<p> Social contact and geographical movement have been widely studied since ancient times. Conducting business across cultures and expatriation are becoming more popular and ry. As a result of those cultural interactions, individuals face multiple challenges, changes, and social encounters with people from other countries and cultures. The challenges are even greater when those individuals are organizational leaders leading companies or departments in foreign countries. Changes in emotional and professional adjustment to a new country could lead to a serious culture shock process. Literature on culture shock and cultural adjustment shows that individuals could face adverse psychological consequences as a result of failing to adjust to the new culture (Hofstede, 1980; Mendenhall, Bird, Oddou, &amp; Stevens, 2008; Oberg, 1960). This mixed-methods research studies whether culture shock relates to intercultural effectiveness of organizational leaders who are Spanish nationals working in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States (U.S.). Research instruments measure the organizational leader&rsquo;s level of intercultural effectiveness, and the degree to which the leader is experiencing culture shock. Quantitative data was collected using the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (Mendenhall et al., 2008), and the Culture Shock Adaptation Inventory II (Juffer, 1985). Qualitative data was collected from in-depth interviews via e-mail to document the experience of Spanish organizational leaders working as expatriates in the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S.</p>

In order to remain relevant in the face of both national and global challenges, the U.S. Navy must recognize that its once useful organizational constructs and business operations that fought the Cold War must be supplanted by significantly more nimble and effective organizations and business models. To realize the Force Transformation vision as outlined by Sea Power 21, the Navy must be vigilant in transforming its business operations. The Navy has devised several business improvement strategies, most notably Sea Enterprise, but has not institutionalized a process to refine and translate these strategies into actionable, measurable business goals. The missing piece, a center of business excellence, would integrate the strategic management of business transformation, unite future business improvement opportunities, provide an operational-level business excellence resource, and aid business initiative implementation throughout the Navy enterprise. The Center for Navy Business Excellence (CNBE) leverages six business transformation enablers throughout the Navy: Business Management Integration, Business Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Corporate Universities, Embedded Human Capital Programs, and Consultants. By incorporating these six enablers, CNBE gives the Navy the operational capability to convert business transformation strategy into a tangible, measurable, business improvement roadmap. CNBE increases the likelihood that the Navy achieves the remarkable Sea Enterprise vision and arms the CNO with an expert, internal, business intelligence, implementation, and outreach capability.

The United States Navy is currently going through a human capital transformation in order to better meet the security challenges of the 21st century. A key component of the plan is the job analysis process, conducted using the SkillsNET methodology, to define job requirements in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools, in contrast to the current approach of relying on the rating badge and a naval enlisted code associated with the billet. The objective of this thesis is to develop a new metric to present manpower readiness in terms of human capital readiness, in line with the Navy's new human capital management approach. This thesis reviews human capital management theories and Sea Warrior, focusing on the capture of human capital skill objects by SkillsNET. Manpower readiness is defined as a function of two components: competence level and preparedness level. Competence level represents the current level of readiness, while the preparedness level is a proxy for the level of readiness in the immediate future. The proposed metric utilizes the human capital skill objects compiled and defined by SkillsNET, and aggregates the individual data to generate the overview of human capital readiness at functional or organizational levels. This metric can be used as a performance measure to evaluate the effectiveness of activities and initiatives conducted in human capital management, which ranges from planning, recruiting, and training to assigning.

This research simulates the effectiveness of an alternative auction mechanism for Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP) that has the potential for reducing the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD's) cost. A recent student thesis studying the application of salary auctions and matching an an assignment setting determined that there arer two major complications in an assignment auction which affect the incentive of bidders to submit a truthful valuation of the jobs. An alternative auction mechanism that combined elements of both auction theory and matching was proposed to overcome these complications. This study further defines this alternative auction mechanism and presents a simulation setup for testing the effectiveness of the mechanism. Simulation is carried out and the mechanism evaluated based on defined operational performance and efficiency measures. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the benefits of the alternate auction mechanism to DoD.

Proactivity has become one of the most prominent phenomena in organizational behavior over the last twenty-five years. Scholars have established several different methods of assessing proactivity as a dispositional trait, and identified numerous different types of proactive behaviors. Further, interest in proactivity as a phenomenon within and among teams has been an area of growing recent interest. However, the literature is plagued with a number of problems that limit our understanding of proactivity and impede the growth of the field. At the conceptual level, scholars frequently lament the lack of theoretical unity and the proliferation of overlapping constructs that results from the lack of parsimony. Likewise, at the team-level, little is known so far about how proactivity arises within and benefits teams, despite growing research in that area. This work addresses these prominent issues in three parts. The first part of this dissertation directly addresses the lack of theoretical synthesis by offering social cognitive theory (SCT) as a unifying framework for understanding proactivity, and suggesting a theoretical typology of agentic behaviors drawing from the core properties of human agency offered by SCT (i.e., intentionality, forethought, and self-reactiveness). The second part of this work proposes a model of team-oriented proactivity upon team task performance as mediated by team coordination. Results suggest that team coordination is the critical factor in converting team-oriented proactivity into team task performance, and that proactivity has curvilinear effects on team performance, with a positive effect from low to moderate levels, but a diminishing effect at high and very high levels of proactivity. In the final part of this dissertation, I investigate how proactivity arises within work teams and contributes to emergent team states and important team outcomes. Specifically, I suggest behavioral contagion as a mechanism by which proactivity arises within teams, and develop hypotheses for the effect of team-oriented proactive behaviors upon team emergent states and, subsequently, team viability, and task performance. Testing this model with results from a lab study reveals that perceptions of team-oriented proactive behavior within the team significantly influences team processes and, to a lesser extent, team performance outcomes.

<p> The purpose of the study was to assess the validity of the foreign direct investment (FDI) theory as it applies to Guinea&rsquo;s mining sector by investigating the extent to which the investors&rsquo; perceptions of Guinea&rsquo;s actual FDI features predict the degree to which foreign companies invest into the country&rsquo;s mining sector. In fact, through the literature, it was established that there was a significant correlation between the amount of FDI flows and host country&rsquo;s FDI features. The literature revealed also that the FDI theory was an efficient FDI flows model for the manufacturing and the trading sector. However, it was not formerly established that the FDI features applied also to the mining sector. Thus policymakers lacked a FDI model to enact attractive mining investment profile and thereby to attract more FDI flows into the mining sector. As a consequence, many worlds&rsquo; rich mineral countries such as Guinea and Sierra Leone failed to attract significant FDI flows and hereby missed the opportunities to address poverty and literacy issues that should be induced by FDI flows. The aim of this quantitative study was to investigate the extent to which the features of the FDI theory predict the FDI flows in the mining sector. To complete the study mail questionnaires were sent to the multinational mining subsidiaries&rsquo; managers in order to collect their perceptions about the FDI flows determinants. The multiple linear regression approach was used to analyze data. Results from this study showed that the features of the FDI theory significantly predicted the FDI dollar flow into the Guinea&rsquo;s mining sector.</p>

<p> The intensification of cross-sector collaboration phenomena has occurred in multiple fields of action. Organizations in the private, public and social sectors are working together to tackle society&rsquo;s most wicked problems. Some success has resulted in a generalized belief that cross-sector collaborations represent the new paradigm to manage complex problems. Yet, important knowledge gaps remain about how cross-sector alliances generate value for society, particularly to its beneficiaries.</p><p> This study answers the question: How does cross-sector collaboration affect its beneficiary&rsquo;s capacity for collective action? It uses a qualitative embedded case study design, and theoretical sampling of two general cases of alliance-based interventions in a developing country: Colombia. Two embedded cases within each general case identify evidence of collective action capacity of the beneficiaries.</p><p> The study&rsquo;s findings speak to the management literatures studying collective action at different levels of analysis. Key contributions include a Beneficiaries&rsquo; Capacity Building and Expressing Model, which identifies the drivers that lead to collective action, and provide a conceptualization of collective action as installed and realized capacity. Findings also identify and explain alliances&rsquo; contributions to beneficiaries&rsquo; capacity building: alliances are trust brokers and they create spaces. Alliances also enable beneficiaries to release or actualize that capacity by building bridges, allowing capitals&rsquo; circulation and becoming a relational buffer to protect people&rsquo;s initiatives. Beneficiaries increased capacity for collective action is an outcome that becomes an alliance input, leading overtime to further benefits involving systemic change. Beneficiaries&rsquo; increased collective action capacity is a prerequisite to produce changes in larger systems of public policy and/or markets, but beneficiaries need to continue working in collaboration with the alliance as a whole system. The research features a complex collaborative system that changes how actors mobilize resources to generate systemic change. Building on those findings the study also offers an outcome-based conceptualization of alliances value creation at the beneficiary level of analysis.</p>

<p> While traditionally underrepresented groups are attaining degrees at a higher rate than ever before, these students still receive bachelor&rsquo;s degrees at significantly lower rates than other groups of students (Avery &amp; Kane, 2004; Wilds, 2000). As a result of the educational attainment gap in the United States, precollege outreach programs have been established to provide resources for underrepresented youth to aid them in completing a post-secondary degree. Current research focuses on these participants&rsquo; college enrollment and, as a result, minimal information is available to describe these programs and their outcomes concerning students&rsquo; first year experience and college success (Hooker &amp; Brand, 2009; Orr et al., 2007; Swail &amp; Perna, 2002; Yeung, 2010). Framed around resiliency theory, this phenomenological study exams college access program alumni&rsquo;s acclimation process into a four-year, post-secondary institution. Through the data analysis, four essentials features emerged: 1) Program Connections as External Factors, 2) Connections as External Factors in the College Setting, 3) Determination, Self- Advocacy and Willingness to Try New Things as Internal Protective Factors, and 4) Nurturing College Knowledge. Recommendations are shared to further the program in being a degree attainment intervention, in addition to a college access strategy. These include: providing development to educators in behavior management and inclusion, integrating parent involvement throughout the curriculum, providing continual support to alumni and establishing stronger partnerships with surrounding colleges. As a result of this study, leaders in secondary and postsecondary education as well as policymakers are able to gain insight on how Upward Bound services in Louisiana can nurture external and internal protective factors of resiliency that assist participants in embracing constructive responses to stressors in the first year of college.</p>

<p> Executive level turnover is an unavoidable challenge for organizations in every sector. The challenges associated with leadership turnover have been explored in a variety of contexts, most frequently focused on how turnover impacts organizational performance, yet very little research has focused on post-succession leadership. This evidence based dissertation found that a transitioning leader&rsquo;s efforts to affect change impacts performance and identified those factors that impact a post-succession executive leader&rsquo;s ability to implement change. </p><p> Current research focuses on whether or not leadership turnover affects performance and whether or not the performance is affected negatively or positively. There is a lack of consistency in the findings that turnover itself impacts performance or that turnover either has a negative or positive effect. This inconsistency in overall findings suggests that the impact on performance following a leadership transition is not due to the transition itself, but other factors. One of the primary leadership actions taken to affect performance following executive-level leadership transition is the new leader&rsquo;s initiation of change during the transitional period.</p><p> This dissertation to provide context as to how leadership actions affect change in a post-transition organizational environment and thereby impact performance following an executive-level turnover. Through systematic review of 53 articles, including primary research studies and gray literature, studies identified 19 elements that pointed to the leader&rsquo;s ability to influence the organization, the organization&rsquo;s susceptibility to the leader&rsquo;s influence, and the methodology the new leader uses to influence. An assessment tool for post-transition leaders was developed to assist in informing executive-level leader&rsquo;s change initiatives following a leadership succession.</p>

Informal firms are an important aspect of a country’s economic activity and their decision of whether and when to formalize is based on several country-level aspects related to regulatory, political, and economic aspects, as well as their access to the various resources needed before and during the formalization process. Although informal firms have been receiving more attention from management scholars over the last years, knowledge about the formalization process and the specific country-level aspects that influence informal firms’ strategic choices is still quite limited (Darbi et al., 2016; Godfrey, 2011). In this dissertation, I combine institutional theory (North, 1990) with the imprinting hypothesis introduced into organizational research by Stinchcombe (1965) to explain how three country-level aspects—factor markets, the institutional environment, and bureaucracy—affect the likelihood of formalization of informal firms and how the imprinting effect of economic conditions at the time of founding interact with these country-levels aspects to also affect the likelihood of formalization over time. Using a large sample comprising informal firms in 122 countries, my results suggest that country-level aspects shape the formalization process, and that imprinting, both by itself and combined with these country-level aspects, consistently affect the likelihood of formalization over time. This dissertation, hence, informs research on informal firms and, in particular, the formalization process. Doing so contributes to a better understanding of entrepreneurial processes in general, especially in resource-constrained firms in emerging markets. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 06, 2018. / Emerging Markets, Entrepreneurship, Informal Firms, Institutions / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce T. Lamont, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ashley A. Bush, University Representative; R. Michael Holmes, Jr., Committee Member; Horacio E. Rousseau, Committee Member.