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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

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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
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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
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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)

Based on information derived from 85 case studies across all EU Member States and other sources, the project outlines the features peculiar to SMEs in their anticipation and management of restructuring, explores the main drivers of change and analyses the factors influencing successful restructuring

13 May 2013

Based on information derived from 85 case studies across all EU Member States and other sources, the project outlines the features peculiar to SMEs in their anticipation and management of restructuring, explores the main drivers of change and analyses the factors influencing successful restructuring

13 May 2013

Self-employment and job creation is a key policy area in Europe and is considered to be an important element in fostering economic growth and employment. The financial and economic crisis has had a negative impact on self-employment andconsequently policy focus has been directed at fostering job

24 January 2012

The current policy and public debate on the overall topic of ‘entrepreneurship’ pays little attention to more specific or emerging forms of entrepreneurship such as one-person enterprises and self-employment, part-time entrepreneurs, parallel and serial entrepreneurs, and business transfer and

21 March 2011

This report presents examples of good practice and effective action in relation to restructuring by companies. The study is based on in-depth company case studies carried out in 25 EU Member States and Norway. It identifies instances where large enterprises have not only respected the minimum

24 May 2009

The report describes the general situation in the EU, and to a lesser extent the USA and New Zealand (one example), broadly with regard to eco-efficiency, eco-design and more sustainable manufacturing. In doing this it provides a snapshot rather than an exhaustive coverage. Case studies are used to

04 February 2009

In the context of global competition, it is increasingly relevant to look at Europe’s economic development in a wider perspective. This report gives an overview of the main industrial relations developments in the European Union, Japan and the US in 2005 and 2006. It charts the similarities and

11 December 2007

This report explains the concept of financial participation and what it means for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It explores the reasons for introducing financial participation in SMEs, the barriers and challenges that are encountered and also highlights the positive role that financial

01 September 2004

This literature review examines the role of micro and small enterprises in the Bulgarian and Czech economies, looks at employment relations in both countries and surveys evidence from literature and comparisons with the EU.

20 December 2002

The new system of industrial relations started evolving in the early 1990s in Bulgaria. In March 1990, the National Assembly adopted the Law on Collective Labour Dispute Settlement, which laid the foundations of new collective labour relations. The amendments in the Labour Code from 1992 provided

20 December 2002

Online resources results (25)
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Policies to support EU companies affected by the war in Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine has intensified, the cost of food, raw materials and energy prices, already high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to rise substantially. Ahead of coordinated action at EU level, as agreed by EU energy ministers on 9 September 2022, governments across the EU have

Latvia: Social security implications of favourable tax rate for small businesses

The social partners reacted differently to the government's plans to increase the rate of the special tax for microenterprises, the unions concerned over the lower social protection afforded the workers and employers worried about losing competitiveness due to increased labour costs. In the end, the

United Kingdom: Small Business Act becomes law

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 puts an end to the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts.

Project promotes innovation and employee participation in SMEs

In June 2001, Portugal's Institute for Innovation in Training (INOFOR) assessed a project it had been running on "Paths to innovation", which sought to promote organisational innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such innovation is thought to be rare in Portugal. Notable points

Social partners highlight competitiveness and development issues

According to a survey published in March 2001 by the Confindustria employers' confederation, the innovative capacity of small firms in Italy is being hampered by factors such as the rigidity of the labour market, the lack of skilled labour, and a high tax burden. Meanwhile, at a May 2001 conference

2001 Territorial Employment Pact agreed for Vienna

Since the mid-1990s, the city council, the Labour Market Service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS) and social partner organisations have been cooperating to improve the employment situation in Vienna, which had been relatively poor for some years. In the late 1990s, these efforts were translated into a

Forced labour compensation scheme faces difficulties

In July 2000, the German parliament passed legislation to provide compensation for those involved in slave and forced labour during the Nazi period. As the result of lengthy negotiations between the governments of the USA, Germany and several eastern European countries, along with representatives of

Union unite against employers' proposals on supplementary pensions

The "industrial relations overhaul" project initiated by France's MEDEF employers' confederation in early 2000 has given rise to a protest movement involving all trade unions in early 2001, including a day of demonstrations on 25 January. At the root of this protest are MEDEF's proposals on

The state of trade unionism

Trade unions originally developed in Ireland in response to the spread of industrialisation. Many employers in the early factories used authoritarian methods and working conditions were often extremely poor. Individual workers were unable to resist this exploitation, so they organised collectively

Third National Agreement on Continuing Training signed

In December 2000, Spain's main employers' organisations and trade unions signed the third National Agreement on Continuing Training (ANFC). Like its predecessors, the agreement provides for the extensive involvement of the social partners in managing all levels of the continuing training system. An


Blogs results (3)
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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
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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
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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

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