Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1890. Adviser: Dilip Chhajed. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-121) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4407. Adviser: Dilip Chhajed. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-109) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> This thesis, presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration/Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management, analyzes the origins and limitations of the traditional subscription model used by performing arts organizations. As subscription sales continue a nationwide, decade-long decline, some companies are exploring nontraditional models, while in other industries new media is facilitating innovative alternative methods of monetization. These new models are successful when they customize offerings and increase value provided to patrons, who increasingly desire flexibility and dialogue. Based on a SWOT analysis and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix, these alternative patronage models are evaluated with respect to their viability for implementation by California Repertory Company (Cal Rep).</p>

<p> Feature selection is one of the most important decisions made by product managers. This three article study investigates the concepts, tools and techniques for making trade-off decisions of introducing new features in evolving Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software products. The first article investigates the efficacy of various feature selection techniques when the trade-off is between comprehensiveness and time-to-market. The second article investigates the impact of current level of product performance when the trade-off is between providing different types of innovative features to the users. The third article investigates the impact on the ability of the COTS product to attract new users and retain existing users when the trade-off is between providing utilitarian and hedonic value through new product features. </p><p> To meet these research goals an extensive multidisciplinary study of Information Systems (IS) and Product Development literatures was conducted followed by experimental research. The experiments were conducted among youth between 19-24 years who were users of Gmail software and produced some key findings. </p><p> In the first study the Kano survey method was found to be effective in identifying those features which added value to the product and those that did not. This finding will facilitate product managers in using appropriate techniques for identifying the critical product features to be built into the COTS product thereby reducing time-to-market without sacrificing product quality. In the second study, current COTS product performance was found to significantly impact the type of innovation to be introduced into the COTS product. Basic or Core product innovations were found to have value for the users when performance is low but not when the performance is high. On the other hand, Expected or product Performance innovations and Augmented or user Excitement innovations were found to have value when the performance is high but not when the performance is low. In the third study, Hedonic value and Utilitarian value of product features were found to have distinctive impact on users. While Hedonic value impacted Word-of-Mouth, a measure of the products' capacity to attract new customers, Utilitarian value impacted User Loyalty, a measure of the products' capacity to retain existing customers.</p>

<p> Academic quality in for-profit vocational (Gainful Employment) programs is a concern for all stakeholders. However, academic quality is not easily defined. The Department of Education's Gainful Employment Rule defines academic quality With a few easily measured metrics such as student retention and job placement rate, despite the fact that academic quality is widely considered to be complex and multidimensional. Gainful Employment standards alone are not adequate to describe academic quality in for-profit vocational programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to expand understanding of academic quality in on-ground Gainful Employment programs by gathering the lived experiences of faculty who taught in these programs. The study used a phenomenological approach, in which faculty members of two for-profit vocational colleges in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area were interviewed in person. Faculty were recruited using Linkedln groups and e-mail invitations. Systems theory served as the theoretical foundation for the study. The four common systems elements of inputs, processes, outcomes, and institutional environment formed the basis for the research questions. The systems thinking tool of rich pictures was employed to gain deeper insight into the phenomenon of academic quality. Triangulation was accomplished through the comparison of interview data; visual data from the rich pictures; my memos; and institutional Web content and college catalogs. Analysis of the interviews and rich pictures generated 301 attributes, which were organized first by research question, and then by key stakeholder group (faculty, students, administrators, and institution). Ten discernible themes emerged from faculty perceptions of academic quality, categorized according to systems inputs, processes, outcomes, and institutional environment. The conclusion was that academic quality is a multidimensional construct that includes many more attributes than simply student retention or job placement rate. A dynamic model of academic quality incorporating the systems elements of inputs, processes, outcomes, and system environment was proposed, and a composite rich picture was presented. The scope of the research should be expanded to include the perceptions of other stakeholder groups, for example, administrators, students, employers, and taxpayers. Future research should also include other geographical areas and comparisons between for-profit and nonprofit vocational education.</p>

<p> This study was to examine to identify the determinants on mechanism of emotional marketing in the restaurant business. The previous studied mostly examined to find out the service failure from the service qualities by service employees and by the service facilities. Limited studies were conducted to identify the service failure based on the emotional relationships among customers' emotional intelligence, and interactions to recover service failure from emotional labors as well as from customers. </p><p> The purposes of this study were conducted three steps. First, this study examined to identify how different characteristics of customer' characteristics of emotional intelligence such as perceiving emotion, social management, understanding emotion, use of emotion, and managing emotion can interact with 1) customer' perception on emotional labor' acting-out (deep and superficial), 2) customer' efficacy (for self and for other), 3) customer' coping strategy (emotional coping focus and problem coping focus) under unexpected service failure circumstances. Secondly, these three major theoretical constructs were tested to identify the statistical associations with customer' participation and satisfaction. Lastly, the group differences were conducted to test the mean differences between gender in customer' emotional intelligence, ethnicity, nationality and interactions between ethnicity and nationality. </p><p> The total of 598 responses was used for the group differences and the final structural equation modeling. Independent samples t-test was used to identify the mean differences between gender, and the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to test the vector differences between the two ethnicity groups and nationality origins from the western countries and the eastern countries. </p><p> The findings from the group differences explained 1) customer' emotional intelligence has statistical differences between male and female customers, 2) customer' EI had significant meanings in the vector differences among ethnicity, nationality, and interactions of ethnicity and nationality between the western countries and eastern countries. The comparative fit index of the final competing structural model was 0.918, RMSEA = 0.059, thus the overall SEM fit indices were over the cut-off of the powerful model fits. Thus, the this study identified the determinants on mechanism of emotional marketing using the theoretical constructs of EI, emotional labor's action, customer efficacy, coping strategy on customer satisfaction under unexpectedly encountered service failure and the interactions among emotional changes in the service recovery from emotional labors as well as customers. This study contributes to establish theory on how customer' different characters of the EI can associate with different emotional constructs in this studies for hospitality, tourism and service oriented industries.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1910. Adviser: Joost M. E. Pennings. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-135) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Zvi Schwartz. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-73) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Capella University, 2007. / (UMI)AAI3274709. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 3029. Adviser: Mary Dereshiwsky.

<p>This paper is a systematic review of scholarly studies that examines how organizations enhance their ability to generate value through social media. It explores why some organizations are able to adopt and benefit from social media while others cannot. Specifically, it examines: (i) how <i> people</i> and social networks are essential to create value at the organizational level, (ii) how <i>leadership</i> sets the vision and convinces others on the need for change, and (iii) what types of <i>strategy</i> can be implemented to enable knowledge creation through social networks. Argument is made on the vital importance of two variables in particular&mdash;leadership and strategy&mdash;and their role in moderating how the organization accepts and incorporates change to enhance overall effectiveness and efficiency. Evidence-based research is used to describe relevant theory and practice through qualitative and quantitative sources. It examines how organizations overcome the hurdles associated with change, and how individuals learn to accept new methods to connect, share knowledge, and create value through Web 2.0 technology. </p><p> Social media challenges an organization&rsquo;s ability to manage individuals and information. It requires a shift in the way people work and think; it requires a culture adjustment in how people collaborate in new, more inclusive ways other than relying on the same imbedded methods and inner core of co-workers for answers. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Social Media, Social Networks, Leadership, Strategy, and Organizational Culture. </p>