and Purinton, 2004) of online transaction value, which will in turn
impact users’ evaluations of online transaction experience. For example, if users are comfortable
with the functionality of the website, and satisfied with the transaction process, they are more
likely to generate a higher level of value assessment of the online transaction and conclude with
the positive feeling of the transaction experience.
Consequently, a structural model of managing e-commerce transaction quality is proposed in
Figure 1.
System availability
Efficiency
Privac
y
Web site service
Perceived
online
transaction
value
Fairnes
s
Post-transaction
service
Transaction
Fulfillment
Figure 1. A Structural Model of Managing E-commerce Transaction Quality
10
Users
experience
evaluation
Data were collected using an online survey administration tool (www.qualtrics.com). A series of
pretests were given to validate construct measures. A final sample of 196 respondents was retained
for the empirical data analysis.
All constructs were measured using 7-point Likert-type multi-item scales. Each scale’s reliability,
measured by Cronbach’s alpha, exceeded the threshold of 0.70 recommended by Hair, Black,
Babin, and Anderson (2010). Confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) was used to assess construct
validity. LISREL 8.80 was applied for data analysis.
The correlation analysis suggested that all seven quality components were significantly associated
with perceived online transaction value, with seven quality components explaining 74% of the
variance in perceived online transaction value (R2 = 74%). The structural equation model analysis
found system availability and transaction fulfillment were significant drivers of the perceived
online transaction value and displayed most explanatory power when the impacts of seven quality
components of e-commerce platforms were simultaneously assessed in a holistic structural model.
The results also suggested that perceived online transaction value displayed a positive impact on
users’ experience evaluation (β = .82, p <.01).
This study presents meaningful theoretical implications. First, this study integrates multiple
measures of e-commerce transaction quality from different literature contexts and empirically tests
them within a holistic model simultaneously to further the generalization of a comprehensive
measurement of e-commerce transaction quality. Second, this study tries to fill the research gap of
managing the e-commerce transaction quality in the third-party website context by calling for the
attention to the transaction handling process expected of business owners operating on the ecommerce portals, and proposes that effectively managing e-commerce transactions should
involve an emphasis on both functionality of the website, and the quality transaction handling
process. Third, the empirical analysis identified system availability and transaction fulfillment as
significant drivers of users’ perceived online transaction value and the related experience
evaluation, among other influential factors; this has significant practical implications for ecommerce platform managers in terms of monitoring and controlling efforts in order to best serve
the e-commerce portal users.
Conclusion
Reach points to a massive online market; there’s $300 billion online and it is growing to half a
trillion soon. There is a huge market out there. Thus, it is of great importance and significance to
continue with this research topic in the future. This study represents some of the early works in
this direction.
11
References
Bauer, H. H., Falk, T., & Hammerschmidt, M. (2006). eTransQual: A transaction process-based
approach for capturing service quality in online shopping. Journal of Business Research,
59(7), 866-875.
Collier, J. E., & Bienstock, C. C. (2006). Measuring service quality in e-retailing. Journal of
Service Research, 8(3), 260-275.
Hair, J. F. Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis
(7th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Liu, C. T., Guo, Y. M., & Hsieh, T. Y. (2010). Measuring user perceived service quality of online
auction sites. The Service Industries Journal, 30(7), 1177-1197.
Rosen, D. E., & Purinton, E. (2004), Website design: Viewing the web as a cognitive landscape.
Journal of Business Research, 57(7), 787-794.
12
An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Email Title on Response Rate
Weiling Zhuang, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Lingjie Cai (MBA student), Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
Email is considered as an efficient and effective approach of marketing communication, as
reflected in the growing research and practice by academic researchers and industrial
practitioners. The advantages of email marketing include low costs, privacy, information
spreading, and real-time messages. However, the literature suggests the response rate of email is
not encouraging. Therefore, more research is needed to examine the approaches that help
marketing practitioners better reach the potential audience.
Using the data collected from a regional university admission office in the Midwestern USA, we
investigated the impact of the email title’s characteristics on student response rate. More
specifically, an empirical study was conducted to address the following question: Can the
language intensity increase email response rate?
Literature Overview
Email is one of the major digital marketing tools that help marketers to create, communicate, and
deliver information to customers (Peppers & Rogers, 2000). Email provides a variety of benefits
such as privacy, low cost, and information spreading. The sender does not have to be friends
with the receiver when the sender uses email to communicate with a customer. In addition, email
provides an effective way to facilitate the communication when it is managed appropriately.
Email also works across all platforms and applications. Registration is offered free by many
providers.
Although the popularity of using email as a business communication tool has been recognized,
researchers and practitioners suggest that increasing the open rate for emails is one of the major
topics for the marketing discipline. According to a research conducted by Constant Contact, the
average email open rates were well below 20% for most industries (www.constantcontact.com,
January 5, 2016). Therefore, more research is needed to understand how to improve the email
open rate.
The Theory of Reasoned Action proposes that one’s intention to perform a certain behavior
precedes the actual behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). In addition, one’s attitude toward a
subject leads to the intention. In this study, we argue that belief and attitude toward email title
are counted as important variables predicting one’s response to email.
Over the years, researchers report that the characteristics in language have been demonstrated to
influence receivers’ belief and attitude about the message. Among these characteristics, language
intensity is one important factor. Language intensity refers to a trait of language conveyed
through the means of emotionality and specificity (e.g., Hamilton & Stewart, 1993).
“Emotionality is the degree of affect expressed in the source’s language. Specificity is the degree
13
to which a source makes precise reference to attitude objects in a message” (Hamilton & Stewart,
1993, p. 231). In this study, we adopt the Theory of Reasoned Action as the theoretical lens to
understand email receivers’ response to the email. In particular, we investigate how the features
of the email title influence the receivers’ attitude toward the email and then how the attitude
influences whether receivers open the email.
Methodology
During 2013-2014 academic year, we collected data from the database provided by an
admissions office of a regional university in the USA. The admissions office sent emails with
different subjects and contents to high school students who were potential prospects for this
university. The 160,714 emails in five batches were sent to high school students from October
2013 to February 2014. The five batches’ emails were categorized into two groups – emails with
high intensity title vs. emails with low intensity title. The dependent variable was the open rate of
email within two weeks following distribution of the emails. ANOVA analysis was conducted to
test the proposed relationship between open rate for the emails and the language intensity
manipulation.
The descriptive analysis suggested the open rate of email ranged from 12% to 38% across the
five batches of sent emails. The results of this study showed that email messages with higher
language intensity title resulted in more responses than email messages with lower language
intensity title. More specifically, the ANOVA analysis found that students were more likely to
respond to the emails in the high language intensity condition (M = 33%) than in the low
language intensity condition (M = 15%, p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, the results reveal that greater language intensity email title
leads to better email open rate than less language intensity email title. Similar to Andersen and
Blackburn’s (2004) work suggesting that language intensity is central to the email acceptance,
our study revealed that language intensity is a key method to enhance digital mails’ effects.
Theoretically, this study extends the body of research on digital marketing by testing the impact
of language intensity of email title on response rate. In addition to the theoretical contributions,
this study also brings relevant managerial implications to practitioners. In a world characterized
by “data smog,” a well-designed email title would encourage respondents to read. That is, an
email title with specificity and emotionality is more effective in motivating reading willingness.
For example, a lower language intensity title consisting of neutral and normal words (e.g., Join
Us for Our New College Day Events) leads to less attitude change and thus less intention to open
the email because the level of specificity and emotionality of these normal words is low.
Conversely, a higher language intensity title consisting of interesting and relevant words (e.g.,
Sign-Up to Receive the VIP Treatment) enhance the relationship between message receiver and
sender, as well as promote the response rate, because the level of specificity and emotionality of
these relevant words is high.
14
The current study suggests some avenues for future research. The first opportunity is related to
the sample used in the current analysis. High school students are more likely to be
technologically savvy and thus more likely to use email than general population members.
Therefore, further studies on various populations will generate stronger evidence about the
proposed relationships tested in this study. Next, the current study used a cross-sectional design
to collect data and test the research questions. Future efforts may apply other designs, such as a
longitudinal or experimental design to extend our findings by testing the causality among the
variables. Finally, future research may examine potential moderation impacts of email senders’
characteristics such as credibility of the sender on the relationship between language intensity
and email open rate.
References
Ajzen, I. & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Andersen, P. A., & Blackburn, T. R. (2004). An experimental study of language intensity and
response rate in E mail surveys. Communication Reports, 17(2), 73-84.
Hamilton, M. A., & Stewart, B. L. (1993). Extending an information-processing model of
language intensity effects. Communication Quarterly, 41, 231-246.
Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (2000). Email marketing maximized. Stamford, CT: Peppers and
Rodgers Group.
15
Student Perceptions of PowerPoint Slides in the Classroom
Marcel Robles, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
In 1987, PowerPoint software was developed for business executives to create presentations
(Gomes, 2007; James, Burke, & Hutchins, 2006). Over time, PowerPoint became customary as a
teaching tool in the classroom in many colleges and universities (Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky,
2006; Nouri & Shahid, 2008). While studies have shown the effects of PowerPoint slides on
student learning (Nouri & Shahid, 2005; Nouri & Shahid, 2008; Nowaczyk, Santos, & Patron,
1998), outcome-based assessment comparing traditional and PowerPoint-enhanced lectures is
mixed (James et al., 2006). As professors use more diverse technology in the classroom, little is
still known about student perceptions regarding technology impact on overall student learning
(Brown McCabe & Meuter, 2011).
The purpose of this study was to determine student perceptions of their learning when professors
use PowerPoint as an instructional delivery tool in the classroom. Business students were asked
their viewpoint regarding the influence of PowerPoint use on their learning, both inside the
classroom and as a resource for students outside the classroom.
Literature Overview
College students today have had much more experience with diverse technologies than prior
generations; therefore, various instructional delivery methods must be used effectively to
encourage and engage student learning (Sidman & Jones, 2009).
Impact of Using PowerPoint Lecture Slides
Studies have shown that most students perceive that PowerPoint lectures have a positive influence
on their learning and their attitude toward their education (Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008;
Beets & Lobingier, 2001). Students actually prefer lecture slides over the whiteboard or chalkboard
(Sidman & Jones, 2009). Research has also indicated that students in a classroom where the
professor used PowerPoint perceived better comprehension of the presented concepts and greater
preparation and organization by the professor as compared to professors who used traditional
lecture without PowerPoint (Apperson et al., 2008; James et al., 2006; Nouri & Shahid, 2005;
2008; Sidman & Jones, 2009). The use of PowerPoint has been found to enhance note taking,
content recall, holding attention, and knowledge of key points (James et al., 2006); although,
student perceptions of these differences in the learning experience showed no significant difference
in student grades from PowerPoint use in instructional delivery (Apperson et al., 2008).
Nouri and Shahid (2008) found that student attitudes and performance increase if they write their
own notes in class. Students benefit from taking their own notes because they recall more of their
own note taking rather than when slides are provided to them (Sidman & Jones, 2009). On the
contrary, note taking is a challenge for students as they try to write everything from the slide; they
are not putting emphasis on comprehension. Their notes then have incorrect information or are
16
lacking the critical concepts (Sidman & Jones, 2009). Hence, professors should find methods to
optimize student note taking without just giving them the PowerPoint slides (Sidman & Jones,
2009). Further, students who are not provided PowerPoint lecture slides rate their professor as
more effective and efficient than those students who were provided with PowerPoint slides (Nouri
& Shahid, 2005; 2008).
James and others (2006) found that students perceive PowerPoint as helpful for their
comprehension and engagement in course material, although PowerPoint slides with basic text
were better for student cognition than slides with enhanced graphics and audio. The unnecessary
“bells and whistles” were distracting and created cognitive overload, which can decrease
understanding (Brown McCabe & Meuter, 2011). Another study found that academic performance
in a technical writing class was higher in a traditional lecture delivery compared to a PowerPointsupplemented lecture (Amare, 2006).
The use of PowerPoint slides for instructional delivery has also been shown to decrease class
interaction and active learning (James et al., 2006). While the use of slides in classroom instruction
helps students take notes and study for exams (Sidman, & Jones, 2009), students exhibit a more
passive role in the classroom and perhaps negative behavior when slides are used (e.g., not
attending class) (James et al., 2006).
Strategically Using Presentation Software for Instructional Delivery
The true value of using technology in the classroom depends on course structure (Brown McCabe
& Meuter, 2011). Even if new teaching methods and/or technology are used (or not), the professor
must adhere to student learning outcomes for the course. A critical challenge for professors is how
to use effective instructional strategies to stimulate learning in today’s technology-literate
generation of college students (Sidman & Jones, 2009).
Professors should continue to use slides to enhance effective instructional delivery in the classroom
(Apperson et al., 2006). If content is more difficult, using pictures and graphics in PowerPoint
slides might be helpful for student learning. Regardless, instructional strategy should align with
student learning styles; and ultimately, a variety of teaching methodologies should be practiced for
diverse student learning and to engage students (Sidman & Jones, 2009).
Methodology
Students in a writing intensive, business core required course at a comprehensive southeastern
university were surveyed about their perspective on the use (or overuse) of PowerPoint slides in
the classroom. This study focused on PowerPoint because it is the most commonly used
presentation software in universities.
A paper and pencil questionnaire (see Appendix A) was administered to students at the beginning
of six different semesters: spring, summer, and fall of 2014 and 2015. The survey instrument
consisted of demographic questions (see Table 1), as well as questions about student perceptions
regarding the use of lecture slides (i.e., PowerPoint) in classroom instruction. A 4-point Likert
Scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree was used.
17
Table 1. Student Sample Demographics
Variable
Gender
Male
Female
Frequency
%
126
110
Age (years)
12-18
23-27
28-32
33-37
38 or over
214
10
6
4
2
Class
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
0
5
172
59
As the surveys were administered and collected during class, there was a 100% response rate. The
results of the survey are in Tables 2-5.
Table 2. Student Preference and Engagement
Students do not particularly like PowerPoint for class lecture all the time. They reported that
PowerPoint slides actually make the classroom lecture more boring, and they would prefer that
professors not use as much PowerPoint during class. In fact, the use of slides does not engage
students to pay attention in class.
18
Table 3. Student Behaviors
Students actually reported that they are less likely to attend class if PowerPoint slides are posted
elsewhere (i.e., besides just being presented during class). Students also indicated that they take
fewer notes during class if they receive the slides. Students also perceive that PowerPoint takes
away from class interaction and discussion.
Table 4. Slide Content Preferences
It appears that the VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/write, and Kinesthetic) Learning Model
(Fleming, 2001) would be effective if professors would design slides effectively. Students want
the visual impact of pictures and graphics on their slides, and they believe that professors overuse
text on slides. Research also shows that many professors do not design slides effectively for student
learning and comprehension.
19
Table 5. VARK Elements
Students also prefer color and also more VARK elements (e.g., aural) on their slides. They want
more variety in instructional delivery—not only PowerPoint, but also whiteboard. Obviously,
students do not want professors to read to them.
According to the survey, students perceived the following top three advantages of professor’s use
of PowerPoint slides during course lecture:
1. The slides highlight key points so students know what is important.
2. The visual aid helps keep students’ attention.
3. Slides make for easier note taking; helps students be organized.
Students perceived the following top three disadvantages of professor’s use of PowerPoint slides
during course instruction:
1. Students actually pay less attention; too much information on slides.
2. Teachers do not usually provide a lot of discussion in class; typically, it’s just a run-through
of the slides.
3. Students are less likely to take notes if slides are available online (students indicated they
learn more if they have to take their own notes); If they write notes from slides, they don’t
listen to professor.
Other student perception comments indicated the following:
•
•
Students’ knowledge and recall increases if they take their own notes.
Academic performance may be higher in traditional lecture delivery.
20
•
•
Use of slides decreases class interaction and active learning.
Slides are good if visual is needed—not just words.
Regardless, PowerPoint slides will not turn a poor presentation into an effective presentation, but
poorly designed slides or instructional delivery of slides could turn an effective presentation into
an ineffective presentation.
Conclusion
While professors use a variety of instructional strategies in their classroom teaching, PowerPoint
has become the foremost presentation software in education during the past 20 years. Overall, the
findings and analysis of this study led to the following conclusions regarding the impact of
PowerPoint slide usage during course lecture:
•
•
•
•
Providing notes does not appear to affect student performance on exams
Adhering to student learning outcomes is a challenge
Using slides is not always considered an effective instructional strategy
Indicating no (or little) difference between class session with lecture slides and class
session without slides:
• comprehension
• interest/boredom
• learning
PowerPoint slides should be visually pleasing, containing a descriptive title on each slide with a
maximum of six bullets (and six lines of text). A minimum 28 size, san-serif font (e.g., Arial) and
a uniform slide design should be consistent. Using pictures and graphics on slides might be helpful
for student learning of complex material; visual images might better portray the concept, rather
than just displaying text on the screen. Professors should use minimal to no animation and sound—
and only if relevant for presentation of the concept. Highlights and colors can be used to emphasize
key points, as long as there is a strong color contrast between text and background color (Robles,
2014).
Effective PowerPoint slides can have a positive impact on student learning, but PowerPoint slides
will not turn a poor presentation into a good presentation. The professor must still use an effective
teaching strategy for instructional delivery of the content to ensure student learning.
PowerPoint slides can and should be used to enhance instructional strategy, but not to replace
teaching. A variety of teaching strategies should be used to support diverse learning styles and
engage students (Robles 2014). Student engagement can also be encouraged through interactive
exercises during class. Students should be active learners. For example, Skeletal PowerPoint slides
(with blanks for students to fill in during lecture) might be helpful in student note taking. Only key
points need to be on the slides.
21
References
Amare, N. (2006). To slideware or not to slideware: Students’ experiences with PowerPoint vs.
lecture. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 36, 297-308.
Apperson, J. M., Laws, E. L., & Scepansky, J. A. (2006). The impact of presentation graphics on
students’ experience in the classroom. Computers & Education, 47(1), 116-126.
Apperson, J. M., Laws, E. L., & Scepansky, J. A. (2008). An assessment of student preferences
for PowerPoint presentation structure in undergraduate courses. Computers & Education,
50(1), 148-153.
Brown McCabe, D. & Meuter, M. L. (2011). A student view of technology in the classroom: Does
it enhance the seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education? Journal of
Marketing Education, 33(2), 149-159. doi: 10.1177/0273475311410847
Fleming, N. D. (2001). Teaching and learning styles: VARK strategies. Christchurch, New
Zealand: ND Fleming.
Gomes, L., (2007, June 20). PowerPoint turns 20, as its creators ponder a dark side to success. The
Wall Street Journal, B1.
James, K. E., Burke, L. A., & Hutchins, H. M. (2006). Powerful or pointless? Faculty versus
student perceptions of PowerPoint use in business education. Business Communication
Quarterly, 69(4), 374-396. doi: 10.1177/1080569906294634
Nouri, H., & Shahid, A. (2005). The effect of PowerPoint presentation on student learning and
attitudes. Global Perspectives on Accounting Education, 2, 53-57.
Nouri, H., & Shahid, A. (2008). The effects of PowerPoint lecture notes on student performance
and attitudes. The Accounting Educators’ Journal, 18, 103-117.
Nowaczyk, R. H., Santos, L. T., & Patron, C. (1998). Student perception of multimedia in the
undergraduate classroom. International Journal of Instructional Media, 25(4), 367-383.
Robles, M. M. (2014). In Soule, L. (Ed.), Student Perceptions of the Use of PowerPoint in the
Classroom. Association for Business Information Systems 2014 Conference Proceedings.
Sidman, C. L., & Jones, D. (2009). Addressing students’ learning styles through skeletal
PowerPoint slides: A case study.
22
Appendix A: Questionnaire about PowerPoint Use in Classroom Lecture
For each statement, circle the choice that most accurately describes your opinion of each
statement regarding PowerPoint slides in general in the business college courses that you have
taken.
SD – Strongly Disagree
D – Disagree
A – Agree
SA – Strongly Agree
PowerPoint slides are helpful for my learning the material.
SD D A SA
The professor’s use of slides during class helps my memory recall.
SD D A SA
The PowerPoint slides are generally written clearly.
SD D A SA
The font is usually too small on PowerPoint slides projected in the
SD D A SA
classroom.
I find class to be boring when the professor uses PowerPoint slides during
SD D A SA
lecture.
I enjoy classes better when the professor uses slides.
SD D A SA
The professor’s use of slides makes note taking easier.
SD D A SA
Lectures with slides make the concepts easier to follow.
SD D A SA
I find PowerPoint slides make the class more interesting.
SD D A SA
Slides make the classroom lecture tiresome.
SD D A SA
PowerPoint slides make me think more concisely about the topic.
SD D A SA
The professor’s use of slides requires me to take a lot of notes during class. SD D A SA
Professors usually make slides available to students.
SD D A SA
PowerPoint slides take away from class activity and discussion.
SD D A SA
I find that visual elements (e.g., graphics, pictures) on slides distract me
SD D A SA
from the content.
Slides are usually not necessary during class lecture.
SD D A SA
The use of slides encourages me to pay more attention during class.
SD D A SA
Most professors’ slides have too much text.
SD D A SA
I prefer text instead of pictures/graphics on the slides.
SD D A SA
I prefer when professors use the White Board instead of PowerPoint slides. SD D A SA
PowerPoint slides are used in almost every class period in most of my
SD D A SA
classes.
The professor’s use of slides facilitates class discussion.
SD D A SA
The PowerPoint slides usually emphasize key points of the lecture.
SD D A SA
I prefer the lights to be dimmed during a PowerPoint presentation (so that
SD D A SA
the projection is crisper).
I am less likely to attend class if PowerPoint slides are posted on a website
SD D A SA
(e.g., Blackboard).
I prefer that the professor use PowerPoint slides during lecture.
SD D A SA
The use of slides helps me to study for exams.
SD D A SA
I think the use of PowerPoint slides increases my learning in the classroom. SD D A SA
Slides should be made available to students before class.
SD D A SA
I like audio/sound to accompany the PowerPoint slides during the lecture.
SD D A SA
I prefer slides that have full sentences, rather than only a few words for
SD D A SA
each concept.
23
Professors often read the slides to the class during lecture.
I like plain “black text on white background” slides rather than any color or
slide design.
I wish more professors used PowerPoint slides during lecture.
I would prefer that professors used less PowerPoint in the classroom.
Professors who use PowerPoint appear to be more organized than those
who don’t use slides.
Professors who use slides are often better teachers than those who do not
use slides.
When the professor gives me the PowerPoint slides before class, I take
fewer notes.
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
SD D A SA
What are the top three advantages that you perceive for using PowerPoint slides in the
classroom?
What are the top three disadvantages that you perceive for using PowerPoint slides in the
classroom?
Gender: Male
Female
Class: Freshman
Sophomore
Age: 18-22
Junior
23-27
28-32
Senior
Overall GPA at End of Last Semester: __________
24
33-37
38 or over
Black Swans Optional
Christopher L. Brown, Western Kentucky University, [email protected]
Indudeep Chhachhi, Western Kentucky University, [email protected]
William J. Trainor Jr., East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Introduction
With two major market crashes in the last 15 years, portfolio insurance or the protection of
downside risk has become increasingly important as once in century occurrences are occurring
multiple times instead. This study examines an alternative to standard portfolio insurance by using
a fixed percentage of the portfolio to purchase in the money call options, while the remainder is
invested in a standard investment grade bond fund. Using data from 1990 to 2015, findings suggest
a 90/10 strategy, where 10% is invested in long term call options has returns commiserate with the
S&P 500 while mitigating losses. An 85/15 strategy has returns that exceed the S&P 500 while
still reducing maximum loss. Using this type of strategy is robust to the delta of the option, length
of the option, time period, and even the bond fund used. Results are further affirmed using Monte
Carlo simulation.
Literature Review
The two main types of portfolio insurance are option based (Leland & Rubinstein, 1976) and
constant proportionate strategies set forth by Black and Jones (1987). Most option based ideas are
premised on purchasing put options on an index, effectively a protective put. The cost of this
protection is usually quite high, and although it reduces downside exposure, gains tend to be
moderated significantly. Kritzman and Rich (2002) demonstrated the significance of downside
risk and the need to avoid it. The strategy outlined in this study suggests an alternative for avoiding
large losses.
Methodology
Three portfolio strategies are investigated, 85/15, 90/10, and a 95/5 with the first number being the
percentage invested in the bond fund, and the remaining invested in long-term call options. Call
options are selected based on a delta of 0.5 (usually at the money) and 0.7. The rationale for
selecting a call option deeper in the money is to reduce the time value paid for the option.
Option data on the SPX index from January 1990 to June 2015 is attained from DeltaNeutral whose
source is from OPRA (Options Pricing and Reporting Authority.) As long term options (Leaps)
are only available for June and December, options are assumed to be purchased at the end of May
or November with an average maturity of 385 days. Purchasing the options with 16 months to
maturity and selling with three months remaining are also investigated. Return data for the S&P
500 and Vanguard's investment grade bond fund (VBMFX) are attained from the Center of
Research and Security Prices (CRSP).
Yearly returns for the option are calculated based on selling the option purchased in the previous
year with a remaining average time to maturity of 20 days. At that time, it is assumed a new 13month option is purchased. The end of day ask price is used to determine purchase price while
25
end of the day bid price is used to determine sell price. Thus, the 90/10 portfolio would attain 90%
of the VBMFX return for the year and 10% of the option return. A protective put strategy is also
shown for comparison where the put option strike price is the same as the 0.7 delta call option.
Using a put option at the money was also investigated which actually showed even worse results,
and thus is not reported.
Since this portfolio strategy is primarily directed at avoiding large losses while still enjoying the
expected gains of the stock market, minimum returns are also reported along with the Sortino Ratio
(Sortino & Price, 1994), which is a measure of semi-variance below some target return threshold.
In this case, the VBMFX is used as the target return as an investor could elect to invest 100% in a
relatively safe bond portfolio.
The Sortino Ratio is written as
N
𝑅−𝑇
1
S=
where TDD = √ ∑(Min(0, Xi − T))2
TDD
N
i=1
R = the return
T = target return (VBMFX)
N = total number of returns
Xi = ith return
The Sortino ratio magnifies poor returns below a certain threshold and thus is a useful measure of
downside risk. The higher the value, the greater the return per unit of downside risk. The Sortino
ratio is a better measure than the Sharpe ratio for negatively skewed returns and is more appropriate
as these portfolios developed to mitigate, if not entirely eliminate, large losses.
To attain even more robust results, the three strategies are also tested using Monte Carlo simulation
where monthly returns are sampled from the 1990 to 2015 actual monthly returns to create unique
annual returns. Monthly values are re-sampled with replacement for the S&P 500, VBMFX, 1year treasury yield, 90-day treasury yield, S&P 500 dividend yield, and the value of Chicago Board
Option Exchange Volatility Index (VIX). Theoretical call option prices are derived using Merton's
constant dividend model. Call options with 385 days to maturity and 6.4% in the money are
purchased based on average empirical values for 0.7 delta calls. Results are attained using 10,000
simulations.
13-Month December Options
Table 1 shows annual returns from end of month November to November for 1990-2014 for the
S&P 500, three portfolios in which 85 to 95% is invested in Vanguard's Investment grade bond
fund while the remaining percentage is invested in 13-month 0.7 delta call options expiring
December of the following year, and a protective put strategy where the number of put options
purchased perfectly hedges the amount in the S&P 500. For the overall time period, all three
portfolios minimize downside risk with the worst returns actually occurring November 93 to
26
November 94 as both the options and the VBMFX lost money. The Sortino ratios for all three
strategies are twice the S&P 500 demonstrating superior downside risk-return performance. This
is further exemplified by the minimum annual return for each portfolio which reaches a worst
return of -14.26% for the 85/15 and as little as -6.73% for the 95/5 relative to S&P's -37.59%.
Table 1. Annual returns for the S&P 500 using three strategies in which 85 to 95% is invested in
Vanguard's Investment grade bond fund and the remaining is invested in 13-month Dec. call
options (delta 0.7) and a protective put strategy from end of month November to November for
1990-2014
Protective
Call
Put
Option
Date
S&P
85/15
90/10
95/5
Ret.
VBMFX
11/30/1990 11/91
20.57% 18.24% 16.65% 15.06%
11.85%
23.05% 13.47%
11/29/1991 11/92
18.43% 18.37% 15.18% 11.99%
11.31%
59.53%
8.79%
11/30/1992 11/03
9.97% 11.20% 11.06% 10.91%
4.81%
-31.38% 10.77%
11/30/1993 11/94
1.13% -14.26% -10.50% -6.73%
-1.97%
-99.70%
-2.97%
11/30/1994 11/95
37.30% 59.45% 45.45% 31.45%
31.68%
419.80% 17.44%
11/30/1995 11/96
27.93% 53.98% 37.98% 21.98%
21.88%
429.00%
5.98%
11/29/1996 11/97
28.75% 34.43% 25.42% 16.41%
22.80%
253.14%
7.40%
11/28/1997 11/98
24.11% 19.63% 16.19% 12.74%
16.17%
64.62%
9.30%
11/30/1998 11/99
21.02%
9.32%
6.25%
3.18%
12.64%
54.94%
0.10%
11/30/1999 11/00
-3.16%
-6.25%
-1.20%
3.86%
-5.86% -100.00%
8.91%
11/30/2000 11/01
-12.20%
-5.64%
-0.09%
5.46%
-7.67% -100.00% 11.01%
11/30/2001 11/02
-16.14% -10.34%
-5.08%
0.19%
-10.67% -100.00%
5.45%
11/29/2002 11/03
15.16% 11.58%
9.45%
7.33%
7.84%
19.32%
5.20%
11/28/2003 11/04
12.92% 12.90% 10.00%
7.10%
7.85%
56.27%
4.20%
11/30/2004 11/05
8.78%
4.21%
3.58%
2.95%
4.68%
-43.39%
2.32%
11/30/2005 11/06
14.10% 14.33% 11.49%
8.65%
9.74%
48.48%
5.81%
27
11/30/2006 11/07
11/30/2007 11/08
11/28/2008 11/09
11/30/2009 11/010
11/30/2010 11/11
11/30/2011 11/12
11/30/2012 11/13
11/29/2013 11/14
7.86%
2.88%
3.98%
5.08%
4.02%
-52.85%
6.18%
-37.59%
-13.39%
-8.29%
-3.20%
-8.18%
-100.00%
1.89%
25.61%
16.60%
14.84%
13.08%
12.18%
8.63%
11.32%
9.96%
6.75%
6.45%
6.15%
2.27%
-31.76%
5.85%
7.64%
4.46%
4.70%
4.95%
0.54%
-41.74%
5.19%
16.18%
11.45%
9.43%
7.40%
7.45%
27.87%
5.38%
30.22%
33.36%
21.58%
9.80%
23.08%
347.87%
-1.98%
16.92%
22.39%
16.59%
10.78%
11.44%
163.33%
Arith. Avg.
Geo. Avg.
St. Dev.
Minimum
Sortino
11.89%
10.50%
16.59%
-37.59%
0.40
13.15%
11.77%
18.57%
-14.26%
0.80
10.88%
10.18%
13.05%
-10.50%
0.86
8.61%
8.34%
7.91%
-6.73%
0.92
7.91%
7.41%
10.67%
-10.67%
0.18
Arith. Avg.
Geo. Avg.
St. Dev.
Minimum
Sortino
13.14%
11.88%
17.14%
-16.14%
0.41
15.68%
13.50%
24.00%
-14.26%
0.66
13.11%
11.98%
16.95%
-10.50%
0.72
10.54%
10.11%
10.27%
-6.73%
0.79
8.91%
8.15%
13.39%
-10.67%
0.04
Arith. Avg.
Geo. Avg.
St. Dev.
Minimum
Sortino
10.65%
9.14%
16.69%
-37.59%
0.39
10.63%
9.94%
11.45%
-13.39%
1.17
8.65%
8.30%
7.60%
-8.29%
1.21
6.67%
6.53%
4.15%
-3.20%
1.25
6.91%
6.56%
7.53%
-8.18%
0.56
4.98%
1990-2014
53.13%
6.33%
N/A
6.23%
158.89%
4.69%
-100.00%
-2.97%
N/A
N/A
1990-2001
72.75%
7.97%
N/A
7.84%
193.78%
5.50%
-100.00%
-2.97%
N/A
N/A
2002-2014
33.50%
4.70%
N/A
4.65%
120.00%
3.13%
-100.00%
-1.98%
N/A
N/A
Surprisingly, absolute performance relative to the S&P 500 is often superior as the 85/15 portfolio
has an overall geometric average return of 11.77% compared to the S&P's 10.5%. This result
remains both for the 1990-2001 and 2002-2014 sub-periods. Even the 90/10 has a geometric return
of 10.18%. The Sortino ratios for all three call option portfolio are significantly greater than for
the S&P 500 and often twice as much or more. Overall, this suggests these portfolios are providing
twice as much excess return for downside risk. It appears that call option Leaps may be
undervalued based on the benefits they can provide.
28
Although the protective put strategy minimizes downside risk with a worst return of -10.67%, the
amount of return given up is substantial resulting in a Sortino ratio actually worse than just holding
the S&P 500. This result remained and became even worse using the money put options. With a
geometric average return of only 7.41% for the overall time period, it appears to be a suboptimal
portfolio insurance strategy. However, for the 2002-14 time period, there is some merit to the
protective put strategy relative to the S&P 500 as it has a higher Sortino ratio; but compared to the
85/15, 90/10, or 95/5, it falls vastly short.
Combining June and December Options
One of the possible drawbacks to initiating the position only once a year is the possibility of
overpaying for the option if volatility happens to be particularly high at the time. To mitigate this
issue, an investor could buy a 13-month June option in May, and six months later buy the 13month December option in November. In that way, an originally purchased 13-month option
would be replaced each 6 months and the typical 90/10 strategy would be a 90/5/5. Results for
this type of portfolio are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Annualized returns for the S&P 500 and three strategies in which 85 to 95% is invested
in Vanguard's Investment grade bond fund and the remaining is invested in 13-month June and
Dec. call options (delta 0.7) based on 6-month holding periods form 1990 to 2015
S&P
85/7.5/.7.5
90/5/5
95/2.5/2.5
VBMFX
1990-2015
Arith. Avg.
11.14%
12.59%
10.44%
8.28%
6.13%
Geo. Avg.
10.41%
11.92%
10.20%
8.27%
6.14%
St. Dev.
13.76%
14.95%
10.32%
6.15%
4.15%
Minimum
-34.78%
-9.91%
-6.33%
-3.90%
-3.04%
Sortino
0.63
1.14
1.20
1.26
N/A
1990-2001
Arith. Avg.
11.09%
15.05%
12.63%
10.21%
7.98%
Geo. Avg.
11.88%
14.09%
12.28%
10.20%
7.84%
St. Dev.
13.54%
18.04%
12.59%
7.58%
4.65%
Minimum
-11.05%
-9.91%
-5.94%
-3.90%
-3.04%
Sortino
0.69
1.09
1.16
1.23
N/A
2002-2015
Arith. Avg.
10.00%
10.23%
8.33%
6.43%
4.53%
Geo. Avg.
9.02%
9.87%
8.23%
6.45%
4.54%
St. Dev.
14.60%
11.38%
7.51%
4.10%
3.24%
Minimum
-34.78%
-9.79%
-6.33%
-2.87%
-1.26%
Sortino
0.59
1.23
1.28
1.33
N/A
*Minimum return is the actual 6-month worst return.
Table 2 shows no significant changes in the results with the exception of even higher overall
Sortino ratios for the option strategy. Again, the returns remain commiserate with the S&P 500
while drastically reducing the minimum return. Thus, an investor who wished to buy the long-
29
term call options each May and November may even be better off than an investor who sets up
this type of strategy just once a year.
Monte Carlo Results
As a final check on the robustness of the results demonstrated so far in this study, Monte Carlo
simulation, in effect bootstrapping, is employed as the 1990-2015 monthly data are sampled with
replacement to create 10,000 annual returns. This will show whether the particular sequence of
returns exhibited from 1990 to 2015 is affecting the results. This period's average monthly return
is 0.86% and has monthly standard deviation of 4.2% which is actually somewhat lower than
historical data dating to 1926 with an average monthly return of 0.942% and a monthly standard
deviation of 5.51%. An increase in the standard deviation would actually make the option
strategies even more valuable.
Table 3 shows the results for portfolios with a 0.7 call option delta. The results confirm earlier
results as even the arithmetic average returns from the 85/15 and 90/10 are commiserate with the
S&P 500 while reducing the minimum loss from -33.87% to -18.27% and -13.52% respectively.
The Sortino ratio using all 10,000 simulated years was 0.52 for the S&P and a consistent 0.71 for
all three portfolios where differences did not arise until several decimal points. This is the case
since the vast majority of the time when one portfolio exceeded the VBMFX, all three did.
Using zero as the target return led to a much greater discrepancy for the Sortino ratio between
the portfolios, from 1.26 for the S&P to 1.58, 2.20, and 5.32 respectively for the 85/15, 90/10,
and 95/5 portfolios.
Table 3. Yearly average returns for 10,000 runs in which 85 to 95% is invested in Vanguard's
Investment grade bond fund and the remaining is invested in 13-month call options.
S&P
85/15
90/10
95/5
VBMFX
Arith. Avg.
10.63%
11.64%
9.85%
8.05%
6.26%
St. Dev.
15.89%
19.00%
13.06%
7.43%
3.88%
Minimum
-33.87%
-18.27%
-13.52%
-9.34%
-5.82%
Sortino
0.52
0.71
0.71
0.71
N/A
*Negative deviations for Sortino ratio are below zero, target return set to VBMFX.
Conclusion
Using data from 1990 to 2015, findings suggest a 90/10 strategy, where 10% invested in long
term call options has returns commiserate with the S&P 500 while mitigating losses. An 85/15
strategy has returns that exceed the S&P 500 while still reducing maximum loss. Although not
all results are reported in this shortened paper, this type of strategy is robust to the delta of the
option where both 0.5 and 0.7 deltas were tested, length of the option as 16-month options were
also examined, time period, and even the bond fund used. Results are further affirmed using
Monte Carlo simulation. Thus, this strategy appears to offer excellent downside risk protection
while maintaining most, if not all, upside appreciation.
30
References
Black, F., & Jones, R. (1987). Simplifying portfolio insurance, Journal of Portfolio Management,
14(1), 48-51.
Chhabra, B., & Ashvin, M. (2004, Spring). Beyond Markowitz: A comprehensive wealth
allocation framework for individual Investors. The Journal of Wealth Management, 8-34.
Leland, H. E., & Rubinsteinj, M. (1976). The evolution of portfolio insurance. In D. L. Luskin
(Ed.), Portfolio insurance: A guide to dynamic hedging. New York: Wiley.
Kritzman, M., & Rich, D. (2002). The mismeasurement of risk. Financial Analysts Journal, 58(3),
91-100.
Sortino, F. A., & Price, L. N. (1994). Performance measurement in a downside risk framework,
The Journal of Investing, 3(3), 59-54.
31
Delinquent Taxes as Basis for Revocation or Denial of Passport: Is It Constitutional?
Trish Isaacs, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Jennifer L. Isaacs, [email protected]
Introduction
In December 2015, H.R. 22, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) was enacted
and was signed into law by the president. The law dealt primarily with a long-term plan for funding
highway projects. However, nestled deep within its provisions was new tax legislation. Internal
Revenue Code §7345 provides for revocation or denial of passports for taxpayers who have
delinquent tax debt exceeding $50,000, including penalties and interest (26 USC §7345). Some
have argued that this provision is unconstitutional and will likely face challenge soon.
Literature Overview
FAST is not the first instance of passport denial or revocation due to failure to pay. For example,
since 1996, individuals who are delinquent in excess of $2,500 in child support have been subject
to passport denial or revocation. Under this provision, the Secretary of State is provided a list of
individuals who have been certified by the respective state to be delinquent in providing child care.
Similarly, certain felony convictions render individuals unable to obtain passports.
Under FAST, the certification procedure for passport denial or revocation outlined in the new
provision is as follows: The IRS Commissioner develops a list of taxpayers with seriously
delinquent tax debt as defined in §7345. This list of taxpayers is forwarded to the Secretary of the
Treasury. The Department of the Treasury then provides the list of certified taxpayers to the
Secretary of State to be used for purposes of determining passport denial or revocation.
With the newly enacted §7345, several protections for the taxpayer are in place. Seriously
delinquent tax debt, as defined in the provision, is outstanding tax debt in excess of $50,000 for
which a notice of lien or a notice of levy has been properly filed. Taxpayers who have entered
into a payment plan with the IRS are not subject to passport revocation or denial, nor are taxpayers
for whom a collection action has been suspended based on a due process hearing or for whom
innocent spouse relief has been requested. A process for addressing errors is provided. One
concern that has not yet been addressed by the IRS is that of expatriates. The IRS mailing system
does not accommodate the formatting of international addresses, so IRS notices do not reach
taxpayers living abroad. It is likely that a number of expatriates do not respond to IRS
correspondence because they do not receive the correspondence.
Methodology
As indicated above, §7345 is similar to the child support rules related to passport denial or
revocation. Thus, the question as to whether revocation or denial of passports is constitutional can
be informed by case law related to the constitutionality of the child support provision, specifically
the two seminal cases addressing this issue—Weinstein v. Albright, 261 F.3d 127 (2d Cir. 2001)
and Eunique v. Powell, 302 F.3d 971 (9th Cir. 2002).
32
In Weinstein, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered the
constitutionality of the federal law allowing for the revocation of a passport or denial of a passport
application in the event of unpaid child support obligations. Mr. Weinstein had a valid passport,
but sought to renew it for purposes of traveling to Israel. However, because Mr. Weinstein had
unpaid child support in excess of $5,000, not only was his passport application denied, his current
passport was revoked. He sued, claiming that the federal law was unconstitutional on the basis of
due process (lack of notice) and equal protection (violation of a fundamental right). In rejecting
both arguments, the Second Circuit found that Mr. Weinstein had received adequate notice and
opportunity to contest. The Second Circuit also held that, while the right to travel internationally
was a fundamental right under the Constitution, it was subject to ready regulation by the
government under the rational basis standard. The Second Circuit contrasted international travel
with interstate travel, which is instead afforded the highest protection in the strict scrutiny standard.
Because a rational justification existed for the regulation of Mr. Weinstein’s right to international
travel, the government’s regulation fully comported with the Constitution.
Thereafter, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the same issue under
similar facts in Eunique. Ms. Eunique applied for and was denied a passport for business and
pleasure, including visiting her sister in Mexico. The reason her application was denied was that
the State of California had certified to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that she owed
“arrearages of child support in an amount exceeding $5,000,” in violation of 42 U.S.C. Section
652(k). During oral argument, Eunique acknowledged that she owed $28,000-$30,000 in child
support. She argued that the denial of a passport was unconstitutional, based on the premise that
the right to international travel was fundamental and that it could not be impended in the absence
of a sufficient connection between her breach of the duty to pay for the support of her children and
the government’s interference with her fundamental right. As with the Weinstein court, the Ninth
Circuit held that the right to international travel is subject to the rational basis standard. The court
cited a United States Supreme Court case, Haig v. Agee, 453 U.S. 208, 307, 101 S. Ct. 2766, 2782,
69 L. Ed. 2d 640 (1981), which held that the right to interstate travel is fundamental—“virtually
unqualified,” and therefore protected by the Constitution (Haig, 453 U.S. at 307, 101 S. Ct. at
2782). Not being a fundamental right, and therefore subject to the lesser “reasonableness”
requirement, the court found that §625(k) easily meets that standard. They found no room for
doubt that failure of parents to support their children is considered by our society as a serious
offense against both morals and welfare. In addition, they cited financial concerns that result when
unsupported children must often look to the public, including the federal treasury, for that support.
The court asserted that if a parent wishes to enjoy the benefits of international travel, he or she
needs to focus on a more important concern first, that of supporting his or her children. They
conclude that the statute passes rational basis review “with flying colors.”
Applying the Weinstein and Eunique decisions, the right to travel internationally is given lesser
importance than the right to interstate travel. The government needs to provide a rational basis for
imposing a ban on international travel. If child support in excess of $2,500 is viewed as a rational
basis, it seems likely that seriously delinquent tax debt in excess of $50,000 will also easily pass
this level of scrutiny. Furthermore, initial research indicates that challenges to the constitutionality
of the child support regulation are no longer taken seriously by the courts and so are now only
pursued by pro se plaintiffs.
33
However, the constitutionality of passport denial or revocation based on seriously delinquent tax
debt is not a settled issue. The REAL ID Act, which was passed in 2005, sets minimum
requirements for state-issued drivers’ licenses (REAL ID Act of 2005). It was enacted in response
to the 9/11 Commission Report, which stated that travel documents are as important as weapons
for terrorists (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004, p. 384). The stated purpose of the provision
was to provide secure drivers’ licenses and identification documents as a vital element of national
security. Coordinated effort by the states and the Federal Government should prevent terrorists
from obtaining state-issued identification documents, thus inhibiting their ability to evade
detection by using fraudulent identification (Secure driver's licenses, 2016). Requirements relate
to information and security features that must be incorporated into each card, application
information related to identity and immigration status required before a card is issued, and physical
security standards for facilities producing drivers’ licenses and applicable identification cards. The
provision also includes a process whereby a state can seek an additional extension, provided they
demonstrate material compliance with core requirements of REAL ID, 8 U.S.C. § 1101, et seq.
If a state’s process and its issued identification do not meet REAL ID requirements, the stateissued driver’s license will not be accepted for security clearance by federal agencies, including
the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) (Secure Driver's License Documentation,
2016). TSA’s website provides additional guidance as to acceptable state-issued drivers’ license
(REAL ID and you: rumor control, 2016). According to this website, there are two important dates
in terms of acceptable identification for boarding commercial domestic flights: (1) January 22,
2018, the date that TSA will require state-issued identification that meets the requirements of the
REAL ID Act, unless that state has been granted an extension, and (2) October 1, 2020, the date
every air traveler will need a REAL ID-compliant license (or other acceptable form of
identification) for domestic air travel. Primary on the list of other acceptable forms of
identification is the passport.
As a result, if a traveler on a commercial domestic flight has state-issued identification that has
been determined to be noncompliant, a passport might be required for TSA clearance. If an
individual possesses a driver’s license that is noncompliant, and that individual does not have a
valid passport due to seriously delinquent tax debt, then Section 7345 would result in the
unintended consequence of restriction on interstate travel.
In Haig v Agee the Supreme Court, in its majority opinion, stated that
The freedom to travel abroad with a “letter of introduction” in the form of a passport issued
by the sovereign is subordinate to national security and foreign policy considerations, and
as such is subject to reasonable governmental regulations; the freedom to travel outside the
United States must be distinguished from the right to travel within the United States, the
constitutional right of interstate travel being virtually unqualified.
Since the constitutional right to interstate travel is “virtually unqualified,” restriction of interstate
travel is held to a stricter standard than is international travel. Even so, preliminary research
suggests that a sufficient justification for the restriction likely exists as REAL ID furthers
legitimate, serious national security goals (Secure driver's licenses, 2016). Furthermore, the
impact of the restriction must be more than incidental to present constitutionality concerns, a
34
standard unlikely met. Finally, REAL ID appears to impact only one means of travel—plane
travel—leaving other viable modes of interstate transportation.
Analysis of these cases provides several reasons that support the premise that §7345 would be
found to be constitutional if challenged. While interstate travel is viewed as a fundamental right,
international travel is not. It is therefore held to a less strict standard, that of rational basis. Case
law indicates that the provision would likely pass with “flying colors,” as did the child support
provision.
Further, even if §7345 impacted interstate travel and the stricter constitutional standard applied,
its requirements would likely found to be met. A sufficient justification exists, and any impact on
interstate travel would likely be merely incidental.
Conclusions
Preliminary research into related cases and applicable laws indicates that a successful challenge as
to the constitutionality of §7345 appears unlikely for a number of reasons. A review of these cases
indicates that, in general, it is likely that §7345 as it relates to international travel would be found
to be constitutional if challenged. Further, if the application of §7345 results in an incidental
restriction on interstate commercial flight, that restriction would likewise be viewed as
constitutional. These preliminary results indicate that case law that informs the question as to
constitutionality of the statute does exist, confirming the need for more extensive review of case
law in order to provide greater insight into, and a stronger basis for, the conclusions as to these
issues.
References
REAL ID Act of 2005, 8 U.S.C. § 1101. Retrieved from Federal Register at
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2008-01-29/html/08-140.htm
REAL ID and you: Rumor control. (2016, January 13). Retrieved from Department of Homeland
Security at http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control
Secure Driver's License Documentation. (2016, January 8). Retrieved from Department of
Homeland Security at http://www.dhs.gov/secure-drivers-license-documentation
Secure driver's licenses. (2016, January 7). Retrieved from Department of Homeland Security at
http://www.dhs.gov/secure-drivers-licenses
The 9/11 Commission Report. (2004). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the
United States. (P. Zelikow, Executive Director; B. D. Jenkins, Counsel; & E. R. May,
Senior Advisor) New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
35
Empowering Students through Study Abroad Programs:
An Empirical Study of Business Students at Appalachian
State University
Jonathan David Carpenter, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Meredith Church Pipes, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Introduction
Study abroad experiences have moved from the highlight line on a college résumé to an essential
skillset for students to navigate an interconnected world. Many university campuses are
integrating international education into their curricula across disciplines. One of the goals of this
internationalization is to create “global citizens” with a sense of responsibility to society
globally.
At the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University, we feel that one important
characteristic of the global citizen is a belief that one can make a difference in the world around
them. There is a lack of empirical evidence that measures the determinants shaping study abroad
experiences. This study identifies key elements of an abroad experience, then measures the
impact those determinants have on student empowerment. These elements form the WWW, or
When, Where, What Model, designed to measure the possible impact of these factors on
empowerment:



When – At what point in a student’s educational career does the study abroad take place?
Where – What is the culture and economic status of the host country as compared to the
student’s home country?
What – What is the program design and content?
Literature Overview
Dependent Variable: Empowerment
Lutterman-Aguilar and Gingerich (2002) contended that study abroad not only empowers
students for personal and societal transformation, but also creates a pedagogical paradigm that
helps to achieve the goal of global citizenship. Universities often seek to create experiences that
will motivate study abroad participants toward action, and empowerment acts as this motivation.
If students are given opportunities to be empowered, they in turn receive spillover effects such as
autonomy, choice, responsibility, and participation in decision-making (Lightfoot, 1986).
Independent Variables
When: Education Level
The University of Pittsburg has a program nicknamed ‘Plus3,’ which focuses on giving freshman
short-term study abroad opportunities to help them overcome anxiety about foreign travel. Olson
36
and Lalley (2012) assessed the results of the program and found that participants exhibited
increased teamwork, intercultural sensitivity, and ability to interact with those from other
cultures, and enhanced focus and confidence.
Hypothesis 1a: Students who study abroad earlier in their educational career will have a greater
sense of empowerment.
Where: Economic and Cultural Distance
According to a study completed by Paige and Fry (2010), the destination of a study abroad
program is strongly related to the transformative impacts of that experience. Choice of
destination was given much weight in previous literature; therefore, it was decided to include
destination as a key determinant in this study.
Hypothesis 2a: Students who study abroad in destinations that have a greater economic
distance from the U.S. will have a greater sense of empowerment.
Hypothesis 2b: Students who study abroad in destinations that have a greater cultural
distance from the U.S. will have a greater sense of empowerment.
What: Duration, Integration, and Cultural Reflection
Duration. A study by Engle and Engle (2003) suggested that the categorization of study abroad
programs must include duration as a key element to measure foreign culture immersion.
Hypothesis 3a: Students who go on a longer-term program will have a greater sense of
empowerment.
Integration. Laubscher (1994) suggested that immersion into another culture results in increased
awareness for diversity and global thinking. Studies suggest that cultural integration that allows
students to face incongruities with their beliefs and attitudes will result in enhanced development
(Pyle, 1981).
Hypothesis 3b: Students who go on a program defined by deep integration will have a
greater sense of empowerment.
Cultural Reflection. Students who undergo self-reflection have the opportunity to examine the
underlying limits of their beliefs as well as the impacts the study abroad experience had on their
personal development (Hansen, 2010). Three variables were included making up the cultural
reflection component: cultural orientation, journal/blog, and group discussions.
Hypothesis 3c: Students who go on a program defined by multiple opportunities to reflect
will have a greater sense of empowerment.
37
Methodology
A survey was given to 416 Appalachian business students; 73 responses received were usable.
Data Analysis
Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the variables that are
detailed in the model. The integration and cultural reflection scales were followed up by
individual component analysis in order to separate out the effects. P-values of .10 or less were
deemed statistically significant.
Hypothesis 1a. It was hypothesized that students who study abroad earlier in their educational
career will have a greater sense of empowerment. The results indicate that a significant negative
relationship exists between education level and empowerment in short-term programs, but not in
long-term programs.
Table F. 1. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Short Term
Independent Variable
Regression Coefficient
-0.00549
Duration
3.82E-05
Economic Distance
-0.0305
Cultural Distance
-0.26733
Education Level
0.137079
Integration
0.008086
Cultural Reflection
Regression Statistics
3.489693
F
0.312799
R Square
53
N
38
t-statistic
-0.25893
2.544485
-1.79671
-1.8293
2.333248
0.115479
p-value
0.796846
0.014365
0.078949
0.073841
0.024062
0.908568
Table F. 2. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Long Term
N/A
Duration
4.2E-06
Economic Distance
0.033169
Cultural Distance
-0.24439
Education Level
0.213622
Integration
-0.07538
Cultural Reflection
2.329903
F
0.482391
R Square
22
N
t-statistic
N/A
2.76E-05
1.553157
-0.63305
3.23337
-0.89491
p-value
N/A
N/A
0.141227
0.536232
0.00557
0.384971
Hypothesis 2a. It was hypothesized that students who study abroad in destinations that have a
greater economic distance from the U.S. will have a greater sense of empowerment. The results
indicate that a significant positive relationship exists between economic distance and
empowerment in short term programs.
-0.00549
Duration
3.82E-05
Economic Distance
-0.0305
Cultural Distance
-0.26733
Education Level
0.137079
Integration
0.008086
Cultural Reflection
3.489693
F
0.312799
R Square
53
N
39
t-statistic
-0.25893
2.544485
-1.79671
-1.8293
2.333248
0.115479
p-value
0.796846
0.014365
0.078949
0.073841
0.024062
0.908568
Hypothesis 2b: It was hypothesized that students who study abroad in destinations that have a
greater cultural distance from the U.S. will have a greater sense of empowerment. The results
also indicate that a significant negative relationship exists between cultural distance and
empowerment in short-term programs (but not in long-term programs).
N/A
Duration
4.2E-06
Economic Distance
0.033169
Cultural Distance
-0.24439
Education Level
0.213622
Integration
-0.07538
Cultural Reflection
2.329903
F
0.482391
R Square
22
N
N/A
Duration
4.2E-06
Economic Distance
0.033169
Cultural Distance
-0.24439
Education Level
0.213622
Integration
-0.07538
Cultural Reflection
2.329903
F
0.482391
R Square
22
N
40
t-statistic
N/A
2.76E-05
1.553157
-0.63305
3.23337
-0.89491
p-value
N/A
N/A
0.141227
0.536232
0.00557
0.384971
t-statistic
N/A
2.76E-05
1.553157
-0.63305
3.23337
-0.89491
p-value
N/A
N/A
0.141227
0.536232
0.00557
0.384971
Hypothesis 3a. It was hypothesized that students who go on longer-term programs will have a
greater sense of empowerment. No significant relationship was found between duration and
empowerment in either short- or long-term programs.
-0.00549
Duration
3.82E-05
Economic Distance
-0.0305
Cultural Distance
-0.26733
Education Level
0.137079
Integration
0.008086
Cultural Reflection
3.489693
F
0.312799
R Square
53
N
N/A
Duration
4.2E-06
Economic Distance
0.033169
Cultural Distance
-0.24439
Education Level
0.213622
Integration
-0.07538
Cultural Reflection
2.329903
F
0.482391
R Square
22
N
41
t-statistic
-0.25893
2.544485
-1.79671
-1.8293
2.333248
0.115479
p-value
0.796846
0.014365
0.078949
0.073841
0.024062
0.908568
t-statistic
N/A
2.76E-05
1.553157
-0.63305
3.23337
-0.89491
p-value
N/A
N/A
0.141227
0.536232
0.00557
0.384971
Hypothesis 3b: It was hypothesized that students who go on a program defined by deep
integration will have a greater sense of empowerment. Results indicate that a significant positive
relationship exists between integration and empowerment, particularly when a student’s
integration was enhanced through their ability to communicate with the host community and/or
through participation in a service learning activity for short-term programs. In regards to longterm programs, a student’s integration in the host culture shows a significant positive correlation
with empowerment.
Table F. 3. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Short Term Integration
Regression Coefficient t-statistic
0.173814
1.57858
Living Situation
0.233927
2.032225
Ability to Communicate
-0.0564
-0.27673
Cultural Involvement
0.464918
3.9602
Service Learning
-0.08299
-0.71615
Joint Academics
4.851803
F
0.340434
R Square
53
N
p-value
0.12114
0.047804
0.783199
0.000252
0.477443
Hypothesis 3c: It was hypothesized that students who go on a program defined by multiple
opportunities to reflect will have a greater sense of empowerment. No significant relationship
was found between cultural reflection and empowerment in short-term programs; however,
keeping a journal or blog during a long-term program showed significant negative correlation
with empowerment.
Table F. 4. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Short Term Cultural Reflection
t-statistic
p-value
-0.06592
-0.35718 0.722492
Cultural Orientation
-0.10413
-0.7043 0.48458
Journal/Blog
0.359735
1.644028 0.106572
Group Discussions
0.987637
F
0.05702
R Square
53
N
42
Table F. 5. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Long Term Integration
t-statistic
0.029551
0.156894
Living Situation
-0.04565
-0.25038
Ability to Communicate
0.434785
2.344936
Cultural Involvement
0.252241
1.6914
Service Learning
0.097758
0.643963
Joint Academics
2.517137
F
0.440279
R Square
22
N
p-value
0.877291
0.805477
0.032257
0.110142
0.528724
Table F. 6. OLS Estimates for Empowerment Long Term Cultural Reflection
t-statistic
p-value
-0.01062
-0.07868 0.938159
Cultural Orientation
-0.33383
0.151763
Journal/Blog
Group Discussions
F
R Square
N
-2.5118 0.021767
1.012828 0.324564
2.785384
0.317047
22
Conclusion
One of the primary goals of this study was to add to the existing body of literature and determine
the impact that study abroad programs have on empowerment. Below is the concluding analysis
for how the WWW model impacts the goal of creating globally empowered students at
Appalachian State University.
When: Academic Year of Experience
When students study abroad in their educational career has a significant impact on the students’
empowerment. This suggests that students feel more empowered to make a difference the earlier
in their educational career they participate in a short-term study abroad program.
Where: Economic and Cultural Distance
Where students choose to study abroad has a significant impact on the students’ empowerment.
Economic distance has a significant positive impact on students’ empowerment to make a
difference. During short-term programs, students who study abroad in destinations that are
further economically from the U.S. feel more empowered to make a difference. Cultural distance
has a significant negative impact on the students’ sense of empowerment during short-term
43
programs. The further the study abroad destination is from the U.S. culturally, the less likely the
student is to feel empowered to make a difference. These results suggest that destination has a
significant impact on students’ belief in their ability to make a difference.
What: Integration and Cultural Reflection
The content that makes up a study abroad program has significant impacts on student
empowerment. The findings indicate that the students’ level of integration into the host
community for both short- and long-term programs has a significant impact on the students’
empowerment. When the integration scale was separated out to distinguish between the
individual components, it was found that two aspects were more significant in short-term
programs: participation in service learning activities and ability to communicate with the host
culture. Students who were able to communicate in the host country and participated in at least
one service activity during their time abroad showed a positive correlation with empowerment.
When the cultural reflection scale was separated out to distinguish between the individual
components, it was found that students who participated in journaling and/or blogging during a
long-term program show a significant negative correlation with empowerment. These findings
suggest that the content of study abroad programs has a significant impact on study abroad
outcomes.
References
Engle, L., & Engle, J. (2003). Study abroad levels: Toward a classification of program type.
Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 9, 1-20.
Hansen, R. A. (2010) Impact of study abroad on ethnocultural empathy and global-mindedness.
Doctoral Dissertation, Ball State University, Print.
Laubscher, M. R., (1994). Encounters with difference. Westport CT: Greenwood Press.
Lightfoot, S. L. (1986). On goodness in schools: Themes of empowerment. Peabody Journal of
Education, 63(3): 9-28.
Lutterman-Aguilar, A., & Gingerich, O. (2002). Experiential pedagogy for study abroad:
Educating for global citizenship. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study
Abroad, 8(2), 41-82.
Olson, J. E., & Lalley, K. (2012). Evaluating a short-term, first-year study abroad program for
business and engineering undergraduates: Understanding the student learning experience.
Journal of Education for Business, 87(6), 325-332.
Paige, R. M., Fry, G., Stallman, E., Josic, J., & Jon, J. (2009). Study abroad for global
engagement: The long-term impact of mobility experiences. Intercultural Education,
20(1), 29-44.
Pyle, R. (1981). International cross-cultural service/learning: Impact on student development.
Journal of College Student Personnel, 22(6), 509-514.
44
Getting Them There: Removing Barriers to the CPA License
Michelle Freeman, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Mark Steadman, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Introduction
According to Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and based on the 2015
Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and Demand for Public Accounting Recruits report,
enrollments in undergraduate and graduate accounting programs are both increasing and at record
numbers (Accounting enrollments, 2015). However, there is a “slight widening of the gap between
the number of students who are graduating with accounting degrees and the number of candidates
sitting for the CPA Exam” (Accounting enrollments, 2015). This statistic is concerning. According
to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) CEO and President Ken
Bishop, “The U.S. CPA credential, both for individuals and firms, is the highest bar for quality,
credibility and ethics” (2015). He further stated that the profession needs a “wakeup call to those
who are either unaware of or apathetic to changes on the horizon” (2015).
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) suggested that the two most
obvious blockades to the CPA license are the time and money it takes to sit for the exam (Pitter,
2015). Other deterrents include when students are recruited directly out of college by companies
instead of public accounting firms, and also when international students graduate and return to
their country of origin (Accounting enrollments, 2015). Our research shows there are other
contributing factors as well. Although this is a national trend, our study focuses specifically on
students in Tennessee who either have never taken the exam or have yet to complete the exam. We
further propose some suggestions as to how Tennessee educators and employers might help change
this trend.
Research
We distributed a survey to the CPA partners of 15 CPA firms in Tennessee. These managers further
distributed the survey to their employees who had not yet passed all parts of the CPA exam. These
employees completed the survey via SurveyMonkey. The data were divided into results from
students who had NEVER TAKEN the exam (32 respondents) and those who HAD TAKEN parts of
the exam without finishing or passing the exam yet (68 respondents). The results of the survey
offered some insight about the factors affecting these non-licensed employees regarding the CPA
exam.
Educational Requirement
Of the employees who had NEVER TAKEN the CPA exam, only about 34% had met the 150-hour
education requirement. In addition, and more alarming, was the fact that only 48% of them planned
to obtain the hours to meet that requirement. This data would seem to indicate that the additional
hours required to sit for the exam play a major factor for some graduates who do not take the exam.
45
Length of Employment
Eighty percent (80%) of those who HAD TAKEN the exam did so for the first time while working
less than a year. Of the employees who had NEVER TAKEN the exam, half of them had worked at
their current firm for more than two years. These data indicate that the longer an individual works
for a company before taking the exam, the less likely he or she is to take it.
Area of Practice
Almost half of the respondents who had NEVER TAKEN the exam indicated that they work in areas
such as bookkeeping, IT risk management and assurance, or small business services, while the
other half work in audit and tax. Several of the respondents who had NEVER TAKEN the exam also
stated that there is no need to do so based on their area of work. Logically, 84% of the respondents
who HAD TAKEN the CPA exam work in audit or tax. This fact would further indicate that those
who work in audit or tax find it more beneficial to pursue their license than those who work outside
the audit and tax fields.
Cost
Over half of the respondents stated that they had
review materials or the cost of the exam.
NEVER TAKEN
the exam due to the cost of the
Time
About 45% of respondents who had NEVER TAKEN the exam stated that they did not have time to
study due to family issues or workloads. Of those respondents who HAD TAKEN parts of the exam,
43% were not aware of the 200-day grace period that would have allowed them to take the exam
before the education requirement was fully met. Only 23% had taken advantage of the grace
period, while 34% knew about it yet chose not to take advantage of it.
Career Plan
Surprisingly, 72% of the respondents who had NEVER TAKEN the exam stated that public
accounting was indeed their career plan. Approximately the same number of respondents who HAD
TAKEN the exam, 74 percent, also planned to make public accounting their career plan.
Employer Incentives
All of the employers offered incentives such as a bonus for passing the exam, paying for the cost
of the exam and providing review materials. Approximately 20% of the respondents said their
employer encouraged them to take the exam, while only 8% stated that they got time off to study
for the exam.
46
First Job
This variable seemed to play less of a role whether an individual took the exam; however, a
difference between the respondents did occur. Of those who had NEVER TAKEN the exam, 25%
stated that this was not their first job, while 36% of those who HAD TAKEN the exam stated that
this was not their first job. One observation is that those who had worked in a previous job were
more likely to sit for the exam than those who had not.
Size of the Firm
This variable did not seem to play a large role in the decision to sit for the exam or not.
Approximately 88% of those who had NEVER TAKEN the exam and 88% of those who HAD TAKEN
the exam worked for larger firms with 50 or more people. Accordingly, 12% of both data sets
worked for small firms of 50 people or fewer.
Accounting Educator Response
So how can Tennessee educators address these impediments to the CPA license without lowering
the standard? Of the drivers identified above, educators can have the biggest impact on four of
those factors: the 150-hour requirement, cost, time, and preliminary job opportunities such as
internships. They can do a better job of educating students on the importance of following through
with the education requirement prior to beginning employment. They can address the time
impediment by better informing students of the 200-day grace period so that students sit for the
exam before they are so pushed for time after graduation when working and juggling family issues.
They can address the cost issue by including a CPA review course within their education
requirements for the degree. Also, encouraging students to do an internship prior to beginning
work full-time can further expose students to the opportunities that the certification can do for their
career mobility.
AICPA research supports the idea that college academic programs which “stress the importance
of the CPA and on-campus employer recruiting both increase students’ interest in becoming a
CPA” (Accounting enrollments, 2015). We believe that first identifying the best and the brightest
is very heavily laid on accounting professors, who have the best opportunity to evaluate student
ability in their very first accounting principles courses. These professors witness some students’
natural talent for the skills involved in the profession, as well as the persistence it takes. However,
our work does not stop with identifying them. We should work harder to educate them on the
almost limitless opportunities within the field that occur with the CPA certification. Class activities
and assignments on the distinct career fields available might increase the motivation to pursue the
CPA license.
Also, the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) has introduced programs
where educators go to area high schools and discuss the field. TSCPA has also introduced the
Discovery Accounting Program, where high school students go to college campuses and hear
accounting professors and CPA professionals discuss the advantages of the field. Although data
do not indicate that recruiting accounting majors is a problem, perhaps there should be a greater
emphasis during recruiting on the importance of the additional education required and the benefits
47
of the certification after the degree. If they enter college with the CPA certification as the end goal,
it might make a difference in their approach to course work and goals. Perhaps we do not do
enough to teach them that the license can be their ticket to success in many more fields than
accounting.
Our study also suggested that time and cost are impediments to the CPA exam and subsequent
licensure. How can educators address this? According to our data, 43% of employees who HAD
TAKEN the exam were not aware of the ability to take the exam prior to completing the 150-hour
requirement. Students would obviously have more time to study for and take the exam than
individuals who are already in the workplace. Educators need to do a much better job of advising
their students of this option, and perhaps even consider introducing a course in their accounting
program where students take practice exams and study for the exam for a grade. East Tennessee
State University currently has a course of this nature in place in the masters of accountancy
program. Students who take this course can use passed CPA sections as a part of their grade for
the course. This motivates them to take the exam earlier and provides them college credit toward
their degree, so their money does double time for them in studying for the exam and obtaining
their degree. Study courses after college can get expensive.
Workplace/Employer Response
Of the factors identified from our research above, employers can directly impact the length of
employment before taking the exam, as well as the factors of cost and time to study. AICPA
research states that after graduation, the “single greatest influence on sitting for the CPA exam is
support from their employer to pursue their license, including time off to study and financial
compensation” (Accounting enrollments, 2015). According to Michael Cohn in Accounting Today,
the AICPA has noted that “the communication from managing partners and the senior partners in
the firm is directly connected to the number of candidates who have the ability to sit for the exam
and have the motivation to do so” (2015). Since time and money are impediments to taking and
passing the exam, employers need to consider how they can ease both. They might find it beneficial
to consider providing them time off to study and/or offering scholarships to pay for the exam and
study material costs.
We would suggest that study time off should be paid because it is an investment in not only the
future of the employee, but also the firm. This should build loyalty from employees toward their
employer for their investment in them. Ironically, this approach fits perfectly with data on the
millennial generation now entering and currently filling the job market. According to the website
Techtarget, Millennials are very loyal to employers who are loyal to them; and they crave the
availability of training and development opportunities (Millennial generation 2015). While baby
boomers were more focused on “competitive wages and benefits, and opportunities for
advancement and compensation,” Millennials stated that flexibility, balance, and consistent
learning and training opportunities are their motivators (Cohn, 2015). Time off to study and/or inhouse study opportunities would fulfill this need of many Millennials.
48
References
Accounting enrollments continue upward trend, reach all-time high. (8/11/2015). TSCPA.
Retrieved from http://www.tscpa.com/content/59586.aspx
Bishop, K. (2015, September). President’s memo: I am concerned. Retrieved from
http://nasba.org/blog/2015/09/22/presidents-memo-i-am-concerned
Blanchette, S. (2015). Retaining Millennial employees: What you need to know. Retrieved from
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/tip/Retaining-Millennial-employees-What-you-need-toknow
Cohn, M. (2015, October 9). Accounting technology changes coming fast in CPA profession.
Retrieved from http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/firm-profession/changes-comingfast-in-cpa-profession-76067-1.html
Millennial generation (2015). Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/millennialsmillennial-generation
Pitter, A. (2015, July 14). Fueling the accounting profession pipeline: What will it take?
Retrieved from http://blog.aicpa.org/2015/07/fueling-the-accounting-profession-pipelinewhat-will-it-take.html#sthash.5ZSj2gLm.dpbs
49
Inattention, Distraction, and Dysfunction: Modern Challenges for Business
Education and Practice
Mike Roberson, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Beth Polin, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
Students of higher education face a multitude of necessary responsibilities, such as family and jobs
that limit the amount of time available for study. There are also potential distractions that
challenge students’ willpower to focus on academic activities instead of other completely
discretionary uses of their time. A choice often facing students exists between activities that
provide immediate gratification versus academic activities that yield a far greater payoff over the
long run.
The last decade has seen a significant array of new temptations in the form of smart phones and
other personal technologies that are powerful, portable, and pervasive. While these technologies
offer many benefits to learning and productivity, they also provide the potential to negatively affect
student academic performance, business and professional success, the quality of social and familial
relationships, and general well-being.
The purpose of this research is twofold. First, we provide a brief overview of key literature related
to distractions in the academic environment and their effects on thought, concentration, reflection,
and self-regulation. Second, we report the results of a questionnaire administered to junior-level
undergraduate business students aimed at evaluating student awareness and personal management
of these potential distractions, student self-regulation of learning, student time orientation, and
additional descriptive information about the circumstances under which students study and learn.
Literature Overview
Much research exists that emphasizes the importance of student management of their learning
environment and academic progress. Zimmerman and Kitsantas (2007) argue that self-regulated
learning and practice constitute “the hidden dimension of personal competence,” and they
articulate three phases of self-regulated learning: the forethought phase (goal setting, strategic
planning, self-efficacy, task interest, goal orientation, and outcome expectancies); the performance
phase (task strategies, metacognitive monitoring, and self-recording); and the self-reflection phase
(self-evaluation, self-attributions, self-satisfaction, and adaptive inferences). As students are selfregulating their learning process and making key decisions about their learning environment, there
are two elements that require consideration. First, students must know the methods, activities, and
mindsets to learn effectively. Second, they must demonstrate the motivation and persistence to do
what they know must be done. Students should not despair if they are unfamiliar with selfregulation or how to develop this skill, as many have written on the subject; including Zimmerman,
Bonner, and Kovach (1996) who provide a thorough description of self-regulated learning and lay
out a series of steps and activities for developing self-regulated learners. Student self-regulation
can be measured, too, and results used as a developmental tool. For example, Pintrich and De
50
Groot (1990) developed the Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), an instrument
which measures 15 scales to evaluate various aspects of student motivation and self-regulation.
Other factors that impact the student learning environment exist beyond simply the ability of
students to self-regulate. Mischel (1996) highlighted individual differences in willpower, and he
stated that students must demonstrate a concern for the future that causes them to be willing to
delay gratification and make wise, long-term choices. Bembenutty and Karabenick (2004)
supported this linkage, adding that students with a future time perspective are more willing to delay
gratification and set more temporally distant academic goals and self-regulate their learning,
factors associated with academic success.
What arguably impacts student attention in today’s academic environments most negatively is
personal technology. Modern technologies provide many opportunities to boost productivity;
however, there is also much evidence that negative effects are associated with information and
communication technologies (ICTs); and it is imperative for both students and professionals to
make mindful, self-regulated choices about when and how to utilize these devices. In many cases,
the learning environment is not the most effective place for technology. Starting with student
classroom performance, Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) found that taking hand-written notes
shows many cognitive advantages over taking notes on a computer; specifically, longhand notetakers show stronger conceptual understanding and greater ability to integrate and apply material.
Beyond classroom note-taking, Junco and Cotton (2012) found students’ frequent use of ICTs was
negatively associated with grade-point average, and they argued that using social media and/or
sending text messages while studying lowers students’ capacity for deeper levels of concentration
and learning. This concern for the depth of concentration and focus is supported by Compernolle
(2014) who described three distinct cognitive processes: the reflex brain, the reflecting brain, and
the archiving brain. He contended that the preoccupation with ICTs is causing students and
professionals to utilize primarily their reflex brain which focuses only on what is happening at the
current moment. By doing so, these individuals greatly limit the depth of thought and the ability
to find solutions and sort out the information they have assimilated in a reasoned fashion. The
impacts of ICTs are not limited to thinking and learning, as Roberts and David (2016) reported
that some individuals’ relationship satisfaction with romantic partners is negatively impacted by
preoccupation with cell phones by one or both individuals.
Institutions of higher education must realize that undergraduate students are adults with legitimate
demands on their time such as work requirements and work-life balance pursuits. But as justifiable
as some of these demands may be, students must recognize the need for appropriate ordering of
priorities. Being able to weigh the benefits of an academic degree and being able to properly
allocate time, energy, and attention to this pursuit is a critical requirement of success. Thus, this
research explored the following research questions:
1. What are the environment and circumstances under which students study and learn?
2. What degree of mindful, self-regulated choices about study and learning strategies are
made by students?
51
Method
Participants
Students in five sections of junior-level business courses at a large, regional Midwestern university
were invited to participate in this research in exchange for one bonus point toward their final grade
in the course. A total of 94 participants completed the questionnaire, yielding a 70.9% response
rate. Participants were 58% male, and the mean age of all participants was 23.3 years. A majority
of participants worked a job for pay in addition to going to school (64.3%), and 74.5% were taking
at least 15 credit hours during the semester in which the questionnaire was administered.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire, administered through Qualtrics, presented a total of 205 questions and took
participants 20-30 minutes to complete. More specifically, the questionnaire included the
following: 15 scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & DeGroot,
1990); three time perspective scales (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1990); a measure of academic delay of
gratification (Bembenutty & Karabenick, 1996); numerous self-report items measuring students’
learning environment, habits, and practices including the impact of ICTs on the quality and amount
of time spent studying; and demographics.
We first wanted to examine the environment and circumstances under which students study and
complete academic work. We chose to take a “who, when, where” approach to developing our
understanding on this subject. The majority of participants reported studying and reviewing by
themselves (71.2%) followed closely by participants reporting studying by themselves and
reviewing with a group of peers (24.3%). Nearly 77.7% of participants are doing half to all of
their exam preparation within 48 hours of the exam. During study sessions, most participants
reported planning to take a scheduled break approximately every hour of studying, yet 53.6%
reported experiencing an unplanned interruption at least every 30 minutes during their studying.
More specifically, nearly 10% of participants reported experiencing an unplanned interruption
every 10 minutes during their studying. Most participants reported that their studying took place
in their room at their place of residence (63.4%); but other areas such as common areas in dorms,
apartments, houses, or university buildings (21.5%) were also listed as study locations. Only 8.0%
of participants reported their study location being completely quiet; 77.7% reported studying in a
mostly or somewhat quiet environment, while 14.4% reported their location to be fairly, quite, or
extremely noisy.
After gaining a broad understanding of the environment and circumstances under which students
study, we sought to identify student habits as they relate to academic work completion regarding
ICTs. The majority of participants reported that they agreed or strongly agreed (73.2%) that it is
important to focus without any distractions when studying. Moreover, when asked the impact that
the use of technology has on academic performance, 45.6% of participants reported that it had a
moderate to substantial effect. Similar patterns were found for the use of technology’s impact on
social interactions with others (43.2%), academic interactions with others (33.9%), the number and
52
type of new friends (41.1%), and relationships with a romantic partner (41.1%). Yet, these
realizations of the effects of technology do not seem to have an effect on student choices as they
construct their learning environment. For example, 86.6% of participants have their cell phone
beside them as they study with the ringer either on loud or set to vibrate, and 51.3% of participants
say they text on their phone 60%-100% of the time they are completing academic work.
Additionally, 35.8% of participants reported checking Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or other
social media 60%-100% of the time while studying.
We next turn our attention to the possibility of assisting students in the self-regulation of study
habits. Participants were asked if they were convinced that it would be beneficial to their academic
and professional performance, would they place their phone and other ICTs out of sight and
hearing for extended blocks of time, and 73.8% responded that they probably or definitely would
do be willing to do so. An initial regression analysis yielded two of the scales from the Motivated
Strategies for Learning scales were most closely associated with willingness to disconnect (R =
0.43, p<.001). Those variables were Elaboration (the practice of rehearsing and practicing recall
of material during the learning process) and Self-efficacy for Learning and Performance (belief in
oneself and in one’s ability to learn effectively and perform well).
Conclusions
A side effect of the recent advances in the quality and prevalence of ICTs is the increasing
distractions these devices cause in study and learning environments. From our data collection and
analysis, we have been able to gain a better understanding of the average college student’s study
surroundings and habits. An initial glance at the collected data indicates that most students seem
to be constructing a study environment in which they study quietly in a private space by
themselves. While this is beneficial to student learning, the main distractors that students are not
consciously avoiding, despite their belief in their distracting effects, are ICTs. Students claim to
be willing to turn off ICTs when the task at hand necessitates such an action, and they claim to
understand that they should do this; yet, in actuality, students are not taking these actions, and the
result is affecting academic performance. This study is but the start of finding a solution to this
dilemma.
References
Bembenutty, H., & Karabenick, S. A. (1996). Academic delay of gratification scale: A new
measurement for delay of gratification. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern
Psychological Association, March 1996. Philadelphia, PA.
Bembenutty, H., & Karabenick, S. A. (2004). Inherent association between academic delay of
gratification, future time perspective, and self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology
Review, 16(1), 35-57.
Compernolle, T. (2014). Brainchains: Discover your brain and unleash its full potential in a
hyperconnected multitasking world. Place of publication not identified: Compublications.
53
Junco, R., & Cotten, S. R. (2012). No A 4 U: The relationship between multitasking and academic
performance. Computers & Education, 59(2), 505-514.
Mischel, W. (1996). From good intentions to willpower. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.),
The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior (pp. 197-218).
New York: Guilford Press.
Mueller, P. A. & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages
of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159-1168.
Pintrich, P. R. & DeGroot, E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of
classroom academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 33-40.
Roberts, J. A. & David, M. E. (2016). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone:
Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners. Computers in
Human Behavior, 54, 134-141.
Zimbardo, P. G. & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individualdifferences metric. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 77(6), 1271-1288.
Zimmerman, B. J., Bonner, S., & Kovach, R. (1996). Developing self-regulated learners: Beyond
achievement to self-efficacy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Zimmerman, B. J., & Kitsantas, B. (Eds.). (2005). The hidden dimension of personal competence:
Self-regulated learning and practice. Handbook of competence and motivation, 509-526.
54
Integrating Employee Empowerment into the Systems Development Life Cycle: A
Methodology
Kristen L. King, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
A plethora of research exists authenticating the positive influence that user participation and
involvement exhibits over the systems development process (Hartwick & Barki, 2001; Hunton
& Price, 1997; Newman & Robey, 1992; Wang, Chen, Jiang, & Klein, 2005). The role of
human-centered Information Systems (IS) development through human-computer interaction
(HCI) has been examined in more modern approaches to IS, especially with regard to systems
analysis and design (Checkland 2001; Hirschheim et al. 1994; Ji & Yun, 2006; Mumford, 2000;
Zhang, Carey, Te'eni, & Tremaine, 2005). However, user empowerment has not been heavily
examined in the IS literature, although it has been prominently studied in other disciplines such
as organizational behavior, psychology, and marketing. The empowerment of employees (in
this case, system users) can help organizations make sure their investments in the development
of IT systems is a cost-efficient and effective one.
Empowered users are confident, feel that their work is meaningful think their inputs have an
impact, and can do their work freely without fear of being micromanaged (Quinn & Spreitzer,
1997). The purpose of this paper was to examine how user input, choice, and feedback,
stemming from empowerment, can increase effectiveness and help streamline the systems
development life cycle. Furthermore, a framework for the integration of empowerment of users
into the systems process is presented.
Literature Overview
The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
The systems development life cycle is comprised of four distinct steps as illustrated in Figure 1:
Project Selection and Planning, Analysis, Design, and Implementation (Dennis, Wixom, &
Roter, 2008).
Figure 1. The Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle with End Users as a Central Component
55
The project selection and planning phase is exactly as it sounds; organizations decide exactly
what sort of systems project will be undertaken. Aspects such as in-house development versus
outsourcing are considered, organizations weigh the pros and cons of each, and a planning
decision is made. The analysis phase involves the determination of system requirements (i.e.,
software, hardware, and user); analyses of processes, data, and logic; and selection of
alternatives (Zhang et al., 2005). In the design phase, system analysts and programmers
physically develop the components of the system. These include the data repository, software
for access to databases/program design, other software development, and user interface design.
Finally, in the implementation phase, the code for the designed system components is written,
tested, and then installed. Also included in this implementation phase is support for the system,
which includes appropriate updates, upgrades, and user support—vital mechanisms for system
success. As suggested by Figure 1 and the prior IS literature, placing users at the center of the
SDLC can help ensure the success and effectiveness of the process.
User Participation in the Systems Analysis and Design (SA&D) Process and Human
Computer Interaction (HCI)
User participation is a resounding theme in the IS literature and has been regarded as a critical
success component of the systems development process. One particular study examined modes
of user participation and task meaningfulness as they relate to decision control, task
commitment, and system satisfaction (Hunton & Price, 1997). It was found that users who were
able to use both their voice and individual preferences for choice as a mode of input and feedback
reported significantly higher mean responses and were more likely to be satisfied and committed
to use of the system. Other research has focused on the communication aspect of user
participation which includes the “activities involving formal or informal exchanges of facts,
needs, opinions, visions, and concerns regarding the project” (Hartwick & Barki, 2001). Other
streams of user participation research have focused on managing the relationship and mitigating
conflict between users and analysts. Some research suggests that better communication between
the parties would lead to lower instances of conflict, which is important because conflict
negatively affects project performance (Wang et al., 2005).
Human Computer Interaction, usually described as a facet of user involvement, is another
heavily researched area in the systems literature. HCI has been defined as “the way humans
interact with information, technologies, and tasks within various contexts” and should also be
considered as pertinent issues within systems analysis and design (Zhang et al., 2002).
Furthermore, research in HCI has attempted to integrate human-centered concerns into the
systems development life cycle by focusing on user involvement within individual and
organizational activities (Zhang et al., 2005). This research attempts to take this methodology
one step further by introducing empowerment as a fundamental key for successful systems
processes.
Empowerment
As defined by the management literature, empowerment gives individuals freedom to determine
work roles; accomplish goals; and produce meaningful, influential feedback (Yukl & Becker,
2006). Empowerment can also be described as the delegation of roles, responsibilities, and
authority from management to employees (Sharma & Kaur, 2008). According to Quinn and
56
Spreitzer (1997), it can also be described as individuals’ mindsets about the importance of their
roles at work. Other research suggests that empowerment is multi-dimensional, including
constructs of self-determination, impact, meaning, and competence (Drake, Wong, & Salter,
2007; Spreitzer 1995; Spreitzer et al., 1997; Thomas & Velthouse, 1990). Self-determination
implies that individuals are not “micro-managed,” but rather, have the flexibility and autonomy
to ascertain how and when to do their work. Impact describes the level to which individuals feel
their voice is heard. It is different from self-determination in that people sense they have some
sort of control over organizational outcomes rather than just their work (Spreitzer et al. 1997).
Meaning implies that individuals truly care about their work and their tasks are important to
them and stem from a purpose. Brief and Nord (1990) suggested that meaning must involve a
fit between the needs of employee work role and their own personal beliefs, values, and norms.
Also described as self-efficacy, competency describes individuals who are confident about their
ability to perform their work roles. This dimension reflects an individual’s “mastery of
behavior” (Spreitzer, 1995). Empowerment and the culmination of these four dimensions can
also be used to describe individuals’ personal quests for strengthening levels of self-efficacy
(Gómez & Rose, 2001).
There is a plethora of research surrounding employee empowerment in the management
literature. One particular study found that empowered employees increased unit production and
reported higher levels of control and impact, but only for individuals who felt their managers
were supportive (Logan & Ganster, 2007). Another study found positive correlations among top
management and its leadership, employees’ empowerment, job satisfaction, and overall reported
customer satisfaction (Ugboro & Obeng, 2000). Prior empirical research also suggests that
employees’ needs for individual achievement and power directly affect organizational
commitment, job satisfaction, and levels of perceived empowerment (Hon & Rensvold, 2006).
Empowering employees can be encouraged through strategic teams, top-down sharing of
knowledge, and structure; however, empowered employees should be duly rewarded for their
additional accountability (Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997). Yukl and Becker offered further
suggestions as how to condition an effective empowerment environment; conversely, they
highlight reasons for empowerment program failures, such as fear of change, time-consuming
implementation, and resistant employees.
Finally, for employee empowerment to be successfully implemented, an organization must
adhere to the specific culture and employee needs to create a sense of ownership; otherwise, it
is doomed to fail (Honold, 1997). One particular study found that collective organizational
cultures, described as doing- or team-oriented, had significantly higher perceptions of
empowerment (Sigler & Pearson, 2000). The empowerment constructs, as conceptualized by
Spreitzer (1995), and their relationships to global empowerment and relevant organizational
outcomes are depicted in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Spreitzer’s Dimension of
Empowerment
57
Although much of the research on empowerment has focused on the manager/employee
relationship, the constructs and relationships can likely be transferred into the user participation
process in systems development. The empowerment of users (who are types of employees) in
the systems development life cycle is yet another innovative way to consider how user
participation affects the end result—the effectiveness and usability of a system. Furthermore,
empowerment of users may also facilitate increased task meaningfulness and active participation,
which the literature suggests, increases system satisfaction and task commitment.
Prior research has made the call for IS researchers to use reference disciplines thoughtfully and
appropriately when applied to IS constructs, and the inclusion of this referent theory may very
well provide new insights as to how users affect the systems development process (Benbasat &
Zmud, 2003).
Proposed Framework: The Empowered Systems Development Life Cycle
One way to encourage and improve perceived effectiveness of user participation in the systems
development life cycle is to empower users with regard to input and involvement in the process.
Building upon Spreitzer’s (1995) four dimensions of empowerment and how these constructs
have traditionally impacted organizational outcomes, one can depict the proposed relationship
between empowerment constructs and the perceived effectiveness of relevant organization
outcomes; in this case, the development of a useful, effective, system which users feel confident
about using. If employees feel they have some control and/or input with regard to how the system
is developed and how it will assist them with their day-to-day jobs, feel that personally
participating in the systems development process has meaning or purpose, feel their level of
competence surrounding the systems and its development is high, and feel their input and
feedback is impactful; then they will emulate high levels of empowerment. Furthermore, high
levels of user empowerment should lead to increased perceptions of the system’s effectiveness
and usefulness. Ultimately, as suggested by previous research, empowerment can also positively
affect organizational performance effectiveness vis-à-vis committed, productive users. These
relationships translate into a conceptualized framework for empowerment integration, The
ESDLC (Empowered Systems Development Life Cycle), as described in Table 1.
To further examine the potential integration between employee empowerment and the systems
development life cycle, it would be helpful to measure the framework against a testable model,
such as that in Figure 2. Ideally, this would be tested in future research. Building upon the ESDLC
framework, Figure 3 hypothesizes potential relationships between the constructs within the scope
of this particular problem.
58
Table 1: Framework for Empowerment Integration -- The ESDLC (Empowered Systems
Development Life Cycle)
Systems Development
Life Cycle Phases
Project Selection &
Planning
Selection
Planning
Analysis
Req. Determination
Process Analysis
Data Analysis
Logic Analysis
Alternative Selection
Design
Database Design
User Interface Design
Program Design
Implementation
Coding
Testing
Installation/Training
Support
Empowerment Dimensions, Principles, & Illustrations
Impact, Meaning—empower users by including them in the process
& soliciting input
Select the systems and means for development that best represent a
purposeful system as deemed by users by listening to their needs and
involving them in the process
Investigate pros and cons of systems development choices; e.g., would a
system developed in-house better reflect user needs and make their work
more meaningful?
Impact—empower users by
Solicit user input and feedback to ensure their needs are also met; not just
those regarding the organization, processing, and storage
Integrate User and Context Analyses as first suggested by Zhang et al.
(2005) as means to supplement the more technical analyses with a more
thorough integration of all needs; gathered through user input and
feedback
Based upon the requirements identified and above analyses, select the
alternative that best meets both organizational and user needs
Impact, Competency—empower users by listening to their inputs and
feedback and implementing those suggestions
Integrate the feedback and vocalized needs of users into the functionality
and appearance of programs and how data are accessed (when/where
appropriate); this will help users feel confident about their ability to use
the system
Self-determination, Impact, Meaning, Competency—empower users
by producing a system that meets their needs, is based on their inputs,
and allows them to produce meaningful, confident work
Consider how users will actually use the system when writing code for
systems software; will users be able to navigate the system in a way they
understand?
Involve users in this process—users often have productive feedback about
how systems should work since they use them on a day-to-day basis
Consider users and their possible fear of change when installing the
system and adjust training appropriately; perhaps alternate modes, such as
phased installation, coupled with training, might reassure users
Provide timely and useful support for the system that integrates feedback
and implements suggestions for improvement or change where
appropriate so that users feel confident in their ability to use the system
59
Figure 3: Conceptual Model to Test the ESDLC Framework
Future Research
Future research should be directed toward the empirical validation of this framework. Valid
measures exist for examining the dimensions of empowerment; however, these should be
validated specifically with regard to IS and systems development research (see Spreitzer, 1995).
Researchers might consider conducting a case study to examine how the empowerment
constructs, and more specifically the framework, are adopted in an actual organizational setting,
specifically in systems development situations. Further, a model such as that depicted in Figure
3 might provide a good place to examine the actual effectiveness of the framework. Finally,
future research might attempt to identify the social barriers to systems development and
implementation, especially with regard to user participation and empowerment. For example,
is the dichotomous relationship between users and analysts such that the control shift that is
needed for users to feel empowered may not actually be possible?
Conclusions
The purpose of this research was to integrate an innovative concept into the systems
development life cycle—user empowerment—as a means for improving communication, user
participation, and overall system effectiveness and usability. Additionally, a proposed
framework was developed with a focus on empowerment of users throughout the systems
development process.
This research is relevant to both academicians interested in research and practitioners alike. It
describes a theoretically based, yet fundamental way, for organizations to not only help involve
employees and systems users into the IT process, but also to ensure that the end product (the
system) is one that people will use. In turn, this will help organizations reduce or eliminate
costly system changes that arise from user dissatisfaction.
60
References
Benbasat, I., & Zmud, R. W. (2003). The identity crisis within the IS discipline: Defining and
communicating the discipline's core properties. MIS Quarterly, 27(2), 183-194.
Brief, A., & Nord, W. R. (1990). Meaning of occupational work. Lexington, MA: Lexington
Books.
Checkland, P. (2001). Soft systems methodology. In Encyclopedia of Operations Research &
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Drake, A. R., Wong, J., & Salter, S. B. (2007). Empowerment, motivation, and performance:
Examining the impact of feedback and incentives on nonmanagement employees.
Behavioral Research in Accounting, 19, 71-89.
Gómez, C., & Rosen, B. (2001). The leader-member exchange as a link between managerial
trust and employee empowerment. Group & Organization Management, 26(1), 53-69.
Hartwick, J., & Barki, H. (2001). Communication as a dimension of user participation. IEEE
Transactions on Professional Communication, 44(1), 21.
Hirschheim, R., & Klein, H. (1994). Realizing emancipatory principles in information systems
development: The case for ethics. MIS Quarterly, 18(1), 83-109.
Hon, A. H. Y., & Rensvold, R. B. (2006). An interactional perspective on perceived
empowerment: The role of personal needs and task context. International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 17(5), 959-982.
Honold, L. (1997). A review of the literature on employee empowerment. Empowerment in
Organizations, 5(4), 202-212.
Hunton, J. E., & Price, K. H. (1997). Effects of the user participation process and task
meaningfulness on key information system outcomes. Management Science, 43(6), 797.
Ji, Y. G., & Yun, M. H. (2006). Enhancing the minority discipline in the IT industry: A survey
of usability and user-centered design practice. International Journal of Human-Computer
Interaction, 20(2), 117-134.
Logan, M. S., & Ganster, D. C. (2007). The effects of empowerment on attitudes and
performance: The role of social support and empowerment beliefs. Journal of
Management Studies, 44(8), 1523-1550.
Mumford, E. (2000). A socio-technical approach to systems design. Requirements Engineering,
5, 125-133.
61
Newman, M., & Robey, D. (1992). A social process model of user-analyst relationships. MIS
Quarterly.
Quinn, R. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1997). The road to empowerment: Seven questions every
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Sharma, M. K., & Kaur, G. (2008). Employee empowerment: A conceptual analysis. Journal of
Global Business Issues, 2(2), 7-12.
Sigler, T. H., & Pearson, C. M. (2000). Creating an empowering culture: Examining the
relationship between organizational culture and perceptions of empowerment. Journal of
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Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions,
measurement and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465.
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Journal of Quality Management, 5(2), 247.
Wang, E., Chen, H., Jiang, J., & Klein, G. (2005). Interaction quality between IS professionals
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Management Journal, 3(3), 210-231.
Zhang, P., Benbasat, I., Carey, J., Davis, F., Galletta, D., & Strong, D. (2002). Human-computer
interaction research in the MIS discipline. Communication of the ACM, 20(9).
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Communications of AIS, 2005(15), 512-543.
62
Leadership in Colleges of Business: Turnover,
Gender, and Experience
Theresa A. Domagalski, Western Carolina University, [email protected]
Introduction
With the disparity of women in positions of leadership and power in industry as compared to their
increasing numbers as college graduates and members of the workforce, it is instructive to examine
whether the gender patterns in the academy differ from industry. Moreover, as institutions of
higher education are characterized by inertial forces based on a governance structure that is unlike
business enterprises, leadership turnover may provide insights into attainment of institutional
initiatives. Here, we present descriptive data based on an archival analysis of colleges of business
that are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) with
specific emphasis on gender composition and turnover rates among college of business deans.
Literature Overview
Women are substantially under-represented in positions of leadership in the business sector despite
their presence in the general U.S. workforce and in their numbers as college business school
graduates. Among the Fortune 500 companies, 24 businesses or 4.8% are led by a female chief
executive officer (Catalyst, 2015). This is in comparison to the 57.2% female representation in
the U.S. labor force (BLS Reports, 2014), 48% of female business school graduates at the
baccalaureate level, and 46% of female MBA graduates (Byrne, 2014; National Center for
Education Statistics, 2015).
According to a recent report, U.S. financial firms trail those in Russia with respect to women in
top positions even though they are almost equally as likely as men to move into middle-level
management (Moore, 2014). They are less likely to be assigned to revenue generating positions
due to implicit biases and parental leave policies, although such experiences are a prerequisite to
broader leadership roles.
Similar trends are observed in higher education. Women comprised 15.4% of business school
deans in higher education in 2010 (McTiernan & Flynn, 2011). Among U.S. colleges and
universities, 25% are led by female presidents (Williams June, 2015). This is despite information
that shows women earned 53% of all doctoral degrees in 2012 and 43% of doctoral degrees in
business (Perry, 2013).
Reasons for the relatively low percentage of women in positions of leadership in business, higher
education, and business schools are well documented. They include structural impediments such
as exclusionary networks during which relationship building occurs. There are perceptual biases
and stereotypes that distort both the competence and potential of females (Flynn, 1996, as reported
in McTiernan & Flynn, 2011). The division of labor in the home and work-life demands among
the professoriate also disadvantage females (Kinman & Jones, 2008). The dearth of females in top
leadership roles are also self-imposed. Females delay applying for advancement opportunities
until they have proven their qualifications (McTiernan & Flynn, 2011), and they hold themselves
back for real or perceived deficits in their skills (Williams June, 2015).
63
McTiernan and Flynn (2011) examined the characteristics of business school deans. Doctoral
degrees in the field of management were the most common academic credential for both sexes
followed by marketing for females and economics for males. More of the female sample reported
having been promoted from within (56%) as compared to males (45%). Experience as an associate
dean was the most typical precursor to the dean’s position across the sample. This was followed
by time as an interim dean appointment for females and a department chair appointment for males
prior to receiving a dean’s position (McTiernan & Flynn, 2011).
There have been strides toward addressing gender disparity in college of business deans. The
AACSB International has endorsed an initiative among female business school deans to address
the issue through the formation of a group known as WAME, Women Administrators in
Management Education (www.aacsb.edu/wame). This group conducted a survey of women
business school deans in 1999 to better understand their experiences. It also provides professional
developmental and networking opportunities for its members.
Business school deans have access to powerful entities in business and government circles, which
may substantially impact institutional initiatives. As pressures mount on universities to respond
to external pressures such as reduced funding and mandates to reform (Robken, 2007), it is
increasingly necessary to effect meaningful change within the context of shorter life cycles in the
tenure of deans. If colleges of business appoint those with previous experience as deans, it could
be expected that they would have a lower learning curve in which to make advances toward
institutional priorities. If it is correct that women delay applying for certain positions until they
have the requisite experience, it might signal that women deans will be able to deliver results in a
timelier manner than less experienced counterparts.
Methodology
Business schools in the U.S. and internationally accredited by the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business were examined in this research investigation. Data were gathered
by utilizing an archival approach that included an examination of the websites for each university
at two points in time. Descriptive data were compiled including previous leadership experience,
educational credentials, number of and gender composition of the faculty, gender of the deans,
turnover rates, and reasons for turnover. Descriptive statistics are presented from the preliminary
findings.
Data were gathered from 643 national and international universities possessing the AACSB
designation in 2012. Of these, 487 schools were located in the United States and 156 in other
countries.
The gender composition of the deans in colleges of businesses included 111 females, or 17% of
the population of deans in AACSB-accredited institutions. Among the U.S. sample, female deans
were 20% of the sample as compared to 8% among AACSB-accredited international universities.
The turnover rate among business deans for the full data set from the 2012 to 2015 period was
35%. The findings revealed that the turnover rate varies significantly by sex. For female business
64
school deans in the full sample, the turnover rate was 45% compared to 33% among male business
school deans. Of these, 61% of female deans in non-U.S. universities left the college of business
dean position as compared to 25% of male deans, although the total population of female deans in
non-U.S. universities was 13.
Among the U.S. schools in the sample, 19% of female deans possessed previous experience either
as dean or interim dean, while 12% of male deans possessed previous experience in the same
positions. Also, in the international universities with AACSB accreditation, 6% of male deans
held previous positions as deans or interim deans as compared to 23% of females with similar
experience. Previous experience in a dean’s role was significantly higher among females in the
sample.
Conclusion
Female business school deans are under-represented as compared to the percentage of women who
possess business degrees at the collegiate level. It was expected that with the increase in the
number of Ph.D.’s in business by females, there would be an increase in the number of women
serving as deans of business schools. There is reason, nevertheless, to expect a reduction in the
current gender disparity. The increase in the percentage of females who achieve doctoral degrees
in the past decade suggests that as females enter the pipeline and transition from academic
appointments to administration, they will occupy top positions in business schools in greater
numbers. In order to succeed, it will be important for these leaders to receive the training necessary
to ensure success (Morris & Laipple, 2015).
References
BLS Reports. (2014). Women in the labor force: A databook. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/women-in-thelabor-force-a-databook-2014.pdf
Byrne, J. (2014). Fewer women in MBA applicant pool. Poets and Quants. Retrieved from
http://poetsandquants.com/2014/09/30/fewer-women-in-mba-applicant-pool/
Catalyst. Women CEOs of the S&P 500. New York: Catalyst, 2015.
Davies, J., & Thomas, H. (2009). What do business school deans do? Insights from a U.K. study.
Management Decision, 47(9), 1396-1419.
Kinman, G., & Jones, F. (2008). A life beyond work? Job demands, work-life balance and
wellbeing in U.K. academics. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment,
17(1/2), 41-60.
McTiernan, S., & Flynn, P. (2011). “Perfect storm” on the horizon for women business school
deans? Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(2), 323-339.
65
Morris, T., & Laipple, J. (2015). How prepared are academic administrators? Leadership and job
satisfaction within US research universities. Journal of Higher Education and Policy
Management, 37(2), 241-251.
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(2015).
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Robken, H. (2007). Leadership turnover among university presidents. Management Revue, 18(2),
138-152.
Williams June, A. (2015). Despite progress, only 1 in 4 college presidents are women. Chronicle
of Higher Education. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from http://chronicle.com/article/DespiteProgress-Only-1-in-4/228473
66
Organizational Learning: The Role of Green Supply Chain
Practices as Innovation Driver
Marouen Ben Jebara, Western Carolina University, [email protected]
Introduction
This study proposes that a firm’s green practices (green product development and green
purchasing) are embedded in the firm’s internal and external learning. Following Huber’s (1991)
framework on organizational learning, the study attempts to show that an organization is capable
of knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation, and memorization
both internally and externally through green practices implementation. The involvement in green
product development enables organizations to enhance their internal learning capabilities.
Additionally, when engaged in green sourcing and environmental friendly supplier base, the focal
firm will develop its external learning potential. The internal and external effort for a green supply
chain provides organizations with both exploitative and explorative projects. Internal and external
learning will lead to the firm’s operational ambidexterity conceptualized as the firm’s ability to
simultaneously invest into operational exploitation and exploitation activities. The engagement in
green initiatives (internal and external) will provide opportunities to organizations to achieve
greater performance, yet will result in higher complexity. The study will address the moderating
impact of product portfolio complexity and supply base complexity on the relationship between
the tandems internal/external learning and ambidexterity. Finally, the paper tests for the impact of
operational ambidexterity on innovation capability. The study draws a parallel conceptualization
inspired from organization’s strategic orientation (explorative and exploitative) to create
theoretical and managerial depth. The research instrument is developed; the current study is at the
data collection stage.
The research on sustainable and green operations has been the subject of several studies. However,
this current study looks at green practices from a different perspective by addressing its role as an
organizational learning driver. Moreover, complexity research has been gaining more interest in
recent years as firms are exposed to a variety of networks that can impact the organization’s
performance. Therefore, the paper offers a novel approach to supply chain complexity and attempts
to validate some of the existing conceptual work in the area of complexity.
The study aims to answer the following research objectives:
1) Determine how internal and external learning improve the firm’s operational ambidexterity
capability.
2) Assess the moderating impact of complexity (product portfolio and supply base) in the
relationship between organizational learning and operational ambidexterity.
3) Investigate how operational ambidexterity can impact the firm’s innovation capability.
Literature Overview
The following section will present the literature review. This section will highlight both the
relevance of the topic and the existing research gaps.
67
Organizational Learning
Organizational learning refers to the process of improving actions through better knowledge and
understanding (Fiol & Lyles, 1985). Specifically, Huber (1991) described four primary processes
of organizational learning: knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information
interpretation, and organizational memory. Knowledge acquisition refers to the process of
obtaining information. Information distribution is the process by which information from different
sources is shared. Interpretation as is defined as "the process through which information is given
meaning” (Weick, 1979), and also as "the process of translating events and developing shared
understandings and conceptual schemes" (Daft & Weick, 1984). And finally, organizational
memory is defined as the set of procedures by which information is stored for a possible use in the
future.
Organizations might learn from internal and external sources (Schroeder, Bates, & Junttila, 2002).
This study will apply Huber’s framework to conceptualize internal sources of learning and external
learning. Internal learning includes training of multifunctional employees and incorporating
employee suggestions into process and product development (Schroeder et al., 2002). Green
product development practices include the design of eco-friendly products with minimum
environmental impact. Organizations are required to develop their internal capability and acquire
a particular type of knowledge by doing experiments and testing the new products which will
enhance the knowledge acquisition. Moreover, the adoption of green product strategy will create
new routines based on common standards of product evaluation. This in fact will improve the
information interpretation capability. Organizations will put in place new channels of information
sharing among the different departments. Finally, green product development routines will
enhance the firm’s potential to memorize information. In fact, organizations should document the
results of the green product development work via work databases. Making the results and the
know-how from the green development process available and retrievable enhances the
organization memory.
External learning on the other hand is identified as interorganizational learning through problem
solving with customers and suppliers (Schroeder et al., 2002). An organization can learn with its
suppliers. Green purchasing practices can in fact be a source of external knowledge. An
organization engaged in green purchasing initiatives will collaborate with its suppliers. This
collaboration will be a source of knowledge acquisition. The involvement of suppliers in the
environmental management system will help organizations communicate better, share information
and share standards. Besides, an organization will document the green performance of its supplier
leading to more information storage. Taking green purchasing practices into strategic purchasing
framework, it can be argued that supplier selection practices reflect the level of supplier
knowledge, supplier development is part of information sharing and interpretation, and finally
supplier monitoring is making sure that the knowledge acquired is maintained.
Complexity
Complexity refers to the degree of differentiation in elements of a system and their interactions
within a system. More formally, Price (1972) defined complexity as ‘‘the degree of structural
differentiation” existing with the system (Price, 1972). Price’s conceptualization was then applied
in the management literature and defined along three dimensions: multiplicity, diversity, and
68
interrelatedness This classification has often been in the context of multiple organizational and
interorganizational systems such as supply chains (Bozarth et al., 2009), supply base (Choi &
Krause, 2006), customer portfolio, and organization’s product portfolio (Jacobs & Swink, 2011).
This study will focus on product portfolio complexity and supply base complexity reflecting the
internal and external complexity of the supply chain.
Operational Ambidexterity
Organizations are required to maintain a balance between exploration and exploitation, which is a
primary factor in system survival and prosperity (March, 1991). The ability to explore and exploit
is referred as organizational ambidexterity (O'Reilly & Tushman, 2004). Organizational
ambidexterity reflects the organization’s ability to be efficient in their management of today’s
business and to be adaptable for coping with tomorrow’s changing demands (Raisch &
Birkinshaw, 2008). The concept of ambidexterity was adapted into operations management
literature. Kristal and others’ (2010) study was among the pioneer paper that addressed
ambidextrous supply chain strategy. Ambidextrous supply chain strategy is defined as a
manufacturing ﬁrm’s strategic choice to simultaneously pursue both supply chain exploitation and
exploration. Exploitative and explorative supply chain practices a set of action aiming to
reﬁning/improving existing skills and resources and developing new supply chain competencies
through acquisition of new knowledge (Kristal, Huang, & Roth, 2010). Patel et al. (2012) expanded
Kristal and others’ (2010) work and conceptualized operational ambidexterity as firm level
capability. Operational capability is defined as the firm’s ability to pursue exploration and
exploitation practices with its operations (Patel, Terjesen, & Li, 2012). This study focuses on the
operational ambidexterity construct as a firm’s ability to simultaneously invest into exploitation
activities via the improvement of the existing processes and exploration practices manifested in
seeking new techniques and different ways to run the operations.
Innovation
For almost 100 years, scholars investigated innovation and defined it in multiple ways emphasizing
different facets. For example, innovation has been defined based on the outcomes (Tushman &
Nadler, 1986). Another approach consisted of defining innovation as a process for transforming
ideas into new outcomes (Baregheh, Rowley, & Sambrook, 2009). Scholars have studied
innovation from a content perspective and as a process. The content aspect deals with the nature
of innovation (product, process, organizational…) (Damanpor, 1996). The process part includes
the generation, development, adoption, implementation, and eventual termination of a new idea or
behavior. Most of studies had an emphasis on the content perspective: type of innovation, breadth
of innovation, depth of innovation, and time to market (Argyres & Silverman, 2004). The current
study focuses on product innovation as part of the content perspective and investigates the degree
of novelty of innovation (radical vs. incremental) as well as the eco-friendliness of the innovation
(green product innovation vs. no green product innovation). The current project focuses on the
content aspect (product and process) and the degree of novelty (incremental vs. radical).
Methodology
The study uses a combination of secondary and primary methodology. A large list of
manufacturing public firms is identified and relevant data related to the project will be retrieved
from appropriate sources. A list of 455 firms from the manufacturing field has been identified.
69
This list will represent the main targeted population for this study. Relevant information related to
these firms will be retrieved from secondary data sources. Financial data will be retrieved from
Compustat. Supply chain data will be retrieved from Mergent Horizon database as well as the
firm’s 10K reports.
Additionally, a survey instrument is developed by adapting existing scales and proposing new
measurement items. The survey instrument is mainly adapted from established surveys and will
have some additional items. A pilot study to validate the survey items will be conducted using qsort techniques. The unit of analysis is the firm’s level; and therefore, the study will be distributed
among operations and supply chain managers for manufacturing firms in the United States. The
hypothesis testing will be conducted using Structural Equation Modeling.
The current study is at the data collection stage. The current study aims at contributing to the
existing body of literature by first addressing some of the existing research gaps in supply chain
sustainability and complexity. Second, the study provides originality to organizational learning
embedded from green practices, which provides a higher level of theoretical and conceptual depth.
Finally, the research offers relevant and practical contributions. As organizations are focused on
the operational contribution of green supply chain, the study shows the potential of green practices
as an enabler to organizational learning and enhancer of innovation outputs.
References
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Baregheh, A., Rowley, J., & Sambrook, S. (2009). Towards a multidisciplinary definition of
innovation. Management Decision, 47(8), 1323-1339.
Bozarth, C. C., Warsing, D. P., Flynn, B. B., & Flynn, E. J. (2009). The impact of supply chain
complexity on manufacturing plant performance. Journal of Operations Management,
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Choi, T. Y., & Krause, D. R. (2006). The supply base and its complexity: Implications for
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70
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Jacobs, M. A., & Swink, M. (2011). Product portfolio architectural complexity and operational
performance: Incorporating the roles of learning and fixed assets. Journal of Operations
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Knight, K. E. (1967). A descriptive model of the intra-firm innovation process. Journal of
Business, 40(4), 478-196.
Kristal, M. M., Huang, X., & Roth, A. V. (2010). The effect of an ambidextrous supply chain
strategy on combinative competitive capabilities and business performance. Journal of
Operations Management, 28(5), 415-429. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2009.12.002
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Patel, P. C., Terjesen, S., & Li, D. (2012). Enhancing effects of manufacturing flexibility through
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Raisch, S., & Birkinshaw, J. (2008). Organizational ambidexterity: Antecedents, outcomes, and
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Schroeder, R. G., Bates, K. A., & Junttila, M. A. (2002). A resource-based view of manufacturing
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Schumpeter, J. (1934). The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
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71
Real World Meets Academia: The Case for Rigor and Relevance in
Supply Chain Management
James Kirby Easterling, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Lana W. Carnes, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
AACSB International’s 2013 revised standards for accreditation included four new faculty
qualifications in Standard 15: scholarly academics and scholarly practitioners are faculty who are
engaged primarily with academic activities and practice academics and instructional practitioners
are faculty who are engaged primarily with practice-based activities. Through these new
standards, AACSB is encouraging institutions to strengthen their instructional programs by
integrating into the faculty professionals whose education prepared them for real-world careers but
who want to move into teaching after a business career.
Will universities benefit from the integration of academia and practice through employing
executive professors? This case study will address the following questions: (1) What are strengths
that executives bring to the classroom? (2) How can executives contribute to extra-curricular
activities? (3) What administrative roles can executives play to champion and build academic
programs?
Literature Overview
Much of the recent literature regarding executives teaching in higher education has been written in
response to the revised AACSB International Standard 15 classifying faculty into four categories:
scholarly practitioners, scholarly academics, instructional practitioners, and practice academics
(Bisoux, 2015; Trapnell & Showalter, 2015). The shifting of faculty roles was designed to offer
universities more flexibility as they serve diverse populations of students in a complex market
(Glick, 2015). Additionally, the integration of academicians and practitioners may strengthen a
faculty and benefit students (Trapnell & Showalter, 2015).
Proponents of the integration of professionally-oriented faculty point out the following substantial
benefits to the university: teach practice-based courses; offer knowledge not found in textbooks;
help develop curriculum based on current industry standards; use corporate networks to support
outreach including guest speakers, course evaluators, class projects, acquiring internships,
scholarships, and corporate visits/tours; support student activities including mentoring, coaching
for internships and jobs, developing professional skills, and champion the program to help build
enrollment and market the program to potential students and corporate supporters (Bisoux, 2015).
Executives may also be engaged in service through department or college advisory boards and may
participate in valuable volunteer service such as provide curriculum insight, speak to classes, help
students get jobs, promote the program, help students develop professionally, participate in
research studies, and provide funding for research, scholarships, and other projects (Watson,
Castresana, Clark, & Munguia, 2015).
Concerns regarding executives teaching in business schools might include: teaching through the
lens of their specific organization rather than concepts and theories more widely applicable,
72
providing academic relevancy without diluting academic rigor, and adjusting to the very different
cultures of the corporate world and the academic world (Clinebell & Clinebell, 2008).
This study seeks to add to the literature as a case study involving a 22-year high-level executive
teaching in an AACSB accredited comprehensive university’s supply chain management program.
Methodology
The methodology for this research is a qualitative case study describing one former executive’s
integration into the business faculty over a four-semester time frame. The former executive joined
the department’s faculty after a 22-year career that included six years in Asia on two international
assignments. The department includes 650 major students as well as an additional 400 students
from other majors who are taking business courses offered by the department and 23 faculty and
staff.
Descriptive statistics will be used to describe and discuss the analysis of the case study.
The findings of this case study support AACSB International’s integration of professionallyoriented faculty into the business faculty. The analysis of the four-semesters of work to the
university provided by the business executive indicates the following benefits to his joining the
business faculty: revised, up-to-date curriculum providing relevance to each course in the supplychain curriculum; significantly increased networking between business professionals and students
resulting in internships, scholarships, and skill development through real-world projects;
enrollment growth in classes and number of majors in the program; and excellent learning
opportunities for students through relevant and rigorous classroom instruction. Transitioning from
a business career to an academic career had challenges for the former executive. Most of the
challenges involved learning administrative processes specific to the university, understanding
specific software used in classroom instruction, dealing with fewer resources and administrative
support, and designing multiple courses for classroom delivery.
Conclusion
Based on this case study, AACSB International’s revised Standard 15 will strengthen business
programs through adding real-world relevance both inside and outside of the classroom. Since
this is a case study describing only one example, other cases need to be written and examined
before a definitive conclusion can be reached. Areas for future research could be a survey of
business executives who are in faculty positions within business schools, a study conducted with
higher education administrators to assess the degree to which the faculty have been integrated with
professionally-oriented faculty and the results, and interviews or focus groups with
students/graduates to assess their perceptions regarding academic and professionally-oriented
faculty instruction.
73
References
Bisoux, T. (2015, September/October). Professionally speaking. BizEd: AACSB International,
50-51.
Clinebell, S. K., & Clinebell, J. M. (2008). The tension in business education between academic
rigor and real-world relevance: The role of executive professors. Academy of Management
Learning & Education, 7(1), 99-107.
Glick, W. H. (2015, September/October). Gazing forward, looking back. BizEd: AACSB
International, 52-56.
Trapnell, J. E., & Showalter, D. S. (2015, September/October). A practical balance. BizEd:
AACSB International, 47-50.
Watson, H. J., Castresana, A., Clark, J., & Munguia, L. (2015, November/December). Building
boards. BizEd: AACSB International, 19-25.
74
Supply Chain Management Education: A Market Perspective
Sam K. Formby, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
B. Dawn Medlin, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Sandra A. Vannoy, Appalachian State University, [email protected]
Introduction
Supply Chain Management is one of the fastest growing disciplines in business. However, both
professional trade publications and academic literature forecast significant shortfalls in talent
availability in this field in the coming years. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB) has recognized this shortfall and is answering the need by co-sponsoring
curriculum development seminars in order to help institutions address the need for more
professionals. Over the last five years, this study has examined the market need for supply chain
management educational programs. First, we examined supply chain courses as well as supply
chain topic areas that are being offered in the “Top 10” university programs as identified by U.S.
News and World Report. Second, from those identified topic areas, job postings on Monster.com
were examined and quantified in each topic area from five southeastern U.S. states. Last, the topic
areas and a variety of courses made available through regional programs in the same southeastern
states were examined. This study was motivated by advisory board and recruiter feedback, industry
reports, and white paper conclusions drawn by academic institutions facing the significant gaps in
employment needs and the ability and capacity of educational institutions to deliver skilled
professionals to meet those needs.
Literature Overview
A literature review examined a broad spectrum of sources. News releases proved to be the most
timely and emphatic in identifying the issues. Professional trade publications were almost as timely
and generally provided greater characterization and quantification of the issues. Finally, academic
literature generally lagged in reporting on these issues, but there were a few notable exceptions.
Lisa Harrington of Harrington group LLC and Associate Director for Supply Chain Management
Center at Robert H. Smith School of Business University of Maryland, stated the following in her
white paper analysis on the automotive industry, “Similar to the acute shortage of truck drivers
blighting the US and Europe in particular, the gap between demand and availability of supply chain
professionals is only going to get worse” (Harrington, 2015). Harrington concluded that supply
chain talent is in short supply worldwide. Chris Norek, a senior instructor of supply chain
management at Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business, is quoted saying that
the shortfall in top supply chain leaders and managers reflects the demand for new talent, the
retirement of Baby Boomer logistics experts and even a shortage of supply chain faculty at colleges
and universities (Todd, 2015). In the 2016 Annual Third Party Logistics Study, Langley concluded
that “the logistics industry is facing an unprecedented labor shortage” (Langley, 2016), while Lora
Cecere, CEO Supply Chain Insights, LLC, stated in 2014, “companies are competing for supply
chain talent;” and “in the next decade, talent will be the missing link in the supply chain” (Cecere,
2014). Many more news articles, trade publications, and academic papers were reviewed; and all
spoke of similar conclusions. Several further noted that a key component of the solution is rooted
in the ability of academic institutions to produce new professionals with new skill sets to support
the global interconnectivity of supply chains.
75
In response to the talent shortage, the AACSB addressed the issue by co-hosting a curriculum
development seminar in 2014 and will do so again in 2016 at the Walton College at the University
of Arkansas. Their 2014 and 2016 seminars address what they call the shortage of managers with
sufficient knowledge required to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and global
economy (AACSB CDS: Supply Chain Management Curriculum, 2016).
This study examined some of the issues around developing skilled supply chain management
professionals.
Methodology
Data were collected to address the following research questions. What supply chain topics, and
how many courses are being offered at the “Top 10” supply chain management schools as
identified by US News and World Report? Each school’s website and current catalog descriptions
were studied to answer this question. From the topics identified, Monster.com was used to
approximate the job needs in five southeastern states that included North Carolina, Georgia,
Tennessee, Virginia, and South Carolina. The search criteria on Monster.com was modified by the
researchers to better reflect the more common terminology used in the job postings. Additionally,
the search criteria was limited to jobs posted within a certain time period, requirement of a
bachelor’s degree or above, and the term “supply chain management.”
The initial data were collected from Monster.com and the US News rankings in 2011. In 20152016, these data were updated in an ongoing benchmarking activity.
Table 1. US News “Top 10” Supply Chain Schools 2011 and 2015.
US News “Top 10” Supply Chain Schools
US News “Top 10” Supply Chain Schools 2011
2015
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Arizona State University
Ohio State University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Pennsylvania State University
University of Maryland
Arizona State University
Ohio State University
University of Tennessee
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Tennessee
University of Michigan
Purdue University
Purdue University
Penn State
University of Maryland
Monster.com was chosen over other search engines in 2011 because, at the time, the volume of
related data and adaptability of the search engine tools to the types of searches being performed
were better than other options considered. The 2015-2016 update was performed using
Monster.com to facilitate a more accurate longitudinal comparison. The US News “Top 10” supply
chain schools in 2011 and 2015 are shown in Table 1. Though other rankings are available, the US
News rankings were chosen due to their high reliance on peer assessment surveys, and a research
objective was to determine what content makes a good program based on expert peer assessment.
76
The next question posed was: What supply chain management-related degree programs are being
offered by regional institutions as identified by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) in their
annual publication Supply in Demand?
Figures 1 and 2 are summaries of the results from the review of “Top 10” programs as identified
in the US News and World Report. Figure 1 shows that on average, top programs offer about 6.5
topical courses in supply chain management. Those courses are identified in Figure 2.
Number of Different SCM Related Topics
Offered by "Top 10" Schools
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Figure 1. Number of Different SCM Related Topics Offered by "Top 10" Schools
77
Number of "Top 10" Schools Offering Each
SCM Related Topic
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Figure 2. Number of "Top 10" Schools Offering Each SCM Related Topic
There is overlap in the categories shown, but the categories reference the primary descriptor in the
course titles as they appeared in the institutional catalog. It is also apparent that the topics most
widely taught reflect the most pressing needs in supply chain management today. Collectively,
logistics and transportation are clearly number one and often reported in the articles cited as the
biggest area of talent shortage. Strategy design analytics and optimization are also a very strong
grouping and reflects the intense competitive pressures many global supply chains are under to
become more efficient and responsive.
The characterization of Monster.com jobs by interest is shown in Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 shows
jobs posted in October and November of 2011. There is some overlap in categories here as well.
For example, some firms used terms like procurement in job postings and others used purchasing
almost interchangeably. The “supply chain” grouping are those jobs that were not linked to any
one specific category.
An update of the job postings chart was made in February 2016. The Monster.com search engine
has changed since the initial study so the same relative time period could not be matched precisely,
but the search procedure was replicated in all ways to produce as close a comparison as possible.
These data are shown in Figure 4. In spite of some search differences, it is clear that the number
of job opportunities has increased significantly in the last five years.
78
150
South Carolina
Tennessee
100
North Carolina
Virginia
Georgia
50
0
Figure 3. Regional SCM Jobs Posted 9-10/2011
South Carolina
Tennessee
North Carolina
Virginia
Georgia
500
400
300
200
100
0
Figure 4. Total Regional SCM Jobs Currently Posted February 2016
In 2011, there were three significant clusters of jobs around Atlanta, Washington D.C., and
Charlotte, N.C., thus contributing to very high levels of opportunities in Georgia, Virginia, and
North Carolina. In 2016, it appears that the Virginia (and Washington D.C.) market has not grown
79
as fast, while other markets exhibit strong growth. Interestingly, there are noticeable reductions in
Materials Manager and Buyer categories. Based on some preliminary comparisons, it appears that
there may be a real reduction in Materials Manager positions for several reasons. A number of
these positions are being filled by persons without bachelor degrees, and some news reports also
suggest that there has been some emphasis on consolidation in the market to achieve efficiencies.
The lower figures for Buyers in 2016 may be due to just a change in terminology used on job
postings since the numbers in proportion to other totals appear higher for Procurement and
Purchasing.
The question related to supply chain management degree programs being offered by regional
institutions is illustrated in Figure 5. The figure illustrates the number and types of programs being
offered in the five states of interest as identified by the Institute of Supply Management’s Supply
in Demand annual publications.
16
14
12
Virginia
10
8
North Carolina
6
4
2
0
South Carolina
Tennessee
South Carolina
Virginia
Georgia
Tennessee
Figure 5. Regional SCM Related Programs Based on ISM Supply in Demand 2011
Conclusion
Several interesting conclusions were drawn. The research data and results compiled for these
questions may be useful for institutions in the southeast region who wish to benchmark, plan
curriculum enhancements, or start new programs in supply chain management to help address
employment and economic needs within their area.
These results have been used as input in helping make similar decisions in the Walker College of
Business at Appalachian State University in particular. Appalachian State started a Supply Chain
Management minor program in 2008. The program grew to almost 200 students in 2015, and
remains at that level due to capacity constraints in 2016. A new Supply Chain track was added to
the MBA program in 2011 and is currently one of the largest enrollment tracks in the MBA
program. In 2015, the Walker College submitted a request to the University of North Carolina
80
(UNC) Board of Governors to add a BSBA major in Supply Chain Management. In the application
process it was shown that all of the supply chain jobs posted in North Carolina during one month
could not be filled by the total number of graduates from North Carolina supply chain related
programs in one year. A decision is expected by the UNC Board of Governors by the end of April.
Considering the demand for supply chain management professionals both locally and globally, and
the emphasis given this topic by the AACSB, institutions should evaluate their current ability to
help meet these needs in the future.
References
AACSB CDS: Supply chain management curriculum. (2016). Fayetteville. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 3, 2016, from http://www.aacsb.edu/events/seminar/2016/cds-develop-deliversupply-chain-management-curriculum-march-fayetteville/
Cecere, L. (2014). Supply chain talent: A broken link in the supply chain. Retrieved from
http://supplychaininsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Supply_Chain_TalentA_Broken_Link_in_the_Supply_Chain-18_AUG_2014.pdf
Cottrill, K. (2010). Are you prepared for the supply chain talent crisis? Retrieved from
http://ctl.mit.edu/sites/default/files/library/public/Talent_FNL_a.pdf
Harrington, L. (2015). Solving the talent crisis: Five alternatives every supply chain executive
must.
Retrieved
from
http://www.dhl.com/content/dam/downloads/g0/logistics/white_papers/dhl_dgf_automoti
ve_whitepaper_solving_the_talent_crisis_2015.pdf
Institute for Supply Management (ISM). (n.d.). Supply in demand. Retrieved from
https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/files/careercenter/supplyindemand.pdf
Langley, C. J. (2016). 20th annual third party logistics study. Retrieved from
http://www.3plstudy.com/
Todd, A. (2015). Fresh demand for expert supply chain CEOs as Baby Boomers retire. Retrieved
from http://www.supplychaindigital.com/supplychainmanagement/3868/Fresh-demandfor-expert-Supply-Chain-CEOs-as-baby-boomers-retire
81
Tartan Marketing As Experiential Learning
Kelly Green Atkins, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Anna Duggins Roberts, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Introduction
While many college courses are lecture classes, experiential learning through client-centered
projects is a more meaningful method of gaining knowledge through practice. The tartan marketing
project was a semester-long team-based project where upper-level marketing students developed
a university tartan marketing campaign. The experiential project was beneficial to the students, as
well as to faculty members, clients, the department, and the university, because of the intellectual
challenges and involvement with the business community.
Literature Overview
A common objective of upper-level college courses is to apply the course concepts through
experiential learning such as case studies, role-playing, or live client-centered projects.
Experiential learning is a process of gaining knowledge through practice rather than relying on
conceptual topic discussions (Gaidis & Andrews, 1990). Experiential learning via client-centered
projects achieves student involvement in the learning process and motivates students to produce a
more satisfactory project for live clients (Dommeyer, 1986). Team-based experiential projects
require higher order thinking, emulate the workplace, and assist in developing leadership, problem
solving, time management, and teamwork skills (Morgan & McCabe, 2012). In addition, realworld projects provide students with a portfolio that demonstrates initiative, analytical ability, and
communication skills (Gaidis & Andrews, 1990).
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to engage teams of upper level marketing students in the
development of feasible and implementable marketing recommendations for actual clients. The
goal of the project was to motivate students to produce high-level marketing recommendations
that could be utilized by the client.
Methodology
As a re-branding effort and to celebrate the start of a regional university's second century, digital
media and marketing/merchandising faculty worked closely with the university’s first lady to
develop a tartan pattern. Incorporating the traditional school colors, tartan committee members,
along with representatives from a tartan apparel company, developed tartan designs for the
university. The official university tartan was selected by students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the
community through an online vote.
After selection of the tartan pattern, a semester-long group project to promote the university tartan
was devised to provide a hands-on, experiential project for students in an upper-level marketing
course. The pre-requisite course, Principles of Marketing, and the content of the Marketing
82
Communications course provided the foundational marketing concepts to apply to the experiential
project. A total of six groups, with five to six students per group, participated in the project. The
tartan campaign project included group teamwork on two written papers and a final presentation.
Measuring and monitoring individual, as well as group performance, in teams is vitally important
(Reisenwitz & Eastman, 2006); therefore, multiple measures were created or adapted by the
authors (e.g., team contracts, meeting reports, and peer evaluations). These reporting forms were
used for performance evaluation and accountability while encouraging individual effort in addition
to teamwork (Aggarwal & O'Brien, 2008).
Results
A total of 31 students in the course included 18 males and 13 females with 16 seniors, 13 juniors,
1 sophomore, and 1 visiting international student. The campaign project included developing a
brand strategy with logo for packaging and labels, examining trends in consumer decision-making,
segmenting and targeting consumers, setting marketing communication objectives, creating a
campaign budget, setting advertising goals, and creating and designing advertising appeals and
executional frameworks for the assigned marketing channel.
Upon completion of the campaign project, teams orally presented marketing ideas to the tartan
committee for evaluation and feedback. During these presentations, students presented examples
of tartan product labels, flyers, signs, and banners. One group recommended a campaign called
“Paint the Campus Plaid” and another suggested giving roses tied with university tartan ribbon to
all females at graduation. In addition, recommendations were made for marketing the tartan
products at Alumni Association Meetings, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) basketball
games, and an open house at the University President’s home.
The Tartan Committee adopted one group’s recommendation for a mascot-shaped product hangtag
and another group's slogan "Wear the Legacy" for the tartan marketing campaign. In addition, the
tartan apparel company expanded the existing product lines to include student recommended tartan
products such as sweatshirts and insulated tumblers. These outcomes accomplished the purpose of
the study by engaging teams of upper-level marketing students in the development of feasible and
implementable marketing recommendations for actual clients.
At the end of the course, students reported that working in teams generated more ideas and
provided more enjoyment than working alone, expressing pride in their work as it related to the
finished marketing project. Teams indicated that scheduling conflicts were the most difficult part
of working in groups. Recommendations to overcome scheduling conflicts included using more
class time for group work, using an online word processor such as Google Docs, or using video
chats such as Skype for virtual meetings.
Client-centered experiential marketing projects provide benefits to all involved (Haas & Wotruba,
1990). Students frequently report that team projects have more educational value than individual
projects (Dommeyer, 1986). In addition, experiential projects offer an intellectual challenge,
generate greater interest in the course, and build self-confidence in students (Haas & Wotruba,
1990). Benefits of team projects to the faculty member include a reduced grading load (Dommeyer,
1986), an opportunity to identify talents and interests of individual students, and an occasion to
83
build relationships within the business community. Clients obtain benefits such as the unique
perspectives of students and “affordable” marketing campaigns. Finally, the department and the
university benefit from faculty involvement in the local community and from publicity about the
projects (Haas & Wotruba, 1990).
Conclusion
Students benefitted from experiential learning through this client-centered project and recognized
the importance of teamwork through practice. Additionally, the client-centered tartan marketing
project produced quality marketing ideas that were applied for branding the university. Careful
planning and implementation of hands-on experiential projects as described here enrich course
effectiveness. A recommendation for future studies is to conduct pre- and post-tests on students to
measure the impact of experiential learning on student performance. However, future experiential
learning via client-centered team-based projects is dependent upon accessibility to marketing
campaign courses and industry clients.
References
Aggarwal, P., & O'Brien, C. L. (2008). Social loafing on group projects: Structural antecedents
and effect on student satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Education, 30(3), 255-264.
Dommeyer, C. (1986). A comparison of the individual proposal and the team project in the
marketing research course. Journal of Marketing Education, 8(1), 330-38.
Gaidis, W. C., & Andrews, J. C. (1990). Management of experiential learning projects in marketing
coursework. Journal of Marketing Education, 12(2), 49-60.
Haas, R. W., & Wotruba, T. R. (1990). The project approach to teaching the capstone marketing
course. Journal of Marketing Education, 12(2), 37-48.
Morgan, F. N., & McCabe, D. B. (2012). Learning why we buy: An experiential project for the
consumer behavior course. Journal of Marketing Education, 34(2), 140-155.
Reisenwitz, T. H., & Eastman, J. K. (2006). Dealing with student group project traumas: Teaching
students recognition, responsibilty, and resolution of group project problems. Marketing
Education Review, 16(2), 9-21.
84
The Impact of Race, Income, Drug Abuse, and Dependence on Health Insurance
Coverage among Us Adults
Xin Xie, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Nianyang Wang, Emory University, [email protected]
Introduction
Health insurance coverage is an important determinant of access to healthcare and health status.
Based on the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data conducted by The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the percent
uninsured for adults in the United States (US) aged 18 to 64 was 21.3, 20.9, and 20.4% in 2011,
2012, and 2013, respectively. Health insurance is an important source of subsidizing the costs of
healthcare for millions of Americans. As the cost of healthcare increases, the demographics of
insured persons also change. The previous research has found that different income levels and race
have been important factors in health insurance coverage. In addition, some researchers also look
at drug use and health insurance coverage. However, little is known about the effects of drug
abuse/dependence on health insurance coverage combined with the disparity by race groups and
income levels. In this study, we examined the disparities in health insurance predictors and
investigate the impact of drug use, which includes alcohol abuse/dependence (AD), nicotine
dependence (ND), and illicit drug use (IDU) on lack of insurance across different ethnic and
income groups.
Literature Overview
There have been a few studies examining the health insurance coverage of different income levels.
For example, a previous study showed that socioeconomic disadvantages, such as having limited
economic resources, limited education, high rates of unemployment and underemployment, and
working at jobs that lack access to health benefits are negatively associated with insurance
coverage [Angel & Angel, 1996]. Another study found that low-income people regardless of race
and health were significantly more likely to be uninsured or partially insured in the US [Shi, 2001].
A recent study revealed that high incomes and having health insurance significantly improved the
physical functions of middle aged and older adults [Kim & Richardson, 2012].
Race has been found to affect health insurance coverage as well. Hispanic workers suffered the
greatest losses from employer-based healthcare from 1997 to 2007, with almost a quarter of all
Hispanic workers in construction losing health insurance [McCollister et al., 2010]. In addition,
Hispanic and African Americans are more likely to be without insurance for an extended period
and to be at a high risk for needing medical care [Kirby & Kaneda, 2013]. Among Asian American
subgroups, there is a large disparity in health insurance coverage, especially among Vietnamese
and Korean Americans, which is partially found to be caused by the differences in average income
levels and citizenship status among the subgroups [Kao, 2010; Huang & Carrasquillo, 2008].
Previous studies have looked at drug use and health insurance coverage. It has been found that
smoking is correlated with not gaining, and sometimes losing, private insurance coverage [Jerant,
Fiscella, & Franks, 2012]. Also, once a person has insurance that covers treatment costs for
alcoholism, they were more likely to use that treatment (Cummings, Wen, Ritvo, & Druss, 2014).
85
The coverage rate of tobacco dependency treatments (TDTs) is very low despite its low costs per
treatment [McMenamin, Halpin, & Shade, 2008]. For illicit drug dependency, the treatment rate
for people with public insurance is 50 to 90% greater than those with private insurance [Bouchery,
Harwood, Dilonardo, & Vandivort-Warren, 2012].
Methodology
This study used 2011 data from National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA, 2012]). NSDUH is a
nationally representative survey that is conducted annually to assess the prevalence and correlates
of drug use in the United States for population aged 12 and older. Data collection is performed by
computer-assisted personal interviewing and audio computer-assisted self-interviewing methods.
Details of the survey design and data collection methods are published elsewhere [SAMHSA,
2012]. The total sample size is 58,397. The current analysis was restricted to participants aged 18
and older.
We use a logistic regression model to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for the relation between potential
risk factors and insurance status. The simple logistic regressions (univariate logistic analysis) were
used to examine the independent roles of potential risk factors in insurance status. Then we ran
multiple logistic regressions to simultaneously adjust for all potential risk factors of insurance
status. Moreover, we examined the factors for insurance status stratified by race and income, and
multiple logistic regressions were applied to adjust for all of these factors.
Table 1 presents the results from both univariate and multiple logistic analyses for the relationship
between potential risk factors and insurance status in the full sample. By using univariate analysis,
all factors were associated with insurance status (p < 0.05).
Adjusting for all other factors, males, young groups, non-married, and non-full time were
positively associated with lacking insurance. Compared with Whites, African Americans
(OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.01-1.32), Asians (OR=1.59, 95% CI=1.23-2.05) and Hispanics (OR=2.9,
95% CI=2.56-3.29) were more likely to be uninsured. As far as the level of income, lower income
is more related to the higher probability of being uninsured. However, the number of kids, assistant
programs, and health status seem not to significantly affect health insurance status.
Table 1 also shows that only ND is related to the higher possibility to be covered by health
insurance (OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.36-1.76), while AD and IDU are not. To further explore the effects
of these factors on health insurance status, we conducted the analysis on the association between
risk factors and being uninsured across different race and income level groups.
86
Table 1.
Estimates for the relationship between potential risk factors and insurance status
Variable
Crude OR
p-value
Adjusted OR
p-value
Gender
Female
1
1
Male
1.28
<0.0001
1.42
<.00001
Age group
50-64 years
1
1
35-49 years
1.85
<0.0001
1.78
<0.0001
26-34 years
2.54
<0.0001
2.07
<0.0001
18-25 years
2.55
<0.0001
1.38
0.0005
Race
White
1
1
AA
1.77
<0.0001
1.15
0.0367
Asian
1.37
0.0085
1.59
0.0004
Hispanic
3.73
<0.0001
2.90
<0.0001
Other
1.62
<0.0001
1.14
0.292
Marital status
Married
1
1
Widowed/Divorced/Separated
2.06
<0.0001
1.28
0.0014
Never
2.41
<0.0001
1.21
0.0066
Kids in home (years <18)
No
1
1
1
1.13
0.0325
1.12
0.1874
2
0.96
0.522
1.18
0.0663
3+
1.30
0.0002
0.93
0.429
Income
75,000+
1
1
50,000-74,999
2.38
<0.0001
2.08
<0.0001
20,000-49,999
7.79
<0.0001
5.76
<0.0001
<$20,000
11.48
<0.0001
7.40
<0.0001
Employment status
Full time
1
1
Part time
1.78
<0.0001
1.57
<0.0001
Unemployed
4.98
<0.0001
3.20
<0.0001
Other
1.29
<0.0001
0.93
0.351
Assistant program
No
1
1
Yes
2.30
<0.0001
1.04
0.566
Abbreviations: AA=African American, OR= Odds ratio; CI= Confidence interval.
87
Table 1.
(Cont.) Estimates for the relationship between potential risk factors and insurance status
Variable
Health status
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair/poor
Alcohol abuse/dependence
No
Yes
Nicotine dependence
No
Yes
Illicit drug
No
Yes
Crude OR
p-value
Adjusted OR
p-value
1
1.06
1.63
1.77
0.363
<0.0001
<0.0001
1
0.97
1.17
1.11
0.589
0.0167
0.272
1
1.48
<0.0001
1
1.05
0.533
<0.0001
1
1.55
<0.0001
<0.0001
1
1.01
0.963
1
1.82
1
1.85
Tables 2 and 3 display the logistic regression results for the effects of drug use on the probability
of uninsurance by race and income, respectively. For each stratified group, we adopted four models.
In Model A, the regression was unadjusted. In Model B, we adjusted for gender, age, race, marital
status, kids in home, assistant program, and health status. In Model C, Model B, income, and
employment status were adjusted for. In Model C, all variables in Table 1 were adjusted for.
As shown in Table 2, AD was associated with higher probability of uninsurance to only African
Americans (AA), but it does not affect any of the other ethnic groups (the OR is statistically
significant for Whites with p<0.0001 only in Model A where no other factors are adjusted).
Likewise, ND influenced health insurance coverage among Whites. Specifically, the likelihood of
uninsurance among nicotine-dependent Whites was 1.68 times of that of Whites who were not
(Model C). We also observed the positive effect of ND on African Americans’ probability of
uninsurance, but it is only statistically significant in Model A and Model B, which do not control
for income and employment status that we believe should explain uninsurance. Lastly, IDU
seemed to be associated with higher probability with uninsurance for Whites. This effect is not
statistically significant in Model D that controls for the other two types of drug use in addition to
all other variables.
In Table 3, by looking at Model A, three drug uses were associated with insurance status in higher
income groups. We found that AD increased the likelihood of uninsurance for people with income
$20,000 - $49,999. ND was associated with higher probability of uninsurance for all except for the
group with income $50,000 - $74,999. Such effect is most economically significant for the highest
income group. IDU was estimated to have no relation with insurance status.
88
Table 2.
Race differences in the associations between potential risk factors and insurance status
pppVariable
OR1 p-value OR2
OR3
OR4
value
value
value
Model A
1.6 <0.0001
2 0.0001 0.84 0.691 1.34 0.0628
Model B
1.2
0.103 1.5 0.0278 0.63 0.305
1.1
0.546
Model C
1.1
0.222 1.5
0.044 0.72 0.489
1
0.979
Model D
1
0.767 1.5 0.0627 0.71 0.489 1.08
0.61
Nicotine dependence
Model A
3 <0.0001 1.8 0.0016 1.34 0.539 0.85
0.441
Model B
2 <0.0001 1.5 0.0407 1.09 0.858 0.75
0.192
Model C
1.7 <0.0001 1.4
0.106 0.88 0.765 0.75
0.179
Model D
1.7 <0.0001 1.3
0.144 0.89 0.791 0.78
0.239
Illicit drug
Model A
2.5 <0.0001 1.6 0.0158 1.88 0.258 0.84
0.337
Model B
1.5
0.0043
1
0.904 1.06 0.923 0.68 0.0354
Model C
1.3
0.065 1.1
0.795 1.23 0.749 0.63 0.0136
Model D
1.1
0.414 0.9
0.57 1.31 0.689 0.63 0.0199
1
2
OR = Odds ratio for White, OR = Odds ratio for AA, OR3 = Odds ratio for Asian, OR4 = Odds
ratio for Hispanic
Conclusion
Using the data from NSDUH, we showed that AD, ND, and IDU significantly increased the
prevalence of lacking insurance, especially in Whites and AAs, as well as in low income groups.
To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the associations of AD, ND, and IDU with
insurance status. We also reexamined previous finding on racial and income disparities in health
insurance coverage. These findings provide some useful insight for policy makers in making
decisions regarding health insurance. Further studies can be conducted to explain the reason for
these disparities.
There are several limitations in this study. First, the cross-sectional design could not determine a
temporal or causal relationship between risk factors and insurance status. Second, self-reported
data from interviews may be subjected to recall bias.
89
Table 3.
Associations between potential risk factors and insurance status by income
Variable
OR1
p-value OR2
p-value
OR3
p-value
OR4 p-value
Model A
1.03 0.814 1.43 0.0008 1.69
0.0119 1.41 0.0669
Model B
1.15 0.209 1.25 0.0288 1.12
0.615 0.84
0.354
Model C
1.10 0.395 1.22 0.0577 1.08
0.74 0.78
0.215
Model D
1.08 0.532 1.16
0.178 1.04
0.882 0.71
0.108
Nicotine dependence
Model A
1.02 0.851 1.44 <0.0001 1.64
0.0122 2.36 <0.0001
Model B
1.23 0.0529 1.75 <0.0001 1.55
0.0447 1.91 0.0002
Model C
1.25
0.04 1.72 <0.0001 1.41
0.134 1.91 0.0025
Model D
1.25 0.0467 1.71 <0.0001 1.40
0.119 1.91 0.0023
Illicit drug
Model A
0.94
0.68 1.41 0.0122 2.19
0.0189 4.14 <0.0001
Model B
1.03 0.873 1.20
0.229 1.32
0.49 1.67
0.053
Model C
1.07 0.671 1.10
0.551 1.15
0.751 1.44
0.205
Model D
0.99 0.957 0.92
0.615 1.02
0.962 1.32
0.339
1
2
3
OR = Odds ratio for income <$20,000, OR = Odds ratio for income 20,000-49,999, OR = Odds
ratio for income 50,000-74,999, OR4 = Odds ratio for income 75,000+
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among adult Hispanics. The Gerontologist, 36(3), 332–340.
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private and public health insurance: A national study. Medical Care, 50(2), 145-51.
Kao, D. (2010). Factors associated with ethnic differences in health insurance coverage and type
among Asian Americans. Journal of Community Health, 35(2), 142-55.
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insurance on physical functioning among middle-aged and older adults in the United States.
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91
The Relationship among Moral Identity, Ethical Leadership, and Moral Judgment
James DeConinck, Western Carolina University, [email protected]
Introduction
This research had three purposes. First, using a sample of salespeople this study investigated the
relationship between moral identity and ethical leadership. Second, the study analyzed the degree
to which ethical leadership influences salesperson’s moral judgment. Last, the study assessed if
moral identity influences a salesperson’s ethical judgment only indirectly through ethical
leadership or does a direct relationship exist between these two variables. A brief literature review
is presented below followed by the methodology and statistical analyses to be used.
Literature Review
Moral Identity
Aquino and Reed (2002, p. 1424) defined moral identity “as a self-conception organized around a
set of moral traits.” Based on the work of social cognitive theory (Bandura 1986; 1977) and social
identity theory (Tajfel & Turner 1979), Aquino and Reed (2002) conducted a series of studies and
proposed that moral identity is proposed of two dimensions: internalization (the private component
of moral identity) and symbolization (the public aspect of moral identity). According to Aquino
and Reed (2002), “internalization reflects the degree to which a set of moral traits is central to the
self-concept whereas symbolization reflects the degree to which these traits are expressed through
a person’s actions in the world” (p.1426). Symbolization refers to people’s willingness to convey
their moral disposition to other people through how they act. People high in moral identity
internalization generally have moral behavior, goals, and traits available in their thoughts and are
more likely to participate in moral actions than people lower in moral identity internalization.
In order to express their moral character, people high in moral identity symbolization participate
in behaviors through their activities in the world while the opposite situation exists for people low
in moral identity symbolization. Some people may be higher in one of the two dimensions and
lower in the other dimension (Aquino & Reed, 2002). According to the self-cognitive perspective,
moral identity is a vital part of a person’s self-definition when this information is available and
can be accessed quickly (Aquino & Reed, 2002; Shao, Aquino, & Freeman, 2008). When this
condition exists, moral identity regulates moral behavior (Shao, Aquino, & Freeman, 2008). A
variety of research has shown that moral identity is useful in explaining moral functioning such as
prosocial behavior (Winterich, Mittal, Aquino, & Swartz, 2013), charitable giving (Reed, Aquino,
& Levy, 2007; Winterich, Mittal, & Aquino, 2013), ethical ideology (McFerran, Aquino, & Duffy,
2010), moral behavior (Reynolds & Ceranic, 2007; Shao, Aquino, & Freeman, 2008), and moral
disengagement (Detert, Treviño, & Sweitzer, 2008).
Ethical Leadership
Ethical leadership is defined as “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through
personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers
92
through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making” (Brown, Treviño, &
Harrsion, 2005, p. 120). The Brown et al. (2005) definition is based on a social learning theory
perspective (Bandura, 1977; 1986). The premise of social learning theory is that people learn
appropriate behavior by observing others (role modeling). The manager as a role model is in a
direct position to influence the behavior of employees who learn to behave ethically or unethically
by observing the behavior of the manager and other employees. Subordinates learn appropriate
behavior by observing how other employees are rewarded or punished (Brown & Treviño,
2006). If an individual observes a role model being rewarded for behaving ethically, then the
individual will perceive that behaving ethically is appropriate. However, in contrast, an individual
will be reinforced to behave unethically if his or her role model is rewarded for unethical
behavior. Thus, the role model is important in reinforcing to people what behavior is considered
appropriate.
Based on qualitative research, Treviño and colleagues (Treviño, Brown, & Hartman, 2003)
conducted interviews with senior corporate executives and compliance officers. Based on these
interviews they defined ethical leadership along two dimensions: the moral person and the moral
manager. The moral person is trustworthy, honest, and fair. Moral managers emphasize the
importance of ethical behavior. They establish ethical guidelines and expect employees to follow
those guidelines. Strong moral managers are role models for employees based upon their own
behavior and how they reward or punish ethical/unethical behavior. Moral individuals are moral
in both their professional and personal lives (Brown & Mitchell, 2010). Both ethical and unethical
leaders can be seen as role models. For example, when leaders are behaving unethically, they send
a message that unethical behavior is acceptable and perhaps rewarded. Management’s attitude
toward unethical behavior influences the behavior of subordinates (Detert, Treviño, Burris, &
Andiappan, 2007).
Only one study has investigated the relationship between moral identity and ethical leadership
(Meyer, Aquino, Greenbaum, & Kuenzi, 2012). This study found that both moral identity was
related positively to ethical leadership. Since both moral identity and ethical leadership have been
the focus of many studies during the last 15 years indicates a need for further analysis.
H1. Moral identity is related positively to ethical leadership.
Ethical Judgment
Schwepker and Good (2010) defined moral judgment as “an individual's decision as to whether
something is considered right or wrong, ethical or unethical” (p. 301). As illustrated in descriptive
models of ethical decision-making (e.g., Ferrell & Gresham, 1985; Jones, 1991), moral judgment
plays a critical role in ethical decision making as an antecedent to moral behavior. According to
these models, individuals with higher moral values should exhibit higher moral judgment (Jones,
1991). An important part aspect of these models is how people make ethical or moral judgments.
Individuals' ethical behavior is guided by their moral values, which in turn affect their moral
judgment (Hosmer, 1985). Various moral philosophies explain how individuals create ethical
standards for determining right from wrong, forming the basis for one's moral values. Individuals
operate from several moral philosophies, including justice, ethical relativism, and deontology,
93
amongst others, when making ethical decisions (Reidenbach, Robin, & Dawson, 1991). However,
individuals tend to draw on several moral philosophies when making moral judgments
(Reidenbach & Robin, 1988).
Only one study has examined the relationship between ethical leadership and moral judgment.
Resick, Hargis, Shao, and Dust (2013) reported that ethical leadership was related significantly to
ethical judgments. Intuitively, based on social learning theory, employees learn from the behavior
of their manager who serves as a role model. Salespeople will evaluate a situation as ethical or
unethical based on the behavior of their sales manager. Thus, ethical leadership should be related
to salespersons’ moral judgement.
H2. Ethical leadership is related positively to moral judgment.
No research could be found that has investigated the direct relationship between moral identity and
moral judgment. Thus, rather than proposing a hypothesis, a research question will be investigated.
R1. What is the relationship between moral identity and moral judgment?
Methodology
I did a mail survey of 500 sales managers. An introductory letter was sent stating the purpose of
the survey and asking the sales managers to encourage their salespeople to participate in the study.
The sales managers were asked to provide the number of salespeople they managed and were sent
that number of questionnaires to distribute. The salespeople were asked to return the survey to me
to ensure confidentiality. The salespeople answered statements regarding their sales manager’s
ethical leadership while the sales managers provided responses for moral identity and moral
judgment.
Demographic data were collected for all salespeople, which enabled me to check for non-response
bias and to ensure confidentiality for the salespeople who chose not to participate. Fifty-four
surveys were returned as undeliverable. These names were removed from the sample. A total of
122 sales managers agreed to participate in the study. A total of 321 surveys were returned from
the salespeople from both mailings. No statistically significant difference was found regarding
demographic data for the respondents. All of the survey instruments have been shown to be both
reliable and valid in previous studies. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling
(SEQ) with the LISREL 8 program.
Measures
All of the scales were measured using a 5 point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to
strongly agree. Moral identity (MI) was measured using the symbolization and internalization
scales developed by Aquino and Reed (2002). Moral judgment (MJ) was measured using a
multidimensional ethics scale developed by Reidenbach and Robin (1988; 1990), which measures
various individual moral value frameworks. Ethical leadership (EL) scale was developed by
Brown et al. (2005).
94
Results
In analyzing the results the first step was to test the measurement model. The results of the
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated the data fit the model well (χ2 = 823.83, df = 443, p
= .00, GFI = .86, AGFI = .84, NFI = .95, RMSEA = .051). Given these results the hypothesized
model next was assessed. The overall fit for the hypothesized model was good (χ2 = 463.29, df =
226, p = .00, GFI = .89, AGFI = .87, NFI = .96, RMSEA = .056). The results indicated support
for the two hypotheses. H1: moral identity is related positively to ethical leadership
(internalization - β = .34, t = 5.92; symbolization - β = .18, t = 3.23) and H2: ethical leadership is
related positively to moral judgment (β = .32, t = 4.37). A second model was tested to determine
if the relationship between moral identity and ethical judgment is both indirect through ethical
leadership. The results indicated a better fit for the revised model than the hypothesized model
(Δχ2 = 41.82). The overall model fit was good (χ2 = 421.47, df = 224, p = .00, GFI = .90, AGFI =
.88, NFI = .97, RMSEA = .052). Both moral identity internalization (β = .30, t = 4.17) and
symbolization were related significantly to ethical judgments (β = .22, t = 3.31).
Conclusions
Theoretical Implications
Prior research has examined the outcomes of ethical/unethical leadership. The purpose of this
study was to analyze the relationship among moral identity, ethical leadership, and moral
judgement. Prior research has shown that ethical leadership is related positively to organizational
citizenship behavior and voice (Meyer et al., 2009; Piccolo et al., 2010). However, much less
research has examined the antecedents of ethical leadership.
Recently, research has investigated moral identity as an antecedent ethical leadership (Meyer et
al., 2010; Zhu, Treviño, & Zheng, 2016). The results of this study supported prior research
showing that moral identity is related positively to ethical leadership. However, unlike the results
reported by Mayer et al. (2012), the results of this study indicate that internalization has a stronger
relationship with ethical leadership than does symbolization. While no definitive answer can be
given to explain this difference, the result may be due to a difference in the sample of employees
in each study.
In addition to examining moral identity as an antecedent of leadership, this study investigated
whether the relationship between moral identity and moral judgment is direct or indirect through
ethical leadership. Rarely has research analyzed the relationship between ethical leadership and
moral judgment, although research has reported that transformational leadership is related to moral
judgement (Schwepker & Good, 2010). Based on inconsistent results concerning the outcomes of
ethical leadership (Detert et al., 2007; Meyer et al., 2009), Mayer et al. (2012) have called for
“research across organizational contexts” (p. 165). Thus, this study was one of the first ones to
investigate the influence of ethical leadership among salespeople. The results showed that the
relationship between moral identity and moral judgment is both direct and indirect through ethical
leadership. Since this study is the first one to analyze the relationship among moral identity, ethical
leadership, and moral judgment; additional research is needed to confirm these results.
95
Practical Implications
An important practical implication for studying ethical leadership is that it matters (Mayer et al.,
2012). This situation is particularly important in a sales environment where salespeople often
work without direct supervision; and therefore, may be susceptible to ethical dilemmas (e.g., the
pressure to attain quota) (DeConinck, 2011). However, high ethical behavior among salespeople
can lead to a relationship with buyers and increased sales (Ingram, LaForge, & Schwepker, 2007).
This study and others show that organizational leaders can increase ethical values by rewarding
salespeople who behave ethically and punishing salespeople who behave unethically. Ethical
leaders discipline employees who violate ethical standards, listen to their subordinates’ opinions,
and discuss business ethics with employees.
But, in order to increase ethical behavior among the sales force, sales organizations need to hire
and train salespeople who possess high ethical values. The sales managers play an important role
in that they are the ones who influence salespeople. Their ethical values influence the ethical
values of the salespeople they manage. Thus, if organizations desire to create an ethical work
climate, they need to promote salespeople into management positions who possess high ethical
values.
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98
Toward a Model for Evaluating Attorney Discipline across
Regions: The Sixth Circuit
Michael M. McKinney, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Douglas P. Dotterweich, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
Introduction
Several years ago, one of the authors had a friend who had successively hired and paid two
attorneys to perform services to complete a legal issue, but the friend didn’t receive any services
from either attorney. That situation prompted the authors to conduct some preliminary research
into complaints lodged against attorneys and subsequent disciplinary actions in their home state.
A recent news story about a professional who collected payments for work that was never
completed and then abandoned his patients led the authors to renew this line of research. The
authors have been gathering data compiled by state bar associations regarding complaints lodged
against attorneys and subsequent disciplinary actions. Analysis of the data will be used to construct
a model to assess the efficacy of disciplinary systems or processes in individual states and appellate
regions. This paper discusses initial findings in the first step of building the model as it applies to
states within the Sixth Circuit. The research will be expanded geographically to provide a national
picture and the scope of the research questions will be enlarged to determine whether geography
or regional differences affect the process or outcome of disciplinary measures.
Literature Overview
Licensed attorneys are required to exercise ethical practices in their legal activities. Every state
implements rules of professional conduct to provide guidance as to prohibited or disfavored actions
by attorneys. Each state also has an oversight organization or disciplinary board responsible for
conducting investigations of complaints and administrating disciplinary proceedings related to
unethical and/or illegal conduct by attorneys. These entities publish annual reports which provide
interested parties information about complaints and proceedings. For example, in the authors’
home state the Board of Professional Responsibility (BOPR) handles such duties. The BOPR’s
annual report provides information such as the aggregate number of complaints filed, the number
of investigations conducted, and the type of discipline rendered throughout the reporting period.
Other state reports generally provide similar data, but not all states record the same type of
information. The authors are in the process of acquiring annual reports from each state to study.
The major items obtained from the reports include the number of attorneys licensed in the state,
the number and types of complaints filed, and the disposition or outcome of the complaints. Since
state reports provide varying information in different formats, state codes and disciplinary rules
and regulations for each state will also be reviewed to standardize the categories used in the study.
Methodology
An original model utilized by the authors employed information related to lawyer discipline from
annual reports from the Tennessee BOPR to analyze trends in the state. That model motivated the
authors to begin to search for similar data in other states. Annual reports for most states have been
located on websites, but data are compiled and reported using different formats; so the authors
have attempted to standardize categories used in the varying reports. Website information will be
99
supplemented by personal contact with individual state bar associations or Boards of Professional
Responsibility where the data are not found online or are reported in a format requiring
clarification to standardize the information. Where comparable data can be gathered and
processed, the authors will examine the information to provide comparative analyses at state,
regional, and national levels. If attorney-specific data can be obtained (age, years in practice,
school attended, size of firm, etc.) regarding complaints and disposition, the analysis may be
significantly expanded. The statistical analysis will be accomplished using Excel and may
gravitate to SPSS as the study proceeds.
The authors examined data from state bar associations which provided information about
complaints filed against attorneys. This paper reports results from several states grouped into the
geographical arrangement of the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. The Sixth
Circuit is composed of four states (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee) located in the
central region of the nation. The focus for the first phase of the study will include data for years
2010-2014. The purpose of the five-year time line will be used to identify trends in the Sixth
Circuit. The scope of the analysis will continually expand to include additional states and regions
for comparison purposes. The following sections provide preliminary results and findings for the
year 2013.
Frequency of Complaints
The first level of analysis provides information related to the frequency of complaints against
attorneys relative to the state population and the number of licensed attorneys in the state. Table
1 provides the frequency of complaints in 2013 for states included in the Sixth Circuit, converted
to a standardized Z score per 1,000 lawyers in the state. For this geographic grouping, Kentucky
and Michigan are closest to the average with Z values of -0.37 and 0.43, respectively. Tennessee
is farthest above the average with a Z-score of 1.13. Ohio leads the circuit with the lowest
incidence of complaints (-1.18).
Table 2 provides the frequency of complaints in 2013, converted to a standardized Z score per
100,000 population. For the grouping, Ohio is very close to the average with a 0.08 Z-score while
Kentucky remains about the same as in Chart 1 at -0.53. Michigan is the farthest above average
with a Z value of 1.37. Tennessee, which has more complaints per attorney than any of the Sixth
Circuit states, leads in this category with the least number of complaints per 100,000 population (0.92). These scores provide a picture of the pattern of incidence of complaints and allow
comparison between states. The analysis will be expanded to construct a five-year trend to
determine the frequency of complaints for each state over a number of years. Each state’s
performance over time will be measured against the mean of all states in the Sixth Circuit and later
compared to states in other geographic areas. The authors have already compiled data for the
Ninth Circuit (Western United States). Comparing data between circuits should yield a more
comprehensive standard for analysis of the frequency of complaints. For example, Tennessee
ranks last in the Sixth Circuit in the number of complaints per attorney (1.13). However, when the
Sixth and Ninth Circuits are compared, Tennessee is in the middle of the pack (-0.42) for the
combined thirteen states. A similar approach will be used to examine comparative data for each
100
state’s population to determine whether there are relationships between a state’s population, the
number of attorneys in that state, and the number of complaints filed as a percentage of each.
Table 3 provides the number of attorneys in each state in 2013, converted to a standardized Z score
per 100,000 in state population. Tennessee, noted above as ranking last in the Sixth Circuit in the
number of complaints per attorney (1.13), is farthest below the average in this category (-1.25).
Michigan, on the other hand, has both the most attorneys (0.94) and the most complaints (1.37)
per 100,000 population.
Percentage of Claims Processed
Another measure to be examined is the percentage of claims actually processed by the state bar
associations or professional boards. Each year, scores of complaints are summarily dismissed for
various reasons. They may be dismissed due to frivolous assertions, because a disciplinary rule
does not apply, or there isn’t enough merit or justification to surpass the burden of proof needed
to proceed or warrant an investigation. Employing a process similar to that used to construct
Tables 1 and 2, the percentage of claims processed in each state will be examined along with their
corresponding Z scores.
Table 1
2013 Complaints per 1,000 Attorneys
Descriptive Statistics
State
Mean
82.10556 Ohio
Standard Error
1.582273 Kentucky
Median
82.1907 Michigan
Mode
#N/A Tennessee
Standard
3.164547
Deviation
Sample
10.01436
Variance
Kurtosis
-1.32893
Skewness
-0.127
Range
7.324618
Minimum
78.35811
Maximum
85.68273
Sum
328.4222
Count
4
Per 1 K Atty
78.36
80.93
83.45
85.68
101
Z Score
-1.18
-0.37
0.43
1.13
Table 2
2013 Complaints per 100,000 Population
Mean
25.82953
Standard Error
1.710945
Median
25.06118
Mode
#N/A
Standard Deviation
3.42189
Sample Variance
11.70933
Kurtosis
0.808175
Skewness
1.09195
Range
7.825505
Minimum
22.68511
Maximum
30.51062
Sum
103.3181
Count
4
State
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio
Michigan
Per 100 K
Population
22.69
24.03
26.10
30.51
Z Score
-0.92
-0.53
0.08
1.37
Probability of Sanctions
The third measure to be analyzed will be the percentage of claims processed that ultimately
resulted in sanctions being levied against offending attorneys. Claims surviving summary
dismissal may not have sufficient merit to warrant sanctions being imposed against attorneys. If
a sanction is administered, it may be issued in the form of an admonition which warns the attorney,
declares the conduct of the attorney to be improper, or provides advice or guidance about a
situation. If the conduct or situation is more critical for protection of the public, a public censure
may be issued which declares the attorney’s conduct improper. In more drastic cases, the attorney
will be suspended from the practice of law for a minimum defined time period. In the most
egregious situations, disbarment or resignation may result in revocation of an attorney’s license to
practice law and terminate the individual’s status as an attorney. The third measure will look at
the number of processed claims resulting in sanctions as a percentage of total claims processed
and the number of lawyers in the state. The number of admonitions versus reprimands and
different degrees of sanctions will also be examined. State numbers will then be measured against
the performance of other states and regions to determine where significant differences exist in the
administration of complaints leading to sanctions and the severity of those sanctions.
Conclusion
This research will develop comparative data for all circuits in the United States Courts of Appeal.
In compiling information on disciplinary matters, the authors have encountered a hodge-podge
collection of data that varies from state to state. We believe that a more uniform collection of data
and reporting system would be very helpful in analyzing what works and does not work in terms
of lawyer discipline. The authors hope to provide information to prompt discussion of a more
uniform system of data collection and reporting from state to state. In addition, the authors intend
102
to provide recommendations about the types of data that should be collected by all state bar
associations to further enhance future research efforts. With uniform data and benchmarks across
the nation, states can better assess their own performance.
Table 3
2013 Attorneys per 100,000 Population
Mean
Standard Error
Median
Mode
Standard
Deviation
Sample Variance
Kurtosis
Skewness
Range
Minimum
Maximum
Sum
Count
309.5355333
17.95180358
314.9614118
#N/A
State
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio
Michigan
Per 100K
Population
264.77
296.87
333.05
343.45
Z Score
-1.25
-0.35
0.66
0.94
35.90360715
1289.069006
-2.128313854
-0.572130956
78.67374228
264.7727838
343.446526
1238.142133
4
The findings and recommendations of this study should be especially useful to the legal and
business community, including bar associations, Boards of Professional Responsibility, and
Disciplinary Counsel for all states, as well as individual and business clients seeking legal
representation, practicing attorneys and judges, and other users of legal information.
References
Attorney Disciplinary Board and Attorney Grievance Commission, State of Michigan, 2013. Joint
Annual
Report,
2014.
Retrieved
September
29,
2015,
from
<http://www.adbmich.org/download/2013_JOINT_ANNUAL_RPT_color.pdf>
Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 32nd Annual Discipline
Report, December 20, 2013 corrected July 8, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2015, from
<http://tbpr.org/NewsAndPublications/AnnualReports/Pdfs/annualreport32.pdf>
Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Rules of the Supreme
Court, Rule 9 Section 4, Tennessee Code Annotated Vol. 2, 2015.
103
Office of Bar Counsel, Kentucky Bar Association, Supreme Court of Kentucky, June 30, 2015.
Retrieved
September
29,
2015,
from
<https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.kybar.org/resource/resmgr/OBC/2014-2015_
Disciplinary_Stati.pdf>
Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 2013 Annual Report, April 15, 2014.
Retrieved
September
29,
2015,
from
<http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/DisciplinarySys/odc/annualReports/2013.pdf>
Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules of the Supreme Court, Rule 8, Tennessee Code Annotated
Vol. 2, 2015.
Types of Discipline, Rules of the Supreme Court, Rule 9 Section 12, Tennessee Code Annotated
Vol. 2, 2015.
United States Department of Commerce, United States Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the
Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2015, from
<http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk>
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Retrieved August 12, 2015, from
<http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/court_of_appeals/courtappeals.htm>
104
Use of Online Panels of Respondents for Business and Marketing Research: A Descriptive,
Normative, and Prescriptive Analysis
Philip J. Boutin, Jr., Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Introduction
Online panels are a valuable type of obtrusive online or Web-based research (Couper, 2000;
Göritz, Reinhold, & Batinic, 2002; Sharp, Moore, & Anderson, 2011). They are pools of
individuals who have agreed to participate in online or Web-based studies or surveys
occasionally or on a regular basis (e.g., Göritz, 2006, 2007, 2008; Göritz et al., 2002). The
International Organization for Standardization (2009) definition of “online panel” provided in
ISO 26362: Access Panels in Market, Opinion, and Social Research is as follows: “A sample
database of potential respondents who declare that they will cooperate with future [online] data
collection if selected.” Online panels have become an oft-used solution in those instances when
a complete list of e-mail addresses that can be utilized for the targeted population does not
exist (Baker et al., 2010).
Online panel is the oft-used term (e.g., Callegaro & DiSogra, 2008; Göritz, 2006, 2008; Sharp
et al., 2011), but other similar and overlapping terms are occasionally used in extant academic
literature in place of or in concert with online panel, including online access panel (e.g.,
Brüggen, Wetzels, de Ruyter, & Schillewaert, 2011), online respondent panel (e.g., Tanford,
Raab, & Kim, 2012), Web panel (e.g., DiSogra, 2009), and Internet panel (e.g., Thelen &
Shapiro, 2012), among others. Regardless of the specific term that is used, they can be utilized
as a sampling source for assorted research studies utilizing varied methodologies and having
diverse focuses and themes (Göritz, 2006).
The benefits and advantages of online data collection, including through the use of online
panels, have been the focus of many research contributions, and they include: increased
efficiencies as a result of automation (e.g., Couper, 2000; Evans & Mathur, 2005; Fricker,
Galesic, Tourangeau, & Yan, 2005; Gould, 2004; Milgate, 2007), the capacity for sampling
from extensive databases of pre-recruited respondents who are comprehensively profiled (e.g.,
Evans & Mathur, 2005; Göritz, 2004a), the ability to easily personalize surveys and create a
survey experience that is more accommodating to respondents (e.g., Milgate, 2007), and the
ability to provide incentives and reminders to prospective respondents in order to improve
response rates (e.g., Evans & Mathur, 2005). These benefits and advantages all help to reduce
the time it takes to report the results of the data collection activities due to respondents’
streamlined survey experience and researchers’ quicker survey turnaround time (Sharp et al.,
2011).
The use of online panels is now common (e.g., Couper, 2000; Göritz et al., 2002). According
to a research contribution from Callegaro and DiSogra (2008) that involved the review of a
diverse group of sources, they are increasingly being utilized to gather data for market (e.g.,
Comley, 2007; Postoaca, 2006), medical (e.g., Couper, 2007), psychological (e.g., Göritz,
2007), and social research (e.g., Tortora, 2009), with market research the sector that is the most
dependent on online panels (Comley, 2007). In research published in various scholarly and
105
academic journals, online panels have been utilized for various research contributions,
including in the marketing field. Over 50 relatively recent quantitative research contributions
(i.e., published from 2007 to 2015) that have collected some or all of their data using online
(or Internet) panels of respondents were identified for this research paper based on a
comprehensive review of the extant business and marketing literature. The different respondent
panels were comprised of individuals responding on their own behalf as consumers or members
of a certain group, or as business professionals responding on behalf of their company (i.e.,
key informants).
The use of online panels as a form of data collection has increased for various reasons. The
reasons include a number of key benefits researchers can obtain by using them, such as their
offering improved access to hard-to-reach populations, increased control of the samples that
are procured, comprehensive information about respondents, and high response rates (Brüggen
et al., 2011; Göritz, 2007; 2008). They also provide the immediate availability of respondents
and reduced costs, which differs from what occurs with the ad hoc recruitment of research
participants (Göritz, 2004b; 2007; 2008). The reduced costs for the collection of data via online
panels due to the prerecruitment of respondents is especially important because there has been
a large increase in costs for the ad hoc recruitment of respondents on the Internet (Göritz,
2008). Most importantly to users of online panels, previous research exists showing that the
use of online panels is effective and does not add a substantial negative effect to the data (e.g.
Dennis, 2001; Pollard, 2002).
In the case of immediate respondent availability, a principal benefit is that online panels can
result in shorter field times compared to traditional data collection methods (e.g., mail,
telephone) because a large number of responses can be collected over a short period of time
(Aoki & Elasmar, 2000; Göritz, 2007; 2008). As for reduced costs, the reduction in data
collection costs are obtained by having a pre-recruited group of prospective participants who
are willing to take part by completing surveys on a continuing basis. Thus, the incremental
costs are also low to increase the number of individuals who are surveyed (Duffy, Smith,
Terhanian, & Bremer, 2005; Göritz, 2004a; 2004b). In addition, online panels also allow
researchers to cost-effectively utilize both cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs
(Duffy et al., 2005; Evans & Mathur, 2005), as well as allow for the easy identification and
analysis of the attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic characteristics of panel members
(Göritz, 2004a; 2007). These benefits, as well as the inherent advantages of using the online
medium, have resulted in marketing academics, practitioners, and researchers increasingly
utilizing online panels for their research efforts (Sharp et al., 2011). Online panels are now
actually utilized in the majority of online research that is conducted (Brüggen et al., 2011),
including a substantial majority of online consumer research (Göritz, 2004b).
Despite all of the advantages of utilizing online panels, Göritz (2008) also identified a few of
the potential disadvantages. First, no scientific basis exists for the generalization of results
from online panels to a larger population if panel members were volunteers (i.e., members of
a volunteer nonprobability-based opt-in panel) rather than recruited through the use of random
sampling from a defined population (i.e., members of a probability-based panel). Second, panel
conditioning (aka time-in-sample bias), which is when there are changes in responses by
respondents who participate in later research studies, could take place due to the repeated
106
participation in surveys by panel members. This potential problem has been examined and
analyzed in various research contributions (e.g., Dennis, 2001; Kalton & Citro, 1995), with the
overall results not definitive or conclusive. Lastly, the possibility exists that respondents could
be misleading about themselves and their backgrounds in order to be included in the sample
for a research study that includes considerable rewards for study participants.
Types of Online Panels
Online panels can be classified as either one of two types: (1) prerecruited probability-based
panels, or (2) volunteer opt-in (nonprobability-based) panels.
Prerecruited Probability-based Panels
Prerecruited probability-based panels include respondents (i.e., panel members) who have
been recruited for participation through the use of a probability method, such as random-digit
dial (RDD) telephone sampling. The important distinction for these types of panels is that there
is a known nonzero probability of selection from a certain sampling frame, as recruitment can
occur through mail, e-mail, or face-to-face interactions. Coverage and nonresponse error can
be determined by researchers and then utilized to accurately weight and adjust the data for
recruited research participants because the sampling frame and methodology for recruitment
of participants are known (Callegaro & DiSogra, 2008; DiSogra, 2009). Probability-based
panels usually have substantially fewer members compared to the more frequently utilized
nonprobability panels (Baker et al., 2010).
Volunteer Opt-in Panels
Volunteer opt-in panels, also called volunteer panels of Web users (Couper, 2000) or online
access panels (Brüggen et al., 2011) among others, include respondents who become members
of the panel by voluntarily signing up (i.e., opting in) so they are self-selected instead of
selected as part of a probability-based sampling method and thus do not have a known
probability of selection (i.e., they are nonprobability-based panels). These panel members
could have become aware of the panel on which they opted in through e-mail messages, online
advertisements, direct mail, word of mouth, etc. (Baker et al., 2010; Callegaro & DiSogra,
2008; DiSogra, 2009). Offers to join these panels are presented to prospective panel members
through a wide assortment of techniques, with them usually offering financial rewards as well
as the opportunity to experience enjoyment through the survey-taking experience and provide
important views on new products and services (Baker et al., 2010). Volunteer opt-in panels are
utilized for most Web studies today, especially in commercial market research, due to their
cost and speed advantages (Comley, 2007).
Conclusion
There were several key conclusions obtained through the research efforts conducted to
complete this paper. First, online (or Internet) panels of respondents are being increasingly
used for research in broad business discipline and various sub-disciplines, including marketing.
Second, online panels allow researchers to collect large samples in short periods of time (i.e.,
107
few days or even less). Third, the cost charged by companies that offer access to online panels
and their respondents can vary significantly, with the variation dependent on the size and
accessibility of a researcher’s targeted audience of prospective respondents.
There are multiple key recommendations for researchers considering using online respondent
panels based on the research conducted for this paper. One recommendation is that unless the
research project budget is a serious concern, it is important to use an online panel company
with a known positive reputation because it will likely provide better, more credible research
results and thus value for a researcher. Another recommendation is that researchers must
negotiate specifically which responses they will not pay for because they are unusable (e.g.,
straight-line responses for all or nearly all of questions on questionnaire, response time too
short, duplicate responses, etc.) prior to the beginning of the data collection process. An
additional recommendation is that researchers must have a well-designed, fully operational
online questionnaire in order to collect high-quality, usable data from online panels, which is
also a recommendation for all researchers who collect data through the use of questionnaires,
whether online or offline. Moreover, researchers should also ensure that they know the identity
of the specific panels on which targeted respondents were obtained so that they can
communicate this information in their research papers, which should enhance credibility and
acceptability among those who read the research contribution.
Regarding the quality of the data collected, there are some important recommendations for
researchers. First, researchers need to always check the data they collected immediately after
the data collection process ends to ensure that they are not paying the online panel company
for unusable “completes.” Second, if using volunteer opt-in (nonprobability-based) panels,
researchers will want to include multiple relevant qualifying questions to improve quality of
sample obtained (i.e., omit unqualified respondents from the dataset before the analysis is
conducted). Third, it is not likely that third-party online panel companies will share the number
of prospective respondents targeted, which will make it impossible for researchers to calculate
the response rate or true completion rate. However, they can and should calculate alternate
completion rate (i.e., pct. of completes among respondents who started questionnaire) in these
instances. Fourth, volunteer opt-in (nonprobability-based) panels are methodologically similar
to some acceptable older methods of data collection used for samples considered probability
samples (e.g., purchasing list and phoning prospective respondent). Therefore, researchers can
credibly and appropriately justify treating data collected as probability-based data. Lastly,
researchers may want to consider using multiple online panel companies for a single research
study (or at least for multiple studies within same research stream) in order to increase rigor,
enhance quality and quantity of data collected, and improve likelihood of obtaining
generalizable results.
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Welcoming the New Kid on the Block: Helping Behaviors between Agents and Newcomers
of Similar and Different Status Levels
Beth Polin, Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected]
Sarah Doyle, The Ohio State University, [email protected]
Introduction
Onboarding programs are prevalent and viewed as important to organizations as the medium
through which newcomers are welcomed and socialized into a company (Survey findings, 2011).
Given the importance of such programs, newcomers themselves (Louis, 1980; Saks & Ashforth,
1997) and the organization (Chao, O’Leary-Kelly, Wolf, Klein, & Gardner, 1994; Klein, Polin, &
Sutton, 2015; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979) play prominent roles in the onboarding process.
Additionally, agents such as coworkers, managers, subordinates, administrative assistants,
mentors, Human Resource representatives, and customers (Ashforth, 2001; Morrison, 2002) fulfill
critical helping roles to ultimately see the newcomer evolve into a fully functioning member of the
organization.
This research attempts to examine one important, yet overlooked, factor with the potential to
influence the help provided to newcomers by agents: the status difference between the two parties.
Helping behaviors theoretically define an agent’s role, as they are any behaviors outside of one’s
role requirements intended to assist another. But while onboarding literature presents those
surrounding a newcomer as engaging in helping behaviors and assisting in the new employee’s
socialization, the status literature suggests caution must be taken in assuming that all agents will
readily engage in helping behaviors. After all, an agent’s willingness to provide assistance is
affected by the threat they feel is posed by the other party (Flynn, Reagans, Amanatullah, & Ames,
2006). Recent research finds that traditional employees in close status positions are less likely to
help one another (Doyle, Lount, Wilk, & Pettit, in press), but might this effect disappear or be
amplified when the relationship is between an agent and a newcomer?
Literature Overview
Onboarding and socialization are two separate but related experiences of a newcomer with three
critical actors taking on roles in the process. Onboarding occurs during a new employee’s
immediate start with a company and lasts the first few days or weeks of a newcomer’s tenure. It
specifically includes “efforts by the organization to facilitate socialization” (Klein et al., 2015, p.
264). Onboarding is but one piece of the longer, more involved experience of socialization.
Socialization occurs within an employee, begins with the action of being hired, and continues until
an employee becomes a fully functioning member of the organization (Chao, 2012; Feldman,
1989; Klein et al., 2015; Van Maanen, 1976). The three long-standing categories of actors in
socialization are the newcomer, the organization, and agents. Newcomers take part in their own
socialization by taking a proactive role in the experience (Cooper-Thomas & Burke, 2012). The
organizational system saliently participates in the socialization of newcomers by offering an
onboarding program. Care must be taken in designing the onboarding program so as to increase
the socialization effects for the newcomer. Aimed at this goal, Klein and Heuser (2008) first
introduced the concept of the Inform-Welcome-Guide (IWG) framework, arguing that an
111
onboarding program must include specific activities that inform, welcome, and guide the
newcomer through the transition period.
Most pertinent to our research here is the category of agents and how they behave towards
newcomers. Agents surround the newcomer and provide a consistent stream of information,
resources, feedback, and assistance as the newcomer works to become a fully functioning member
of the organization. Specifically, employees who have something in common with the new
employee, such as those in the same department or workgroup, or those with similar tasks, are
sought for their availability and credibility (Ashforth, Sluss, & Harrison, 2006). Agents’
willingness to engage in helping behaviors can positively—or negatively—impact a newcomer’s
experience with the company, job satisfaction, job commitment, role clarity, and performance.
Traditional onboarding and socialization literature has only examined the general role of agents
and has not yet explored the dyadic level circumstances—such as status difference—under which
an agent is more or less likely to help a newcomer. Status is defined as “the prominence, respect,
and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others” (Anderson, John, Keltner, & Kring, 2001, p.
116). Status is valuable, and the desire to have status is considered to be a fundamental need. High
status in organizations provides individuals with a multitude of benefits: they are given more
opportunities to speak, are granted opportunities for monetary rewards or bonuses, and have more
influence over group decisions (Berger, Roseenholtz, & Zelditch, 1980; Marmot, 2005; Merton,
1968; Weber, 1978). Higher status individuals also enjoy physiological and psychological benefits
such as lower stress and cortisol levels, longer life spans, and increased general well-being
(Anderson, Kraus, Galinsky & Keltner, 2012; Singh-Manoux, Marmot & Adler, 2005; Wilkinson,
1999). As such, status is extremely valuable.
By definition, the role of an agent in an agent-newcomer relationship is to assist the newcomer in
their socialization by engaging in helping behaviors such as providing information, resources, and
feedback. Helping provides an indirect way for individuals to shape others’ perceptions of them
and consequently a well-documented way that people manage their status within organizations
(e.g., Flynn et al., 2006; Van der Vegt, Bunderson, & Oosterhof, 2006). Indeed, research on the
behavioral implications of status has emphasized the close relationship that status
attainment/management has with helping behaviors, as status not only drives helping behaviors
but results from them as well (Flynn et al., 2006; Hardy & Van Vugt, 2006).
Prior research has begun to examine the effects of status difference on helping behaviors in
traditional organizational relationships (i.e., non agent-newcomer relationships). Generally, when
status distance is small, there exists the highest likelihood of a potential status change relative to
the other person. Given the direct implications for one’s own status, the decision to help someone
close in status is a very strategic one. Some research suggests, then, that helping is likely to be
decreased when status distance is relatively small (Doyle et al., in press). The imminent potential
to change status (Pettit, Yong, & Spataro, 2010) or be outperformed by others of similar status
(Ellemers & Bos, 1998; Nadler, 1987; Scheepers & Ellemers, 2005) can be especially threatening,
potentially contributing to the decreased likelihood to help similar status individuals. In other
words, when individuals feel that their status is threatened, they may engage in defensive actions
to maintain their status, and thus help these individuals less.
112
However, the agent-newcomer relationship is complex, especially in terms of status. A newcomer
has, by definition, not yet mastered any of the socialization content areas: they may not yet
understand the technical language used in the organization; they may not yet have been told the
history, goals, and strategy of the company and their impacts on current business practices; they
may not yet be proficient at their job or have evaluated the inducements offered in exchange for
their work; they may not yet have formed effective working and social relationships within the
organization; and they may not yet have learned the structure, rules, and policies of the company
or how to navigate the official and unofficial networks that exist in the organization (Klein &
Heuser, 2008). Because of their recent introduction to the environment, they may naturally not be
viewed as a threat to any current employee’s status. In other words, the status of being a newcomer
may “trump” traditional status; an employee usually unwilling to help someone close in status sees
a newcomer close in status as not being as threatening simply because he or she is new to the
group. They are thus willing to engage in helping behaviors. Based on this position, we hypothesize
the following:
Hypothesis 1: The effect of status distance on helping will be moderated by
newcomer status such that if the target is a newcomer, status distance will be
negatively related to helping behaviors of agents; and if the target is a nonnewcomer, status distance will be positively related to helping behaviors of agents.
Hypothesis 2: The effect of status distance on threat perceptions will be moderated
by newcomer status such that if the target is a newcomer, status distance will be
positively related to threat perceptions; and if the target is a non-newcomer, status
distance will be negatively related to threat perceptions.
Hypothesis 3: The interaction between status distance and newcomer status on
helping behaviors of agents will be mediated by threat perceptions.
Methodology
One hundred nine advanced-level undergraduate and graduate students studying Management at a
large regional Midwestern university participated in a 2 (newcomer vs. non-newcomer) x 2 (similar
status vs. dissimilar status) between-subjects online Qualtrics survey vignette. The sample was
42% male; and the average age, in years, of participants was 24. The vignette explained to all
participants that they were part of a nine-person workgroup in which all group members had the
same formal position and work title. They were additionally told that the sales performance—
which clearly affects status—of all workgroup members was visible to all, and that the
accomplishment of a large sales account received a special announcement to the group. All
participants were finally told that they, specifically, had a moderate amount of status and ranked
in the middle of the workgroup. From here, the 2x2 between subjects design was introduced:
participants were told that an employee who had either “recently joined their company” or who
had “been with their company for some time” was joining the workgroup, and that the employee
had either “very similar” or “very dissimilar” status to them. After reading the vignette, participants
were asked a series of dependent variable questions measuring helping behaviors and threat
perceptions.
113
Results support our contention that being a newcomer moderates the effect between status distance
and helping behavior (H1), F = 5.78, p = .018 (see Figure 1). Less help is provided to a nonnewcomer when status distance is small as compared to large. However, when the target is a
newcomer, the effect reverses and more help is provided to them.
Figure 1: Interacting Effects on Helping Behavior
Helping Behaviors
7
6
5
Newcomer
4
Series1
Series2
Non-Newcomer
3
2
1
Similar1 Status
2 Status
Dissimilar
Figure 1. Interacting Effects on Helping Behavior
We next examined our hypothesized moderated mediation model, whereby we argue that the
moderated effect of status distance on helping behavior is accounted for by threat perceptions. We
first examined whether being a newcomer moderates the effect of status distance on our proposed
mediator, threat perceptions (Figure 2, a path). We then tested for an indirect effect of status
distance on helping behavior through threat perceptions when the target is either a newcomer or a
non-newcomer. We also tested the significance of the difference between the indirect effects at
each level of the moderator (i.e., newcomer or non-newcomer) (Edwards & Lambert, 2007).
Supporting Hypothesis 2, results indicate that being a newcomer moderates the a-path (status
distance on threat perceptions), (B = 1.275, SE = .512, p = .014). Further, using 5000 bootstraps,
the confidence interval of the indirect effect when the target is a newcomer does not contain zero
(Lower CI = -.638, Upper CI = -.036), whereas the confidence interval of the indirect effect when
the target is not a newcomer does contain zero (Lower CI = -.052, Upper CI = .363). Furthermore,
the confidence interval of the difference between the indirect effects at both levels of the moderator
(the index of moderated mediation; Hayes, 2015) does not contain zero (Lower CI = -.863, Upper
CI = -.059). That is, results support moderated mediation (Hypothesis 3) and show that when the
target is a newcomer, decreases in status distances lead to a decrease in threat perceptions and
therefore helping increases; however, when the target is not a newcomer, this same effect is not
seen and decreases in status distance have the opposite effect on threat perceptions and subsequent
helping behavior. Results of the full moderated mediation model are summarized in Figure 2.
114
Figure 2: Moderated Mediation Model
Newcomer / Non-Newcomer
a path: -.37 (.36)
b path: -.22 (.07) **
Status Distance
Threat Perceptions
Helping Behavior
Interaction on a path: 1.28 (.51) (p=.014)
Interaction on total effect: -.69 (.40) (p=.088)
Figure 2. Moderated Mediation Model
Conclusion
This work has examined agent-newcomer relationships through the lens of status literature. Agents
are well-recognized and well-respected actors in the socialization process who provide ongoing
support for a new hire. But it is assumed that agents will be involved in the socialization of others
without any question as to the conditions under which they are more or less likely to engage in
such behaviors. Organizations must be aware of the environmental conditions they need to ensure
are present for the optimum success of agent-newcomer relationships given that the presently held
assumptions about employee behaviors in status-difference situations do not hold true for the
unique agent-newcomer relationship. Understanding the consequences of status differences and
how newcomer status interacts with traditional status to affect socialization is critical. Through
this empirical study, an important actor in onboarding and socialization is better understood; the
role of status difference is examined in a new and important context; and organizations can gain
insight into how to better structure the newcomer’s environment and encourage effective
relationships.
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118
Work Ethic and Work Outcomes in an Expanded
Criterion Domain
C. Allen Gorman, East Tennessee State University, [email protected]
John P. Meriac, University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected]
Introduction
Given the “changing nature of work” in organizations today (Burke & Ng, 2006; Cooper, 1999;
Howard, 1995; Ilgen & Pulakos, 1999), where work is characterized by less stability and a need
for greater flexibility, work ethic should play an increasingly important role in the job performance
of employees. Because organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is more discretionary and less
likely to be rewarded and punished than in-role task performance (Organ, Podsakoff, &
MacKenzie, 2006), employees who fundamentally value work itself rather than the extrinsic
rewards that come from it (i.e., those higher in work ethic) should be more likely to engage in
citizenship behavior. At the same time, with the ambiguous and less predictable nature of work
and increased employee autonomy and flexibility, the potential for employees to engage in
counterproductive work behavior (CWB) remains a concern. The purpose of this study was to
investigate relationships between dimensions of work ethic and dimensions of OCB and CWB.
Literature Overview
Work ethic can be formally defined as an individual difference construct characterized by “a set
of beliefs and attitudes reflecting the fundamental value of work” (Meriac, Woehr, & Banister,
2010; Miller, Woehr, & Hudspeth, 2002). Research on work ethic and contextual performance has
demonstrated that work ethic dimensions are positively related to task performance (Miller et al.,
2002) and helping behavior (Ryan, 2002). However, research on the relationships between work
ethic and sub-dimensions of OCB has been limited, and much less information exists on the
relationship between work ethic dimensions and CWB. OCB is associated with several desirable
work outcomes for individuals, including greater rewards, lower turnover intentions, and reduced
absenteeism (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bacharach, 2000). CWB includes acts of
aggression, hostility, sabotage, and theft and withdrawal; and research has demonstrated that CWB
has undesirable consequences for organizations and individuals within them (Sackett, 2002).
Methodology
Survey data were collected from 233 matched pairs of employed individuals and their work
supervisors. Participants were recruited from leadership development courses in business,
traditional MBA, and executive MBA programs at a university in the southeastern United States,
and were all employed at the time of data collection. Participants represented diverse occupations
with respect to job levels and industries. Participants completed the Multidimensional Work Ethic
Inventory–Short Form (MWEP-SF) (Meriac, Woehr, Gorman, & Thomas, 2013), and participants’
managers completed ratings of OCB and CWB. Due to the multivariate nature of the performance
outcomes in this study, model fitting path analysis was conducted using AMOS 23 (SPSS, 2015).
Also, because the criteria were not normally distributed, we used bootstrapping instead of
parametric significance tests. Finally, we conducted a multivariate relative weights analysis to
119
examine the proportion of variance each work ethic dimension explained in the multivariate
criterion space.
The work ethic dimension of centrality of work was positively related to both dimensions of OCB
(i.e., OCB-I and OCB-O), and the work ethic dimension of morality/ethics was negatively related
to one of the dimensions of CWB (CWB-I). Morality/ethics explained the largest proportion of
variance in the criterion space (Raw = .048; RRW = .293), followed by leisure (Raw = .035; RRW
= .215), centrality of work (Raw = .034; RRW = .207), wasted time (Raw = .034; RRW = .204),
and self-reliance (Raw = .013; RRW = .081). These findings provide empirical support for the
notion that work ethic is indeed related to contextual performance. This study also highlights the
importance of the multidimensional nature of work ethic, in that all dimensions were not related
to outcomes uniformly. Moreover, our findings that dimensions of work ethic differentially predict
OCB and CWB provide further evidence of the independence of these contextual performance
constructs and provide additional support for the expanded criterion view.
Self-Reliance
-.084NS
OCB-I
.14*
Centrality of Work
.16*
OCB-O
-.20*
Morality/Ethics
-.001NS
Leisure
CWB-I
.021NS
CWB-O
-.07
NS
Wasted Time
Figure 1. Relationships among work ethic dimensions and contextual performance. Standardized
parameter estimates included in figure. * p < .05.
Conclusion
Given the results of our study, work ethic may hold promise in personnel selection contexts,
especially considering that the MWEP-SF is a relatively short measure that can be efficiently
administered in organizational contexts. Additional future directions should involve the study of
work ethic outcomes in a longitudinal design, and our findings should be replicated in other
samples. Overall, however, this study’s results underscore the relevance of work ethic in the
prediction of OCB and CWB. If employers are interested in increasing OCB and decreasing CWB,
the work ethic construct is relevant for consideration in such applications. Given the importance
120
of the expanded criterion domain in modern work environments, work ethic remains an important
individual difference related to positive and negative work outcomes.
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