The study aimed at knowing the characteristics of Small–
Scale Industries SSIs in the governorate of karak and
its important role in local development, Analyzing the
relationship between the characteristics of SSIs that
include the nature of activity, financing and location and
the local development as well as the effect of this sector
on the local development of Karak.
A statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) program
was used for descriptive analysis. All SSIs were selected
for the purpose of this study.
The main findings indicate that there is a high level of
characteristics importance for SSIs. Financing SSIs ranked
in the 1st place and location in the 2nd place followed by
nature of activity in the 3rd place. There is a significant
effect of the characteristics of SSIs on local development
in Karak Governorate. There is a significant effect of
the nature of the activity and location of the firm on
local development in Karak Governorate. But there is no
significant effect of finance for SSIs on local development
in Karak Governorate.This study has verified further
research opportunities that could enrich the understanding
of SSIs in the southern region of the kingdom. The paper
provides some relevant recommendations to policy
makers, development agencies, entrepreneurs, and SSIs
managers to ascertain the appropriate strategy to improve
the SSIs sector.