Consider a topic in the areas of strategic thinking, decision-making, or sustainable innovation that appeals to you, possibly even as a potential dissertation topic. The final

How to use this template: Read the instructions (in yellow) for each section and delete them. Read the examples in blue and delete them. Replace the yellow areas and blue examples with content from your topic. Submit a clean document (no highlighting) for your final paper. Delete these instructions. Do not use the sample content for your paper. Do not use the sample topic for your paper.

Title of Paper Here

Your Name

University of the Cumberlands

Class Name

Professor Name

Date

[Your Title of the Project]

Title Example: Successful Strategies Used by Entrepreneurs Starting New Small Businesses in the U.S. During the Pandemic

[An introduction to your project of one thesis sentence will start this annotated research proposal. Your thesis will discuss what the project is about and the research method and design you have chosen.]

Example of thesis: This qualitative inquiry project proposal describes how I will interview 15 start-up business owners to determine what type of strategic planning model guided their decisions made during the first year of their business’ existence.

Background of the Research Problem and the Problem

[One paragraph that describes the reason for the project in light of a research problem in your field Include at least one citation, one statistic and one recent fact about the topic in the background.]

Example: The number of start-up organizations in the United States grew exponentially during the pandemic; Grossfeld (2021) reported that the U.S. Census Bureau recorded 4.4 million new startup businesses were created in 2020 and in January 2021, 500,000 new businesses were created. These numbers are nearly 50% increases from 2019. However, Ruby (2023) noted that nine out of 10 start-ups in the United States fail, with 10% of them failing in their first year. Ruby also noted that 22% of the failures were due to not having a proper strategy for the market and 82% failed due to cash flow issues.

[Then include one sentence that describes the problem of the study.]

Example: The research problem for this study is that too many start-up business owners do not have a clear strategy for bringing their new business or innovation into their necessary market.

Description of the [Specific Firm, Population, or Industry]

Name the specific firm, population, or industry, and describe the situation or problem the study will investigate, explore, examine, or address. Provide one citation (this does not have to be scholarly) that supports the situation’s existence.

Example: In 2004, Matt Rutledge and Daryl Rydl founded W00t, now known as Woot, as a one-deal-a-day business that established a cult following leading to an Amazon buy-out in 2010 (Roettgers, 2021). Woot’s business model was unique at the time (and has since been copied by many other start-ups). While Amazon changed Woot’s model from a one-deal-a-day model to its own warehouse cleaning site (similar to Overstock.com), the original model of Woot’s founders remains intriguingly unique and worth of review.

The Research Question

[Depending on the type of study, write a research question that would support the study.

If qualitative, use what or how questions; if quantitative, use How many or To what extent questions. Do not use “yes or no” questions.]

Example: What strategies did successful entrepreneurs use to launch a start-up that survived more than one year during the years of 2019 through 2023?

The Purpose and Nature of the Study

[Explain your method (paradigm), design, and purpose for your study. This should be done in no more than two paragraphs; one is fine.]

Example: The purpose of this qualitative inquiry study is to interview successful entrepreneurs who started new small businesses during the pandemic, to learn their strategies for success. The qualitative method and generic qualitative inquiry design will be used to collect and analyze the data for the study. Generic qualitative inquiry analyzes interview data to discern new information about a phenomenon of study. Unlike a case study, triangulation may not be part of the generic qualitative inquiry analysis process.

Theoretical Framework

[Provide one theory that will guide the study, that pertains to the topic you have selected. Name the author(s) of the theory, the year it was created, and the seminal literature in which it was introduced. Provide any concepts or constructs associated with the theory.]

Example: This study will be guided by the strategic innovation model called the Red Queen effect by Derfus et al. (2008). This evolutionary theory uses the concept that was described by the Red Queen in Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass that while a person can run as fast as possible, that person never moves ahead of the others in similar surroundings. This theory has been used by military arms races, in biology, and since 2008, in competitive business strategy innovation analyses. The model created by Derfus et al. (2008) included the concepts of firm actions, rival actions, and firm performance. Their model described how one firms actions lead to equal or greater rival actions, creating the need for even greater actions from the initial firm (or other competing firms). While these actions lead to positive results for each firm and the industry, they also speed up the need for and cost of those actions.

The Literature Review

[Include an introduction to the lit review which briefly restates the purpose, method, design, and population of the study. Then, provide at least four concepts which will be covered in the literature review, with the theory included. At least 15 unique articles should be provided within the literature review. Of these, at least 8 should be from the past 4 years.]

Example: The purpose of this study is to interview successful entrepreneurs who started a new small business during the pandemic and have been in business for at least a year. This literature review analyzes the literature regarding the Red Queen effect and model along with its underlying constructs of firm actions, rival actions, and firm performance, and the literature regarding small business start-up entrepreneurship.

The Red Queen Effect

[Includes about 3 pages of literature review, with synthesized and analyzed information].

Firm Actions

[Includes about 1-2 pages of literature review, with synthesized and analyzed information].

Rival Actions

[Includes about 1-2 pages of literature review, with synthesized and analyzed information].

Firm Performance

[Includes about 1-2 pages of literature review, with synthesized and analyzed information].

Small Business Start-Ups by Entrepreneurs

[Includes about 3 pages of literature review, with synthesized and analyzed information.].

No example of the literature review is provided. See literature reviews of various dissertations in the University of the Cumberlands library.

References

[Include reference list using APA guidelines. List should be alphabetized. Use a handing indent for them (also created using the paragraph toolkit OR you can select the list and use Control-T to format as hanging indent). Remove this list and instructions. This is example only.]

Derfus, P. J., Maggitti, P. G., Grimm, C. M., & Smith, K. G. (2008). The Red Queen effect: Competitive actions and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 51(1), 61-80. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2008.30708624

Grossfeld, B. (2021). Entrepreneurs started businesses in record numbers during the pandemic. Salesforce. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/small-business-pandemic-entrepreneurs/

Roettgers, J. (2021). Woot co-founder Darold Rydl on creating a shopping event out of thin air. p rotocol. https://www.protocol.com/woot-history-shopping-events#toggle-gdpr

Ruby, D. (2023). Startup failure rate in 2023: How startups fail & why? DemandSAGE. https://www.demandsage.com/startup-failure-rate/#:~:text=Startup%20Failure%20Rates%202023%20(Top%20Picks)&text=10%25%20of%20startups%20fail%20in,have%20an%2018%25%20success%20rate.

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