Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Janie Hall

Abstract

Quick-service restaurant owners who fail to apply effective business strategies could risk business closure within the first 5 years of operations. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that independent quick-service restaurant owners used to sustain business longer than the first 5 years. Resource-based theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with 6 owners of independent quick-service restaurants in the southern region of the United States who sustained their businesses longer than the first 5 years, and from the review of business documents pertaining to sustainability. Data were also collected using business artifacts such as job descriptions, menus, websites, social media platforms, and business licenses, and analyzed using methodological triangulation. Member checking was used to help ensure reliability and validity of the interpretations. Six key themes emerged from the data: organization value, customer required excellence, financial perspective, human assets, physical operating materials, and technological prowess. The 6 themes aligned with the 5 types of internal resources established in the conceptual framework. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to support the welfare of the local citizens and owners of quick-service restaurants across the United States by providing strategies necessary to increase business survival rates, improve job sustainability, and encourage job creation.

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