Environmental and ownership characteristics of small businesses and their impact on development

Three neighborhood factors (crime, appearance, and transportation accessibi lity), and other moderating influences (owner and firm characteristics), ar e correlated to a small business owner's expectations of future firm growth . Survey data from 1,351 small businesses from the city and county of San F rancisco were used. Crime and neighborhood appearance have a significant (p =.001) correlation to the growth expectations of small business owners, but these two factors explain only a very small percentage (about 1 percent) o f the variance! in growth expectations The ethnicity of the owner; the lega l structure of the firm and firm type and size were also factors that signi ficantly, influenced the owners' expectations of growth in their small busi nesses. Recommendations for changes in public policy, are offered.