Compared to their urban counterparts rural small businesses face unique socio-economic and environmental challenges including isolation, lack of resources, poverty, limited networks, and a smaller population of working age adults. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore effective strategies that rural small business managers have used to sustain a business in their area. The population for this study included a purposeful selection of 8 rural small businesses. Institutional theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. Data was collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews of participants. The data was analyzed and coded by using a modified Van Kaam method which revealed themes: (a) customer satisfaction, (b) advertising, and (c) location. Participants considered customer satisfaction, advertising, and location when creating businesses strategies to remain sustainable beyond 5 years. This study may contribute to positive social change by enabling more rural businesses to remain within the economic cycle of the U.S. economy, and offer a more stable employment outlook, hence supporting more families in rural areas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:waldenu.edu/oai:scholarworks.waldenu.edu:dissertations-6351 |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| Creators | Dobson, Nicole A |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks |
| Source Sets | Walden University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies |
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