The organizational aspects and mortality of the small company: description of the relevant factors in the retail clothing sector

The objective of this paper is to describe the mortality factors related to the organizational aspects of the small company and the change in the importance of these factors throughout the stages of the life cycle. Research on small business mortality ignores its specificities and the stage of the life cycle at the time of closure. Seven retail clothing companies were studied. The data were collected through interviews and documents and analysed through the technique of content analysis. The importance of factors related to technology, organizational structure and planning varied throughout the stages of the company’s life cycle.