Business Commons^™

Sustainability Strategies For Small Business Restaurant Owners, Alisa Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Half of new businesses in the United States cease to exist after the first 5 years of operations, and the failure rate continues to increase after the first 10 years. The study was grounded on von Bertalanffy's systems theory to explore business strategies that small business restaurant owners use to sustain their business beyond 5 years. Data were collected by engaging 3 small restaurant business owners in the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolis who sustained their business beyond 5 years. Information obtained from face-to-face interviews and data mining organizational document were analyzed with the support of qualitative software to generate themes. …

Effective Stakeholder Management Strategies For Information Technology Projects, Andrew Stephen Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information Technology (IT) projects have become critical to business strategy. However, one major issue is that, historically, IT projects have high failure rates, with scholars asserting that ineffective stakeholder management strategies were a major factor for project failure. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies IT executives use for managing IT project stakeholders by exploring the experiences of 2 CIOs and 4 IT directors in two multinational companies, based in Switzerland. Stakeholder theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documentation, and analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis …

Exploring The Impact Of Shared Leadership Styles And Nonprofit Performance, Will Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical data have not adequately revealed current methods of nonprofit leadership in a way that reflects shared leadership in the nonprofit sector leaving nonprofit organizations (NPOs) at a disadvantage in relation to understanding and describing leadership effectiveness. Using a conceptual framework that incorporated organizational theory, shared leadership theory, path goal theory, transformational theory, leader member exchange, and fund development theory, this mini ethnographic study was conducted to explore the effect of leadership styles in shared leadership situations and the impact of matched and unmatched leadership styles on NPO funding performance. With the use of purposeful sampling to conduct the study, …

Racial Microaggressions, Faculty Motivation, And Job Satisfaction In Southeastern Universities, Saundra Elizabeth Carr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For racial minority faculty, racism is associated with adverse outcomes, including poor job satisfaction and less motivation, which may lead faculty to leave the teaching profession. It is unknown what relationships, if any, exist among perceived racial microaggression, job satisfaction, and employee motivation among African American (AA) faculty and other faculty of color in colleges and universities in the southeastern United States. Critical race theory provided a framework to investigate the relationship of perceived racial microaggressions toward AA faculty and other faculty of color with motivation and job satisfaction. This study involved a correlational design using multiple linear regressions to …

Business Alignment Strategies For Middle East Real Estate Construction Projects, Ali Chiri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the Middle East real estate industry, 46% of projects fail in terms of strategic dimensions. Based on the dynamic capabilities approach and contingency approach, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to identify the successful strategies project leaders used to improve the alignment of projects with business strategy. Data were collected from 7 Skype semistructured interviews with real estate construction project leaders from 3 real estate organizations ranked among the top 10 in the Middle East. Public organizational documents were used for methodological triangulation. A thematic coding approach was adopted following a nonlinear sequential process that involved …

The Impacts Of Credit On Small Business Financing In Florida, Ike Chukwuma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, small businesses represent 99.7% of firms that provide employment and account for over 50% of all private sector employment. Nevertheless, the rationing of small business borrowing is an indicative of acute credit constraints emanating from poverty, lack of collateral, lack of cosigners for bank loans, high administrative fees associated with processing credit loans, and information asymmetry along with other socioeconomic factors. In a 4-year study from 2004-2008, it was determined that small businesses suffer tremendously from credit rationing. The purpose of this study was to determine the induced effect of loan guarantee scheme, collateral, and leverage …

Amnesty As A Public Policy Tool For Countering Insurgence In Nigeria, Ayodeji A. Dada

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although research has been done on amnesty, little is known about amnesty as a public policy tool toward countering insurgence in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of amnesty as a public policy tool. The research questions are: Is there a difference in people's view of amnesty that explain the relevance of infrastructural facilities to stimulate economic growth and development in Nigeria? And, are there specific citizen characteristics that explain the differences in the way citizens perceive amnesty as a public policy choice? The theoretical framework was based on Marx's ideology of conflict theory. This …

An Evaluation Of Customer Satisfaction Dimensions In The Ghanaian Banking Industry, Joyce Esther Dadzie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The banking industry in Ghana has seen tremendous growth in recent times. This exponential growth has led to high levels of competition and necessitated that all banks devise strategies to improve customer satisfaction to gain competitive advantage. The growing demands of customers have a significant impact on bank management's ability to attract and retain them. The ability to retain customers depends on the strategy in place to exceed customer expectations and satisfaction. Grounded in relationship marketing theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies banking leaders use to increase customer satisfaction. Data were collected through …

Strategic Leadership In Public Sector Administration In Nigeria, Joy Onyinye Eliogu-Anenih

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inefficiency in the public sector as a result of leadership ineptitude is said to have contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of Nigeria. This has led to the mismanagement of human and financial resources as well as contributed extensively to poor service delivery to the citizens. The research considered the critical role of public sector administration to the functionality of a society, noting that the major determinant for public sector success is leadership effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify how leadership ineffectiveness could be addressed in public sector administration in Nigeria and consider the implications of …

Conflict, Knowledge, And Collective Bargaining In Public Education, Tre'shawn Hall-Baker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Negative conflict in public school districts during collective bargaining impedes efforts towards creativity and student success. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of conflict for participants in collective bargaining in California public school districts. Complexity theory and social construction theory were used as the conceptual framework for the research, and ideas related to conflict, social interactions, knowledge management, and collective bargaining were examined to gain an understanding as they related to the central phenomenon. The specific research questions pondered in this study related to how conflict was experienced in California public schools during collective bargaining, …

Strategies To Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover In Small Retail Businesses In Jamaica, Georgia Justus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover destabilizes small retail businesses and is a costly business problem for small retail business owners. Some small retail businesses experience voluntary employee turnover of up to 50% annually. Guided by Herzberg's 2-factor theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore successful strategies used to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The target population consisted of 3 small retail business owners in Kingston, Jamaica. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and member checking, and human resource (HR) manuals containing HR policies and procedures. Data were analyzed into emerging themes using Yin's 5-step method. Based on the analysis …

Impact Of Financial Reporting Frameworks On The Quality Of Not-For-Profit Financial Reports, Jobra Mulumba Kisaku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even when clean audit reports are issued for not-for-profit organizations (NFPOs), misuse of donor resources may continue for years without detection by financial statement users. Previous research has established creative accounting, haphazard reporting, and fraud among NFPOs. As a result, aid has been reduced and some projects have been suspended. With Uganda as the study area, the key research question was the following: What is the impact of financial reporting frameworks on the quality of financial reports in Uganda, controlling for class of external auditors? The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to establish whether reporting frameworks used by …

The Relationship Between Financial Performance, Firm Size, Leverage And Corporate Social Responsibility, Fraser T. Nega

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately $25.2 trillion in total assets under management in the United States is involved in some strategy of socially responsible and sustainable investing. Grounded in the stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships between financial performance, firm size, leverage, and corporate social responsibility. A random sample included 119 large companies located in the United States from the population of companies listed in the Russell 100 index. The data were collected via Bloomberg Terminal. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to predict Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activity scores. The 3 predictor variables accounted for …

Project Managers' Strategies For Megaproject Success, Nkenamchi Benedict Oputa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Africa, most oil and gas megaprojects exceed their original budget and time deadlines despite advancement in project management processes and systems. This study explored strategies project managers used for megaprojects' success in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, from the perspectives of the owner and contractor organizations. Multiple case study design was utilized to collect data by asking open-ended questions in separate interviews with 4 project managers. Archival project data was also reviewed to eliminate information incongruences. The conceptual framework for the study is the contingency theory that there is no universal management structure for every project. The …

Product Diversification To Improve Investment Returns For High-Net-Worth-Individuals In Ghana, Suzy Aku Akpene Puplampu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population of high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) in Ghana is projected to increase from 2,400 in 2015 to 4,900 by 2024. HNWIs in Ghana desire to have access to alternative investment instruments to enhance diversification and improve investment returns on their portfolios. Guided by the product-market-grid-model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore diversification strategies some fund managers use to improve returns for HNWIs. Twelve participants from 3 investment firms in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, including CEOs and fund managers with more than 5 years of professional and industry experience, participated in semistructured interviews. Observations and …

Social Media Strategies To Increase Professional Membership Association Dues Income, Robert J. Spangler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media strategies can play an important and specific role in nonprofits by increasing membership dues income. However, insufficient data exists supporting effective strategies for social media in professional membership associations, potentially

affecting both business managers within those associations and the stakeholders they represent. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore social media strategies that nonprofit marketing professionals used to increase professional

membership association dues income. The sample included 7 nonprofit marketing professionals in a New Jersey-based professional membership association. Social exchange theory and social influence theory formed the conceptual framework. Data

collection occurred using semistructured …

Relationships Between Sales Management Control, Salesperson Role, And Salesperson Performance, Michelle Vazzana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organization theory proposes that managers exert control over the behavior of salespeople and the outcomes salespeople are expected to deliver. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine the relationships between activity control, capability control, and outcome control and salesperson performance, as well as the moderating effects of product complexity, task complexity, and number of accounts on the control-performance relationships for business-to-business sales personnel. The framework for the study was based in the concept of organizational control. Data analysis included hierarchical regression of a convenience sample of 374 survey responses from salespeople to analyze the direct and moderating …

Strategies For Improving Internal Control In Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Olufemi Adepoju Aladejebi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers and practitioners have recognized the need for business leaders to establish effective internal control frameworks. Some small and medium enterprises (SME) leaders lack strategies for improving internal control systems. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies leaders of SMEs in Nigeria use for improving internal control practices. Building on the internal control theory and transactional leadership theory, semistructured face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with 8 purposively-selected leaders of SMEs in Nigeria who successfully implemented internal control practices. The 5 themes that emerged from the thematic analysis of the interview data were: segregation of …

Small Farm Management Of Information Communication Technology, E-Commerce, And Organization Performance, Shenique Carmichael

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small farm farmers in the United States are reluctant to use information communication technology (ICT) and e-commerce, yet little is known about their decision-making rationale. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore U.S. small farm farmers' decision making, specifically, regarding use or non-use of e-commerce, in managing farm operations by using the Miles and Snow's typology of strategic management. The purposive sample consisted of 30 small farm farming operations in Kansas and Missouri with revenue less than $250,000 per annum. Data analysis was 3-tiered and involved use of horizontalization, thematic clustering, and synthesis. Using the Van …

Improving Mobile Phone Banking Usefulness, Usability, Risk, Cost, And Intention To Adopt, Ali Parfait Hebie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millions of people use mobile phone banking daily, and business leaders should understand the factors influencing mobile phone banking adoption among users. Based on the theory of technology acceptance model and the innovation diffusion theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between usefulness, ease of use, risk, cost, and mobile phone banking adoption in Burkina Faso. One hundred and six mobile phone banking users living in the city of Ouagadougou completed the online survey created to measure consumers understanding of mobile phone banking. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated a statistically significant relationship …

Perceived Leadership Style, Gender, And Job Satisfaction In County Jail Correctional Officers, Melissa Minardo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a considerable amount of research demonstrating important gender differences in job satisfaction and perceived leadership style. These critical relationships have not been sufficiently explored in correctional institutions, particularly as more women are entering corrections officer positions, and low job satisfaction can lead to risky and sometimes life-threatening consequences. The purpose of this ex post facto study was to investigate the relationship between correctional officers' job satisfaction and their perception of transformational leadership style in their supervisor and to explore how the interaction between leadership style and gender affects job satisfaction. The theoretical framework of transformational leadership was used …

Relationships Between Women's Glass Ceiling Beliefs, Career Advancement Satisfaction, And Quit Intention, Michelle Roman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on the glass ceiling shows that women may encounter obstacles in their pursuit of high-level management positions. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test the explanatory style theoretical framework by examining relationships between women's glass ceiling beliefs, career advancement satisfaction, and quit intention and to determine whether satisfaction with career advancement opportunities mediated the relationship between glass ceilings beliefs and quit intention. Data were collected from 179 working women in the public or private sector and women who exited the public or private sector job market within the past 5 years via Web-based surveys. Glass ceiling beliefs …

Leadership Strategies For Addressing U.S. Pharmaceutical Drug Shortages And Supply Chain Disruptions, Adrian Grant Scioli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care providers in the United States expend more than $400 million in unnecessary direct costs annually managing the effects of widespread drug shortages. Based on the theory of complexity and complex adaptive systems, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to identify the strategies that health care pharmaceutical procurement leaders from the Eastern region of the United States use to address widespread drug shortages. Data were collected from 5 semistructured interviews with pharmaceutical procurement leaders, recorded field notes, and a review of public documents from company websites. Data analysis included deductive and open coding techniques. Emergent themes …

Import And Export Strategies To Sustain Business Under Economic Sanctions, Essam Abdalla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Economic sanctions can result in more than a 70% decrease in business activities in a sanctioned country. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to identify the strategies import and export small business owners use to sustain businesses under economic sanctions. The population for this study was import and export small business owners in the state of Khartoum, Sudan. General systems theory served as the conceptual framework and underpinned the study. The data collection included semistructured interviews and government financial reports. Adhering to an interview protocol, conducting transcript reviews of participants' interviews, member checking, and methodological triangulation represented …

Addressing Challenges Faced By Small Business Immigrant Entrepreneurs In Houston, Texas, Yahya Alghafir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Immigrant entrepreneurs play a significant role in the economic development of the United States. However, some small business immigrant entrepreneurs are less successful than small business nonimmigrant entrepreneurs. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore the strategies some small business immigrant entrepreneurs use to sustain and grow their businesses profitably. Using a purposeful sampling technique, the population for this study consisted of 5 small business immigrant entrepreneurs having sustained and grown businesses for a minimum of 5 years in Houston, Texas. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was a combination of Barney's resource-based theory and the Light's …

Qualitative Examination Of Strategies To Overcome Resistance To Change In Lean Manufacturing, Elizabeth Burmester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 80% of lean manufacturing program initiatives are abandoned in the first year of implementation. Only 2% of organizations that embark on the lean journey complete it with the results and the sustainability they expected. There is a gap in past research regarding, the leadership strategies organizations can use to overcome resistance to change during lean manufacturing program implementations. The problem in this study was that leaders have limited information to overcome resistance to change when implementing these programs. The purpose of this study was to explore how leaders within manufacturing organizations may overcome resistance to change through leadership strategy. …

Strategies To Improve Corporate Financial Investment In Care Coordination Programs, Shameka Coles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Key drivers for care coordination programs may include reducing inflated health care cost and improving the quality of care for high-risk populations. However, health care leaders lack methods to support financial investment in care coordination programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that health care leaders use to improve corporate financial investment in care coordination programs that include the triple aim of reducing cost, improving population health, and increasing patient satisfaction. The triple aim model provided the conceptual framework for the study in which 6 health care leaders from Southern California with experience garnering …

Trust In Union Leaders And Decline In Union Membership, Seth Ellery Francois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results …

Customer Relationship Management Strategies At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Johnny Balman Mcdonald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically Black colleges and university managers lack sufficient understanding of customer-relationship management strategies to create high enrollment rates leading to increased financial stability. The focus of this qualitative single case study was to explore customer-relationship management strategies managers use to improve financial performance from historically Black colleges and universities located within the state of Georgia with a student enrollment that exceeds 2,000 students. The conceptual framework for this study was the general system theory. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and employee handbooks. The data analysis consisted of compiling the data, disassembling the data into common codes, reassembling the data …

Employee Perceptions Of Merit Pay And Its Influence On Work Performance, Michael John Mcknight, Sr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The work performance of employees remains a vital factor both in an organization's viability as well as in the prosperity of its employees. Merit pay can influence employee performance and is one of the most frequently used monetary reward incentives for motivating employees to achieve a higher level of performance. The problem is the limited knowledge on how state employees in a southern state perceive merit pay and how those perceptions may influence employee work performance. Using a conceptual framework built from elements of various motivational theories including Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's 2 factor theory, the purpose of …