Assessment of Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) Environment in Lebanon
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2005
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Abstract
While SME or Small and Medium Size Enterprises is a widespread term echoed assertively in globalized and highly integrated world economies as a catalyst for real and rapid economic transformation, it remains of limited echo in the Lebanese economy even though much of Lebanon's businesses are SMEs.
The underlying study aims at assessing the fundamental and environmental foundation upon which the Lebanese SMEs rest with the aim arriving at recommendations that would create a favorable environment for SMEs in Lebanon. In such an attempt, this project aims to define SMEs in Lebanon, to conduct an exploratory research at the micro- and macro-environmental levels, to highlight environmental obstacles, and to raise recommendations for developing a more enabling environment for these SMEs.
After arriving at an appropriate definition of the SMEs in Lebanon as business enterprises with workforce sizes not exceeding forty employees, the study reviews the Lebanese macroeconomic environment embodying the SMEs along with the legal and financial frameworks within which these SMEs operate to highlight a set of descriptive hypotheses revolving around the influential factors on the employment decisions, the business investment decisions, the registration patterns, the past performance, and the future expectations. In addition and in light of the data gathered from the field survey of fifty four SMEs, the research examines the possibility of a relationship between these decisions on one hand and the demographics - gender, age, educational background, experience - of the SME owners, and location, size, sector, date and manner of establishment, and legal status or business type of the SME, on the other hand.
At the end, recommendations to develop an enabling environment for the Lebanese SMEs are briefly presented based on the observations noted throughout this preliminary research.
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Hagopian, A. E. (2005). Assessment of small and medium size enterprise (SME) environment in Lebanon (MBA thesis, Haigazian University)