Business Commons^™

Strategies For Assessing The Effectiveness Of Certification Programs For Youth Workers, Allen R. Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of youth intervention programs provide a significant social service by redirecting at-risk youth onto a productive path. The standards for youth-serving organizations are inconsistent from 1 organization to another across a wide range of youth-worker training certification programs in the United States. A single-case study was conducted to explore the strategies that 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization located in Minnesota, use to select, collect, and analyze data to assess the effectiveness of training certification programs for youth workers. The 2017-2018 Baldrige Excellence Framework provided the structure for a systems-based evaluation of the client organization; Freeman's stakeholder theory was …

Strategies That Chinese Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Use To Attract Venture Capital, Chenjiazi Zhong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to China's economic growth and help maintain social stability. However, SME business leaders have cited access to finance as an obstacle of SMEs' survival and success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify main strategies SME entrepreneurs and business leaders used to attract venture capital (VC) investments to achieve financial sustainability and business expansion. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 23 entrepreneurs and leaders from 4 SMEs in China and an analysis of organizational artifacts. The resource-based view theory served as the primary conceptual framework. The data analysis process …

Marketing Strategies Of International Pharmaceutical Companies In The Middle East And North Africa Region, Ali Abou Abbas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The declines in oil and gas prices in 2014 by 50% or more led governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to decrease healthcare budgets correspondingly by more than 30%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that managers of international pharmaceutical companies have successfully implemented in the MENA region to ensure profitability after the 2014 decreases in the healthcare budgets, which followed the decline in oil and gas prices. The study involved data collection through semistructured interviews of 6 middle and executive managers working in 2 international pharmaceutical companies located …

Procurement Total Cost Analysis: A Supply Chain Strategy For The Aviation Industry, Tulia S. Badillo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the aviation industry, purchasing departments spend approximately 80% of revenues on procurement. Additionally, 62% of companies experience unforeseen expenses or hidden costs in the procurement process. Grounded in a conceptual framework of activity-based costing, the purpose of this case study was to explore strategies used by 5 upper-level supply chain management leaders at a maintenance repair and overhaul company in the aviation industry in the Southeastern United States to accurately forecast procurement costs. Data collection included 5 semistructured interviews, company documents, and annual reports. Through thematic analysis, the major themes that emerged from the data analysis were accuracy, competitive …

The Effects Of Increased Emotional Intelligence On Information Technology Professionals, Reba Alexander Businsky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology professionals effectively manage complex, tactical processes and procedures for internal and external customers. At the time of this study there was a gap in the literature regarding the effects of emotional intelligence on information technology professionals. An organization's internal and external customers may become dissatisfied with the information technology professionals because of their communication style lacking an increased level of emotional intelligence. The purpose of this quantitative study was to research the effects of increased emotional intelligence by surveying 315 information technology professionals. Data were collected using 3 electronic surveys including a general questionnaire to collect demographic data, …

Women's Perceptions Toward Mobile Advertising, Shona Dolson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of technology is changing at a very rapid pace, and companies must strategically design advertising messages for the ever-changing devices and platforms. The general business problem was that business owners have not been able to maximize the profitability of mobile advertising messages directed at women. The specific business problem was that business leaders need strategies to enhance mobile advertising returns by targeting messages that incorporate women's perceptions of mobile advertising. The purpose of this case study was to explore how business leaders can enhance mobile advertising returns by incorporating women's perceptions of mobile advertising into the design of …

Urban And Suburban Differences In Cultural Identification, Life-Guiding Principles, And Person-Organization Fit, Joseph Edigin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diversity practitioners in the United States have taken steps to implement programs for integration of people in organizations from across the socioeconomic and demographic spectrum. Despite changes in U.S. discrimination laws and work by diversity practitioners, maintaining equitable workplace diversity continues to be a problem in U.S. corporations. This correlational study was conducted to examine differences in life-guiding principles, urban identification, and person-organization fit between urban and suburban residents. A purposive sample of 180 adults was drawn in a voluntary online survey from industries in two U.S. representative counties with a mix of urban and suburban sprawl. This study was …

Strategies To Implement Succession Planning In A Nonprofit, Talecia Y. Parks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Surveys of nonprofit organizations conducted between 2004 and 2014 showed that 74% of the 6,923 leaders surveyed did not have a succession plan. In this qualitative single case study, the human capital theory was used as a guide to explore strategies used to implement a succession plan by 3 nonprofit leaders in a single nonprofit organization in a large metropolitan city in Southeastern Georgia. The participants were selected based on their implementation of succession plan strategies and geographical location. Semistructured interviews and document review were used to collect the data, which were analyzed using Yin's 5-step approach. Three themes emerged: …

The Relationship Between Personality Traits And The Income Of Small Business Owners, Staci Lashawn Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Researchers have found that the Big Five personality trait of conscientiousness correlated consistently with high performance across industries. However, previous research was limited to self-reported data collected based on the opinions of the participants and did not include the subtraits of conscientiousness (achievement and dependability). Previous studies also did not provide data specific to entrepreneurs operating as small business owners and did not compare them to their peers. Thus, the purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to explore whether or not there was a relationship between the personality traits of achievement and dependability and the income of U.S. …

Copreneurs' Coping Strategies For Work-Family Conflict, Eunice Peregrino-Dartey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family businesses including copreneurships have a high failure rate. Copreneurs experience work-family conflict (WFC), which can have a negative effect on business sustainability. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that copreneurs used in managing WFC to achieve business sustainability for longer than 10 years. Three copreneurs from 3 copreneurial businesses located in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, who have employed effective strategies to cope with WFC to achieve business sustainability longer than 10 years, participated in the study. The WFC model for business/marriage partners (copreneurs) and the reciprocal coping model served as the …

Organizational Policy Prohibiting Marriage Between Coworkers In The Nigerian Banking Sector, Pamela Obi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Human Resources (HR) policy prohibiting marriage between coworkers contributes to employee attrition and an unhappy, demoralized, and unengaged workforce in commercial banks in Nigeria. Marriage between coworkers has resulted in forced resignations in commercial banks in Nigeria and employees' perception of being unfairly treated in their organizations. The purpose of this qualitative case study, based on the conceptual framework of organizational justice, was to explore how bank employees whose spouses resigned due to the HR policy prohibiting marriage between coworkers respond to this policy. Fifteen such employees participated in semistructured, one-on-one interviews, and 5 other employees participated in a …

Groupthink Among German, British, American, And Soviet Leaders During The Holocaust, Alan Woolf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding the psychology behind the perpetrators of the Holocaust has been difficult because experiments on conformity and obedience cannot readily simulate the reality of the Holocaust. There exists historical documentation surrounding the leaders of the Nazi organization instrumental for the perpetration of the Holocaust, but the underlying motives of Hitler's leaders relating to governmental policies of systematic extermination of the Jews in Europe, are not known, as the strategy and operationalization of the actions were kept extremely secret, disguised by euphemisms, or only discussed verbally. This research study was to further understand the thought processes behind the manipulation tactics applied …

Corporate Governance Implementation In The Nigerian Banking Industry, David Nkata Bassey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing level of fraud, the collapse of banks, and the loss of confidence in the Nigerian banking industry have been attributed to poor corporate governance. The problem of this study was effective implementation of corporate governance in Nigeria where multiple regulations are in place. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to understand how corporate governance is implemented in the Nigerian banking industry in the face of a multiplicity of regulations. The research question investigated how Nigerian bank managers implement corporate governance regulations in the face of a multiplicity of regulations. The conceptual framework was grounded in …

Successful Strategies Of Small Business Owners To Recruit Veterans, Michelle Duncan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 300,000 highly skilled veterans leave military service every year, yet some small business owners lack strategies to recruit these skilled workers. The specific business problem addressed in this multiple case study was that some small information technology business leaders lack strategies to recruit military veterans. The research sample included 3 owners of small businesses serving the information technology industry in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States who developed and implemented successful strategies for recruiting veterans. Data were collected from interviews and review of documents. Data analysis resulted in the identification of 3 major themes: understanding of veterans as …

Increasing Universities' Tuition Fee Revenues From International Undergraduate Students, Marc Jan Ledermann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Universities are losing expected tuition revenues due to attrition of international undergraduate students. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that university leaders use to increase tuition fee revenues from international undergraduate students. The participants in this study were 3 former leaders of the European division of Laureate International Universities, a global university group with university locations in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Cyprus. The conceptual framework of this study was institutional theory as part of the change management of universities. Data collection included semistructured interviews of 3 former leaders of the …

Exploiting Synergies To Leverage Operational Performance And Efficiency With Collaborative Business Strategies, Victor Oluwi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Resource and knowledge recombination activities of manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers have evolved with the advent of globalization and increased market complexities. Such changes in resource and knowledge recombination activities have enabled and advanced the relevance of well-forged and properly implemented collaborative partnerships. Collaborative partnerships are credible alternatives in the provision of goods and services. The participants in this multiple case study design were 12 senior business managers from three oil, gas, and energy companies in a metropolitan area in a western province of Canada. Participants revealed the strategies they used to forge profitable collaborative business partnerships. The resource-based view …

Employee Retention Strategies In Trinidadian Small Enterprises, Alicia Singh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational leaders face obstacles stemming from the lack of employee retention. An ineffective retention strategy can result in the loss of employees and the loss of institutional knowledge. Lack of appropriate retention strategies can negatively impact the reputation of the organization and ultimately affect the financial standing of an organization. Grounded by Herzberg's 2-factor theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small retail business managers in Trinidad used to retain employees. I collected data through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 5 small business managers and a review of company documents. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation, …

Nigerian Banks' Compliance With The Code Of Corporate Governance, Aderonke Alberta Tayo-Tiwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Frequent incidences of bank failures in Nigeria resulting in enormous losses of investments and jobs have raised questions about the level of banks' compliance with the code of corporate governance. This single exploratory case study shifted attention from the banks to the regulators of banks in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to find out the problems they may be encountering in getting the banks to be fully compliant. Purposeful sampling was used to select 25 senior participants who were directly involved with the monitoring of banks from CBN. The agency theory served as the conceptual framework. The sources …

Successful Marketing Strategies For Promoting Clinical Diagnostic Instrument Validation Packages, Hsiao-Ching Teng

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful marketing strategies for clinical validation packages not only help laboratories increase the accuracy and efficiency of testing, but also facilitate clinical quality awareness and collaboration. False diagnosis and inefficiency in healthcare can be costly, and managers in diagnostic instrument manufacturing organizations need strategies to promote validation packages to help laboratories reduce errors leading to inappropriate treatment. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies business development managers use to integrate dynamic capabilities for marketing instrument validation packages aimed to increase clinical laboratory quality and test accuracy. The conceptual framework was Teece's concept of dynamic capabilities. The …

Strategies For Achieving Entrepreneurial Success In The Microfinance Sector In Ghana, Edith Dankwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globally, half of small business owners are unable to sustain business operations beyond first 5 years. Several small microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ghana collapsed because of the inability of owners to continue operations. Such business failure creates unemployment, subsequently leading to an increase in the poverty rate. The objective of this case study was to explore the strategies that MFI owners use to sustain their businesses for 5 years and beyond in Ghana. The conceptual framework was based on entrepreneurship theory. A purposive sample of 4 MFI owners who sustained their business in Ghana for 5 years, who were identified …

How Naturalized African-Americans Experience Racial Microaggressions In U.S. Federal Agencies, Casimir Yem Bilong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Civil Rights Act was enacted more than 5 decades ago, and its provisions forbade discrimination on the basis of race in hiring, promoting, and firing. Yet some researchers argue that racial discrimination issues are still prevalent in the United States. They contend that modern racial discrimination is more covert and takes the form of racial microaggressions, which are subtle conscious or unconscious insults and derogatory attitudes directed towards minorities. Researchers have not fully addressed the prevalence of racial microaggressions in U.S. workplaces, however. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of naturalized African-Americans …

An Exploratory Study Of A Nondenominational Church And Leadership Behaviors, Principles, Strategies, And Practices, Celeste Beatrice Palmer-Atkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership plays a significant role in the advancement of the church, the followers, and the community that the church serves. If the church fails to train leaders, growth within the church becomes hindered, and its mission becomes aborted. The problem researched in this study is the declining support church leaders are receiving from the community. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore church leadership effectiveness in meeting the expectations of followers, the local church community, and the church. The target population consisted of 3 nondenominational church leaders located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conceptual framework for this study was …

Project Manager Trait Emotional Intelligence And Project Success, Nicholas Aaron Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project success is a measure of both project manager efficacy and stakeholder satisfaction. One of the primary measures of success for construction projects is meeting cost targets and yet recent data indicates up to 9 out of 10 construction projects fail to meet this target. Unsuccessful construction projects can have ramifications that affect project teams, internal stakeholders, customers and the local community. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project managers' well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability and project success using Petrides and Furnham's theoretical framework of trait emotional intelligence. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire …

Organizational Culture And Individuals' Experience Of Workplace Bullying, Luan Zeka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying is an epidemic in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to increase understanding of employees' lived experiences of bullying in an organizational culture. Schein's organizational cultural model provided the conceptual framework for the study. The research question addressed how individuals who were bullied or witnessed bullying in the New York State area perceived their experiences within the organizational culture. Data collection included a researcher's journal and in-depth interviews with 25 participants. Data were analyzed using Moustakas's modified van Kaam method of phenomenological analysis. From the data analysis process, three categories of bullying emerged …

Initiating Factors Affecting Information Systems Project Success, Jonathan Olubunmi Afolabi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information systems (IS) projects are complex and costly, but only a 3rd of IS projects are successful; the Standish Group reported that 32% of IS projects were successful in 2012. Although investments in research have led to improvements in practice, there is a general perception that management failures are responsible for the low rate of IS project success. The effects of initiating factors on project outcome had not been sufficiently explored; few IS researchers have explored the initiation phase. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore project initiation factors, including relational, as well as decision-making aspects, and …

Strategies To Increase Employee Engagement In Long-Term Residential Agencies, Corey Fair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees adversely affect organizational strategies to promote higher standards of care and quality of life for long-term residential patients. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies healthcare leaders use to engage employees. The targeted population for this study was the senior leaders of a long-term residential care agency located in South Carolina who had initiated strategies and practices to engage employees. Kahn's theory of personal engagement and disengagement was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with open-ended questions, and the long-term residential agency's employee handbook, training agenda, and incentive …

Customer Relationship Management In The E-Retailing Environment, Nikki R. Hicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business enterprise (SBE) managers often lack resources, expertise, and impact when selling in an online environment. SBEs can overcome increased competition by adopting customer relationship management (CRM) into their business model for survival and longevity. Using the conceptual framework technology, organization, environment (TOE), this multiple case study explored effective marketing strategies that small store retail managers use to successfully sell apparel and accessories in online markets. The study population included leaders from independent small online retail enterprises with brick-and-mortar stores located in the Central, Tri-Cities, or Southside areas in Virginia. The data collection process included semistructured, on-site interviews of …

Influence Of Psychological Capital And Thinking Perspectives On Construction Safety Climate And Performance, Anne-Perrine Pascale Cades

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding safety factors in construction is critical to reducing accident frequency and severity. Grounded in the safety performance model, this study was conducted to examine the impact of psychological capital (PsyCap), which consists of the shared variance of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, and Past, Present, and Future thinking perspectives, on safety climate and performance. A nonexperimental quantitative design was used to determine whether PsyCap and thinking perspectives of construction project employees predicted safety performance and/or moderated the relationship between safety climate and performance across construction sites in different countries. 411 construction employees were recruited via a multistage and clustering …

Small Business Restaurant Marketing Strategies For Sustainability, Lyle John Hubbard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 52% of food and accommodation businesses survive 5 years or more. Small business restaurant owners face greater challenges in marketing and sustainability than larger and well-established chain restaurants. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the successful marketing strategies of small business restaurant owners who sustained their businesses 5 years or more. The population was small business restaurant owners in Eugene, Oregon. The conceptual framework for this study was Porter's 5 forces. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 4 business owners, and data analysis consisted of coding and thematically analyzing interview data and data collected from …

Strategies For Insurance Agency Managers To Retain Customers And Improve Revenue, Daniel Lee Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cost of creating new property and casualty insurance accounts is much greater than the costs associated with sustaining current accounts. Property and casualty insurance agency managers lack strategies to retain customers, the retention of whom has been found to improve revenue. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies for insurance agency managers to retain customers and improve revenue. The population used for the study was 4 insurance agency managers in the Northeastern United States. The conceptual framework was customer relationship management, which is a technological and organizational mechanism for buffering market instability by understanding customer …