Barriers to small business growth in Canada

Purpose – The paper seeks to extend the findings of Okpara and Wynn and Robson and Obeng related to “barriers to small business growth” by using Canadian data. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilized survey research (a non‐experimental field study design). Small business owners from Western Canada were surveyed to gather information. Subjects were asked about their beliefs and feelings regarding barriers to growth of their small businesses. To test the hypotheses, p < 0.05 significance level was used to accept or reject a null hypothesis. Findings – The findings of this paper indicate that lack of financing, market challenges, and regulatory issues are perceived as barriers to small business growth in Canada. The results also show that sales level of small firms (“past success”) has positive impact on small business growth in Canada. Research limitations/implications – This is an exploratory study to determine perceived barriers to small business growth in Canada, so the findings do not necessarily apply to other North American countries. The present study asks for responses from fixed format, set‐questions survey tools, which could exclude additional factors. Originality/value – The findings may be useful for the Canadian governments and small business management advisors.