Assignment week 6,

v

In Maryland, more than 500,000 small businesses constitute 97% of businesses and employ more than one million people (SBA, 2018b). In 2014, 4,074 new small businesses started in Maryland in 2014, and in the same year, 3,730 businesses closed, marking a large percentage of failed small businesses in comparison to those opened (SBA, 2018b). External funding is necessary for the sustainability and growth of small businesses (Neagu, 2016). Access to financial resources is essential for business leaders to pay for operating expenses, debts, inventory, and business growth. Accordingly, I will explore effective strategies used by Maryland small business owners to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity for 5 years or longer. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please read this. Per the previous content the comparison appears to be almost the same? What does large signify in this sentence? Per your previous sentence more business opened than closed, so this sentence does not make sense.

Many business leaders attribute business failures to external factors, whereas internal management capabilities and approaches have a significant impact on business sustainability (Eggers & Lin, 2015). Poor management skills and an inability to access finances are the main reasons for business failure (Lee, 2016). Accordingly, it is necessary to explore strategies used by small business owners to obtain a line of working capital for business continuity.

Insufficient access to funds, including lines of credit, causes 29% of small businesses to fail within the first five years of operation (Shabat, 2019). Small business owners encounter challenges in obtaining a working capital line of credit (U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, 2017). The general business problem is that some small business owners are unable to access working capital lines of credit, which threatens business survival through liquidity shortages, lost customers, and falling profitability. The specific business problem is that some small business owners lack strategies to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why were the Hook and Anchor transposed? Please reverse them back to the original. The Anchor is a statistic that supports the Hook. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 1.3 a. and 1.3 b. ‘not met’. Please check for duplicate errors throughout the rest of your study. There are exceptions to the rule with numbers. Follow APA section 4.31, p. 111 for the correct way to list numbers in the text.

The three types of research methods are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods (Yin, 2017). In a qualitative study, a researcher explores a phenomenon (Glaser & Strauss, 2017); in comparison, a quantitative researcher statistically measures the relationship between variables (Goertzen, 2017). A researcher uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches in mixed-methods (Yin, 2017). Because the study will not use numerical data to understand the research phenomenon, neither quantitative nor mixed-methods is appropriate; therefore, I will be using qualitative methodology with a case study design. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR1.5 a.- not met. Please review again and synthesize what you paraphrased about why you did not select a quantitative method.

What strategies do small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity?

1. What strategies did you use to obtain a working capital line of credit?

2. What are the significant challenges you encountered in securing a working capital line of credit?

3. How did you overcome the challenges you encountered in securing a working line of credit?

4. What strategies did you use to develop a successful banking relationship to secure working capital?

5. How, if at all, did you have to modify the initial strategies you used for obtaining a working line of credit?

6. What else cancould you share that is pertinent to the procedures strategies you used tofor obtaining a working capital line of credit for your business?

The conceptual framework for this study is the theory of discouraged borrowers (Kon & Storey, 2003). According to this theory, some small business owners are discouraged from applying for bank financing for three primary reasons: asymmetric information, application costs, and market rates (Kon & Storey, 2003). The idea of credit rationing from banks is one component of business owners’ discouragement, which may prevent them from applying for bank loans. The theory of discouraged borrowers applies to the proposed study, providing a framework appropriate to explore small business owners seeking to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. The business environment is becoming faster paced because of economic shifts, globalization, and technological breakthroughs (Guillén, Ferrero, & Hoffman, 2014). This rapidly changing environment means business leaders must adjust their behavior in adapting to new information and approaches to acquiring credit (Lichtenstein & Plowman, 2009). The theory of discouraged borrowers (Kon & Storey, 2003) provides a conceptual framework to understand why some small business owners face difficulties in applying for and obtaining a working capital line of credit for business continuity beyond five years. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 1.10 b. and 1.10 c are still not addressed. Who is the theorist? When was this theory founded? Please address all rubric requirements. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is an anthropomorphism. Please check throughout the rest of your proposal. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please read this sentence out loud. Does it make sense? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content is inaccurate. Your study is not about ‘why’ (hypothetical). Please review and revise in accordance with a DBA study (an applied business problem), not a dissertation (hypothetical problem). This sentence should be eliminated. It is not applicable to a rubric requirement.

Cash flow: Net income plus depreciation, amortization, and depletion equal cash flow (Deakin, 1972).

Small business: A small business is an entity with fewer than 500 employees (SBA, 2018a).

Working capital: Working capital is the operating liquidity of a business, which is the difference between current assets and current liability (Nguyen, Tran, & Nguyen, 2016).

Working capital management: Focuses on the interaction and problems that arise between current assets and current liabilities (Boopathi & Leeson, 2016).

Assumptions are beliefs that a researcher cannot verify but presumes to be true (Marshall & Rossman, 2016). In this study, the first assumption is that a qualitative approach with a multiple case study design will be appropriate for answering the research question. The second assumption is that the participants will provide honest responses to the interview questions. If participants withhold information or misrepresent their expertiseexperiences, my findings will not be accurate. Also, I assume that interviews with five small business owners and reviews of company documents will be sufficient to achieve data saturation., without which I could not have confidence in my results.

Limitations stem from methodology and design are issues beyond the researcher’s control (Yin, 2017). One limitation is the use of qualitative methodology, as findings are subjective and dependent upon the researcher’s interpretation; accordingly, the risk of researcher bias is another limitation. Because of the small sample size and specific qualification criteria, Tthe transferability of qualitative findings may be limited and thus subject to the reader’s bias. opinions regarding applicability to other populations or situations. Qualitative data analysis is another limitation, as reliability and validity are dependent on the researcher’s determination of all relevant themes and achieving data saturation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I do not understand why content is being revised that I did not request to have changed? Why was this content added? Typically, I scan over previous content that I already reviewed, unless it has been revised, as indicated in the change matrix; however, it appears that I have to review your ENTIRE study again? Please address URR comments ONLY once submitted to the URR. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Rubric requirement 1.12b. still needs work. This content should be: potential weaknesses (NOT the same as ISSUES). Please review Yin again and revise accordingly. However, please note: 1) I have this textbook and I cannot find this content I the textbook stated, as cited here, by Yin. If I overlooked this, please indicate the page # in the textbook where I can find it. If not, this is an academic violation of integrity (falsifying that an author cited something when they did not)., 2) The textbook has been referenced incorrectly. Please review the reference and revise accordingly. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please review your entire study for duplicate errors. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please work with an editor. It appears that you have two limitations here? Explain each potential weakness, and then why it would weaken your study. *Please note, you do not want weaknesses in your study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this a weakness? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This does not make sense. Please work with your chair and an editor for clarifications.

Delimitations are the boundaries set by a researcher as criteria for participation (Theofanidis & Fountouki, 2019). The scope of the proposed study is limited to exploring the phenomenon of strategies small business owners have used to secure a working capital line of credit for business continuity. Delimitations for participation include owners of manufacturing and wholesale small businesses located in Maryland who employ 500 or fewer employees and have been in business for longer than five years. Outside the scope of the study are owners of newly created, nonregistered businesses not in operation five years or longer, not located in Maryland, or employing more than 500 people. There were no delimitations concerning participants’ gender, age, race, or immigration status. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I read this article, by the new authors you plugged in the citation (I assume you did this to provide a more current reference/citation?) and this is NOT what the authors stated. This is falsification, which is a violation of academic integrity. It appears that you have a tendency to do this? This is NOT acceptable. In addition, this article, is on biomedical research? Please utilize the College of Management & Technology Librarian, business databases from Walden’s library, and pre-filtered sources, as provide in the back of the Research Handbook. All duplicate errors and falsification of authors MUST be revised in your ENTIRE proposal accordingly. Thank-you. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Small businesses were defined in the previous subsection. There is no need to define it again. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content is NOT a rubric requirement and should be common sense to the reader based on delimitations.

Some small businesses fail because of insufficient access to working capital (Liu, 2015). Securing a line of credit may ensure business continuity and growth, resulting in continued and advancement opportunities for employees and a more thriving community. The findings of this study may be of value to businesses in several ways. First, small business owners can learn of the strategies used by other small business owners to successfully obtain a working line of capital, thus ensuring business continuity beyond five years. This study may contribute to business practice improvements, as other small business owners may learn from and use these strategies to obtain working capital lines of credit. Contributions to positive social change may come from more small business owners maintaining the operation of their businesses, continuing to employ their workers, and economically benefiting the community. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: An introduction in subsections should be included in all subsections or not in subsections. For example, an introduction is included in this subsection, but in the previous subsection and other subsections it is not included. I would eliminate all of them because they are not required per rubric requirements.

The results of this study maycan contribute to business practice in at least two ways. First, small business owners may learn about and acquire credit acquisition strategies that lead to increased business performance in the long term. Individuals considering opening small businesses may also find these results helpful as they create their business plan and forecasts. The research findings may be valuable to small business owners, banking officials, government agencies, and creditors in understanding the strategies small business leaders use to access credit. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this accurate? Please review your research question and make sure that the participants and content aligns accordingly.

Small business owners play an important role in facilitating the health of the local economy (Brown, 2018). The community can benefit from the results of this study in many ways. Considering that sustainability is a pathway to a significant competitive advantage, small business owners may be willing to participate in new programs in the community and invest more in the well-being of their workforce. The increase of small businesses operating in the community leads to job creation, poverty reduction, and the potential for a higher standard of living among citizens (Shibia & Barako, 2017). Employees’ families also benefit when individuals prosper in a healthy working environment with increased opportunities for employment.

Conducting the literature review on the research topic involved accessing various journals and seminal books through the Walden University Library website. Databases used included ABI/INFORM Complete, ProQuest Central, Emerald Management, Business Source Complete, Academic Research Complete, and SAGE Premier. I also conducted searches through Google Scholar and AOSIS Open Journals. Google Scholar queries provided various interdisciplinary results, including conference proceedings, and AOSIS Open Journals searches returned peer-reviewed scholarly articles from a wide range of academic disciplines. A review of business journals and publications returned information specific to research concerning small businesses and small business owners. Government websites, including the SBA and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, provided valuable information on credit strategies and programs for small businesses. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Was ScienceDirect used? This is one of the most popular and highly recommended databases to use to locate other studies relevant to the topic and theory of a DBA research study. Please utilize BUSINESS databases and the CMT Librarian (Audrey Butlett-Swensen) for assistance. Did you attend the residencies (required)? She provided sessions and contact information at them; therefore, you should be very familiar with this resource. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check spacing throughout.

In searching for relevant literature, I gave preference to peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2020 to obtain current information and findings. Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory was a helpful tool to ensure the use of peer-reviewed articles. Keywords and combinations of keywords used for the search included small business, business lending, small business lending, small business financing, credit strategies, bank loans, sources of financing, working capital line of credit, small business and financial constraints, small business continuity, capital structure, information asymmetry and the lending process, small businesses and audited financial statements, small business leadership, the theory of discouraged borrowers, and small business and discouraged borrower. The literature review search produced 142 sources, 137 (85%) of which were peer-reviewed articles published between 20165 and 2020. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please make sure to update these statistics in accordance with the correct dates. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 1.14A. v. not met – this needs to be 5 years.

I compared and contrasted the work of different scholars to obtain varied perspectives on the research phenomenon. The first overarching concept, the likelihood of application for and approval of a working capital line of credit, emerged from discussions of the theory of discouraged borrowers in the context of small businesses. The topics of discussion related to the second concept, small businesses, included small business sustainability, small business challenges, and government roles. The concept of small business financing emerged from literature on funding programs, sources of capital, and credit strategies, with a fourth concept identified as information symmetry in the lending process. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Do you mean you compared and contrasted theories (see 1.14B.iii) or the findings (see 1.14B. viii)? from previous research of other studies? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Rubric requirement 1.14A. ii. not met, assuming this is the RR that is being addressed? Please read the explanation about how your literature review should be organized in the Research Handbook. I explained the recommended way in the next comment. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Isn’t the topic of this study: working capital line of credit for business continuity? Why are these other topics going to be discussed? Per my last review: the recommended organization of a literature review is 1) 1/3 (33%) on the theory select and other theories that were compared and contrasted in the selection, 2) 1/3 (33%) topic – strategies that answer the research question and 3) 1/3 (33%) on other studies that include the selected theory and topic. Please review the rubric requirement and explanation in the Research Handbook (pgs. 47-48) carefully.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore strategies that small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. The review of the literature begins with an in-depth exploration of the conceptual framework of the theory of discouraged borrowers (Kon & Storey, 2003) and how researchers have used it in related studies. Other relevant topics discussed are small business financing, credit strategies, information symmetry in the lending process, and audited financial statements. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please review and revise accordingly per comments in the prior subsection. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please see comments in the previous paragraph.

The theory of discouraged borrowers emerged in the early 21st century. Levenson and Willard (2000) explored how insufficient credit and credit rationing discouraged small business owners from applying for loans. The majority of discouraged applicants, as Levenson and Willard labeled them, were founders of smaller, less-established businesses. Levenson and Willard examined U.S. small business owners who encountered credit rationing in their quest for external financing. Data drawn from a national survey of businesses in 1987 and 1988—the first years for which direct data were available specific to business owners’ desire for credit—indicated only a small percentage (2.14%) of small business owners had applied for and failed to procure financing, with an additional 2.17% obtaining financing after an initial rejection (Levenson & Willard, 2000). Comparatively, the percentage of small business owners discouraged from applying was 4.22% (Levenson & Willard, 2000). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I’m not sure how this is relevant to your study? Other studies relevant to the theory and topic should include qualitative studies, so you are comparing and contrasting similar studies. This was mentioned in my last review. Please Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please review and work on: The MEAL plan, a model for effective paragraph structure. For example, paragraphs need a lead out sentence (no citation) and equal balance of evidence (citations): M = main idea: a single sentence that states, in your own words (no citation), the paragraph’s main idea; also called a topic sentence E = evidence: a sentence or two that introduces evidence (including citations) to support your main idea A = analysis: a sentence or two where you interpret the above evidence for its meaning, significance, and application to your project (no citations) L = lead-out: a wrap-up sentence that highlights the final takeaway from the paragraph (no citation) Using the MEAL plan can aid in creating paragraphs that have a single focus and provide an equal balance of evidence and analysis. Please check the rest of the content in your LR for duplicate areas that need writing improvement. MEAL Plan videos: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/plagiarism/writing/evidence

In 2003, another set of researchers expanded the idea of discouraged credit applicants to create the theory of discouraged borrowers. Kon and Storey (2003) described discouraged borrowers as business owners who, despite needing financing for their operations, do not apply for loans for fear that the bank will reject their application. Kon and Storey adopted the discouraged borrower approach to assessing loan application success in response to the extensive literature on credit rationing, collateral, and asymmetry. Business owners feel discouraged from borrowing based on what they perceive are high application costs combined with screening errors and public policies not conducive to small business lending (Kon & Storey, 2003). The greatest degree of borrower discouragement occurs when a bank has inadequate information on the applicant’s business (i.e., information asymmetry) (Kon & Storey, 2003). Thus, small business owners who have not successfully obtained a working capital line of credit might have felt discouraged from even applying.

Han, Fraser, and Storey (2009) explored the theory of discouraged borrowers specific to the factors leading a borrower to become dispirited. Following an analysis of data on financing for U.S. small businesses, the researchers indicated that small business owners with riskier businesses were often less likely to apply for bank financing. Also introduced in Han et al.’s findings was the concept of information asymmetry, which generally means that, as bank transparency increased, the owners’ likelihood of applying for financing increased. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I’m confused about the organization of your content. Is this content about another study relevant to the theory? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Again, this sounds like content relevant to a study? If so, this content is applicable to RR 1.14B. viii?

Chandler (2010) drew parallels between discouraged borrowers and their relationships with banks. A critical component of the bank–business relationship is information symmetry, something discussed in later studies concerning small business owners’ ability to obtain working capital lines of credit for business sustainability and growth (e.g., Ata, Korpi, Ugurlu, & Sahin, 2015; Caporale & Gil-Alana, 2016; Moro, Fink, & Maresch, 2015; Njeru, Nyangaresi, & Waithaka, 2013; Sahin, Kitao, Cororaton, & Laiu, 2011). Information symmetry refers to transparency in the loan application process about small businesses’ credit history, balance sheets, business plans, and intended use of the financing (Yan, Yu, & Zhao, 2015); thus, information symmetry affects the degree of trust between the parties. Tang, Deng, and Moro (2017) narrowed the theory of discouraged borrowers to look specifically at the component of trust between a business owner and a loan manager and its effect on the business owners’ decision to apply for credit. Findings showed that the business owners’ degree of perceived trust with the lending agency strongly influenced their decision to apply for credit (i.e., the lower the trust, the greater the borrower’s discouragement). Despite the connection between trust and increased access to working capital lines of credit, the longevity of the owner–lender relationship had no bearing on borrower discouragement (Tang et al., 2017). An inverse relationship also emerged between the amount of experience held by the small business owner and the subsequent discouragement in borrowing. Business owners with prior entrepreneurial experience had a greater degree of trust in lending institutions and were thus more inclined to apply for credit (Tang et al., 2017). Scholars have conducted extensive research on the difficulties small business owners face to obtain credit and ensure the continuity of their businesses (Freel, Carter, Tagg, & Mason, 2012). Less common, however, are studies of the discouraged borrowers who, rather than risk rejection, choose not to apply for credit. A literature review showed discouraged borrowers outnumbered rejected borrowers by two to one (Freel et al., 2012). Also indicated were four characteristics common among discouraged borrowers of business strategy, industry sector, the business owner’s prior experience, and preexisting banking relationships (Freel et al., 2012). Findings showed that entrepreneurial and firm strategy factors are the primary differentiators between discouraged and rejected small business borrowers. Most likely to be discouraged were owners of smaller or family-owned businesses and those who had previous entrepreneurial experience, offered knowledge-intensive services, or led limited liability partnerships or corporations (Freel et al., 2012). Freel et al. (2012) conducted an extensive study of small business owners’ need for bank financing specific to their discouragement from applying. The researchers used information from a large-scale survey of small business organizations that measured the attitudes and opinions of owners, including whether they had applied for a loan, received a loan, or felt discouraged from applying for a loan in the last two years. Freel et al.’s findings are directly applicable to the theoretical framework for the proposed research in that the percentage of small business owners with rejected credit applications was half of the rate of discouraged small business owners who had not applied. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Are you referring to later discussions in your study? Should this content be cited? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I’m not sure what this is? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this a citation relevant to the content? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please go through the rest of the content in your Literature Review and make sure it is relevant and organized accordingly as follows: 1) See RR 1.14 B. iii - 1/3 (33%) on the theory select and other theories that were compared and contrasted in the selection (approx. 10-12 pages), 2) See RR 1.14 B. vii - 1/3 (33%) topic – strategies that answer the research question (approx. 10-12 pages) and 3) See RR 1.14B. viii - 1/3 (33%) on other studies that include the selected theory and topic (approx. 10-12 pages). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is an extremely long paragraph. Please consider breaking it down into several paragraphs.

One component of Cole and Sokolyk’s (2016) study on small business owners who need and receive credit was the theory of discouraged borrowers. The four business groups studied were those without a need for financing, those with a need but who feel discouraged from borrowing, those with a need who apply and are approved, and those with a need who apply and do not receive the funds. Specific to the second category of borrowers, the researchers identified four primary components of discouragement: the smaller size of the business, the profitability of the business, the age of the owner, and any access to additional sources of financing (Cole & Sokolyk, 2016). Findings showed that between 21% and 55% of business owners who had felt discouraged from applying for credit would have received approval. Thus, similar to Freel et al. (2012), Cole and Sokolyk found the likelihood of discouraged borrowers to have received financing to be significantly higher than the likelihood of denial.

Some researchers have focused specifically on small business owners’ characteristics as the chief determinant of borrower discouragement. Singh (2014) studied discouraged borrowers with a focus on gender differences, among other factors. General findings showed that business owners in the goods sector had a greater need for external financing than did those in the retail and wholesale sectors. Besides, primarily female-owned businesses had less need for outside funding. Singh also identified a parallel between reduced borrower discouragement and both relationship banking and 50-50 male-female business ownership. Consequently, Jude and Adamou (2018) suggested that the behaviors of small business owners had the greatest influence on their decision to apply for bank loans and working capital lines of credit. Also, to control aversion and overconfidence, the researchers found discouragement to heavily influence whether or not a business owner would apply for bank financing. On the other hand, Bhusal and Wang (2019) attributed borrower discouragement to three determinants: the perceived cost of financing, the small business owner’s history with financing, and the would-be applicant’s fear of facing prejudice. Most ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) opt for asset financing when discouraged by financing costs; however, they prefer less asset financing in case of prejudice and discrimination. As a result, the determinants of borrower discouragement plays a critical role in obtaining working capital for small businesses.

Alternative theories to discouraged borrowers can also be used to explain various challenges that small and medium enterprises face when applying for working capital. The theory of discouraged borrowers (Kon & Storey, 2003) was the most applicable to the proposed study, with other concepts only peripherally related. The alternative theories for the theory of discouraged borrowers were the credit theory of money and the theory of financial management. These theories are crucial to the study because they provide alternative perspectives. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Approximately 10-12 page need to be written on other theories that were considered, and then they need to be compared and contrasted to the theory that was selected. Where are these alternative theories to address RR 1.14 B. iii?

Credit theory of money. The earliest published credit theory was Innes’s (1914) credit theory of money. Innes’s assertion was that money was the only capital that mattered, which directly applies to small businesses needing a working capital line of credit. Innes identified a sub theory to explain a business owner’s satisfaction with the lending process and subsequent ability to repay the loan; however, the author did not address factors affecting business owners’ success in achieving loans. Because Innes’s credit theory of money pertained only to the lending and repayment of business loans and not the strategies used to obtain the loan, it was inappropriate for this study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This looks better and addresses RR 1.14B iii. The theory that you selected and other theories that you compare and contract are the majority of your Literature Review. This can be up to two thirds (20-24 pages) of your Literature Review. I only see 1 page or two other theories?

Theory of financial management. Ang (1991, 1992) proposed a theory peripherally related to the focus of this study. Applied to small businesses, the theory of financial management (Ang, 1991) centered on business failures due to a lack of financing options. Ang (1991) wavered in theoretical focus, first introducing the loosely termed theory of modern corporate finance, which applied to businesses of any size. Ultimately, Ang (1991, 1992) conceded that identifying a single theory specific to small businesses’ capital structure was not possible. Ang (1992) explored the difficulty faced by small business owners in securing funding for continued operation. After asserting that no single theory of finance fully addressed the unique needs of small businesses, Ang (1992) differentiated between large and small businesses, finding the latter’s success aligned closely with the business owner’s reputation and the relationships with lenders. The theory of financial management related to restricted financing options and organizational failure for businesses of any size. The theory does not apply specifically to small business owners and the strategies used to obtain financing for continued operation, making it inappropriate for this study.

Small businesses—defined as companies with fewer than 500 employees (SBA, 2018b)—are essential to the U.S. economy (Klimczak et al., 2017). In 2013, 28 million small businesses accounted for over 99.9% of all businesses in the United States (SBA, 2018b). Small businesses have a positive effect on the gross domestic product (Klimczak et al., 2017), driving the economies of both developed and underdeveloped countries (Karadag, 2015) (Link: https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/Maryland.pdf).

In the United States, many small business leaders struggle to sustain their business for longer than five years (SBA, 2018a). In 2013, 406,353 start-up businesses appeared and 400,687 others dissolved, showing a narrower gap between the openings and closings of prior years (SBA, 2018b). Businesses fail for many reasons, among them an inability to access capital and manage finances (Lee, 2016). A lack of access to financing and mismanagement of working capital due to poor financial literacy could result in business failure (Karadag, 2015; Lussier & Corman, 2015). As a result, sustainability if a major issue affecting small businesses in the United States.

Small business sustainabilit y. Business leaders heading operations of any size must have strategies in place to keep operations sustainable. Relevant to the focus of this study, one key to sustainability is to develop ways to acquire financing for business growth and development (Eggers & Lin, 2015; Leroy et al., 2015). The relationship between management and business partners is a key component of guaranteeing a favorable business return (Fang, Xiaoling, Minue, & Palmatier, 2015). Other means of promoting business continuity include networking (Song, 2015), relationship-building (Fang et al., 2015), cost minimization (Banker, Mashruwala, & as a Tripathy, 2014), and differentiation (Mathooko & Ogutu, 2015). Building positive relationships with the right individuals and making the correct business decisions often leads to ongoing business sustainability and strategies for leaders to obtain a working capital line of credit and ensure business continuity (Bauman, 2015). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: How is this content relevant to rubric requirements?

Many small business leaders attribute business failures to external factors, despite contradictory evidence that internal management capabilities and approaches have as much, or more to do with business sustainability (Eggers & Lin, 2015). Findings relevant to business owners from a study of existing data on small business owners in the United States and China, Eggers, and Lin (2015) identified one sustainability strategy to be exploring avenues to acquire financing for business continuity and growth. Pollack, Coy, Green, and Davis (2015) found that small business owners who assembled a network of stakeholders, such as loan officers at traditional banks, were better prepared for positive sustainability outcomes. The findings of both studies are particularly applicable to mystudy, which will be an exploration of how small business owners acquire working capital lines of credit for business continuity. Small business owners who have strategies in place for their organizations improve their sustainability (Pollack et al., 2015).

Small business credit. Small business owners rely on external credit for sustainability. In 2016, 400 small business owners from 12 cities, including Richmond, Maryland, took part in the Small Business Credit interviews administered by the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of New York (2017). More than 50% of small business leaders reported encountering problems in securing credit for business expansion (FRB of New York, 2017). Challenges encountered by business leaders included maintaining sufficient working capital for paying operating expenses, too much debt, and not enough inventory without the aid of a small business line of credit (FRB of New York, 2017). As such, small business owners who have a strategy to obtain a line of credit for working capital may be able to sustain their business.

A past working relationship may be a component of a successful application for financing. In general, small business owners pursued financing through lenders with whom they had a good relationship or from whom they expected to receive approval (Neagu, 2016). The applicants generally looked for loans from banks, credit unions, community development financial institutions, and online lenders (Neagu, 2016), finding the greatest satisfaction with small banks (FRB of New York, 2017).

Means of bank financing are integral to understand as relevant to this study; however, not all small businesses seek financing. Business leaders give many reasons for not seeking funds, including already having enough financing, being debt-averse, and having a low credit score, the latter of which is a strong determinant of obtaining financing (FRB of New York, 2017). About 85% of business leaders relied on the credit score of the owner in securing funding. Leaders of businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenue tend to have lower credit scores (FRB of New York, 2017). Business leaders who failed to acquire financing gave reasons such as high-interest rate, unfavorable repayment plan, lengthy approval wait time, complicated process, and lack of transparency, with the latter the primary concern (FRB of New York, 2017). Participants also attributed credit denial to weak business performance, insufficient collateral, too much existing debt, and inadequate credit history. Similarly, the complicated process of obtaining loans and the fear of being unable to repay the funds makes small business leaders not to seek external financing (Bartik et al., 2020).

Small businesses and government roles. The government also plays an essential role in lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Access to financing is essential to small business sustainability (Moscalu, 2015). External funding, including government loans, is necessary for the sustainability and growth of small businesses, which contribute significantly to economic development (Neagu, 2016). Financing availability is essential for the viability and survival of small businesses (Lussier & Corman, 2015). Small businesses need access to funds to compete in the international market (Osano & Languitone, 2016). However, banks are less likely to lend to small businesses because of high risk and insufficient collateral (Kamguia Wabo, 2015; Kozarevic, Jukan, & Softic, 2015). As such, the federal government, through the U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) has stepped in to help small businesses. The government provides loans to small businesses through various programs, including paycheck protection program (PPP), EIDL, SBA debt relief for businesses affected by COVID-19 pandemic and SBA express bridge loans (Link: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: How is this relevant to previous requirements I indicated? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please go through all of the content in your study and make sure that it is relevant and aligns to your research question.

Government involvement can also mitigate financing constraints. To explore the financing challenges unique to small businesses, Brian and Shingirayi (2014) collected data from one-on-one interviews and questionnaire responses. Findings showed that small businesses received insufficient funding from financial institutions, which hampered organizational growth (Brian & Shingirayi, 2014). As a result, Brian and Shingirayi recommended the creation of a government-generated loan guarantee system and a formalized application process for small business owners to obtain funding. Besides, the authors noted steps small business owners should take to improve their chances of securing funding from the government, including maintaining accurate accounting records and networking with other entrepreneurs (Brian & Shingirayi, 2014). Findings are relevant to the current study, as government funding is one way for U.S. small business owners to secure working lines of capital for business continuity.

Strategies in acquiring a line of credit . The strategies small businesses use in acquiring a working capital line of credit is a common topic of recent scholarly inquiry (e.g., Godwin-Opara, 2016; Owusu, 2017; Smith, 2018; Wani, 2018; Wilkinson, 2017). In a multiple case study using resource-based theory as the conceptual framework, Godwin-Opara (2016) interviewed five machine shop owners in Kansas to determine how they sustained business operations for two years or more. Among the four themes identified was the need for accessible external financing. Business owners shared the importance of securing bank loans and lines of credit, which some participants noted to be easier processes with better repayment terms (Godwin-Opara, 2016). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: It appears this content is applicable to #2 below (highlights)? Please go through the rest of the content in your Literature Review and make sure it is relevant and organized accordingly as follows: 1) See RR 1.14 B. iii - 1/3 (33%) on the theory select and other theories that were compared and contrasted in the selection (approx. 10-12 pages), 2) See RR 1.14 B. vii - 1/3 (33%) topic – strategies that answer the research question (approx. 10-12 pages) and 3) See RR 1.14B. viii - 1/3 (33%) on other studies that include the selected theory and topic (approx. 10-12 pages). PLEASE GO THROUGH THE REST OF YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW AND WORK WITH THE WRITING CENTER. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please work with the writing center. Some students take the Literature Review workshop numerous times to assist with this subsection. I would highly recommend these workshops: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=857763&p=6305021 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why are there so many citations? Please make sure this content is accurate. I would be surprised if authors stated this about scholarly inquiry? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Again, it appears that content intertwines other studies that entail the topic and theory. If you are covering the topic ONLY, this content should be about STRATEGIES that answer the research question. Please work with an editor on the organization of your content, as previously recommended. Please check your entire study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this peer reviewed? Please check the rest of your literature review and use peer reviewed resources. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please refer to the MEAL plan. Please check the rest of your literature review.

Closely tied to the proposed research were studies by Nguyen (2017) and Smith (2018), each of whom explored strategies small business owners used to secure financing for ongoing business operations. In a study highly relevant to this one, Nguyen interviewed six small business owners in Maryland to determine what strategies they used to overcome the challenges of sustaining business continuity beyond five years. Participants shared strategies such as creating long-term business plans, investing in their employees, remaining out of debt, adapting their approach depending on the market, and carefully accounting for expenditures and cash reserves (Nguyen, 2017). In a similar inquiry, Smith used pecking order theory to explore strategies used by small business owners in the Southeast United States in securing working capital lines of credit for continued operations. From a review of company documents and data analysis from semi-structured interviews with six business owners, Smith identified six themes regarding successful strategies the participants used. These include barriers in sourcing working capital and strategic and operational planning strategies (Smith, 2018). The participants were more likely to have used personal funds, customer revenue streams, bootstrapping, and personal credit. As a result, small business owners apply different strategies besides external financing to acquire a line of credit. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Dissertations are NOT peer reviewed. Please use peer reviewed sources. Please check the rest of your literature review.

Identifying the strategies used to secure financing could be less important than defining the characteristics of business leaders who succeed in obtaining working capital lines of credit. Themes from a multiple case study by Wani (2018) were more specific to the owners’ traits than their strategic actions. Wani noted the importance of strong entrepreneurial management and financial planning skills in achieving business continuity, identifying the absence of either skill as a challenge to continuity. Other strengths required of business owners to secure funds for the continued operation were developing a capital budgeting strategy, preparing and adapting to change, and assuming responsibility for creating and maintaining accurate and transparent financial records (Wilkinson, 2017).

Small business owners acquire their working capital from different sources. Scholars have looked beyond bank financing to uncover other means for small business owners to sustain operations beyond five years (Brooks, 2019). For instance, three small business owners participated in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews to discuss strategies they used for business continuity (Brooks, 2019). The study indicates that small business owners raise their capital from sufficient start-up funding, access to private lenders, and business owners’ motivation and awareness (Brooks, 2019). Therefore, small businesses have various sources of capital besides bank financing.

The least-researched area of corporate financing is small business financing (Kumar & Rao, 2015). Four major gaps related to the inability of a company to obtain sufficient financing are demand, supply, knowledge (personal characteristics of the owner), and benevolence (reluctance of the financial institution to lend to small businesses; Kumar & Rao, 2015). Following is a discussion of available funding programs, means of obtaining financing, and factors affecting the decision to extend credit.

Funding programs in Maryland. Many commerce incentive loans are available to small businesses in Maryland. The 500,000 small businesses in Maryland constitute 97% of total businesses in the state and employ more than one million people (SBA, 2018b). In 2014, lending institutions issued over $1 billion in loans to small businesses (SBA, 2018b). According to the SBA (2018b), 4,074 new small businesses started in 2014, and 3,730 businesses exited. The Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (Maryland Department of Commerce, n.d.) helps small businesses that do not meet the established loan criteria of financial institutions through a range of funding programs, as shown in Table 1.

The objectives of commerce incentive funds are to help business leaders create jobs, support the local economy, help disadvantaged small businesses, and promote start-up businesses (Maryland Department of Commerce, 2016). Maryland’s incentive-based loans exceeded $90 million in 2016 (Maryland Department of Commerce, 2016). Other means of financial assistance to small businesses in the state are tax credits and grants (Maryland Department of Commerce, 2016). As evidenced by Table 1, small businesses in Maryland have a range of options to secure financing for business continuity; however, not all business owners are aware of these options. With an in-depth exploration of financing sources from governments, banks, and lending programs, this literature review shows that funding may be more accessible than previously believed. This qualitative exploration of the experiences of small business leaders in obtaining working lines of capital may indicate the use of such programs.

The business strategy to secure a loan begins with a business plan. Many researchers agree that the lack of coherent strategy is the main impediment for small business leaders to access working capital for business growth and sustainability (Kariuki, 2015; Sandada, Pooe, & Dhurup, 2014). One component of a sound business strategy is a formalized business constraint plan, which includes setting goals, defining short- and long-term business objectives, identifying a business process, and utilizing human capital to achieve objectives (Brinckmann & Kim, 2015). In addition, a sound business plan includes strategies to mitigate the risk of capital constraints (Freeland & Keister, 2016). By carefully assessing the company’s current state and future outlook, small business leaders can improve their odds in acquiring the desired funds. These involve evaluating the company’s internal environment using SWOT analysis and analyzing competitive business environment by applying Porter’s five forces.

Establishing trust with a lending institution often minimizes the collateral requirements in securing a working capital line of credit (Hirsch, Laschewski, & Schoen, 2016). Business leaders may want to have an independent auditor verify the company's financial reports to establish credibility and demonstrate accountability and stewardship (Hayes, Wallage, & Gortemaker, 2014). Strongly recommended is the use of a professional accounting firm, as auditors must adhere to industry codes of conduct by assessing for and revealing irregularity or inconsistency in the financial reports (Hayes et al., 2014). Loan officers ease the loan acquisition process when small business leaders present financial documents verified by professional auditors (Sette & Gobbi, 2015). The proven track record of successful banking over time builds both trust and relationships with financial institutions (Sette & Gobbi, 2015), which will help small business owners obtain loans to finance their businesses.

Perhaps the most important factor driving the success of a small business in obtaining a working capital line of credit for business continuity is the relationship between a business leader and banker. Using a qualitative case study approach with one-on-one semi-structured interviews and a review of archival data was appropriate to measure the success of four New York State small restaurant owners in securing capital funding (Brown, 2016). Similar to the proposed study, Brown (2016) explored financing strategies to sustain small businesses for five years or longer. Findings indicated that business owners who maintained a good relationship with financial institutions over an extended period were more successful in acquiring loans (Brown, 2016). Among the best practices for small businesses in obtaining credit were maintaining a bank balance above the minimum requirement, having few overdrafts, and keeping a favorable business transaction history.

Various factors contribute to a small business being able to procure funding. Hirsch et al. (2016) examined the relationship between 103 German banks and small business borrowers to determine the likelihood of financing. The researchers administered questionnaires to bank credit risk officers and relationship managers to assess creditability, trust, and lending outcomes. Measurement of dimensions of trust produced findings of a negative association between habituation and interest rate, and a positive association between inter-organizational trust and collateral (Hirsch et al., 2016). Following a quantitative analysis of the data with heteroscedasticity-robust Huber-White-Sandwich estimators of variance, Hirsch et al. identified inter-organizational trust as the greatest influence on the amount of credit banks would extend, as bank representatives were already familiar with the borrowing history of the business. In addition, the intentional trust of the bank in the business was more important than the relationship between individual bankers and small business owners with regard to positive lending outcomes (Hirsch et al., 2016). The importance of bank–company relationships compared to banker–owner relationships may emerge as a contributing factor to the ability of small business leaders to secure working capital lines of credit for business continuity.

The timing of the loan application also plays an important role in obtaining a line of credit. The economy fluctuates between growth and recession periods (Brown, 2016) during which the gross domestic product, interest rates, consumer spending habits, and unemployment rate vary (Camacho, Dal Bianco, & Martinez-Martin, 2015). Small businesses were more successful in acquiring loans during economic growth periods than in recessions when obtaining small loans meant having working capital to improve financial situations (Brown, 2016). Findings showed the two participants who sought financing during periods of economic growth were successful, whereas the two who applied for credit during recessions or downward cycles did not receive funding (Brown, 2016). This knowledge may prove relevant in the present study, as the economic conditions may have been favorable at the time participating in small business leaders were successful in obtaining financing, thus contributing to credit approval.

Because U.S. small businesses provide the most opportunities for private employment and new jobs (Frid, Wyman, & Coffey, 2016), access to credit is critical for their sustainability and growth (Neagu, 2016). With $585 billion in outstanding loans to U.S. small businesses in 2013 (SBA, 2018b), traditional banking systems consider multiple factors in making financing decisions. The symmetry of information shared between loan providers and small business owners during the loan process is an important component of financial institutions providing a line of credit to small businesses (Ata et al., 2015). Such information factors into a credit rationing mechanism, in which the credit history, morality, and liquidity of the small business or small business owner contribute to lending decisions (Ata et al., 2015).

Information symmetry in the loan application process is an important part of loan approval. Moro et al. (2015) examined over 800 loan applications of small businesses in Italy to assess the relationships between the information provided to loan managers and the decision to provide short-term credit. Small business–provided information ratings were broken into four groups: quantity of information, quality of the information provided by the applicant, timeliness of the applicant providing needed documentation, and completeness of the documentation. Loan managers completed a survey in which they rated the strength of loan applications for all participating small businesses. Additional data came from the financial reports of banks and the quarterly Bank Lending Interview conducted by the Italian Central Bank. Moro et al. found that information symmetry was positively related to loan access from financial institutions; in contrast, each decline in asymmetry increased the amount of short-term credit by 12%.

Information asymmetry limits financial institutions in providing external financing. When borrowers have better information about their financial state than lenders, the cost of a transaction tends to go up (Njeru et al., 2013). Should bank leaders decide to issue the loan, they will do so at a higher interest rate because of the information asymmetry risk (Caporale & Gil-Alana, 2016); therefore, small business owners need to have a good credit history to secure loans when they need working capital. Small businesses are more vulnerable to market conditions than are large corporations (Sahin et al., 2011). Financial institution lenders like to see the credit history of the small business, characteristics of projects funded by the loan, business plan, bank account statements, balance sheets, credit scores, and collateral to minimize the risk of default (Yan et al., 2015).

Unlike larger, publicly held organizations, small businesses have no requirement to produce audited financial statements (Allee & Yohn, 2009). Providing financial statements when applying for a loan or line of credit is one component of the information symmetry lenders like to see when considering loan requests (Yan et al., 2015). At a minimum, lenders are interested in the balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement of a small business, especially when prepared by a certified auditor (Allee & Yohn, 2009). Providing these formal statements can lead to more credit access, lower interest rates, or both (Allee & Yohn, 2009). In addition, a small business leader who hires an auditor to prepare financial statements has a better awareness of the business and the ability to identify future cash flow or debt problems (Vander Bauwhede, De Meyere, & Van Cauwenberge, 2015). With knowledge about audited financial statements, small business owners are better able to represent their companies when seeking to obtain a working line of credit for business continuity (Vander Bauwhede et al., 2015). Although not directly explored by the research question, I am interested to see what participants in this study have to say about the inclusion of financial statements in their credit applications. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please integrate the MEAL plan throughout your study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is NOT relevant to your Literature Review and NOT a rubric requirement in this study. Please eliminate this content. The AVERAGE length of the Literature Review is 30-40 pages long. This includes an exhaustive review of literature that covers rubric pertain to rubric requirements ONLY. This will be needed in order to complete Section 3 – Findings.

In the second quarter of 2020, a new economic threat presented in the form of a global pandemic. Although the long-term impact of the COVID-19 epidemic is unknown, early responses are alternately encouraging and disheartening (DePietro, 2020; Dunkelberg, 2020). Positive impacts have included low-interest or interest-free lines of credit, higher lines of credit, waived late fees, and deferred payments (DePietro, 2020). The U.S. government introduced financial assistance in the form of small business loans to pay employees’ salaries while businesses are in operational, with many of the loans forgivable. However, the $370 billion Paycheck Protection Program ran out of funds after just 14 days (Ransom, 2020, para. 2), with only 20% of applications processed (Dunkelberg, 2020, para. 4). Congress approved the second round of small business loans of $310 billion, 40% of which was still available two weeks after launch (Green, 2020, para. 1). The pandemic’s impact on small businesses in 2020 and beyond is unknown (Kukura, 2020). Crucially, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was passed in June, allowing small scale businesses to access and use PPP loans.

Over half of all U.S. companies meet the definition of small businesses, employing fewer than 500 employees (SBA, 2018a); however, nearly half of those small businesses fail to operate beyond five years (Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 2016). The specific business problem is that some small business owners lack strategies to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore strategies that small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. Kon and Storey’s (2003) theory of discouraged borrowers serves as the guiding conceptual framework to explore the perceptions of small business owners seeking to apply for working capital lines of credit to ensure business continuity. The literature review in Section 1 pertained to the research topic of small businesses, including opportunities and challenges, types of credit available to small business leaders, information symmetry in the lending process, and credit strategies. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR1.15 a. will need to be rewritten upon revisions made to content in the Literature Review. PLEASE review the RR carefully, including RED footnotes in the Research Handbook. The key points are relevant to the Literature Review. Why are you introducing the purpose and discussing the problem statement?

Section 2 includes a detailed analysis of the research method and design, as well as support for why the selected method and design are suitable for the study. Also provided are participant selection, the role of the researcher, and the ethical approach, as well as a discussion of the data collection techniques, data organization, and data analysis approaches. Concluding Section 2 is a discussion of the research reliability and validity. Section 3 will include a presentation of findings, with an assessment against those of previous scholarly studies. I will also discuss how my findings apply to professional practice, the implications of social change, and recommendations for action and further research. Section 3 will conclude with a reflection of my experiences in the DBA program. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 1.15 b. not met. Is this accurate? It should be the opposite (correlation).

Section 2 includes the research method and design, justification of the number of participants, the role of the researcher, and adherence to ethical standards. Section 2 also contains information regarding the data collection, data organization, and data analysis approaches. A discussion regarding actions taken to ensure research reliability and validity will conclude this section.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore strategies that small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. From an overarching population of small business owners in Maryland, I will interview five small business owners who achieved success in obtaining a working capital line of credit for business continuity. The implication for social change is that the findings of this proposed study might help small business owners to access a working capital line of credit to remain sustainable and grow beyond five years of operation. The continued business operation will lead to continued employment opportunities, which could increase the standard of living and well-being of citizens in local communities.

As a 20-year career credit union banker in the department of underwriting small business loans, I have personal experience and expertise on the topic and the research area. To reduce the likelihood of bias, I will continually strive to remain objective, not letting my professional position conflict with my role as a researcher, despite my relationships with banking and business associations and affiliations. I will remain open to all uncovered evidence and mitigate personal bias.

Personal bias is a clear threat to research credibility. Henriques (2014) advocated for the researcher to recognize personal bias and subjectivity to avoid ignoring perceptions or preconceived notions of the problem. Mitigating bias and subjectivity involves the use of bracketing, or epoché, as part of the data collection, interpretation, and presentation process (Moustakas, 1994). As a transcendental approach, the Greek word epoché means to refrain from or set aside preconceptions or judgments of experience, knowledge, beliefs, or meanings, thus ensuring unbiased results (Onwuegbuzie, Leech, Slate, & Sharma, 2012). With my extensive understanding of the phenomenon under study, I must suspend any prejudgment and remain objective to achieve trustworthy findings. For instance, I will ask an external expert to review research questions, codes, analysis, and findings to ensure that they are credible and free of personal bias. Consequently, the participants in the study need to recruited voluntarily to avoid cases of coercion which often leads to biasness.

Researchers must also adhere to specified ethical guidelines, such as those outlined in the Belmont Report (National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979) and Ethics in Research with Human Participants (Sales & Folkman, 2000) published by the American Psychological Association. As the researcher in this study, I must maintain respect, beneficence, and justice for all participants. In addition, I must keep separating my professional role as a small business lending consultant and researcher role of soliciting small business owners.

Semi-structured interviews are an appropriate means of qualitative data collection (Baškarada, 2014; Cronin, 2014; Stake, 1995). Due to the open-ended nature of the interview questions, I will have the opportunity to ask follow-up inquiries, as needed, to uncover all information needed to answer the research question. The I will use of an interview protocol will guide each interview, to ensureieng that I am consistently when asking the same interview questions tof each participant. This will mitigate bias. in the same order. An interview protocol is a uniform way for a researcher to gather comparable data from participants (Devotta et al., 2016). During face-face data collection, a researcher can take notes to document participants’ nonverbal behaviors and make observations not captured by audio recording (Chongo, Chase, Lavoie, Harder, & Mignone, 2018). I will do my best to be neutral and watch my body language to avoid influencing the respondent. Furthermore, I will use bracketing to mitigate my assumptions, preventing them from infringing upon data collection, analysis, and interpretation. For example, I will ask a research expert to review interview questions before administering them. I will transcribe all recordings after each interview, subsequently importing files into NVivo software to assist with data manipulation and interpretation. According to Walden University protocol, I will store all digital data and papers for five years after this study before destroying them. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is one word. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please address the rubric requirement ONLY. This content is irrelevant to content required in the rubric requirements for this subsection.

To be eligible for the proposed study, individuals must be small business owners of a manufacturing and small wholesale business located in Maryland that employs 500 or fewer employees and has been in operation longer than five years. In addition, participants must have been successful in obtaining a working line of credit for business continuity. Because of my professional experience as a credit union banker underwriting loans for SMEs, I have contacts with small business owners whom I can ask to take part in my study. The first step in establishing a working relationship with prospective participants, whereby I will send emails requesting them to participate in the study. Then I will contact all participants who show an interest by telephone. I will discuss the general purpose of the study, including the participation process and implications for business practice. I will develop a rapport with participants by first thanking them for agreeing to participate in the study and showing interest in them. I will also treat them with respect and offering to answer any questions they may have. Upon the business leaders’ confirmation of interest, I will schedule a brief preliminary meeting at a convenient time via the videoconferencing platform (Skype). I will supply qualified participants with an informed consent form (see Appendix A) through email. At this point, we will schedule a mutually convenient date and time for the virtual semi-structured interview. I anticipate interviews will take place on Skype, telephone or email where participants will fill interview questions and return through the same channel. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.3a. is still NOT met. Please read paragraph two on page 52 in the Research Handbook under EXPLANATION regarding this requirement, In my last review I indicated EXACTLY what this rubric requirement MUST state. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.3 b. not met – the rubric requirement states to discuss how you will gain access to participants. This requires a permission letter (please add this appendix to your appendices) from the owners where you plan to do your case studies at, if these are NOT your participants. Please be transparent if the owners are the participants. I do not know what partake means. Does this mean you plan to get permission to do your study at their business or are they the actual participants in your study? There is a difference, so please provide clarification. Upon receiving permission from the business owners, they should give you contact information of WHO is eligible to participate in your study unless your participants are the owners. PLEASE CLARIFY. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.3 c. still needs work. What ae some strategies to build relationships with participants? Move this content, so that it is in logistical order. Per the rubric requirement (b) first you gain access to participants and then you (c) build relationships with them. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This email INVITE must be indicated as an appendix. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Map to the rubric. This content is not relevant to the rubric requirements in this subsection. Your chair should be giving you FEEDBACK as it pertains to rubric requirements. In addition, I would highly recommend that you attend an intensive, so you learn what is required in each RUBRIC REQUIREMENT ONLY. In addition, there are explanations to rubric requirement in the Research Handbook. Please go through the rest of your subsections to ensure rubric requirement are met. There is NO need to add addition content that is NOT required.

I will continue to call qualified individuals until I obtain five small business owners meeting the appropriate criteria who are willing to participate in my study. When we meet for the interview, I will provide an informed consent form (see Appendix A) to explain the research, present the risks and benefits of being in the study, and outline the expectations and requirements of participants. I will also answer the question that participants may have regarding informed consent. Included in the consent form is a reminder that participation is voluntary, and individuals are free to leave the study at any time without consequence. By signing the informed consent form, the small business owners agree to the terms of participation and give their approval for audio recording the interviews.

Research Method

The research method and design act as blueprints connecting the elements of research to the process of exploring questions and drawing conclusions (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). Qualitative researchers seek to describe the experiences of participants as accurately as possible (Baškarada, 2014; Sandelowski, 1997; Yin, 2017) rather than using numbers to describe the phenomena of interest (Landrum & Garza, 2015; White, Oelke, & Friesen, 2012). Qualitative methodology enables a researcher to understand a particular occurrence from the perspective of those who have experienced it (Baškarada, 2014; Sandelowski, 1997; Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013; Yin, 2017). Exhaustive qualitative research involves exploring the experiences of participants descriptively, through self-awareness or interactive interpretation, to frame a need for change or reform (Walker & Taylor, 2014). The basis of qualitative research is comparing and contrasting views under different realities (Bahari, 2012). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Under this subsection address the RESEARCH METHOD ONLY. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.4a is not met. Please address the RUBRIC REQUIEMENT ONLY. This can be done in one sentence.

I considered and rejected the quantitative and mixed-methods approaches for this study. Researchers use the quantitative method to produce generalizable findings and to test the relationships and differences between variables and constructs (Landrum & Garza, 2015; Parry, Mumford, Bower, & Watts, 2014; Yin, 2017). Quantitative research involves analyzing identified variables to determine a correlation, significance, or relationship, and then testing theories using hypotheses (Antonakis, Bastardoz, Liu, & Schriesheim, 2014; Westerman, 2014). Quantitative researchers focus on analyzing statistical data and may fail to furnish information on the experiences, mindsets, or strategies of participants (Thamhain, 2014). The quantitative method did not align with the purpose of this study; therefore, I rejected the quantitative approach. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.4 b. not met – this does NOT state why this method does Not align accordingly. Please synthesize your content to address the rubric requirements.

A mixed-methods approach enables integrating qualitative and quantitative data in a single study (Petticrew et al., 2013). Researchers using mixed-methods gather distinct contributions from both the qualitative and quantitative research methodologies (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Fetters & Molina-Azorin, 2017; McCusker & Gunaydin, 2015). Because quantitative methodology does not align with the purpose of this study, mixed-methods is also inappropriate. A qualitative approach is the most appropriate to explore in-depth the strategies small business owners use to obtain a line of credit to sustain their business beyond five years. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this duplicate content?

Nature of the Study Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This subsection belongs in Section 1.

A case study design will be used to investigate and obtain information about the issue of acquiring a working capital by small businesses in Maryland. The nature of this study involves several methodologies and sources that are used to investigate the research question. The benefit of using the case study in this research is that it provides a detailed description and contextual analysis of the case.

A case study design enables a researcher to frame one or more cases in real-life settings to explore a phenomenon holistically and deeply (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2017). The justification for utilizing a case study instead of another design is that the case study allows the researcher to answer the central research question from the perspectives of individuals who have direct experience with the concept of study (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2017). A qualitative case study is an optimal approach because I will be exploring a phenomenon in a real-life context.

Other qualitative research designs include ethnography, phenomenology, and narrative (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014; Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012). Ethnographic researchers explore and analyze a problem contextualized through observations and interviews within a historical and cultural setting (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Vesa & Vaara, 2014) to understand the values, language, and beliefs of a culture, group, or individual (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Robinson, 2014). Phenomenology entails participants describing personal lived experiences, perspectives, or knowledge of a problem concretely without abstract generalization (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Walker, 2012). In essence, phenomenology enables a researcher to explore the essence of participant experience via interview and observation (Kafle, 2013; Marshall & Rossman, 2016). Finally, narrative researchers collect data through observation, documentation, questionnaires, interviews, photos, or artifacts to contextualize participant experience (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Petty, Thomson, & Stew, 2012). The narrative design creates an opportunity for the researcher to delve deeply into the life experiences of participants and contextualize understanding of the problem under study (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Venkatesh, Brown, & Bala, 2013). I will not be exploring cultures, seeking concrete descriptions of lived experiences, or contextualizing participant experiences. Accordingly, I did not select anrejected ethnography, phenomenology, orand narrative designs in favor of the case study approach Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.5 a. is not fully met. This needs to be clarified. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Missing punctuation. RR 2.5 c is missing?

Participants in this case study will be five small business owners in Maryland who obtained a working capital line of credit for business continuity beyond five years of operation. The two key considerations that guide sampling in qualitative research are appropriateness and adequacy to answer the research questions (O’Reilly & Parker, 2013). Purposive sampling is a nonprobability method allowing researchers to solicit participants based on their knowledge of and experience with the phenomenon under study (Barratt, Ferris, & Lenton, 2015; Petty et al., 2012; Yin, 2017). A purposive sampling approach is the best way to explore the strategies used by small business owners to obtain a working capital line of credit within a changing business environment. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please just address the rubric requirements. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please synthesize this content, so it is applicable to your study as it applies to 2.7 a. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.7 a. bullet one is still not fully addressed Please synthesize paraphrased content.

In qualitative inquiry, the aim is not to acquire a fixed number of participants, but rather to gather enough depth of information as a way to fully describe the phenomenon (O’Reilly & Parker, 2013). Data saturation is a systematic guideline to ensure researchers have collected all data necessary to understand the meaning participants give to their statements. Data saturation is evidence of rigor in qualitative research (Constantinou, Georgiou, & Perdikogianni, 2017). Saturation occurs when continued data collection generates no new information (O’Reilly & Parker, 2013). I will be able to confirm data saturation as I code and thematically analyze data from participant interviews and document reviews, when finding no new information emergesing as I approach the end of data analysis. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please synthesize this content to complete RR 2.7 b. How is this applicable to your study? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content is inaccurate. Please what data saturation includes in a CASE STUDY with your chair. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: 2.7 a bullet three still needs work. Provide clarification on HOW you will ensure data saturation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR will be met if content is synthesized.

To be eligible for this study, individuals must meet the following selection criteria: (a) own a small manufacturing and wholesale business in Maryland, (b) employ 500 or fewer people, (c) have been in business at least five years, and (d) have been successful in obtaining a working line of credit for business continuity. After our initial telephone call to discuss the study and gauge participants’ interest, I will arrange a brief, face-to-face pre-interview to ensure individuals are appropriately qualified for this study. After this meeting, I will supply qualified participants with an informed consent form (see Appendix A), which we will review together. At this point, we will schedule a mutually convenient date, time, and location to meet for the semi-structured interview. I anticipate that interviews will take place either at the participants’ place of business or in a private conference room at a local library.

Informed consent is a necessary component of ethical research to ensure participants are fully aware of what the research entails, their rights to confidentiality and fair treatment, and the fact that participation is voluntary, allowing them to withdraw at any time. Prior to the beginning of each interview, I will again review the informed consent form (see Appendix A) with participants, answering any questions they may have. In addition to giving their signed permission to conduct the interview, participants will also be authorizing the audio recording of the interview. Should they choose to withdraw their participation, individuals may send an e-mail to my Walden University address, as listed on the informed consent form. No reason for the withdrawal is necessary. Upon receipt of such notification, I will immediately shred any material related to the withdrawn participant, as well as delete any audio recordings and remove any collected or analyzed data from consideration. There are no incentives for participating in the study nor penalties for withdrawing.

I will adhere to the highest values in academic research regarding the ethical protection of participants. These values include displaying respect, following through on commitments, and strictly complying with protocol and consents to ensure no stress or harm to participants (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I will adhere to the principles of beneficence, justice, and respect for persons as dictated by the Belmont Report (National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979). Respect for participants is providing transparency in the research process and objectives. During data collection, researchers should avoid relationships that could impair professional performance or harm participants, discuss potential risks and benefits of the research with participants, and share contacts to reach out with further questions (Ellis-Barton, 2016; Mondragon Barrios, Guarneros Garcia, & Jimenez Tapia, 2017). I will maintain the highest ethical standards with particular emphasis on ensuring participants’ protection. Before applying for Walden University Institutional Review Board permission, I will complete the National Institute of Health Protection Human Research Participants course with emphasis on ensuring participants’ protection. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Did you write this, as it pertains to your study? If so, why is it cited? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Map to the rubric. Which RR does this content pertain to? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this duplicate content? Please see the first sentence in this paragraph. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.8 d is “not met’. How do you plan to do this?

The means of archiving data is another ethical consideration. Data archiving is a process of securing, preserving, and storing research data and resources for a future audit, allowing others to verify findings or advance research (Corti, 2012). I will password-protect and store all data—including signed informed consent forms, electronic records, company documents, handwritten notes, and hard copies of transcripts and findings—on a thumb drive or in a folder, which I will retain in a secure, fireproof vault for 5five years. After this time, I will erase and destroy the files. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Map to the rubric. It sounds like this content is about organizing content in files to archive it? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this content relevant to your study? Who would do this? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please check punctuation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What transcripts? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check punctuation.

Before each interview, I will again assure participants that their identities will remain confidential. To further protect the identities of participants I will use alphanumeric codes instead of names on all research data (e.g., P1, P2), including interview recordings, handwritten notes, transcripts, NVivo files, and research write-ups. I will scrub company names and other identifying information from public or participant-provided documents before review and note-taking. To further protect the identities of participants, no names will appear in the final dissertation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.8 h. ‘mot met’ please revise as indicated in order to meet this requirement. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This needs to be moved to after the word codes. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What transcripts? I thought you were doing member checking? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why would you do this? This doesn’t make sense, if you already know the company and not one else will review these documents.

In qualitative studies, a researcher serves as the instrument for data collection (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). Accordingly, my role as the researcher is that of data collection instrument, gathering information to gain a better understanding of the strategies small business owners use to acquire a working capital line of credit. I will follow an interview protocol (see Appendix B) in conducting online semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. The use of an interview protocol ensures the researcher asks the same basic interview questions toof all participants (Yin, 2017); open-ended questions provide an opportunity for follow-up questions or probing. The interview protocol in this study contains dialogue guides and standard queries that will be the same for all participants. To increase the reliability of data collection, I will use Yin’s (2017) protocol framework, which includes an overview, data collection procedures, data collection questions, and a guide for the case study report. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please check your entire proposal. This word must be written as ONE word. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.10 a not fully met. What other data collection methods do you plan to use to collect data? A minimum of TWO are required. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I am not sure what this means? Do you have a citation? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What is this content? Protocol framework? Data collection question? A guide for the case study report?

I will take steps to further enhance the reliability and validity of the semi-structured interviews as the data collection instrument. After transcribing interviews, researchers often use a transcript review to confirm understanding, allowing participants to review transcripts of their interviews to clarify their answers or provide additional information (Harvey, 2015). Member checking, allowing participants to confirm the accuracy of codes, themes, and study findings, is a quality control technique to enhance the accuracy, credibility, and validity of the data collection instrument and research findings (Cope, 2014; Harper & Cole, 2012; Harvey, 2015). I have elected to conduct member checking in lieu of an intrusive transcript review to enhance the reliability and validity of my study. Moreover, I will ensure the accuracy of the transcripts by checking recordings against the completed transcript. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why are you mentioning this if you are not going to do this? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.10 c. and RR 2.10 d needs work. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content is inaccurate. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.10 c – please be transparent. How will these be enhanced with member checking? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: In the previous sentence, you stated that you aren’t going to use transcripts, so this does not make sense.

Semi-structured interviews and document reviews will be the two techniques used for data collection. Face-to-face, one-on-one semi-structured interviews will take place at the participants’ place of business or in a private room at a local library, according to their preference. I will begin each interview with a review of the informed consent form (see Appendix A), which I will have participants sign after asking any questions they may have. Six open-ended questions comprise the interview protocol (see Appendix B), by which I will askensure each participant receives and responds to the same questions. The open-ended nature of inquiries allows me to ask any probing or follow-up questions necessary to obtain sufficient information to answer the research question. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please work with an editor. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Are questions the only thing that comprises of the interview protocol? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Do you mean questions?

I will use conversational language and industry-specific jargon to create a relaxed environment and support follow-up questions. By signing the informed consent form, participants give their permission for me to audio record the interviews. Audio recording and subsequently transcribing interviews verbatim is vastly superior to relying solely on manually documented notes, which may not only be open to interpretation but distract the researcher from paying attention during interview sessions (Oltmann, 2016). Thus, the present study will incorporate audio recording as the best way of ensuring accurate capture of participant responses, supplemented by handwritten nonverbal observations, such as expressions or gestures. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please have your chair explain the difference between transcribing and transcript reviews (verbatim). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please review the resource for accuracy of content. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Do you mean the interviews? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Will you gain any data from business interviews?

Collecting data from semistructured interviews has both advantages and disadvantages. The use of face-to-face semistructured interviews allows researchers to keep an open mind, enabling concepts and theories to emerge from the data through an inductive approach (Bryman & Bell, 2015). In-person interviews provide an advantage in enabling researchers to witness facial expressions and gestures, which may add meaning to the responses (Babbie, 2015; Brayda & Boyce, 2014; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). The flexibility of semistructured interviews allows a researcher to refocus the questions or prompt for more information, as needed, to obtain quality data sufficient to answer the research question (Baškarada, 2014; Oltmann, 2016). In addition, asking open-ended questions gives participants discretion in how to respond (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.11 b. – please synthesize content, as it applies to your study.

A disadvantage of semistructured interviews is the potential to miss unexpected or surprising evidence (Baškarada, 2014). An inductive approach to theorizing and conceptualizing allows participants to answer interview questions less explicitly than they would in more structured research (Bryman & Bell, 2015), A researcher must be aware of the common pitfalls that can threaten an effective interview, including misinterpreting or misunderstanding questions and answers (e.g., due to personal prejudices or convictions), asking leading or loaded questions, interjecting comments that could bias the response, listening only to what is easy to understand, and making assumptions based on prior responses (Baškarada, 2014). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please synthesize. How is this applicable to your study?

Additional data will come from a review of publicly available and participant-provided company documents. I will procure any online or government-filed documents upon securing the individuals’ agreement to participate in the study. The only documents I will save, and print are those scrubbed of identifying information, including company, owner, and shareholder names. The information gleaned from these documents will allow me to expand upon the data offered by participants in their interviews. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: So private documents? If you are collecting both private and public documents, please make sure this is included throughout your study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please elaborate. What specific documents do you plan to collect from participants? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why are you going to review government documents? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Why? You already know the company? Aren’t you going to lock these documents up for 5 years and then destroy them? Why would you have to do this? Where are citation to indicate whey this is needed?

Researchers use member checking as a means of improving the trustworthiness of their findings (Cope, 2014; Harper & Cole, 2012; Harvey, 2015), thus affirming the accuracy and credibility of the study (Thomas & Magilvy, 2011). I will schedule a second meeting with all five participants for them to perform member checking, reviewing my preliminary findings and themes for accuracy and completeness. The feedback I receive from them will reaffirm my interpretations or lead me to revisit some of my findings. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Map to the rubric. This content appears to be in the wrong subsection. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.11 d. is not met. This is INACCURATE. Please discuss member checking with your chair and READ the resources carefully in back of the Research Handbook carefully. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content is inaccurate.

Without a case study database, commingling of case study narrative with data interpretations could render inspecting raw data nearly impossible (Yin, 2017). Therefore, I will keep a separate and organized database with a compilation of raw data from, a research log, reflective journal, and field documents., which could provide for the inspection of raw data leading to researcher conclusions. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please work with an editor.

I will import all interview transcripts into NVivo for easy storage and organization. I can use the program to create charts, graphs, word clouds, and other visual aids to assist in managing data and capturing emerging understandings. I will continue to maintain a research log, documenting step by step the processes of the study to provide a detailed audit trail for subsequent replication. I will also keep a reflective journal in which I write down my thoughts, impressions, and opinions; this will allow me to continue to check for personal bias and implement bracketing, as needed. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What transcripts? I though you were doing member checking? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please combine similar content together – see the previous paragraph.

Maintaining the safety, security, confidentiality, and accessibility of data is the foremost objective in my data storage endeavors (Whitlock, McPeek, Rausher, Rieseberg, & Moore, 2010). All paper and electronic copies of my research, including e-mails, interviews, journals, field notes, audio recordings, and references, will remain securely stored in a fire-, water-, and theft-proof safe for five years. In accordance with Walden University guidelines, I will shred and delete all raw data after that period.

I will follow Yin’s (2017) five-step data analysis process of (a) collecting the data, (b) separating the data into groups, (c) regrouping the data into themes, (d) assessing the information, and (e) developing conclusions. I will read and reread each transcript, highlighting particularly relevant words or phrases and taking notes when such phrases appear across transcripts; this is a process known as coding (Saldaña, 2015; Suter, 2012; Yin, 2017). Case study data analysis consists of examining, categorizing, tabulating, testing, or otherwise recombining evidence to draw empirically-based conclusions (Rademaker, Grace, & Curda, 2012), all of which I will follow with this study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please elaborate on how each step is applicable to your study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What transcript? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: It does? Is this content accurate?

During analysis, I will divide data into manageable pieces to reconstruct and reflect a view of reality. The initial step will be reading interview transcripts, company documents, observational notes, and any other relevant documents as a means to formulate initial categories, themes, and relationships. I will use Microsoft Word for transcribing, highlighting, and commenting on all transcripts, later transferring passages to NVivo for sorting and coding. Throughout this process, I will conduct journaling, taking notes in the form of memos to record my interpretations of transcribed data. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What transcripts? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What observational notes? Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: 2.14 c. needs work.

Pattern matching involves comparing predicted patterns or effects with empirically observed effects, allowing researchers to identify variances or gaps (Baškarada, 2014). As the best analysis method to match and analyze data, pattern matching is the most applicable technique for this case study. When I am confident I have identified all commonalities, I will import them into NVivo for ease in organization and sorting. Qualitative researchers use NVivo software to examine data for insight, coding, thematic analysis, and findings (Robins & Eisen, 2017), presenting results in various formats, including text, images, and mind maps (Woods, Paulus, Atkins, & Macklin, 2016). I will use NVivo 12 for identifying themes and interpreting the results.

A methodological triangulation for case studies will be used to sort and confirm the findings. Triangulation in data analysis entails seeking common findings among multiple data sources, which is another means to enhance the trustworthiness of qualitative findings (Azulai & Rankin, 2012; Yin, 2017). During the case study research, methodological triangulation will be used to increase the validity and credibility of the findings by checking consistency (Bekhet & Zauszniewski, 2012). In addition to company document review and member checking, I will corroborate the interview data and themes with multiple data sources, including prior literature reviewed for this study or published in the interim. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.14a. includes inaccurate content. This needs work. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check spacing issues.

Reliability and validity are critical to quantitative scientific rigor, ensuring that researchers meet the highest standards of academic research (Noble & Smith, 2015). Both validity and reliability are components of trustworthiness (Miles et al., 2014). Reliability and validity are necessary for a quality study (Leung, 2015).

In a qualitative case study, dependability is the equivalent of quantitative reliability; in other words, if later researchers repeat the study using the same procedures, they will find the same results (Baškarada, 2014; Guba, 1981; Yin, 2017). To enable replication, I will maintain a detailed audit trail of study processes, which is one-way researchers achieve dependability. According to Korstjens and Moser (2018), dependability means that results derived from participants’ experiences and information and not researcher bias. I will use two additional means of establishing dependability, member checking and data triangulation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please elaborate. What about data saturation?

Validity in research involves accuracy and the trustworthiness of data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the findings (Dennis, 2018). To ensure validity, qualitative researchers use techniques such as credibility, transferability, and confirmability (Morse, 2015). Another technique to ensure credibility is data saturation (Birt, Scott, Cavers, Campbell, & Walter, 2016), which occurs when participant-provided information is exhaustive enough such that no more themes emerge. I will take the following steps to ensure the validity of my findings. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Again, just eliminate introductory content, especially if there is NOT a rubric requirement, to be consistent throughout your proposal.

Credibility. One component of accurate qualitative findings is credibility (Yin, 2017). Credibility refers to the level of objectivity and impartiality of research findings (Bradshaw, Atkinson, & Doody, 2017), meaning they accurately reflect participants’ opinions and perspectives (Colorafi & Evans, 2016). I am responsible for taking steps to maintain the rigor of research and enhance study credibility, which I may gain through prolonged engagement with participants. Additional ways I will ensure this study’s credibility will be member checking and data triangulation. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: How is credibility enhanced using member checking. Please elaborate.

Data saturation . Data sSaturation occurs when continued data analysis reveals the same recurring themes with no new ideas emerging at some point during coding (Constantinou et al., 2017; O’Reilly & Parker, 2013). Failure to reach data saturation calls into question the quality, reliability, and validity of the research (Nelson & Squires, 2017). I anticipate that five participants will be sufficient to achieve data saturation. I will be able to confirm saturation as I code and thematically analyze data from participant interviews and document reviews. I expect that, before I complete coding all five transcripts, I will reach a point when no new themes are emerging. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.16 f needs work. Please work with your chair. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is about data collection, not analysis. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This is NOT data saturation in a case study. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This content does not make sense

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore strategies that small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. The implication for social change is that identification of the success factors may enable more small businesses to obtain financing, thus enabling them to continue business operation for five years or longer. Further, ensuring business continuity means more individuals will remain employed, thus contributing to the local economy. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: RR 2.17 a. will need to be reviewed again based on revisions in your proposal.

As the researcher, I will serve as the data collection instrument, conducting one-on-one semistructured interviews and reviewing company documents. I will implement bracketing to minimize the risk of bias. I will adhere to ethical guidelines in research to protect participants’ rights and maintain confidentiality through the use of alphanumeric identifiers instead of names. A critical step of data analysis is ensuring the reliability and validity of data; accordingly, I will take steps to increase the dependability, credibility, transferability, and confirmability of my study.

Criteria met by the five participants in this study are owning a manufacturing and small wholesale business in Maryland, employing 500 or fewer people, being in business at least five years, and succeeding in obtaining a working line of credit for business continuity. Collected data will come from one-on-one semistructured interviews and company document reviews. Data analysis will begin with coding, conducting multiple reads of the material as I highlight common words and phrases. I will next import files, notes, and preliminary codes into NVivo for ease in the organization, identifying themes common across interviews. Member checking will be a means to confirm my initial findings.

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Ang, J. S. (1991). Small business uniqueness and the theory of financial management. Journal of Small Business Finance, 1(1), 1-13. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10419/114623

Ang, J. S. (1992). On the theory of finance for privately held firms. Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 1(3), 1. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/jef/vol1/iss3/1 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I’m not sure what this is?

Antonakis, J., Bastardoz, N., Liu, Y., & Schriesheim, C. A. (2014). What makes articles highly cited? Leadership Quarterly, 25, 152-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.10.014

Ata, H. A., Korpi, M., Ugurlu, M., & Sahin, F. (2015). Factors influencing the credit rationing on the commercial lending process. Journal of Business, Economics, and Finance, 4, 250-267. https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2015211618

Azulai, A., & Rankin, J. A. (2012). Triangulation in Canadian doctoral dissertations on aging. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 6, 125-140. https://doi.org/10.5172/mra.2012.6.2.125

Babbie, E. (2015). The practice of social research. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Bahari, S. F. (2012). Qualitative versus quantitative research strategies: Contrasting epistemological and ontological assumptions. Sains Humanika , 52(1), 17-52. https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v52.134 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this in a different language?

Banker, R. D., Mashruwala, R., & Tripathy, A. (2014). Does a differentiation strategy lead to more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy? Management Decision, 52, 872–896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.381

Barratt, M. J., Ferris, J. A., & Lenton, S. (2015). Hidden populations, online purposive sampling, and external validity: Taking off the blindfold. Field Methods, 27, 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X14526838. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please check for active links.

Bartik, A.W., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z.B., Glaeser, E.L., Luca, M., & Stanton, C. (2020). A Way Forward for Small Businesses. Harvard Business Review. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check APA format. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: HBR is not peer reviewed. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: It appears that significant information, including the source is missing?

Baškarada, S. (2014). Qualitative case study guidelines. Qualitative Report, 19(40), 1-18. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss40/3

Bauman, A. (2015). Qualitative online interviews: Strategies, design, and skills. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 10, 201–202. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-10-2014-1252

Bekhet, A. K., & Zauszniewski, J. A. (2012). Methodological triangulation: an approach to understanding data. Nurse Researcher, 20(2), 40–43. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2012.11.20.2.40.c9442 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check APA format – hyphens versus dashes.

Bhusal, R., & Wang, Y. (2019, July 29). The effects of borrowers’ discouragement, perceptive discrimination and risk-taking on entrepreneurs’ preferences for external financing. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3432900 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please check for the correct journal name. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Significant information appears to be missing?

Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: Aa tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation? Qualitative Health Research, 26, 1802-1811. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316654870

Boopathi, C & Leeson, John. (2016). Concept of working capital management. International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management 2319–2828. 5. 2319-2828. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Check APA format.

Bradshaw, C., Atkinson, S., & Doody, O. (2017). Employing a qualitative description approach in health care research. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 4, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393617742282 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: All of your references still need to be checked for correct APA format and grammar. If you are using ReciteWorks these issues would be correct. Please work with your chair to check for duplicate errors and to ensure that ALL references are cited and all citations are references and that ALL references are in correct APA format/check for grammar.

Brayda, W. C., & Boyce, T. D. (2014). So you really want to interview me?: Navigating sensitive qualitative research interviewing. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 13(1), 318-334. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ijq

Brian, G. F., & Shingirayi, M. (2014). Challenges faced by small- to medium-scale enterprises: A case study of Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Green Journal of Business and Management Studies, 4, 103-107. https://doi.org/10.15580/GJBMS.2014.4.102113910

Brinckmann, J., & Kim, S. M. (2015). Why we plan: The impact of nascent entrepreneurs’ cognitive characteristics and human capital on business planning. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 9, 153-166. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1197

Brooks, N. (2019). Exploring sustainable capital acquisition strategies of small businesses (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. (UMI No. 2202868769).

Brown, J. M. (2018, October 15). How important are small businesses to local economies? Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/important-small-businesses-local-economies-5251.html

Brown, K. W. (2016). Financing for small business Southern style restaurants (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (UMI No. 10143546).

Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Camacho, M., Dal Bianco, M., & Martinez-Martin, J. (2015). Short-run forecasting of Argentine gross domestic product growth. Emerging Markets Finance &Trade, 51, 473-485. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2015.1025668.

Chandler, V. (2010, August). An interpretation of discouraged borrowers based on relationship lending (Working paper). Ottawa, Ontario: Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Chongo, M., Chase, R. M., Lavoie, J. G., Harder, H. G., & Mignone, J. (2018). The life story board as a tool for qualitative research: Interviews with HIV-positive indigenous males. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1609406917752440. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917752440

Cole, R., & Sokolyk, T. (2016). Who needs credit and who gets credit? Evidence from the surveys of small business finances. Journal of Financial Stability, 24, 40-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2016.04.002

Colorafi, K. J., & Evans, B. (2016). Qualitative descriptive methods in health science research. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 9(4), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586715614171

Constantinou, C. S., Georgiou, M., & Perdikogianni, M. (2017). Medical students’ attitudes and beliefs towards psychotherapy: A mixed research methods study. Behavioral Sciences, 7(3), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7030055

Cope, D. G. (2014). Methods and meanings: Credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 41, 89-91. https://doi.org/10.1188/14.ONF.89-91

Corti, L. (2012). Recent developments in archiving social research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 15, 281-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.688310

Cowton, C. J., & San-Jose, L. (2017). On the ethics of trade credit: Understanding good payment practice in the supply chain. Journal of Business Ethics, 140, 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3050-9

Cronin, C. (2014). Using case study research as a rigorous form of inquiry. Nurse Researcher, 21(5), 19-27. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.21.5.19. e1240

Deakin, E. B. (1972). A discriminant analysis of predictors of business failure. Journal of Accounting Research, 167-179. https://doi.org/10.2307/2490225

Dennis, B. (2018). Validity as research praxis: A study of self-reflection and engagement in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 24, 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416686371

DePietro, A. (2020, March 30). Impact of COVID-19 on lines of credit. Forbes . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdepietro/2020/03/30/covid-19-business-lines-of-credit/#6c0e5c00493b Comment by Lisa M. Kangas:

Devotta, K., Woodhall-Melnik, J., Pedersen, C., Wendaferew, A., Dowbor, T. P., Guilcher, S. J., & Hwang, S. W. (2016). Enriching qualitative research by engaging peer interviewers: A case study. Qualitative Research, 16, 661-680. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794115626244

Dunkelberg, W. (2020, April 23). COVID-19 small business loans. Forb es. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamdunkelberg/2020/04/23/covid-19-small-business-loans/#23a9dc67bec8 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: There are numerous articles that are not peer reviewed. Please go through your references and make sure that you are using peer reviewed resources. Please check the rest of your references.

Eggers, J. P., & Lin, S. (2015). Dealing with failure: Serial entrepreneurs and the costs of changing industries between ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 58, 1785-1803. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0050

Ellis-Barton, C. (2016). Ethical considerations in research participation virality. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 11, 281-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1556264616661632

Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M., Kanste, O., Pölkki, T., Kati, U., & Kyngäs, H. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: A focus on trustworthiness. SAGE Open, 4(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014522633

Fang, E., Xiaoling, L., Minue, H., & Palmatier, R. W. (2015). Direct and indirect effects of buyers and sellers on search advertising revenues in business-to-business electronic platforms. Journal of Marketing Research, 52, 407–422. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.13.0165

Fetters, M. D., & Molina-Azorin, J. F. (2017). The Journal of Mixed Methods Research starts a new decade: The mixed methods research integration trilogy and its dimensions. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 2017, 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689817714066

Fink, A. S. (2000, December). The role of the researcher in the qualitative research process: A potential barrier to archiving qualitative data. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 1(3). Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs/

Freel, M., Carter, S., Tagg, S., & Mason, C. (2012). The latent demand for bank debt: Characterizing “discouraged borrowers.” Small Business Economics, 38, 399-418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-010-9283-6

Freeland, R. E., & Keister, L. A. (2016). How do race and ethnicity affect persistence in immature ventures? Journal of Small Business Management, 54, 210-228. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12138

Frid, C. J. (2015). Acquiring financial resources to form new ventures: The impact of personal characteristics on organizational emergence. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 27, 323-341. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2015.1082895

Frid, C. J., Wyman, D. M., & Coffey, B. (2016). Effects of wealth inequality into entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016- 9742-9

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Goertzen, M. J. (2017). Introduction to quantitative research and data. Library Technology Reports, 53(4), 12-18. Retrieved from https://journals.ala.org/ltr

Green, R. (2020, May 11). Over 40% of PPP funds are still available two weeks into its second round. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/demand-for-ppp-funds-slows-in-second-round-2020-5

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Han, L., Fraser, S., & Storey, D. J. (2009). Are good or bad borrowers discouraged from applying for loans? Evidence from US small business credit markets. Journal of Banking & Finance, 33, 415-424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2008.08.014

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Harvey, L. (2015). Beyond member-checking: A dialogic approach to the research interview. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 38, 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2014.914487

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Jude, F. A., & Adamou, N. (2018). Bank loan financing decisions of small and medium-sized enterprises: The significance of owner/managers’ behaviours. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 10(5), 231-241. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v10n5p231

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Kamguia Wabo, L. B. (2015). Evaluation of SME and bank financing: Development of a rating model for banks from a sample of 179 SMEs in Cameroon. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 27, 43-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2014.932966

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Klimczak, K. M., Machowiak, W., Staniec, I., & Shachmurove, Y. (2017). Collaboration and collaboration risk in small and middle-size technological enterprises. Log Forum, 13, 221-235. https://doi.org/10.17270/J.LOG.2017.2.9

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Nguyen, S. T. (2017). Sustainment strategies small business owners use for more than 5 years (Doctoral dissertation). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: It appears that content is missing?

Nguyen, H.-C., Tran, M., & Nguyen, D.-T. (2016). Working capital management and firms’ profitability: Evidence from Vietnam’s stock exchange. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 8(5), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v8n5p55

Njeru, A. W., Nyangaresi, W. M., & Waithaka, G. N. (2013). Influence of information available on the choice of entrepreneurial source of finance. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4, 256-261. Retrieved from http://ijbssnet.com/journals/

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Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847

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Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Leech, N. L., Slate, J. R., & Sharma, B. (2012). An exemplar for teaching and learning qualitative research. Qualitative Report, 17, 16-77. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/sss/QR

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Owusu, A. B. (2017). Financial strategies of small businesses to gain access to capital (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. (UMI No. 1940482131).

Parry, K., Mumford, M. D., Bower, I., & Watts, L. L. (2014). Qualitative and historiometric methods in leadership research: A review of the first 25 years of The Leadership Quarterly. Leadership Quarterly, 25, 132-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.006 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this duplicate content?

Petticrew, M., Rehfuess, E., Noyes, J., Higgins, J. P., Mayhew, A., Pantoja, T., . . . Sowden, A. (2013). Synthesizing evidence on complex interventions: How meta-analytical, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches can contribute. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 66, 1230-1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.06.005

Petty, N. J., Thomson, O. P., & Stew, G. (2012). Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 2: Introducing qualitative research methodologies and methods. Manual Therapy, 17, 378-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2012.03.004

Pollack, J. M., Coy, A. E., Green, J. D., & Davis, J. L. (2015). Satisfaction, investment, and alternatives predict entrepreneurs’ networking group commitment and subsequent revenue generation. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 39, 817837. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12075

Pozzebon, M., Rodriguez, C., & Petrini, M. (2014). Dialogical principles for qualitative inquiry: A nonfoundational path. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 13(1), 293-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691401300114

Rademaker, L. L., Grace, E. J., & Curda, S. K. (2012). Using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) to re-examine traditionally analyzed data: Expanding our understanding of the data and of ourselves as scholars. Qualitative Report, 17(43), 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR17/rademaker.pdf

Ransom, D. (2020, April 30). PPP funding ran out in 14 days. Round 2 could go even faster. Inc. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/diana-ransom/ppp-eidl-new-stimulus-paycheck-protection-program.html Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this a scholarly journal?

Reiman, T., Rollenhagen, C., Pietikäinen, E., & Heikkilä, J. (2015). Principles of adaptive management in complex safety-critical organizations. Safety Science, 71, 80-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.07.021

Robins, C. S., & Eisen, K. (2017). Strategies for the effective use of NVivo in a largescale study: Qualitative analysis and the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell. Qualitative Inquiry, 23, 768-778. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417731089

Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11, 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2013.801543

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Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Sales, B. D., & Folkman, S. (Eds.). (2000). Ethics in research with human participants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I’m not sure what this is?

Sandada, M., Pooe, D., & Dhurup, M. (2014). Strategic planning and its relationship with business performance among small and medium enterprises in South Africa. International Business and Economics Research Journal, 13, 659-669. Retrieved from http://www.cluteinstitute.com/ojs/index.php/IBER

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Sette, E., & Gobbi, G. (2015). Relationship lending during a financial crisis. Journal of the European Economic Association, 13, 453-481. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeea.12111 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: This looks like an active link?

Shibia, A. G., & Barako, G. D. (2017). Determinants of micro and small enterprises growth in Kenya. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24, 105-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-07-2016-0118

Shabat, B. (2019, May 14). How today’s retailers can compete against the giants (Web log). Fundbox. Retrieved from https://fundbox.com/blog/todays-retailers-can-compete-giants/ Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Please locate scholarly work. Blogs are NOT scholarly. Please check for duplicate and other non-scholarly work and replace these with scholarly work. The Librarian can help.

Shibia, A. G., & Barako, G. D. (2017). Determinants of micro and small enterprises growth in Kenya. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24, 105-118. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-07-2016-0118 Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: It looks like this one is listed twice. See highlight above.

Simon-Moya, V., & Revuelto-Taboada, L. (2015). Revising the predictive capability of business plan quality for new firm survival using qualitative comparative analysis. Journal of Business Research, 69, 1351-1356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.106

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Wilkinson, J. E. (2017). Credit strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises within a changing environment (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. (UMI No. 1834008878). Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: I counted 10 dissertations used in your study? This is excessive for a research study. Please utilize the Walden Librarian and business databases to search for peer reviewed sources.

Woods, M., Paulus, T., Atkins, D. P., & Macklin, R. (2016). Advancing qualitative research using qualitative data analysis software (QDAS)? Reviewing potential versus practice in published studies using ATLAS.ti and NVivo, 1994–2013. Social Science Computer Review, 34, 597-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439315596311

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Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

You are invited to take part in a research study about how small business owners in Maryland have been successful in acquiring a working capital line of credit to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. The researcher is inviting owners of manufacturing and wholesale small businesses located in Maryland who employ 500 or fewer employees and have been in business longer than 5 years to be in the study. This form is part of a process called “informed consent” to allow you to understand this study before deciding whether to take part.

This study is being conducted by a researcher named Solomon Atamaya, who is a doctoral student at Walden University. You might already know the researcher as a credit union banker in the department of underwriting small business loans, but this study is separate from that role.

Background Information:

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore the strategies that small business owners use to obtain a working capital line of credit for business continuity. Information from this study will expand understanding of the economic, social, cultural, and structural issues small businesses face in securing working lines of credit. Among the implications for social change are that more small business owners may be able to sustain operations, thus continuing to provide employment opportunities that could increase the standard of living and contribute to the well-being of citizens in the local communities. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this required?

Procedures:

If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to:

· take part in a face-to-face, pre-interview meeting; Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What will this include?

· participate in a 1-hour, face-to-face interview; and

· review a copy of my preliminary findings to confirm the accuracy of my analysis. Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: What is this?

· Where is member checking?

Here are some sample questions:

· What strategies did you use to obtain a working capital line of credit?

· What are the significant challenges you encountered in securing a working capital line of credit?

· How did you overcome the challenges you encountered in securing a working line of credit?

Voluntary Nature of the Study:

This study is voluntary. You are free to accept or turn down the invitation. No one at Walden University will treat you differently if you decide not to be in the study. If you decide to be in the study now, you can still change your mind later. You may stop at any time.

Risks and Benefits of Being in the Study:

Being in this type of study involves some risk of the minor discomforts that can be encountered in daily life, such as those from recalling memories and events. Minor risks may include fatigue, stress, or becoming upset. Being in this study would not pose a risk to your safety or well-being.

You will receive no direct benefits in participating; however, information you provide may help other small business owners in securing working lines of credit for business continuity. As a result, continued employment opportunities could increase the standard of living and improve the well-being of citizens in local communities. The research findings may be also be valuable to banking officials, government agencies, and creditors in understanding the challenges small business leaders face while trying to access credit.

Payment:

There is no payment for participating in this study.

Privacy:

Reports coming out of this study will not share the identities of individual participants. Details that might identify participants, such as the location of the study, also will not be shared. The researcher will not use your personal information for any purpose outside of this research project. Data will be kept secure on a password-protected thumb drive or folder retained in a secure, fireproof vault. Your confidentiality is assured, as no participant or company names will be used on any study material outside of this form; instead, I will use alphanumeric identifiers instead of names. Data will be kept secure for a period of at least 5 years, as required by the university.

Contacts and Questions:

You may ask any questions you have now. Or if you have questions later, you may contact the researcher via e-mail at [email protected]. If you want to talk privately about your rights as a participant, you can call the Research Participant Advocate at my university at 612-312-1210. Walden University’s approval number for this study is IRB will enter approval number here and it expires on IRB will enter expiration date.

The researcher will give you a copy of this form to keep.

Obtaining Your Consent

If you feel you understand the study well enough to make a decision about it, please indicate your consent by signing below.

Permission to Audio Record Comment by Lisa M. Kangas: Is this new in the Consent Form? I have never seen this content?

I would like your permission to audio record our interview. This will best enable me to accurately capture your words and meaning. If you do not wish to be audio recorded, you may still participate in the study.

If you consent to audio recording, please sign here: