Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Reginald Taylor
Abstract
AbstractSmall business information technology consulting owners lack strategies to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years financially. Small business owners are concerned with sustaining their businesses, as their livelihood and employees are at stake. Grounded in Porter’s five forces theory, the resource-based view model, and Hax and Wilde’s delta model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small business information technology (IT) consulting owners used to achieve financial sustainability beyond 5 years. Data were collected by semistructured interviews from 5 small business information technology consulting owners. Performance and financial success documents augmented the data collection of the companies. Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis procedure revealed four themes: carefully planning expenditures and capping cost, empowering and rewarding employees, marketing through social media and social media and word of mouth, and cultivating good relationships with customers. A key recommendation for small business IT consulting owners is to convert new customers into long-term customers and get referrals from existing customers. The implication for positive social change includes the potential to strengthen small businesses’ financial viability, commonly the biggest provider of jobs and services, and the tax base’s foundation in many communities.
Recommended Citation
Lassiter, Christopher, "Key Strategies for Small Business Information Technology Consulting with Sustainability Beyond 5 Years" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 10152.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/10152
