(cont.) that threaten to disappear cause decision makers to invest more effort and money in order to keep these options open, even when the options themselves seem to be of little interest. The last experiment provides initial evidence that the mechanism underlying the tendency to keep doors...

This paper addresses two basic questions about the outbound distribution operations with a case study example of a large biopharmaceutical company. First, the research work focuses on developing an efficient, scalable truck distribution system to help reduce transportation cost, while...

"Systems" goods-such as computers, telecom networks, and automobiles-are made up of multiple components. This dissertation comprises three essays that study the decisions of system innovators in mobile computing to "open" development of their systems to outside suppliers and the implications of...

This thesis consists of three essays on asset pricing. Chapter 1 presents an equilibrium model to study the convergence trading of large hedge funds in segmented markets. The model provides an alternative explanation for the anomaly of a price gap between two fundamentally identical securities....

Chi: Subsidiary Debt, Capital Structure, and Internal Capital Markets I investigate external subsidiary debt financing and its implications for internal capital markets. I find that firms tend to finance business segments with subsidiary debt when those segments have better investment...

This dissertation is composed of three essays. In the first essay, I build a model of the choice and timing of entry into commercial activities by an academic research team, and analyze the returns and costs of these activities. I compare the behavior and performance of the academic team to an...

Consolidation in the financial industry has progressed rapidly in many countries. In the United States, large financial corporations, such as Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, formed complex financial groups and conglomerate structures composed of a commercial bank, a securities company, and an...

In the backdrop of the dotcom bubble burst, companies cleaned up the excesses of the nineties and are more agile and efficient than ever before. However, companies face tremendous pressure to improve shareholder returns. A new trend is emerging as more and more capital is flowing into Private...

The long-run effect of banner advertisements is among the most complex topic in the internet world. Media spending on online marketing has grown from $3 billion in 1999 to $9 billion in 2004. Forecasts (Jupiter Research 2005) expect this growth to double in the next five years. The proportion of...

The fundamental role of the System Integrators (Slers) is to provide customized IT systems or services that satisfy the unique requirements of each customer by integrating the various products and services that many IT companies produce. Originally, the IT companies in the different business...