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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

2016

Sustainability

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Business

The Bop Energy Challenge And Pro-Poor Responses: Strategic Entry Pathways For Entrepreneurs, Felix Motekah Tang Jan 2016

The Bop Energy Challenge And Pro-Poor Responses: Strategic Entry Pathways For Entrepreneurs, Felix Motekah Tang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many large multinational energy company leaders lack strategies to successfully enter and thrive in bottom of the pyramid (BOP) markets. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies using a purposeful selection of 7 senior managers from a U. S. based global multinational energy leader with experience in BOP markets in the Republic of Cameroon. The BOP concept served as the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with senior managers, relevant websites, and government publications. Several themes emerged that were narrowed through categorical aggregation to identify strategies. Major themes included BOP readiness …

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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 …

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Core Leader Competencies For Implementing Sustainability Strategies In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Alan William Jackson Jan 2016

Core Leader Competencies For Implementing Sustainability Strategies In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Alan William Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Because small- and medium-sized enterprises contribute as much as 70% of the world's pollution, small-business leaders need to develop and implement strategic approaches to sustainable development. Global sustainable development spending may reach $5 trillion by 2030. Guided by leadership competency theory, this qualitative multiple case study explored the core competencies of 5 independent small business leaders who had successfully implemented environmentally sustainable initiatives in their manufacturing firms in eastern Nebraska. Interviews and company planning documents including strategic business plans were gathered, coded, and cross-case analyzed, and member checking was periodically conducted to strengthen the trustworthiness of interpretations. Thematic analysis identified …

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Servant Leadership And Non Servant Leadership Organization Triple Bottom Line Reporting Outcomes, Lydia M. Daniels Jan 2016

Servant Leadership And Non Servant Leadership Organization Triple Bottom Line Reporting Outcomes, Lydia M. Daniels

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The competitive environment of the 21st century, failure of U.S. companies, and the financial crisis of 2008 have moved leadership expectations to the forefront of research. However, there is a lack of empirical research about organizational reporting outcomes of self-identified servant leadership (SL) organizations compared to self-identified nonservant (non-SL) organizations. Guided by Greenleaf's SL theory, the purpose of this study was to compare information on organizational data for triple bottom line (TBL) reporting outcomes in SL organizations and non-SL organizations. Using causal comparative research design and global reporting initiative data with a sample of 12 organization reports, reporting outcomes were …

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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. …

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Developing Sustainable Leadership Strategies To Increase Corporate Revenue, Linda Goulet Crosby Jan 2016

Developing Sustainable Leadership Strategies To Increase Corporate Revenue, Linda Goulet Crosby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The business environment is in constant flux where stakeholders encourage organizational leaders to consider sustainable business tactics alongside corporate profits. While most business leaders recognize the importance of including sustainability into corporate goals, evidence suggested that only 10% have sustainable action plans in place. Using the honeybee leadership model as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the sustainable leadership strategies that business leaders from small- and medium- sized companies integrated to increase corporate revenue. These companies were B Corp certified which ensures a third party endorsement of sustainable practices. The data were collected …

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Strategies Affecting The Sustainability Of Small Businesses, Malissa A. Bush Jan 2016

Strategies Affecting The Sustainability Of Small Businesses, Malissa A. Bush

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners bolster the emergence and growth of local communities. However, many small businesses do not survive beyond 5 years. Based on systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by small business owners to develop and maintain viable and long-lasting businesses. Using a multiple case study design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 retail business owners in DeKalb County, Georgia who were able to develop and maintain viable and long-lasting businesses. These small business owners provided detailed information on strategies used to sustain their businesses. Semistructured interviews allowed for in-depth conversations …

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Small Aviation Business Success Strategies For Profitability, Christina Hiers Jan 2016

Small Aviation Business Success Strategies For Profitability, Christina Hiers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ninety-five percent of all aviation businesses are small businesses; from 2009-2012, small aviation business operations decreased by 10.2% and resulted in a loss of $4.4 billion in revenue. The purpose for this multiunit case study was to explore what strategies small aviation businesses leaders used to reduce or control operating expenses for profitability. The sample comprised 3 small aviation businesses located in Middle Tennessee. The conceptual framework for this study built upon systems theory and sustainability theory. The data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documents. Member checking was completed to strengthen creditability and trustworthiness. Based on the methodological …

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Small Business Strategies For Sustainability Beyond 10 Years, Gabriel E. Warren Jan 2016

Small Business Strategies For Sustainability Beyond 10 Years, Gabriel E. Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are vital to the health of the United States economy, as they account for approximately 50% of all jobs and 99% of all firms. Historically, there has been a problem with small businesses being able to sustain their operation beyond 10 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the business strategies some small business owners used to sustain their company beyond 10 years of operation. The sample consisted of 3 small business owners who have been in operation for 10 or more years in Birmingham, Alabama. The conceptual framework for this study was the …

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Building Designers' Perception And The Effect On Sustainability In Malawi, Lloyd Ndau Jan 2016

Building Designers' Perception And The Effect On Sustainability In Malawi, Lloyd Ndau

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Environmental sustainability in buildings is an important part of preserving the environment and reducing climate change. The increasing amount of physical infrastructure systems in Malawi has not been accompanied by policy-makers clearly understanding perceptions and attitudinal behaviors of building designers to promote environmental sustainability. Some building designers in Malawi might not be practicing sustainability innovations adequately, requiring more research to understand their perceptions and behaviors. The purpose of this mixed methods sequential and explanatory study was to explore how building designers' behaviors relate to the implementation of sustainability innovations in Malawi. Ajzen's theory of planned behavior explaining how attitudinal behaviors …

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