Salient resources facilitating business startup for adults with intellectual disability: Parents’ perspectives

Individuals with disabilities engage in self-employment at higher rates than individuals without disabilities. Despite this, research regarding self-employment and small business startup for individuals with disabilities is scant. Research understanding self-employment and small business startup for individuals with intellectual disability (ID) is even more limited. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative research study was to identify the resources that parents utilized when starting a business for their adult child with ID and understand how these resources facilitated business startup. It is important to understand parents’ perspectives because individuals with ID may receive ongoing support from their parents as they start a small business; however, parents’ voices are largely missing from this body of literature. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) served an underlying framework to explain the interplay between parents’ motivations (e.g., internal versus external, controlled versus autonomous) for starting a business for their adult child with ID. Eleven parents were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol and each parent shared their perspectives about the resources that facilitated the startup of their child’s business. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and emergent themes included (a) accessing financial capital and physical resources, (b) leveraging human resources, (c) generalizing previous experience and knowledge, (d) applying learned business acumen, and (e) utilizing entrepreneurial disposition. Parents themselves were an important facilitator of small business startup success as well. Findings from the study will increase understanding about self-employment and small business creation for individuals with ID as well as provide insights into resources that facilitate and support small business startup.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Malouf, Emily T.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Corr, Catherine
• Tarconish, Emily
• Strauser, David
• Schutz, Michele
• Goodnight, Melissa

• Small Business Startup
• Self-employment
• Intellectual Disability
• Parents
• Parent Perspectives

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Emily Malouf

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121503

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121503