| Course | BUSI 885 Research Concept (BUSI885) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 4 |
| Assignment | Problem Statement |
| Paper type | Dissertation problem statement |
| Length | about 442 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: the course guide sets the problem statement as a 25-point submission reviewed before the full concept paper and places its template inside the course; this sample is a problem statement of about 450 words with an alignment note and current APA references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 25 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | DBA |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 4 in Liberty's published BUSI 885 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 885 Week 4
Problem Statement: The Absence of Succession Planning in Family-Owned Manufacturers in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley
[Student Name]
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 885: Research Concept
Concept Paper: Problem Statement
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The research setting is a composite standing in for the student's own; the published research is real; the week, points and requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for BUSI 885, which places the full Concept Paper Instructions inside the course.
Problem Statement: The Absence of Succession Planning in Family-Owned Manufacturers in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley
Problem Statement
The general problem to be addressed is the failure of family-owned small businesses to plan for leadership succession, resulting in business closures, forced sales and lost jobs when founders exit. Family firms make up a large share of businesses in most economies, yet few survive the transfer from one generation to the next; By the estimate in Le Breton-Miller et al. (2004), under one family firm in ten is still family-run by the time the founder's grandchildren are of age. Planning is one of the conditions most consistently associated with successful transitions. Daspit et al. (2016), reviewing 88 quantitative studies of family firm succession, organized the process into phases of ground rules, successor development and transition, each of which depends on deliberate preparation. Yet many incumbents avoid planning. De Massis et al. (2008) identified a range of individual, relational, contextual, financial and process factors that prevent intra-family succession, and Umans et al. (2020) linked the presence of succession planning to family governance practices and boards of directors, structures many small firms lack.
The specific problem to be addressed is the failure of family-owned manufacturing firms with 20 to 250 employees in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to plan for leadership succession, resulting in closures and distress sales that eliminate jobs in small communities. Manufacturing firms in the region are often owned by founders approaching retirement, and the skills their businesses depend on, such as technical knowledge, customer relationships and supplier networks, are held largely by the founder. Cabrera-Suárez et al. (2001) argue that this kind of tacit knowledge is a central resource of the family firm and can be transferred only through a long and deliberate process. Where planning is absent, that transfer cannot occur, and a firm's value may leave with its founder. Bozer et al. (2017) found that effective succession depended on factors such as socialization of successors into the business and their outside experience, both of which require years of preparation.
Alignment with the Proposed Study
The problem calls for understanding why owners in this setting do not plan, which is a question of how and why rather than how many. A qualitative multiple-case study of family-owned manufacturers in the region, comparing firms that planned with firms that did not, would allow the researcher to explore owners' reasons in their own words and in the context of their firms. The research questions submitted next week will ask why owners delay or avoid succession planning, how family dynamics and governance shape that decision and how the absence of planning affects the transfer of knowledge and relationships. A problem that lives in owners' reasons is best studied by asking owners, in their firms, what stands in the way.
References
Bozer, G., Levin, L., & Santora, J. C. (2017). Succession in family business: Multi-source perspectives. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(4), 753-774. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-10-2016-0163
Cabrera-Suárez, K., De Saá-Pérez, P., & García-Almeida, D. (2001). The succession process from a resource- and knowledge-based view of the family firm. Family Business Review, 14(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2001.00037.x
Daspit, J. J., Holt, D. T., Chrisman, J. J., & Long, R. G. (2016). Examining family firm succession from a social exchange perspective: A multiphase, multistakeholder review. Family Business Review, 29(1), 44-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486515599688
De Massis, A., Chua, J. H., & Chrisman, J. J. (2008). Factors preventing intra-family succession. Family Business Review, 21(2), 183-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2008.00118.x
Le Breton-Miller, I., Miller, D., & Steier, L. P. (2004). Toward an integrative model of effective FOB succession. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28(4), 305-328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2004.00047.x
Umans, I., Lybaert, N., Steijvers, T., & Voordeckers, W. (2020). Succession planning in family firms: Family governance practices, board of directors, and emotions. Small Business Economics, 54(1), 189-207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0078-5
What the BUSI 885 Week 4 instructions ask
BUSI 885 collects the Problem Statement in Module/Week 4, worth 25 points, together with the week's 10-point progress report. The course guide explains that students prepare a brief concept paper in APA format as the foundation for the proposed dissertation, and that the problem statement and research questions are submitted for review before the full paper; the detailed requirements are in the Concept Paper Instructions inside the course, along with the dissertation manual students are told to review in Module/Week 1. The week follows the 600-point comprehensive exam, so the statement opens the research half of the course. Its job is narrow but important: to state a real, current business problem precisely enough that a study can address it.
How this BUSI 885 Week 4 example is built
The sample opens with a single sentence naming the general problem and its consequence, then supports it with research on how rarely family firms pass successfully to the next generation and why planning fails. A second sentence names the specific problem, narrowing the population to family-owned manufacturers with 20 to 250 employees in a defined region of Virginia and stating the consequence in that setting: closures or distress sales that cost jobs in small towns. The specific problem is supported by the research on planning and by the regional context. A short alignment note explains how the problem leads to a qualitative study and to the research questions due the following week. References follow in current APA format.
BUSI 885 Week 4 grading rubric: where the points go
A problem statement is reviewed on whether it is specific, current, supported and researchable. Readers look for a general problem stated in one sentence with its effect, support from recent scholarly sources, a specific problem that narrows the population and setting without changing the problem itself, and a clear link to a study the student can complete. Common reasons for revision include problems stated as solutions, problems that are too broad to study, unsupported claims and a gap between the general and specific statements. Because the statement is reviewed before the full concept paper, getting it right saves weeks later. The instructions and template in the course govern the exact format.
BUSI 885 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost points
Write the problem as a problem, not as a missing solution; "there is no mentoring program" is weaker than describing what goes wrong without one. Keep the general and specific statements parallel, so the specific one is visibly a narrower case of the general one. Support each with recent peer-reviewed sources, and reread each cited study to confirm it supports the sentence it sits behind. Name a population you can reach and a consequence you can describe. Avoid statistics you cannot trace to a credible source. Read the statement aloud: if a business owner in your setting would not recognize the problem, revise it. Finally, check that your planned research questions could actually be answered by studying this population.
Related BUSI 885 sample papers
Other BUSI 885 weeks
- BUSI 885 Week 5: Research Questions: Succession Study
- BUSI 885 Week 6: Concept Paper First Draft
- BUSI 885 Week 8: Concept Paper Final Draft
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BUSI 885 Week 4 questions, answered
What is the BUSI 885 Problem Statement?
The first concept paper submission in BUSI 885, worth 25 points in Module/Week 4, reviewed before students write the research questions and the full concept paper.
Where can I find a free BUSI 885 Week 4 sample paper?
This page contains a complete BUSI 885 Week 4 problem statement on the lack of succession planning in family-owned manufacturers in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
How do you write a DBA problem statement at Liberty?
State a general problem and its consequence, support it with recent research, then state a specific problem that narrows the population and setting, also supported, so the study's focus is clear.
What is in BUSI 885?
The 600-point comprehensive exam in Module/Week 3, the concept paper in four parts from Module/Week 4 to Module/Week 8, eight weekly progress reports and the course requirements checklist.
Why do family businesses fail to plan for succession?
Research points to incumbents' reluctance to let go, family conflict, the lack of a willing or capable successor and the absence of governance structures that would force the question.
Use it as a model, or ask for your own
This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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