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5 - Discussion

from Part 1 - Research Study: Management and Leadership Skills That Affect Small Business Survival

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Summary

Introduction and summary of the findings

Small businesses employ approximately half of the private workforce in the United States (Office of Advocacy, 2015) and account for more than half of the nation's gross domestic product (Nickels et al., 2015). Small businesses experience substantial risk of failure, however, as 40 percent of new business owners fail in their first year, 60 percent in their second year and 90 percent in their first 10 years of existence (Radipere & Van Scheers, 2014). These businesses fail for a wide range of reasons that include a lack of crisis management, marketing, financial and HR management skills (Arasti et al., 2012). Small businesses also experience failure because of insufficient business competence, leadership skills and managerial experience (Nummela et al., 2016).

To address this study's problem and purpose, the researcher conducted semistructured interviews with 10 current or former small business owners. Participants included six men and four women who represented eight different areas of business. Interviews were organized around four research questions that addressed leadership and management in small businesses. Data analysis resulted in identification of several themes in participants’ responses, which are discussed in the following sections. In addition, this chapter contains discussion and analysis of themes in relation to the research literature and the theoretical framework selected for this study. This chapter then includes a discussion of the implications of this study's findings, the limitations of its findings and recommendations for future research.

Research question 1

The first research question asked participants how small business owners perceived the relationship between management and leadership skills and small business success or failure. Analysis of participants’ responses revealed three major themes: communication, cooperation and separation of responsibilities. This section will provide a discussion of each theme and analysis of themes in relation to the research literature.

Major theme 1: Communication. Two of the 10 participants expressed that communication represented the connection between management and leadership skills in small businesses, and cited this as an important skill for both managers and leaders. One participant expressed that communication was important for success in small business, and cited this as integral to shared decision making between leaders and managers.

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Management and Leadership Skills that Affect Small Business Survival
A Resource Guide for Small Businesses Everywhere
, pp. 73 - 88
Publisher: Anthem Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Discussion
  • Jamey M. Long
  • Book: Management and Leadership Skills that Affect Small Business Survival
  • Online publication: 12 July 2019
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  • Discussion
  • Jamey M. Long
  • Book: Management and Leadership Skills that Affect Small Business Survival
  • Online publication: 12 July 2019
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Discussion
  • Jamey M. Long
  • Book: Management and Leadership Skills that Affect Small Business Survival
  • Online publication: 12 July 2019
Available formats
×