FACTORS INFLUENCING STORE GROWTH OF SELECTED SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN GENERAL SANTOS CITY

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the influencing factors and store growth of selected Small and Medium Enterprises in General Santos City. The researchers of the study used a descriptive correlation research design to describe the relationship between the two variables. Purposive sampling was used to choose the members of the respondents, wherein thirty (30) selected small and medium enterprise owners were asked to participate in the study. Survey questionnaires were used to gather the data; weighted mean, frequency count, and Pearson-R Correlation is employed in treating the data. With the data collected, the result of the study revealed that most of the respondents started with a minimum capital of six hundred thousand pesos (600,000) with a number of employees employed of not more than five (5). Moreover, most SMEs are established by a sole owner under the said locale's wholesale and retail trade industry. The data revealed that business environmental factors and small and medium enterprises' internal factors agree as the factors influencing the store growth of SMEs in General Santos City; with that, it is determined that there is a significant relationship between the influencing factors and store growth of selected Small and Medium Enterprises in General Santos City.