Small Business Leaders' Strategies for Obtaining United States Government Subcontracts

Small Business Leaders’ Strategies for Obtaining United States Government Subcontracts by Damian C. Dunbar MBA, Colorado Technical University, 2008 BA, Baker College, 2006 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University August 2019 Abstract Small business leaders (SBLs) underutilize billions of dollars of U.S. government funding for small business subcontracting. The role of small business in the United States is important to local economies as well as a major contributor to the U.S. economy. Using the resource-based view as the conceptual framework for this study, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies 5 government support sector SBLs in the mid-Atlantic region used to obtain U.S. government subcontract awards to remain sustainable. The selection criteria for this study consisted of small businesses in the mid-Atlantic region that have obtained subcontracts on prime government contracts. The data-collection process included a review of the small business documents and participants’ responses to semistructured interviews. The data analysis process included case study analysis and cross-case comparisons using methodological triangulation. Based on the data analysis, themes that emerged from the results of this study included education, experience, and networking related to strategy creation and implementation by the SBLs to obtain subcontracts on prime contracts. The findings of this study maySmall business leaders (SBLs) underutilize billions of dollars of U.S. government funding for small business subcontracting. The role of small business in the United States is important to local economies as well as a major contributor to the U.S. economy. Using the resource-based view as the conceptual framework for this study, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the strategies 5 government support sector SBLs in the mid-Atlantic region used to obtain U.S. government subcontract awards to remain sustainable. The selection criteria for this study consisted of small businesses in the mid-Atlantic region that have obtained subcontracts on prime government contracts. The data-collection process included a review of the small business documents and participants’ responses to semistructured interviews. The data analysis process included case study analysis and cross-case comparisons using methodological triangulation. Based on the data analysis, themes that emerged from the results of this study included education, experience, and networking related to strategy creation and implementation by the SBLs to obtain subcontracts on prime contracts. The findings of this study may contribute to social change by providing SBLs an opportunity to learn strategies to obtain subcontracts, which could increase organizational opportunities, promote job creation, and help to improve local economies through increases in tax revenues that could help the elderly, children, and others within the community. Small Business Leaders’ Strategies for Obtaining United States Government Subcontracts by Damian C. Dunbar MBA, Colorado Technical University, 2008 BA, Baker College, 2006 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University August 2019 Dedication First and foremost, I would like to thank God (Allah) for guiding and protected me when I needed it most. Next, I would like to thank my grandparents Riley Taylor and Clarice Taylor for being role models on how to care for those closest to you. I love and miss you beyond measure. Then, a healthy thank you to my siblings Harry Barnes, Yvonne Dunbar-Jackson, and Yvette Hayes for being a pillar of support throughout my life. Lastly, to my daughter Damiana Dunbar and the gift she gave me, that being my grandson Mr. Elijah Davis. Being your father has been the greatest gift I have ever received. I love you two so much! Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge Dr. Denise Land for being the best Chair an aspiring doctor could ever want. Thank you for inspiring me to believe that I could because of you I did. You are the best! I would also like to thank my second Chair, Dr. Carol-Anne Faint and my University Research Review Dr. Douglas Keevers for their assistance in guiding me through this doctoral process. A grand thank you to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. for letting me know that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it. Thanks to Babette A. Marina for the countless hours you spent reading through the 200 + pages numerous times. To my two pillars, Joyce Conner-Boyd and Marcia Adams, thanks for the support throughout this process. Friends for Life! Lastly, to my Prince Hall Mason and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. brother Dr. Roderick French, thanks for your guidance and making me believe that becoming a doctor was possible. I look forward to you being the first person to officially call me doctor. I cannot wait.