Liigu edasi põhisisu juurde
small_and_medium_sized_enterprises.jpg

Small and medium-sized enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined by the European Commission as having less than 250 employees. SMEs are the backbone of Europe's economy. They represent 99% of all businesses in the EU. In the past five years, they have created around 85% of new jobs and provided two-thirds of the total private sector employment in the EU. The European Commission considers SMEs and entrepreneurship as key to ensuring economic growth, innovation, job creation, and social integration in the EU. The European Commission policy in relation to SMEs supports start-ups and scale-ups in particular. Internationalisation beyond the EU increases SMEs' performance, enhances competitiveness, and reinforces sustainable growth.

Topic

Recent updates

EU context

Eurofound’s work on small and medium-sized enterprises links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on promoting our European way of life. 

Key outputs

card_cover_image_report_05112020.png

Megatrends, such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change, are transforming the world of work, with knock-on effects for working conditions and job quality. Against this background, this report...

5 november 2020
Publication
Research report
ef19009_card_cover.png

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its...

16 juuni 2020
Publication
Research report

Eurofound expert(s)

​Stavroula Demetriades

Stavroula Demetriades is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. She has responsibility for research in the areas of innovation, management practices, hybrid...

Senior research manager,
Employment research unit
franz-eiffe-2023.png

Franz Eiffe is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. He is involved in projects on sustainable work, quantitative analyses and upward convergence in the EU, as...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (57)

Inimressursid aitavad kaasa organisatsiooni edule oma oskuste kaudu. Võimekuse, motivatsiooni ja võimaluste mudeli kohaselt sõltub töötajate panus organisatsiooni tulemustesse nende oskustest, motivatsioonist oskusi kasutada ja võimalustest seda teha. Organisatsioonid võivad kohandada võimekust

30 March 2023

Käesoleva aruande eesmärk on toetada Euroopa ettevõtteid COVID-19 pandeemiaga seotud probleemide lahendamisel. Tähelepanu keskmes on töökoha tavad ja omadused, mis on aidanud ettevõtetel kogu ELis arendada tegevuskerksust, säilitades samas töötajate ja klientide ohutuse.Aruandes uuritakse, kuidas

09 December 2021

The economic and labour market contribution of international businesses is well recognised, but policymakers could do more to help such enterprises to develop their activities. This policy brief explores the workplace practices in export-oriented establishments that may contribute to their success

06 October 2021

The EU has long supported innovation in business and in workplaces. The challenges facing Europe as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis make the need for innovation more urgent. The NextGenerationEU recovery package requires a reorientation of business activities towards innovation for resilience

01 July 2021

Megatrends, such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change, are transforming the world of work, with knock-on effects for working conditions and job quality. Against this background, this report examines working conditions and job quality from a sectoral perspective

05 November 2020

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different

16 June 2020

Innovation and technological advancement are natural features of developed economies, and they are necessary to maintain and improve sustainable competitiveness in an era of globalisation. However, while most innovation tends to be incremental, some has a disruptive effect on production and service

22 January 2020

Cooperatives and social enterprises are recognised for their resilience to cyclical and structural economic changes and their capacity to contribute to local and regional economic development, including social inclusion. In recent years, attention has increasingly focused on their ability to further

12 June 2019

Reshoring – namely the relocation of value chain activities back to the home country or its nearby region – has attracted an increasing interest both among scholars and policymakers. The European Reshoring Monitor is a collaborative project between Eurofound and a consortium of Italian universities

01 April 2019

This report explores the motivations, opportunities and challenges of born globals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in integrating and managing their global value chains (GVCs). The study also investigates the role of selected policy measures in supporting SME internationalisation, incl

14 December 2018

Online resources results (25)

Green paper on parental leave receives mixed reception

On 7 December 2000, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published a green paper entitled Work and parents: competitiveness and choice [1], setting out a range of options for helping working parents balance their family and work responsibilities. Its proposals are currently the subject of a

Employee savings schemes reformed

A law to reform France's employee savings schemes was presented to parliament in October-November 2000. There are two parts to the law: the first overhauls the existing company savings scheme and extends it to cover smaller companies; while the second creates a new voluntary longer-term savings

Managing the work-life balance

The Irish social and economic context has changed considerably in recent years. In particular, while the Irish economy was burdened with mass unemployment and poor performance during the 1980s, there has since been very strong economic growth. The expansion of the economy has resulted in continual

White-collar workers' joint committee prioritises training

The National Auxiliary Joint Committee for White-Collar Workers (CPNAE/ANPCB) is the most important sectoral joint committee in Belgium. In addition to its weight in numeric terms, it also covers an unusually wide spectrum of activities, including a significant proportion of the new "emerging"

Working time dominated bargaining in 1999

The reduction of working time drove the collective bargaining process in France during 1999. The number of company-level agreements rose by over 130%, while sector-level bargaining was dominated by the implementation of the 35-hour working week, enabling 4.5 million employees to have their working

How small firms are adjusting to the national minimum wage

The UK's first national minimum wage (NMW) was introduced in April 1999 against the backdrop of immense uncertainty over what its effects might be (UK9904196F [1]). The Labour government aimed to introduce the NMW in such a way that it would bring substantial benefits to low paid workers without

Study examines workplace health, safety and working conditions

In November 1999, the Institute for Health, Safety and Working Conditions (IYASE) presented the results of a study on developments in health, safety and working conditions in Greece over the past 20 years. It finds that there is a considerable shortage of data on workplace-level developments, and

Industrial relations in shipbuilding in Italy

Shipbuilding in Italy presents a fragmented picture in terms of both industrial relations and sectoral structure, with a polarisation between a handful of medium to large companies (with Fincantieri being by far the largest) and many smaller enterprises. At the beginning of 2000, an important issue

Federation of Finnish Enterprises aims to participate in incomes policy negotiations

In June 1999, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, representing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), was given a mandate by four of its affiliates to participate in national incomes policy negotiations. The organisation thus aims to achieve the status of a central social partner organisation

European employers' organisations forge closer links within social dialogue

On 4 December 1998, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the European Association of Craft and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME). UNICE is the main intersectoral European-level organisation representing


Blogs results (3)
ef21079.png

As we leave behind the lockdowns and business disruptions of COVID-19 and enter a ‘new normal’, it is time to talk about how workplaces might be transformed to drive innovation. Some may baulk at this suggestion, as we continue to grapple with the pandemic fallout, but crises have always been a

28 juuni 2021
ef19068_cooperatives-social-enterprises.jpg

Much of the discussion on the future of work is focused on globalisation and technology, and their impacts on the labour market. However, there is also a growing interest in the business models used by cooperatives and social enterprises, and how they can contribute to a better future of work

15 november 2019
rjmw8jbaixjbzi4jq06x.jpg

Europe has gone through significant economic change over the past decade. Businesses have had to manage the challenges posed by the financial crisis, globalisation and a rapidly changing labour market. Eurofound's new report Win-win arrangements: Innovative measures through social dialogue at

3 oktoober 2016

Disclaimer

When freely submitting your request, you are consenting Eurofound in handling your personal data to reply to you. Your request will be handled in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. More information, please read the Data Protection Notice.