Success in Business

Takeovers of privately-held targets have outnumbered takeovers of publiclytraded
targets over the years. This dissertation focuses on takeover activities of privatelyheld
targets and examines several important issues which have never been touched on in
the literature. The first essay examines the factors that determine the choice between a
privately-held target and a publicly-traded target. After the size of the target and the
prevalence of private firms in each industry in each year are controlled for, I find that the
stock bidder tends to target a privately-held firm and the cash bidder tends to target a
publicly-traded firm when pursuing a high-tech target. When acquiring a firm in the same
industry and being inexperienced in takeover activities, the bidder is more likely to target
a publicly-traded firm as opposed to a privately-held firm. The passage of the SarbanesOxley
Act (SOX) also has an affect on the choice of a privately-held target or a publiclytraded
target; everything else being equal, the cash bidder is more likely choose to
acquire a private firm while the stock bidder is less likely to choose a private firm upon
the introduction of SOX. The second essay examines the factors that influence the choice
of stock versus cash payment in takeovers of privately-held targets. Stock is found to be more frequently used among takeovers in which the bidding firm has more debt and less
free cash flow prior to the deal , the target is a high-tech firm, and the target management
is retained in the combined entity. In addition, since the adoption of SOX, cash has been
used more frequently and to greater extent among the sample of takeovers of privatelyheld
targets. The third essay examines the effects of restrictions on resale of stock issued
in takeovers on the bidder's wealth effect and long-run stock price performance. I find
that restrictions on resale of stock are more popular among takeovers of privately-held
targets as compared to takeovers of publicly-traded targets. Restrictions on resale are
found to be positively related to the bidder's announcement abnormal return and
negatively related to the bidder's long-run stock price performance.

Researchers and policy makers consider entrepreneurship to be a major source of economic development and competitiveness. Determinants of entrepreneurship have been studied at individual, regional and national levels. Even though research indicates that variation in the levels of entrepreneurship across regions within nations is greater than the national differences and that these differences persist over time (Bosma & Schutjen 2009, 2011; Fritsch & Mueller 2006; Sternberg 2004; Tamásy 2006), we still do not know the full range of regional level determinants of entrepreneurship. I drew from Wennekers’ (2006) framework and link two lines of research (international entrepreneurship and international management) to examine the effects of institutional, economic, technological and cultural contexts on entrepreneurship across within-country regions developed ten hypotheses regarding the relationship of institutional, economic, technological and cultural context to entrepreneurship. I tested these hypotheses within Europe using the regional classification scheme developed by the European Union. Data for the variables came from the European Values Survey, European Social Survey, Eurostat, World Bank, International Social Security Association, Eurobarometer and the Global Competitiveness Report. To test the hypothesized relationships, I use Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM 6.0.) The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between institutional trust, Long Term Orientation and entrepreneurship levels across regions. In conclusion, examination of region-level predictors of entrepreneurship must include different measures of entrepreneurship to provide more accurate understanding and to inform policy makers.

At the dawn of a new presidential election, we are reminded that what separates the United States from the rest of the world are the immigrants who came here in the pursuit of the American Dream. These immigrants do not just come to the United States as workers, but also as consumers and entrepreneurs who contribute to the American economy, and use the profits created by their successful entrepreneurship(s) in a way that they become catalysts of change. None of the studies have managed to track the qualities and perceptions of these entrepreneurial immigrants turned philanthropists since the 1940’s. By focusing on their life experiences using an instrumental case study approach, we start to form the profile of the modern day immigrant entrepreneur and philanthropist by analyzing them through five lenses: immigration, adult education, entrepreneurship, leadership, and philanthropy. Using these five lenses, we can better understand the optative aspects of entrepreneurial immigrantship as a part of social impact on Florida’s Gold Coast. Their core family values of tithing and lending a helping hand to those in need transfer into social activism in terms of donations of wealth and donations of time. Although they do not consider themselves leaders in the communities they live and work in, the research findings are quite the opposite. They are socially involved through memberships and leadership positions on local, national, and international non- profit boards, they spearhead major fundraising events and initiatives, and they establish private or corporate foundations and even support candidates seeking political office, whether here or abroad. In essence, they became philanthropists and community activists, who by virtue of immigrating and opening their businesses here add value to Florida’s Gold Coast.

This dissertation assessed two aspects of entrepreneurial scanning related to new ventures. The first was the information search and analysis these entrepreneurs performed when they made certain basic decisions necessary to start most business prior to commencement of operations. The second was the ongoing information search activities of entrepreneurs who had started childcare businesses and were managing them in their first few years of operation. In addition, this dissertation assessed the extent these scanning activities were consistent with a dual process theory of reasoning. Finally, the limitations of the study and suggested future research directions for research of entrepreneurial scanning were discussed. The results suggest an entrepreneur's scanning behavior at the start of the business may be different from scanning behavior that occurs once the business has been operating for a period of time. The need for cognition, exposure to statistical thinking and intelligence (operationalized in this study as the amount of formal education) were positively related to the kind of information search and analysis undertaken by the entrepreneur at the startup of the business that Kahneman (2003) and others describe as System 2 reasoning. The accessibility of information and the amount of formal education were positively related to scanning that was done in periods subsequent to startup by these childcare entrepreneurs. Work-family conflict was negatively related to scanning during this period.

Researchers have proposed several theoretical explanations of how employee creativity is fostered and developed in organizations. The early literature attributed creativity to personal factors, such as personality and cognitive ability. Researchers also examined the role of environmental factors, such as role models, support and feedback in creativity. More recent research suggests that when individuals lack creativity-relevant skills, there are certain contextual factors that can provide support for the development of the necessary skills. However, there is a dearth of empirical research investigating these relationships. This dissertation summarizes extant research and advances the field by empirically testing the individual and collective roles of personal and contextual factors in employee creativity.