Business Commons^™

The Impact Of Lean Startup Theory Upon Local Business Entrepreneurs, Gary Boyd

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the entrepreneurs in South Texas are aware of the Lean Startup Methodology, and have utilized its principles in their business startup decisions. If so, how have these Lean Methods impacted their ongoing operational management? Additionally, this study ascertains the degree of satisfaction these entrepreneurs have with their startup processes. Finally, this study determines whether selected entrepreneurs would recommend a Lean Startup approach to other entrepreneurs. The research focused only upon selected business entities formed since 2000.

Research Methods. This study utilized a survey methodology. In particular, …

2017 Q4 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, and with the support of Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

2017 Q3 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, and with the support of Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

To Grow Or Not To Grow: Socio-Cognitive Determinants Of Small And Medium Firm Growth And Threshold Mentality, David A. Alvarado

Theses and Dissertations

Small business owners (entrepreneurs) are heterogeneous in their motivations and goals, with some seeking to expand firm scope, size, and purpose, and others seeking stability. The small and medium firm growth literature indicates that growth intention varies, but why does it vary so much, and so often? Why do some firms have a threshold mentality, represented by a stability intention, while others have a growth intention? To explore these questions, this dissertation empirically examines the socio-cognitive determinants of small and medium firm growth intentions. Participants included owner/managers of independent Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) decision-making authority for their firms. 159 …

Motivations Of One Small Business Community To Implement Environmental Sustainability As A Business Practice, Ruth C. Hughes, Marleen Troy

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

Small businesses in the Central Business District of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania were surveyed to determine their familiarity with and attitudes towards environmental sustainability, including obstacles and motivators for implementation as well as current business practices. While publications on similar topics existed for small businesses in other countries, there appeared to be little recent published research for small business communities in the United States. The research used a combination of online surveys and interviews with business owners and managers to gather data, as well as an extensive literature review for the basis of the analysis. Research results from the local survey …

Little Things That Count: A Call For Organizational Research On Microbusinesses, Alice M. Brawley, Cynthia L.S. Pury

Management Faculty Publications

The purpose of this Incubator is to encourage organizational researchers to attend to the most common type of business in the United States—the microbusiness. After defining and describing these businesses, we propose research questions on defining and managing performance, organizational citizenship, and work–family conflict in this novel business setting.

Transitioning Business-To-Business Marketing Communications To Social Media, Terri S. Gibson

Master of Arts in Media and Communication Plan II Graduate Projects

There has been a movement toward digital media marketing channels away from the traditional media marketing channels in the realm of business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This transformation is more than mere semantics. It reflects the recent integration of digital strategies including blogging, social media, and email marketing by B2B marketers. A greater commitment to driving return on investment (ROI) and tracking movement through a website is seen in these strategies. In the rapidly changing digital landscape of B2B marketing, there is a focused emphasis on analytics, which reveals a sharp contrast between traditional media channels and social networking. With traditional media, …

2017 Q2 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, and with the support of Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

Oral History Conversation With Evan Malter, Tyler J. Hodges, Mary Ann Lee, Max Opperman, Salvador Llamas

Philosophy: All Student Work

An oral history interview with Evan Malter. Evan walks through his life story, personal experiences, and how they have led to the creation of Count Loyalty, a small business that identifies loyalty capital for businesses looking to obtain a bank loan.

Analysis Of Small Business Innovation In Green Technologies, Anthony Breitzman, Patrick Thomas

Anthony Breitzman

No abstract provided.

2017 Q1 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, and with the support of Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

Comparing The Urgent Needs Of Nebraska Small Business Owners Since The Great Recession, Abbey Rhodes

Undergraduate Research Journal

The Center for Rural Affairs is a Nebraskan nonprofit organization whose mission is to establish strong rural communities while engaging local citizens in the decisions affecting their quality of life and the future of their communities (Bailey, Preston, & Beck, 2014). Established in 1973, the Center’s research shows that rural communities in Nebraska and the Great Plains suffered economic and social declines in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to a diminishing population and decreased demand for products and services. The REAP program was funded by the Small Business Administration in 1992 to address these challenges and to help …

Project Cems: Cost Efficient Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses, Wendy Brown Dellinger

Education Dissertations and Projects

The goal of any organization is to find cost efficient marketing strategies to promote their business. Project CEMS provided a template for the partnering organization to utilize for the improvement of their customer service and public image. This marketing plan consisted of four distinct yet coinciding stages, each focusing on the goals of the project. In Stage I, an interactive website was built to provide potential clientele with essential company information. During Stage II, high impact and detail oriented presentation packets were created. The focus of Stage III was on customer care which included correspondence, branded promotional items, satisfaction survey, …

Social Change Through Entrepreneurship: Utilizing Portable Sawmill Based Small Businesses To Promote Community Development, Crystal Lupo

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Reduced demand for wood and wood products resulting from the economic crisis in the first decade of the 2000s severely impacted the forest industry throughout the world, causing large forest-based organizations to close (CBC News, 2008; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009; Pepke, 2009). The result was a dramatic increase in unemployment and worker displacement among forest product workers between 2011 and 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Forested rural communities often depended on the large-scale forest industry for their livelihood, and as a result, decreased reliance on large-scale industry became increasingly important (Lupo, 2015). This article …

Detecting Discrimination In Small Business Lending, Sterling A. Bone, Glenn L. Christensen, Jerome D. Williams, Stella Adams, Anneliese Lederer, Paul C. Lubin

Management Faculty Publications

With limited financial sophistication, entrepreneurial consumers approach the financial marketplace more like retail financial consumers than business customers. However, the assumption of both legislators and regulators is that business-borrowers are more financially savvy than consumer-borrowers, and thus do not require as broad-reaching protections. This gap between marketplace policy protections and the lived reality of the vast majority of small business entrepreneurs sets the stage for entrepreneurial consumers to fall through the regulatory cracks and sets the stage for possible exploitation and abuse. This situation is potentially exacerbated for minority entrepreneurs who belong to protected classes that are generally more vulnerable …

Strategies For Entrepreneurs With Disabilities To Sustain A Successful Small Business, Terry L. Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2006, Congress appropriated $5 million to create a research-based policy and give technical assistance to agencies that achieved self-employment outcomes for entrepreneurs with disabilities (EWDs). A lack of information exists within the extant body of research on EWDs and the strategies they employ to develop successful businesses. The research design was a multiple case study format engaging 3 Michigan EWDs whose firms were profitable after at least 3 years of successful business operations. Tipu's conceptual framework of entrepreneurship was useful in understanding the basis for successful EWDs' strategies. Face-to-face interviews with EWDs and onsite observations of their business operations …

“Culture Shock”: An Ethnographic Account Of A Small Business In The Face Of Change, Alexia Maggos

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This ethnography follows a small business in Indianapolis that was founded on a small business philosophy that embodied family-oriented, close-knit employee relationships. Aside from the small firm finding success in its established company culture, this small business found great financial success within a niche market. However, as part of new expansion plans, management began imposing a more traditional, hierarchical management styles. While this shift is predicted by contemporary management theory, the human effects and cultural costs of this process are worthy of study. This ethnography follows employees’ perceptions and reactions to the change in business philosophy and analyzes the instability …

Growth Capital Strategies For Defense Industry Women-Owned Small Businesses, Karen Renee Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to growth capital, a critical factor for growing a successful, sustainable business, is a challenge for women-owned small businesses. Following the resource based theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what capital growth strategies 6 small women-owned business leaders in the defense industry in Dayton, Ohio used to ensure business sustainability beyond the initial start-up period of 1 year. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documents. Methodological triangulation, member checking, reflexivity, and an audit trail were used to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness. Based on thematic analysis of the data, emergent themes included growth …

Cyber-Security Policy Decisions In Small Businesses, Joanna Patterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyber-attacks against small businesses are on the rise yet small business owners often lack effective strategies to avoid these attacks. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies small business owners use to make cyber-security decisions. Bertalanffy's general systems theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. A purposive sample of 10 small business owners participated in the interview process and shared their decision-making methodologies and influencers. The small business owners were vetted to ensure their strategies were effective through a series of qualification questions. The intent of the research question and corresponding interview questions …

Strategies For Small Businesses To Win Federal Contracts, Fredrick Derell Murphy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses miss out on federal contracting opportunities because of the strategies they lack. Both large and small businesses provide supplies and services through contract awards to the U.S. government while spending over $300 billion annually. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of small business owners in the Clarksville, Tennessee and Hopkinsville, Kentucky region who have won federal contracts. Porter's competitive advantage theory grounded this study as the conceptual framework. The data collection process involved face-to-face, semistructured interviews and member checking with 3 small business owners to enhance credibility of data interpretation. Themes that …

Marketing Strategies: How Small Restaurant Businesses Use Social Media, Tasheenia Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media has changed the way businesses relate to their customers. Since the beginning of social media, traditional methods of communicating with customers have begun to decline. The purpose of this multicase study was to determine the strategies of 5 owners of small restaurant businesses in Western North Carolina who successfully used social media marketing for 1 year or more. Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured interviews, documents pertaining to social media marketing strategies, and social media pages and websites from the participating restaurants. These data were analyzed following Yin's …

Leadership Strategies And Employee Performance Within Small Business, Letica Carla Sellers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The survival of the small business industry is important to the United Sates workforce and economy. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies of 2 small business managers in a manufacturing setting who had a demonstrable record of improving employee performance to meet organizational goals. The conceptual framework for this study was Burns and Bass's transformational leadership theory. The small business managers were from 2 small manufacturing plants in the coastal plains region of South Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, archival documents, and observations of the managers during their daily activities. Data analysis …

Sustainability And Social Responsibility In Small Food Enterprises: Barriers And Enablers, Aurora Dawn Reinke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry contend with a variety of corporate sustainability and social responsibility (CSSR) issues, ranging from the environmental impact of food waste to human health concerns about specific ingredients and production methods. In this qualitative multicase study, based on the conceptual frameworks of strategic development, stakeholder management, and institutional theory, I explored barriers and enablers for Washington, DC-based food SMEs as they proactively addressed CSSR issues. I interviewed five SME owner-managers. The transcripts were then coded and analyzed. Three themes emerged. Strategic development tended to be ad hoc and experimental, but with equal …

Exploring Business Planning Strategies Of Women-Owned Small Businesses In The Construction Trades, Diana Fay-Spina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small businesses fail to survive past 5 years, listing the primary reason given for failure as inadequate business planning strategies. The construction industry provides the building and upkeep of physical infrastructure (buildings and roadways) in developed societies and is a major contributor to the gross domestic product for many nations. In the United States, the construction trades primarily consist of small businesses, with a smaller portion of the sector classified as women-owned. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the business planning strategies that successful women-owned small business (WOSB) construction leaders in New Jersey use …

Budget Planning, Budget Control, Business Age, And Financial Performance In Small Businesses, Tracy A. Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 390,000 businesses failed in the United States in 2014. The primary cause for most business failures is poor planning, and budgets are a primary means of planning. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine to what extent, if any, budget planning, budget control, and the age of the business significantly predict financial performance in small businesses. The target population consisted of small business leaders in the Midwest. Churchill and Lewis's theory on the relative importance of selected management factors of small businesses through 5 stages of development formed the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected …

Crowdfunding As A Financing Resource For Small Businesses, Melissa Cohen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although small businesses borrowed $1 trillion in 2013 from traditional lenders, 35% of small business owners were unable to obtain adequate financing and subsequently sought alternative sources such as crowdfunding. Guided by the pecking order theory, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore how 6 small business owners in Tennessee successfully used crowdfunding to start, grow, or sustain their businesses. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of crowdfunding project data on the internet platform including the project description, target goal, amount achieved, number of backers, and locations of the funders. Data were inductively analyzed, …

The Survival Of Small Businesses In Northeastern Florida After A Natural Disaster, Harry Kemp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small business owners lack strategies needed to prevent permanent business closure in the wake of extreme natural disaster situations. After a natural disaster, small businesses suffer financial losses in millions of dollars related to damage and destruction that disrupt their lives, families, and communities. This multiple case study explored strategies that 5 small business owners in northeastern Florida used to avoid permanent business closure in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The theory of planned behavior and vested interest theory were the conceptual frameworks used in this multiple case study. In-depth interviews with purposively selected small business owners were …