The oil and gas multinational companies (MNCs) in the Niger Delta continue to face numerous challenges operating in the region, especially concerning the loss of revenue. Based on the resource dependence theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between oil theft, pipeline vandalism, security costs, and revenue. Eighty-eight mid- to high-level managers of oil and gas completed the Factors That Affect Company Revenue instrument. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses indicated the model was able to significantly predict revenue, F(3,88) = 947,279.44, p < .001, R2 = 1.000. All 3 predictors contributed significantly to the model, with pipeline vandalism recording the highest beta value (Ã? = .553, p = .000), the oil theft predictor with the next highest beta weight (Ã? = .451, p = .000), and the security costs predictor with the next highest beta weight (Ã? = .387, p = .000). The leaders of the oil and gas MNCs could use the outcome of this study in creating strategies and policies that guide their operations in the region, which would improve the relationship with host communities and mitigate their efforts in reducing the loss of revenue. Improved relations would result in a reduction of oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and security costs, thereby reducing revenue losses. The implication of positive social change includes implementation of more corporate social responsibility strategies and improving the economy of the region and the livelihood of the host communities.

Some small business leaders lack strategies to develop effective teams. Lack of team development affects the ability of restaurant small business owners to remain profitable for longer than 5 years. The focus of this multiple case study was an exploration of the role team development plays in business profitability. The population for this study was 3 experienced owners of restaurants in New Jersey that remained open for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework was based on the Tuckman model of team development to highlight the connection between the model and how small business owners use team development to remain profitable for longer than 5 years. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews and review of business documents provided by 2 of the participants. Through thematic analysis of the data, the following themes emerged: the number of years in business and the training program; well-developed, skillful teams are key to business success; committed teams lead to sustainability; and team development and sustainability. Studying the team development strategies used in small business restaurants may help other business owners stay profitable for longer than 5 years. The findings of the study may provide valuable information for individuals wanting to start a business or for owners of small businesses who want to learn how to make their businesses profitable. Profitable businesses can create positive social change in communities by providing jobs and an influx of capital to community neighborhoods.

No description available.

Identity has long been a prolific research interest for organizational scholars. Its popularity can be attributed to the development of post-bureaucratic organizations, where control is no longer achieved through external forms (i.e. rules and procedures), but rather, "softer" mechanisms, such as organizational culture and values. Examining identity therefore becomes crucial for understanding how employees internalize organizational goals to exhibit desired behaviors. While the predominant approach has been to analyze how organizations help shape, control, and regulate member identity, this project calls into question the assumption of organizational employment to explore the micro-processes of identity construction among a growing class of worker in the U.S.: the self-employed professional. This investigation is grounded in the world of personal coaching, an emerging profession organized largely by self-employment. Between 2007-2011, I immersed myself in the "field" of coaching, generating data via ethnographic methods--i.e. participant observation, in-depth interviews, informal interactions--and secondary archival sources. Applying a critical interpretive lens to conceptualize identity not as a "thing" but as an ongoing social accomplishment, the analysis reveals three main insights. First, intense identity working was provoked by tensions and anxiety arising from conflicts, contradictions, and challenges, as informants tried to construct a positive identity as a self-employed professional, while simultaneously performing vital (and mostly unrecognized) identity work for the wider coaching profession. Second, since "doing" identity and material conditions are mutually constitutive, identity efforts can be categorized as having a profitable, proficient, or pragmatic orientation; I contend that this typology is applicable to other self-employed professionals. Third, as a socially negotiated process, identity working is one which recruits many participants--both within and outside of the coaching community. Furthermore, geographically-dispersed members actively regulate and control each other's identities to maintain professional standards, via new organizing forms, like social media. This investigation contributes to knowledge about the nuances of identity working, and linkages between such micro-processes and the wider historical, socio-economic conditions. Extending beyond the coaching profession, the data produced serve as a contextual exemplar for exploring how individuals navigate the restructuring of labor and changing employment relations, which increasingly characterize the "new world of work."

The problem researched was small business leaders' early and limited adoption of cloud computing. Business leaders that do not use cloud computing may forfeit the benefits of its lower capital costs and ubiquitous accessibility. Anchored in a diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to examine if there is a relationship between small business leaders' view of cloud-computing attributes of compatibility, complexity, observability, relative advantage, results demonstrable, trialability, and voluntariness and intent to use cloud computing. The central research question involved understanding the extent to which each cloud-computing attribute relate to small business leaders' intent to use cloud computing. A sample of 3,897 small business leaders were selected from a commerce authority e-mail list yielding 151 completed surveys that were analyzed using regression. Significant correlations were found for the relationships between the independent variables of compatibility, complexity, observability, relative advantage, and results demonstrable and the dependent variable intent to use cloud computing. However, no significant correlation was found between the independent variable voluntariness and intent to use. The findings might provide new insights relating to cloud-computing deployment and commercialization strategies for small business leaders. Implications for positive social change include the need to prepare for new skills for workers affected by cloud computing adoption and cloud-computing ecosystem's reduced environmental consequences and policies.

In this paper, I examine the role of CEO age in predicting the success of startup firms, as measured by social media exposure. I use a novel measure of early-stage growth defined by increased levels of social media and online traction. I hypothesize that the age of the company’s CEO will be negatively correlated with their social media scores while controlling for the company’s total funding amounts and employee counts. My data consists of 250 United States-based startup companies that were founded between 2011 and 2015. Furthermore, they are all relatively successful in that they are still operating and have received between $100 thousand and $10 million of funding. I find that the social media score of a company is negatively impacted by the age of their CEO.

No description available.

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the market potential for a proposed micro-malt house in eastern Washington State through the development of a business plan. This plan looks at the history of the malted products industry, specifically barley. The industry is examined from a world, or macro view, down to a local (Tri-cities, WA) or micro view. The plan explains why there is currently a shift away from mass produced malted products in favor of a locally sourced malted cereal grain and how this shift can be capitalized on my aspiring maltsters and business owners. This plan includes all of the elements traditionally found in a modern business plan including startup costs, web plan summary, proposed product line, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of competitors and of the proposed business, management and ownership summaries, exit strategy, and perhaps most importantly, a full 5 year pro forma financial analysis. The researcher chose Tri-cities Washington (Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick) based on an existing relationship with a farmer local to that area. The farmer approached the researcher in the fall of 2013 and asked to partner in the research and development of the business plan. Should the business plan prove viable, it may be implemented to create the proposed micro-malt house as early as the spring of 2015.

Half of new businesses in the United States cease to exist after the first 5 years of operations, and the failure rate continues to increase after the first 10 years. The study was grounded on von Bertalanffy's systems theory to explore business strategies that small business restaurant owners use to sustain their business beyond 5 years. Data were collected by engaging 3 small restaurant business owners in the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolis who sustained their business beyond 5 years. Information obtained from face-to-face interviews and data mining organizational document were analyzed with the support of qualitative software to generate themes. Data analysis included semistructured interviews and review of business documents using data mining and coding keywords for thematic analysis. A total of 5 themes were discovered from the findings, which included formal and informal training, customer relationship, startup resources, capacity building, and consistent quality of food and services. The social change implications of the study include identifying strategies to sustain small restaurant business to create more jobs for local residents, which can positively impact the economic viability of the Little Rock area.

This paper presents a case for the expansion of a commuting system called casual carpool. The system is a grassroots network of carpoolers that collaborate to form rideshare for their commute to the downtown areas of San Francisco, Houston and Washington DC. Through the author’s experience with the system and personal attempts to deliver a rideshare network to the public, a framework of a greater casual carpool organization is presented.