Small businesses (SBs) are considered as one of the pillars of the economic structure, particularly in the developing countries. Kuwait, as one of these developing countries has high hopes for these small businesses to drive the economy as a major component of the economic reform strategy. The current research is complementary to previous efforts attempting to identify problems facing small businesses and the success factors of such projects in the state of Kuwait. This study can contribute to solving some aspects of economic and social problems in Kuwait. The first phase includes determining the effect of independent variables (financial problems, marketing problems, organizational and administrative problems, and legislative problems) on the success factors of SBs. The second phase includes the assessment of the effect of success factors on profits. The third phase includes the measurement of the effect of profits and SBs problems on the continuation of these SBs. The research sample comprises owners and managers running small projects, along with a group representing the supporting bodies of small projects in the state of Kuwait. The results show that only project management and the level of profit have a relationship with the problems facing small projects in Kuwait. Also it was found that there were significant differences between the views of relevant ategories of study about the success factors of small projects in Kuwait. In addition, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the problems facing small projects in Kuwait and the success factors of those projects. These problems explain 75.8% of variance in the success factors. However, there was a weak relationship between the problems facing small projects in Kuwait and the intention to continue the project. Those problems explain 2.6% of the variance in the dependent variable. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between the problems facing small projects in Kuwait and the level of profits earned, with the problems explaining 11.9% of the changes in the dependent variable. Also, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the level of profits earned and the intention to continue the project. Finally, specific recommendations have been introduced for policy makers and managers to benefit from this study. Furthermore, suggestions are made for future studies.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3932. Adviser: James M. Wahlen. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 7, 2008).

<p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to investigate the reasons why there are an insufficient number of qualified applicants for governmental professional accounting positions. The 2014-2015 curriculum catalogs of four-year colleges and universities were examined to determine if governmental accounting courses were offered as part of the business administration degree programs. Twenty past and current post-secondary business administration students were interviewed to collect data about their educational experiences and their perceptions of careers in governmental service. The data were triangulated using NVivo 10&reg; qualitative analysis software to identify significant patterns. The five significant patterns identified were: a) scarcity of governmental accounting courses, b) no discussion of governmental accounting as a career, c) compensation and job stability most considered factors, d) negative perceptions of a career in governmental service and e) state and local government human resources personnel need to be active in campus recruitment activities. The analyses revealed post-secondary business administration students are not aware of the opportunities in governmental accounting careers. Therefore, findings and recommendations from this research will enable state and local governmental human resources personnel to develop recruitment activities to increase the number of qualified applicants for governmental professional accounting positions.</p>