The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of systematic approach to computer integration on implementation cost, implementation time, user satisfaction, and level of integration in small business environments. It is believed that decreased costs and implementation time result from the use of systematic approaches to computer integration. Systematic approaches may also result in higher user satisfaction and a higher level of system integration.

Owners of small businesses who fail to implement adequate employee motivation and retention strategies may experience lost profit and high employee turnover. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the managerial strategies that owners of small businesses owners used to motivate and retain sales associates to increase profits. The population for the study included owners of 4 businesses in Texas who successfully implemented employee motivation and retention strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with business owners and from artifacts such as company websites and social media pages. Transformational leadership theory guided the study. Data were analyzed using Yin’s 5 steps of data analysis including compiling data, disassembling data, reassembling data, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: provide financial incentives, increase job satisfaction, and enhance job training. The findings of this study might contribute to positive social change by providing owners of small businesses with strategies to retain employees, which may build customer loyalty and increase business performance and longevity. Business leaders may benefit from these findings by strengthening relationships with employees and improving the overall performance of the organization. The results of this study could also contribute to positive social change by helping other small business owners implementing motivation and retention strategies, which might enhance business sustainability. Business sustainability supports both local and state economies and fosters an optimum distribution of resources in the community.

Workplace violence can produce adverse financial outcomes for organizational shareholders, harms employees, and might create long-lasting mental health issues for survivors. Leaders of small businesses might lack the tools available to larger organizations to effectively address the growing incidence of violence in the workplace. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies some leaders of small businesses used to prevent workplace violence. The targeted population consisted of 3 leaders of small businesses from 3 different organizations in the government consulting industry in northern Virginia who successfully implemented workplace violence prevention programs. The general systems theory was the conceptual framework for this research. Data were collected from applicable company documents and semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed through a 5-phase qualitative analysis cycle. Emergent themes included effective workplace violence prevention policies and procedures and leaders’ role in creating a positive working environment. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to reduce work-related stress so that employees are healthy members of society. Leaders of small business who promote a positive work environment and understand the importance of an effective workplace violence prevention policy might be able to increase the performance of their businesses, which could allow them to be more involved in their communities.

Despite the economic significance of entrepreneurship, relatively little is known about the entrepreneur, particularly how the entrepreneur differs from the corporate manager. This problem is both cause and symptom of the discord regarding definitions of the entrepreneur, rendering sampling, research replication and generalizations about entrepreneurs problematic. As a result, inquiry has failed to adequately establish how entrepreneurs differ from managers, a problem partially stemming from a dearth of methodologically rigorous comparisons of entrepreneurs with managers. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of psychological constructs to predict a proclivity for entrepreneurship. Moreover, differences in types of small business owner-managers were also investigated. Included in the research model were three common themes in the entrepreneurship literature: achievement motivation, risk taking propensity and preference for innovation. Also incorporated were the interactions of the psychological constructs, as well as individual and firm demographic variables.

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Small business owners contribute 39% of Canada's gross domestic product and account for 67% of new jobs created, but only 50% survive beyond the first 5 years of existence. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what strategies some small business owners in Halifax, Nova Scotia used to sustain their business operations beyond the first 5 years. The study population consisted of 6 small business owners of professional firms located in Halifax, Nova Scotia who had succeeded in business beyond the first 5 years. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the systems theory. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, a review of company documents, and archival records. Member checking of interview response data was used to strengthen the credibility of the findings. Based on the methodological triangulation of the data collected and the van Kaam process, themes that emerged after the data analysis were networking, product-advantage, business-centric approach, and human capital. The data and application of the findings from this study may contribute to social change by providing essential strategies for small business owners to ensure business success that could potentially lead to the prosperity of the community and Halifax economy.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / In today‟s post-modern era, the role of women-owned small businesses in economic development is inevitable. Women are willing to act in business and contribute to the nation‟s growth. However, most women in small businesses face a wide variety of challenges both in starting and in growing their business ventures. Some of the challenges relate to lack of skills and an environment that is not favourable to women small business owners. Thus, a study was conducted in Lepelle-Nkumpi local municipality in Limpopo Province. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by women-owned small businesses in the Lepelle-Nkumpi local municipality, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study used a qualitative research method to collect data. Fifteen (15) individuals participated in the study; twelve (12) of the participants were women who owned small businesses in the municipality and three (3) of the participants were officials working in the LED unit. Participants in the study were chosen purposively because of the knowledge that they possessed. Semistructured interviews were used in the qualitative study to collect data. The study discovered that some of the challenges included lack of skills and training, lack of access to finance, lack of marketing strategies and inadequate resources. Thus, the study recommended that the municipality should provide need-based training for small business owners.

Extant scholarship has paid considerable attention to exploring the impact of people-dependent intangible resources on business success but in large organisations only. Research about the role of these resources in small businesses, in general, and in ethnic minority small businesses, in particular, is scarce. The current study attempts to narrow this gap. Since it is impossible to study all the ethnic minority small businesses, this study uses a case study strategy that focuses on South Asian ethnic minority small businesses that deal in fashion. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology, it uses the semi-structured in-depth interview method to collect data, and it espouses an inductive thematic technique for coding/analysis of the data. Five overarching themes emerged from the interview data. These are: business success; compassionate customer service; relationships; knowledge, experience, training and education; and ethnic culture and the wider economic and political environment. Discussion of these themes leads to the formation of the culture-induced entrepreneurship model. According to this model, the continued success of these businesses is driven by the ethnic culture, while the existence of these businesses helps to maintain the culture in return. However, overdependence on the coethnic base might risk the future success of these businesses. This thesis concludes by highlighting its theoretical contributions to the culturalist view and the mixed embeddedness model of ethnic minority entrepreneurship and small business literature. The implications of this study for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers, as well as its limitations and the possible future research paths, are also discussed.

Many rural areas are undergoing structural changes as jobs in forestry, fishing, mining, agricultural and other natural resource-based industries decline. These communities, often based around these industries, are generally small and located some distance from urban areas. They are faced with decreasing population as residents and their families leave for jobs elsewhere. As a result, the communities and residents are looking for alternative ways to create employment and sustain themselves. Given the nature of these rural locations, many small businesses based there face challenges that are not generally experienced by enterprises in urban areas. Some communities are not accessible by paved road while others are not accessible by road at all, relying instead on water and air transportation. The business people in these areas often operate without standard business infrastructure, which can include telephone lines, broadband Internet, banking services and other items, and can have difficulty accessing supplies, customers, employees and other required materials. However, there has been relatively little research on the challenges facing rural businesses and the specific methods by which these owners mitigate these challenges. Understanding and addressing the challenges faced by these businesses becomes important in order to support and encourage economic growth and development in these rural communities. Building on this context, this research looks to answer the following questions: • Why do people start businesses in rural locations? • What type of businesses do they start? • What challenges do these rural businesses face? • How do owners respond to these challenges? Vancouver Island and the surrounding smaller islands in British Columbia, Canada serve as the research site. Given the exploratory nature of this research, an inductive approach has been selected with the use of case studies, interviews and grounded theory analysis. Purposeful sampling is used with the sample businesses meeting specific criteria, based on location, business size and definition of success. These businesses are interviewed at their locations to allow the researcher to experience the challenges associated with accessing the particular rural community. The interview topics are focused on the above research questions. There are several common characteristics among the sample owners and their businesses. The owners tend to be in-migrants who moved to the rural area for lifestyle reasons. They have started their business to provide an income, take advantage of a business opportunity, or both. Family members, particularly spouses, are actively involved in the business. In many cases, participants supplement their business income with other income sources to ensure business viability. Success is measured generally by personal and lifestyle goals, rather than financial criteria. The businesses face common challenges in terms of a limited local population base which impacts on market size and labour pool, rural location and access to urban centres, gaps in business and social services infrastructure and heavy time demands. The owners respond to these challenges in a variety of ways which includes the involvement of family, core business diversification, alternative income sources, long hours invested in the business and involvement with the community. To meet these challenges and devise their responses, the owners draw upon four key resources – their own skills and attitudes, their family, business and community. The resulting conceptual framework draws together these key resources and suggests that all four must be present to ensure success within a rural context. Each resource is comprised of several components which contribute to business success. The framework also integrates several resource-based theories, which consider the key resources either separately or in pairs, to create a holistic model. The conclusions focus on several key areas. This research contributes to the knowledge base on rural small businesses by creating a framework that draws directly from the experience of these owners and their objectives and motivations for their businesses. It reflects their internal focus and a concentration of the four resources that they access easily from within their domain. This research also suggests some possible roles for government which focus on its role in shaping the larger environment, particularly at the infrastructure level and human capital development. Finally, future research directions are recommended. This study considers a relatively unexplored topic and suggests ways for rural small businesses to address the challenges which they face. With this knowledge, individuals, businesses, communities and other interested organizations can work to achieve their economic development goals.

Studien syftar till att upptäcka svårigheter vid implementering av kvalitetsledningssystemet ISO 9001:2015 på små företag. För att uppnå studiens syfte samlades teorier om kvalitetsledningssystemet ISO 9001 och dess implementerings- och certifieringsprocess in. En fallstudie genomfördes på två analysenheter för att sedan jämföras mot det teoretiska ramverket och erhålla ett resultat. De mest bidragande faktorerna till icke-certifiering av ISO 9001 hos små företag visade sig vara tidsbrist, resursbrist samt kompetensbrist.