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The Small Business Institute (SBI) program provides managerial and technical assistance to the small business community. Johnson (1990) notes that 520 colleges and universities throughout the United States have SBI programs, which assist more than 8,000 businesses a year. He adds that 20,000 students participate in the nationwide SBI program. At the university where the current research was undertaken, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) administers 30-35 SBI cases annually. At this institution, six different courses have featured SBI cases as student projects. These classes are: Cases in Marketing Management, Cases in Retailing Management, The Marketing Game, Marketing Strategy, Marketing of Small Business Enterprises, and Small Business Management. This study focuses on firms that have received SBI assistance, with a strong emphasis on marketing, during the four year period June 1985 to June 1989. Aside from financial management problems (e.g., raising capital, cash flow, etc.), a major need expressed by entrepreneurs who sought help at the sponsoring university is for assistance in developing marketing strategies. While there have been other investigations of the impact of general SBI consultations, previous research has not centered on marketing cases. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Small Business Institute from the client perspective. BACKGROUND Various articles have been written since the late 1970s focusing on the use and role of students as business consultants for small firms. This research has dealt with the issues of evaluating small business assistance programs and assessing the academic benefits of student consulting projects. Table 1 is a summary of the principal publications on free small business consulting in three areas: (1) the effectiveness of Small Business Development Centers, (2) an evaluation of Small Business Institutes, and (3) the academic benefits of student consulting projects. This article draws on literature from parts (1) and (2). Robinson (1982) evaluated the State of Georgia SBDC program. He compared a sample of clients with two control groups: a representative sample of the small business populations of Georgia and the United States, respectively.(1) TABULAR DATA OMITTED Based on sales and profitability, the author found that the group receiving outsider-based consulting for strategic planning (the Georgia SBDC firms) fared better than the groups not engaging in external consulting (the non-SBDC firms). Chrisman, et al. (1985,1987) reported the results of two empirical studies of statewide SBDC programs in Georgia and South Carolina. Data on a control sample were calculated from state tax revenues. Chrisman, et al. claimed that their findings offered evidence that this program was administered in a cost effective manner and that, on average, small businesses experienced improved economic performance (based on percentage increases in sales, employment, and profits) over non-SBDC clients. Elstrott (1987) attempted to replicate Chrisman, et al.'s (1985,1987) research with a Louisiana sample, but was unable to complete this replication because he lacked an acceptable control sample (i.e., non-SBDC clients). However, the author did note that the quantitative data he collected indicated impressive sales and employment gains for the SBDC firms. Lang and Golden (1989) analyzed the operational efficiency--as measured by counseling contacts, attendee training, and total costs--of nine Kentucky SBDCs over a three-year period. While the overall results of this longitudinal analysis were supportive of SBDC effectiveness, they found that four of the SBDCs were inefficient at one time or another during the period of their investigation. Another set of studies explored the value of Small Business Institutes from a client perspective. Burr and Solomon (1977) and Weaver and Solomon (1987) evaluated the national SBI program during the periods 1972-1976 and 1981-1984, respectively. …
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