Human sex trafficking is a significant issue in the modern world. The International Labor Organization has estimated that 4.5 million people are the victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation worldwide. The United States' laws on human sex trafficking can be found in 22 U.S.C. -§7104 Prevention of Trafficking, and promulgate the strategy of prevention of trafficking, protection of trafficking victims, and punishment of traffickers. Under the terms of 22 U.S.C. -§7104, federal contractors can be penalized if any of their employees or subcontractor employees engage in a commercial sex act. The reliance on the private sector to curb sex trafficking through federal contracts is a nuance, and there is a gap in the literature regarding the Congressional rationale for creating a federal contract policy that places federal contractors in the position of being liable for the off-duty activities of their employees. This research question focused on understanding this shift in usage of federal contract policy to influence individual behavior expressed in this Act. A content analysis of documents was performed which relied on official U.S. government documentation, including transcripts of Congressional hearings. The findings indicate that the legislation was a tactical response to a pair of scandals involving U.S. personnel overseas, combined with a belief in money as a motivating force, international political factors, and moral certainty among elected officials that the Federal Government had to 'do something.' Positive social change was addressed in the process of this study by providing greater insight into the legislative thought process regarding federal procurement related statutes, and by providing future reformers with additional information regarding effective legislative strategies.

Access to federal contracts is often a challenge for service-disabled, veteran-owned business (SDVOB) leaders because of business size and competition in the environment. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the strategies that 5 SDVOB leaders from 5 different businesses in the Northeastern United States used to win federal contracts. Porter's generic strategies for competitive advantage was the conceptual framework for the study. Five company leaders who won $1 million or more in federal contracts were contacted from the Vendor Information Pages database of the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the study. Data were collected via semistructured interviews and archival documents. Data analysis consisted of compiling the data, coding for emergent and a priori codes, disassembling the data into common codes, reassembling the data into themes, interpreting the meaning, and reporting the themes (strategies). Eight themes regarding winning federal contracts emerged. The eight themes were process improvement/optimization, understanding requirements, preventing trial and error, personalizing services, understanding the client, access to external capital/resources, understanding the procurement process, and forward-planning. SDVOB leaders may use the results of this study to secure larger contracts in less time by adopting successful strategies that have won federal contracts. Positive social change implications include the potential for further empowerment, success, and profitability of SDVOBs, as well as other minority-owned firms. Further success of SDVOBs may provide long-term employment and increased tax revenue for communities.

Inadequate resources, poor market strategy, competition, contract regulation, and disparate performance outcomes are issues small business owners face while competing for government contracts. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the market orientation-business performance relationship and the influence of market factors among veteran-owned small businesses competing for government contracts in the United States. A survey with adapted MARKOR and Government Regulation Lassez-Faire scales was administered to 203 veteran-owned small business owners. Resource-advantage theory served as the theoretical foundation for this study. The results of the multiple linear regression were significant, suggesting that market orientation relates to firm performance and total contract revenue. However, the regression models had a poor fit, with R-² values ranging from .019 to .094, suggesting that significant results of this study lacked the power to conclude predictive accuracy. Market orientation did not significantly relate to contract bid to win rate and number of years in the government market. The PROCESS moderation analysis provided mixed results for market factors' influence on the market orientation relationship with business performance outcomes. Study participants were market-oriented, with few seeing corresponding success. The introduction of new variables is necessary to make future models useful. Implications for positive social change include guidance for better-fitting models, ones that will inform the efforts to improve the survivability of small businesses in the B2G market. Veteran-owned small business owners should not waste resources on market orientation as a sole strategic focus for capturing and winning government contracts.

Leaders in the Federal Government of the United States have a problem ensuring the contract management resources used to administer and monitor contracts meet organizational performance goals. Contracting officer's representatives (CORs) are members of the acquisition workforce responsible for contract management. This study explored the ways in which resource-based strategies can improve the quality of CORs' performance in contract management by exploring an organizational framework based on strategic management approaches. Interview data were collected from 41 CORs from the 10 Federal Government agencies that represented 85% of the fiscal year 2014 expenditures. These CORs had all managed contracts with successful outcomes. Data analysis utilizing descriptive and magnitude coding resulted in several findings: (a) a recognition of the influence the COR's environment has on the contract outcomes, (b) an understanding of the CORs' processes within the various organizational structures, and (c) the importance of organizational support for the COR. These findings resulted in elements of a potential resource-based management model framework that link the identified attributes of the CORs' resource management to organizational performance. The social contribution from this emergent framework is the recognition of the CORs' value in ensuring optimal contract driven organizational performance. Positive social change can result from Federal Government leaders' use of this resource-based framework to improve the quality of management of CORs' functions and processes. This framework and its implication for the acquisition workforce may facilitate superior performance and enhance organizational capital.