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.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item A Multi-Method Examination of Partitioned Pricing(2015) Abraham, Ajay Thomas; Hamilton, Rebecca W; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigates the relationship between partitioned pricing (Morwitz, Greenleaf, and Johnson 1998) and dependent variables such as demand, preference, and attention. The first essay proposes a theoretical framework to examine extant and new moderators of partitioned pricing, classifying moderators based on the source of their impact as presentational, evaluative, or attentional. A meta-analysis of 17 years of research on partitioned pricing examines 149 observations from 43 studies in 27 papers (N = 12,878). The perceived benefit of the surcharge and the typicality of partitioning the surcharge in the category emerge as robust moderators of the effect of partitioned pricing on consumer demand. Surcharges for components perceived to provide high benefit and highly typical surcharges make partitioned prices more attractive. Replicating the meta-analytic effects of typicality, a follow-up experiment shows a more positive effect of partitioning on preference for typical surcharges than for atypical surcharges, and an eye-tracking experiment offers insight into the underlying mechanism by showing that people pay more attention to atypical surcharges than to typical surcharges. Different pricing strategies in the same market suggest different beliefs about the efficacy of partitioning prices on consumers' preferences. The second essay in this dissertation explores the impact of two countervailing theoretical influences that may predict how the numerical magnitude of surcharges can affect preferences. "Base price anchoring" suggests that as the magnitude of the surcharge increases (holding the total price constant), consumers may anchor on a lower base price, leading them to evaluate partitioned prices more favorably. In contrast, "surcharge salience" suggests that as the magnitude of the surcharge increases, attention to the surcharge increases, and evaluations of partitioned prices decrease. An analysis of eBay auction data reveals support for the influence of base price anchoring, and a follow-up experiment suggests that this mechanism dominates at lower levels of surcharge magnitude whereas surcharge salience dominates at higher levels of surcharge magnitude. Finally, an eye-tracking study demonstrates the influence of surcharge salience on preference and attention.Item A Meta-Analytical Test of Perceived Behavioral Control Interactions in the Theory of Planned Behavior(2013) Boudewyns, Vanessa; Fink, Edward L.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study used meta-analytic procedures to test for interaction effects among the components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The central hypothesis examined was that attitudes and subjective norms should perform less well in explaining intentions when perceptions of behavioral control are low. A traditional meta-analysis of nine studies that directly examined perceived behavioral control (PBC) interactions was conducted. A second meta-analysis--the main focus of this dissertation--was conducted that tested for two- and three-way interactions in which the presence of PBC interactions was investigated in 121 studies, which provided 154 data sets with 44,424 participants. In addition to testing for two-way PBC interactions, this meta-analysis also examined whether the presence of PBC interactions depended on other variables. Specifically, three-way interactions with type of behavior classification (i.e., public versus private, familiar versus unfamiliar) and type of PBC operationalization (e.g., self-efficacy, perceived difficulty, perceived control, or some combination of the three) were explored. Results indicated that attitude by PBC interactions exist but that the effects vary depending on the type of PBC operationalization and behavior context. In addition, meta-analytic structural equation modeling was used to examine whether the association between PBC and intention is mediated by attitude and subjective norms; however, no evidence for this relationship was found. Finally, results from an auxiliary analysis revealed that the attitude by PBC interaction on intention had statistically significant nonlinear effects in addition to a linear effect. In contrast, the norm by PBC interaction did not have statistically significant linear or nonlinear effects. The discussion highlights the effects of different meta-analytic techniques, the need for future investigation using experimental designs, the implications of these findings for further theory development, and practical implications for health communication researchers. In sum, through the use of a multi-faceted approach to quantitatively review attitude by perceived control and norm by perceived control interactions in the TPB, this study helped to address inconclusive results with regard to the existence and type of PBC interactions.Item Less Debate, More Analysis: A Meta-Analysis of Literature on Broken Windows Policing(2011) Distler, Michael Robert; McGloin, Jean; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In their broken windows thesis, Wilson and Kelling (1982) propose that social and physical disorder leads to a breakdown in informal social controls, thereby allowing more serious crime to occur. This framework had a tangible impact on policy, though research has shown mixed results with regard to its effectiveness. This thesis conducts a meta-analysis of 66 effect sizes, nested within eleven studies, in order to better understand the effect of broken windows policing on crime according to the literature. Results show that broken windows policing does have an effect on crime and that methodological characteristics of the studies are related to the effect. The discussion section considers the relationship between these findings and other meta-analyses on policing innovations, such as hot spots and problem-oriented policing.Item Investigating center effects in a multi-center clinical trial study using a parametric proportional hazards meta-analysis model(2009) Demissie, Mathewos Solomon; Slud, Eric V; Mathematical Statistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this paper, we investigate meta-analysis of the overall treatment effect in the setting of a multi-center clinical trial study in which patient level data are available. We estimate the overall treatment effect using two methods: meta-analysis, which uses the summary statistics from each center and a unified combined analysis of patient level data. In the meta-analysis we use a random effects meta-analysis model and in both analyses we use a parametric proportional hazards model. In a randomized clinical trial study, subjects are recruited at multiple centers to accrue large enough samples within an acceptable period of time and to enhance the generalizability of study results. Heterogeneity between trials may arise from the center effects or treatment effect itself. To take into account the heterogeneities, random effects models are used. We performed a data analysis based on a multi-center clinical trial study in small-cell lung cancer conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and then parallel data analysis within a simulation study. In the simulation study we vary the magnitude of the center and the treatment-by-center heterogeneity in the data generation and estimated the over all treatment effect using the two methods. We compared the two methods in terms of bias, mean square error and percentage of significant treatment effect. The simulation study shows that meta-analysis treatment effects estimate are slightly biased when covariates are included in the analysis.