The phrase "a smaller factor in" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the relative importance or influence of one element compared to others in a particular context.
Example: "While many elements contribute to the outcome, the budget was a smaller factor in the project's success than the team's collaboration."
Alternatives: "a lesser influence in" or "a minor role in".
But race turned out to be less of an issue than predicted even three months ago, when twice that percentage in a CNN poll said it would be at least a small factor in their vote.
But research from the UK government Committee on Climate Change (CCC) found that this was compensated to a large degree and thus was a small factor in the struggles of the steel industry.
The amount of "downtime" for a rig was a small factor in calculating bonuses, Mr. Winslow testified, although other factors, including the rig's environmental impact, customer satisfaction, individual performance and safety were also considered.
In practice the changes often simply reinforced divisions between a privileged elite — modern, educated, in tune with the West — and a struggling underclass, something that was not a small factor in the rise of fundamentalist violence.
They follow the set list established shortly before a performance, which reflects Smith's mood and the place they are in and maybe what was on TV that day, but anything can happen within the framework of some songs, and the audience is not a small factor in the equation.
Subsequent analysis by social scientists has suggested that the increase in incarceration was only a small factor in the great crime decline; other reasons, such as changing demographics and economic circumstances, and the waning of the crack epidemic, were collectively more important.
Any flexibility train companies have within the rules is to maximise revenue for the government".The soaring cost of air travel will ultimately be a small factor in increased rail fares, as the ONS said plane tickets pushed the inflation index higher.
William H. Kuehnle Alexandria, Va., Aug. 15 To the Editor: The column argued that a structural mismatch between workers' skills and available jobs is a small factor in today's economy and that monetary and fiscal policy should continue to be the key factor in our economic recovery.
Until recently, it was also the roost for Syfy's long-running series of cheesetastic B-movie sendups, but those have been moved to Thursdays, which may have been at least a small factor in the surprising amount of attention lavished on "Sharknado".
On the other hand, even high-cost drugs are only a small factor in rising health costs.
