Sink or swim? Impacts of management strategies on small business survival and recovery

Abstract

The rate of small business demise is exacerbated by exogenous events such as natural disasters that threaten even the healthiest business. This study focused on the effects of management strategies used by small business owners affected by a natural disaster and the resulting recovery status eight years after Hurricane Katrina. The results indicate that location, human resource, and financial management decisions affect operating status and recovery. Both pre-and post-disaster strategies and across system exchanges were utilized and predicted survival and recovery, e.g., financial managerial strategies utilized post disaster predicted whether a business would fully recover, but effective overall management strategies differed over time and operating category.