THE SME SECTOR, THE SINGLE MARKET AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF DGXXIII POLICIES

Abstract

The European Commission has developed a formal enterprise policy with respect to SMEs. It acknowledges that the SMEs play a vital role in the Community's economy employing two thirds of its workforce and having significant cost advantages in some areas as well as having characteristics of flexibility and innovation. It proposes specific policies to help them. However the UK SME sector is also severely affected by high exit rates and instability. It is also, by all available evidence, unprepared for the single market adopting a wait and see attitude. Despite the attention given to this sector by the Commission and the UK government this paper suggests that a strategic rethink of the SME sector is required with a more active intervention policy being adopted.

Citation

Mulhern, A. (1994), "THE SME SECTOR, THE SINGLE MARKET AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF DGXXIII POLICIES", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb020927