Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Sustainability Strategies For Successful Small Businesses, Barbara Stovall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses struggle to survive for longer than 5 years because owners lack knowledge of strategies to sustain financial capital. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners used to maintain financial capital to ensure survivability for longer than 5 years. The sample included 3 successful service- related small business owners located in the southeastern United States. Systems theory and the theory of entrepreneurship provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection involved face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of company websites and organizational documents. Member checking enhanced the credibility of the findings. …

Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In The Durable Goods Industry, Mary Jane Burnett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some durable goods industry leaders lack strategies needed to successfully reduce voluntary employee turnover, which is detrimental to organizational performance and decreases an organization's competitive advantage. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies durable goods industry leaders used to reduce employee turnover in their organizations. The population consisted of 4 durable goods industry leaders in the southeastern region of the United States who had at least 3 years of managerial experience in reducing employee turnover. The conceptual framework was the transformational leadership theory of Bass. Methodological triangulation was used to increase the validity and …

Effective Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In The Retail Industry, Robert Clayton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover negatively affects retail organizations and can lead to poor financial performance, a decrease in competitive advantage, loss of productivity, deficiencies in retaining external customers, and economic failures. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that retail store leaders from the Illinois area of the United States use to reduce frontline employee turnover. Herzberg's 2-factor theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from documents pertaining to retention methods and through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 7 leaders of a retail company in the Illinois area who had experience with effective employee retention strategies. …

The Survival Of Healthcare In Rural Texas, Destin Cook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 80 rural hospitals have closed in the United States since 2010, representing about half of all hospital closures during this period, and another 600-700 rural hospitals are at risk of closing shortly. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study, which was based on transformational leadership and diffusion of innovation theories, was to gain a common understanding of financial problems and operational inefficiencies that may be impacting rural hospital leaders in the state of Texas. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 4 senior healthcare leaders from 3 separate regions in Texas. Data analysis included compiling, sorting, fragmenting, and …

Traits And Management Strategies Attributed To The Success Of Virtual-Team Leaders, Roderick A. Haley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The rapid advances in technology and the globalization of the economy have led corporate leaders to invest heavily in virtual teams to increase their global coverage. The problem in this phenomenological study was that many organizational leaders do not understand the extent to which they need to manage virtual teams differently from traditional, face-to-face teams. This is significant, because due to geographical differences and possibly cultural differences, virtual teams require various modes of communication. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of effective virtual-team leaders and the operational strategies employed to lead them. …

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Job Motivators Predicting Likelihood Of Employee Intent To Leave, Rachara Jefferson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An employee's intent to leave an organization is the most common predictor of employee turnover. Employee turnover can cost an organization 150% to 250% of a worker's annual compensation to replace and train an employee. Understanding employee intent to leave is vital for federal agency leaders to help reduce turnover. Grounded in Herzberg's 2-factor model, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the likelihood of employee perceptions regarding work experience, leadership practices, and supervisor relationships with employees predicting employee intent to leave. Archival data were analyzed for 297 employees who completed the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The …

Reducing Internal Theft And Loss In Small Businesses, Eric L. Luster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Every year, several documented data breaches happen in the United States, resulting in the exposure of millions of electronic records. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies some information technology managers used to monitor employees and reduce internal theft and loss. The population for this study consisted of 5 information technology managers who work within the field of technology in the southwestern region of the United States. Participants were selected using purposeful sampling. The conceptual framework for this study included elements from information and communication boundary theories. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company standard operating procedures, …

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 …

Factors Affecting Employee Persistence In An Online Management Development Certificate Program, Todd D. Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important approach to prepare new managers for increased responsibility is participation in online management development programs; however, there is a lack of information about the factors that affect employee completion of these programs. This study addressed how chief executive officers (CEOs) can implement these programs to rapidly develop new managers who are qualified to serve in the leadership roles left behind by many retirees. This qualitative descriptive case study explored employees' perceptions about persistence in an online management development certificate program at a U.S. nonprofit organization. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Rovai's composite persistence model provided the conceptual framework for …

Causes Of Burnout Among Church Leaders: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Pastors, Craig Fee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After 30 plus years of research, clergy burnout is an ongoing concern; as such, it is important to identify the causes of this phenomenon. Researchers have already demonstrated that internal factors such as personality types, personal mastery, or conflict management and external factors such as role conflict, excessive activities, or unrealistic expectations, can lead to burnout. The problem that led to this study was that more exploration is needed about clergy's perceptions on leadership and burnout within the church. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore clergy within the Wesleyan Church in the Midwest to discover their …

Entrepreneurial Opportunities To Develop Strategies For Small Business Success, Tawanda Gilliard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Entrepreneurs of small businesses fail because of the lack of strategies to improve business performance. Using the model of strategic entrepreneurship, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies entrepreneurs used to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities to improve their business performance. Three entrepreneurs from different fitness businesses in South Carolina shared strategies used to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities to business performance. Data were collected from semistructured, face-to-face interviews and a review of company documents such as business performance plans, consolidated financial statements, and a digital equipment user log. Member checking and methodological triangulation increased the validity of the data. …

Factors That Encourage Unethical Practices By Organizational Leaders In Nigeria, Ebenezer Bankole Odole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underlying concern for this research was the increasing numbers of reported culpability of organizational leaders' involvement in unethical practices, and the lack of previous literature on organizational factors that encourage unethical practices by organizational leaders in Nigeria. The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding of the factors that encourage unethical practices by organizational leaders in Nigeria despite having ethical leadership skills and knowledge. This study was grounded in the framework of moral development theory by Lawrence Kohlberg, also known as the cognitive developmental theory of moralization. Data were gathered from document reviews from public library …

Using Ecommerce To Improve Product Marketing And Profitability In Nigeria, Olayinka Thomas-Ogboja

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium enterprises in Nigeria rarely use eCommerce, which has led to lagging market shares and profitability compared to firms in other countries that use eCommerce. Approximately 90% of boutique fashion businesses shut down their businesses due to the inability to operate outside their business location. The social exchange theory was used in this multiple case study to explore how some small business owners in the boutique fashion industry use eCommerce to improve product marketing and profitability in Nigeria. The target population for this study was 5 fashion boutique owners based in Lagos State, Nigeria with a significant record …

Mentoring Strategies To Prevent Leadership Shortfalls Among C-Suite Executives, Vernon Walter Tynes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate organizations are facing a shortage of future senior management leaders. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership mentoring strategies used to develop future C-suite executives in the waste industry. Companies may improve business practices by mentoring future generations to understand corporate responsibilities and expectations. The target population came from a regional waste company located in central Florida. The study participants consisted of 3 C-suite executives of the company responsible for the management and mentoring of future C-suite executive mentees. The conceptual framework for this study was rooted in transformational leadership theory. Data were collected using …

Diversity Management Program Strategies To Support Competitive Advantage And Sustainable Growth, Alex Amegashie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The study focuses on key characteristics that affect diversity management (DM) in the United States. Developing effective strategies to support and enhance workforce diversity is a competitive business advantage as diverse workforce economic and social contributions outpace homogeneous workgroups. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that service organization leaders (diversity practitioner-leaders) use to develop DM programs to support competitive business advantage and sustainable growth. The general systems theory and DM framework were the lens that guided the study. Five diversity practitioner-leaders from service organizations with business operations in the northwestern region of United States …

Obstacles To Economic Growth And Business Attraction In Georgia, Vanessa Cox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in the study was that Georgia's economic development leadership faced obstacles that challenged the state's growth in attracting new business and developing existing business. The purpose of this case study was to explore the obstacles encountered by a specific agency to attract businesses to generate economic growth. Accessing obstacles that hinder leaders to promote the state of Georgia growth is pertinent, including exploring where the system may be constrained. The theory of constraints guided this study to investigate what obstacles state leaders face in economic development. An embedded case study was conducted using purposeful sampling to select …

Stakeholder Collaboration Strategies In The Hawaii Tourism Industry, Catherine Kaehu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Travel and tourism are concepts that date back to 3000 B.C. with globalization extending possibilities of travel to people across the world. Addressing stakeholder concerns is especially important in promoting the development of sustainable tourism contributing to the protection of Earth's natural resources and long-term sustainability of tourism businesses through collaboration and participation. This qualitative case study incorporated a strategic stakeholder management framework, focusing on exploring strategies that Hawaii tourism industry leaders use for increasing stakeholder participation in sustainable tourism development. The population consisted of individuals across 6 categories of Hawaii tourism industry stakeholders identified as visitors, residents, government or …

Cross-Project Knowledge Transfer Succession Planning For Family-Owned Businesses, Kristina L. Mccarthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When the owners of family-owned businesses leave the workplace, they can transfer ownership to the next generation; however, their knowledge of the business goes with them. There is a gap in the literature regarding effective ways to transfer family business resources and knowledge to subsequent generations. The problem was some small and family-owned businesses do not have detailed plans in place based on the needs of owners and the successor generation, with cross-project knowledge as part of the succession plan. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the relationships between the subscales of cross-project tacit knowledge transfer and …

Profitability Strategies For Small And Medium Entrepreneurs In Michigan, Dritan Pepaj

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses create 50% of all jobs in the United States, but at least 50% of all newly founded small businesses have failed since 2006, and only 1/3 have survived beyond 10 years. Small businesses have a high chance of failure in the first 5 years due to a lack of sustainable strategies. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies small business owners need to sustain their business beyond 5 years in a purposefully chosen county in Michigan. A conceptual framework was constructed based on the stakeholder theory and its derived theories to provide a …

Leadership Skills To Sustain High-Tech Entrepreneurial Ventures, Zoaib Z. Rangwala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High-tech (HT) innovation-oriented entrepreneurs start 35% more ventures and create 10% more jobs in the first 5 years of operation than the rest of the private sector and drive significant economic growth across all industries; however, more than 50% of the entrepreneurial HT ventures fail during the first 5 years of operations. Guided by the conceptual framework of transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore skills used by successful entrepreneurial leaders to sustain their HT ventures in Silicon Valley, California. Data collection was from 8 participants in semistructured 1-on-1 interviews and 3 participants in a …

Strategies To Cultivate Sustainable Open Innovation Culture In High-Tech Organizations, Eyal Banai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders must adopt new business practices to sustain their organizations and meet the paradigm of global competition. In the 21st century, innovation and market readiness have become the primary criteria for sustainability of an organization. Some organizational leaders should adopt open innovation strategy to stay competitive and foster a positive impact on their organizations' performance while practicing a systematic inclusion of knowledge from sources outside of the organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies business leaders use to cultivate a sustainable open innovation culture. The population consisted of leaders from 200 high technology …

Corporate Social Responsibility Implementation Framework, Samuel Bonsu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As social problems, such as environmental pollution persist, the need to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance societal well-being becomes important. However, little is known about how corporate leaders implement CSR. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of corporate managers relevant to CSR implementation. This study was guided by ecological systems theory, the Porter hypothesis, the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, and the Harrod-Domar growth model, which justify the importance of societal well-being to business profitability and growth. The research question regarding the lived experiences of corporate managers of …

Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In A National Grocery Chain, Tracy Haney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining qualified employees is a problem for many organizations, which costs companies both monetary resources and hours of productivity. A contributing factor to the problem of employee retention is the lack of trained managers who are equipped to foster and increase employee job satisfaction. The purpose of this single case study, using a transformational leadership framework, was to explore managerial strategies to reduce turnover at 1 store in a national grocery store in the Midwestern United States. Methodological triangulation was achieved through the semistructured interviews of 5 managers, as well as a review of company training documents, and a review …

Strategies For Compliance With Government Regulations In A Pharmaceutical Company, Charles Jagun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pharmaceutical companies accrued fines of over $30 billion within 25 years because of noncompliance with regulations. Noncompliance with regulations results in fines and an adverse impact on company profitability. Some pharmaceutical company managers lack effective strategies to ensure overall company compliance with regulation. Based on complexity leadership theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies pharmaceutical company managers used to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements in Nigeria. The target population was functional managers purposely selected because they had successfully implemented strategies for compliance with the regulatory requirements in Nigeria. Data were collected through face-to-face and telephone …

Role Of Spiritual Intelligence In Leader Influence On Organizational Trust, Bill Kerstetter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate scandals have disrupted the trust and confidence in leaders over the last two decades. Researchers have not addressed the spiritual intelligence of leaders and the role it might play in influencing organizational trust. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the role of spiritual intelligence in leader influence on organizational trust. The research question addressed the role of spiritual intelligence in leader influence on organizational trust within a global insurance company. The conceptual framework was based on intelligence theory, leadership theory, spiritual intelligence theory, trust theory, and servant leadership philosophy. Data were collected using semistructured interviews …

Strategies For Reducing Short-Tenured Employee Attrition In The Retail Grocery Industry, Ogechi Ngemegwai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that managers in the retail grocery industry use in reducing short-tenured employee attrition in the West Midland states in the United Kingdom. Participants were 4 store managers who had managerial experience in the retail grocery industry, worked as a retail store manager in the West Midlands, and had experience implementing effective strategies to reduce employee attrition. The Herzberg 2-factor theory was the conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process. The major themes were: training and development, enriched job …

Improving Access Of Small Business Owners To Microloan From Microfinance Institutions In Nigeria, Hyeladzira Mshelia Ochonogor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Most microloan applicants in Nigeria are denied access to financial services by the commercial banks because of the high risk involved in granting loans to an individual without tangible assets to offer as collateral. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore small business owners' understanding of suitable funding options from microfinance banks in Nigeria to sustain their businesses beyond the first 5 years. An investigation was conducted on how small business owners could obtain information on funding options most suitable to sustain their business. Guided by the ethical banking operations framework theory, the strategies business …

The Relationship Between Georgia Public School Educational Funding Sources And Academic Achievement, Rosalind Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, state educational finance systems are required to ensure that every student obtains an adequate and equitable education. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the financial management aspect of public funding and the consequences of Georgia's reliance on local property tax revenue for financing its public school districts and attaining student academic achievement outcomes. The research questions examined whether there was a difference in student academic achievement levels of economically disadvantaged (ED) students based on the total 8th grade student population, annual property valuations, and median home sale prices during the 2006-2014 school terms. …

The Effects Of Behavioral Determinants And Sociodemographic Factors On Homeowners' Intent To Conserve Energy, Sallieu M. Jalloh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Greenhouse gas emissions are caused, in part, by human activities. However, consumers may assume that the burden of environmental problems, such as carbon emissions reduction through sustainable energy practices, should be borne by the entire society. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to test whether behavioral determinants and demographic factors could influence homeowners' intent to conserve energy. Empirical data were collected from 436 sampled homeowners in the Northeast region of the United States using an online survey questionnaire. The survey instrument was adapted from Ajzen's theory of planned behavior instrument. Variables aligned with the theory of planned behavior, alongside …

The Relationship Between Technology Threat Avoidance And Innovation In Health Care Organizations, Melvin R. Fenner Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most leaders of healthcare delivery organizations have increased their rate of technological innovation, but some still struggle to keep pace with other industries. The problem addressed in this study was that senior leaders in some rural ambulatory healthcare facilities failed to innovate, even with recent healthcare technological innovations, which could lead to increased medical errors and a loss of efficiency. The purpose of the study was to examine if a relationship exists between the avoidance of technology threats by senior leaders in ambulatory healthcare organizations and the innovation propensity of the organization. Technology threat avoidance theory served as the theoretical …