Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Business administration; Sustainability'

Over the past 15 years, privately held small businesses generated nearly two-thirds of the net job growth in the United States, yet much of what scholars know regarding the capitalization challenges faced by small businesses is limited to data from large corporations. In 2013 alone, business bankruptcies numbered 33,212, and each year approximately 10% to 12% of U.S. small businesses close. Ineffective capitalization strategies coupled with a limited understanding of funding options frequently results in unsustainable business practices. In this multiple case study, the capital budgeting theory was utilized to explore the capitalization strategies small business owners in the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area employed to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years of business inception. Participants were purposefully selected based on their tenure in business, number of employees, and geographic location. Data were collected via in-person semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners, coupled with a review of financial archival documents. Data were analyzed using theme interpretation, data grouping, and word frequency tabulation. Three themes emerged: a preference for self-funded, personal capitalization; the leveraging of personal relationships as a primary educational strategy; and a general aversion to debt and high interest rates. Implementing sound capitalization strategies contributes to social change by improving the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Sustainable small businesses increase employment opportunities, wage growth, and community-based services while enhancing the overall quality of life for local families and the community.

In the United States, 20% of newly established small businesses, including small businesses in the life insurance industry, fail within 2 years, and over 50% of them fail during the first 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify and explore the strategies that life insurance brokerage owners use to sustain business operations beyond 5 years. Porter’s 5 forces model served as the conceptual framework for exploring this subject matter. Owners of 3 separate small life insurance brokerage firms in Texas, who sustained their businesses beyond 5 years, participated in semistructured interviews. A secondary source of data was relevant company documents. Methodological triangulation and member checking assured the reliability and validity of the interpretations. Through thematic analysis and supporting software, 5 themes emerged: exceptional customer service, relationship-building, efficient promotional strategies, regular training of salespersons, and hiring the right employees. The application of the findings of the study could contribute to positive social change by reducing unemployment and thereby catalyzing an economic environment supporting employees, families, and communities.

In emerging economies, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are threatened by continuous political and economic changes. In such uncertain environments, knowledge is the distinctive factor for the achievement of a competitive advantage. However, limited funds and pressure from competitors force SMEs to seek for external sources of knowledge.

The Multinational Corporation (MNC) represents an alternative for business sustainability within the value chain, including both suppliers and clients. In the aim for pursuing such endeavor, a conceptual framework including inter-firm knowledge transfer processes from the MNC and experiential learning enhanced by the Academia is explored.

In sum, this dissertation is intended to examine the MNC’s and Academia’s role on the procurement of SMEs’ business sustainability through inter-firm knowledge transfer and experiential learning, in terms of absorptive capacity. More specifically, the impact of technical and technological knowledge transferred from the MNC on one side; and reflective learning on managerial skills and business vision from the Academia on the other side, is analyzed through SMEs’ absorptive capacity. Regarding business sustainability, the effect of the application of newly absorbed knowledge is analyzed in terms of SMEs’ selected indicators for business improvements. As a complement, a qualitative study is included in order to provide support for findings hereby obtained.

Several researchers have said that the real solution to alleviating, or at least reducing, the level of poverty is not to view poor people as customers; instead it is important to integrate these people into the value chain of Multi-national Corporations (Karnani, 2007; London, 2004; SEKN, 2001). The objective of this research work is to analyze how companies with sustainability initiatives can generate better individual performance through the creation of empowerment in the LIS. First I developed a theoretical framework after conducting 47 in-depth interviews with key participants of one sustainable initiative in Mexico. I found, initially, that other variables like trust, coping strategy and risk aversion can moderate the direct and positive relationship between psychological empowerment and individual performance. Then I applied the surveys to 204 participants of this sustainability initiative. To test the hypotheses, I used PLS-SEM and analyzed the surveys in two groups (Belong, N=85) and (Belonged, N=119). In both groups, I confirmed the positive relationship between psychological empowerment and individual performance, I found also that coping strategy moderates in both conditions of this relationship; however, I cannot demonstrate that risk aversion moderates in any condition. Finally, I demonstrate that trust moderates the relationship, also. Theoretical and managerial implications as well limitations and future research avenues are discussed.

Keywords: low-income sector, empowerment, performance, trust, coping strategy, risk aversion, social entrepreneurship, inclusive business, base of the pyramid.

The problem in the nonprofit sector is a macro-economic problem involving implementation of concepts of economies of scale, and overcoming organizational and sector inefficiencies. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that strategic restructuring is an innovative, successful management strategy for a nonprofit organization to maintain sustainability and maximize impact. This research study used three different research methods to demonstrate that idea. The first research method was a quantitative analysis of several different financial ratios using the MANOVA statistical test. The second research method was a qualitative analysis of interviews that the researcher held with 10 different third-party payers. The third research method was an archival analysis of 57 case studies of organizations that have gone through a strategic restructuring process from 2007-2010. This research failed to show conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of structural reorganization in terms of improvement in financial ratios. However, there is a definite perception among funders’ regarding the strategic restructuring process for nonprofit organizations, as well the case studies provided excellent evidence for what factors contribute to a successful strategic restructuring partnership. Funders do support strategic restructuring and want organizations to engage in this management activity, if the nonprofit organization feels it will further their mission. Given mission-focused leaders, team-oriented, mission-focused organizations, with continued financial support from third party payers, to fund consultants who use the strategic restructuring formula, strategic restructuring can be a tool to maintain sustainability in an economy that constantly challenges the principles of sustainability.

In response to social and environmental concerns, a new type of entrepreneur has recently entered the research literature on sustainable development in business (Hall, Daneke, & Lenox, 2010). Sustainability entrepreneurs are guided by a strong set of values that place environmental and social well-being before materialistic growth (Abrahamsson, 2007; Choi & Gray, 2008; Parrish & Foxon, 2009; Schaltegger & Wagner, 2011; Young & Tilley, 2006). For them, business success is about maintaining financial stability, while enhancing community and improving the health of our planet. This is reflected in their business design, processes, and work culture. Sustainability entrepreneurs are committed to making business decisions that reduce their carbon footprint, promote local or fair trade, support employee wellness, and give back to the community.

This social phenomenological study explores the lifeworld structures of six women in Calgary who are running small businesses based on sustainability principles. Drawing on the work of Alfred Schütz (1967, 1970a, 1970b; Schütz & Luckmann, 1973), it examines their typifications, stocks of knowledge, and motives, as well as notions of intersubjectivity and spatiality or lived space. From the findings, three Schützian puppets or personal ideal types are constructed to personify values of community, quality, connection, and environmental preservation. Ms. A.L.L. Green, Ms. Carin Relationships, and Ms. I.N. Tentional characterize aspects of the female sustainability entrepreneur that were identified by participants as central to their motives and actions. Together, they form a new general ideal type called the integrative entrepreneur. The integrative entrepreneur personifies the unique contributions of the women interviewed, and extends our understanding of sustainability entrepreneurship in meaningful ways.

Companies experience a problem implementing corporate social responsibility reporting standards due to geographical differences, an over-abundance of guidelines, regulatory disparities, and varying levels of stakeholder requirements. These diverse conditions result in inadequate reporting of sustainability efforts and a lack of consistency of what actually gets reported. This exploratory, qualitative case study was based on a theoretical framework consisting of Freeman’s stakeholder theory, Suchman’s legitimacy theory, and Spence’s signaling theory. The sample consisted of six respondents from a research population of 100 multinational corporations (MNCs) with successful reporting practices. The instrument used was a researcher-developed questionnaire. The study addresses three research questions: How did leadership identify sustainability reporting standards, guidelines, or frameworks that would be appropriate for their company; how did the needs of the company’s stakeholders for reporting differ from the standards selected; and what CSR activities, indicators, or disclosures are not being included in the guideline that the company might want to report based on the needs of the stakeholders? Based on the results, nine themes emerged: (a) External motivational factors and stakeholders are critical to deciding which reporting guideline to use; (b) the CSR reporting method chosen is selected in order to meet the needs of the most influential actors; (c) companies augment reports with self-created KPIs based on influential actors and situational requirements; (d) the CSR reporting process requires greater internal collaboration within an organization; (e) changes to business strategy and resource allocation may be necessary; (f) both external and internal stakeholders are a source of valuable input and feedback regarding the produced reports; (g) collecting material and nonmaterial data is useful in producing reports and improving transparency; (h) companies want to see the impacts of their use competitors’ CSR activities and to use their reports to improve their own CSR activities and reports; and (i) standardization of reporting guidelines would benefit all stakeholders by allowing companies to become more transparent, improve comparisons between companies, and provide incentive to improve CSR processes. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on CSR reporting and allows companies to better understand CSR reporting process in their own environments.

This study involved the use of a quantitative, cross-sectional design to test the tenet of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) that connects a logistics organization’s ability to adapt to dwindling natural resources and economic sustainability. Through an examination of the correlation of alternative fuel use and the financial measurement of cost as percent of sales in U.S.-based, publicly traded third party logistics (3PL) companies using 2013 financial data, a statistically significant, strong, negative correlation was affirmed, indicating a correlation between alternative fuel use and improved financial performance. The statistical correlation of implementing alternative fuels and financial performance serves to remove the assumed financial barrier to implementing alternative fuels for logistics practitioners in the context of the impending apocalypse of a global $10.2 trillion transportation system that is fueled by oil that will eventually run out. As a field of study, sustainability in logistics has few theoretical frameworks and there is a clear need for quantitative research to evaluate those that do exist. This study addressed the need for research by adding directly to the body of logistics sustainability knowledge, establishing a template for future research, and reaffirming the need for the standardization of non-financial reporting.

A wave of sustainability initiatives is affecting many traditional corporate functions. While many companies focus on their own internal sustainability initiatives, there is a small but growing number of initiatives focused on promoting sustainability across the supply chain. The resulting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is faced with the challenge of justifying its contribution to the performance of the focal company. This study attempts to gain insights into the perception professionals have of the impact of SSCM on corporate environmental, social, and economic performance. The study looks into the moderating effects of company size, industry collaboration, and regulatory framework on the relationship between SSCM and corporate performance. Using a mixed methods approach, this research collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from 242 respondents. Simple and multiple linear regressions in Minitab 17 were used to analyze the quantitative data; qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. In the end, triangulation was used to integrate the quantitative and qualitative analyses to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions reported by survey respondents.

The results of this study show that SSCM is statistically significant to corporate environmental, social, and economic performance based on the independent variables analyzed. The results also show that the moderating effect of company size, industry collaboration, and regulatory framework on the relationship between SSCM and corporate performance made a difference for all three moderators based on factorial plot analysis. However, only the regulatory framework was found to be a statistically significant moderator based on regression analysis. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data showed that SSCM helps the focal company mitigate risks and improve, or preserve, its reputation. Another benefit of SSCM is its ability to help the focal company create a competitive edge with sustainability-conscious stakeholders. At the macro level, the benefits of SSCM are in the areas of long term availability of natural resources, respect for human rights, and better opportunities for persons from socially disadvantaged groups. The challenges of SSCM were reported to be in the areas of cost, difficult enforcement and implementation, and the lack of a common commitment to SSCM throughout the supply chain. These challenges could be overcome through leadership, collaboration, and consistent regulations at the corporate, industry, and country levels respectively. The triangulation (meta inference) showed alignment between the correlation between SSCM and economic performance, and the fact that solutions to most of the reported challenges to the implementation of SSCM in the thematic analysis had economic implications for the focal company. This study provides corporate leaders and governments with meaningful insights into how SSCM can be leveraged as an effective tool to enhance corporate performance and sustainability initiatives.

This study examines the environmental and economic effects of green information technology (IT). Green IT describes two sets of IT innovations: one set includes innovations that are implemented to reduce the environmental impact of IT services in organizations; and the other IT to reduce the environmental impact of other organizational processes. The two sets respond to the call for more environmentally friendly or “greener” organizational processes.

I developed and tested a preliminary model. The model applied the resource based view (RBV) of the firm (Wernerfelt 1984) the stakeholder theory (Freeman 1984) and included four constructs: (1) BAS implementation; environmental value conceived in a novel way as the conservation of electric energy in buildings; economic value -- from energy cost savings; and BAS complements. These four constructs formed three propositions: (1) BAS implementation is positively associated with environmental value; (2) environmental value is positively associated with economic value; and BAS complements moderate the relationship BAS implementation and environmental value.

The model was used to guide the investigation of three research questions: 1. What are the environmental and economic values of green IT? 2. How do green IT create the above values? 3. Are other dimensions of value created? If so, what are they?

The focal IT investigated was the building automation system – a system designed to conserve electric energy and decrease operational costs. The unit of analysis of the study was the facilities management team – the implementers of the system.

I collected data on a sample of six diverse cases of BAS implementations. The cases were diverse in terms of the BAS types, the building purposes, the building locations and the building occupancy and management. Two types of BAS were involved in the study, each with a different level of artificial intelligence: the more intelligent BAS self-reconfigured when changes in setpoints, for example, were necessary; the less intelligent BAS must be reconfigured by an engineer in similar circumstances.

There was also diversity in terms of the buildings in which the systems were implemented and the occupancy and management of the buildings. The buildings include: the corporate headquarters of a global telecommunications firm; university classrooms; a residence hall in a university; and three multi-tenanted office complexes. The building occupancy and management differ in that some buildings are owner-occupied and are managed in-house, while the others are leased and their management outsourced.

Data collection involved recorded semi-structured interviews of three sets of users in the organizations: building engineers; chief engineers; and property/facilities managers. The interviews were prearranged and were conducted onsite using an interview protocol. Each interview lasted approximately one hour and was conducted in one session. The data were transcribed and analyzed in Nvivo 10.

The findings showed support for the presence of the four constructs within the preliminary model as well as for the three propositions in the preliminary model. The data also revealed contextual details of the BAS implementation and BAS complements constructs. There were also new dimensions value including: unanticipated types of economic value (including savings from reduced labor demand; social value (comfort and safety for building occupants); and strategic value (knowledge used to position the organizations for greater efficiency and effectiveness). Overall, the value outcomes of the implementations can be summarized as short term social, environmental and economic value as well as strategic value – consistent with the concept of sustainable value defined by Hart et al. (1995).

Also, consistent with Zuboff’s (1985) description of the duality of intelligent IT systems -- the ability to informate and automate, the BAS implementation construct was found to include two distinct sources of value: equipment automation; and equipment information. The unanticipated value dimensions and types, as well as the sources of value were used to refine the research model.

The study therefore a preliminary theoretical model – the resource based view of the sustainable organization (RBV-SO) -- as well as contextual implementation details that can be used to guide future investigations of the value created by intelligent green IT systems such as the BAS, as well as measurement items that can be used to inform quantitative studies of these systems. The study also adds to the practical body of knowledge concerning green IT implementations in general and implementations of the BAS in particular, concerning: details of the information value – for example, for measuring the environmental impact of the system and for substantiating claims in the application for green funds available to organizations; and details of some key complementary resources that enhance value creation within the context.

Two major limitations of this study are: (1) a single coder was used in the analysis process and therefore no inter-coder reliability was established for the results; and (2) user perceptions rather than actual quantities were used to validate the findings.

Some future research prospects include: use of these findings to conduct a quantitative study of an intelligent system extended with, for example, investigation of the impact of external forces such as government regulations, environmental issue salience, and market forces on the value created by green IT (such as the BAS); and investigation of the impact over time of the development of the strategic capabilities enabled by the BAS on creation of value.

How do firms adapt to the intensity of adverse conditions stemming from the natural environment (ecological adversity intensity)? In this dissertation, I develop several lines of inquiry in exploring this question. First, I seek to contribute to generally diverging perspectives on organizational adaptation, which view firms as either inherently constrained or capable of continuous adaptation to fit their environment. To do this, I examine the conditions under which firms are more likely to adapt to different levels of ecological adversity intensity. My findings from a 13-year longitudinal analysis of western U.S. ski resorts’ adaptation to temperature conditions indicate that firms facing moderate ecological adversity intensity appear more likely to engage in higher adaptation levels while those experiencing low and high ecological adversity intensity show a tendency for lower adaptation levels. That is, both diverging perspectives may predict part of firms’ adaptive responses to ecological adversity intensity. My findings also suggest firms may encounter limits to adaptation when facing increasing ecological adversity intensity. I also undertake a post hoc exploration of firm and institutional environment level factors that may moderate the relationship between ecological adversity intensity and firm adaptation. Second, I use an interdisciplinary approach that draws from resilience theory in socioecology to suggest that the existing conceptualization of organizational resilience could be expanded to include transformative change, which may allow firms to mitigate the operational impacts of reaching adaptation limits. Third, I also consider the resilience implications of the interdependency between firms and the broader ecosystems in which they operate. I conclude with potential avenues for future research in this area.

Since the late 1980s, a different way to do business began to achieve more widespread support. The intention of this form of business—sustainable business—is to conduct itself in a way that does not jeopardize the basic needs of present and future generations by unnecessarily sacrificing environmental, social, and economic resources. This is in contrast to traditional Western business practices that focus on maximizing short-term financial profit without much consideration of the impact on environmental and social resources. It appears that any change in business from the single bottom line of monetary profit to a triple bottom line of "people, planet, and profit" requires a different type of leadership. Research indicates that some practices that are meant to cultivate attention (e.g., meditation) contribute positively to leadership behavior, yet there is very little empirical evidence on the specific impact of attention cultivation practices on leadership capacities that may enhance sustainability in business.

This study uses the qualitative method of narrative inquiry in which six co-participants and I explore the role of attention cultivation in furthering sustainability in business. The six co-participants were clients in my leadership attention coaching practice who had received at least nine months of attention coaching, were employed at the time they received coaching, and were alumni of or currently enrolled in an MBA program geared towards sustainable business. Through a narrative analysis of interviews, narrative excerpts, and images of artwork, this study reveals three behavior patterns: Acquiring Equanimity, Nonjudgmental Attention, and Letting Go. Further examination of these patterns reveals that the impact of this specific attentional practice may support a leader's capacities for mindfulness, adaptive and authentic leadership, postconventional stages of mental complexity, and systems thinking, all of which have been suggested in the literature as capacities that contribute to furthering sustainability in business.

This study suggests that the primal faculty of the deployment of attention is foundational in a leader's capacity for movement that advances sustainability in business. Recommendations are offered for programs that train leaders in sustainable business, for leaders who are interested in advancing sustainability in business, and for further research.

This dissertation investigates the dairy farming industry in the Northeastern United States and, in particular, the key drivers of economic viability and competitive advantage for small and midscale commercial dairy producers. The research approach employed was a literature review combined with primary case study observation and data collection. Historical perspective has been presented to provide an overarching contextual framework for this study. Four dairy farms were purposefully selected for case study research because they represented various aspects of a pre-defined set of variables and because they demonstrated relevant similarities as well as significant differences in terms of alternative business strategy. The classical business opportunity analytical process has been customized for practical use application by small and midscale dairy farmers. This tailored process has been validated using research findings; it offers a fresh way of identifying a strategic approach in pursuit of economic viability and competitive advantage that best fits an operation's unique set of characteristics. This process is intended for practical use application on a broader scale by dairy farmers in the Northeast to facilitate their understanding of challenging industry dynamics, of emergent market opportunity and inherent potency, and of both internal and external hurdles to be overcome. Finally, recommendations for next steps have been presented.

The concept of implementing organizational learning principles in an organization to help individuals and groups ?learn to learn? (Schein, 2017), thereby making the ongoing adaptation and change that inevitably occurs in organizations more successful, is an interesting problem to explore. While interesting, there are very few studies that examine the sustainability of change in any context. Several theoretical models incorporate the idea of sustaining, or institutionalizing, change. But, very few empirical studies actually explore that concept. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive, embedded case study was to explore how a government agency developed and sustained organizational learning, using the Organizational Learning Systems Model (OLSM) as a lens. To fulfill the purpose of this study, the following research question was addressed: How did a government agency introduce and sustain organizational learning during and after a planned change? The results from this study contributed to the literature and to the practitioner community by showing that (1) the organization introduced and implemented organizational learning by centrally managing the learning subsystems during the change itself; (2) the organization introduced and sustained organizational learning by involving, encouraging, and empowering employees and middle managers during the change; (3) the organization introduced and implemented organizational learning by aligning all messaging from senior leadership to front-line employees during the change; (4) the organization implemented and sustained organizational learning by encouraging practice to learn the new behaviors and to iterate the change plan based on lessons learned; (5) the organization sustained organizational learning by counting on middle managers to sustain sensemaking and organizational learning post-change; and, (6) the organization was challenged in sustaining organizational learning because the specific change to a dispersed work environment has several unintended consequences that make it a tricky change. A conceptual model to augment the OLSM was proposed. Future studies could: (1) test the conceptual model proposed; (2) explore the impacts of a dispersed work environment using OLSM or social network analysis; and, (3) examine the relationship between open office design and a dispersed work environment.

Environmental degradation and socioeconomic dilemma continue to stigmatize oil production in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Sustainability programs of oil companies often determine the improvement of living conditions in the region. This explanatory qualitative case study, guided by systems thinking theory and sustainable value framework, explored practitioners' perceptions of sustainability programs to identify its impact on business and the host communities. The research question was designed to address how sustainability efforts of a single oil company in the Niger Delta contributed to the business performance and the livelihood of the local people. Research data were gathered from a sample of 20 experienced sustainability practitioners of the oil company, partnering nonprofit organizations, and community leaders through face-to-face semistructured interviews. Data were segmented and categorized. The data analysis process revealed several themes regarding the challenges and shortfalls of sustainability programs in the region. The oil company's understanding of sustainability as programs and projects focused on preserving resources for future generations was not evident in practice. Findings from the study suggested the need for improved inclusiveness of people in driving sustainability projects. Inclusive sustainability should enhance the oil company's contemplation mechanism to ensure eco-saving thinking and processes, which could result in improved quality of life and business performance in the region. The research findings underscore the need for oil multinational corporations (MNCs) to use a business lens in viewing sustainability to achieve sustainable value.

In this quantitative secondary data analyses chi-square tests of independence and binary logistic regression were conducted to test the hypotheses that the independent variables are associated or predict executive succession planning. The following characteristics of the executive director was analyzed: age, gender, race/ethnicity, service insider selection (i.e., history of employment or board membership within the organization), executive director membership on the board of directors, a transparent relationship with the board of directors, use of professional development resources, level of education, and years of service in the nonprofit sector. Results indicated that there is an association between executive succession planning and four of the predictor variables age, race/ethnicity, years of service in the nonprofit sector, and membership on the board of directors, and that only three of the variables age, years of service in the nonprofit sector, and membership of the board were successful in predicting whether or not the executive director will have a succession plan. Results will be used to provide the leadership and stakeholders of nonprofit organizations with data regarding the association and prediction of executive succession planning. This data will be useful as nonprofit organizations strategically plan for the executive succession planning process and identifying successors for executive leadership positions.