Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Entrepreneurship Growth During A Recessionary Period, Ralph Ndubuisi Igwedibie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business entrepreneurs in the United States often struggled or went out of business during the recession of 2007-2009. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies entrepreneurs needed to grow their businesses during a recessionary period. The conceptual framework for the study was effectuation theory. The population consisted of small business entrepreneurs whose businesses survived the recession of 2007-2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews with 20 participants. Data organization and thematic analysis involved coding interview data and using software to categorize themes and subthemes. Major themes that emerged from the study included …

Economic Freedom Through Entrepreneurship, Beverley A. Craft

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Entrepreneurship represents a means of increasing personal freedom and designing an attendant lifestyle. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies sole proprietors used to sustain their small business operations beyond five years and attain profitability levels necessary for freedom and autonomy. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews of 10 entrepreneurs who answered open-ended interview questions, granted access to archival documents, and direct observation of their business operations. The conceptual framework was emancipation theory addressing personal freedom through business autonomy. With the modified van Kaam method, the identification of emerging themes involved identifying groupings, clusters, and unrelated antecedents …

Strategies For Sustainability In Multilevel Marketing Organizations, Nicole Renea Cordell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of entrepreneurs in the direct sales industry has steadily increased since 2010; however, the annual turnover rate is 56%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore multilevel marketing (MLM) entrepreneurial leadership strategies implemented to help ensure sustainability of entrepreneurial MLM businesses for longer than 5 years. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 10 entrepreneurs who maintained an MLM business more than 5 years and used a hierarchical status that required a team. The transformational leadership theory constituted the conceptual framework for researching leadership as a concept of entrepreneurship and sustainability in MLM. Data were collected …

Strategies For Success And Sustainability In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Beyond The First 5 Years, Atem Emmanuel Ndeisieh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Cameroon Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ over 70% of the active population and contribute significantly to economic growth and development, yet the failure rate of SMEs in the region within the first 5 years remains at 72%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that SME owners used to sustain their businesses for longer than the first 5 years. With the resource-based view as the conceptual framework, purposive sampling was used to select 5 owners of small food-processing enterprises in Cameroon who demonstrated successful …

Employee Engagement Strategies To Improve Profitability In Retail, Kimberly D. Polite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Retail business leaders can improve profitability when they implement employee engagement strategies. The purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies retail leaders use to improve profitability. The population included 6 department leaders in a single retail organization in the southeastern United States. The conceptual framework included Kahn's employee engagement theory. Using Yin's 5-step data analysis process, data from semistructured interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to gain employee engagement strategies that retail leaders use to improve profitability. Four major themes emerged that retail business leaders use to increase profitability: having daily staff interaction, hiring …

Small Business Owners Strategies In The Retail Grocery Sector, Panzo Nteka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Angola, 96.7% of established small businesses fail. Thus, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies retail grocery store owners in Angola use to succeed beyond 5 years. The population of the study consisted of 5 retail grocery storeowners who sustained their businesses longer than 5 years in Angola. The conceptual framework for this study was the resource-based view. Face-to-face, semistructured interviews and company documentation review were used to collect data. Yin's 5-phase cycle, which includes (a) compiling, (b) disassembling, (c) reassembling, (d) interpreting, and (e) concluding, was used to find patterns, themes, and categories from …

Market-Entry Strategies Of Startup Owners, Evgeny Tsaplin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Russia's startups fail at high rates. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the market-entry strategies used by accelerated startup managers to succeed in business longer than the first 3 years. The target population for this study was 3 startup owners who completed an acceleration program from the Internet Initiatives Development Fund and continued to operate businesses that generated revenue. The participants in the study were located in 3 different cities in Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tomsk. The conceptual framework for the study was Raheem and Akhuemonkhan's theory of enterprise development and von Bertalanffy's general system …

Skills That Small Business Owners Use To Succeed Beyond 5 Years, Shelly Gerig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses in the United States have a high failure rate, with 50% failing within 5 years. Small businesses also account for 99.7% of U.S. firms and provide 48.0% of employees in the private sector, or 57 million out of 118 million employees. From 1992 to 2013, small firms were responsible for 63% of new jobs generated. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the skills small business owners (SBOs) used to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years in a purposefully selected area of Central Florida. The conceptual framework of human capital theory served to focus this …

Quality Of Life Among Entrepreneurs With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Brittany Kesler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impacts of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are far reaching, resulting in many burdens in the individual lives of CFS patients. One notable challenge lies in the inability to participate in the workforce due to associated physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Previous research indicates that alternative employment options may help to overcome work related barriers presented with various types of chronic illness. Entrepreneurship is one path to working that offers many benefits, including autonomy, flexibility of work schedule, choice of work environment, and control. Questions though remain as to whether entrepreneurship enhances QOL or exacerbates symptoms among individuals with CFS. …

Strategies For Building And Retaining A Productive Multilevel Marketing Downline, Ranelli Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most multilevel marketers lose money and quit within the first year of operations because of a lack of effective strategies for building and retaining a productive downline. The purpose of this multiple case study was to apply Cantillon's entrepreneurship theory to explore strategies used by 3 multilevel marketers from 3 different multilevel marketing companies with operations based in New York. Participant selection was purposeful and based on the number of years the participants had been in multilevel marketing and their generated income. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with open-ended questions of the participants and a review of company training …

Strategies To Sustain Small Businesses Beyond 5 Years, Kayaso Cosmas Wani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the U.S. Small Business Association, the failure rates for small businesses in 2014 were as high as 50% to 80% within the first 5 years of establishment. The purpose for this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that small business owners have used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. Guided by entrepreneurship theory as the conceptual framework, and a purposive sampling method, this qualitative case study used semistructured interviews with 3 successful, small, ethnic grocery business owners in Anchorage, AK to better understand small business strategies for survival. Member checking and triangulation with field notes, …

Successful Strategies For The Survival Of Business Owners In Nigeria, Ayodeji Akinso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses remain the engine of growth in an economy such as Nigeria's economy. The objective of this study was to explore the high failure rate of small businesses during the first 5 years of business activities in Nigeria. The research design for this study was a multiple case study. The targeted population was small-scale entrepreneurs from 3 facilities in the soybean processing industries in Ibadan, Nigeria. The cognitive theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The data collection process was semistructured in-person interviews of 3 successful soy processing business owners. The data analysis process was conducted following the …

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 …

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 …

Leadership Development Strategies To Build Leaders Through Mentorship Programs, Devin Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing employees to assume leadership positions has never been more critical for organizational leaders given the competitive climate and the shortage of executive leaders. Organizations must develop future leaders at unprecedented rates to assume roles and responsibilities of the current executive leaders who will leave the organization due to retirement and other forms of attrition. Using mentorship theory, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies that business leaders use to successfully improve their mentoring programs for employee leadership development. The target population consisted of 3 business leaders located in central Florida with successful experience in improving their …

Marketing Strategies Of Mobile Game Application Entrepreneurs, Talaya C. Waller, Robert J. Hockin, Gina S. Smith

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Mobile game application entrepreneurs can offer many benefits to the U.S. economy; however, 80% of the entrepreneurs in this study stated that marketing their mobile applications was a major business challenge. Based on Schumpeter’s theory of economic development and new value creation of technological innovation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that entrepreneurs have used to market their mobile game application development businesses successfully. Twenty mobile game application entrepreneurs from northern California, who successfully sustained their businesses for 3 or more years, completed semistructured interviews. Moustakas' modified van Kaam method was used and included coding …

Strategies Used By Military Spouse Small Businesses During A Military Relocation, Sandra Dee Heredia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are over 615,000 women military spouses and 1,786 known military spouse business owners who relocate every 2 to 3 years to follow their active duty spouse. The research problem addressed was the lack of strategies military spouse small business owners used to sustain their business during a mandatory military relocation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that 5 women military spouse small business owners, located near Shaw Air Force Base or Fort Jackson, South Carolina, used to sustain their businesses during a relocation. The sampling method used was census sampling. The systems theory …

Continuous Improvement Strategies For Nonprofit Organizations, Kieran Nawaz Mohammed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organization leaders face increased performance and sustainability challenges due to reduced funding. Approximately 72% of nonprofit revenues required for the sustainability of nonprofit organizations come from program services, which are threatened by ineffective improvement strategies and reduced program funding. Using the conceptual framework of total quality management, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies that nonprofit leaders use to implement successful continuous improvement programs to increase revenue. The population for this study was leaders of nonprofit organizations in Delaware. Participants were purposefully selected for their successful experience in implementing continuous improvement strategies in nonprofit organizations. Data …

Retention Strategies Of Labor Union Membership, Nina W. Hatcher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Labor union membership decline spans more than 4 decades since 1954. In 2012, union membership decreased from 14.1% to 11.3%, which is the lowest since the post-Second World War Era. Union membership decline leads to the inability of some union leaders to retain union members, resulting in a loss of profitability. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies union leaders use in improving membership retention. Twenty union, former union, and nonunion participants from governmental and industrial firms of Jefferson County, Alabama participated in the study offering their lived experiences in industries with active union environments. …

Entrepreneurial Motivations And Characteristics Of Niger Delta Youths: An Exploratory Study, Anthony O. Aligba, Gene E. Fusch

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This article explored the lived experiences and perceptions of youths in the Niger Delta regarding the factors that influence the decision to become an entrepreneur. Drawing from the theories of motivation and planned behavior, the conceptual framework of this phenomenological study underscored the synergetic relationship between entrepreneurial motivations and characteristics. Using semistructured interviews to collect primary data, 20 youth small and medium enterprise owners shared their perceptions and lived experiences regarding their perceived entrepreneurial motivations and characteristics. The analysis and coding of data helped to identify emergent themes based on the modified van Kaam seven-step approach. The research findings revealed …

African American Small Business Strategies For Financial Stability And Profitability, Jermell T. Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the high failure rate of African American small businesses in the United States, only 2% of the U.S. Small Business Administration loans in 2016 were awarded to African American business owners. Most small business owners cite lack of access to financial resources as an influential factor that leads to business failure. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies African American small business owners in Los Angeles County, California use to obtain financial resources to achieve sustainability for at least 5 years. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 4 purposively …

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 …

Relationships Between Critical Business Performance Variables And Solo Criminal Law Practitioners Success, Renee Norris-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing numbers of America's 1,281,432 active licensed attorneys open their own law firms due to strained employment opportunities. With 50% of small businesses failing within 5 years, and solo law offices accounting for 75% of attorneys in private practice, there is a need for preparing solo criminal law practitioners for business success. Some solo criminal law practitioners do not understand the critical business performance variables that impact small business success. The total population for this quantitative correlational study included solo criminal law practitioners from the Philadelphia Bar Association Legal Directory and Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers members. Barney's resource-based …

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

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

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 …

Strategies Needed For Small Business Sustainability: A Case Study Of Thai Restaurants, Vanida Sirilarbanan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to U.S. Small Business Association, the failure rates for small businesses in 2014 were as high as 50% to 80% within the first 5 years of establishment. Failure rates were especially high among restaurant businesses. The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies that small business owners needed to sustain their businesses beyond the first 5 years. Guided by entrepreneurship theory as the conceptual framework, a case study was conducted with semistructured interviews of 3 successful Thai restaurant owners in Salt Lake City, Utah. Member checking and methodological triangulation with field notes, interview data, company websites, customer …

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. …

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 …

Effective Strategies Small Retail Leaders Use To Engage Employees, Dr. Janet Lynn Deskins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests that 70% of North American employees are disengaged in the workplace. Some small retail managers lack strategies for engaging employees. Using the employee engagement framework, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore successful strategies that small retail managers use to engage employees. The target population was small retail leaders, purposefully selected because of their success with engaging employees at an Orlando, Florida, company. Data collection was through face-to-face interviews with 5 leaders; and a review of archived organizational documents, including company memorandums, central email software, and online customer reviews through social media websites such as …

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 …

Return On Investment Of The Cftp Framework With And Without Risk Assessment, Anne Lim Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, numerous high tech companies have developed and used technology roadmaps when making their investment decisions. Jay Paap has proposed the Customer Focused Technology Planning (CFTP) framework to draw future technology roadmaps. However, the CFTP framework does not include risk assessment as a critical factor in decision making. The problem addressed in this quantitative study was that high tech companies are either losing money or getting a much smaller than expected return on investment when making technology investment decisions. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between returns on investment before and after adding risk …