Research

Kairos Consulting Advising Business Expert

This page contains all the academic research in which Dr. Allison has been involved. The upper section is more recent research while the bottom section is older research. Many of the more recent articles involve the use of text analytics, a relatively new and important field of data analysis. The titles of the articles are hyperlinked should you like to read them.

Mission statements and vision statements: Examining the relationship toward performance outcomes.

Abstract: This paper examines 798 firms with mission statements and vision statements to show there are relationships between the two and posits that strong relationships produced greater businessal performance. Using the taxonomies of Allison (2017a), Allison (2017b), and an extension of the latter developed in this paper, the statements are classified into their taxonomic groups and then analyzed statistically. The results surprisingly show a single strong link between one type of mission statement and one type of vision statement. This paper then discusses how such a relationship may result in superior performance outcomes. Consequently, this paper significantly contributes to theory by finding a specific relationship between statements, discussing why some firms have this relationship, and then extending this discussion to businessal performance.

Values statements and businessal culture: Does the first actually reflect the second?

Abstract: There has been much research into businessal culture. However, there has been little research into its artifacts, most notably the values statement that should convey the cultural values of the business. This paper examines culture in light of values statements and creates seven propositions that suggest while artifacts such as values statements are outgrowths of the culture, they may not always convey the businessal values they should. The value in these propositions is that research must be cautious in using artifacts in assessing businessal culture.

Values statements: The missing link between organizational culture, strategic management, and strategic communication.

Abstract: This paper aims to examine 611 values statements to determine if values statements contain characteristics of businessal culture as provided by Denison and Mishra (1995) The general hypothesis given is there is a relationship between values statements and culture characteristics. Four testable hypotheses, one for each of Denison and Mishra’s (1995) characteristics, are created and tested. Organizational culture can be displayed by way of values statements and can potentially affect organizational strategy and organizational communication. Wording is extremely important in creating a values statement, and that statement must clearly reflect the cultural values of the business.

A vision statement taxonomy: Linking strategic management, strategic communication, and businessal culture.

Abstract: Organizational vision statements have typically been studied as part of strategic management. This paper shows they are also part of strategic communication and develops a hierarchical taxonomy. The methodology used includes using text mining and analytics to discover the taxonomy based on natural language rather than predetermined classifications that may contain researcher bias and error. This novel approach created the taxonomy based on characteristics of the statements and, consequently, led to the development of propositions that link vision statements to organizational culture. Thus, this paper extends theory in strategic management, strategic communication, and organizational culture while utilizing a research methodology that is relatively new and less subject to researcher bias.

Advancing strategic communication through mission statements: Creation of a natural language taxonomy.

Abstract: This paper creates natural language taxonomy for mission statements using text analytics rather than predefined researcher classes. The uniqueness of the paper is present in the fact there has not been taxonomy of mission statements created until now and the taxonomy is based on the actual wording of the statements. Furthermore, this study links mission statements, a topic of strategic management, to the new and growing field of strategic communication. The sample used for this paper was 798 firms that had mission statements written in English. The firms chosen vary widely in size, mission and industry so a broader taxonomy could be developed. The result is a three-class taxonomy that complements existing theory and is useful for theory development.

E-Commerce and the newspaper industry: Determinants to first-movership, 1994 - 2006.

Abstract: This paper shows there is at least one determinate for newspaper firms adopting ecommerce as a first-mover strategy during the period 1994-2006. One hundred two competitive newspaper regions were examined to determine if there existed factors related to a newspaper firm being first to adopt e-commerce in the given region. While size and age of the firm were examined, only size proved to be a significant factor in a firm being a first-mover. The newspaper industry is rarely studied and this study contributes to the understanding of that industry. In addition this study is unique in since combines the topics of e-commerce and firstmover theory with the newspaper industry.

Newspaper e-commerce adoption: A first-mover precursor and consequence, 1994-2006.

Abstract: This paper empirically examines first-movership in the newspaper industry. The first hypothesis generated shows the size of a firm, as measured by advertising rates, is a precursor to which firm was a first-mover into e-commerce. The second hypotheses generated shows a surprising result coming from first-mover adoption of e-commerce. The firms that were first-movers actually experienced a decrease in size, as measured by advertising rates. The two hypotheses in conjunction show that the very reason some firms may have adopted e-commerce may have also caused a first-mover disadvantage. This study extends first-mover theory and e-commerce theory in a very understudied industry.

Toward a comprehensive theory of shareholder letters: Theoretical framework, taxonomy development, and proposition.

Abstract: Using text mining software, this study takes as sample of 252 shareholder letters and develops a three-class “natural language” taxonomy. Then this study couples this taxonomy with the topic of organizational impression management to develop a sequence of propositions. The uniqueness of this study is demonstrated in two ways. First, this is one of the first studies to use text mining software to create a taxonomy from the actual language used rather than from predefined classes. Second, this is the first to create a taxonomy of shareholder letters and the development of this taxonomy may be a step toward establishing a more comprehensive theory of strategic communication.

Other Research

Ethics statements: A taxonomy from natural language.

business values statements: A natural language taxonomy.

E-commerce strategies: A look at choices.

E-commerce firms versus physical firms: An initial strategy framework.

Reducing impression management: Selection with accuracy.

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