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 sustainability strategies. Data were collected using semistructured, open-ended interviews and review of business documents. Data were analyzed using member checking and methodological triangulation. Yin's 5- step process for data analysis revealed 9 themes including education, technical experience, and skills; entrepreneurial and business management skills; access to external support; bookkeeping and working capital management; human resource management; owners' dedication and commitment; research and development and marketing strategies; resource-based strategic planning; and owners' understanding of the business ecosystem, regulations, and taxation. The results may contribute to positive social change by increasing the survival rate for SMEs leading to job creation and improvement of the living standards in local communities.

Small businesses represent more than 99% of all employers in the United States, but more than 50% of small businesses have failed before 5 years. Climate change, digitization, and social media contribute to a paradigm shift in consumers' habits, as more consumers have become environmentally and social justice conscious. Business leaders who are unable to follow the consumers' trends and changes of habit may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of small businesses in the District of Columbia use to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years while fulfilling their firms' social responsibility obligations. The conceptual framework was the sustainability development theory. Data were collected from 5 small retailers through face-to-face, semistructured interviews, observations, field notes, and reviews of documents related to business sustainability. Data analysis was based on the thematic analysis model, which involved a process of organizing, coding, arranging data into common themes relevant to the research question and interpreting of the information. Member checking was used to enhance the credibility and validity of the data. Emerging themes included business establishment planning, sustainability planning, and sustainability factors use. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by providing information to entrepreneurs about successful strategies for small business sustainability, which can lead to business owners, employees, and communities living and working in a human-oriented, prosperous, and healthy environment.

Entrepreneurship is significant to the production process for economic growth and development. The Nigerian government supports entrepreneurial development by providing business training for entrepreneurs across the country; however, the impact of such programs in current entrepreneurship in Nigeria has not been researched. This study was designed to examine the impact of the training on entrepreneurial outcomes such as profitability, revenue, and access to finance using the social construction framework and the theory of external control of organizations. Based on a quantitative quasi-experimental design involving a posttest comparison group, the impact of government support on randomly selected beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries with the FCT was tested using an independent samples t test and binary logistic regression analysis. The results showed no significant relationship between business training and entrepreneurial outcomes. Additionally, it was not likely that an unemployed beneficiary would start a new business after the training, and trainees had difficulty accessing business loans. The social change implication of this study is that public sector institutions engaged in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria need pragmatic interventions that translate into positive entrepreneurial outcomes. They also need to focus on areas that cater for different categories of entrepreneurs such as age groups, educational level, business experience, and nature of the business to enhance effectiveness. Periodic assessment of the intervention programs is necessary using experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Therefore, this study can contribute to the data that public sector institutions can use to develop better interventions for entrepreneurs.

Small business managers often lack the leadership skills necessary to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. The United States Small Business Administration reported that more than 65% of small business owners, including home health care agency managers, fail within the first 5 years of operation. Guided by Burns and Bass's transformational leadership theory, this multiple case study explored leadership skills that managers in home health care agencies need to sustain their new businesses beyond 5 years. The purposeful sample comprised of 3 managers from 3 different home health care agencies within a 75-mile radius of Baltimore, Maryland, that had demonstrated success in surviving past 5 years. Semistructured interviews, agencies' quality assurance plans and policies were reviewed, and procedural documents related to leadership skills were gathered as data. Yin's 5-step data analysis technique was used to identify key themes. Member checking enhanced the credibility of data interpretation. Themes that emerged from data analysis were business management, knowledge and performance, and transformational leadership. Study findings may contribute to positive social change by providing practical guidance to home health care managers, which may improve their agencies' viability and delivery of patient care. Business implications include the provision of long-term employment to workers and safety assurance to patients' families.

With the rise of digital technologies, consumers can stream music content, which has made it more difficult for music companies to be profitable. Small business owners in the music recording industry in the West Indies have found this trend particularly challenging, affecting their profitability. This multiple case study explored the adoption of disruptive technologies by small business owners in the music recording industry to increase profitability. The research population included 5 small business owners in the music recording industry in the West Indies who successfully adapted to the changes in the industry's business model and whose businesses are profitable. Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation served as the conceptual framework for this study. Data from face-to-face, semistructured, in-depth interviews, observations, and analysis of internal company documents were collected and triangulated. Within-case analysis was used to understand the general meaning of the participants' responses. Each case was described and themes were identified. Cross-case analysis was used to compare the 5 case descriptions and identify 5 cross-cutting themes. These 5 themes included focus on live performances, focus on marketing and building a brand, adopt innovations in all functions of the business, diversify income streams, and adopt vertical integration strategies. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the profitability of small businesses in the recording industry in the West Indies by sharing the strategies emerging from the study. Profitable businesses can lead to improved livelihoods of the small business owners and their families.

Management literature lacks a deeper understanding of barriers to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) leadership among women entrepreneurs in Nigeria focusing on women leaders' daily business experiences, their agency, and their entrepreneurial context. Women in Nigeria seeking promotion to leadership roles in SMEs continue to look for answers on how to surmount the multiple barriers hampering their leadership aspirations. To address this need, this study was designed to explore how women entrepreneurs in Nigeria describe barriers to SME leadership through narratives about their daily business experiences, their agency, and their entrepreneurial context. The women's entrepreneurial development in Nigeria, the Nigerian women's entrepreneurial leadership style, and the agentic behavior of women leaders provided the conceptual framework for this work. A qualitative narrative inquiry method was adopted, and data were gathered through face-to-face semistructured interviews. The participants were a purposeful sample of 10 Nigerian women entrepreneurial leaders over the age of 30. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Five thematic categories emerged and were used to answer the research question. Study findings showed that Nigerian women entrepreneurial leaders face challenges due to family, gender, and patriarchal attitudes of the culture. The study shows the experiences, challenges, and triumphs of these courageous and resilient Nigerian women entrepreneurial leaders. Positive social change implications include providing training, mentoring programs, and information to guide, empower, and equip upcoming women entrepreneurial leaders to avert challenges in the future.

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 for social entrepreneurship, field knowledge to facilitate partnerships, and customer service. Findings suggest multinational energy company leaders seeking BOP opportunities should create internal corporate structures dedicated to the BOP markets. Leaders should know how businesses operate and thrive in the BOP, especially when working with BOP governments and a poorly informed population. Equally important is product choice, quality, and reliability for the BOP market. Customer service and satisfaction metrics are necessary to support brands. Participants highlighted the need for positive social change to improve lives, which could occur through capacity building, entrepreneurship, job creation, enhanced governance, increased wealth, and improved quality of life for local people.

The research project empirically assesses the influence of an under-researched aspect of social capital on the family firm’s entrepreneurial behaviors. Specifically, blending social capital, which consists of bonding social capital and bridging social capital that develops between family firms and external family stakeholders, is considered in examining the family firm’s engagement in innovation efforts. Additionally, familial tie strength and outside business ownership of external family stakeholders are argued to moderate the proposed relationship between blending social capital and family firm innovation. The surveying methods for assessing the hypothesized relationships included conducting a two-wave study with adapted, modified, and validated scales. Also, some variables were collected using the Mississippi Secretary of State, the U.S. Copyright Office, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey databases. The theoretical model is analyzed using hierarchical regression and moderated regression using IBM SPSS 28 Process Macro (Hayes, 2021), structural equation modeling with AMOS, and scale development techniques to ensure the validity and reliability of the measurement instruments. The goal is to identify potential antecedents for enhancing the innovation capabilities of family firms.

<p>Information technology (IT) has been applied in every aspect in common everyday experience. Most industries have changed from paper based to digitally supported processes. The implementation of IT has resulted in lower costs, faster operations, and faster response to consumer demands, thus achieving economies of scale and major advancements in the quality of products introduced to the consumer.</p> <p>In healthcare, IT has led to extensive advances in many different aspects of medicine. IT has enhanced diagnostic equipment, laboratory result accuracy, research methodologies and analysis advancements, and has resulted in more effective prescription of medications. These advances have increased the overall quality of life for patients.</p> <p>Despite the fact that the adoption rate of Electronic Medical Record systems (EMRs) in European countries has reached more than 90%, the adoption of EMRs by primary care physicians in Canada lags far behind at a rate closer to 30%. Much of this low adoption rate can be attributed to barriers due to resistance to change. Many adoption projects in IT fail, even after change has occurred. These failures have occurred in many different industries, including healthcare. EMR adoption in primary care requires a focus on change management and sustainability for primary care physicians, the target audience of change.</p> <p>This thesis research investigates the reasons for the low rate of adoption of EMRs in the primary care environment in Canada. A change management model dedicated to the Canadian primary healthcare environment for the management and sustainability of change is created and discussed in detail. This study is based on a thorough literature review of change management models; a qualitative analysis of interviews with industry leaders from different backgrounds such as consultancy, government, and vendors; and a quantitative analysis of data through an online primary care physician questionnaire.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

現階段中國大陸之經濟發展已不存在資金與外匯的制約、整體投資環境的改善、內需市場吸引力的加大及加入WTO後，一些對外開放初期為吸引跨國企業投資的讓利政策，正逐步取消。為使外商投資與產業結構調整政策相結合，中國大陸的引資方向從「招商引資」到「招商選資」、從外資「超國民待遇」到「國民待遇」轉變。中國大陸於2006年11月公佈《利用外資十一五規劃》，未來將更加重視引進具備先進技術、管理經驗、資源節約型、環境友好型等高素質外資項目。近期重大的外資政策轉變，將對在中國大陸台商的營運活動，造成新的挑戰。 本研究參考工總問卷調查結果，同時運用深度訪談，綜合分析歸納中國大陸近期實施內外資企業所得稅合一、調降出口退稅率及《勞動合同法》對台商營運之影響。本研究發現，企業所得稅是企業有盈餘才需繳，因此廠商普遍繳得比較心甘情願。調降出口退稅率政策對於出口產品遭調降稅率，產品附加價值又不高者，影響較大。《勞動合同法》對廠商的影響則較為普遍。儘管中國大陸外資政策轉變，但因其市場發展潛力大，加上台商群聚效應及經營慣性等因素，維持原投資規模及原投資地點者均超過半數，實際上減少規模或結束營業僅約1成。且經營自有品牌者、產品附加價值高者、管理效率高者、內銷市場比重高者、原本即較遵守法令規範者，相較之下，所受衝擊較小。 即使近期中國大陸外資政策之轉變對出口型、勞力密集型企業較為不利，惟對於高新科技、節能、環保及信息等產業繼續給予租稅優惠，相關商機應可掌握。樂觀者從危機中看見轉機，台商應審時度勢，合法經營，重新整合資源，積極升級轉型，才是永續經營之道。 / Economic development in China is no longer bound by restrictions on foreign exchange and capital investment, and the investment environment as a whole has been improved. These factors, along with the increasingly attractive internal market and China’s joining the WTO, have resulted in the gradual cancellation of profit-concession policies established at the earlier stage of the market opening to attract international investments. To ensure that foreign direct investments（FDI） will be fully integrated with the industrial structure adjustment policies of the country, China’s FDI policies have also been redirected from “Attracting Investors” to “Selecting Investors”; and the “Preferential Tax Treatment” granted to foreign investment institutions has been discontinued and replaced by the “National Treatment”. In November, 2006, the Chinese government further announced the “11th Five-Year Programme for Utilization of Foreign Direct Investment”. It is expected that more attention will be paid to the introduction of high-quality foreign investments distinguished by their high technology, management experience, resource-saving and environment-friendly features, etc. Significant changes in China’s FDI policies in recent years will pose new challenges to the business operations of Taiwanese companies in China. This study has referred to the results of a questionnaire survey conducted by the Chinese National Federation of Industries and adopted an in-depth interview approach, so as to analyze and identify the impact on of the various recent policy changes in China on the operations of Taiwanese companies, including the unified corporate income tax rate for domestic and foreign investment enterprises, the reduction of export rebate rate and the implementation of the Labor Contract Law. The findings show that, in general, enterprises are more prepared to pay corporate income tax because it will only be levied when the company has made profits. The downward adjustment of export rebate rate would impact more on companies whose export products are of lower added value, and are subject to the adjusted rebate rate. The Labor Contract Law, on the other hand, would have a relatively wider influence on the companies. In spite of the changes in China’s FDI policies, more than half of Taiwanese companies have determined to maintain their existing investment scope and business presence in China, considering the great market potential, the cluster effects of Taiwanese companies and the organizational inertia. Only about 10% of the companies have physically reduced their business size or closed their businesses. Comparatively, the less impacted companies are the ones which own their own brand names or highly value-added products, those with better management efficiency or a higher percentage of China’s domestic market, or companies which have been relatively more compliant with the regulatory requirements in the past. While the recent changes in China’s FDI policies have turned out to be unfavorable for export or labor-intensive industries, Taiwanese companies should grasp business opportunities in the areas of high and innovative technologies, energy-saving, environmental protection and the information industry, to which tax credits are being continuously granted. With crises come opportunities. It is recommended that Taiwanese companies in China should evaluate the situation and abide by the relevant regulations; and endeavor to achieve sustainable business development through the re-integration of resources and active upgrading or transformation of businesses.