Business Commons^™

Road Maintenance Challenges: The Greatest Obstacle To Sustainable Development In South Sudan, Gai Chol Paul

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Road infrastructure plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of any nation. It connects communities, facilitates trade, and enables essential service delivery. However, road maintenance is one of the most significant challenges hindering sustainable development in South Sudan. The poor roads hinder economic growth, access to essential services, and social cohesion and are in dire need of repair and upkeep. Thus, I developed this qualitative multiple-case study to explore challenges that hinder road maintenance in South Sudan. I collected data through document review and semi-structured interviews with four road engineers, and then thematically analyzed the gathered data. Three themes …

Textbook Tasks For Social Change: Instantiation Of Development Debates And Interposition Of Pedagogical Interventions In Media Literacy Education, John N. Ponsaran

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

As materialization of their discursive stance as instructional communicators and media producers, textbook authors instantiate various development debates as well as interpose a wide range of pedagogical interventions for critical reflection and adoption by learners. This qualitative study sought to situate these development debates and the counterpart pedagogical interventions within the context of textbook task design as an application and embodiment of social justice communication. The development debates serve as the proposed contexts for media text analyses, reflective exercises, case studies, and media production, among others. Correspondingly, the interposition of interventions allows students to make sense of and act upon …

Civilian Oversight Of Police Through The Lens Of Polarities Of Democracy, Joseph A. Mcmillan, Jacqueline D. Smith, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Following the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Congress called upon the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to play a role in the reimagining of policing in America, including a transformation of policing from a warrior to a guardian mentality. In turn, NOBLE partnered with the Institute for Polarities of Democracy (the Institute) to conduct an analysis of the 21st Century Policing Report (the Report), which focused on addressing a myriad of issues that challenged the relationship between the police and communities. The Report determined there were six “pillars” necessary for effective policing in America, including (1) …

Effective Talent Management Practices Of Small And Medium-Size Businesses, Annette Murphy, Jorge Gaytan, Al Endres

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Effective Talent management strategies to acquire, develop, and retain employees are essential, as 73% of business leaders in the United States identified that good human resources practices favorably affect the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations. Based on the people capability maturity model and transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the successful strategies that leaders of small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) used to acquire, develop, and retain employees. The case population comprised five SMBs’ leaders who had successfully used talent management strategies to acquire, develop, and retain employees for more than 5 …

Determinants Of Knowledge Sharing: The Roles Of Learning Organization Culture, Empowering Leadership, And Learning Goal Orientation, Yangil Park, Baek-Kyoo Joo

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This study examined how knowledge sharing attitudes (KSAs) and knowledge sharing intentions (KSIs) are affected by perceived learning organization culture (LOC), empowering leadership (EL), and learning goal orientation (LGO). From the data collected, we discovered that KSA was a significant partial mediator between KSI and LGO. Furthermore, LOC and EL had moderating roles on the LGO and KSA relationship. Such moderation effects were insignificant for KSI, however. This study incorporated the knowledge sharing research fields of motivation research, leadership, and organizational culture. We comment that this study was centered on relatively highly educated management consultants, as human resource management and …

Beating The Employment Challenges: How Unemployed Youths Generate Income For Their Households, Gai Chol Paul

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Youth unemployment remains a global threat to the achievement of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. It impedes the fight to end poverty in all its forms, limits opportunities to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and undermines a country’s ability to reduce inequalities. In Sub-Saharan African nations, the unemployment rate is particularly high because the environment is prone to volatility caused by poor governance, chronic conflicts, and corruption. Unemployed graduates who lack effective strategies risk failing to generate income for themselves and their families. Thus, my purpose in this qualitative multiple case study, which was grounded in achievement motivation …

Talent Management And The Impact Of Dark Triad Personalities In The Workplace, Joseph A. Rosendale, Eliot Mastrovich, Leann Wilkie

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This study examines links between the Dark Triad of personality types (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and workplace behaviors. The research objective seeks to confirm the relationship between the Dark Triad and several negative behaviors while investigating positive externalities that have not been previously explored. A literature review covers the background of the Dark Triad, instruments that have been used to measure it, and ongoing research streams in the field. The Short Dark Triad (SD3) survey was administered to 142 working professionals and data collected were quantitatively examined using a variety of statistical tools in SPSS. Corresponding results provide additional evidence …

Outcomes Of Enterprise Resource Planning System On Organizational Productivity, Tambei Chiawah, William G. Dzekashu, Walter R. Mccollum, Evelyn E. Fomuso

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Leaders within local government organizations do not understand how to achieve expected and desired benefits from the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The lack of alignment between social and technical elements in ERP implementation continues to depress organizational productivity. The prime objective of our quantitative correlational study was to examine whether social and technical elements increase use and productivity in ERP implementation. Sociotechnical systems theory provided the theoretical basis for our study. We examined six dimensional variables relating to ERP implementation. Our key findings indicated positive significant relationships between ERP and information sharing, between ERP system quality and …

Perceptions Of Employability Skills Of Undergraduate Business Students In A Developing Country: An Exploratory Study, Wise Mainga, Reuben M. Daniel, Luis Alamil

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of different employability skills for business graduates seeking initial employment.

Method: Semi-structured survey questionnaires were administered to human resources representatives from industry, business lecturers, and graduating business students to determine gaps in perceptions between the three stakeholder groups.

Results: There was some alignment and moderate discrepancies in perceptions of the relative importance of different employability skills between the three stakeholder groups. There were statistically significant differences in perceived importance of communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills between graduating students and employers. There is evidence that employers were satisfied with …

The Product Test Scheduling Problem, Megan Wydick Martin, Cliff Ragsdale, John Fico, Carlos G. Cajica-Sierra, Richard M. Fetcenko

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This research focused on product test scheduling in the presence of in-process and at-completion inspection constraints. Such testing arises in the context of the manufacture of products that must perform reliably in extreme environmental conditions. Often, these products must receive a certification from prescribed regulatory agencies at the successful completion of a predetermined series of tests. Operational efficiency is enhanced by determining the optimal order and start times of tests so as to minimize the makespan while ensuring that technicians are available when needed to complete in-process and at-completion inspections. We refer to this as the product test scheduling problem. …

Determinant Of Employee Productivity In Listed Manufacturing Firms In Southwestern Nigeria, Omoneye O. Olasanmi, Omotola O. Olajide, Olugbenga A. Ojubanire

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The study analyzed the level of employee productivity and identified factors influencing employee productivity in listed manufacturing firms in southwestern Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. A sample of 394 respondents was selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data collected using a structured questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that a majority of the respondents (58.33%) had average productivity levels. Results further revealed that management and organizational factors were identified as having the greatest influence on employees’ productivity, followed by organizational/technical factors, and then production and finance factors. In addition, …

Exploring The Influential Determinants Of Iot Adoption In The U.S. Manufacturing Sector, Ronville D. Savoury, Jodine M. Burchell

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Manufacturers have been hesitant to adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) due to a lack of understanding of factors related to IoT adoption. This correlational study uses a combination of diffusion of innovation theory and technology–organization–environment framework to examine if a relationship exists between relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, technology readiness, top management support, firm size, competitive pressure, and regulatory support and intent to adopt IoT in U.S. manufacturing organizations. A sample of 168 IT leaders was used. Multiple regression analysis indicated significant relationships between intent to adopt IoT and three variables: technology readiness, top management support, and competitive pressure. The …

Developing Workforce Capability In Nonprofits Through Effective Leadership, Catherine Byrnes Smoyer, Rocky J. Dwyer, Janice K. Garfield, Brandon D. Simmons

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Leaders of nonprofit organizations in the United States must build workforce capabilities to meet increasing demands for services. This single-case study explored strategies nonprofit leaders used to build workforce capability to address increasing service demands. The conceptual lens for this study was the full-range leadership theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior executives of a single nonprofit organization located in the Midwestern region of the United States, which included internal organizational and workforce performance data, strategy plans, annual reports internal and external financial documents, and publicly available information. Four major themes related to building workforce capacity emerged from …

Enabling Sustainable Organizational Change: A Case Of Cognitive Diversity In The Automotive Industry, Tonja Blom, Yvonne Du Plessis, Hamid H. Kazeroony

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

In diverse societies such as South Africa, organizations continue to face inclusion challenges when implementing change. This study proposes a different method and new dimension of diversity management within the cognitive diversity construct, namely human niche theory, to tackle the diversity dilemma of exclusivity. The research question asked whether human niche theory, as a defined concept within cognitive diversity, could be utilized by managers to enable inclusion and promote sustainable organizational change implementation. Conceptually, this paper relates human niche theory to seven themes in the change process, namely, communication, training, motivation, resources, control, monitoring, and feedback. An exploratory single case …

Determinants Of Effective Change Management For Software Deployment Projects, Abebaw Zeleke, Walter Mccollum

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Software application deployment change management is one of the emerging research themes that is gaining increased focus day by day. Our study examined the factors that affect software application deployment change management in Agile software development settings. Our study provided a systematic review and synthesized the approaches, practices, and challenges reported for adopting and implementing deployment change management. The prime objective of our study was to systematically synthesize the data extracted and formulate evidence-based practical recommendations that are influential in software deployment change management. Six research themes are proposed to evaluate the rationale of the research question. This qualitative study …

Emerging Market Firms’ Response To U.S. Economic Recession And The Subsequent Period’S Performance, Tewhan Hahn, Ravi Chinta

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

We investigated the changes in behaviors of firms in emerging markets in response to the U.S. economic recession and the impact of those changes in strategic behaviors on subsequent periods’ operating performances. Specifically, we adopted an event-study methodology, using a sample of emerging market firms, to investigate the nature of the effects of the U.S. economic recession on firms in emerging markets. Based on 5,887 firms in nine emerging countries, our results show that firms in emerging markets exhibit changes in strategy variables, and those changes have a significant effect on the subsequent periods’ operating performance. In addition, we found …

The Linkages Between Commitment To Sustainability, Organizational Culture, Quality Management, And Organizational Performance, Lillian Y. Fok, Yun-Chen Morgan, Susan Zee

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The growing economic pressures, rising awareness of the importance of environmental protection, and stringent global regulations are leading to more integration of sustainability initiatives into corporate strategies across multiple industries. These sustainability initiatives can alter organization cultures and affect employee perceptions and organizational outcomes. In this study, 331 respondents from a wide variety of industries in the South were surveyed. Results showed that companies’ overall green/sustainability orientation is related to organizational culture, quality management maturity, and companies’ performance. The findings implied that it is imperative to develop an organizational culture that is supportive of quality and sustainability to ensure the …

Innovative Strategies To Grow Sales Of Women-Owned Smes In Emerging Countries, Adeola O. Ogunyemi, Gene E. Fusch

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

This paper is a discussion of a 2020 multiple case study research involving five female owners of retail small and medium enterprise (SME) companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. Multiple data collection methods employed included semistructured interviews, direct observations, review of company documents, and keeping a reflective journal. We established reliability, validity, and data saturation through triangulation. One major finding was that by deploying innovative ideas, business owners were able to overcome challenges and grow sales. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide both existing and emerging women owned SMEs with the strategies to increase patronage to …

Mediating Role Of Perceived Value On The Relationship Among Perceived Risks, Perceived Quality, And Purchase Intention Of Private Label Brands, Meenu Mathur, Sanjeevni Gangwani

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

In the current competitive retail market, retailers constantly strive to deliver products to consumers at a better value. Consumers are becoming more price sensitive but still seeking quality products. A retailer can establish value with a brand. Consequently, retailers are introducing their own private label brands (PLBs), which also differentiate their products from competitors. The role of perceived value in the purchase behavior of PLBs and its relationship with quality and various risk dimensions has received scant consideration in the retailing literature. Our study suggests perceived value is a mediating part in associations amid perceived quality, perceived risks, and purchase …

The Evident Need For Banking Reform In The Legal Marijuana Industry, Jonathan T. James, Steven C. Tippins

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Marijuana reform legislation has created a lucrative industry for legal marijuana on the local and state level in some jurisdictions. Federal laws have forced legal marijuana dispensaries to be cash-only businesses with limited banking options. The lack of normal banking services has also affected firms’ ability to manage profits earned from operations. Our hermeneutic phenomenological study was grounded by the conceptual framework of the motivations of humans and humans’ need to feel safe. The participants in this study were owners and operators in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado. Data were collected through interviews, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of …

Strategies To Improve Financial Profitability In The Banking Industry, Khalid Said, Yvonne Doll

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

More than 50% of business failures in the United States are because of leaders’ inability to manage working capital. This qualitative, multiple case study is grounded in the cash conversion cycle theory. The purpose is to explore the strategies bank leaders have used to improve working capital management in three banks in Kentucky to increase bank profitability and improve financial stability. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with three different banking leaders who have implemented successful working capital strategies. Using methodological triangulation and Yin’s five-step data analysis resulted: (a) risk and liquidity, (b) top-down approach, and (c) investment approach. The …

How Does A Responsible Leader Win In A Competitive World?, Patricia Macneil, Rocky J. Dwyer, Maggie Matear

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Competitiveness demonstrates a firm’s effectiveness in achieving an advantage over others. A leader’s competitiveness can facilitate higher profits and growth. It can also lead to unethical and irresponsible corporate dealings. This paper suggests competitiveness can be responsible.

Responsible Leadership defines two main responsible leaders (RL), integrative and instrumental. Integrators are linked to social responsibility and multiple stakeholders, while Instrumentalists are associated with competitive advantage and shareholders. Missing from extant research frameworks is how the two RLs experience competitiveness.

We examined the lived experience of a group of Top 100 Leaders in Canada, finding that both RLs practiced responsible competitiveness. A …

Content Analysis Of Hospital Reviews From Differing Sources: Does Review Source Matter?, Sayeedul Islam, Sara Mir, Caroline Defina, Carolina Silva

Journal of Excellence in Nursing and Healthcare Practice

Social media has had an impact on how patients find and evaluate medical professionals and their experiences of modern healthcare. Qualitative research in healthcare has increased its focus on social media. The present study examined 497 reviews of hospitals in the Pittsburgh area across three websites: Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades. Using computerized content analysis tools (CATA), we analyzed positive and negative comments to identify key themes. Key themes and words included “doctor,” “hospital,” “staff,” and “time.” These findings highlight the importance of medical staff to patient experience. Results indicated that Yelp had the lowest average rating. CATA also revealed that …

Returning To Solvency Through Quality Improvement, Matthew Faciane, Susan K. Fan, Rocky J. Dwyer

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore quality improvement strategies senior manufacturing production managers use to reduce Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) to increase profit. The participants for this study were production managers within a manufacturing company located in the southeastern region of the United States who successfully developed and implemented strategies to lower COPQ to increase profitability. Six major themes emerged from the study: continuous improvement, quality assurance, employees as agents of quality improvement, communication between stakeholders, holding all firm members accountable for quality, and training. Manufacturing managers can use these strategies to lower COPQ and …

People And Process: Successful Change Management Initiatives, Gene E. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness, Janet M. Booker, Patricia Fusch

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said πάντα ῥεῖ (Panta rhei, for everything flows, in contemporary English), and people have expanded upon this philosophy to mean the only constant in life is change. In this article, we will discuss organizational change through change management implementation (CMI) to improve organizational performance as well as a leadership response to social distancing and the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. We will discuss research exploring leadership communication, the importance of communication in minimizing or addressing change, and CMI roadblocks including employee resistance.

Leader-To-Leader: Reflexive Leadership In The Midst Of Covid-19 And Social Unrest, Ward Ulmer

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

A leader is only one person in one position, and one person’s ideas are not a panacea for all social ills. But effective leadership can shift the outcome of an organization to manifest its mission of positive social change considering changes in society. Most people have been exposed to leaders who tinker around the edges and others who call for revolution. Leaders are leaders only because they have capable followers. The truth is that some things are just too big for one individual. And when we happen upon those things, we must stand together, hold each other accountable, and encourage …

Social Media Marketing Adoption Strategies: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Landscape Industry Small Businesses, Crystal Lupo, Jason R. Stroman

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Despite research contending that marketing is a pivotal factor in small business success, many small business owners continue to underutilize low-cost marketing options available to them. Of these options, social media marketing is a useful tool to maintain competitiveness in the larger marketplace. However, the adoption of social media best practices in small business remains deficient. The landscape industry is a large and growing field with small businesses making up a large and growing share of the industry. Yet some landscape industry small business owners lack strategies to adopt innovative social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. This …

Are Universities Using The Right Assessment Tools During The Pandemic And Crisis Times?, Mohanad Halaweh

Higher Learning Research Communications

All industries have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have worked to develop alternative strategies and actions to survive and continue business operations; the education sector is no exception. University administrators and instructors have faced challenges in finding the appropriate mechanisms to manage the final examination process. This essay suggests that project-based learning (PBL) assessment could be an effective alternative to online examinations. It advocates the adoption of PBL by highlighting the challenges/pitfalls associated with online exams supported by proctoring software tools.

An Analysis Of The Educational Testing Service Major Field Test For Business Performance: Further Evidence, Zahid Iqbal

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Assurance of learning is the key to students’ academic success. To this end, one of the largest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States administers the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test for Business (ETS MFT-B) to assess student learning of business concepts. This study used a set of predictor variables to explain the ETS MFT-B performance at the subject HBCU. The results of the study are expected to close the gap between student performance and expected outcomes in the subject institution, as well as contribute to the broader issue of improving curriculum and teaching effectiveness in …

Nonprofit Church Leaders’ Perceptions And Lived Experiences Involving Innovation Competency And Change Management: A Phenomenological Study, Charity R. Addai-Duah, Stephanie N. Hoon, Salvatore J. Sinatra

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Innovation competency among religious leaders has been an area of study as nonprofit researchers continue to discover that conventional ways of managing change are no longer effective when tackling present issues. Discussions regarding using innovation competency to manage change among religious leaders are vague, despite benefits to the nonprofit sector. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nonprofit church leaders to better understand how innovation competency has shaped organizational change results. Boyatzis’ effective job performance model was the conceptual framework that guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 14 participants who met …