The Polish Sme Sector

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Lodz (Department of Entrepreneurship), language: English, abstract: In the following paper I want to pay attention to the SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Sector in Poland. Researches within this Sector are very important, because that sector is the most dynamic in the whole Economy. Entry and Exit Rates of Businesses are about 10 % in the EU (European Union) and are even more in Poland. Noreen Doyle described it as the backbone for a lasting and effective business environment. As well as in the Transitional Period, which will be examined in detail in this paper, as in the accession phase of Poland to become member of EU, the development of the SME Sector will determine the future of Poland to a great extent. After defining this Sector, I will show the development separated in phases since 1980. In the following chapter, I will try to sum up the most important influencing factors for SMEs. Finally, I will consider some specific problems of Poland joining the EU.

This book sets out the current SME and entrepreneurship climate, reviews SME and entrepreneurship issues and policies at national and local levels, and provides observations and recommendations for improving and supporting entrepreneurship and SMEs in Poland.

This book provides an overview of the situation of rural food-processing micro-enterprsies in Polish transition. The results presented in this book cover the period between the fall of Communist regime in Poland and the Polish accession to EU in May 2004. The book's focus and scope are quite unique since as opposed to relatively large literature dealing with micro-enterprises in developing countries it concentrates on rural micro-enterprises in post-transitional Eastern Europe. The book fills the gap in the prevailing micro-enterprises literature dealing predominantly either with first world or third world.

The goal of the study is to identify and to analyse key growth factors in the Polish SME sector.

The 9th edition of the Scoreboard on Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs report provides data from 48 countries around the world on SME lending, alternative finance instruments and financing conditions, as well as information on policy initiatives to improve SME access to finance.

Business sustainability is becoming increasingly difficult amongst the demands of today’s markets. By implementing new and dynamic practices, organizations can optimize their day-to-day operations and improve competitive advantage. Optimal Management Strategies in Small and Medium Enterprises is a key source on the latest innovations in enhancing all main management functions, such as working capital and marketing, and examines how to implement sustainable business management practices. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as human resources development, market orientation, and knowledge management, this book is ideally designed for business managers, professionals, graduate students, and researchers working in the field of smaller-scale business development initiatives.

The structure of the work – as indicated earlier – is based on solving the research problem posed. It results from the adopted goals and formulated research hypotheses. The need to analyse the above issues related to the research area was included in the structure of the thesis, divided into four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the issues of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. It presents key definitions and classifications based on the existing legal framework in Poland. A statistical review of SMEs was conducted and the role of this sector of enterprises in the national economy was shown. Moreover, the European Union's policy towards micro, small and mediumsized enterprises was also reviewed and the main determinants of their development were presented in the light of the quoted research. The second chapter concerns the issue of business environment institutions. It reviews the most important concepts, presents the division of business environment institutions by form of support; analyses the organizational and legal aspects related to the functioning of BEI, also the spatial distribution of the discussed institutions indicating what role they play and the directions of their further development. The third chapter analyses the activities of business environment institutions in the area of financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The analysis included the activities of loan funds, guarantee funds, business angel networks and private equity/venture capital funds on the Polish market. The fourth chapter of the paper concerns the analysis of the functioning of business environment institutions in the field of financing support on the basis of research conducted among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland. It presents the methodology of the research, characterizes the research sample and analyses the results obtained. The results of the study were also the final conclusions along with the evaluation of the functioning of financial BEIs and the author's recommendations for future activities for the analysed institutions. The literature in the form of scientific monographs and articles in peerreviewed scientific journals was used to write the study. In addition, legal acts, reports and analyses, internet sources and the author's own research and analysis were also used.