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Societal Sustainability: Projects To Address The Three Dimensions Of A Sustainable Future, Braden K. Bateman Aug 2022

Societal Sustainability: Projects To Address The Three Dimensions Of A Sustainable Future, Braden K. Bateman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability is an important, commonly discussed societal goal regarding assurance of resources for the world to be able to enjoy a prosperous future. Three primary dimensions of sustainability include environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and objectives for various projects can be aimed at any of the three dimensions to pursue societal sustainability. Solar installations, which can be used to pursue environmental and economic sustainability, convert abundant sunlight to electricity, displacing fossil fuel use that contributes harmful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The regulatory environment at the state level has a significant impact on the feasibility of solar projects. At present, …


Strategies For Information Technology Small Business Owners To Sustain Beyond The First 5 Years, Edward Alan Rodarte Jan 2022

Strategies For Information Technology Small Business Owners To Sustain Beyond The First 5 Years, Edward Alan Rodarte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are the foundation of an economy and spawn innovation, but small business owners fail at an alarming rate because they lack strategies to sustain business operations. Since 50% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years, small business sustainability research is critical to support small business owners. Grounded in entrepreneurial theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies information technology (IT) small business owners use to sustain operation beyond the first 5 years. The participants included four IT small business owners in the Southwestern United States who sustained operations beyond the first 5 …


Characteristics Of Authentic Entrepreneurial Leadership Within Information Technology Startups In Kenya, Christine Mukhwana Jan 2021

Characteristics Of Authentic Entrepreneurial Leadership Within Information Technology Startups In Kenya, Christine Mukhwana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Kenya, over 60% of nascent entrepreneurs start businesses with minimal leadership experience, engendering founder-CEOs who cannot sustain a business beyond its formative years. The problem is the nascent entrepreneurs’ lack of understanding of effective leadership. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to develop a more nuanced understanding of authentic leadership behavior from the perspective of nascent entrepreneurs. Authentic leadership theory and the three-factor model were used to conceptualize the study. The research question focused on nascent entrepreneurs’ lived experiences and understanding of authentic leadership. The participants in the study were entrepreneurs from the information technology industry in …


Strategies For Small Business Entrepreneur Sustainability For 5 Years And Beyond, Ralph A. Heath Iii Jan 2021

Strategies For Small Business Entrepreneur Sustainability For 5 Years And Beyond, Ralph A. Heath Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSmall business failures impede entrepreneurs' sustainability in localities, the state, and the U.S. economy. Small business entrepreneurs are concerned about strategies to target and minimize obstacles from business inception for business survival because the failure rate increases as the business develop. Grounded in the entrepreneurial theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies for small business entrepreneur sustainability beyond five years. Participants comprised three small business owners in Southeast Virginia who effectively used strategies to sustain their business beyond five years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, analysis of participants’ business documentation, and research of …


Strategies To Sustain A Real Estate Small Business In Postnatural-Disaster Area, Vianka Miranda Jan 2019

Strategies To Sustain A Real Estate Small Business In Postnatural-Disaster Area, Vianka Miranda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small real estate business leaders lack effective strategies to resume and sustain operations in a postnatural-disaster environment. This multiple case study investigated strategies that 3 small real estate business leaders in southeastern Louisiana used to resume and sustain operations in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The chaos theory and stakeholder theory were the conceptual frameworks for this study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, and reviews of business continuity plan documents and member checking. The themes that emerged from data analysis were leaders' strategies relating to business planning and innovation, stakeholder engagement, operations management, and disaster responsiveness. Implications …


Strategies For Sustainability In Multilevel Marketing Organizations, Nicole Renea Cordell Jan 2018

Strategies For Sustainability In Multilevel Marketing Organizations, Nicole Renea Cordell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of entrepreneurs in the direct sales industry has steadily increased since 2010; however, the annual turnover rate is 56%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore multilevel marketing (MLM) entrepreneurial leadership strategies implemented to help ensure sustainability of entrepreneurial MLM businesses for longer than 5 years. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 10 entrepreneurs who maintained an MLM business more than 5 years and used a hierarchical status that required a team. The transformational leadership theory constituted the conceptual framework for researching leadership as a concept of entrepreneurship and sustainability in MLM. Data were collected …


Cash-Flow Management Strategies In Small And Medium-Sized Occupational Health Enterprises, Sibongiseni Selby Myeni Jan 2018

Cash-Flow Management Strategies In Small And Medium-Sized Occupational Health Enterprises, Sibongiseni Selby Myeni

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are critical to the success of a country's economy. The leaders of the South African government focus on the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost the economy and eradicate inequality, poverty, and unemployment. However, the sustainability track record of South African SMEs remains one of the worst records in the world. Therefore, it is essential that stakeholders improve the sustainability of SMEs. Using the resource-based view conceptual framework, the aim of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that occupational health SME leaders use to manage cash flow to achieve sustainability for longer …


Strategies To Sustain Small And Medium-Size Manufacturing Enterprises In Jamaica, Hugh Anthony Blake Jan 2018

Strategies To Sustain Small And Medium-Size Manufacturing Enterprises In Jamaica, Hugh Anthony Blake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Jamaica's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a high failure rate. In 2016, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) recorded Jamaica's SME start-up rate at 4.06% and the discontinuance rate at 9%. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive multiple case study was to explore the strategies some Jamaican SME owners used to achieve business sustainability in the manufacturing sector for longer than 5 years of operation. The conceptual framework used was the entrepreneurship theory, which provided insights into business sustainability. A purposive sample of 5 owners of SMEs who had achieved business sustainability in the manufacturing sector for longer than 5 …


Strategies For Sustainability Of Nonfranchise Casual Dining Restaurants, Kristin Burke Martin Jan 2018

Strategies For Sustainability Of Nonfranchise Casual Dining Restaurants, Kristin Burke Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, over 50% of restaurants fail within the first 5 years of operations resulting in approximately $2.1 billion annually in lost national sales revenue. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by owners of nonfranchise, casual dining restaurants to ensure sustainability longer than 5 years. The study was grounded in Porter's 5 forces framework as a lens for identifying effective strategies that promote restaurant sustainability. The data collection process comprised gathering data and information via semistructured interviews with 3 owners of nonfranchise, casual dining restaurants in the mid-Atlantic region who sustained …


Leadership Skills To Sustain High-Tech Entrepreneurial Ventures, Zoaib Z. Rangwala Jan 2018

Leadership Skills To Sustain High-Tech Entrepreneurial Ventures, Zoaib Z. Rangwala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High-tech (HT) innovation-oriented entrepreneurs start 35% more ventures and create 10% more jobs in the first 5 years of operation than the rest of the private sector and drive significant economic growth across all industries; however, more than 50% of the entrepreneurial HT ventures fail during the first 5 years of operations. Guided by the conceptual framework of transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore skills used by successful entrepreneurial leaders to sustain their HT ventures in Silicon Valley, California. Data collection was from 8 participants in semistructured 1-on-1 interviews and 3 participants in a …


Women Entrepreneurs: Keys To Successful Business Development And Sustainability Beyond Five Years, Delores Duncan Foster Jan 2016

Women Entrepreneurs: Keys To Successful Business Development And Sustainability Beyond Five Years, Delores Duncan Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations, accounting for 8 million of the 28 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses fail at a rate of 55% by the 5th year of operation and women, who own over 30% of all small businesses, contribute significantly to the 55% small business failure rate. Using Schumpeter's framework, this single exploratory case study investigated how women entrepreneurial small business owners use strategies to sustain their business operation beyond 5 years. A purposeful sample identified 2 women salon small business owners located in the Macon, Georgia metro area. Data …


Small Retail Business Owner Strategies Needed To Succeed Beyond 5 Years, Colonel Jaime Solis Jan 2016

Small Retail Business Owner Strategies Needed To Succeed Beyond 5 Years, Colonel Jaime Solis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses accounted for 99% of the firms in private industry, provided 38% of the goods and services sold in the United States, and hired 55% of the labor force each year between 2012 and 2015. From 1993 to 2013, small firms accounted for 63% of new work generated while more than 50% of U.S. small businesses failed inside of 5 years and at least 20% failed during the first year. The purpose of this multiunit case study was to explore the strategies small retail businesses used to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years in a purposefully selected county in Virginia. …


Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring Strategies For Building Sustainable Business Organizations, Maria Ana Church Jan 2015

Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring Strategies For Building Sustainable Business Organizations, Maria Ana Church

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Brazilians create an average of 1.2 million new registered enterprises annually, but some struggle to keep their business in operation. Thirty percent of the new ventures are unable to survive the first year, and 58% go out of business after the first 5 years. The goal of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of Brazilian women entrepreneurs concerning the strategies needed to build sustainable business organizations in Brazil. The individual concepts of sustainable development, sustainability, business strategies, and business models served as the theoretical foundations for the study. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs …


Marketing Strategies Of Mobile Game Application Entrepreneurs, Talaya Waller Jan 2015

Marketing Strategies Of Mobile Game Application Entrepreneurs, Talaya Waller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mobile game application entrepreneurs can offer many benefits to the U.S. economy; however, 80% of the entrepreneurs in this study stated that marketing their mobile applications was a major business challenge. Successful strategies that entrepreneurs have used to overcome their mobile game application marketing challenges may be beneficial to other entrepreneurs. Based on Schumpeter's theory of economic development and new value creation of technological innovation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that entrepreneurs have used to market their mobile game application development businesses successfully. Twenty mobile game application entrepreneurs from northern California, who successfully sustained …


Technological Factors For The Sustainability Of The Small Business Entrepreneur, Noghor Pessu Jan 2015

Technological Factors For The Sustainability Of The Small Business Entrepreneur, Noghor Pessu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technical innovation creates challenges for the small business entrepreneur who uses global activities in the marketplace. Information technology and the technological innovations of the World Wide Web are driving competitiveness in the marketplace with a loss of market share for the individual business owner. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of a purposive sample of 20 small business owners in the metropolitan Atlanta area regarding the effect of technology, technological insertion, and application for long-term sustainability. Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory served as the conceptual framework of this study. Data were gathered …


Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (Ceai): Refinement And Validation Of A Survey Measure, Michael S. Cates Mar 2007

Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (Ceai): Refinement And Validation Of A Survey Measure, Michael S. Cates

Theses and Dissertations

The study of corporate entrepreneurship has established itself as a valuable area of research for both public and private-sector organizations. The measurement instrument known as the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Index (CEAI) has been designed to tap the climate-related organizational factors that represent and potentially encourage corporate entrepreneurship. This study is an attempt to refine the CEAI. The core constructs of the CEAI are redefined, the items are tested for content validity, the factor structure is analyzed, and the CEAI is correlated to other known measures to validate the CEAI. Through this testing, the CEAI was refined and found to be …