| Small business enterprises in the United States have a low survival rate. Because they represent 99% of all U.S. employer-related positions, their sustainability is critical to the economy, underscoring the importance of entrepreneurial research that focuses on the sustainability of these enterprises. The theoretical framework for this study was the resource based view, which focuses on the entrepreneur's resource allocation and its relationship to performance. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to determine whether there is a relationship between 15 contributing factors of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) operations identified in the literature and the success of a sample of DBEs certified with the Georgia Department of Transportation. DBEs are a targeted subpopulation of small business enterprises that are primarily minority/female owned and controlled firms. A population sample of 100 surveys was collected through a self-administered, web-based survey. Kendall tau and chi-square tests were conducted to test the hypotheses. The findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between 3 of the 15 independent variables, taken separately, and the degree of success of DBEs. These variables were: (a) the amount of start-up capital, (b) the state of the economy at the time of start up, and (c) whether the entrepreneur's parents owned a business. The implications for social change of the study include assisting potential entrepreneurs, small business service providers, universities, and consultants in developing intervention techniques to prevent or reduce the number of DBE failures. |
