Date of Award

1-1-2023

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

School of Social Welfare

Content Description

1 online resource (xi, 165 pages) : illustrations (some color), color map.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Wonhyung Lee

Committee Members

Katharine Briar Lawson, Kathryn Schiller

Keywords

community development, economic development, inclusive development, micro-business, mutual aid, social network, Small business, Business networks, Social networks, Community development

Subject Categories

Social Work

Abstract

This dissertation sought to fill gaps in our knowledge of the role that social networks play in fostering economic development in low-income, urban, highly distressed communities. It utilized both a quantitative methodology using social network analysis (SNA) and a qualitative methodology using NVivo v.12 software to identify themes emerging from interviews and observation. Although social networks have empirically been shown to support better success rates for small businesses in the United States, less is known about micro-business networks and the contributions they make to economic development efforts in a low-income setting. The study focuses on “micro-business owners,” which were the predominant form of small business owners located in the target community. Incorporating concepts from both social network theory and inclusive development theory, I examined how micro-business owners operate in a complex, under-resourced business environment. Findings show that networks do play a critical role in business success, sustainability, and innovation—but do so, however, not as predicted by traditional economic theory. Quantitatively, the SNA analysis predicted a network that would experience high rates of business failure, poor resource sharing, and weak structural attributes that would normally signal poor progress in economic development and sustainability. Despite the adverse prediction of SNA, however, the qualitative analysis revealed a different picture, more in keeping with findings from inclusive development research, of a resilient and cohesive network that has experienced high sustainability, fruitful collaboration, and resource sharing among its members. In this low-income community, the micro-business network was found to play a critical role in helping to build stronger than predicted findings in the areas of relational (e.g., quality of relationships) and cognitive (e.g., collective goals and values) attributes and outcomes. Findings gave rise to the identification of a new concept—business owner mutual aid—that was shown empirically in this study to be integral to the business success of network members.

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