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This multiple case study investigated strategies that three small real estate business leaders in southeastern Louisiana used to resume and sustain operations after a natural disaster. The chaos theory and stakeholder theory were the conceptual frameworks used. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, review of business continuity plans, and member checking. Emergent themes were leaders ' education and abilities, stakeholder engagement, planning and critical processes, and disaster response. Study findings include identification of effective strategies for increasing small business sustainability through implementation of proven business continuity strategies to help keep communities intact, reestablish commerce, and contribute to regional economic sustainability.
Keywords: small business, sustainability, continuity planning, economic development
INTRODUCTION
Small business enterprises are significant contributors to economic growth and development, yet 40% to 60% of small businesses in the United States that experience a natural disaster never reopen after that natural disaster (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2018). Most small businesses are home - based, and the obstacles to small business recovery affect the economic and personal well-being of the business owner and his or her family (Schrank, Marshall, Hall-Phillips, Wiatt, & Jones, 2013). Recovery of small businesses is vital to the community as they form the cornerstone of community life (ChamleeWright & Storr, 2014).
Unexpected, large-scale, external shocks to small businesses, such as large-scale natural disasters, have affected most Americans and have not been adequately studied (Schumann, 2013). Post-disaster sustainability planning enables small business owners to identify the fundamental recovery systems to expedite resumption of services in the event of a disaster (McKnight & Linnenluecke, 2016).
Small business disaster planning and recovery involve interrelated individual and organizational decisions encompassing a wide range of issues that may change over time or under different circumstances (Jordan & Javemick-Will, 2013). Business leaders who develop, maintain, and update disaster sustainability plans have an increased likelihood of small business survival (Benson, 2016). Postdisaster recovery and sustainability planning assists small business owners and managers to minimize disaster-related losses and stress, decrease recovery time, and increase long-term sustainability (Marshall & Schrank, 2014; Nicoll & Owens, 2013; Phelps, 2014; Schumann, 2013). However, many small business leaders do not have disaster recovery plans implemented to sustain a small business after a natural disaster (Phelps, 2014; Marshall & Schrank, 2014).
The findings of this...