The ‘Shrinking’ Defense Industrial Base
with a reason for departure and thus were usable to address the research question. Importantly, responses included contractors that exited the DIB in all fiscal years under observation (Table 2). The more recent fiscal years accounted for the greatest percentage of overall responses. The authors expected a skewness toward recent fiscal year exits given the initial rates of confirmed points of contact and the practical likelihood that a more recently exited contractor would be more likely to respond. However, the earliest fiscal years were still well represented in the results, with every fiscal year (except FY 2015) accounting for at least 10% of overall responses.
TABLE 2. RESPONSES BY FISCAL YEAR
Fiscal Year
Number
Percent
2015
62
9%
2016
71
10%
2017
69
10%
2018
97
14%
2019
114
17%
2020
125
18%
2021
141
21%
Total
679
100%
Demographics Based on the two demographic questions asked in the survey, as well as the contractor profiles created using USASpending.gov data, the survey sample is represented by a broad array of prime contractors varying in size, location, and industry. Roughly three-quarters of the responses were from smaller businesses, reporting less than $5 million a year in revenue and employing less than 50 employees. Tables 3 and 4 display responses by revenue and employee count, respectively. Nearly half of
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Defense ARJ, Summer 2025, Vol. 32 No. 2: 194—223
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