| This dissertation consists of three essays that examine the effects of stakeholder influence on a firm's long and short-term financial measures. The first essay posits that the influence of customer satisfaction and corporate governance on a firms' financial performance is moderated by the firm's focus (the number of different segments in which a firm operates). I draw on the attention-based view of firms and use 289 firm-year observations across various industries between 2002 and 2005. Results suggest that the interactive impact of customer satisfaction and corporate governance is related to a firms' long-term financial performance. Firms with high focus face tradeoffs between customer satisfaction and corporate governance in order to improve long-term financial growth. Firms with low focus have adequate attention resources such that they are able to improve customer satisfaction and corporate governance practices to achieve their long-term financial growth.;My second essay, using signaling theory, helps clarify when CSR will benefit a firm financially, and on which aspects of CSR firms should focus. The approach divides CSR signals into external (e.g., environmental issues such as pollution) and internal (e.g., employee issues such as hiring practices) as well as strengths (exceeding legal standards) and concerns (running afoul of the law). I suggest that these four types of CSR signals in addition to information from annual reports, customer satisfaction, short-term financial measures, and industry concentration combine to provide strong signals to investors regarding a firm's future prospects.;The third essay investigates the impact that managerial, front-line employee, and customer satisfaction have on one another and on, purchase intentions, actual behavior and finally, on firm revenues. Results show that (1) The effect of managerial (franchisee) satisfaction on customer satisfaction is fully mediated via employee satisfaction; (2) The effect of customer satisfaction on repurchase intention is strongly moderated by front-line employee satisfaction; and (3) Customer repurchase intentions affect firm revenues. These results suggest that firms seeking to enhance customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and profits should not only make direct investments in customer satisfaction, but also indirect investments in human resources, especially in improving satisfaction among front-line employees. |
