Exploring the Success and Failure of Small Business in Beckley, West Virginia

Abstract

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and represent the primary jobsource for American workers. Research exists on small business at a national and aninternational scale but a limited amount of region-specific information exists in theliterature. The problem in this research was that owner-operated small businesseshave a high fail rate, with less than half surviving more than five years and thesesurvival rates have persisted in a relatively stable fashion for at least a decade, withpolicies appearing unable to increase the longevity of new businesses. The purposeof the research is to explore the relationship between social capital and the failure orsuccess of twelve owner-operated businesses in Beckley, West Virginia. Thetheoretical framework for this study is social exchange theory. This qualitative studyused interpretive phenomenological analysis as the chosen research design because ofthe capability to query their lived experiences. The purposive sampling method wasused. The twelve participants were divided into two groups consisting of failedbusinesses and successful businesses. The successful business has existed for morethan five years. The failed business opened within the past five years but has closed.Utilizing the modified van Kaam method, ATLAS.ti qualitative analysis software,and a manual review of the individual interviews the researcher identified threeemergent themes circumventing the particular phenomenon of small businessownership in Beckley, WV. The answers provided by the participants addressed theproblem of the high fail rate of small businesses. The findings of the study areimportant because the application of social exchanges was shown to increase thelongevity of small businesses in Beckley, WV.