Substance Abuse in Small Business: Business Owner Perceptions and Reactions
Department
Management and Entrepreneurship
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1993
Abstract
Substance abuse, whether drugs or alcohol, continues to plague our society and businesses and adversely impact economic development. The problem poses significant and special problems to owners/managers of small businesses who must deal with such issues without the benefit of large corporate personnel staffs and corporate attorneys who can stay current with respect to legislation, anticipate problems, and develop action plans related to substance abuse. A study of the owners/managers of a group of businesses in a southeastern metropolitan area identified the perceptions of these managers regarding the nature of the problem. Also identified were some of the strategies small business managers followed to deal with the problem. The owners identified substance abuse as very or extremely serious in local businesses, industries, and the U.S. as a whole but overwhelmingly perceived they had less of a problem in their firms. The managers did feel ill- equipped to recognize and deal with substance abuse problems and were seeking inexpensive education and training assistance from public and industry sources.
Journal Title
Journal of Small Business Management
Journal ISSN
0047-2778
Volume
31
Issue
1
First Page
63
Last Page
72