Business managers' failure to retain dissatisfied customers leads to millions of dollars in lost revenue. The purpose of this single case study was to explore managers' training strategies to teach sales associates customer service skills. The sample included 3 training managers from the mobile phone industry in Michigan who recorded a 25 % increase in customer retention after implementing customer service training. The conceptual framework for this study was human capital theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and training documents. Data analysis entailed using coding techniques and cluster analysis. Member checking applied to clarify the interpretation of participants' responses and reveal missing information. The 3 themes that emerged were mentoring and recruitment, training and development, and customer satisfaction. Mentoring and recruitment surfaced from the managers' need to hire qualified sales associates. Training and development grew from the need to have a strategy to train sales associates in customer service skills. Customer satisfaction emerged from the need to retain customers for a stable business environment. The findings from this study may contribute to social change by showing the training strategies managers use to teach customer service skills to sustain business and mitigate harmful effects of job loss. The data suggested a trained sales force could work to retain customers and provide customer satisfaction. Data from this study may contribute to the prosperity of mobile phone customers from well-educated sales associates that enhance the quality of using mobile phones in the local communities. The beneficiaries of this research include business managers, sales associates, and customers.

Russia's startups fail at high rates. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the market-entry strategies used by accelerated startup managers to succeed in business longer than the first 3 years. The target population for this study was 3 startup owners who completed an acceleration program from the Internet Initiatives Development Fund and continued to operate businesses that generated revenue. The participants in the study were located in 3 different cities in Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tomsk. The conceptual framework for the study was Raheem and Akhuemonkhan's theory of enterprise development and von Bertalanffy's general system theory. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, review and analysis of company documents, reflective journal entries, and direct observation of the management operations and processes. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process. A thematic analysis of the data revealed 4 themes: evolution of an entrepreneur, sales strategy, acceleration impact, and recommendations for accelerators and incubators. The results of the study may contribute to startup survivability as well as exchanging successful experience among new entrepreneurs. For those people who plan to start a business, this study may contribute understanding the skills for initiating a startup.

Employee turnover affects the profitability, performance, and customer service of an organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that leaders in the hotel industry used to maintain a low rate of employee turnover. Motivation-hygiene theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The study population included 9 hotel leaders from 2 international hotels operating in Jamaica. Methodological triangulation involved the comparison of data from observation of hotel facilities and leaders' interactions with employees, review of company documents, and semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed into emerging themes using a Gadamerian hermeneutics framework of interpretation. Four major themes emerged from the data analysis: effective leadership strategies, favorable human resource management practices, good working conditions, and a family-oriented organizational culture. Analysis of the data showed that hotel industry leaders used a combination of these strategies to maintain low rates of employee turnover. The findings and recommendations may contribute to positive social change by providing hotel leaders with effective retention strategies, resulting in increased profitability and potential income continuity, thereby decreasing unemployment and moderating poverty.

The decline in the number of customers in the private country club (PCC) industry in the United States is causing a reduction of revenues, which inhibits the sustainability of the clubs. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore marketing innovation strategies (MIS) that Arizona PCC managers used to attract and retain customers successfully. Relationship marketing theory was the conceptual framework; key constructs of the theory include customer loyalty, service quality, experience satisfaction, trust, and communication. The study explored successful MIS that PCC managers have used to attract and retain customers to prevent closure. Participants consisted of 1 manager from 4 different PCCs in Arizona who used MIS successfully to attract and retain customers. Data were collected from semistructured, open-ended interviews and from marketing documents and website content. Data were analyzed using a 6-phase approach to thematic analysis. The 3 primary themes that emerged included broadening the marketing message to entice people to frequent the club; creating experiences that rated high in satisfaction by members, guests, and employees; and using a variety of communication media. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by helping PCCs to remain in operation, which could benefit local communities by providing employment opportunities at the clubs and venues for local charities to raise funds.

Surviving past the first year of operation is a growing concern for independent, full-service restaurants. Some restaurant leaders lack the marketing strategies necessary to develop a loyal customer base and survive beyond the first year of operation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that independent, family-oriented, full-service restaurant leaders located in the Pittsburgh, PA, metro area in business for at least 5 years have used to develop their customer base during the first year of operation. This study was guided by the 7Ps of marketing theory, which emphasizes how people, including customers and employees, influence the marketing process. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews with 3 restaurant leaders and secondary documentation that included marketing and business strategies, customer base data, and profitability records during the first year of operation. Data were analyzed using a comparison analysis method to establish 3 emergent themes: immediate influence of word of mouth, power of consumer-driven marketing and social media, and the need for an integrated marketing mix. Findings indicate that these family-oriented, full-service restaurants were able to develop a customer base during their first year of business by integrating marketing strategies including word of mouth, social media, and limited print advertising. This study could assist these restaurant leaders in creating best practices for developing a customer base and surviving past the first year of operation. The implications for positive social change include the potential to empower restaurant leaders to engage in cause-related marketing, increase viability in local communities, and promote development of independent restaurants and small businesses.

Business leaders must adopt new business practices to sustain their organizations and meet the paradigm of global competition. In the 21st century, innovation and market readiness have become the primary criteria for sustainability of an organization. Some organizational leaders should adopt open innovation strategy to stay competitive and foster a positive impact on their organizations' performance while practicing a systematic inclusion of knowledge from sources outside of the organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies business leaders use to cultivate a sustainable open innovation culture. The population consisted of leaders from 200 high technology organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Purposeful sampling was used to select 4 organizations whose leaders demonstrated successful cultivation of open innovation culture. Schein's culture theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of the organizations' annual reports, publications, websites, and brochures. Data analysis was based on Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas's systematic content and thematic analysis approach, proceding from study data to codes to themes. The outcome led to 4 primary themes: organizational strategic alignment, collaboration as a force multiplier for innovation, organizational culture change, and expert understanding of the customers' needs. Implications for positive social change include fostering innovative organizations whose members bring to the market cost-effective solutions and bridge between market needs and technological solutions. Members of innovative organizations impact underserved communities in terms of material wealth, social welfare, and employment opportunities.

Organizations strategically design the physical work environment to enhance employees' creativity. Understanding the impact of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts can be vital to sustaining organizational competitiveness. Researchers have theorized that workspace layout affects employees' perceptions of creativity; however, few studies have looked at the effect of generational cohort on this relationship. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the effect of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts. A sample of 162 participants completed an online demographics questionnaire as well as aKEYS, a modified version of the KEYS to Creativity and Innovation instrument. An ANOVA was used to determine whether generational cohort and workspace layouts affected the participants' individual perceptions of creativity. Results did not support the theory that workspace layout and generational cohort affected individual perceptions of creativity. However, these nonsignificant results can be used strategically by organizations to design physical workspaces that foster individual perceptions of creativity in order to attract and retain a diverse workforce by accommodating employees equally rather than on generational cohort membership. Social change implications are that the results can provide organizations with an understanding of ways in which they can effectively treat and meet the needs of the workforce as a whole, rather than develop strategies based on generational cohort membership.

Colleges and universities in the United States could end operations in record numbers largely from financial shortfalls. The Urban Institute reported that nonprofit organizations lost $3.4 billion in reneged pledges from 2013 to 2014 from donor dissatisfaction, creating a problem because financial losses can occur from a lack of understanding on how media marketing efforts affect fundraising. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify traditional and social media marketing strategies that some nonprofit college and university leaders use to increase alumni financial support. Interviews took place with 7 college or university leaders at 3 private, nonprofit colleges or universities in the southeastern United States. The 7 leaders consisted of 3 vice presidents, 2 provosts, and 2 presidents. The conceptual framework differentiated media into categories, 2 of which were owned media and earned media. As the primary data collection instrument, collection of marketing literature for each school and 7 semistructured interviews occurred. In the data analysis process, transcription of interview data and coding using the modified van Kaam method took place discovering themes. The 4 themes discovered included social media effectiveness, evolution of traditional marketing blending with social media marketing, social media marketing efficiency, and the multiplier effect of social media. Implications for social change included increasing the scholarship ability of schools, creating an affordable environment for students to receive postsecondary education. Additional benefits included enhanced economies for communities where a college or university resides and an improved level of education per capita in the areas surrounding a college or university.

Music streaming services are increasing, compact discs (CDs) and digital download sales are declining, and many music artists are becoming affected by this positive shift in music technology. Music streaming revenue does not compensate for the decrease in revenue from CDs and paid downloads. Based on organizational configuration theory (OCT), the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the technology and marketing strategies that small business music artists used to generate sales revenue from the Internet. Six small business music artists who were 18 years or older with different music revenue streams participated in semistructured interviews. These small business music artists provided detailed information on the technology and marketing strategies they used to generate sales revenue from the Internet. The data collection process for this study included semistructured interview data and participant observations. The data analysis process included methodological triangulation of the interview data and participant observation data to identify themes for the study. Seven themes identified were having a marketing budget, social media, recording studio sessions, digital distribution, SoundExchange, music licensing, and corporate sponsorships. These data may contribute to positive social change by helping small business music artists sustain operations in the music industry.

Small firms struggle to survive competition with limited resources, and about 50% of start-up organizations fail after 5 years. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies some beauty salon owners in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States use to access financial resources to support growth for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework for the study was the resource-based view theory of the firm. Data were collected from 6 beauty salon owners who had succeeded for longer than 5 years. Semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of archival and transcript data yielded data saturation in combination with member checking. Data analysis was conducted using methodological triangulation with keyword-in-context analysis, comparison analysis, and content analysis. The 4 emergent themes from the study were personal savings, formal education and professional training as keys to funding, funding strategies, and small business challenges in acquiring funding. Findings from this study may contribute to social change by providing best practices and funding strategies that leaders of small- to mid-sized enterprises may use to access funding to ensure business survival for longer than 5 years. In addition, the findings in this study may reduce small business failure rate, increase sales revenue for the government, and increase employment in the region.