My aim is to design a research program that emphasizes inclusivity through empiricism rather than anecdotes and benevolent sexism. To accomplish this goal, I review and build on the work assessing the influence of fertility in the female consumer experience (FCE). Fertility, especially menstruation, has been used anecdotally for too long. This research was designed to address the gap in knowledge around the way in which women perceive advertisements. More specifically, the role fertility plays in the process women go through when assessing advertisements and offerings. Does a woman's desire to seek variety become reduced when she sees a rival endorsing the offering? If this is the case, then there is a need to find a mediating variable that can overcome this effect. Internal locus of control, the level a person feels they are in control of the outcomes in their lives, was selected as a starting point. Having a high internal LOC should buffer a person's perceptions of another as a threat. A cross-sectional design from a convenience sample of university students was used to address a series of five research questions: 1) Does fertility status influence locus of control, 2) Does fertility status influence rival assessment, 3) Does …

This dissertation extends our understanding of how rivalries are formed, what their antecedents are, and how and why they influence consumer choices. Furthermore, the psychological processes underlying the rivalry effects and the moderating effects of temporal focus are uncovered.

Limited literature examines the impact of the displacement of boundary-spanning employees artificial intelligence (AI). Scholars and practitioners appear focused on tangible benefits of AI adoption, and do not seem concerned by any less tangible and possibly untoward implications of worker (particularly boundary-spanning worker) displacement. My dissertation addresses this gap in the literature. In Essay 1, a qualitative study is performed to anchor the research on the appropriate ethnographic setting, the firms where this displacement phenomenon is taking place, by utilizing the Straussian grounded theory approach. The outcome of iterative coding of the first order data collected from the interviews and content analysis is a conceptual framework which amongst other findings shows how the unique competences of boundary-spanning employees and those of AI are best suited for different spectra of interorganizational collaborative activities. In Essays 2 and 3, I investigate major themes that emerged from Essay 1 utilizing quantitative and qualitative research methods in both studies. Initially I test research models using structural equation modelling on practitioner survey data, after which I probe further via focused interviews to better understand the survey results. The two papers allow us to put forth several theoretical and managerial contributions, specifically emphasizing the positive essential …

In 2018, global gross domestic product (GDP) was US$86.3 trillion, and almost a quarter of that value was due to international trade with a value of US$19.6 trillion. Air cargo accounts for about 35 percent of that trade value (approximately US$6.86 trillion). Moreover, from the perspective of the airport sector, air cargo revenue contributes between 20 to 70 percent of airport revenue. The global airport revenue for freight in 2018 was US$250 billion. Despite the interest and research activities surrounding competition and competitiveness of airports and specifically among airlines and passengers, it appears scholars have overlooked research concerning the competitiveness of airports when it comes to air cargo. This study attempts to fill the gap in the supply chain and logistics literature by putting forward a framework and ultimately operationalizing the framework highlighting the pivotal role of air cargo in the supply chain domain and within the global economy. Specifically, the framework is operationalized within the freight forwarding air cargo supply chain domain – providing insight into this important yet understudied phenomenon. The population of interest is freight forwarders from the Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates. The Middle East represents 18 percent of the world's air cargo volume and …

Logistics 4.0 suggests that increased automation can enhance performance, while Logistics 5.0 emphasizes the advantages of a modern workforce that combines humans and emerging technologies. However, the logistics industry needs a deeper understanding of human factors, an area that has been overlooked so far. To bridge this research gap, this dissertation investigated distracted driving behavior among individuals involved in transportation and logistics-based applications. This investigation employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Essay 1 focuses on a systematic literature review (SLR) that comprehensively analyzes published research on self-response studies regarding distracted driving behavior. The study identifies five overarching categories of distractions: (a) cell phone-related, (b) technology-related, (c) nontechnology-related, (d) psychological, and (e) personality. The findings underscore the substantial research conducted on self-reported distractions associated with cell phones and technology. Essay 2 employs the protection motivation theory (PMT) to develop hypotheses that predict the engagement of young drivers in texting while driving (TWD). In addition to TWD, the survey also included cognitive failure to examine the indirect effects of PMT on TWD within a mediation framework. The results, obtained through structural equation modeling with 674 respondents aged 18-25, indicate that several factors including response cost, threat vulnerability, cognitive failure, self-efficacy, and …