Employee turnover in the retail industry is costly, difficult, and problematic, affecting organizational wages, benefits, and schedules in relation to serving clients, customers, and stakeholders. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies used by retail store owners in the southeastern region of the United States to reduce employee turnover. The target population was 6 successful business owners of 6 small retail businesses in the southeastern United States who had effectively reduced employee turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was the Herzberg 2-factor theory related to workplace job satisfaction. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and review of archival company documents related to employee turnover. Data were coded, analyzed into themes using Yin's 5-step method, triangulated, and validated by member checking to strengthen the credibility of the analyses. Three themes emerged: effective communication, supportive leadership, and competitive compensation reduced employee turnover. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide leaders with effective strategies to reduce employee turnover, leading to reductions in unemployment, stabilization of communities, and improvements to the human and social conditions outside the workplace.

Empirical research has established that the service sector is the engine of growth in global economies. Despite the contributions of the service sector to global economies, research in service innovation has been neglected. There are still empirical research gaps especially on the predictors of strategic service delivery innovation (SSDI). The problem statement addressed in this study was that no research used the resource advantage theory to investigate the nature of the relationship between SSI and SSDI with OS as a possible moderator variable. Using resource advantage theory as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether organizational size moderates the relationship between SSI and SSDI. Survey data were collected from a random sample of IT managers in the United States (n = 250), and data were analyzed using SPSS to specifically test the three hypotheses of the study. The key findings indicated that SSI was positively related to SSDI F (3, 246) = 428.153, p < 0.001 OS was positively related to SSI (t = 10.4, p < 0.001), and OS moderated the relationship between SSI and SSDI F (1, 245) = 0.005, p = 0.006. Using the conceptual framework of the R-A theory was statistically significant to investigate the relationships between the three key variables. Positive social change should be achieved when IT managers realize that strategic service innovation is positively related to strategic service innovation delivery, and is moderated by organizational size, then this information should factor into IT managers' strategic planning to positively impact social change by minimizing cost of production in service delivery to consumers. The outcome of this study was two-fold: academic significance of delivery innovation (SSDI) and managerial significance.

Although work-life balance programs in the United States have become increasingly popular through the years, there is still a need to understand the contributions of these programs on employee performance. The purpose of this case study was to explore the work-life balance programs that nonprofit school leaders utilize to improve employee performance at a charter school organization. The job demands-resources model formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 10 managers and 10 non-managerial employees working at a charter school organization in Harlem, New York. Data collection also included organizational performance track indicator documents on employee absenteeism, turnover, motivation, productivity, job satisfaction, and retention, archived organizational records on WLB programs, and current WLB programs and policies guidelines. Through methodological triangulation, a number of themes emerged. These themes included work-life balance programs' effectiveness, the importance of a supportive work environment, employee commitment and motivation, employee well-being and productivity, employee job satisfaction and quality work life, organizational culture change, and low utilization of the job sharing program. According to the study results, work-life balance programs could help improve organizational culture and employee overall performance. The results of this study may contribute to social change by preparing employers for success while simultaneously positioning individuals to attain optimum balance between work and life responsibilities.

An ethical climate helps to ensure a trustworthy organizational culture. This multiple case study explored strategies that banking managers in the southeastern region of the United States used to decrease unethical employee behaviors. The target population included 6 banking managers who demonstrated effective strategies to help ensure an ethical culture and decease unethical behaviors. Hunt and Vitell's ethical decision making theory served as the conceptual framework for this research. Data were obtained from face-to-face interviews and the review of archival data from website information. Data analysis involved an inductive examination following case descriptions. Intensive leadership skills and managers' effective communication emerged as the significant themes. Strategies that facilitated group effort in participants' organizations related to developing comprehensive training programs and policies and procedures. Organizational leaders that promote ethical behaviors can bring about positive change by encouraging inclusive growth, creating productive economic opportunities for individuals, alleviating poverty throughout communities, and contributing to the health and education of those communities.

In a global economy, companies that are able to engage in international trade may have a competitive advantage over others. Increased globalization is also increasing the demand for effective global supply management practices. Building on Lorenz's chaos theory, this instrumental case study explored the strategies that 4 senior managers from small and medium-sized enterprises in Indianapolis, Indiana used to reduce disruptive vulnerabilities in the supply chain continuum. Review of company documents served as the second data collection method. Rowley's 3-step analysis guided the coding process of the interview data, and the trustworthiness of interpretations was enhanced through methodological triangulation of company records. Findings revealed 3 strategies that these senior managers relied on for remaining strategically competitive in a global environment: understanding the communication challenges and addressing the issues, risk mitigation, and human capital management. Findings from this study may contribute to business practice and social change by providing business leaders with information about effective strategies to remain competitive or to explore international ventures while focusing on environmental causes. Sustainable practices lead to cost reduction for the organizations and a cleaner environment for the surrounding community.

Resource and knowledge recombination activities of manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers have evolved with the advent of globalization and increased market complexities. Such changes in resource and knowledge recombination activities have enabled and advanced the relevance of well-forged and properly implemented collaborative partnerships. Collaborative partnerships are credible alternatives in the provision of goods and services. The participants in this multiple case study design were 12 senior business managers from three oil, gas, and energy companies in a metropolitan area in a western province of Canada. Participants revealed the strategies they used to forge profitable collaborative business partnerships. The resource-based view (RBV) and the relational view (RV) constituted the conceptual framework of this study. Data were collected were using semistructured face-to-face interviews and analysis of organization documents. Member checking preceded the final data analysis process. The modified van Kaam method served to manage the emerged themes. Themes that emerged from data analysis included planning, organizing, and managing work; decision-making; leadership; people, relationship management; and managing complexities. The findings of this study may contribute to social change through the interdependencies that collaborative partnerships promote and encourage among employees of the collaborating organizations. Collaborative partnership interdependencies create the opportunities and conducive environments that might enable people from different cultures, and with different and inimitable capabilities, skills, and resources to cohabit peacefully and to work together productively.

In 2012, there were over 500,000 business management degrees conferred at the undergraduate and graduate level; however, the assessment of student performance has not kept pace with the growth of courses offered in both an online and traditional format. One of the objectives of teaching is to ensure that all students regardless of mode of instruction are receiving a quality education. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to measure the efficiency of learning in a business discipline by evaluating final course grades of 1,051 students. Ten traditional and 10 online course grades provided final student outcomes that were used to generate an effect size estimate. The research question focused on what knowledge related effect on student performance does both an online and a traditional format have in a business discipline utilizing Simonson's equivalency theory. This theoretical framework provided a context for understanding how information imparted in different environments may be equivalent in nature. This meta-analysis used effect size measurements to quantify the difference between online and traditional final grade assessments. The results indicated a low knowledge related effect size measurement on student performance outcomes that can be attributed to how online students compare to traditional students. This research has the potential to assist in the evaluation of distance education in business and other disciplines to determine its effect size results on student performance outcomes. This study contributes to social change by providing the ability for universities to manage student outcomes which can assist in improving the comparability between online and traditional business courses.

Entrepreneurs of small businesses fail because of the lack of strategies to improve business performance. Using the model of strategic entrepreneurship, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies entrepreneurs used to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities to improve their business performance. Three entrepreneurs from different fitness businesses in South Carolina shared strategies used to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities to business performance. Data were collected from semistructured, face-to-face interviews and a review of company documents such as business performance plans, consolidated financial statements, and a digital equipment user log. Member checking and methodological triangulation increased the validity of the data. The data analysis process involved compiling and disassembling the data into codes, reassembling the data, interpreting the meaning, and writing and reporting the themes. The information collected from 3 participant responses was insufficient to answer the central research question. Participants provided information but did not give rich feedback to confirm or disprove their use of strategies to improve business performance. The themes that emerged from the data analysis were planning to improve business performance and effective leadership. Both themes were entrepreneurial opportunities identified as strategies by entrepreneurs used to improve business performance. The themes identified as strategies might help other entrepreneurs improve business performance for small business success. Implications for positive social change include providing new insights for best business practices, better preparation to increase entrepreneurial survival, and good relationships leading to healthier community lifestyles.

This dissertation examines the association between immigrant legal status and several key indicators of socioeconomic wellbeing in the United States. The objective is to test whether estimates of these associations vary depending on the method used to infer legal status in survey data. Specifically, I compare estimates from the following legal status assignment approaches: (1) inferring legal status using a logical imputation method that ignores the existence of legal-status survey questions (logical approach); (2) defining legal status based on survey questions about legal status (survey approach); (3) using statistical models to assign multiple possible legal statuses in the framework of combined sample multiple imputation (CSMI approach); and (4) using administrative records from the Social Security Administration’s Numident database to assign “official” status information to survey respondents (Numident approach). Each chapter can be read as a stand-alone study that uses nationally representative survey data to compare estimates of the association between legal status and a given outcome between two or more assignment approaches. Results from these analyses show that methodological decisions about how to infer the legal status of survey respondents have significant impacts on conclusions about the association between legal status and socioeconomic outcomes. The findings call for a more cautious approach to interpreting research results based on legal status imputations and for greater attention to potential biases introduced by various methodological approaches to inferring individuals’ legal status in survey data. / Sociology

Thesis advisor: Andrew Jorgenson / Recent research suggests that no country in the world meets its social needs in a sustainable manner. The U.S. is a prime example, as it has achieved a high standard of living but at a substantial cost to the environment. Although, research also suggests that subjective and objective measures of well-being are declining in the U.S. Thus, not only must the country reduce its emissions and environmental resource use, but it must also rethink its development strategy as well-being continues to deteriorate. However, these trends are not homogeneous as there are significant differences in ecological degradation and well-being across the states. What could explain these differences? Resource dependency, w¬hich refers to economic overspecialization in the extractive natural resource sector, offers a promising theoretical perspective to apply to this question. In my four-part dissertation, I explore whether and how resource dependency impacts sustainability-related measures in the U.S. Using state-level panel data, I assess the effects of resource dependency on the carbon-intensity of well-being, the renewable energy-fossil fuel nexus, and CO2 emissions in chapters two through four. In the fifth chapter, I describe three Stata commands (eiwb, xtasysum, and lreff) that I developed as part of my dissertation. Taken together, I show that resource dependency undermines environmental and social well-being outcomes in the U.S., but it does so in complex ways. I conclude by discussing the implications of my findings, this dissertation’s contributions to sociology and sustainability science, and paths for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.