Factors Resulting in Successes and Failures for Small Businesses in the Small Business Institute Program at Syracuse University

Abstract

During the 1970s the U.S. Congress inaugurated a program of managerial assistance to meld the talents and needs of local small-business communities, nearby educational institutions of higher business learning, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. This program was known as the Small Business Institute. The authors analyzed the experience of Syracuse University with the program from 1973 to 1997 and found that some problems faced by small businesses persisted over time, although there were significant shifts in other problems as the economic environment changed. We also found that the chances for survival of our client firms varied by industry, with manufacturing, retailing, and professional and nonprofessional service firms most likely to survive.