Selected Revitalization Strategies of Leaders in Medium-Sized Real Estate Development Firms in a Recession: A Phenomenological Inquiry

SELECTED REVITALIZATION STRATEGIES OF LEADERS IN MEDIUM-
SIZED REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT FIRMS IN A RECESSION: A
PHENOMENOLOGICAL INQUIRY
A Doctoral Dissertation Research
Submitted to the
Faculty of Argosy University, College of Education
In Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Education
by
Kenechukwu David Ewulu
November 2012

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Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved

iii
A Doctoral Dissertation Research
Submitted to the
Faculty of Argosy University
The Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Education
By
Argosy University
November, 2012
Dissertation Committee Approval:
Bruce M. Lazar, D.M., Dissertation Chair ----------------------------------
Vicky Black, Ph.D., Dissertation Committee Member ----------------------------------
Timothy Drake, Ph.D., Program Chair ----------------------------------

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Abstract of Doctoral Dissertation Research
Submitted to the
Faculty of Argosy University, College of Education
the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Education
by
Argosy University
November, 2012
Bruce M. Lazar, D.M., Dissertation Chair
Vicky Black, Ph.D., Dissertation Committee Member
Department: College of Education

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ABSTRACT
The recession from 2007-2009 adversely affected real estate development firms and led
to global job losses and a crash in property values. This dissertation research identified
and described the revitalization strategies utilized by leaders of medium-sized,
southeastern US-based real estate development firms in response to government-led
palliatives. Transcendental phenomenology, a type of qualitative research, was used. Five
research questions were utilized; the overall research question being what revitalization
strategies leaders of real estate development firms in the southeastern US embraced in
order to take advantage of opportunities presented by new regulatory and banking sector
initiatives. Expert-validated interview protocols were used to gather information from a
retail developer in Florida, a commercial developer in Georgia, a residential developer in
South Carolina, and a large national bank. Telephone interviews were transcribed
verbatim and Nvivo qualitative data analysis software was used to identify trends and
strategies used. Results showed that budgets were cut, sale units were converted to rental
units, foreclosed properties were purchased, and diversification to the more buoyant
property sub-sectors occurred. The impact of the repopulation of downtowns on the
enervation of the real estate sub-sector, and an empirical study of the effectiveness of
developers’ selected revitalization strategies during the 2007 to 2009 recession were
recommended for future study. This study could contribute to the business environment
by helping build a new culture that balances corporate survivalist strategies with
employee-focused strategies through the protection of profits and people.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Copyright Page …………………………………………………………………………...ii
Signature Page …………………………………………………………………………...iii
Abstract Cover Page ……………………………………………………………………..iv
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………...v
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………...vi-x
Table of Appendices ……………………………………………………………………..xi
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………...xii
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………xiii
CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM ……………………………………...………………1
Problem Background……………………………………………………………...............3
Problem Statement ………………………………………………………………………..5
Purpose of the Study..……………………………………………………………………..6
Nature of the Study …………………………………………………………………….....8
Research Questions………………………………………………………………………12
Assumptions, Limitations and Delimitations ……………………………………………13
Assumptions………………………………………………...……..............................13
General Methodological Assumptions …………………………………………..13
Theoretical Assumptions ………………………………………………………..14
Topic-Specific Assumptions …………………………………………………….14
Assumptions about Methods or Instruments ….………………………………...14
Limitations of Study ………………………………………………………………...15
Delimitations of Study ………………………………………………………………16
Definition of Terms………....……………………………………………..……………..16
Importance of the Study…...……………………………………..………………............20
Conclusion.………………………………………………………………………………21
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE……………..…………………...24
Introduction …………………...…………………………………………………………24
Literature Review …………………………………………………………………..........28
Historical Review of Topic and Variables …………………………………………..28
Past Studies ……………………………………………………………...............29
Past Theories ………………………………………………………………...33
Past Leadership Theories ………………………………………………..34
Past Turnaround Theories ……………………………………………….35
Past Change Theories ……………………………………………………36
Past Methodologies…………………………………………………………..37
Past Measurement Issues……………………………………………….........37
Rationale for the Research …………………………………………………………..38
Rationale for Using Qualitative Methods ……………………………………….39

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Rationale for Using Phenomenology ……………………………………………40
Phenomenology and Existing Literature Patterns.……………………………….44
Theoretical Background, Relationship and Relevance ……………………………...44
Leadership Strategies ……………………………………………………………44
Change ………………………………………………………………………45
Corporate Survivalist Strategies .……………………………………………46
Employee-Focused Strategies ………………………………………………47
Expert Perspectives..……………………………………….…………………….48
Regulatory Guidelines …………………………………………………………..49
Major Theorists Related to Organizational Revitalization Strategies ……………….49
Positivist Perspectives …………………………………………………………...50
Contrary Perspectives……………………………………………………………53
Historical Context .………………………………………………………………54
Modern Context ….……………………………………………………...............56
Summary of Research Relationship to Organizational Revitalization Strategies …...57
Existing Literature on Research Questions.……………………………...............58
Pertinence within Existing Literature………….………………………...............61
Voids in Literature ………………………………………………………………63
Filling Voids in Literature ………………………………………………………64
Summary and Transition ……………………………………………………….........65
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………….66
Overview..………………………………………………………………………………..66
Research Design..………………………………………………………………...............67
Population and Sampling Procedures ………………………………………...................70
Population……………………………………………………………………………70
Sampling.……………………………………………………….................................70
Sampling Methodology ………………………………………………………….71
Sample Size ……………………………………………………...........................71
Contingency Plan ………………………………………………………………..72
Access to Participants …………………………………………...........................73
Working Relationship with Participants ………………………...........................74
Ethical Protection Measures for Participants ……………………………………74
Protection from Harm ………………………………….................................74
Informed Consent …………………………………………………………...75
Assurance of Volunteerism …………………………….................................76
Right to Privacy ……………………………………………………………..76
Anonymity, Confidentiality, Limits of Confidentiality ……………………..76
Potential Negative Risks and Ameliorating Measures ………………………77
Honesty with Professional Colleagues ………………………………………77
Instrumentation and Measures …………………………………………………………..77
Expert Panel Review .………………………………………………………………..77
Interview Protocols .……………………………………………………....................78
Interview Protocol ‘E’ …..……………………………………….........................78
Interview Protocol ‘F’ …..……………………………………….........................79
Follow-Up Interview Protocols ..…………………………………………………….79

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Follow-Up Interview Protocol ‘G’ …..…………………………………………..79
Follow-Up Interview Protocol ‘H’ …..…………………………..........................79
Validity and Reliability Measures .………………………………………………….80
Credibility ……………….………………………………………………………80
Transferability ………..………………………………………….........................81
Dependability ………..…………………………………………………………..82
Confirmability ………..………………………………………….........................82
Procedures and Methods...……………………………………………………….............82
Sample Recruitment, Selection and Assignment Procedures .…………....................83
Sample Recruitment Procedure ………………………………………………….83
Sample Selection Procedure …………………………………………………….83
Sample Assignment Procedure ………………………………………………….83
Informed Consent and Participant Protection Procedures …………………………..84
Informed Consent Procedure ……………………………………………………84
Participant Protection Procedure ………………………………………………...84
Data Collection Procedures ………………………………………………………….84
Approval from the Institutional Review Board …………………………………84
Invitation and Selection of Participants …………………………………………85
Administering the Interview Protocol ……………...............................................85
Addressing the Research Question ……………………….............................85
Addressing Research Sub-Questions ………………………………………..86
Follow-Up Telephone Interviews ……………………………………………….88
Presentation of Data, Findings, and Results Procedures ….…………………………89
Data Processing and Analysis...……………………………………………………….....91
Data Processing .……………………………………………………………………..92
Data Analysis .…………………………………………………………………….....92
Data Storage, Security, and Disposal Procedures .…………………………………..93
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………94
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS..….. ……………………………………...……………..96
Restatement of the Purpose ...……………………………………………………………96
Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………...98
Main Research Question ………………………………………………………….....98
Subquestion A …………………………………………………………………….....98
Subquestion B …………………………………………………………………….....98
Subquestion C …………………………………………………………………….....98
Subquestion D …………………………………………………………………….....99
Review of Data Collection Procedures..…………………………………..……………..99
Description of Sample …………………………………………………………….....99
Interview Protocols…………………………………………………………………101
Follow-Up Telephone Interviews…………………………………………………..102
Coding and Identification of Themes………………………………………………103
Findings… ……………………………………………………………………………..104
Pre- and Post-Recession Perspectives……………………………………………...104
Participant A………………………………………………………………………..105
Interview Protocol Findings …………………………………………………...105

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Follow-Up Interview Findings …………………………………………………107
Participant B………………………………………………………………………...112
Interview Protocol Findings ……………………………………………………112
Participant C………………………………………………………………………...116
Interview Protocol Findings ……………………………………………………116
Follow-Up Interview Protocol Findings ……………………………………….117
Participant D………………………………………………………………………..124
Interview Protocol Findings …………………………………………………....124
Themes and Patterns………………………………………………………………..127
Root Causes of the Recession…………………………………………………..127
Reactionary Strategies………………………………………………………….129
Revitalization Opportunities Gleaned from Government Palliatives…………..129
Revitalization Strategies Used………………………………………………….130
Impact of Strategies Used………………………………………………………131
Negative Fallouts……………………………………………………………….131
New Scenarios………………………………………………………………….132
Linking Themes to Research Questions …………………………………………...133
Main Research Question ……………………………………………………….133
Research Sub-Question A ……………………………………………………...134
Research Sub-Question B ……………………………………………………...134
Research Sub-Question C ……………………………………………………...135
Research Sub-Question D ……………………………………………………...135
Summary of Findings …………………………………………………………………..136
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..139
Overview ……………………………………………………………………………….139
Discussion………………...…………………………………………………………….142
Opportunities ……………………………………………………………………….144
Threats ……………………………………………………………………………...145
Strategies Used ……………………………………………………………………..147
Impacts of Strategies on Developers, Banks, and the Economy …………………...150
Positive Impacts ………………………………………………………………..150
Negative Impacts ………………………………………………………………151
Interpretation of Findings ……………………………………………………………...152
Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………….160
Strategies Identified and Described ………………………………………………..161
Strategies Linked with Classical and Contemporary Perspectives ………………...162
Implications for Practice ……………………………………………………………….166
Raising Cash and Lowering Costs …………………………………………………166
Less Profitable Projects …………………………………………………………….166
Long and Short Term Scenarios …………………………………………………...166
Banking Policies …………………………………………………………………...166
Negative Implications ……………………………………………………………...167
Social Change ……………………………………………………………………...168

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Limitations Encountered and Impact on Findings and Conclusions ………………168
Recommendations for Future Research ………………………………………………..169
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………172
TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………….186

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TABLE OF APPENDICES
Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………..190
A. Interview Protocol …………………………………………………………………..191
B. Letter of Invitation ………………………………………………………………….195
C. Informed Consent Form …………………………………………………………….198
D. Pre-Qualification Protocol – Real Estate Development Firms ……………………..202
E. Interview Protocol – Real Estate Development Firms ……………………………...204
F. Interview Protocol – Banks …………………………………………………………207
G. Follow-Up Interview Protocol – Real Estate Development Firms …………………209
H. Follow-Up Interview Protocol – Banks …………………………………………….211
I. Cover Letter – Expert Panel Review Protocol ………………………………………213
J. Interview Protocol – Participant A…………………………………………………...216
K. Interview Protocol – Participant B ………………………………………………….221
L. Interview Protocol – Participant C…………………………………………………..224
M. Interview Protocol – Participant D ………………………….. ………………….....228
N. Follow-Up Interview Transcript – Participant A …………………………………...232
O. Follow-Up Interview Transcript – Participant B ………………………………...…246
P. Follow-Up Interview Transcript – Participant C .....…………………..………….…256
Q. Follow-Up Interview Transcript – Participant D ..………………………………….268

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to express sincere gratitude to dissertation committee chair,
Dr. Bruce Lazar, and dissertation committee member Dr. Vicky Black for their
invaluable support and guidance in the planning and implementation of this research
project. The deepest appreciation is further offered to the top management of certain real
estate development firms and bank in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, who for
confidentiality concerns, cannot be mentioned by name, for their participation in the
research study. Without their contributions of time and resources, this study would not
have been possible.

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DEDICATION
To my wife and best friend Ijeoma, whose love and support
has helped turn this once lifelong dream into a shared reality. And to my children
Gio, Tiffany, and Ethan-David, who provided the relaxing and joyful interludes required
in the last four years to successfully accomplish this quest.

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CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM
The activity level of the real estate development sector is one parameter for
assessing a nation’s economic health due to its interconnectivity with other economic
sectors such as finance, mortgage, construction, architecture, hospitality, property values,
and employment (Anonymous, 2009). The uninterrupted employment of professionals
and workers within these sectors of the economy should therefore have far-reaching
positive effects on the nation’s middle and lower classes.
Unfortunately, the residential mortgage sub-sector within the United States
became plagued with a myriad of problems such as overpriced properties, a surplus of
inventory on the market, and lax banking pre-qualification requirements for aspiring
homeowners (Kapner & Politi, 2011). These problems led to the inability of developers
to keep up with their loan repayments, increased incidences of foreclosures, difficulty in
obtaining credit for new developments, and the eventual collapse of the real estate
industry. According to Hanson (2008), “the national home appreciation index continued
to decline from 2006 to 2009, leading to the refinancing, modification, or outright default
of about ninety percent of sub-prime mortgages”. These indices were not helped by the
apparent greed exhibited by real estate development firms in continuing to churn out new
properties as long as the artificially high values held out and they could gain monetarily
(Hanson, 2008). The increased default rate of developers eventually impacted banks,
insurance companies, and stock markets negatively, leading to heightened unemployment
and the current national and global economic downturn (Smick, 2010).
Hollier (2009) cited the preponderance of abandoned development projects in
Hawaii, insinuating that the major cause was the freezing of construction loans for

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ongoing projects due to the spate of financial and insurance company failures in the
United States. Unemployment levels are typically higher during periods of economic
downturns (Hamilton, 2011); the poor performance of real estate development firms and
other private and public corporations inevitably led to these layoffs. These layoffs
culminated in the rise of the unemployment rate from 4.7% to 9.5% between November
2007 and June 2009; the total number of unemployed during the same period rising from
7.2 million to 14.7 million people (United States Department of Labor, n. d.). The Federal
Reserve reacted to the looming crisis by arguing for an overhaul of the financial
regulatory system (Serres, 2009).
The involvement of government in the crisis brought Congress into the equation,
with arguments resonating about the most effective measures for shoring up the spiraling
economy. According to Coy (2009), “Congress argued on whether the downturn
warranted implementing the stimulus package, or whether the economy was already on
the rebound and did not need the inflation and debt burden that the stimulus’
implementation would create”. The bottom line was that one school of thought wanted
alternative measures such as tax cuts and self-correction while another school of thought
felt that implementing the stimulus package would save jobs and create new ones (Coy,
2009). An argument that supported the urgent need for government intervention stated
that “government bailouts were required as a short-term measure, while in the long term,
a deployment of several regulatory initiatives aimed at revamping the financial
framework, raising confidence in the residential real estate sector and protecting
consumers be implemented” (Schiller, 2008).

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It was believed in some quarters that recent upswings in the economy were
temporary due to the combined impact of the unemployment, public-debt, banking, and
innovation crises that persistently plagued the United States (Smick, 2010). Real estate
development firms reacted in different ways as their leaderships caught whiffs of the
economic downturn and property sector meltdown. While a few wise organizations
speedily liquidated their assets and wound down, more hesitant ones faced less dignifying
options such as self-financing or filing for bankruptcy (Caulfield, 2009). In confirming
the actions of these real estate development firms (REDFs) during the heat of the crisis,
Hanson (2008) recounted the foreclosure indices and authorized building permit
valuations that portrayed the “large-scale nationwide spread of the sub-prime virus”.
Government reactions to the unfolding crises could best be summed up by President
Obama’s comparison of the 2007 economic downturn to the recession of the 1930s, and
likened the impact of his government’s revitalization initiatives to that of President
Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ (Francis, 2009). How real estate development firms positioned
and availed themselves of the opportunities created by these government-led palliative
measures became critical to the revitalization of their organizations.
Problem Background
In response to property foreclosures, unavailability of construction loans and the
financial difficulties of small businesses in general and property developers in particular,
three agencies were set up by The Federal Reserve which serves as the governing bank of
the United States in 2008. The Term Asset-backed Loan Facility (TALF) was formed to
help make funding more readily obtainable for privately-owned businesses through the
disbursement of funds assured and supported by the Small Business Administration SBA

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(Federal Reserve Bank of New York, n.d., para. 1). The Troubled Asset Relief Program
(TARP) was formed by the Federal Reserve Bank with the mandate to strengthen the
liquidity base of financial institutions and the economy by buying up mortgage backed
securities (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2011, para. 1). In
anticipation of the speedy success of TALF and TARP, the Federal Reserve also
formulated the Public-Private Partnership Investment Program (PPIP) to enable
partnerships between the public sector and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
aimed at buying back hundreds of millions of dollars worth of mortgage assets from
banks thereby jointly reinvesting in the economy (U.S. Department of the Treasury, n.d.,
para. 3).
The government approved and immediately implemented a palliative measure
dubbed ‘The Stimulus Package’ whose objective was to provide badly needed funding to
the tune of $787 million to struggling organizations in the economy. The banks acted as
assessment and disbursement organs for the stimulus, and huge financial, automobile and
private sector organizations benefited financially from this measure, even though the full
impact of the program on the long term could not be easily gauged. Political and
economic experts were divided in their support for these palliatives, with 2004 Nobel
laureate Edward Prescott arguing against it while the 1987 Nobel laureate Robert Solow
argued for more of the stimulus package (Coy, 2009). This confusion was perpetuated by
the very little success so far achieved in turning around the economy in general and
REDFs’ fortunes in particular, the continuing dogfight in Congress, and the scarcity of
literature cataloguing any successful leadership strategies for revamping real estate
development firms during a recession. Mitra Kalita and Reddy (2010) reiterated the

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importance of the real estate sector in the economic downturn that began in 2007 by
contending that job losses and plummeting home prices remained the persistent problems
undermining sustained economic recovery.
Real estate development firm leaderships faced the creative task of positioning
themselves to benefit from the palliative measures being overseen by TALF, TARP, and
financial institutions. Organizational response to the palliative efforts of these
government agencies needed to be more active if reasonable gains at economic recovery
were to be made.
Problem Statement
The poor performance of US-based real estate development firms was linked to
the lingering global economic recession, which according to official sources, commenced
in December 2007 and bottomed out in June 2009 (the National Bureau of Economic
Research, n.d.). By October 2011, the number of unemployed persons stood at 13.9
million, 1.4 million of them being in the real estate industry (US Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). New home sales fell by 71% while existing home sales
dropped by 27% between 2005 and 2009 (Kinghorn, 2010, p. 9). The large number of
stalled development projects led to difficulties in maintaining existing construction loans,
obtaining new credit, and ultimately, to the collapse of real estate development firms
(Hollier, 2009). Therefore, this phenomenological qualitative research was aimed at
identifying and describing real estate development firms’ revitalization strategies during
the recent economic downturn, and drew four participants from three medium-sized real
estate development firms in the southeastern United States, and one bank.

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There was, at the time, very little research that dealt with revitalization strategies
of US-based, medium-sized real estate development firms during a recession (Gulati,
Nohria, & Wohlgezogen, 2010). This study strove to fill some of this gap in literature
while providing rationales for future research concerning the phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative method of inquiry was to
discover and describe revitalization strategies utilized by leaders of medium-sized real
estate development firms (REDFs) in the southeastern United States in response to new
regulatory and banking initiatives during the economic downturn that began in 2007
(Miron, 2010).
The population included medium-sized real estate development firms in Florida,
Georgia and South Carolina, as well as banks representing fiscal and credit regulatory
bodies charged with overseeing and implementing the Federal Reserve’s economic
recovery policies. The sample for the study consisted of four participants from four
participant organizations, three of which were medium-sized real estate development
firms based in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and one bank. Four participants were
considered appropriate for this study because phenomenology includes “studying a small
number of subjects with the view to understanding their perspectives of a phenomenon”
(Creswell, 2009, p. 13). Choosing one or two participants might have negatively
impacted the validity of the findings because of the very small number of sources
available for triangulation (Creswell, 2009, pp. 190-191). Furthermore, a small number of
sources would have reduced the degree to which the findings of the research could be
generalized to the larger population of medium-sized real estate development firms in the

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southeastern United States. On the flip side of this argument was the fact that a larger
number of participants would have made the study too unwieldy, costly and time
consuming. Phenomenology recommends that researchers interview between 1 and 325
participants who experienced the phenomenon, with Dukes (1984) recommending the
study of three to ten participants (as cited in Creswell, 2007, p. 126). This researcher
chose to use four participants from three different states in order to adequately
triangulate, conclude the data collection and analysis in a timely manner, and identify
varying strategies based on the different demographic characteristics and economic
climates of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The study utilized an interview protocol with open-ended questions that fostered
more elaboration by respondents. The interview protocol, composed of a few open-ended
questions, was sent by e-mail to the participants and was used initially to solicit for
perspectives from one leader from each of these organizations; it was followed up by
telephone interviews utilizing open-ended questions for more clarifications (Creswell,
2009). The interview questions addressed the sub-questions of the research, which in this
case was identifying and describing the different strategies embraced by the leaderships
of the participant organizations in order to revamp their ailing fortunes or execute
agency-led small business recovery strategies (Sokolowski, 2008).
The anticipated findings was expected to give direction to real estate development
firms in search of revitalization strategies by identifying workable action plans used by
their leaderships to sustain income generation. These anticipated findings were also
expected to identify viable operational trends aimed at redefining how real estate practice
should be responsibly managed in the future, especially with respect to profitability, lease

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and purchase arrangements, staff salaries, budgetary projections and property inventory
(Shappell, 2011). Finally, the findings were expected to provide a background for future
studies on organizational revitalization strategies in recessed and rebounding economies,
especially with the discontinuation of agency-led palliatives in 2010 as signs of economic
recovery became more apparent.
Nature of the Study
The phenomenological qualitative strategy of inquiry was the methodology
utilized for the research design. The qualitative method was preferred to the quantitative
and mixed methods approaches because of the emerging or unfolding nature of the
current economic downturn. Creswell (2009) argues that “quantitative methods of
research involve complicated experiments, many variables and detailed equation models”
(p. 12). Quantitative methods can involve survey or experimental research which would
require up-to-date organizational performance indices and statistics depicting the impact
of agency-led palliatives on the financial health of real estate development firms. These
statistics were unsteady and at best, sketchy at the time because of the evolving nature of
the effects of the economic downturn on these organizations, as well as their
susceptibility to change as the months went by and would therefore not have been
credible for use then. For example, employment indices in the real estate sector differed
at three important periods: 2.1 million people were in employment in November 2007
when the recession was officially deemed to have started, 1.99 million in June 2009 when
the recession was officially deemed to have ended, and 1.94 million in October 2011 (US
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). These indices depicted the still-
evolving nature of numerical statistics concerning the phenomenon and made the

9
argument against the suitability of quantitative methodologies for the research at the time.
The same argument was made for sequential, concurrent or transformative mixed
methods approaches; they were deemed unsuitable for this research because of the
influence of the current inadequacies of the quantitative aspect of the process on the
reliability and validity of the research. Creswell (2009) posits that mixed methods is pre-
determined and requires multiple forms of data as well as statistical and text analysis (p.
15). The data and industry indices concerning the proposed research were still in a state
of flux, and the use of the mixed methods approach could have therefore negatively
impacted the validity of the findings.
Within the qualitative research method, phenomenology was preferred to the case
study, narrative, grounded theory or ethnography strategies because of the uniqueness
and emerging nature of the economic downturn. According to Creswell (2007) “the case
study approach to qualitative research examines an issue by studying one or more cases
within a defined boundary or viewpoint” (p. 73). This could therefore have confined the
research to one or two organizations and negatively impacted the validity of the findings
if we generalized those findings to include all medium sized real estate development
firms in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. The narrative research approach “gathers
information by studying and collecting the stories of one or two people, reporting what
they experienced, and sequencing the meaning of their experiences in a chronological
manner” (Creswell, 2007, p. 54). The involvement of the researcher in assembling and
narrating the participants’ stories could have brought researcher bias into the equation
and reduced the validity and credibility of the findings. This was more so if the researcher
had a background in the real estate development or organizational turnaround sectors.

10
The grounded theory approach “generates hypotheses and ultimately a theory of
actions, interactions and processes through intertwined categories of information
collected from individuals about a phenomenon” (Creswell, 2007, p. 62). The unfolding
nature of revitalization strategies of real estate development firms and the fact that the
evolving results of these strategic efforts were transient discouraged the use of the
grounded theory approach. Ethnography as a qualitative strategy of inquiry “studies and
describes a definitive cultural entity in their natural environment and over a specified
time by retrieving information through interviews and observations” (Creswell, 2009, p.
13). A specific cultural grouping, researcher participation as an observer, and researcher
involvement in description and interpretation are critical elements in ethnography. These
elements would have conflicted with the need to depend solely on participants’
perspectives, would have created researcher bias, and would have negatively impacted
the validity and generalization of the findings.
The use of the phenomenological strategy of inquiry for the research helped elicit
rich detailed descriptions of the economic revitalization strategies adopted by real estate
development firms’ leaderships from respondents based on their experiences, expert
opinions and observations. In phenomenology, the researcher “depends on the lived
experiences and descriptions of the subjects so as to elicit deeper meaning to the event,
casting aside preconceived biases and permitting open revelations and better observations
from participants during data collection” (Creswell, 2009, p. 13).
The sampling design “specifies the sample frame, size and the system utilized in
selecting and contacting individual respondents from the population” (Alreck & Settle,
2004, p. 447). An initial list of about thirty real estate development firms was culled from

11
the Georgia, Florida and South Carolina chapters of the Commercial Real Estate
Development Association NAIOP, as well as from banks; letters of invitation to
participate in the research was then sent out to them. Respondents from the real estate
development firms’ category were assessed using criteria which included organization
size, location and revenue range during the period 2008 to 2010. A criterion-based
sample of four participants was purposely selected from the list of respondents, three of
them equally drawn from medium sized real estate firms located in Georgia, Florida and
South Carolina, and one of them from the banking category.
An interview protocol administered by e-mail was used to gather data from the
anticipated participants, and this was supported by follow up telephone interviews
utilizing open-ended questions to facilitate more detailed explanations and perspectives.
According to Creswell (2009), the interview protocol and follow up interviews are
“viable data collection options that can provide historical information, that are useful
when subjects are not being directly observed, and allows the researcher control over the
direction of questioning” (p. 179). The researcher personally conducted the data
collection and analysis exercise utilizing the same interview protocol and data analysis
software (Nvivo 8) for identifying common themes and patterns. The original
participants’ responses to the interview protocol as well as transcripts of supporting
interviews were collated and attached as appendices to the research report to buttress the
authenticity of the data from which coding, themes and inferences were made. The data
was presented solely from the participants’ viewpoints without any observational or
ideological input from the researcher so as to minimize bias and sustain the credibility of

12
the proposed research. Creswell (2009) suggests triangulation, member checking, and
researcher bias clarification as ways to ensure the validity of findings (pp. 191-192).
Research Questions
Main Research Question
The overall guiding research question was: What revitalization strategies were
utilized by leaders of medium-sized real estate development firms in the southeastern
United States to take advantage of the opportunities presented by new regulatory and
banking sector initiatives?
Research Sub-questions
1. To what extent did real estate development firms take advantage of the
opportunities generated by government agency reforms of 2008?
2. How did banks’ executions of agency mandates of 2008 reveal opportune
revitalization strategies for leaders of real estate development firms?
3. How did agency-induced revitalization opportunities influence strategies
selected by leaders of real estate development firms during the 2007-2009 recession?
4. How did the implementation of revitalization strategies selected by leaders
of real estate development firms impact their fortunes during the 2007-2009 recession?
These research sub-questions were developed by utilizing a combination of issue
and procedural formats for sub-questions. According to Creswell (2007), issue-oriented
sub-questions break down the central question into smaller topics while procedure-
oriented sub-questions address the identified meanings, themes, context and overall
essence of participants’ experiences” (pp. 109-111).

13
Interview Protocol Questions
Interview protocol questions were utilized in seeking answers to the research
questions and sub-questions; they were short and open-ended in nature, and probes were
inserted under each question in order to encourage participants give more detailed
explanations of their perspectives (Simmons, 2007, p. 131). The follow-up interview
protocol questions sought to clarify the participants’ written answers to the interview
protocol, and enough space between the questions were provided so the interviewer could
take notes to support the audio recording (Creswell, 2009, p. 183). The research questions
and interview protocol questions were administered to an expert panel for their review;
this served as a gauge to determine the questions’ capability in collecting the information
they were created to elicit.
Assumptions, Limitations and Delimitations
Assumptions
A few assumptions were made concerning the research study into revitalization
strategies of leaders of real estate development firms during a recession. These
assumptions were unverified facts that were assumed to be true and were categorized as
general methodological assumptions, theoretical assumptions, topic-specific assumptions
and assumptions about methods or instruments.
General methodological assumptions. The use of the phenomenological strategy
of inquiry for the research assumed the experiences and perspectives of participants were
the core foundational data from which the identification and description of revitalization
themes and strategies were made. It was also assumed that equal participation in the
research from the states of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina could be achieved by

14
obtaining the consent of one respondent each from the aforementioned southeastern states
in the real estate development firms’ category of participants. It was also assumed that
the experiences, perspectives and accounts of one leader in each of the four organizations
interviewed was the honest representation of the strategies that were actually utilized and
the results obtained within those organizations.
Theoretical assumptions. The use of the phenomenological strategy of inquiry
for the research assumed that the experiences and perspectives of the four participants
that constituted the sample represented the crux of the revitalization strategies employed
by real estate development leaderships in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina during the
economic downturn that commenced in 2007. It was assumed that a recession occurred
between 2007 and 2009 (the National Bureau of Economic Research, n.d.). It was also
assumed that the recession was gradually turning around, and that there were laudable
strategies out there that might have helped sustain the gradual revitalization of the
fortunes of real estate development firms (DeLisle, 2011).
Topic-specific assumptions. It was assumed that the research touched on what
participants and leaders did to bring needed change to organizational operations and
revenue-generating capabilities during recessions. The research also recognized that
participants’ experiences and perspectives might have had some element of subjectivity
and complexity and would therefore be triangulated by comparing and contrasting them
with alternative organizational revitalization strategies retrieved from recent recession-
focused peer-reviewed articles.
Assumptions about methods or instruments. Phenomenology basically accepts
that the researcher is the main instrument of research (Creswell, 2009, p. 175). It was

15
assumed that exploratory questions were included in the initial invitation to participate,
and that they helped to sieve through the list of invited organizations to identify those that
met the prescribed criteria of size, location and gross revenue for participation in the
research. It was also assumed, according to Moustakas (1994), that the main data
collection tool is the interview protocol which consists of a few open-ended questions
used for collecting information from participants (as cited in Creswell, 2007, p. 61).
Hursel’s concept of ‘epoche’, in which the personal experiences of the researcher are set
aside and participants’ viewpoints and experiences are solely relied on was used in this
research. Leedy and Ormrod (2010) argue that this could be difficult for researchers who
also personally experienced the phenomenon under study (p. 141).
Limitations of Study
The phenomenological research was performed based on the perspectives and
experiences of the participants collected through the interview protocol and follow up
interviews, and guided by Moustakas’s (1994) approach for conducting
phenomenological research (Creswell, 2007, p. 60). Restricting the study to one
participant from each of four organizations limited the generalizability of the findings.
Less-than-honest descriptions of participants’ perspectives concerning their
organizations’ unique revitalization strategies might have brought subjectivity which may
have limited the validity of the research. Utilizing the organizational size between 20 and
500 employees, annual gross revenue between 34 and 100 million dollars, and location
within Georgia, Florida and South Carolina as participants’ criteria could have
inadvertently filtered out some otherwise authentic medium-sized real estate development
firms from the sample. Finally, even though it was the researcher’s hope that four or

16
more participants signify their intentions to participate in the study, the chance existed
that some participants already locked in to the research may drop out for unforeseen
reasons thereby limiting the validity of the research.
Delimitations of Study
The study was confined to the southeastern United States due to the variance in
property values and performance of real estate development firms within the nation’s
geographical regions. Purposeful criterion sampling was used to assess the participants;
Miles and Huberman (1994) posit that qualitative samples should be purposive and not
random, with criterion sampling being a strategy where the selected participants must
have met some criterion (as cited in Griffin, 2008, p. 45). Other criteria used included the
need for participants to be experienced leaders or decision makers in their organizations,
their inclination to participate and openly communicate their experiences, their fear of
releasing confidential information such as their gross earnings in recently past years, and
their permission to have the interviews recorded and published for this research study
(Fail, 2010). Another delimitation was the time it would have taken to have the
appropriate leaders’ responses due to their busy schedules; delegates of their choice could
be accepted as interviewees in their stead, provided those delegates were singularly
nominated by the organizational leader and must have had first hand knowledge and
experience of the revitalization strategies their organizations deployed.
Definition of Terms
The key terms used in the research that require defining include recession,
revitalization, revitalization opportunities, leadership, leadership strategies, medium-sized

17
real estate development firms, government regulatory agencies, TALF, TARP, banks, and
phenomenological inquiry.
Recession
A recession occurs when a downturn in the economy exists, there is growing
unemployment, and investment capital is available but not utilized, leading to a general
reduction in productivity (Hamilton, 2011, p. 2).
Revitalization
This is the capability that an organization possesses as it responds and adapts to
the vagaries of change by recognizing it as a process that could infuse new life into their
operations and ultimately improve organizational performance (Hayden, 1998, pp. 125-
126).
Revitalization Opportunities
These are the options and alternatives perceived by organizational leaders as
viable and potentially instrumental to resuscitating their organization’s ailing economic
fortunes. Azis (2010) argues that these “perceived opportunities can be viewed as the
meeting point of a set of desirable behaviors and a set of feasible behaviors”, citing the
Federal Reserve’s financial support to banks as an example of a revitalization opportunity
(p. 126).
Leadership
Leadership is simply facilitating a way for a group of people to collectively make
a worthwhile goal a reality. Kouzes and Posner (2007) define leadership as an
“identifiable set of skills and abilities that facilitates a relationship based on mutual
respect and confidence that overcomes the greatest adversities while achieving

18
sustainable and significant common goals” (pp. 23-24). The practice of learned
leadership behavior coupled with morally upright and selfless personal characteristics
combine to make good leaders. Leadership is about doing what is preached, inspiring the
vision, looking for better ways to accomplish things, and empowering, encouraging and
supporting others as they strive to accomplish set goals (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 14).
Leadership Strategies
Leadership strategies are the “action plans that an individual executes in the
process of influencing a collection of individuals to meet a shared objective” (Northouse,
2007, p. 3). There are many strategies and types of leadership, but the selected types are
often based on the type of organization, the scope of the objectives and the time frame for
achieving those objectives.
Medium-Sized Real Estate Development Firms
These would be defined as those firms that reported annual gross revenues
between 33.5 million dollars (U.S. Small Business Administration, n.d.) and about 100
million dollars (European Commission Enterprise and Industry, n.d.) and had less than
500 employees (United States International Trade Commission, n.d.) during any year
within the period 2005-2008. For the purposes of this research, medium-sized real estate
development firms should fall within the 34 million to 100 million dollar range in annual
gross revenues and would have employed between 20 and 500 employees in any of the
years from 2005 to 2008.
Government Regulatory Agencies
These include agencies set up by the federal government in the wake of the
mortgage crises who were charged with formulating and executing fiscal policies that

19
would help the private sector bounce back from the ill-effects of the economic downturn.
Two agencies that would yield information for this study are TALF and TARP.
Term asset-backed loan facility (TALF). This agency was formulated by the
Federal Reserve Bank to help ease the funding needs of privately-owned businesses
through the disbursement of facilities assured by the Small Business Administration SBA
(Federal Reserve Bank of New York, n.d., para. 1).
Troubled asset relief program (TARP). This agency was formed by the Federal
Reserve Bank with the mandate to strengthen the liquidity base of financial institutions
and the economy by buying up mortgage backed securities (Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, 2011, para. 1).
Banks
One bank was selected for this study. The bank represents the large national bank
which is “chartered by the Department of Treasury and supervised by the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency” (The Federal Reserve, n.d., p. 60). Such banks, of which
Bank of America is an example, act as agents to the Federal Reserve and are responsible
for receiving a portion of the ‘stimulus package’ from the Federal Reserve and disbursing
to smaller regional banks and directly to qualified small and medium sized businesses.
The bank could also be a regional bank which is “chartered by the state governments and
supervised by the state government as well as the Federal Reserve or the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation FDIC” (The Federal Reserve, n.d., p. 60). Such banks, of which
Regions Bank is an example, are responsible for disbursing ‘stimulus package’ funds to
qualifying small businesses within the south-eastern region of the United States.

20
Phenomenological Inquiry
Phenomenological inquiry is a qualitative research style that “describes the
meaning of a concept or phenomenon through the lived experiences of several
individuals” (Creswell, 2007, p. 57).
Importance of the Study
The emerging nature and uniqueness of the recession revealed the scarcity of
relevant literature and data, necessitating the use of phenomenology to elicit elaborations
and detailed descriptions of respondents concerning effective organizational revitalization
strategies. The study was considered important because it sought to identify and describe
some of the innovative, reactionary strategies and actions undertaken by organizations in
general and medium-sized real estate firms in particular to resuscitate their economic
fortunes. Apart from identifying new strategies, the research aimed to prove the
effectiveness of some alternatives that had already been suggested by industry observers
and experts in peer-reviewed articles, conference papers and professional journals. A few
of the suggested options include customization of end-products (Bumgardner,
Buehlmann, Schuler & Crissey, 2011), shifting emphasis to more profitable and
sustainable real estate sectors such as medical office buildings (Muhlebach & Dougherty,
2011), and retaining top talent (Hunt, 2011). Identifying and verifying the correctness of
these options could avail currently floundering small businesses with alternatives they
could embrace in order to revitalize their organizations, commence hiring and ultimately
help in the reduction of currently high unemployment indices.
The findings of the study could identify more revitalization strategies that directly
applied to real estate development firms during economic downturns, thereby adding

21
value to the existing body of knowledge, especially with regard to effective, profitable
and proactive management of small businesses. In other words, leaderships of small firms
and real estate development firms could then be armed with several approaches to
running their organizations with the appropriate safety net to guard against negative
effects of future economic downturns.
In contributing to future positive social change, the research findings could
contribute to the list of conservative, less risky and more sustainably profitable strategies
for organizational resuscitation and growth. In other words, the research findings could
assist in advocating for a culture of running small businesses and real estate development
firms in such a manner as to minimize the negative impacts of global economic
downturns and unforeseen events in the future.
Conclusion
As an introduction to the research, the large inventory of vacant real estate
properties, ensuing credit crunch for new developments and foreclosures to homes and
commercial properties due to artificially high property values were identified as
contributing factors to the real estate bust and the current global recession. With the
intervention of the United States government with several palliative measures aimed at
pumping liquidity into the system and encouraging new developments, leaderships of
small businesses in general and real estate development firms in particular positioned
themselves to take advantage of the opportunities available for their organizations’
revitalization.
This study was a qualitative, phenomenological method of inquiry that sought to
identify and describe the revitalization strategies that leaderships of real estate

22
development firms deployed to resuscitate their ailing organizations. The research
questions and interview questions were geared towards identifying these strategies from
four participants purposely selected due to their positions as leaders within their
organizations, as well as their experiences and observations as their firms navigated
through the worst phases of the recession. The interview protocol for collecting data
consisted of a few open-ended questions that were followed up with telephone interviews
for more detailed perspectives.
Limitations to the study were identified as restrictions to one participant from
each organization, probable participants’ less-than-honest answers to questions,
possibility of filtering out credible participant organizations due to the criteria specified
for participant selection, and the chance that some selected participants might pull out at
the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. Delimitations to the research were
identified as issues that might impinge on the validity of the findings such as the
participants’ willingness to participate and openly share their experiences, their
permission to have the interviews recorded and published, as well as probable delayed
responses from the designated participants due to their busy schedules.
The research was deemed important due to its mandate to identify and describe
strategies and actions undertaken by organizations in general and medium-sized real
estate firms in particular to resuscitate their economic fortunes. Furthermore, it would
help unearth and aim to prove the effectiveness of some alternatives that had already been
suggested by industry observers and experts in peer-reviewed articles and professional
journals, and add value to the existing body of knowledge. The research would contribute

23
to future positive social change by safely and proactively managing organizations before,
during and after economic downturns so as to minimize negative recession-borne effects.
Chapter two reviewed literature covering historical and theoretical backgrounds
of organizational survival during recessions, tried to extricate and discuss what strategies
existed in the past and current expert perspectives of methods used by medium-sized real
estate firms to navigate through the recession. Chapter three dealt with the design and
procedures for data collection and data analysis in such a way as to maximize the validity
and reliability of the information collected and ultimately, the findings. Chapter four
reported the findings of the research, while chapter five gave the summary, conclusions,
implications, and recommendations for future research into revitalizations strategies of
real estate development firms during recessions.

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research was to discover and
describe the revitalization strategies used by leaders of medium-sized real estate
development firms in the southeastern United States in response to government-induced
initiatives during the economic downturn that began in 2007. The real estate industry is
an important and secure part of any country’s economy (Moschidis, Livanis, & Lazaridis,
2008). This belief was severely shaken when the 2007 economic downturn adversely
impacted real estate development firms.
The population for this research was medium-sized real estate development firms
in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and banks. A purposive sample of four
participants comprising of one real estate development firm from each of the states of
Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and one bank was used for the research.
Turnaround, leadership, and change theories formed the basis for the theoretical
framework for the study. The turnaround theories referenced hinged on understanding the
activities organizations engaged in to stop a downward economic trend and kindle
resurgence (Hoffman, 1998); they were also strategic and operating in nature (Liang,
2007). Strategic turnarounds are long-term organizational improvement actions
(Chowdhury & Lang, 1994) while operating turnaround strategies are short-term internal
efficiency measures (Tvorik, Boissoneau, & Pearson, 1998). Situational and
transformational approaches to leadership were studied and correlated with the preferred
revitalization strategies suggested by industry experts and stakeholders. What
organizational leaders did to adapt their style to prevailing situations (Northouse, 2007)

25
and what they did to motivate their followers in order to bring needed change (Daft,
2008) were used as the second theoretical framework for this study. Kotter’s eight-step
change model, which describes steps towards increased change-induced effectiveness
(Daft, 2009), and Lewin’s three-step change theory that examines sustained commitment
to a new organizational direction (Deutsch, Coleman, & Marcus, 2006), were used as the
third theoretical framework for this research.
The first theme described focused on reactionary strategies embraced by real
estate development firms as a result of the 2007-2009 economic downturn. Real estate
development firms shut down their operations, sought bankruptcy protection or tried to
raise additional funding (Caulfield, 2009). Other reactionary strategies included cutting
costs (Liang, 2007), restructuring operations (Hoffman, 1989), innovatively sourcing
temporary tenants (Rosenberg, 2009), retrofitting properties to meet new demands
(Gopal, 2010), and reinvesting cached funds on re-possessed properties (DeLisle, 2008).
This theme provided a context for the study because it identified and described some of
the actions taken by leaders of real estate development firms to safeguard their firms’
survival once it was apparent that there was a sustained economic depression.
The second theme described focused on the revitalization opportunities identified
by real estate development firms as a result of government-led recovery initiatives during
the 2007-2009 economic downturn. The U.S. Government formulated the Term Asset-
backed Loan Facility to “provide funding for privately-owned businesses” (Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, n.d.), and the Troubled Asset Relief Program to “buy up
mortgage-backed securities and financially strengthen financial institutions and the
economy” (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2011). The anticipated

26
influx of funding into the medium-sized real estate development firm galvanized the
leadership to retain their top human resource talent (Hunt, 2011), and support and
motivate them for higher productivity (Frohriep, 2009 & de Waal, 2012). Available
funding also encouraged organizational leaders to diversify their operations and services
(Holland, 2009 & Grube, 2010), provide apartment buildings due to high demand for
small rental properties (DeLisle, 2008), and purchase and retrofit distressed properties for
the benefit of academic institutions (Rudden, 2010). This theme provided a context for
the study because it identified some of the opportunities open to real estate development
firms due to easier accessibility to funding made possible by the activities of government
regulatory agencies.
The third theme described the revitalization strategies employed by leaders of real
estate development firms as a consequence of the opportunities identified above. Such
strategies identified included innovation and creativity in finding immediate use for
dormant properties (Rosenberg, 2009), providing or retrofitting more efficient and
sustainable properties (McGuigan, 2010), and watching for advantageous trends
(Butcher, 2011), such as developing medical buildings (Hammond & Camp, 2011) and
traditionally designed, mixed-use properties (Shappell, 2011). This theme provided a
context for the study because it identified some of the strategies being utilized by real
estate development firms during the current recession.
The fourth theme described the impact of the selected revitalization strategies on
the economic fortunes of real estate development firms. Reduced rental rates of
condominiums forced firms to creatively lease them to students and recoup some of the
losses on unsold inventory (Gopal, 2010), while the recovering economy encouraged

27
investors and developers to commence acquisition of hotels (Hudson, 2011). Even though
this theme provided a context for the study by identifying some of the resultant effects of
organizations’ revitalization strategies, a lot more information concerning this theme still
needed to be obtained; this pointed to a gap in the literature. This could be due to the fact
that economic and organizational recovery was still in its early stages and definitive
results were not yet available.
Phenomenology was found to be a common research design for evolving
phenomena (Griffin, 2008; Lundberg, 2007; Fazio, 2011, & Simmons, 2007).
Transcendental phenomenology was used for this research so as to focus on participants’
descriptions of the phenomenon (Creswell, 2007). The researcher was the primary
instrument, and was supported by custom interview protocols and follow-up interviews
targeted at the two categories of participants, namely banks and real estate development
firms.
The literature review sources utilized included databases and websites, some of
which were: ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database, EBSCO, Business Source
Premier, and government agency websites such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System. While retrieving relevant literature, search items used included
“business”, “the New Deal”, “economic crisis”, “real estate”, “recessions”, “turnaround”,
“strategy”, “entrepreneurship” and “high performance organizations”. Furthermore,
classic primary literature was ‘mined’ from publications and dissertations dealing with
topics from the 1929-1938 era of the Great Depression. Of the 107 references analyzed in
this research study, 14 of them were scholarly books, 10 of them were dissertations, and

28
67 of them were scholarly articles and journals while 16 of them came from websites
(See Table 1, attached as Tables before the Appendices). The few articles found to have
directly addressed organizational revitalization strategies during recessions were
categorized as historical, background and theoretical views in order to enhance flow and
understanding of the literature.
Literature that explored historical and theoretical backgrounds to organizational
revitalization strategies during economic downturns was discussed, after which the
rationale for using the phenomenological method of qualitative inquiry was explored.
This was followed by a review of current perspectives of major contributors and experts
in the real estate development and economic turnaround fields. A summary of the salient
points raised by the referenced literature, voids in the literature, pertinence of the research
to existing literature, and how the research filled those voids rounded off chapter two.
Literature Review
The literature review was broken up into historical review, rationale for the
research, theoretical background and relevance, theories and a brief summary.
Historical Review of Topic and Variables
For a comprehensive review of literature on the phenomenon of organizational
revitalization strategies utilized during recessions, it was important to identify and
describe long-known perspectives, theories, research methodologies, measurements and
appropriate strategies of inquiry. An understanding of the antecedents of the research
topic provided the launching pad for exploring more current innovative revitalization
stratagems and work plans that actually yielded some gains for U.S. based real estate
development firms in the recession of 2007-2009. The global recession was precipitated

29
and sustained by the challenges of huge inventories and depressed demand in the
residential mortgage industry in the United States (Kapner & Politi, 2011). Lower income
and non-creditworthy borrowers had access to mortgage funding due to government-
backed policies that coerced lenders to make riskier loans to them (Immergluck, 2011).
The ensuing economic downturn led to the failure and reorganization of mortgage,
insurance and financial conglomerates such as Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers,
Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Abel, 2008). Other effects were large-
scale job losses, small business closures and home foreclosures. About 1.7 million
households were projected to lose their homes in 2009 (Haggerty & Simon, 2009) while
“about 19 million residential units remain unoccupied in the United States” as of 2010
(Beitsch, 2010, p. 7).
Past studies. The credit crunch that escalated in the United States in 2007 led to
an unexpected economic downturn, the category of recessions that had not been
experienced since the 1930s. Some experts believed that the stock market crash in 1929
and the 1930s’ economic depression were caused by government intervention, especially
“the deliberate increase of interest rates aimed at combating rising stock prices and
reining in an uncontrolled economic boom” (Siklos, 2008, p. 182). In an article originally
published during the Great Depression in 1936, a Keynesian school of thought advised
that government intervention should focus on reducing interest rates and encouraging
investments as palliative measures towards alleviating economic depression (Lerner,
1936 as cited in Lerner, 1996, p. 346). In prosecuting this interventionist agenda, Keynes
(as cited in Lerner, 1996) argued that “the amount of entrepreneurial investment is
inversely proportional to the rate of interest” (p. 344). In other words, a reduction of

30
interest rates to near-zero levels would jump-start investments and activity in the private
sector in general and in the real estate development sub-sector in particular.
President Herbert Hoover adopted a simplistic anti-recession strategy of wage-
freezing in 1929. ‘Hoover’s Truce’, as it was dubbed by the press, “obtained a wage cuts
freeze guarantee and a wage increase freeze guarantee from industrial leaders and labor
leaders respectively in order to maintain spending in the economy for as long as possible
during the recession” (Rose, 2009, p. 2). The premise was that high wages maintained
workers’ purchasing power, demand for goods and services and output while keeping
labor agitation to a minimum (O’Brien as cited in Rose, 2009, p. 8).
Francis (2009), in his reference to the Great Depression of the 1930s, asserted that
President Roosevelt spearheaded the execution of The New Deal, an economic
revitalization strategy that “combined major government spending with easy-to-obtain
money” which finally resulted in sustained economic recovery (p. 16). The Thomas
Inflation Amendment of 1933 gave the President of the United States powers to coerce
the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks into “buying, or upon their
refusal, issuing up to 3 billion dollars of government notes without incurring any
penalties” (Bradford, 1935). With such authorizations backing the Office of the President,
government interventions in social and economic affairs became possible. One of the
programs set up in 1933 was the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC). This entity
was “programmed to assist distressed homeowners avoid foreclosures and helped
refinance over one million distressed residential mortgages by paying high prices which
helped stimulate the housing market” (Rose, 2009 & Rose, 2011). According to Wallis
(2010), the federal government at that time financed the social welfare programs

31
identified as critical to economic resurgence, while the state governments administered
the programs. The economic recovery attributed to The New Deal took quite some time,
with a Second New Deal inaugurated by the Roosevelt administration in 1935 to sustain
the gains of the inaugural one (Lupinskie-Huvane & Singer, 2001, p. 28). The Second
New Deal initiatives focused on bringing long-term gains to the people. According to
Cowie (2011), “the second New Deal included the National Labor Relations Act, the
Social Security Act, the Works Progress Administration, the Fair Labor Standards Act
and the empowerment of the Committee on Industrial Organization” (para. 7). Despite
some of the contrary arguments surrounding the effectiveness of the New Deal, its long-
term successes were perceived as:
providing more assurance to bank depositors (FDIC), more reliable information to
investors (SEC), more safety to lenders (FHA), more stability to relations between
capital and labor (NLRB), more predictable wages to the most vulnerable workers
(FLSA), a safety net for the unemployed and elderly (Social Security), and a
transformation of the American socioeconomic landscape. (Kennedy, 2009, p.
254)
In borrowing from the long-term success of the ‘New Deal’, the cyclical boom-
bust nature of economies, as well as technological advancements and more modern
economic theories, had to be considered. Viju and Kerr (2011) posit that the reluctance of
economic stability regulators to intervene and slow down the boom led to an overblown
economic boom that burst at the slightest hiccup in 2007 and sent markets plunging
uncontrollably (p. 608). It could be argued that it was this type of boom-restricting
intervention by the Federal Reserve that led to the crash of 1929. In 2007 however, the
hiccup that burst the bubble was the sub-prime mortgage crisis; cash-strapped
homeowners could not pay off their mortgages by selling their homes because home

32
values had dipped below mortgage values (Viju & Kerr, 2011, p. 609). The surplus
property inventory and lack of confidence generated by this unfolding scenario led to
reluctance on the part of financial institutions to extend credit to developers and aspiring
homeowners. This drew some comparison with the importance attached to clearing slums
and providing residential housing as part of national rehabilitation efforts during the
Great Depression. According to Ickes (1935), the Public Works Administration was the
vehicle used by the Roosevelt administration to provide low-rent replacement housing,
buoy up employment and enervate the building materials industry (p. 109). Towards the
end of the twentieth century, real estate had become the preserve of the private sector,
with corporate business entities involved in the provision and ownership of residential
and commercial property.
Privately-owned real estate development firms typically depended on borrowed
money to fund their projects due to the huge capital outlay required. This had its negative
consequences, especially during economic downturns. Moulton, Thomas, and Pruett
(1996) surmised that corporate entities that rely on borrowed funds were more prone to
failure than those that operated without leveraged funds. This precedes the observation by
Hollier (2009) that scarcity of capital affected the residential, commercial, retail and
industrial real estate sub-sectors in 2007 and led to stalled development projects. Real
estate development firms could not therefore conclude ongoing projects, lease out
completed ones, or pay their notes on existing loans. Furthermore, difficulties in paying
salaries and operational expenses arose due to the cash crunch. According to Rosenberg
(2009), “more than 35,000 workers in the Las Vegas construction industry became

33
jobless in the first three months of 2008” (p. 39); this depicted the severity of the cash
crunch on the real estate development sub-sector.
In his real estate-related study of post-recession Florida, Nevada and Arizona,
Beitsch (2010) contended that, “the economy and the way shelter was valued had been
altered by the historically high vacancies of residential properties, builders’ quest for
record profits, buyers’ inclination for quick returns and financial markets’ disinterest in
investing” (p. 10). Businesses in general, and real estate development firms in particular,
were then being increasingly faced with change-related decisions that depended on astute
assessments of their peculiar needs, their organizations’ vision, culture and financial
strength. To be successful, organizations during recessions had to dramatically change
their manner of thinking and start responding to the opportunities and threats thrown up
by new government regulatory policies. Kotter and Cohen (2002) asserted that, “highly
successful organizations should know how to lay hold on opportunities by taking bigger
leaps as against continuous gradual improvement and by avoiding hazards” (p. 2).
Past theories. Some existing understandings relevant to this phenomenon
included leadership, turnaround and change theories. In her case study-styled dissertation
which sought to “explore corporate adaptations for a sustainable future”, Hoffschwelle
(2011) identified “change, innovation, leadership, organizational behavior and strategy as
areas that organizations needed to adapt in so as to compete and thrive during economic
downturns” (p. 88). Some questions that needed consideration included: would leaders of
recession-hit real estate development firms prefer or not prefer situational or
transformational leadership styles? Would they utilize strategic or operational turnaround

34
strategies? What change strategies and innovations would they commonly use in
economic recessionary situations?
Past leadership theories. Leadership is simply about facilitating an extraordinary
outcome from the efforts of a group of people (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). During the early
part of the twentieth century, leadership studies focused on the in-born qualities and
characteristics of renowned leaders such as Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln, and such
theories were dubbed ‘great man’ theories (Northouse, 2007, p. 15). By the middle of the
twentieth century, leadership researcher Stodgill re-phrased “leadership as a relationship
between people in a social situation” (Northouse, 2007, p. 15). Providing support,
resources and motivation towards achieving common goals became the main objectives
of the effective leader. Two leadership theories that relate to organizational change and
high productivity are the situational and transformational theories. Situational leadership
“requires an effective leader to adapt his leadership style to the demands of the prevailing
situation” (Northouse, 2007, p. 91). The emphasis of this theory however, is on the
leader’s relationship with his followers and may not be wholly acceptable to staff
members when the leadership is forced to retrench some staff or cut salaries and benefits
due to an unfavorable economy. Transformational leadership “inspires followers through
shared vision, values and beliefs and can usher in significant change amongst team
members and the organization” (Daft, 2008, p. 356). When an organization faces
financial decline, the ability to inspire staff members to focus on the good of the
organization rather than their own self-interests might help determine what course of
cost-saving and revenue generating action the leaders choose.

35
Past turnaround theories. Theories concerning the infusion of energy or new life
to ailing organizations with the view to revamp their fortunes were few, and a search
through existing literature revealed that these theories were not ordinarily termed
revitalization theories, but turnaround theories. Turnarounds, according to Hoffman
(1998), are the critical group of activities utilized to stop a downward economic shift and
ignite an upturn. According to Liang (2007) turnaround strategies can be classified
broadly as operating or strategic. Operating turnaround strategies were intended to
address deficiencies in short-term performance “by focusing on operational measures
such as increasing revenues, decreasing assets, decreasing costs or a combination of any
of these; they were focused on gains made through organizational efficiency” (Tvorik,
Boissoneau, & Pearson, 1998). Strategic turnarounds were organizational improvement
actions that focused on adjusting the organization’s business with “long-term initiatives
such as diversifying to other viable areas, integrating vertically, seeking new market
share, and divesting from unprofitable ventures” (Chowdhury & Lang, 1994). Hoffman
(1989) identified some operating turnaround strategies as restructuring, reduction of
costs, and redeployment of human resources and strategic turnaround strategies as
selective product and re-positioning. Turnarounds generally went through a four-stage
process identified as “the decline, response initiation, and transition and outcome stages”
(Chowdhury, 2002, p. 262). The decline and response initiation stages formed a nadir that
defined the bottom trough of the economic fortunes of the organization, the transition
stages was a continuation of the slow recovery and considered an indeterminate stage,
while the outcome stage defined success or failure of the turnaround process
(Chowdhury, 2002, p. 262). Concerning turnarounds during the recession of 2007-2009,

36
Azis (2010) argued that, “economic turnarounds will depend on consumers’ and
businesses’ decisions to spend, invest, and hire based on their perceptions of emerging
opportunities” (p. 122). This was where the culture and focus of the individual
organizations, the risk averseness, as well as the prevailing management styles of their
leaders came into play.
Past change theories. Change becomes inevitable when an organization’s
economic fortunes decline, and as Daft (2009) aptly put it, “change is necessary if
organizations are to survive and thrive” (p. 453). Organizations can embrace change and
be transformed into winners by accepting novel technological and strategic options, re-
working non-optimal processes, considering options such as mergers and acquisitions,
being more creative, and supporting changes in culture (Kotter & Cohen, 2002).
According to Barker and Duhaime (1997), “strategic change is critical to any
declining organization’s recovery process, and successful turnarounds happen when
organizations undergo a survival-threatening decline, successfully reverse it, end the
threat and actualize sustainable profitability” (pp. 1-6). Organizational change often
encounters obstacles for reasons ranging from fear of the unknown to rigidity of staff
members; change theories therefore focused on overcoming the internal obstacles that
typically arose as soon as change became imminent. Two widely known change theories
are Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model and Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory. Kotter
advocates, “increasing urgency, building a guiding team, establishing a vision and
strategy, communicating the vision, empowering action, creating short-term wins,
keeping up the urgency, and making the changes stick” (Daft, 2009, p. 457). Lewin
advocates a “three-step process of unfreezing, movement and refreezing by creating the

37
motivation to become different, taking some action that moves the system to a new level,
and generating and sustaining commitment to the new status quo” (Deutsch, Coleman, &
Marcus, 2006, pp. 437-449). These change theories pertained to obtaining buy-in and
loyalty of team members towards change. The critical question was how these change
theories impacted employees’ consent, especially if the perceived changes required
fundamentally huge swings in strategy that might negatively affect their remunerations,
benefits or employment status.
Past methodologies. The absence of past research studies on the exact
phenomenon under scrutiny made it difficult to describe the methodology of use.
However, studies on leadership decisions of organizations in real estate-related sectors
showed marked preferences for qualitative methods in general and phenomenology in
particular. Griffin (2008) titled her dissertation as “the lived experience of first line
managers during planned organizational change: a phenomenological study of one firm in
the residential construction industry”, and utilized the phenomenological strategy of
inquiry to collect and analyze data. Phenomenology was utilized in other dissertations in
the same manner to study “high performance teams in three countries” (Lundberg, 2007),
“the implementation of corporate downsizing by human resource managers” (Fazio,
2011), and “the study of small business failure in Maryland” (Simmons, 2007). However,
the case study approach was utilized in the study of “corporate adaptations for a
sustainable future” (Hoffschwelle, 2011).
Past measurement issues. Measurement issues that limited validity and
reliability levels of past studies on real estate related leadership strategies touched on
participants’ less-than-honest responses, and the assumption that an organization’s sole

38
objective was to make profit to the exclusion of other considerations (Simmons, 2007, pp.
18-19). From another perspective, Hoffschwelle (2011) analyzed four case studies and
about 160 articles that focused on sustainable adaptations from an information
technology point of view during recessions (p. 89). The measurement issue was the
limitation caused by not actually interviewing leaders of relevant corporations as to their
experiences and views but relying solely on information retrieved from publications.
Other measurement issues were limitations in generalizing findings due to localization to
a few states of the U.S. (Griffin, 2008, p. 13), and the researcher being the sole analyzer
of transcripts and final arbiter of meanings (Lundberg, 2007, p. 83).
Rationale for the Research
The overall primary research question for the research was: what revitalization
strategies were utilized by leaders of medium-sized real estate development firms in the
southeastern United States to take advantage of the opportunities presented by new
regulatory and banking sector initiatives? The phenomenon regarding bounce back
strategies of leaders of real estate development firms during the economic downturn that
began in 2007 was still evolving; performance indices were still being collated and
therefore premature for analytical purposes. The research methods that could be used in
normal circumstances were the qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches,
but these were not normal circumstances and the selected research approach would have
had to take the emerging nature of the phenomenon into consideration. The quantitative
research method involves experiments, quasi-experiments and non-experimental designs
such as surveys; they rely heavily on numerical data concerning the phenomenon to be
studied (Creswell, 2009, p. 12). Qualitative research involves narrative research,

39
phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, case studies and discourse analysis; they
rely on the descriptions and perspectives of respondents for data collection and analysis,
with the researcher often being the key instrument (Creswell, 2009, pp. 12-13 & 175).
Mixed methods research is a combination of qualitative methods and quantitative
methods in any given order and involves transformative, sequential and concurrent mixed
methods (Creswell, 2009, pp. 14-15). The indispensible nature of numerical data and
experiments in quantitative and mixed methods research, and the absence of stabilized
data at the time would have impeded this study’s validity if they were used; the scarcity
of stable economic performance indices at the time further supporting the case for their
inappropriateness for this study.
Rationale for using qualitative methods. Economic performance indices of
national economies were still in a state of flux; this was the main reason why national
economies the world over were, at best, just beginning the long road to economic
recovery. The emerging impact of the recession on organizations’ economic standing and
the dependence on participants’ lived experiences, observations and elaborations to
explain the intricacies of the phenomenon under study made qualitative research the best-
suited alternative at that time. The fact that only the identification and description of
revitalization strategies utilized by leaders of medium-sized real estate development firms
during the recession were required made another argument for using qualitative methods.
This argument was buttressed by Creswell (2007), simply defining “qualitative research
as the study of research problems inquiring into the meaning individuals or groups
ascribe to a social or human problem” (p. 37). The meaning is often derived from the

40
words of the participants describing the phenomenon from its natural setting, and bias is
reduced by the researcher’s reflexivity (Creswell, 2007, p. 37).
Rationale for using phenomenology. There are several styles of qualitative
methods of research among which are case studies, ethnography, narrative, grounded
theory and phenomenology. According to Creswell (2009),
case study is the detailed, deep analysis of one or more cases, ethnography is a
detailed portrait of a culture-sharing group, narrative research provides a
chronological story of a person’s life, grounded theory is theory generated from
data, and phenomenology is a detailed description of participants’ experiences. (p.
193)
The case study type of qualitative research involves “studying an issue through
one or more cases within a definite context or setting over time by means of detailed data
collection from many sources; the end result being a case description and report of case-
based patterns” (Creswell, 2007, p. 73). Challenges of this type of qualitative method
include a clear identification of the case under study as well as a very small number in the
sample; these issues negatively impact confidentiality and ‘generalizability’ respectively
(Creswell, 2007, p. 76). The case study qualitative research method would not have been
appropriate for this research because of the need to generalize the findings to a much
larger population, keep all observations within a defined, short time frame and maintain
the confidentiality of participant organizations.
Ethnography as a type of qualitative research involves a “researcher’s description
and interpretation of common and learned patterns of values, behaviors, beliefs and
language of a culture-sharing entity after immersion in, observation and interview of the
group members” (Creswell, 2007, p. 68). The challenges encountered in this type of

41
qualitative research include “the need for the researcher to be grounded in cultural
anthropology, the extensive time needed for data collection and the bias emanating from
the researcher’s involvement in literally narrating and interpreting participants’ stories”
(Creswell, 2007, p. 72). Ethnography would not have been appropriate for this research
because the participants did not belong to a defined cultural group, the original version of
participants’ perspectives needed to be recorded and presented without adulteration, and
time constraints.
Czarniawska notes that the narrative type of qualitative research connotes “spoken
or written text giving a chronological account of one or more connected events” (as cited
in Creswell, 2007, p. 54). In narrative research, data in the form of lived experiences as
told in story-form from one or two people is collected and the meanings are
chronologically ordered by the researcher (Creswell, 2007, p. 54). Challenges faced while
using narrative research include the need to choose one or two participants that clearly
have the information sought, collect extensive information about them and re-story
participants’ accounts while remaining reflexive (Creswell, 2007, p. 57). These
challenges made the narrative research style unsuitable for this research into
revitalization strategies of leaders of real estate development firms during recessions. The
need to have a reasonably larger number of participants for validity and generalizability
considerations and allow the perspectives and elaborations of participants come through
without alterations specifically negated the use of narrative research as the choice of
inquiry for this research.
The grounded theory research seeks to explain a process or relationship and
identify a theory through the information retrieved by interviewing a large number of

42
participants (Creswell, 2007, p. 63). A back-and-forth process of collecting information
from the field, analyzing them and going back to the field for more information is often
the data collection procedure in grounded theory research. The comprehensive detail
required for this type of research sets the tone for the challenges faced by researchers.
According to Creswell (2007), the researcher has to “set aside preconceived ideas
concerning the phenomenon in order to allow the analytic, substantive theory to emerge,
determines when a saturation point for the theory is reached, and conform to the rigid
components of theories: phenomenon-causes-strategies-conditions-context-
consequences” (pp. 67-68). The need to have all the information about the phenomenon
before conclusions are made and the time required to collect and analyze data detailed
enough to form hypotheses and a theory were the key reasons why the grounded theory
research would not have been suitable for the study of this still-emerging and evolving
phenomenon.
Phenomenology, simply put, “is the study of human experience and of the way
things present themselves to us in and through such experience” (Sokolowski, 2008, p.
2). To elaborate on this definition, Moustakas opines that “phenomenological research
procedure involves studying a small number of subjects through extensive and prolonged
engagement in order to formulate patterns and relationships of meaning” (as cited in
Creswell, 2009, p. 13). The need to depend solely on the descriptions of the experiences
and perspectives of participants led the researcher to favor Moustakas’ transcendental
phenomenology over van Manen’s hermeneutical phenomenology. While Moustakas
(1994) focused on the description of participants, van Manen (1990) used

Selected Revitalization Strategies of Leaders in Medium-Sized Real Estate Development Firms in a Recession: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Selected Revitalization Strategies of Leaders in Medium-Sized Real Estate Development Firms in a Recession: A Phenomenological Inquiry

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