Subject areaRevenue and sales
Also known assmall and medium-sized enterprisesSMEs
SME: SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are the companies that stay below the size thresholds set in the European Union by Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, which measures them on three criteria: staff headcount, annual turnover and balance sheet total.
The same recommendation splits them into micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The definition has practical consequences, because access to many public grants and funds depends on it. In the site's articles SMEs appear as companies that compete on relationships and agility, with few people covering several roles: it follows that every organisational change, such as introducing artificial intelligence, affects them more directly than large companies.
Source: Raccomandazione della Commissione europea 2003/361/CE del 6 maggio 2003, relativa alla definizione delle microimprese, piccole e medie imprese.
An example
The site observes that small and medium-sized enterprises often lack the planning documents a lender asks for, because the owner steers by sight, and that SMEs, despite needing innovation the most, have to seek outside help to access funding.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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