Bonuke, D O (2021) Strategies to improve survival rate among small businesses in the construction industry. PhD thesis, Walden University, USA.
Abstract
Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, yet only 50% of all small business establishments survive beyond the first 5 years of operation. Survivability is a concern for small businesses owners, as the construction industry experiences the lowest survival rates compared to other sectors. Grounded in entrepreneurship theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners in the construction industry used to sustain their businesses beyond the first 5 years of operation. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with six small business owners in the construction industry in central New Jersey. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, and five themes emerged: financial planning, meeting customer expectations, brand management, maintaining a competitive edge, and customer-centric culture. A key recommendation is for small business owners in the construction industry to have a dependable source of income to sustain their business operation, deliver quality work on time and within budget, and have decent product knowledge. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase business profit, offer job opportunities that provide a better quality of life to employees, and increase sales and tax revenue contribution to local authorities to improve local community services.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Paluch, E and Jack, B |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | culture; small business; entrepreneurship; financial planning; employee; owner; Jersey; thematic analysis; case study; interview |
| Index terms: | survival, construction industry, entrepreneurship, income, owner, case study, Jersey, thematic analysis, small business, profit, revenue, local authority, quality of life, strategy, financial planning, interview, New Jersey |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, sociology, methods and analysis, public and environmental health, management, financial and cost management, business, data collection methods, Geography, economic analysis, environmental science, organization |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Stakeholder Management, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here