Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 88). / by Tianwen Liu. / M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Edward George Anderson, Jr. / Ph.D.

Thesis: S.M. in Management Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 33). / I study how the compensation structure of top managers from US public companies changes in recent years and the effect of these incentives on firm performance. I first explore the trend of executive compensation structure and performance metrics used in executive compensation over the years. I also examine systematic differences across industries and different firm sizes. Then I analyze the relationship between compensation structure and firm performance. My results suggest that a higher level of incentive-based compensation correlates with higher growth in total shareholder return; particularly for small firms, a higher level of incentive-based compensation correlates with significantly higher total asset growth, sales growth and employment growth as well. To explore whether the level of incentive-based compensation has influence on firm performance, I use propensity score matching to reduce selection bias. My results suggest that the level of incentive-based compensation has no significant influence on firm performance. / by Shuo Zheng. / S.M. in Management Studies

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Thesis. 1968. Ph.D. / MICROFICHE COPY ALSO AVAILABLE IN DEWEY LIBRARY. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 374-381. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-125). / by Patrick Rivelli, Jr. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-139). / Globalization has occurred in various forms over the past century, yet only recently has it become daily news. This evolving process has created numerous underlying tensions that are not well understood. While western society has tried to address these tensions, it has sometimes mishandled them. In this thesis, we examine one such area; the belief that globalization creates opportunities for significant labor exploitation and why it is necessary, in the absence of government regulation and enforcement, to set social codes for companies sourcing products in developing countries in order to prevent this mistreatment. The thesis examines whether these codes are actually effective in accomplishing their stated objective of improving social conditions and if not, what plan could better accomplish this goal. It is divided into five chapters; the first is a review of five central globalization trends that frame the social code discussion. The second and third chapters look at the negative publicity that exposed labor problems overseas and assesses whether any of the known global actors care enough to cure the problems. Starting with the historical development of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) set up as a response to these problems, we then examine the codes they promulgated. / (cont.) In the fourth and fifth chapters, we discuss why the codes are less effective than desired. The analysis is focused on the alignment and misalignment of institutional and organizational incentives in three areas: business model design, supply-chain management, and capital-market development. While acknowledging the impressive social good accomplished by the MSI's, we argue that moral purpose by itself is difficult to impose across a wide range of institutions and cultures. Using more dynamic business models, companies and MSIs can create the right incentives to eliminate exploitive practices. Finally, we look at how creating such a virtuous cycle can have a profound positive impact on global trade and encourage governments to regulate. While modifying business models will prove daunting for many companies, there is ample economic justification to do so. / by Hiram M. Samel. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-181). / by Georgia Mourtzinou. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1983. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Includes bibliographical references. / by David Schatz. / M.S.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 64). / Accelerators are ecosystem catalyzers introduced in 2005 by Y-Combinator. They are time-bounded programs to facilitate core resources for entrepreneurs (mentors, capital, training), with the goal of making the trial-and-error innovation process faster and more efficient. Accelerators are schools of entrepreneurship and, often, a certificate of quality. The province of Granada generates more than 3.46% of Spain's scientific production; however, it contributes with only 1.4% to the domestic GDP (year 2011). A well-designed startup accelerator can help close the gap between the innovation capacity and the economic impact on the region by fostering a vibrant ecosystem of innovation-driven entrepreneurs. Our research examines the idiosyncratic needs of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Granada, because this understanding is crucial to address the local limitations. In parallel, we studied a diverse typology of accelerators (e.g., selected Health based accelerators in the US and Spanish accelerators) and created an exhaustive benchmark analysis across them. Finally, we proposed a "best-practice" accelerator for the PTS Granada, including choices such as the value proposition, the intake process, the program duration, the amount of seed capital, the role of mentors, and the nature of sponsors. We determined that an accelerator may be non sufficient for emergent entrepreneurial ecosystems. For those cases, we offer additional recommendations to improve the pre- and post-acceleration phases. / by Francisca Merchán Higuera. / M.B.A.

Thesis: S.M. in Management Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 74-78). / This thesis evaluates the potential impact of smart thermostats on the residential energy efficiency and demand response in North America. Smart thermostats are rapidly gaining popularity, and our estimations indicate that today there are more than nine million units already installed in North America. Electric utilities have recently started pilot programs known as Bring Your Own Thermostat (BYOT) through which they subsidize part of the smart thermostat that their customers install in their homes in exchange for taking command of the settings certain hours per day during for a few summer days. Currently, there are only about 50,000 homeowners enrolled in BYOT programs in the USA, but the expectation that smart thermostats can impact energy efficiency and change the residential demand response (DR) landscape is high. Using System Dynamics, this thesis has examined this potential, and the results show that the smart thermostats, in the business as usual case, can save about 60 TWh/year of electricity (or the continuous production of about fifteen 500MW coal plants - or Rosenfelds by 2025). If programs such as BYOT, where part of the thermostat is subsidized, were going to be popularized, this number can almost double. And additionally, this technology is creating an important potential in the residential demand response space, which is also studied in this thesis. / by Diego Ariza Muñoz. / S.M. in Management Studies