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.
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23 October 2025
25 October 2024
10 September 2024
This report provides updated evidence on the persistence of labour shortages amid declining levels of labour market slack in the EU and at Member State level. This serves as a background to the main focus of the report, which is on organisational policies aimed at attracting workers to occupations in which shortages are common. Case studies were conducted across sectors and Member States to gain an insight into how organisations deal with recruitment and retention challenges in a tight labour market. The report offers lessons on steps employers can take to fill vacancies, whether acting alone or in partnership with other organisations. It builds on previous Eurofound research that developed a taxonomy of actions employers adopt aimed at addressing labour shortages.
Höjdpunkter för Small and medium-sized enterprises
Detta är ett urval av de viktigaste resultaten för detta ämne.
12 September 2022
Policies to support EU companies affected by the war in Ukraine
9 December 2021
Business not as usual: How EU companies adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic
This report aims to support European businesses in navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on workplace practices and features that have helped establishments across the EU to develop operational resilience while keeping employees and customers safe. The report investigates how EU establishments initially reacted to the external shock brought about by the outbreak of the pandemic and how they subsequently adapted their workplaces. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on the health and well-being of workers and how the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent disruptions affected business operations and work organisation.
30 June 2021
Innovation in EU companies: Do workplace practices matter?
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. Looking to the longer term, policies such as the European Industrial Strategy aim to support the transition to a green and digital economy.
Against this background, this policy brief investigates the workplace practices of innovative companies and examines the evidence linking them with innovation. These practices aim to encourage employees to work and problem-solve independently, to develop their skills, to include them in organisational decision-making, to motivate them to surpass their job description and to reward them for doing so. Analysis of these workplace practices can improve understanding of how they contribute to increasing the innovation potential of companies. It also provides an evidence base to support the work of policymakers and practitioners.
5 November 2020
Working conditions in sectors
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, using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). The report first outlines the sectoral characteristics underpinning employment – economic structure, demographics, occupational level and employment status. It then goes on to focus on four main topics: changing tasks, skills, training and employability; non-standard employment and employment security; health, well-being and flexible work organisation; and employee representation and voice. Differences in working conditions arising from age, gender, occupation and education level are taken into account. According to the analysis, developing measures to address relevant issues such as skills development, job security and work intensity should be a priority for policy. The data also show that the presence of employee representation and voice is key to improving the situation of employees.
15 June 2020
Social dialogue and HR practices in European global companies
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 levels of social dialogue. Both HRM functions and social dialogue are under pressure from a variety of trends and dynamics – not least, ongoing technological change. Sharing practices related to the involvement of EWCs in corporate decisions has made a valuable contribution to company operation and culture across the EU. The positive interaction between HRM policies and worker representation structures should help companies and sectors restructure and adapt accordingly, including dealing with the risk of increasing wage inequality and polarisation in working conditions.
22 January 2020
Game-changing technologies: Transforming production and employment in Europe
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 provision, the labour market and social dialogue. This report discusses a selection of eight so-called ‘game-changing technologies’ (advanced robotics, additive manufacturing, the Internet of Things, electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, industrial biotechnologies, blockchain and virtual and augmented reality). Each of these has the potential to substantially change business activities, work and employment in Europe. Looking at both the manufacturing and services sectors, this report gives an indication of how these technologies might be adopted and how they are expected to affect the labour market.
Experter om Small and medium-sized enterprises
Eurofounds forskare tillhandahåller expertis och kan kontaktas för frågor eller mediefrågor.
Franz Ferdinand Eiffe
Research managerFranz Eiffe är forskningschef vid enheten för arbetsliv vid Eurofound. Han är involverad i projekt om hållbart arbete, kvantitativa analyser och uppåtgående konvergens i EU, samt i utarbetandet av den fjärde europeiska företagsundersökningen. Innan han började på Eurofound 2016 var han chef för enheten för analys vid Österrikes statistik i Wien och projektledare för "How is Austria? Att mäta välstånd och framsteg bortom BNP. Han har en doktorsexamen i ekonomi från Wiens universitet för ekonomi (WU), där han också arbetade som forskningsassistent från 2005 till 2009 och föreläsare fram till 2016.
Gijs van Houten
Senior research managerGijs van Houten är forskningschef vid enheten för sysselsättning vid Eurofound. Han har särskild expertis inom tvärnationella undersökningsmetoder och analys av arbetsplatspraxis och organisationsstrategier. Han leder Eurofounds arbetsgrupp för datainsamling och ansvarar för utformningen av och metoden för den europeiska undersökningen om arbetsvillkor 2024, som kommer att vara ett viktigt steg för att framtidssäkra undersökningarna inom Eurofound. Innan han kom till Eurofound 2010 arbetade han vid Nederländernas institut för social forskning (SCP). Gijs tillbringade ett år borta 2016 och arbetade på Pew Research Center i Washington, DC. Han har en magisterexamen i sociologi från Radboud University Nijmegen och en doktorsexamen i samhällsvetenskap från Utrecht University.
Stavroula Demetriades
Senior research managerStavroula Demetriades är forskningschef vid enheten för sysselsättning vid Eurofound. Hon ansvarar för forskning inom områdena grön och rättvis omställning, social dialog, ledningspraxis, innovation och hybridarbete. Hon har en doktorsexamen i sociologi från Universitetet i Aalborg, Danmark. Hon har också en masterexamen i ekonomisk politik från Trinity College Dublin och en masterexamen i regional utveckling från Athens University. Innan hon kom till Eurofound 1999 arbetade hon vid forskningsinstitut, på olika poster inom den offentliga och privata sektorn, och genomförde organisatoriska och socioekonomiska studier. Hennes huvudsakliga forskningsintressen inkluderar den gröna och rättvisa omställningen, personalförvaltning, arbetssystem, innovation, sysselsättning och social dialog. Hon är också adjungerad professor vid Business School vid University College Dublin.
Allt innehåll för Small and medium-sized enterprises
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