Abstract
This research focuses on small businesses (having fewer than 20 employees and generating less than $5M in annual sales) operating in communities with populations of less than 10,000 people. Networks or strategic alliances are anticipated to provide essential links to sources of capital, new employees, partners, and innovation in small or rural businesses across America. The goal of this research is to study the effects of networking on small business owners’ strategic planning, and to determine the effect or outcomes generated by networking on member businesses and on network continuance. Business types included both product and service-based firms predominately ‘homegrown’ in rural or small communities across the four midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio.