UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
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Item IT is Risky Business: Three Essays on Ensuring Reliability, Security and Privacy in Technology-Mediated Settings(2010) Anderson, Catherine Long; Agarwal, Ritu; Business and Management: Decision & Information Technologies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Today's interconnected technical environment creates unprecedented opportunities while simultaneously introducing risks. With economic, social and personal interactions increasingly occurring in technology-mediated settings new vulnerabilities are continually being introduced. In this dissertation, I develop 3 essays which seek to improve extant understanding of how organizations and individuals respond to such risks and manage the new vulnerability. The common thread underlying the studies is that the focal risk is inherently caused by the rapid digitization and dependence on information technology that has permeated economic and social activity. Essay 1 addresses the increasing dependence of organizations on the reliability of their information technology (IT) infrastructure. I draw on organizational reliability literature to classify IT infrastructure failures and theorize how collective mindfulness can change the way organizations respond to each type of failure. The results support the necessity of examining collective mindfulness at the level of its processes (versus using the omnibus measure) and provide insights into the value of collective mindfulness depending on the failure type. Essay 2 synthesizes research from information systems, communication, and psychology to form a conceptual model explicating the role played by type of information requested, the purpose for which it is to be used, and the requesting stakeholder in an individual's willingness to disclose personal health information. Further, the model incorporates the impact of emotion linked to one's health condition on willingness to disclose. Results show that emotion plays a significant role in the disclosure decision and suggest that contextual factors related to the requesting stakeholder and the intended purpose of use moderate the relationships between concern and trust on willingness to disclose personal health information. Essay 3 explores ways to minimize the perception that one is invulnerable to a security violation through an examination of the influence of message cues on computer user security-related optimistic bias and security behavior intentions. Results from experiment 1 confirm an interactive influence of self-view and risk domain frame (social or financial) on security-related intentions. Experiment 2 suggests an interactive relationship between self-view and goal frame on optimistic bias but that influence did not translate into similar changes to intentions.Item Using Online Search Data to Forecast New Product Sales(2010) Kulkarni, Gauri M.; Kannan, P.K.; Moe, Wendy W; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation focuses on online search as a measure of consumer interest. Internet use is at an all-time high in the United States, and according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 91% of Internet users use search engines to find information. Consumers' choices of search terms are not well understood. However, we argue that people will focus their searches on terms that are of interest to them. As such, data on the search terms used can provide valuable measures and indicators of consumer interest in a market. This can be particularly valuable to managers in search of tools to gauge potential product interest in a new product launch. In this research, we develop a model of pre-launch search activity. We find search term usage to follow rather predictable patterns in the pre-launch and post-launch periods. As such, we extend our pre-launch search model to link pre-release search behavior to release-week sales - providing a very valuable forecasting tool. We illustrate this approach in the context of motion pictures. Our modeling framework links search activity to sales and incorporates product characteristics. Our results indicate consistent patterns of search over time and systematic relationships between search volume, sales, and product attributes. We extend our model by studying the role of advertising. This allows us to better understand the relationship between advertising and online search activity and also allows us to compare the forecasting performances of each of the two approaches. We find that search data offers significant forecasting power in opening-weekend box-office revenues. We further find that advertising, combined with search data, offers improved forecasting ability.Item Effects of Performance Schedules on Event Ticket Sales(2009) Tseng, Peggy Hui-Hsing; Moe, Wendy W.; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Event scheduling is one of many important decisions facing event marketers in the entertainment industry (i.e., how should multiple performances be scheduled across markets, across venues, and over time?). While there is ample research examining the issues of costs and constraints associated with such a decision, virtually no research exists to examine the impact of these decisions on consumer demand. Hence, the objective of this dissertation is to examine how consumers respond to event marketers' scheduling decisions. First, a scheduling effect may arise from performances within a market. When performances are scheduled closely in distance or time, their similarity in venue locations or performance dates may result in a stronger relationship and influence ticket sales. This relationship may have a positive effect on ticket sales because the similarity could signal the quality of an event and suggest the desirability of these performances. Thus, these performances attract more consumers and sell more tickets. However, the relationship could be negative. When performances are close in distance or time, they become direct substitutes and compete for consumer patronage. Another effect arises from an event distribution across markets. When an event travels from one market to another and each market has a different performance schedule, the word of mouth of this event may accumulate and carry over to later markets. If so, market sales may be a good proxy of word of mouth. How well (or poorly) an event sells in preceding markets may affect ticket sales in following markets. This dissertation consists of three essays to examine the abovementioned scheduling effects. We contact a national ticket seller to acquire a dataset containing ticket sales of a family event traveling across 42 markets. The first essay analyzes a performance schedule in one metropolitan market and investigates the scheduling effect on ticket sales. The second essay employs all performance schedules in 42 markets to study heterogeneous market responses and propose explanatory factors. Finally, the third essay incorporates the distribution sequence of this event and examines whether ticket sales in preceding markets have a carryover effect to influence ticket sales in later markets.Item THE INFLUENCE OF CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS ON CONSUMPTION INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIOR(2009) Espinoza, Francine; Hamilton, Rebecca W; Srivastava, Joydeep; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This Dissertation comprises two essays that investigate how consumers' different motivations affect their cognitive responses and consumption behavior. Essay 1 shows that consumers' motivation to rely on their own opinion and correct their judgments for the influence of a product recommendation moderates source credibility effects on judgment certainty and behavioral intentions. Building upon earlier research showing that correction may decrease judgment certainty, we propose that, contrary to this unidirectional effect, correction has an asymmetric effect on judgment certainty and behavioral intentions, depending on the initial recommendation credibility. In a series of three studies, we provide support for the asymmetric effect of correction and show that when consumers correct for the influence of a high credibility recommendation, their judgment certainty and behavioral intentions decrease, but when they correct for the influence of a low credibility recommendation, their judgment certainty and behavioral intentions increase. Essay 2 examines the influence of consumers' motivations on product valuation and proposes that while buyers are intrinsically motivated to minimize what they are giving up, sellers are intrinsically motivated to maximize what they are getting. These differential goals lead to a discrepancy in product valuation of buyers relative to sellers. In a series of five studies, we provide support for the motivated valuation explanation for the disparity between buying and selling prices and show that when the goal pursuit of buyers and sellers is altered, buyers may be willing to buy for a higher price and sellers may be willing to buy for a lower price.Item Investigating the Role of Personality in (Sport) Consumer Behavior(2008-11-17) Mahan III, Joseph Edward; McDaniel, Stephen R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is presented as three empirical investigations examining the state of personality research in consumer behavior (CB). Each study supports the notion that the use of established personality theory can serve to better inform CB research (e.g., Baumgartner, 2002). Study one builds upon previous research in evaluating and comparing the validity and reliability of the Impulsive Sensation Seeking (ImpSS) scale with the more established Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V (SSS-V) and a third measure of Optimum Stimulation Level (OSL) in both homogenous and heterogeneous samples. Findings suggest ImpSS to be a valid and reliable alternative to SSS-V. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) results point to concurrent validity of ImpSS and SSS-V. In addition, the predictive validity of ImpSS compares favorably to both SSS-V and CSI in the context of high-risk behavioral correlates (i.e., gambling, smoking, and drinking). Consumer use of imagery to process advertising messages has received much attention in the literature (e.g., Thompson and Hamilton 2006) yet little is known about its underlying structure. Study two adopts a hierarchical personality approach (cf. Mowen and Spears 1999) in examining the influence of certain traits on an individual's processing style. Results suggest that variance in preferences for a visual processing style may be explained by interplay among some higher-order personality traits (i.e., Openness to Experience and fantasy-proneness) but not others (i.e., ImpSS). The findings of study two also provide a platform for the third investigation by demonstrating that a theoretically-grounded personality trait (i.e., fantasy proneness) appears to play a role in mode of processing. The third study examines the role of personality in the imagery processing of sport marketing stimuli. Specifically, this investigation explores the effects of fantasy proneness on processing and response to print ads containing varying levels of sport-related imagery. While the research hypotheses are not supported, this study follows existing imagery-processing literature (e.g., Petrova & Cialdini, 2005) in that manipulation of imagery-eliciting ad elements (i.e., ad copy) can lead to increased processing and more favorable ad response. Results of post hoc regression analyses also imply that fantasy proneness may, in fact, play a small role in consumer processing.Item Strategic Product Design for Retail Channel Acceptance under Uncertainty and Competition(2007-11-05) Williams, Nathan Adam; Azarm, Shapour; Kannan, P.K.; Mechanical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Significant recent research has focused on the marriage of consumer preferences and engineering design in order to improve profitability. However, in many markets, the profitability of new products for manufacturers is also a significant function of the retail channel structure through which the new products reach the ultimate customer. At the crux of the issue is the fact that channel dominating retailers, like Home Depot, Toys R' Us, Wal-Mart have significant power arising from their hundreds of billions of dollars of sales revenue and have the ability to unilaterally control a manufacturer's access to the customers. A product design methodology is proposed that accounts for this new and important power asymmetry. Manufacturer's product success as defined by profit is affected by pricing at the retail and wholesale levels which in turn is dependent on the channel structure, i.e., retailer monopoly or duopoly. These channel structures are explored in this dissertation under an econometric or game theoretic framework and the results are shown to have important implications for designers. Additional non-traditional considerations for engineering product design such as bundling and exclusive contracts which are typical for retail channels are also explored by integrating marketing models with a design optimization structure. Lastly, some design methods for mitigating uncertainty in the strategic landscape of retailer dominated channels are developed. The dissertation has three research thrusts. Research Thrust 1 is devoted to developing a product design optimization approach with retailer acceptance as a probabilistic constraint on candidate designs. Slotting allowances are considered in concert with engineering design as complimentary approaches to achieving access to consumer markets. The retailer's decision framework and the design optimization approach of Thrust 1 are extended in Thrust 2 to include competitive pricing responses from both competing manufacturers and channel controlling retailers. In Thrust 2 the implications for product design when manufacturers face monopolistic and duopolistic retail channels is explored as well as the design implications of an exclusive manufacturer/retailer relationship. Finally, in Thrust 3 the prior thrusts are implemented for multiple product categories and product bundles in order to consider synergy and competition amongst multiple complementary designs. Under this final Thrust 3, an approach to mitigating the risk of uncertainty in competitor design attributes is also developed.Item examining the influence of sensation seeking and gender on consumers' emotional responses to visual stimuli in computer-simulated slot machines(2007-09-10) lim, choonghoon; McDaniel, Stephen R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Purpose: Based on research on gambling and consumer psychology, the current study examines the influence of individuals' sensation seeking and gender on their emotional responses to visual stimulation during computer mediated slot-machine gaming. Methods: Following a pilot test to establish the reliability of scaled measures, as well as the validity of gambling stimuli and baseline treatments, data are collected from a sample of social gamblers (18+), as identified by the SOGS diagnostic. The experiment consisted of three phases. First, information on subjects' characteristics was gathered, including SS, gambling history, and gambling attitudes. Second, subjects participated in baseline tasks, designed to level their emotional states. Utilizing a randomized block design, participants (N = 200) then played a computer-mediated slot machine, with the conditions varying across groups in terms of level of visual stimulation (speed/duration of spin). Subjects also completed self-report measures of emotion (PAD) relative to their gambling experience. Results: Following the gambling and personality literature, data were analyzed separately by gender. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant interaction effects between SS levels and visual manipulations, in terms of subjects' emotional responses. However, there were significant main effects of SS on A for males and on P for females. Further, there was a significant main effect of visual stimuli on A for males. A post hoc analysis found a significant main effect of winning sequence on D, where sequence of game/spin outcomes (win-near miss, near miss-win, win-miss disconnected) influenced perceived control. Conclusion: This investigation is one of the first attempts to examine emotional response to certain features of slots in terms of SS. SS is not found to moderate visual stimulation effects on emotional responses for either sex. However, the data partially support the notion that certain emotions vary as a function of the main effects of SS or visual stimuli. The study results also indicate that males and females show different patterns of emotion within each treatment condition. Further, winning sequence is found to be a significant predictor for the D dimension of emotion. The applied/theoretical implications of the study's findings are discussed, along with future directions for research.Item The Impact Of Online Sponsored Search Advertising On Consumer And Seller Strategies(2007-08-07) Animesh, Animesh; Agarwal, Ritu; Viswanathan, Siva; Business and Management: Decision & Information Technologies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sponsored search advertising has emerged as an important and significant forum for advertisers, accounting for 40% of all advertising spending online. The unique features of sponsored search advertising - the nature of consumer search as well as the pricing mechanisms employed - differentiate it from traditional advertising formats, and raise many interesting questions regarding consumers' search and purchase behavior, sellers' advertising strategies, and the ensuing market dynamics. However, despite the robust growth in sponsored search advertising, research on its implications is limited. My dissertation, comprising three essays, seeks to fill this gap. In addition to examining the effects of sponsored search advertising on consumers and sellers, I also investigate the validity of theories developed for traditional media in an emerging online sponsored search context. The first essay focuses on the impact of a seller's sponsored search advertising strategies, including its rank in the sponsored listing, the unique selling proposition (USP) employed in its advertisement text/creative, and competitive market dynamics on the performance of the focal seller's advertisement. Drawing upon prior research on consumer search and directional markets, I propose a model of the consumer search process in the sponsored search context and conduct an empirical study to test the research model. The results validate the research hypothesis that the search listing can act as a consumer filtering mechanism and competitive intensity within adjacent ranks has a significant impact on the seller's performance. The second essay employs consumer search and quality signaling theories from information systems, marketing, and economics to understand the impact of the informational cues contained in the sponsored search listing about sellers' relative advertising expenditure on consumer search and purchase behavior. Contrary to conventional wisdom, I find that the unique format of the sponsored search listing significantly increases the strength of the advertising signal vis-à-vis the price signal. In addition, I find that the risk attitude of consumers has a significant impact on the valence of these different information cues in the online setting. The third essay examines market outcomes in directional markets such as sponsored search and comparison shopping advertising. Specifically, I focus on comparison shopping advertising where advertising not only informs consumers about price and quality but also directs consumer search. I find that the relationship between a firm's price, quality, and advertising intensity in this market is strikingly different from that in traditional markets, a result attributable to the differential impact of price and quality on an advertiser's conversion rates and profit margins. Overall, these studies provide crucial insights into consumer behavior in online sponsored search markets. These findings have significant implications for firms, as well as for the market makers. Insights from these studies will enable practitioners to develop appropriate advertising strategies and online intermediaries to optimize the design of online sponsored search markets.Item My Mobile Music: An Adaptive Personalization System For Digital Audio Players(2007-07-30) Chung, Tuck Siong; Rust, Roland T.; Wedel, Michel; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This paper develops a music recommendation system that automates the downloading of songs into a mobile digital audio device. The system tailors the composition of the songs to the preferences of individuals based on past behaviors. By assuming that an individual will listen longer to a song that provides a higher utility, we describe and predict individual listening behavior using a lognormal hazard function. Our recommendation system is the first to accomplish this and there is no viable alternative. Yet, our proposed approach provides an improvement over naïve methods that could be used for product recommendations. Our system has a number of distinct features. First, we use of a Sequential Monte Carlo algorithm that enables the system to deal with massive historic datasets on listening behavior of individuals. Second, we apply a variable selection procedure that helps to reduce the dimensionality of the problem, because in many applications the collection of songs need to be described by a very large number of explanatory variables (in particular music genres variables). Third, our system recommends a batch of products rather than a single product, taking into account the predicted utility and the uncertainty in the parameter estimates, and applying experimental design methods. The simulation section of this paper demonstrated that our model does achieve it objectives in handling massive data and improving predictions through model averaging. By using simulated data in the simulation, and thus knowing the true parameters, the Sequential Monte Carlo and variable selection procedures were shown to provide good estimates of an individual's preferences. Experimental results show that variable selection does simplify estimation and prediction as different individuals differ in the number of variables need to definite their listening behaviors. The results also show that for some individuals, model averaging does in fact help to improve predictions. The results of the experiment show that our model provides 23 - 35% improvement in recommendations. This improvement is achieved in a single wave and in a natural experimental setting in which the subjects have a choice or when, where and how they want to listen to the songs.Item Essays on Making Interdependent Decisions and Their Evaluations(2007-04-30) Oza, Shweta S; Srivastava, Joydeep; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation comprises of two essays that investigate factors influencing interdependent decision-making and the evaluations of such decision outcomes. In the first essay, we examine the influence of time taken by a bargaining opponent to respond to an offer on bargainers' perceptions of their own bargaining outcomes. Extending previous research in several important ways, we propose and test a conceptualization where inferences of opponent's reservation price lie at the core of the underlying explanation. Second, we provide additional insight into the underlying process by showing that delay influences perceptions of bargaining outcomes only when it is related to the bargaining. Third, unlike previous work that examined the effect of delay when an offer was accepted, we extend the inquiry to situations where an offer is rejected. Fourth, we identify and test two factors - knowledge of opponent's best alternative to negotiated agreement and persuasion knowledge - that moderate the influence of response time on perceptions of bargaining outcomes. Results of five studies provide insight into the underlying process by identifying and testing boundary conditions for the effect of delay. In the second essay, we focus on generic campaigns that are funded voluntarily (rather than mandatory contributions), and examine the influence of situational factors (e.g., market trends) and solicitation appeals on voluntary contributions to a generic campaign. Viewing generic advertising campaigns as a public goods problem, a conceptual framework based on goal systems theory is developed to suggest that situational factors such as market trends induce different goals, which in turn, influence voluntary contributions. The conceptual framework also suggests that a solicitation appeal that is more congruent with the induced goal is likely to be more effective in increasing voluntary contributions relative to incongruent appeals. Consistent with the framework, three studies show that voluntary contributions to generic campaigns are higher when the market trend is declining versus increasing. Further, solicitations that make the induced goal and the means to achieve that goal salient are more effective in increasing contributions. The implications of the findings are discussed along with directions for future research.