Leadership Strategies for Retaining Mariners Aboard State Maritime Academy Training Ships

The shortage of qualified merchant marines in the United States requires State Maritime Academy (SMA) leaders to develop competitive retention strategies to retain merchant mariners aboard training vessels. The purpose of this single case study was to identify retention strategies that U.S. SMA leaders used to retain mariners aboard training ships. The conceptual framework of this study was Vroom\u27s expectancy theory. The study participants consisted of 5 SMA leaders overseeing the mariners aboard a training vessel. Semistructured interviews and review of SMA documents pertaining to employment strategies provided the study data. The data analysis included collecting and coding data, and using the constant comparative method to identify the themes. Four themes related to successful retention strategies emerged from the data analysis: (a) the monetary value of employment and benefits must be comparable to what is available in the maritime industry, (b) professional development is necessary to maintain maritime industry credentials and improve employee performance within the organization, (c) recognition and understanding of the uniqueness of being a mariner as a profession is important to mariners, and (d) transparency and trust increase communication and improve retention. The findings of this study contribute to positive social change by providing best practices for SMA leaders to integrate retention strategies to improve employment satisfaction, enhance the training of mariners on U.S. waterways, and increase longevity of qualified mariners, which could create a healthy and positive work environment

Understanding Ecommerce Consumer Privacy From the Behavioral Marketers\u27 Viewpoint

Ecommerce sales were expected to increase to $4.8 trillion dollars in 2021 for online retailers in the United States. Behavioral marketers increase sales and revenue by targeting potential customers based on the use of ecommerce consumers\u27 personal information. This correlational research study was framed with the theory of planned behavior. The participants were behavioral marketers based in the United States who completed an online survey. The data were analyzed using multiple regressions and analysis of variance analyses to answer the research question. The results of the analysis answered the research question regarding the correlation between behavioral marketer\u27s attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC), especially concerning the collection of ecommerce consumers\u27 personal information. The results of the analyses indicated attitude is a strong predictor for behavior intention, as indicated by a positive correlation. The ρ value was greater than .05; therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The social norms and PBC variables were not significant. Social norms resulted in F (14,18) = 2.298, ρ = .026. The p value is less than .05; therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted. PBC results were F (78,5) = 4.263, ρ = .048. The p value was less than .05; therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted. The findings showed that behavioral marketers have a strong correlation between their attitude and intention to protect ecommerce privacy. Behavioral managers might benefit from this study and contribute to social change by taking the lead in their organizations to change data collection methods to reduce the number of security breaches