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Business strategies used by leaders of successful companies in ornamental horticulture
Abstract
The horticulture industry market has experienced growth for products and services. As demand has increased, companies have been challenged by changes in competition and by the horticultural consumer. Companies involved in horticulture, especially independently owned businesses, struggled to meet business demands and the higher level of business competency needed to be competitive. The purpose of this study was to explore the business strategies of ten ornamental horticulture company leaders and to identify the strategies they perceived needed to be successful in the changing market environment. The grand tour question that framed this study was: What business management strategies do successful leaders of nursery and landscape garden center companies use to compete in the market environment? Qualitative research methods were used to conduct this exploratory study. The study sample was ten company owners and/or key managers selected from 30 recommended participants. Analysis was applied to the data. Themes, sub-themes and strategies were identified from the participants' experiences. The major findings from the study were grouped into four themes: market environment, organizational dynamics, human investment and learning. The themes were categorized by eleven sub-themes and supported by codes. The findings of the study were presented using the participant's voices. Discussion and recommendations were presented. The strategies studied indicated the importance of clear market interpretation, professional adherence to business issues, investment into training and education of company employees and the continual improvement acquired through education and life-long learning. An epilogue of the researcher's personal business experiences and perceptions were summarized in the last chapter.
Subject Area
Business education|Agriculture|Horticulture|Design|Education
Recommended Citation
Nolting, Emily Elizabeth, "Business strategies used by leaders of successful companies in ornamental horticulture" (2003). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI3092580.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3092580