Entrepreneurship in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Managerial and Cultural Factors

The study proposes to illustrate managerial and cultural factors in small and medium-sized businesses. The data collected via questionnaires reveal an interesting dynamic regarding entrepreneurs’ decisions and choices. Entrepreneurs who come from previous positions of responsibility create collaborators who create other businesses, while in companies run by former blue collar workers this has very little probability of happening. 70% of entrepreneurs have no projects regarding their companies’ future after they leave their jobs. There are statistically significant relationships: - Companies founded by those with previous entrepreneurial experience: the choice is to pass the company to someone else - Former blue collar worker companies: plans to sell the company - Companies established by women: ideas of having their children or other associates continue in their steps There is a significant and positive correlation between company size (employees and turnover) and management aspects: - being in favour of spin-off companies of employees - the capacity to foresee various strategies of development for their employees’ competencies - the planning of the company’s future The intention of giving more importance to innovation seems to be an association between: - perception of the importance of the innovation - participating at sector fairs - real investments in personnel training The data lead to a reflection of the possible risks in the future for these companies, specifically those companies where no future after the current entrepreneur leaves, and those companies which have no competency evaluation system of expert collaborators and thus the future of the local entrepreneurial system in general