Nutrients are the number one water pollution problem for U.S. lakes, reservoirs, and ponds. Excessive nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, lead to eutrophication, a condition that can include low oxygen levels, noxious algal blooms, and fish kills. Since eutrophication is a condition that...

This dissertation explores how consumers learn from repeated experiences with a product offering. It develops a new Bayesian consumer learning model, the unstable learning model. This model expands on existing models that explore learning when quality is stable, by considering when quality is...

We present two game theoretic models on resource allocation in epidemic control and waiting time competition in service management. The first model considers the drug allocation problem when facing the outbreak of an international influenza pandemic. The drugs are for prophylactic use. Since...

I examine whether financial statement preparers (managers and auditors) treat recognized versus disclosed fair value of option compensation differently. Recognition refers to items that appear on the face of financial statements and that are included in subtotal figures that appear in the...

This paper examines the role of earnings management for firms that report at least three consecutive years of annual earnings increases (hereafter earnings string firms). Specifically, I examine how levels of earnings management change as earnings string firms approach the end of their earnings...

I examine the relation between a corporate commitment to increased disclosure and measures of liquidity, information asymmetry, and cost of equity capital. Relative to prior research on voluntary disclosure, I use a composite, ex ante measure of commitment based in social psychology and measure...

Individuals tend to make unrealistically optimistic self assessments about themselves and their future behavior. While little studied in marketing, unrealistic optimism by consumers may have negative consequences for both marketers and consumers. This dissertation proposes and explores a...

Applied economists and strategy scholars have examined a variety of firm-level factors that may explain the level and direction of firms' innovative effort and performance, including firms' profit incentives. Innovation at the firm level, however, should also depend heavily on the nature of the...

Obesity is now a global problem. Within the U.S., the rise in obesity has been largely driven by the increase in caloric consumption. By specifically observing the practices in the fast food industry, this dissertation examines two factors, portion sizes and bundling, to answer the question,...

While a vast amount of research in marketing has examined how information prior to purchase helps consumers to make purchase decisions, relatively little work has considered how marketers can increase the value consumers derive from subsequent experiences using this information. This...