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

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and represent the primary job source for American workers. Research exists on small business at a national and an international scale but a limited amount of region-specific information exists in the literature. The problem in this research was that owner-operated small businesses have a high fail rate, with less than half surviving more than five years and these survival rates have persisted in a relatively stable fashion for at least a decade, with policies appearing unable to increase the longevity of new businesses. The purpose of the research is to explore the relationship between social capital and the failure or success of twelve owner-operated businesses in Beckley, West Virginia. The theoretical framework for this study is social exchange theory. This qualitative study used interpretive phenomenological analysis as the chosen research design because of the capability to query their lived experiences. The purposive sampling method was used. The twelve participants were divided into two groups consisting of failed businesses and successful businesses. The successful business has existed for more than 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 three emergent themes circumventing the particular phenomenon of small business ownership in Beckley, WV. The answers provided by the participants addressed the problem of the high fail rate of small businesses. The findings of the study are important because the application of social exchanges was shown to increase the longevity of small businesses in Beckley, WV.