AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF POLISH SME SECTOR ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION COUNTRIES
a
KATARZYNA BROŻEK
Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in
Radom, Malczewskiego 29, 26-600 Radom, Poland
email:
a
kania6669@wp.pl
Abstract: On the modern business arena there are a variety of units and economic
organizations which are closely linked with the economy of each country. The
principal economic actors are companies which underpin the economic system of each
country. A specific group of these entities are small and medium-sized enterprises,
which is one of the leading sectors of European economies. For this reason, this article
is devoted to analysis of the activities of European small and medium-sized
businesses, with particular examining the state of the Polish SME sector. Using
statistical data, the basic information characterizing the development of these entities
has been presented.
Keywords: enterprise, SME sector , the countries of the European Union
Introduction
The discussion on the problems of the SME sector should start
from the definition of the company which, according to
Schweitzer, is the technical, social and economic unity
(unit) whose task is to satisfy the needs of others with the
decision-making autonomy and its own profit [Schweitzer, 1988,
p. 15]. Furthermore, it is worth noting that all developed
countries recognize the essence of entities belonging to the SME
sector; therefore, the interest in this sector has been taking place
continuously for many years [Wolak-Tuzimek, 2010, p. 105].
The polemic primarily focuses on the following issues: creation
of economic growth, job creation, participation in export and
also the effectiveness the improvement of which may occur,
among other things, through the implementation of control
mechanisms [Lament, 2014, p. 22-25]. An undeniable fact is that
the largest part of the national income is formed within
companies. A convergent characteristic of the economies of the
European Union countries is the presence of a very large number
of small and medium-sized enterprises. Approximately 99.8 %
of registered business entities in Europe belong to this sector,
which constitutes a motor of the European economy and the
main source of employment. Undoubtedly, entities that are
included in this category are a priority for improving the
competitiveness [Howaniec, 2014, p. 40] and employment, thus
awakening the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in the
EU Member States. On the basis of these arguments, it cannot be
denied that the SME sector occupies a very important position in
national economies
.
The purpose of this article is to examine the situation of the
Polish sector of small and medium-sized enterprises on the
background of selected countries of the European Union.
Therefore, indicators describing the state of European
entrepreneurship have been analyzed. The results of the study
will also indicate which of the European countries performs best
in this regard, which on average, and which is the worst and thus
has the most to catch up as compared to the best European
economies.
1 Comparative analysis of European SME sector
The study examines the state of European small and medium-
sized enterprises on the basis of the statistical data from 2011-
2013. For this reason, 8 indicators characterizing the level of the
sector in selected EU countries were chosen. These indicators
are:
the share of gross value added generated in the corporate
sector in the EU;
number of enterprises in selected EU countries;
number of newly established and liquidated enterprises;
number of employees in enterprises;
average employment indicator per company;
indicator of entrepreneurship;
turnover per employee in European companies;
investments in fixed assets for one company in the EU.
1.1 Participation of European companies in the creation of
GDP
On the basis of data published in the latest report on the state of
PARP SME sector it can be concluded that in Poland in 2011 the
share of the corporate sector GDP was exactly at the same level
as the average characterizing the EU countries (47.8 %). Poland
compared to selected EU countries in this regard was ranked in
the middle of the pack but, after all, it is a relatively
good/satisfactory result even from the point of view of the
degree of development of the Polish economy and its potential
for development. Chart 1 below shows the percentage shares of
twenty-six EU countries in the gross added value generated in
the corporate sector. In the ranking, the leading positions are
occupied by Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Poland, however, is ahead of the countries such as Slovenia,
Denmark, Hungary and Slovakia. Also, Poland outclasses in this
respect e.g. France, Italy and Spain.
Chart 1. Share of gross value added generated in the enterprise
sector in Poland and selected EU countries in 2011
Source: Report on the state of the sector of small and medium-
sized enterprises in Poland in the years 2012-2013, PARP,
Warsaw 2014, p. 14
1.2 Number of enterprises in selected EU countries
The second part is devoted to empirical analysis of the number
of active companies in Poland compared to other European
countries. It is one of a few very important indicators to
conclude on the state of Polish entrepreneurship in comparison
with the European one. When analyzing chart 2, we can
conclude that the Polish economy in 2011 in this respect
occupied a place at the forefront pack. Sixth place in the ranking
certainly speaks for Polish optimistic situation in this area in the
coming years.
Nevertheless, the clear leader among the European countries was
Italy. In 2011, approximately 3.8 million companies functioned
in this country, which means that in Polish economy in
comparison with the Italian one about 2.5 times as few actually
did. The second position, also with very good results (about 2.6
million companies), belonged to France, while the last place on
the podium was occupied by Germany (2.2 million). Poland was
preceded by only two other countries: Spain (2.1 million) and
the United Kingdom (1.7 million). The latter, however, had
a slight advantage over Poland, since the difference that
separated the two countries amounted to exactly 174 thousand
companies. By far, the greater difference in values occurs when
comparing Polish number of firms with other EU countries.
Subsequent place belongs to the Czech Republic which loses as
many as 518 thousand economic entities to Poland. Countries
that follow had not been able to launch a million companies. The
closest were Portugal (832 thousand) and The Netherlands
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