Celebrity Endorsement vs. Opposition of a Celebrity: A Study of Endorsement Effects in Politics Using a Balance Theory Approach

A study to examine celebrity endorsement effects in the political sector. The focus of this study is on the likability and expertise of celebrities to see their effectiveness in situations where the celebrity either endorses a political candidate or decides to speak against a candidate. Balance Theory is used in the study to provide theoretical support for the importance of likability and expertise. Celebrity endorsement has been studied countless times from the product/services perspective and from the political advertisement perspective. This research makes an important contribution to the political realm by using Balance Theory to understand the importance of likability and expertise of a celebrity in cases of endorsement or opposition of a candidate by the celebrity. Another important contribution of this study is its focus on the celebrity opposition of a political candidate which has not been previously studied before

When one stock share is a biological individual: a stylized simulation of the population dynamics in an order-driven market

The demand-supply relationship plays an important role in an order-driven stock market. In this thesis, we propose a stylized model by defining demand (supply) over a stock at a certain time as how many shares are on the bid (ask) side, which includes all buy (sell) limit orders and buy (sell) market orders. We treat two types of shares as two different species with an interaction effect and construct generalized Lotka-Volterra equations based on some properties or assumptions of an order-driven market. Also, we apply the model to simulate how the population of the two types of shares evolves over time under the condition that there is no signal information influencing the decisions of investors. The model suggests that the population of bid and ask shares moves either to a fixed point in the phase space or exhibits periodical dynamics. Also, our model explains, though not perfectly, why it is that stock prices sometimes behave chaotically

Bridging representational gaps in functionally diverse teams: the roles of information elaboration and perspective taking on team creativity

As a result of differences in knowledge, conflicting interpretations of new knowledge, and incompatible views among team members, problem-solving in organizations may be difficult, and be further impeded by the lack of or limited sharing of knowledge. It is vital for team members to leverage the differentiated knowledge in order to make the different perspectives more compatible and complementary to achieving team goals. With limited research on the often underestimated interaction processes between team members during problem solving exercises, this study examined information elaboration and perspective taking as interaction processes that team members engaged in during a problem-solving exercise. Data collected from an organizational behavior simulation conducted using the Lego® Serious Play™ was used to examine the interaction processes, and their effect on team creativity

Do you mind the way I mind?: mindfulness contagion in leader-member exchange relationships

Mindfulness has captured the attention of organizational scholars and practitioners alike, in large part due to the positive effects it can have for employees. Recently, researchers have begun to look beyond the personal benefits of mindfulness at work, investigating its interpersonal consequences in leader-follower relationships. While this line of research has generated promising findings suggesting the benefits of leader mindfulness for followers, it is not well understood how mindful leaders exert this positive influence. Using dyadic data collected from supervisors and subordinates working in a Canadian public sector organization, this study examines whether mindful leaders can improve follower well-being and performance by nurturing high-quality leader-member exchange relationships and promoting follower mindfulness. The results indicate that both the size and direction of the effects of leader mindfulness on follower mindfulness and well-being are contingent upon the quality of LMX relationships nurtured by group members and their leaders

Economic hardship, ontological insecurity, and household food waste

The experience of downward changes in one’s financial situation is common so that most consumers will experience it during their lifetime such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Limited research, however, has examined the impact of economic hardship on consumers’ food-related behavior. Using a sample of Canadians and Americans (n = 519; Mage = 38.4; SDage = 13.6; 46.2% female; 85% lived alone) I identify that economic hardship significantly and negatively predicts consumer food waste behavior, so economic hardship leads consumers to waste less food. I also find a positive indirect effect wherein economic hardship positively predicts ontological insecurity, the aversive feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control, which in turn positively predicts over-consumption and in turn higher food waste. This preliminary work opens the door to future research exploring a potentially rich avenue of research on the implications of adverse economic events on consumer food choice, consumption, and disposal

Coworkers' perceived justice of disability accommodation: the role of coworkers' trust and support

This study examined the effects of coworkers’ perceptions of fairness of disability accommodation on their behavioral outcomes (i.e., coworkers’ support, counterproductive work behavior). I used Prolific Academic to collect data from 301 participants from U.K and Canada who had experienced a coworkers’ disability accommodation within the last twelve months. I analyzed the data using confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and process macro model 3.4 in SPSS. Results showed that coworkers’ perceived justice was positively associated with coworkers’ support and perceived trust fully mediated the relationship between perceived justice and coworkers’ support. However, results did not support the negative relationship between perceived justice and counterproductive work behavior. Trust was not found to be a mediator in the relationship between perceived justice and counterproductive work behavior. This research highlights that understanding coworkers’ perceptions of justice during accommodation yields opportunities to enhance the positive role of coworkers in the accommodation process

Pursuing sustainable energy development via community engagement in cross sector sustainable partnerships: a case study

There now exists extensive literature on how community-led cross sector strategic partnerships can make meaningful contributions towards sustainable energy development. However there exist many gaps, identified through a literature review, around community involvement in energy partnerships in North America, Canada and specifically Southern Alberta in available research. Through an intensive case study of a community led sustainable energy project in Southern Alberta, this study aims to address this gap in literature and build theory for actionable policy directives by government and future renewable energy partnership stakeholders in the region

Leader-member congruence in mindfulness and work outcomes: the mediating role of leader-member exchange

This study extends the mindfulness literature by introducing the constructs of congruence and leader-member exchange (LMX) into the mindfulness model. I collected dyadic data from 210 subordinates and 58 supervisors in universities and banks in south-west Nigeria. The study revealed that leader mindfulness was positively related to leaders' job satisfaction and work engagement but was not significant for job performance and LMX. Member mindfulness was also positively related to members' job satisfaction, work engagement, and job performance. Further, I found that leader-member mindfulness congruence was positively related to the leaders' job satisfaction and members' job satisfaction and work engagement. Finally, leader LMX mediated the relationship between leader-member mindfulness congruence and member work engagement but did not mediate other work outcomes. This study contributes to the organizational behavior literature by showing the benefits of mindfulness, LMX, and congruence in Sub-Saharan African culture

Towards an understanding of self improvement: the intersection of the Fresh Start Effect and implicit theories

The objective of this research is to understand how individuals experience a Fresh Start Effect (FSE). Self-efficacy is tested as a driver of the effect and the phenomenon is analyzed through the lens of implicit theories. The FSE examines how new beginnings allow individuals to mentally separate from their imperfect former self and pursue self-improvement. The effect is driven by a temporal landmark (like New Year’s Day), giving the person a feeling of a new beginning. This study focuses on understanding the process underlying the FSE. Individual response is studied in terms of perceptions of self-efficacy and goal commitment. This research demonstrates that a person with a fixed mindset will change to more of a growth perspective following a Fresh Start Message (FSM). The implications of this research will help marketers implement positive change and inform individuals on how to leverage life events for successful personal improvements

Political stability and foreign subsidiary survival in the primary industries sector

This thesis investigated the impact of political stability on the survival of foreign direct investments in the primary industries sectors. It is based on the argument that less stable political environments can potentially allow foreign business investors to have more influence in shaping policy in favor of their strategic interests in the primary sector. Using a sample of 753 primary sector investments by Japanese multinational enterprises in existence from 1986 to 2013, I conducted a survival analysis to test my hypothesis as well as the moderating effect of a firm’s motives. This research contributes to the literature on political risk for foreign direct investment by building on the observation that, for primary industry investment, political stability has a non-monotonic effect on location attractiveness, which varies according to the specific motives of the foreign investor. Furthermore, the performance implications of political stability are important for multinational enterprise investors and policy makers alike