Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Ify S. Diala
Abstract
More than half of small businesses in the United States are unsustainable within the first five years of existence. Small business owners who do not implement successful and sustainable strategies are at a high risk of failure. Grounded in the resource-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that some small restaurant owners use to sustain business beyond five years. The participants included three small business owners in Connecticut who have been in business for five years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company websites, and company documents. Yin’s 5-step thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Five major themes emerged: financial capital resources; education, technical experience, and skills; challenges implementing technology and social media strategies; customer loyalty, customer retention, and offering quality services and resource-based strategic planning, flexibility, and seasonality. A key recommendation is that small business owners identify useful resources and effective business strategies to ensure their long-term sustainability. The implications for positive social change include the potential for small business owners to serve as leaders in furthering sustainable economic prosperity that benefits their communities. Further positive implications include the potential to create new jobs.
Recommended Citation
Wilhoite, Alexandria Norma, "Strategies for Small Business Sustainability Beyond 5 Years in New Restaurant Industry" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 10283.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/10283
