Thesis (S.M. in Management of Technology)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-62). / In this thesis we discuss the profound impact that technology is having on brick-and-mortar fashion retail. Retailers that (i) understand the implications of these changes and (ii) can adapt their retail business models to the new paradigm of the marketplace will be successful. Most retail research concentrates on online retail. Instead this research discusses how technology can add value to brick-and-mortar retail. Retail is a crucial component of the U.S. economy. U.S. retail sales in the United States were $4.36 trillion USD in 2012. The greatest portion of retail sales growth has come from online sales, which is 5.2% of total retail sales. The line between brick-and-mortar and online retail is beginning to blur. At the same time retailers are trying to ensure that the overall consumer experience is seamless at all customer touch-points. This is becoming more difficult, since the Internet and Smartphones have changed the way in which consumers and retailers interact. Therefore, when addressing the Omni-channel retailers must frame this as an organizational change process, since this piece of the equation is just as important as the technological component. Additionally, we consider how the retail selling process might translate into digital retail. Lastly, this paper examines the explosive growth of the mobile app industry and how the fashion retail industry can benefit from this. / by José P. Chan. / S.M.in Management of Technology

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 39-41). / Chinese stock market is a unique financial market where heavy involvement of individual investors exists. This article explores how the sentiment expressed on social media is correlated with the stock market in China. Textual analysis for posts from one of the most popular social media in China is conducted based on Hownet and NTUSD, two most commonly used sentiment Chinese dictionaries. The correlation matrices and regressions between sentiment ratios and returns of 9 holding periods for all the 30 sample securities reveal that correlation exists between investor sentiment on social media and the future returns of the Chinese stock market. In addition, I find that negative sentiment ratio is superior than positive sentiment ratio, and correlation of sentiment ratio to return is persistent in future holding periods. Also, by comparing different stocks and indices, I find that well-established market index has better correlation with social media sentiments than individual stocks, and well-known 'star' stocks have better correlation with social media than other stocks. However, I test the VAR model on Shanghai Composite Index, and find that the model is stable but shows no Granger causality. Better data and improved analysis are needed to predict stock market with social media. / by Yonghui Wu. / S.M. in Management Studies

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-107). / by David Pease, III. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-97). / by Richard R. Barth. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 79). / by Matthew J. Matuszewski. / M.S.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-57). / Carlos Ghosn of Nissan and Sir Howard Stringer of Sony are the first non-Japanese top executives of Japanese global enterprises. At the time they were appointed CEOs, both companies were in crisis: Nissan almost facing bankruptcy and sale; Sony coping with a huge deficit and threats from emerging competitors. The main question in this paper is how Ghosn and Stringer lead and manage their companies through executive discourses, and what the implications are for other executives of Japanese global companies. First, I describe the situations at Nissan and Sony when Ghosn and Stringer became CEOs, and review relevant research on executive discourse to set up frames for analysis of their discourse. Then I establish a theoretical approach to this analysis with concepts and methods of rhetoric and corpus linguistics. For data, I choose three distinctive texts for each person. I articulate the discourse features of Ghosn and Stringer and argue why they could be of value to Japanese executives who may not have adopted those strategies. Their "foreignness" is one factor, but cultural values in Japan, including seniority and hierarchic human relationships, are also critical. I also argue that Ghosn and Stringer have their own rhetorical strategies that are different from those of Japanese executives. In order to show how the analysis of Ghosn and Stringer discourses bear on Japanese CEO rhetorical practice, I offer a similar, quick analysis of a speech by Akio Toyoda that reflects the roles of seniority and courtesy in traditional Japanese discourse, even in a globalized business world. After discussing the speech and the local, culturally determined rhetorical principles it reflects, I suggest a hybrid model, working with four concepts-Relative Self, Audience, Contents and Form, and The Situation-that can serve Japanese CEOs who need to access global audiences. / by Hiroaki "Henri" Hatayama. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M. in Management Studies)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44). / This thesis examines whether a special event will have an impact on stock market returns. Shanghai Composite Index, S&P 500, and CAC 40 are used as representation of the Chinese, U.S., and French stock markets. The author makes a hypothesis of the correlation between political influence and equity market returns. The hypothesis is tested in the thesis. The author also examines whether or not stock markets exhibit abnormal return patterns before and after the date when these events occurred. The finding of the research is that if a country is highly influenced by politics and has political information asymmetry, the stock market will exhibit abnormal (usually consistent negative) return patterns in the months prior to political elections. If a country has less political information asymmetry, there will be fewer abnormal return patterns in the stock market. This thesis also discovers that generally, in the three months prior to a war announcement or outburst of a sudden event, U.S. stock market usually exhibit negative monthly returns. While in the three months after these events, monthly index returns are generally positive. / by Li Lei. / S.M.in Management Studies

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Thesis. 1974. M.S. / MICROFICHE COPY ALSO AVAILABLE IN DEWEY LIBRARY. / Bibliography: leaves 175-176. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106). / by Ricardo L.C. Beltrão. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1984. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Bibliography: leaves 212-219. / by Philip Nicholas Duff. / M.S.