Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Fashion, Dress and Merchandising

Committee Chair

Debanjan Das

Committee Co-Chair

Kathryn Jones

Committee Member

Melissa Sherfinski

Abstract

In widely dispersed small communities, local and regional businesses dominate West Virginia, an eastern state of the United States in the Appalachian Mountains where small and micro businesses constitute 98.9% of all businesses and contributes 49.1% of the state’s total employment. These businesses create jobs, help build a strong financial position for the state, and promote community-building and social activities. These businesses are unique as they sustain themselves while competing with national and regional retail chains and carving out a customer for themselves. However, the damage caused by the spread of Covid-19 is having a devastating effect on the small and micro businesses in the United States and the impact is much more severe in rural regions of the country. As small and micro businesses have a significant contribution to the socio-economic infrastructure of the rural state of West Virginia, it was necessary to identify the firm resources possessed by these businesses in the post-pandemic period. To achieve this objective, a content analysis of web-based self-description of the small and micro bridal boutique businesses in West Virginia and semi-structured qualitative interviews with owners/managers of those businesses were conducted. The results of this study identified the claimed and actual resources of these businesses. The findings also analyzed how the firm resources helped the local bridal boutiques in this post-pandemic period. The findings of this study might inform the federal and state decision-makers to make productive and worthwhile decisions to support the small and micro businesses in West Virginia.

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