Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.64-92).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2005. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-92).

Thesis (M.S.)--Drexel University, 2004. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-36).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2005. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-92).

No description available.

No description available.

Corporate sound as a company-controlled element of corporate identity management has been widely ignored in corporate identity and corporate image literature so far. Moreover, established corporate identity models show some visual dominance that has inhibited the integration of other sensory elements such as the auditory dimension. This thesis advances current knowledge in the corporate identity, corporate image and corporate communication domain by investigating the construct of auditory identity from a corporate perspective. In detail, the study investigates factors that determine the management of auditory identity as well as consequences of corporate auditory identity management (CAIM) as perceived by managers. A triangulated research approach was employed by using qualitative data from interviews with managers and consultants from UK companies as well as quantitative data from questionnaires completed by managers from UK companies in the media, information and communication as well as the banking and finance industry. While qualitative data initially was used to gain deeper understanding of the underresearched auditory topic, quantitative data was statistically examined using EFA and PLS-SEM to test the structural model. Findings suggest, inter alia, that the definition of corporate auditory identity provided in this research is widely supported by qualitative data. Moreover, quantitate data indicates that the support of the CEO is a key factor for the successful implementation of an auditory identity programme. Furthermore, all ten consequences of corporate auditory identity management such as gaining differentiation, improving corporate image, supporting consistent corporate communication and increasing recognisability just to name few are widely supported by qualitative as well as quantitative data. This thesis advances corporate identity, corporate image and communication literature in many ways. Mainly, it provides a valid definition of the new construct of auditory identity as well as scales for measuring corporate auditory identity management on which researchers can build in the future. Based on the identified potential of corporate sound academics are encouraged to overcome the visual dominance by incorporating auditory identity into future concepts, frameworks and models. Moreover, managers can benefit from this research and the provided definition of auditory identity in particular as it reduces the uncertainty about the auditory domain and suggests a more holistic view of corporate identity management. Additionally, this study provides managers with a deeper understanding of the potential of corporate sound by testing a set of consequences of auditory identity management. Consequently, managers are advised to employ a more strategic management of sonic elements and applications in the future. To sum up, this research is one of the first that investigates the management of sound from a corporate perspective and the researcher strongly believes that it constitutes a foundation that facilitates a variety of avenues for research.

This work focuses on the factors influencing the accessibility of credit lines for the companies in the Czech Republic. Its methodology follows the respected works written in the field of credit markets or in the field of econometrical methods suitable for the estimation of such markets. The main econometrical tool of this work is the Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Dependent variable is always the percentage change of the total volume of corporate loans and the independent variables are the percentage changes of different macroeconomic indicators. This work brings key findings important for the understanding the of the Czech corporate credit market. JEL Classification C32, C51, E40, E41, G10, G20, G21 Keywords Corporate Loans, Credit, Credit Lines, Credit Market, Credit Supply, Czech Banking Sector, Demand for Credit, Loans Author's e-mail pavelhanak@seznam.cz Supervisor's e-mail petr.gapko@seznam.cz

Corporations as such are often not perceived to have moral agency, and directors and officers of the corporation are frequently not considered responsible for corporate actions. However, I appeal to Peter French's view that reflection on a corporate internal decision (CID) procedure shows that a corporation should be considered a moral agent. Many writers have cast doubt on the correctness of French's view, but I defend it from several major objections.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) advertising is a type of corporate image advertising which promotes the CSR-based identity of a company in order to build and/or improve a socially responsible image. A CSR-based image and a good reputation for CSR at large has been regarded as a reservoir of goodwill which can function as a buffer against negative publicity. With this in mind, this thesis examines the effectiveness of CSR advertising for the purpose of insulating a firm from the negative impacts of crisis news by creating a positive image as a socially responsible company. This study also investigates the influences of favourable attitudes toward the CSR ad and how the level of attribution of crisis responsibility to the company modifies the effectiveness of CSR advertising as a buffer. As part of this process, the news frames which describe the crisis from either an accident perspective or a preventable-incident perspective and the ad-appeals (i.e., information-based and affect-based ad-appeals) were manipulated to test how they influence the effectiveness of CSR advertising when acting as a buffer. Adopting a quantitative methodology, this study collects data through web-based experiments with online panellists utilising fictitious video commercials and crisis news scenarios concerning a fictitious company. The results indicated that people who were exposed to the CSR ad prior to reading the crisis news tended to be less influenced by the news than those who were not exposed to the ad in terms of their perceptions of company image and both their attitudes and behavioural intentions toward the company. CSR advertising was equally effective at reducing the damage to company image and attitudes toward the company in both different news frame conditions and using both different ad-message type conditions. The results imply that if people perceive CSR-based images of a company through CSR advertising successfully, they tend to maintain these perceptions of the company even after they process any negative information about the company, and this is still true even if their evaluations of the responsibility for a crisis were not influenced by CSR advertising. As part of the research process, this study found that positive attitudes towards the CSR ad significantly and directly influenced both the company image and attitudes toward the company. However, when people processed the crisis news after viewing the CSR ad the direct impact of attitudes toward the ad on attitudes toward the company disappeared. This indicates that the 'affect-transfer' from attitudes toward the ad to attitudes toward the company occurred under advertisement-only conditions. When negative publicity was processed, the crisis information may act as a latent inhibitor of the affect-transfer effect and the company image variable became a full mediator.