Title: Business leadership strategies under tenuous economic conditions

Authors: Hicham Jaroudi; Mohamad S. Hammoud

Addresses: College of Management and Technology, Walden University, 100 S Washington Ave #900, Minneapolis, MN 55401, USA ' College of Management and Technology, Walden University, 100 S Washington Ave #900, Minneapolis, MN 55401, USA

Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon are at risk of failure because of the geo-economic crisis. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies successful leaders of SMEs use to sustain their businesses during tenuous economic conditions. The target population for the research comprised six business leaders of SMEs in Beirut, Lebanon. Data were gathered from company documents and interviews and analysed using Yin's data analysis method. Four themes emerged: Leaders of SMEs embedded change management in their organisations, increased awareness in their organisations, created solid organisational and financial structures, and created and targeted niche markets.

Keywords: leadership; sustainability; change management; innovation; strategy; tenuous economic conditions; small and medium-sized enterprises; awareness; organisational structure; financial structure; niche markets.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAMS.2019.103707

International Journal of Applied Management Science, 2019 Vol.11 No.4, pp.314 - 332

Received: 07 Apr 2018
Accepted: 14 Sep 2018
Published online: 25 Nov 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article