Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

Major

Business Administration

Date of Defense

10-2-2025

Graduate Advisor

Yiuman Tse

Committee

Lei Xu

Ekin Pelligrini

Abstract

This study examines whether regional lending market structures—specifically, the availability of capital from local credit unions—affects the success of small businesses in U.S. metropolitan areas. It investigates whether greater local credit union market share of lending capacity improves small business outcomes and whether this relationship is moderated by levels of economic connectedness, a form of cross-class social capital. The analysis further explores whether these moderating effects are especially pronounced for Black-owned small businesses. The study focuses on business outcomes in regions in 2021. Regression models are estimated using cross-sectional data from across 135, 301, and 375 metropolitan statistical areas based on the model being tested. Data draw from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Opportunity Atlas social capital measures. Findings indicate that higher levels of local credit union market share are generally not statistically significantly associated with small business outcomes and, in one case, negatively associated. Moderation by economic connectedness is observed in two of six models, while both economic connectedness and social cohesion demonstrate direct, and at times nonlinear, relationships with small business outcomes. Results also show that forms of social capital influence Black-owned small businesses differently than small businesses overall. Economic connectedness is found to impact Black-owned small businesses per Black resident in a region more than for small businesses per capita in general. Social cohesion lessons Black-owned small business outcomes in all models, where in some cases it aids business outcomes when looking at outcomes for all small businesses. These findings underscore the importance of considering both financial market structures and differentiated forms of social capital in understanding inclusive small business growth in metropolitan America.

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