PI: Lingxin Hao Co-PI: Nazish Zafar Johns Hopkins University
Small businesses provide a means for individuals with limited resources to earn a living and they contribute toward the versatility of urban economies, but these businesses typically have a short life cycle and the majority do not last more than 5 years. Therefore, to compete and survive, business owners rely on numerous sources of support such as their personal networks while governments also offer support through policies and programs. This dissertation examines the interaction between networks, policies, and programs. One school of thought claims that support from the external policies and programs displaces the support provided by private networks, while another theory claims that they actually stimulates private support, i.e. the relationship is synergistic. This study acknowledges that both dynamics are possible, and focuses on exploring the channels through which the synergistic connections are made. These channels could include grassroots organizations and business groups. The sites for this study include two global cities: Singapore and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Singapore provides an ideal case study as there is a strong tradition of policies and programs working closely with the grassroots whilst Sao Paulo provides a useful comparative to illustrate a system in which active external support is less embedded. Primary data will be collected through a series of qualitative interviews with business owners, community leaders, and policy officials, surveys with the business owners, and participant observation to acquire an ethnographic perspective. Transcripts from parliamentary debates and policy reports will provide a historical and contemporary perspective for the analysis. Three major theoretical streams inform this dissertation: social network analysis, new institutionalism, and the synergy thesis. Together, these theories illuminate the context in which small businesses operate, but they also expose the need for further research on how synergistic relations might operate between private networks and the external policies and programs. The innovation in this research is to examine the role of bridging institutions in society where support from policy links with existent private networks to optimize the success of small businesses. This research seeks to expand our knowledge on the public-private nexus.
Broader Impacts Small businesses are increasingly framed as an engine of economic development in countries around the world. The research aims to inform policy on effective channels for supporting small businesses by identifying bridging institutions and elaborating on their linking mechanisms, as well as provide empirical flesh to current theories on state and society, specifically, elaborating on how intermediate groups facilitate symbiosis between governments, markets, and social networks. This study will also include the organizational strategies of women and immigrants. The findings will be published in academic journals as well as policy reports to bolster research, teaching, and understanding in this field of research and development. It will also be invaluable for the development of course material for teaching university courses.
