Brown Bag Presentations

PROGRAM FOR THE SPRING 2015 BROWN BAG SESSION II
May 13, Time 2:00 – 3:00 PM
VENUE: G262 (CBPA LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM)
 
 
INFLUENCE OF FORECASTING ON BULLWHIP EFFECT
Presenter: John Simon
 
ABSTRACT          
Supply chains may suffer from the ‘bullwhip effect’: the increasing variability of demand as one moves upstream along the chain.  There are many causes for the bullwhip effect in supply chains, but it is insightful to see how forecasting methods alone may lead to it.  We consider some of the common time-series forecasting methods taught in business programs and see how they may bring about the bullwhip effect under basic demand patterns.  The results are interesting particularly in the use of regression model, and useful in the area of supply chain management as well as forecasting.
 
DOES ONE SIZE FIT ALL? HOW HIGH COMMITMENT SYSTEMS IMPACT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORK-FAMILY PRACTICES
Presenter: Chelsea Vanderpool
 
ABSTRACT          
Organizations have increasingly adopted HR practices that aim to enhance work-family balance for employees, but results regarding the effectiveness of such practices have been mixed (e.g., Kossek & Ozeki, 1999). Recent research has indicated that the degree to which employees use family-friendly benefits at their organizations depends upon the degree to which employees feel supported in the use of such practices (e.g., Allen, 2001). While it appears that employees vary in the extent to which they perceive such support, it is not clear from where this support originates. Is it simply a function of each individual supervisor’s management style? In other words, are employees simply more likely to perceive some supervisors as more supportive because they allow employees the flexibility needed to balance their work and family lives? Or could it originate from broader organizational factors, such as the overall HR system? This paper proposes and provides a preliminary test of a model of how the HR system influences the work-family interface with full-time employees in the video game industry. Results suggest that previous mixed results regarding the impact of work-family HR practices on employee outcomes may have been due to an omitted variable: the broader HR system.

PROGRAM for the SPRING 2015 BROWN BAG SESSION I

State Antitakeover Laws and Corporate Tax Avoidance

Presenter: Xinghua Gao

Abstract:  We examine the association between corporate governance, the takeover market in particular, and tax avoidance from the perspective of state antitakeover laws that have significantly shaped the takeover market and have operated to exacerbate traditional agency problems. We find that the strength of antitakeover statutes in a state is negatively related to the extent of tax avoidance of firms incorporated in that state. The negative relation holds for both cross-sectional analyses and change analyses using the passage of business combination laws as an exogenous event. Further analyses reveal that the negative association does not stem from managers entrenched by state antitakeover protection enjoying a quiet life and underinvesting in tax planning opportunities. Rather, our data fit well into a story that managers refrain from tax planning to avoid potential tax-specific price discounts as investors view tax avoidance and rent extraction complementary especially in an environment with severe agency problems.

Volatility and Persistence in the U.S. Automobile Industry: Persistence as a Signal of Brand Loyalty

Presenter: Anthony Andrews

Abstract:  This article examines the impact and persistence of automobile recalls on the market share of the top three (3) producers in the U.S. automobile market. Building on Signaling Theory (Spence, 2002) we focus on the manner in which consumers view auto recalls with respect to the 2010 Toyota recall.  Research suggests that recalls act as a signal to auto consumers regarding product quality and brand loyalty. We model persistence as a signal using impulse response functions of a three-firm Vector Autoregression model:VAR(3). Our results show that recalls are short-lived and Toyota's market shares return to previous share levels.

THE STRUGGLE FOR DOMINANCE DURING THE EMERGENCE OF THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY: A STRATEGIC ACTION FIELD PERSPECTIVE

Presenter: Gokce Sargut

Abstract:  This paper applies the strategic action field perspective (Fligstein, 2013; Fligstein and McAdam, 2012) in exploring the dynamics of competition in the American Film Industry. The paper specifically focuses on the period prior to the establishment of the major Hollywood studios as the dominant players in the 1930s, and explores their role as challengers against the incumbents led by the Industry’s first cartel, the Motion Picture Patents Company (the “Trust”). I argue that the strategic action field perspective helps provide valuable insights into the dynamics of emergence, change, and stability in this field through its unique articulation of incumbents, challengers, and socially skilled actors—as well as these actors’ interactions with one another and adjacent fields.

Picking Orders in the Right Sequence

Presenter: Feng Tian

Abstract: To fill up orders, warehouse usually allocates items to several picking zones, and arrange these picking zones along a conveyor belt. An order will be transferred by conveyor belt through these picking zones. The time an order stays at a picking zone depends on how many items will be filled from this zone. The biggest challenge for such a picking system is how to arrange orders so the total throughput time will be minimized. In this research, we build up a model to describe the problem, and propose the optimal solution. To save calculation time, heuristic algorithms are also proposed.

Scintilla - Illuminating Minds 
CBPA Research Conference
December 10, 2014; 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.; Venue: GSU Hall Of Honors  

 
The Intra-Market Effects of the Mt. Gox Meltdown

Semih Çekin, David Green, and Michael Williams*   

We examine the cross-market dynamic relationships among four BitCoin, cryptocurrency markets. We pay particular attention to these cross-market relations during the introduction of a new, competing BitCoin currency, BitFinex, and the subsequent demise of the once-prominent BitCoin currency, Mt. Gox. Our preliminary findings show that BitFinex's introduction led to a shifting of trading activity from the once popular Mt. Gox exchange to other exchanges, in particular, BitFinex. Mt. Gox's loss of trading activity caused price distortions in all BitCoin markets under study. In addition, cross-market relationships, especially those between Mt Gox and other markets, became less efficient while Mt. Gox experienced its death throes. These inefficiencies, however, disappeared once Mt. Gox shut down. Our study provides evidence that BitCoin markets are susceptible to volume losses to rival exchanges, that shifting trading activity is also associated with price distortions mainly originating from the suffering exchange, but that BitCoin cross-market dynamics are resilient and, ultimately, self-healing from shocks

All You Need is Trust? An Examination of Interorganizational Supply Chain Projects.

Andreas Brinkhoff, Özalp Özer, and Gökçe Sargut*

We examine the effects of relationship-level (trust and asymmetric dependence) and project-level factors (between-firm communication and within-firm commitment) on the success of inter-firm supply chain projects. In order to further probe our surprising findings, we introduce a categorical scheme that differentiates supply chain projects based on decision rights configuration. We discuss how firms can effectively manage supply chain projects and alliances.

Fiscal Disparity and Equalization in the Russian Federation

Ermasova Natalia* and Sergey Ermasov 

The regions of the Russian Federation are economically disparate.  Much of the disparity is driven by differential endowments of energy resources and this diversity translates into highly diverse fiscal capacities and need for government services.  Although regions do have some independent revenue-raising authority, all taxes are administered by the national Ministry of Taxation and a sizable share (roughly 45% percent) of total national revenue is transferred to regional and local government. The transfers, however, are not of equal importance to all regions.  This article focuses on vertical and horizontal balance in the country and fiscal stress across regions.  This study recounts the experiences of Russian regional governments in dealing with fiscal stress during the 2008 – 2012 periods, a period of the most severe global economic downturn of the last seventy years.   Much of the disparity is driven by differential endowments of energy resources and this diversity translates into highly diverse fiscal capacities and need for government services.  Although regions do have some independent revenue-raising authority, all taxes are administered by the national Ministry of Taxation and a sizable share (roughly 45% percent) of total national revenue is transferred to regional and local government. The transfers, however, are not of equal importance to all regions.  This research identifies what sorts of governments have faced the most fiscal stress, how shares of revenue from various sources shifted with the recession, and how the fiscal system responded to the recession. Following research questions are explored: (1) What sorts of governments have faced the most fiscal stress during the recession?  What parts of the country have subnational governments in greatest fiscal stress?  Where was fiscal stress the greatest?   (2) What factors have driven fiscal stress? (3) How have governments with the greatest stress dealt with fiscal stress? (4) How did revenue shares with the recession?  Were certain sources more heavily impacted than others? (5) What differential revenue capacity and program costs are across the regions? This research particularly focuses on the extent to which particular national transfer programs mitigate fiscal disparity

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

Do the Credits and Mandates Apply to Residents and Employers in States with Federal Exchanges?

Brian McKenna* and Nancy K. McKenna

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius that the Act was constitutional.  Many Americans believed that this Supreme Court decision brought closure to the legal challenges to the PPACA.  However, given the size and complexity of the statutory scheme as well as the unexpected reaction of a number of States, a second round of challenges is now moving through the federal courts.

*The presenters