An Investigation of Sport Sponsorship Antecedents and Outcomes through Levels of Sponsor Prominence

Currently, global sport sponsorship is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to show strong year-to-year growth (IEG, 2016). Additionally, the current body of sport sponsorship literature has reported the effects of salient attitudinal and behavioral constructs on sponsorship effectiveness. For example, previous studies have indicated that the perceived sincerity and attitude toward a sponsor do positively effect a consumer\u27s behavioral intentions toward a sponsor (Speed & Thompson, 2000; Biscaia, Correia, Rosado, Ross, & Maroco, 2013). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to measure consumer attitudes and behavioral intent toward sponsor, through experimental design, when exposed to one of three hypothetical sponsorship scenarios. The hypothetical sponsors were classified by their level of national market prominence (e.g. national, regional, or local) and participants completed an online survey containing salient attitudinal and behavioral constructs. The final sample size was 1162 and were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The final MIMIC model exhibited data-model fit very well. Results indicated that local sponsors, when covaried by a hypothetical sponsor’s level of national market prominence, were the best predictor of consumer attitudes and behavioral intent

The psychometrics of Internet addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder: a step towards measurement unification

Previous research on gaming addiction and Internet addiction (IA) has relied on inconsistent definitions and theoretical frameworks to define these constructs, and has negatively impacted on their assessment. However, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) included 'Internet Gaming Disorder' (IGD) as a tentative disorder in need of further investigation in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Following this preliminary recognition of gaming addiction as potential disorder, unification and standardisation in the field in terms of assessment became possible given that the DSM-5 provided a set of official criteria defining IGD that could be implemented in future research. The research in this thesis substantially contributes to knowledge by (i) systematically reviewing the inconsistencies in the psychometric assessment of IGD and IA, (ii) developing a new potentially unifying standardised psychometric assessment framework for both disorders, and (iii) identifying potential risk factors for IGD and IA. A cross-sectional design was employed across all empirical studies (Study 1, N = 1,003; Study 2, N = 1,060; Study 3, N = 1,105; Study 4, N = 1,100), and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling (i.e., measurement model and latent profile analysis), alongside traditional bivariate statistical modelling. The results indicated that, at a theoretical level, the use of inconsistent assessment tools to investigate IGD and IA has hindered progress in the field. At an empirical level, the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test) and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) were developed to assess IGD, and the Internet Disorder Scale (IDS-15) and the Internet Disorder Scale–Short Form (IDS9-SF) were developed to assess IA based on the IGD conceptualisation provided by the APA in the DSM-5. Overall, the research in this thesis confirms the usefulness of the utilisation of the IGD framework and the psychometric tools developed as a potential avenue to overcome the shortcomings related to previous heterogeneity issues in the assessment of both IGD and IA

Essays on Upper Echelons & Strategic Renewal: A Multilevel Contingency Approach

To survive and prosper firms have to renew their strategies to maintain a dynamic strategic fit with their changing environments. Strategic renewal can be understood as the adaptive choices and actions a firm undertakes to alter its path dependence and maintain a dynamic strategic fit with changing environments over time. In this dissertation we endeavor to develop and test theory on how, and under what environmental, firm, and team conditions, the organization’s key decision makers –its Upper Echelons, pursue particular adaptive responses. We focus on some contingencies that prompt Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Top Management Teams (TMTs), and Middle Managers (MMs) to adapt through internal and/or external modes of renewal. We propose that heterogeneity in adaptive strategic choices ensues from the contingent search patterns (behavioral, cognitive, and informational) adopted by the organization’s Upper Echelons. In the first study we find asymmetric behavioral search patterns of CEOs in relation to different cross-level correlates. In study two we find that TMT attributes influence cognitive search-focus in dynamic environments to explain heterogeneous adaptive responses. In the third study we find that TMT and MM attributes can either enable or hamper changes in structures, processes, and practices. Study four exposes how the complex interaction between TMT diversity and shared TMT vision drive new knowledge creation from the stock of knowledge acquired through informational search activities by TMTs. The findings from the four studies, each adopting a unique database, provide evidence on how contingent search patterns of Upper Echelons drive different modes of renewal

The rise of micro and small-scale entrepreneurial activity in a melting down economy: a case of Zimbabwe.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2014.Entrepreneurship is viewed as a pertinent vehicle for economic growth, development, employment creation and income generation (entrepreneurial effects). Small-scale, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) are the dominant entrepreneurial activity in Africa, but less than 1% of these SMMEs grow to ten or more employees. A lack of homogeneity among SMMEs, making it difficult for common policies to be effective is the problem most often identified as the cause of this lack of growth. In the period 1997 to 2008, Zimbabwe experienced an economic meltdown which plunged many citizens into poverty. On the other hand, a steep growth in micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) was also observed in both formal and informal sectors. Following the meltdown these MSEs are still operational but with minimal contribution to the recovery of the economy. This thesis looked at the micro and macro aspects of micro and small-scale entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe in the wake of the economic meltdown. At the macro level, the objective was to develop a model that best describes the relationship between the economic meltdown and the growth of micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) in Zimbabwe, by testing for the presence of refugee effects. Understanding the relationship between entrepreneurship and key macroeconomic growth indicators is critical for generating growth and development in both a normal, and a meltdown economy. Using annual data from 1980 to 2010, a multivariate Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was run, with the total number of MSEs, unemployment rate, inflation rate, liquidity (proxied by money supply) and real GDP as the dependent variables. The main findings of this study indicate the presence of refugee effects from unemployment, albeit minimal, and that the growth in MSEs was significant because of the shortage of liquidity. The relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship is not linear, but squared and positive in both instances. At the micro level, three objectives underpinned this study. The first objective was to examine whether there were differences in entrepreneurial attributes between formal sector and informal sector firms, using descriptive statistics and non-parametric t-tests. The second objective was to assess the nature of the growth constraints of existing MSEs (formal and iii informal), and compare them across the two sectors. The constraints were examined from two sources: internal and external. The methodology used in this case was factor analysis and principal component analysis. On the basis of the constraints classifications generated from principal component analysis, a regression was done to test whether the constraints are related to the willingness to formalise by informal MSEs. The contribution of need for achievement (N-Ach) on willingness to formalise was also tested in a logistic regression. Relevant data for the micro level analysis was collected by means of a survey in Harare, Zimbabwe. Using a questionnaire, 150 MSEs operating in both formal and informal sectors were interviewed. The questionnaire had 3 sections: the first section characterised the MSEs; the second section looked at the growth constraints of the MSEs and last section measured the need for achievement (N-Ach) of the business owner, using the Mehrabian scale of achieving tendency. The data collected was analysed using SPSS and STATA. The main findings were that the characteristics of the MSEs in the formal sector are different to those of the informal sector. Formal sectors identified internal factors as hindering the growth of their business more than the external factors, whereas the informal MSEs identified more external factors as constraints to their growth. From the logistic regression analysis, ‘regulatory factors’ and ‘technology factors’ were found to have a significant impact on the willingness by informal MSEs to formalise their business. Improving N-Ach may significantly decrease the odds of the informal MSEs formalising their businesses. The study concluded that MSE growth was in response to the economic meltdown, being driven by the refugee effects from a need for liquidity and rising unemployment. Secondly, uniform policies for MSEs in formal and informal sectors fail to address their individual growth needs because of the differences in the dynamics of entrepreneurs operating in the formal sector and informal sector. Thirdly the odds of willingness to formalise by informal MSEs are positively linked to the regulatory framework around the process of business registration

Modeling consumer behavior in the portuguese recycling program: the logistics and communication planning implications

Tese de Doutoramento, Métodos Quantitativos Aplicados à Economia e à Gestão na especialidade de Estatística, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2004Based on the data of the most recent national survey conducted in Portugal for Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV) concerning the attitudes and motivations towards household packaging separation and selective disposal for recycling, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the use of multivariate statistical methods to provide a quantitative formative research on the determinants of recycling behavior in the Portuguese case

Phytochemical and enzyme supplementation of broiler chicken diets and the effects on intestinal microflora, nutrient utilisation and performance

Abstract available: p. 2-4

College of Engineering

Cornell University Courses of Study Vol. 93 2001/200