Co-operatives, particularly worker co-operatives, form an integral part of the social and economic development efforts of the South African government. However, worker co-operatives have not achieved the expected results and have mostly remained survivalist in nature, In the literature study, this research explored the potential of worker co-operatives in terms of social and economic development, the state of worker co-operatives in South Africa according to previous research and the challenges faced by worker co-operatives. The submission is that worker co-operatives can only reach their potential in social development when they achieve business success. Therefore, business success factors were determined and criteria for these co-operatives to be classified as successful established. These criteria were as follows:  Longevity (operating for more than three years).  Profitability (showing a surplus for at least one year).  Financial Independence (operating without external funding for at least one year).  Member Income (at least R955 per member per month). The research population for the research was actively operating worker co-operatives registered as clients with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda). A questionnaire exploring the demographics of members, the financial position of the co-operatives and the way in which they were managed and operated were developed. The questionnaire contained questions with regard to financial practices and management, marketing management and activities, operations management, human resource management, management processes.and the support received from development institutions. In addition to the evaluation of the business performance in terms of the criteria for success, the research evaluates the way in which worker co-operatives are managed and operated in terms of established business practices. It, moreover, explores the impact of support initiatives by government institutions and a framework for future development efforts is suggested. The study‟s results show that worker co-operatives are operating at a level where they are unable to fulfil their expected role in economic and social development. Various management and operational challenges were identified. Moreover, it was found that current support initiatives do not have the desired developmental effect. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations, accounting for 8 million of the 28 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses fail at a rate of 55% by the 5th year of operation and women, who own over 30% of all small businesses, contribute significantly to the 55% small business failure rate. Using Schumpeter's framework, this single exploratory case study investigated how women entrepreneurial small business owners use strategies to sustain their business operation beyond 5 years. A purposeful sample identified 2 women salon small business owners located in the Macon, Georgia metro area. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. Three emergent themes were identified using Yin's 5 step analytic strategy approach: motivation for business start-ups, which included the motivation, skills, and education needed for business sustainability; success factors, which included innovation and the overall business environment, and employee and customer satisfaction which included customer and human relations. The impact of these practices can enhance social change by contributing to the sustainability and profitability of the organization which can enhance the economic security of the family, community, and the nation. New knowledge from this study could impact entrepreneurship success strategies and increase the number of women-owned businesses beyond the first 5 years of operation.

In small businesses in the United States, specifically those with fewer than 10 employees, leaders may be skeptical of and resistant to the use of social media in their management operations. Management literature does not indicate clear and effective guidelines and policies detailing small marketing firms use of social media. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of small marketing firm leaders about the resources and knowledge needed for effective use of social media as a management tool. Emerson's social exchange theory grounded the study. The study targeted owners and managers of small marketing firms in Dallas, Texas, with three to five years of experience and firms who use social media in their firm management or operations. Twenty-three participants satisfied the criteria. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, and document reviews. Yin's 5-phase analysis was used to analyze the data. The primary result of the study is that small businesses that use social media in the Dallas, Texas, area reported various gains, including increased awareness about their business, valuable customer feedback, and customer retention. The study may have a positive social change impact by providing information on strategies and benefits of using social media as a management tool not only to small marketing firms in Texas, but also to very small businesses in other sectors.

Small businesses represent over 99% of all United States businesses and are engines of economic growth and job creation. In 2018, the Small Business Administration estimated that a total of 30.2 million small businesses employed over 58.9 million workers. Small businesses are known to face significant challenges, and most fail within 5 years of startup. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that owners of small accounting businesses used to sustain their organizations for longer than 5 years. The population in this study consisted of 5 owners of small accounting businesses in Michigan. The conceptual framework for the study was human capital theory. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and review of documents. The analysis of collected data yielded themes that included market research and competitive analysis, excellent customer service, passion for accounting and arduous work, and retention of skilled and competent employees. The findings of this study may be applied to bringing about positive social change by enhancing small business owners' competence and promoting business growth. Additionally, the use of the results of this study may promote economic activities and sustainability by stimulating job creation and reducing unemployment.

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 theory (RBV) and Lussier's nonfinancial success-failure business prediction model were the foundational frameworks of this study. I used Lussier's nonfinancial success-failure questionnaire to collect data via a self-administered survey. A Kendall tau correlation was used to determine the relationship between Lussier's 16 independent variables measuring success or failure and a single dependent variable of 'level of profits' for the 31 participants. 31 participants (4%) is a very low response rate. Increased participation is needed for better research results. Fifteen of the 16 variables showed no relationships with the level of success. Only 1 hypothesis showed a relationship between the type of start-up plan developed by the firm and the level of success (Ï? = .322, p = .032). The findings from this study support the Small Business Association's definition of a business plan as a living roadmap for business success. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase employment opportunities by directly impacting the economy in creating economic expansion.

Micro and small enterprise (MSE) owners in Kenya are faced with a myriad of constraints that affect their survival for longer than the first 5 years. Owners of MSEs who are unable to identify and implement strategies may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of MSEs in Nairobi, Kenya, used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework for the study was the theory of constraints. Data were collected from 4 purposefully selected MSE owners in Nairobi, Kenya, through face-to-face, semistructured interviews, and review of field notes and company documents. Using thematic data analysis, the major themes that emerged were customer service, access to capital, and nearness to market. The implications of this study for positive social change include strategies for MSE owners to generate stable income for employees, new employment opportunities for job seekers, improved standards of healthcare and education for the community, and a positive lifestyle for the residents of Kenya.

This research seeks to analyse the phenomenon of ethnic business creation amongst the ethnic community in Australia. The main emphasis is on finding the reasons for the process of ethnic business creation over time, focusing on the ethnic resources that the intending ethnic business operators bring to such activities through links to their country of origin. This is a resource-based study, which looks at ethnic resources as a means of sustained competitive advantage and as strategy for success in ethnic business operations in Australia. It attempts to gauge the extent of interactive processes between business operations and the relevant ethnic resources, some of which have a great influence in determining ethnic business people’s success. Policies aimed directly at facilitating, encouraging and strengthening these processes would be a valuable development. This research also examines the theories of small business development and identifies their applicability and relevance to the development of ethnic small business in Australia. The findings of this study enabled the development of a new theory and model for ethnic business creation that links the creation and success of ethnic small businesses to the use of productive diversity principles. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Native Americans start fewer businesses than do other U.S. populations, and the receipts and employment of those businesses are 70% lower than the U.S. average. However, little knowledge exists concerning Native American (NA) business success. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the likelihood that attitudes toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predict business success amongst NA business owners. Understanding the factors that contribute to NA business success is imperative to developing best practices for business owners and business support agencies. The theory of planned behavior served as the theoretical framework for this study. Of the 550 invited NA business owners registered within a single tribe in the South Central United States, 79 participated in this study. A binary logistic regression analysis produced conflicting results: significant goodness-of-fit yet insignificant individual predictors. Information obtained from this study could assist NA and other underdeveloped business populations with understanding factors influencing entrepreneurial endeavors; however, readers must interpret findings with caution because of conflicting logistic regression results. NA business formation and success could enhance economic prosperity and decrease unemployment in NA communities.

Magistro darbe aptariama prekės ženklo įtaka verslo sėkmei. Pirmoje magistro darbo dalyje yra apibrėžiama prekės ženklo įvaizdžio koncepcija, analizuojama prekės ženklo samprata, kūrimo ypatumai. Taip pat teisiniu aspektu yra apibrėžiama prekių ženklinimas ir vartotojų informavimas. Remiantis Lietuvos Respublikos prekių ženklų įstatymu, konkretizuojamos prekių ženklų registravimo procedūros, apsauga bei kiti teisiniai aspektai. Toliau yra analizuojama prekinių ženklų teikiama nauda bei prekinių ženklų valdymo ypatumai. Antroje magistro darbo dalyje yra aptariamos prekinių ženklų nesėkmių pagrindinės priežastys. Remiantis konkrečia situacijų analize yra pateikiama prekinių ženklų nesėkmių ir vartotojų požiūrio sąsaja. Išskiriamos klasikinės prekių ženklų klaidos, prekių ženklų kūrėjų idėjų nesėkmės bei prekių ženklų plėtinių nesėkmės. Trečioje magistro darbo dalyje yra atliekamas tyrimas su tikslu nustatyti vartotojų požiūrio ir prekinių ženklų pozicijų rinkoje sąsajas. Siekiama nustatyti, kokie prekių ženklai yra labiausiai vertinami vartotojų. Koks yra požiūris į įvairių prekių ženklų plėtinius. Šiuo tikslu buvo sudaryta anketa ir patalpinta į www.publika.lt internetinį puslapį. Surinkti duomenys buvo apdorojami ir susisteminami Ms Exel programos pagalba. Magistro darbe yra 20 lentelių ir 7 paveikslai. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados ir rekomendacijos, šaltinių sąrašas, priedai. / In the Master thesis brand name influence of business success are discussed. In the first part of the Master’s thesis it is noted brand name conception, analyses brand name conception, development process. Beside it is noted branding designation and customers information by low aspects. According to the Lithuania Republic brand name low, it is concretive brand name registration procedures, protection and brand name control peculiarity. In the second part of the Master’s thesis it is discussed of brand name failures basic reasons. According to specific situation analysis is presented brand name failures and customers connection. Mark out classic brand name mistakes, brand name creators’ ideas failures and brand name development failures. In the third part of Master‘s thesis it is made research with the reason to diagnose customers point and brand name position in the market connection. The objective is to find out which brands have the most impact for the customers. What is the customers point of brand name development. For these reasons was created questionnaire and located to the web side www.publika.lt. It was work up information by Ms Excel program. In the Master‘s thesis there are 20 tables and 7 figures. At the end of the Master‘s thesis conclusions, recommendations and appendix are given.

Employee commitment is a concept that seeks to capture the nature of the attachments formed by individuals to their employing organisations. Researchers such as Porter have attempted to identify what factors influence the formation of employee commitment in individuals and how employee commitment (once formed) influences important organisational consequences, particularly employee turnover and business success. In a highly committed workplace, employees understand and agree with the company's strategic goals, are clear about how their work fits into making those goals a reality, are motivated to go beyond narrow job definitions to meet those goals and are confident that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded by their peers, managers and the organisation as a whole. A workplace with committed employees exhibits an 'all for one, one for all' spirit that encompasses both their colleagues and customers - a place where employees do whatever is necessary to ensure the continuous high performance and success of their organisation. In today's business environment, it is imperative that organisations learn to attract, motivate and retain the key talent needed to meet aggressive business goals. Committed employees are more productive and work with a focus on quality to increase customer satisfaction and the profitability of their organisation. High employee commitment also leads to superior performance. Money certainly plays a part in reinforcing employee commitment, but it is clearly not enough in today's work environment. Praise and recognition also tend to build employee loyalty and commitment. People want to feel that they make a difference. The purpose of this study was to determine whether employee commitment is an imperative for business success or not. A literature study was conducted by combining the views of different authors. Following the literature study, a survey was conducted in order to determine employee commitment levels at a wholesale company in Gauteng. The information obtained was reviewed statistically. The key results of the research findings revealed that there is a strong relationship between employee commitment and business success. The employees at the company that was studied are highly committed, and stay at the company because they want to. These commitment levels indicate a workforce that is highly committed and the employees will think twice before they leave. In chapter one, a general introduction to the study will be given, providing aims, problem statements and a description of terms to be used in the study. In chapter two, an in depth literature study will be done and the different elements of employee commitment will be identified and its importance to an organisation. In chapter three, the empirical study and statistical analyses of the data undertaken will be discussed. In chapter four, current situations will be discussed in order to form a synthesis between the literature study and the survey results. In chapter five, conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for future research are put forward. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.