Small business owners need effective strategies to increase profitability. One such strategy is the adoption of information technology (IT). The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by small business enterprise (SBE) owners to implement IT solutions for increased profitability within 3 years of opening their business. The population consisted of 3 small business owners in Orange County Southern California who were profitable by their third year of business. The conceptual framework for this study was based upon general systems theory. Data for this study were collected through semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. Transcript review and member checking were included for validity and reliability purposes. Methodological triangulation, achieved through analysis of business plans, financial documents, and probability trends documents allowed identification of 4 emergent themes: Essential strategies small business owners use to implement IT solutions for increased profitability, the essential relationship between network orientation and successful IT implementation, the relationship between IT consultants and successful implementation, and the relationship between internal IT resources and successful implementation. The findings from this study could impact social change because when SBEs are profitable, SBE owners will contribute to the affluence of their workers, communities, local economies, and society.

For information technology (IT) professionals, the average turnover rate of voluntary employees is approximately 21.5% and occurs in fewer than 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies IT outsourcing business executives used to retain key IT employees in the New England region of the United States. Three IT business leaders from a single organization were selected to participate because they had implemented strategies to retain key IT employees. Herzberg's 2-factor theory of motivation was used as the conceptual framework for this doctoral study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and review of company policies and personnel handbooks. Clarke and Braun's thematic analysis was used for data analysis, including assembling the data, creating codes from the data, compiling codes to generate themes, and interpreting and presenting themes. Member checking and triangulation processes helped increase study validity and reliability. Three themes emerged from the study: building personal relationships, creating positive company culture, and investing in employee training. The findings of this study may help IT leaders increase employee retention by focusing on work relationships, company culture, and employee training. Findings may contribute to social change by helping IT leaders so they can be civically engaged and address issues of public concern by increasing community volunteering, participating in charitable activities and philanthropy, and becoming politically active through petitioning and collaborating with local authorities.

The development of novel software applications on digital platforms differs from traditional software development and provides unique challenges to the software development manager and team. Application producers must achieve application-platform match, application-market match, value propositions exceeding platform’s core value propositions, and novelty. These desired properties support a new vision of the software development team as entrepreneurs with a goal of developing novel applications on digital platforms. Digital platforms are characterized by an uncertain, risky, and resource-constrained environment, where existing approaches—plan-driven, ad-hoc, and controlled-flexible—have limited applicability. Building on the theoretical basis of the theory of effectuation from the entrepreneurship domain, this dissertation proposes an effectual approach to software development. Preliminary studies are conducted to provide prima facia evidence of effectual thinking in software development teams. Also, pilot interviews at local organizations are conducted to augment the approach. Finally, two case studies are conducted to validate the approach. We find conclusive evidence for the efficacy of effectual software development to develop novel applications on digital platforms. We also find that novel ideas are identified, honed, and incorporated, in the application, using effectual thinking. This study contributes to information systems literature by proposing and validating an effectual approach to software development. This study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by illustrating the role of planning and visionary approaches in effectuation settings. This study also contributes to practitioners by highlighting the theoretical underpinnings of existing approaches and the effectual approach which allows software development teams to incorporate effectual thinking and develop novel software applications. Finally, we conclude with a discussion on the theoretical contributions of this study, limitations, and future research avenues.

Today, databases have become an integral part of information systems. In the past two decades, we have seen different database systems being developed independently and used in different applications domains. Today's interconnected networks and advanced applications, such as data warehousing, data mining & knowledge discovery and intelligent data access to information on the Web, have created a need for integrated access to such heterogeneous, autonomous, distributed database systems. Heterogeneous/multidatabase research has focused on this issue resulting in many different approaches. However, a single, generally accepted methodology in academia or industry has not emerged providing ubiquitous intelligent data access from heterogeneous, autonomous, distributed information sources. This thesis describes a heterogeneous database system being developed at Highperformance Database Research Center (HPDRC). A major impediment to ubiquitous deployment of multidatabase technology is the difficulty in resolving semantic heterogeneity. That is, identifying related information sources for integration and querying purposes. Our approach considers the semantics of the meta-data constructs in resolving this issue. The major contributions of the thesis work include: (i.) providing a scalable, easy-to-implement architecture for developing a heterogeneous multidatabase system, utilizing Semantic Binary Object-oriented Data Model (Sem-ODM) and Semantic SQL query language to capture the semantics of the data sources being integrated and to provide an easy-to-use query facility; (ii.) a methodology for semantic heterogeneity resolution by investigating into the extents of the meta-data constructs of component schemas. This methodology is shown to be correct, complete and unambiguous; (iii.) a semi-automated technique for identifying semantic relations, which is the basis of semantic knowledge for integration and querying, using shared ontologies for context-mediation; (iv.) resolutions for schematic conflicts and a language for defining global views from a set of component Sem-ODM schemas; (v.) design of a knowledge base for storing and manipulating meta-data and knowledge acquired during the integration process. This knowledge base acts as the interface between integration and query processing modules; (vi.) techniques for Semantic SQL query processing and optimization based on semantic knowledge in a heterogeneous database environment; and (vii.) a framework for intelligent computing and communication on the Internet applying the concepts of our work.

Effective communication among team members in software development projects is increasingly significant for the success of the project. Successful software projects are the catalyst for achieving profitability objectives and creating shareholder value in organizations. The purpose of this single case study was to investigate communication strategies information technology (IT) project managers used for successful team collaboration in software development. The population for this study comprised senior IT project managers. The project managers had supervision responsibilities from a midsized IT company in Alberta, Canada. The sociotechnical theory guided this study as the conceptual framework. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 13 senior IT project managers on their experiences using effective communication strategies for team collaboration. A review of 11 company documents was conducted. Using methodological triangulation and member checking of original interview transcripts served to establish the trustworthiness of final interpretations. Through thematic analysis, 4 significant themes emerged from the study: effective communication, attributes of communication, the importance of social and emotional intelligence, and the impact of postwork activities for team collaboration. The findings of this study might bring about positive change by supporting senior project managers use of communication strategies for team collaborations in midsize IT companies to increase job satisfaction and project completion.

The majority of organizations worldwide have adopted IT consumerization. However, only a small percentage of them explicitly manage the dual use of personal devices and applications for work purposes. This correlational study used the extended unified technology acceptance and use technology model (UTAUT2) to examine whether employees' perceptions of habit, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, social influence, and price value can predict IT consumerization behavioral intentions (BI). A pre-existing UTAUT2 survey instrument was used to collect data from employees (N = 112) of small- and medium-sized organizations across different industries in Ontario, Canada. The regression analysis confirmed a positive statistically significant relationship between study variables and BI. Overall, the model significantly predicted BI, F (7, 100) = 76.097, p < .001, R2 = .842. Performance expectancy (β = .356, p < .001), habit (β = .269, p < .001), and social influence (β = .258, p < .001) were significant predictors of BI at the .001 level whereas effort expectancy (β = .187, p < .01), facilitating conditions (β = .114, p < .01), hedonic motivation (β = .107, p < .01), and price value (β =.105, p < .01), were significant predictors at the .005 level. Using study results, chief information officers may be able to develop improved strategies to facilitate IT consumerization. Implications for positive social change include more flexibility and convenience for employees in managing their work and social lives.

The shift in the landscape of healthcare services from inpatient care to outpatient care prompts healthcare leaders to re-evaluate their strategies to boost declining revenue. Telehealth offers potential for increasing efficiency and access to care, and the acceptance of its modal quality is essential for its diffusion and adoption. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that healthcare providers used to implement telehealth to increase profitability. The conceptual framework was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of organizational documents. The research population comprised 4 healthcare leaders in 1 organization in the midwestern region of the United States who had successfully implemented telehealth. Three main themes emerged from coding of phrases, word frequency searches, and data analysis: implementation strategies, obstacles in implementation, and user acceptance of telehealth. The findings from this study may contribute to the implementation of telehealth business practices by providing healthcare leaders with strategies to successfully implement telehealth to improve profitability. These strategies could help to provide suitable healthcare at lower costs and improve quality of life for patients.

In 2015, a sharp decline in the sustainability of small agrarian businesses in Sierra Leone resulted in the gross domestic product declining by 41%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the innovation strategies owners of small agrarian businesses use to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. The disruptive innovation theory was the conceptual framework for this study. The participants were 16 owners of small agrarian businesses from Makeni, Kenema, Bo, and Freetown districts in Sierra Leone who have sustained their businesses for longer than 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, personal notes, and a review of the ministry of agriculture documents. Member checking and methodological triangulation increased the validity and reliability of the study findings. Content and thematic data analysis using Yin's 5-step process provided the basis for identifying the findings. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of 5 themes: financial support, leadership, technology, enhanced competency, and organizational culture. The implications for positive social change include the potential to create employment opportunities for youths in the communities by enabling agrarian businesses in Sierra Leone to succeed and expand using innovation strategies.

The purpose of the design, implementation, testing, and documentation of the Employee Processing\Tracking Database System is to provide the user the capabilities of processing and tracking all employee information by using database files. An user manual and technical manual are provided here for reference to the system. Clipper 5.1.

One of the objectives of any government is the establishment of an effective solution to significantly control crime. Identity fraud in Nigeria has generated global attention and negative publicity toward its citizens. The research problem addressed in this study was the lack of understanding of the dynamics that influenced the adoption and usability of biometrics technology for reliable identification and authentication to control identity deception. The support for this study was found in the theoretical framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM). The purpose of the study was to provide scholarly research about the factors that influenced the adoption of biometrics technology to reliably identify and verify individuals in Nigeria to control identity fraud. The mixed-method descriptive and inferential study used interview and survey questionnaires for data collection. The binary logistic regression, point bi-serial correlation, independent samples t test, and content analyses were performed using SPSS version 18, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet 2007, and Nvivo 7.0 software. The results from the findings indicated statistical correlation between adopt biometrics technology and three other variables, ease of use (r = .38, n = 120, p <.01), perceived usefulness (ri = .41, n = 120, p < .01), and awareness (ri = .33, ni = 120, p < .01). The implications for social change include leveraging biometrics technology for recognition, confirmation, and accountability of individuals to prevent identity scheming, ensure security, and control the propagation of personal information. Beyond these immediate benefits, this research presents an example that other developing countries may use to facilitate the adoption of biometrics technology.