Women-owned small businesses contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, accounting for 55% of all new ventures; however, women entrepreneurs receive only 2% in external financing. The growth of small businesses is contingent on business owners receiving adequate financing. Business leaders should consider how obstacles, such as lack of motivation, impede the pursuit of external financing. Grounded in Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to analyze the relationships among valence, instrumentality, expectancy, and the desire to seek business financing. The study included women small business owners in the United States. Data were collected from a random sample of 71 small business owners using surveys and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results of the regression analysis indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between expectancy and the desire to seek business financing, F(1, 69) = 4.636, p = .035 < .05, R2 = .063. No statistically significant correlation existed between valence (p = .609) or instrumentality (p = .86) and desire to seek business financing. Women small business owners influence social and economic transformation in their communities by providing jobs, goods, and services. More than half of the 9.5 million jobs projected in 2018 will be provided by women-owned businesses. The findings of this study may provide women entrepreneurs with information that leads them to understand how to increase the 2% rate of external financing. The social change implications include increased job opportunities for members of the communities in which the businesses operate.

Organizational politics (OP) is describe by many researchers as actions which affect activities, behaviors, and most importantly decision making through the use of power. Guided by Hofstede's cultural dimension theory and Mallol's, Holtom's and Lee's job embeddedness theory, the aim of this study was to examine employees' reactions toward OP regarding the substantially different cultures of the U.S. and Lebanon. These specific two countries were selected due to a gap in published research on culture and value differences. Research questions examined the extent to which cultural values differed and how employees respond differently facing OP. A survey-based research design included 352 participants, 176 from each country, was used to assess the perception and cognitive levels of employees in regards of political behavior and practices within their organizations. Key variables of cultural values, political behavior, and employee responses were measured by a structured survey questionnaire. Using SPSS version 23 a correlation matrix, T-test, and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Findings indicated that Lebanese employees experience more power distance and gender role differentiation thus resulting in higher job related stress and anxieties and lower motivation levels than The U.S. employees. Outcomes of this research are beneficial for the organizations and society to cope with the problematic aspects of OP. Potential implications for positive social change are in the form of significantly reducing employee inequity, unfairness, and injustice practices and most importantly reducing employee stress.

Few state courtrooms in the United States have integrated information technology (IT) in court trials. Despite jurors' beliefs that using courtroom technology improves their abilities to serve as jurors, the attitudes and experiences among attorneys and judges toward the utility of IT continue to pose barriers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of attorneys and judges in the State of Virginia with regard limited use of IT in state courtrooms. The conceptual framework included Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw's (1989) technology acceptance model; Rogers's (2003) diffusion of innovation theory; and Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis's (2003) unified theory of acceptance. A snowball sample of 22 attorneys and judges were interviewed using in-depth, semistructured questions. Data were analyzed using open coding techniques to identify themes and patterns with findings supporting the need for improved and expanded courtroom technology. Finding showed that attorneys and judges believed courtroom technology could be useful; however, the lack of training and the cost to implement technology limited their use of technology in courtrooms. Implications for positive social change include increasing the adoption rate of courtroom technology to support courtroom processes and empowering courts to improve the quality of justice through technology in an efficient and effective manner, thereby benefiting everyone in the judicial system and the public.

Lack of workplace diversity planning leads to negative financial outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that business managers in the retail sector use to enhance workplace diversity planning for assuring compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations. The population included a single focus group of retail business employees as well as business managers of 5 distinct retail stores located in the Southeastern United States who have successfully instituted workplace diversity plans for assuring compliance with EEOC regulations. The conceptual framework for this study was cultural intelligence theory, which researchers have used to explore a person's ability to understand an unfamiliar context and assimilate the host culture. Methodological triangulation was achieved from the results of face-to-face individual interviews, a single focus group, and company documents. Interview data were analyzed using a modified van Kaam method. Analysis resulted in 3 themes (a) guiding principles; (b) training, including coaching and communication; and (c) hiring practices. The implication for positive social change includes the potential to provide new insights related to strategies applicable to workplace diversity planning in the retail businesses sector that can create or improve positive business and community relationships while potentially minimizing risk associated with profitability loss.

Employee turnover is costly in service-intensive organizations where employee-customer interactions directly affect the organization's success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies community hospital leaders use to reduce frontline support employee turnover. The study population consisted of leaders of a community hospital in southeast Louisiana. The conceptual framework for this study is Kahn's model of employee engagement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight hospital leaders in southeast Louisiana who were selected through census sampling. Interview transcripts were analyzed and coded following Yin's case study analysis process. Methodological triangulation allowed for a comparison of the findings of the interviews with information derived from exit interviews and employee engagement survey results. Four themes emerged from the interviews and document review: leadership, hiring and onboarding strategies, pay and compensation, and organizational-related factors. Reducing turnover among frontline hospital support employees can positively affect the quality of care provided to patients, and improve the level of service provided by the hospital to the community it serves. Beyond increasing organizational efficiency, the findings of this study can contribute to social change benefits for employees as continued employment allows individuals to provide for themselves and their families.

The survival of the small business industry is important to the United Sates workforce and economy. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies of 2 small business managers in a manufacturing setting who had a demonstrable record of improving employee performance to meet organizational goals. The conceptual framework for this study was Burns and Bass's transformational leadership theory. The small business managers were from 2 small manufacturing plants in the coastal plains region of South Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, archival documents, and observations of the managers during their daily activities. Data analysis included identifying relevant themes using the comparison method. Data were compared at each phase of the data collection process, revealing themes of following a vision, self-efficacy, self-determination, and need fulfillment. Findings suggest that other small business managers in similar contexts may improve employee performance using the transformational leadership approach, especially when employee encouragement, managerial experience, and adaptation are present. Small business managers and owners can benefit from the study results by using these findings to improve employee performance.

As a consequence of an aging workforce, electric utilities are at risk of losing their most experienced and knowledgeable electrical engineers. In this research, the problem was a lack of understanding of what electric utilities were doing to capture the tacit knowledge or know-how of these engineers. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the tacit knowledge capture strategies currently used in the industry by conducting a case study of 7 U.S. electrical utilities that have demonstrated an industry commitment to improving operational standards. The research question addressed the implemented strategies to capture the tacit knowledge of retiring electrical engineers and technical personnel. The research methodology involved a qualitative embedded case study. The theories used in this study included knowledge creation theory, resource-based theory, and organizational learning theory. Data were collected through one time interviews of a senior electrical engineer or technician within each utility and a workforce planning or training professional within 2 of the 7 utilities. The analysis included the use of triangulation and content analysis strategies. Ten tacit knowledge capture strategies were identified: (a) formal and informal on-boarding mentorship and apprenticeship programs, (b) formal and informal off-boarding mentorship programs, (c) formal and informal training programs, (d) using lessons learned during training sessions, (e) communities of practice, (f) technology enabled tools, (g) storytelling, (h) exit interviews, (i) rehiring of retirees as consultants, and (j) knowledge risk assessments. This research contributes to social change by offering strategies to capture the know-how needed to ensure operational continuity in the delivery of safe, reliable, and sustainable power.

Global warming has become a major threat to life, yet very little information systems research has been conducted to help sustain the environment and many people do not understand how social media can be used to combat global warming and climate change to save the earth. The purpose of this single qualitative case study was to explore whether social media can be used to increase the use of green technology, thereby reducing the cost of environmental sustainment. According to the integrated sustainability framework, which served as the conceptual framework for the study, firms should include green practices in their business processes, extend green culture to their customers, be innovative, and increase their green market share for the environment to be sustained. Twelve green energy professionals working in the United States were recruited from LinkedIn to participate in the study. Data were collected using structured telephone interviews, and data were analyzed using Stake's data analysis process and member checking. Key themes regarding the use of social media to increase the use of green technology included awareness, education, and reach. Key themes regarding the benefits of green technology outweighing the cost included cleaner, cheaper, and more profitable. This study shows that social media can be used to reach millions of people to educate and keep them aware of the benefits of various green technologies that can be used to live a green-friendly lifestyle towards sustaining the environment, people, and firms. The results of this study may encourage humans to use social media to increase the use of green technology to combat the threat of global warming and climate change.

Females have been discouraged from taking science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes during high school and college, resulting in limited access to high-paying STEM careers. Therefore, these females could miss opportunities for these high-paying careers. The rationale of this research was to quantify the relationship between the number of STEM classes the sampled females took, the number of female role models they had during high school and college, their career choices, and salaries. The theoretical construct was based on Erikson's social developmental theory, which postulates a relationship between earlier life events and later life events, and Acker's masculinity theory, which postulates that females in traditionally male fields may be uneasy performing functions opposite to what they naturally perform. Key questions examined the relationships between STEM classes, role models, career choices, and salaries. The sample was a stratified random sample (n = 48) of female alumnae of 4 universities, born after 1980. Data were collected from a designed online instrument, validated by a pilot. The data were analyzed with a multiple regression and an analysis of variance. The findings revealed a significant relationship between the number of STEM classes, career choices and salary. However, there was no significance found between the numbers of role models, career choices and salary The implication for social change is that by making scholars in the fields of education and management aware about the relationship between the number of STEM classes taken, career choices, and salaries, females can be more encouraged to become interested in STEM courses earlier in life, making it more likely they will choose STEM careers This can be accomplished through scholarly journals, which hopefully will improve perceptions of the STEM abilities of females.

The big-box superstore has created a dramatic effect on the retail landscape since its appearance in 1962. As big-box stores proliferate, small business owners continue to struggle with how to compete. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify and explore strategies small business owners use to maintain or grow profit margins post big-box store market entry. The sample consisted of 5 small business owners in Kansas City, Missouri who survived the entry of the big-box store for at least 1 year. The conceptual framework was the general systems theory and systems thinking. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, archival data, and data mining. I used Yin's five-phase process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding for data analysis where 3 themes emerged that contributed to the case study's small businesses maintaining or increasing profits. These themes were employees and customers, finances, and organizational strategies. Key findings within the themes indicated that innovation, product differentiation, and flexibility were keys to profitability. The sustainability of small business in communities brings a variety of benefits to include social, economic, environmental, and aesthetic. These benefits can translate into tangible results such as a reduction in crime, increased social interaction, a stronger sense of identity, increased diversity, and more equity. Empowering local small business owners with sustainable business strategies could result in more businesses remaining profitable, leading to an improved standard of living for business owners and urban redevelopment as businesses flourish while contributing to local economies.