When the owners of family-owned businesses leave the workplace, they can transfer ownership to the next generation; however, their knowledge of the business goes with them. There is a gap in the literature regarding effective ways to transfer family business resources and knowledge to subsequent generations. The problem was some small and family-owned businesses do not have detailed plans in place based on the needs of owners and the successor generation, with cross-project knowledge as part of the succession plan. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the relationships between the subscales of cross-project tacit knowledge transfer and to examine the generational differences in cross-project tacit knowledge transfer among small and family-owned businesses. The theoretical underpinning of the study was Argyris and Schön's organizational learning theory. Data from family business owners were collected through an online survey administered by SurveyMonkey, using purposeful sampling. Data (n = 233) were analyzed using a Spearman correlation matrix and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The findings indicated there were significant associations for seven of the 10 correlations between the subscales of cross-project knowledge transfer with each relationship being positive. In addition, the findings suggested that there were significant differences in cross-project knowledge transfer by age cohort. These findings may assist informed family-owned business owners with the complexities of succession planning, which may lead to the business being successful over more generations. This may allow the business to sustain its contribution to the local economy and help the community to prosper, leading to positive social change.

The analysis of big data points and the use of data analytics have proven successful in improving corporate business efficiencies, growing profits, and increasing competitive advantages. The theory of academic capitalism, which holds that institutions of higher education are becoming more like corporations due to declining operating funds and the need to become more efficient, transparent, and competitive, guided this study. Despite the positive outcomes that analytic tools may produce in advanced efficiencies and competitive growth, college academic administrators have not yet adopted these tools, due in part to barriers facing the administrators. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the nature of those barriers in a community college. Ten academic managers in 6 community college divisions who reported accountability for criterion-based key performance indicators were interviewed on their perceived use of academic analytic tools and barriers in adopting these tools. The interviews were collected and analyzed through preliminary grouping, reducing and eliminating outliers, clustering descriptions into categories, and constructing themes. The managers' narratives suggested that there were 4 perceived barriers that prevented the adoption of tools such as organizational bureaucracy (climate), restricted organizational data (policy), training, and infrastructure. An important area for further research involves identifying the strategies managers could use to overcome these barriers. The findings of this study will assist college administrators in implementing analytic tools. Such tools will improve key performance indicators, resulting in a more cohesive and cost-effective academic experience for students, faculty, administrators, and the community.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that passenger complaints filed for the first quarter of 2015 were up 14.4% over the same period of the previous year. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies for mitigating low-cost airlines' passenger complaints. Porter's generic strategies provided the conceptual framework for this research study. Data were collected from 3 ground service managers employed by a low-cost airline in Florida using semistructured interview questions, direct observation, field notes, and review of the airline's website and public documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Member checking and methodological triangulation were used to ensure data saturation. Inductive line-by-line analysis of participant interviews and review of documents and website to identify similar words and phrases resulted in the emergence of 5 themes: complaints, training, customer retention, policies and procedures, and low-cost strategies. The implication for social change exists because airline managers can apply insights gained from this study to mitigate passenger complaints, thereby increasing the number of customers, lowering fares, and maintaining profitability. In this way, the study may support the creation of additional jobs for airlines as well as other industries providing services to an expanded workforce necessary to accommodate more passengers. Further, in supporting better performance for low-cost carriers, this study may help these businesses to offer low fares to customers previously unable to afford travel, enabling them to visit new places and gain a better understanding of other cultures.

The costs attributed to prescription errors negatively affect the profits of retail pharmacy businesses. The U.S. prescription error rate since 2010 was 0.1%, yet with more than 3.5 billion prescriptions filled annually in the United States, the outcome is more than 3.5 million prescription-dispensing errors and an annual cost of more than $16 billion. Using the performance prism theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies retail pharmacy managers used to increase profit by reducing prescription errors. Using purposeful sampling, 5 retail pharmacy managers in Miami, Florida, were selected as participants because they had implemented strategies to reduce prescription errors. Data were collected using semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 5 pharmacy managers, and company records consisting of quality improvement incident reports, income statements, and balance sheets. Data analysis occurred using methodological triangulation and following Yin's 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding the data. The 3 emergent themes were prescription error reducing strategy, profitability improvement strategy through reduced prescription errors, and technology strategy for reducing prescription error. The findings indicated that prescription error reducing strategies are essential for pharmacy managers to increase profits. The implications for positive social change include the potential for retail pharmacy managers to reduce the cost of health care in their communities, prevent prescription error-related hospitalizations and deaths, and improve employment conditions and economic activity in their communities.

Technological advances and the desire for employees to improve work-life balance have contributed to the growth of telework. Finding and retaining effective leadership talent are critical needs of organizations. Recruitment and retention of leadership talent can be supported by access to perquisites such as the ability to telework. Although research on teleworking employees in general, and virtual team leaders, can inform the industry, few leadership models exist that specifically help understand what it takes to be a teleworking leader. The purpose of this phenomenological study of teleworking leaders filled this gap by examining the experiences of 12 teleworking leaders with an average of 21 years of management experience across a broad range of industries. Six themes emerged from the interviews: communication, employee relations, individual leadership experience, employee or work issues, monitoring, and trust. Although many experiences of the teleworking leaders were consistent with existing research on teleworking employees and virtual team leaders, within the 6 themes, other aspects of the experiences within each theme are unique to the teleworking leader such as the development of efficient practices for communicating with employees and the intentional use of remote work for the important leadership activity of strategic thinking. Recommendations for further study include research specifically on teleworking leaders and their best practices that can be adopted by in-office leaders, and research on experiences of employees whose leaders are remote. Implications for positive social change include increased organizational sustainability through improved work-life balance for teleworking leaders and by increasing the strategic leadership capacity of leaders through telework.

Voluntary employee turnover is a challenging problem for manufacturing leaders. Leaders today are challenged to find and retain human capital to remain competitive. The lack of strategies to reduce voluntary turnover among manufacturing leaders has contributed to high turnover rates and increased costs for manufacturing firms. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that some southeastern Wisconsin manufacturing leaders used to reduce voluntary turnover. The conceptual framework supporting the study was Herzberg's 2-factor theory. Results for the study were derived from the analysis of semistructured interviews of 6 manufacturing leaders across 4 manufacturing locations, as well as company documents. Data analysis followed Yin's 5-step process and included coded results, themes derived from interview transcripts, and company documents. Credibility was ensured through member checking and triangulation of both interviews and company documents. The main themes that emerged were professional growth, salary competitiveness, and working environment. The implication for positive social change include healthy working communities through decreased voluntary turnover and greater productivity and profitability of organizations.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore whether manufacturing managers had the skills needed to lead union members whose unions have less influence than in the past. Leaders of manufacturing firms can strengthen the relationship between manufacturing managers and union members through positive and effective leadership. Providing union members with leadership can improve cooperation, reduce problem-solving time, and increase productivity through efficiency. The conceptual framework for this study was transformational leadership theory. Data collection involved conducting 20 semi structured interviews with participants affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the Toledo, Ohio, area. The participants (9 manufacturing managers, 9 UAW members, and 2 management consultants) shared their views of how manufacturing managers apply leadership to affect individuals and organizations. Moustakas's 5-step process was used to identify themes and patterns. Analysis of the data revealed that younger managers are not providing leadership to union members and that the size of the facility directly affects the ability of manufacturing managers to apply leadership skills. These findings indicate that organizational leaders do not define leadership expectations well and that young managers may lack leader legitimacy. With insights from the study, manufacturing and union leaders may be able to improve managers' leadership of union employees, resulting, potentially, in a less adversarial work environment as well as an improved societal view of labor unions.

Many leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) lack strategies to replace leaders who leave the organization. An organization is in jeopardy of survival without an effective leadership development and succession planning strategy. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies NPO leaders use to develop future generations for leadership roles within the organization. Data were collected from face-to face semistructured interviews with 4 executives and 2 directors of a NPO in Texas and a review of documents including organization manuals, organizational charts, the employee handbook, and a management-in-training course. The human capital theory and succession theory were used as the conceptual framework for this study. Yin's 5-step process guided the data-coding process, and member checking was used to validate transcribed data. Data analysis consisted of coding, thematic analysis, and key word analysis, which resulted in 4 major themes: the need for a formal succession plan, removal of barriers to succession planning, investment in human capital, and practices and processes for succession planning. The implications of this study for social change include contributing to the organization's stability and profitability, which might allow the organization to provide services for the community and continue the development of human capital. Nonprofit leaders can benefit from the findings of this study by developing sustainable practices and improving strategies to implement succession planning.

Job applicants often falsify information in their application materials. Using the disparate impact theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies Human Resource professionals use to complete effective background checks while maintaining compliance with federal regulations. I collected data by interviewing executives of 3 organizations located in the Southwest region of the United States, who had successful strategies for performing background checks to identify falsified information in the application process. I assured the validity and reliability of the data by reviewing organizational documents and member checking of the interpretation of the data. Through the thematic analysis process, 6 themes emerged: employment verification, education verification, professional reference checks, criminal background checks, the cost of background checks, and background check guidelines and policies. Leaders adapting the above findings could enhance communications within their organizations, and improve the perceived transparency, profitability, and sustainability of a company. Implication for positive social change include leaders' opportunity to preserve organizational sustainability and improve the economic climate in communities in which the organization operates, resulting in corporate transparency, fair hiring practices, and a reduction of recidivism in criminal activities.

Businesses with global supply chains typically have a minimum of 1 interruption to their supply chain annually, which can decrease profitability and affect overall company performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies personal care business supply chain managers used to mitigate supply chain disruption risk. The targeted population was 9 supply chain managers working in 5 different Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods personal care companies in the northeastern United States who have successfully used strategies to mitigate supply chain disruptions. Corporate risk management was used as the conceptual framework of the study to determine how company leaders plan for supply chain disruptions and how leaders prioritize and resource implementation and assessment of these plans. Data collection included semistructured interviews, with review of each company's documents as the secondary source of data. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Two main themes emerged: identification of a qualified alternative supplier is a common strategy in supply chain disruption mitigation plans, and business top management support is essential in the execution of supply chain disruption plans and strategies. Results of this study might contribute to social change by empowering supply managers to make alternative choices relative to suppliers that will make products more affordable to consumers. An empowered supply management team leads to high return of investments for companies, which can support employment and additional tax revenue to support social programs.