Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Betsy J. Macht
Abstract
Small businesses in the United States employ 48% of the workforce, and only 50% percent of small businesses survive beyond 5 years. Business leaders are concerned with strategies to retain and expand their customer base to mitigate business failure and enhance survivability. Grounded in the leader-member exchange theory, the purpose of my qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies automotive dealership business leaders used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. The participants comprised five business leaders in the automotive industry in the Central and Southwest U.S. State of Michigan. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and a review of the organizational archival documents. Data analysis was conducted using Yin’s 5-step data analysis process: five themes emerged: customer relationship management, leadership, culture, reputation, and change. A key recommendation is for business leaders to safeguard their reputation with their customers, employees, and external stakeholders as a survivability strategy. Positive social change may be affected by the contributions to improving small business leaders’ acumen, survivability, employment prosperity, and increased revenues for the local, state, and federal governments.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Lyndon Fitzgerald, "Strategies for Sustaining Automotive Dealerships Beyond 5 Years" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13821.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13821
