Dear Colleagues, 

The economic development is one of the world’s main goals which can lead to the nations’ prosperity (Constantin, Galati 2019). In order to reach this goal the concept of economic development is based on two pillars: economic growth and improving the population’s living standards through fair incomes, economic opportunities, safety etc. (World Economic Forum, 2017). In every country the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in order to satisfy the above conditions. European Union (EU) considers that SMEs are the “engine of the economy” as they are the most important generator of new jobs and added value (European Commission, 2015). The SMEs are also considered an important factor of international business development since they compete in the global market (Edinburgh Group, 2012). 

Some researches highlight that SMEs account for about 95% of all companies around the world and they have generally a high ratio of employment in most countries. Although the individual impact generated by SMEs is rather small, their joint impact is essential and indispensable for most regions. Due to their limited resources, their understanding of sustainable practices may differ from that of the large enterprises (Oviatt and McDougall, 1997; Crals and Vereeck, 2005).

The SME’s have an important contribution to the development of a sustainable entrepreneurial environment as they are involved in initiating entrepreneurial projects. They collaborate with various actors, such as the public sector, academia, industry and citizens in achieving a sustainable economic development (Barbulescu and Constantin, 2019). Such collaborative models are emphasized by the Quadruple helix theory, which asserts that several categories of actors (stakeholders) should cooperate for achieving economic development (Porlezza and Colapinto, 2012).

This special issue aims at putting together new findings that can contribute to enrich the literature regarding the contribution of SME’s to the economic development at all levels: local, regional, national or international. The contributions should address approaches like the below themes. Other themes of interest for this topic are welcome!

Reference

Bărbulescu, O.; Tecău, A.S.; Munteanu, D.; Constantin, C.P. Innovation of Startups, the Key to Unlocking Post-Crisis Sustainable Growth in Romanian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Sustainability 2021, 13, 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020671

Bărbulescu, O., Constantin, C.P.- Sustainable Growth Approaches: Quadruple Helix Approach for Turning Braşov into a Startup City, Sustainability, vol. 11(21), 2019, 6154, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216154

Bernal, P.; Salazar, I.; Vargas, P. Understanding the Open Innovation Trends: An Exploratory Analysis of Breadth and Depth Decisions.  Sci. 2019, 9, 73.

Brătucu, G.; Lixăndroiu, R.C.; Constantin, C.P.; Tecău, A.S.; Chițu, I.B.; Trifan, A. Entrepreneurial University: Catalyst for Regional Sustainable Development. Sustainability 2020, 12, 4151. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104151

Cantamessa, M.; Gatteschi, V.; Perboli, G.; Rosano, M. Startups’ roads to failure. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2346. doi:10.3390/su10072346

Constantin, C. An Analysis of the Role of SMEs in Economic Development Proceedings of International Conference “Risk in Contemporary Economy”, XX^th edition, 2019, Galati, Romania, doi: https://doi.org/10.35219/rce2067053220

Crals, E.; Vereeck, L. The affordability of sustainable entrepreneurship certification for SMEs. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 2005, 12, 173-183

Karadag, D. H. The role of SMEs and entrepreneurship on economic growth in emerging economies within the post-crisis era: an analysis from Turkey, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2016, 4(1), 22-31.

Kim, B.; Kim, H.; Jeon, Y. Critical success factors of a design startup business. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2981. doi:10.3390/su10092981

Kruja, A. D. The Contribution of SMEs to the economic growth (Case of Albania). EuroEconomica, 2013, 1(32), 55-67.

Kuckertz, A. & Wagner, M. The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions — Investigating the role of business experience. Journal of Business Venturing, 2010, 25 (5), 524-539

Oviatt, B. M.; McDougall, P.P. Challenges for Internationalization Process Theory: The Case of International New Ventures. Int. Rev. 1997, 37, 85-99.

Păunescu, C.; Popescu, M. C.; Duennweber, M. Factors determining desirability of entrepreneurship in Romania Sustainability 2018, 10, 3893. doi:10.3390/su10113893

Piątkowski, M.J. Results of SME Investment Activities: A Comparative Analysis among Enterprises Using and Not Using EU Subsidies in Poland.  Sci. 2020, 10, 4.

Porlezza, C. and Colapinto, C. Innovation in Creative Industries: From the Quadruple Helix Model to the Systems Theory. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 2012, 3(4), 343-353. doi: 10.1007/s13132-011-0051-x

Sarango-Lalangui, P.; Santos, J. L. S.; Hormiga, E. The Development of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research Field. 2018, 10(6), 1-19. 

Saura, J. R.; Palos-Sanchez, P.; Grilo, A. Detecting indicators for startup business success: Sentiment analysis using text data mining Sustainability 2019, 11, 917. doi:10.3390/su11030917

Toma, S. G., Grigore, A. M. & Marinescu, P. Economic development and entrepreneurship, Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014, 8, 436-443.

Zafar, A. & Mustafa, S. SMEs and its role in economic and socio-economic development of Pakistan. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 2017, 7(4), 195-205.

Edinburgh Group, Growing the global economy through SMEs, 2012, http://www.edinburghgroup.org/media/2776/edinburgh_group_research_-_growing_the_global_economy_through_smes.pdf

European Commission, User guide to the SME definition, 2015, https://ec.europa.eu/ docsroom/documents/15582

World Economic Forum. The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017. January 2017.

Dr. Cristinel Constantin
Dr. Oana Barbulescu
Dr. Alina Simona Tecău
Prof. Dr. Daniel Munteanu
Dr. Manuel Expósito-Langa
Guest Editors

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