SMEs Survival Research Project in Northern Italy

SMEs are extremely important to the Italian business economy as they make up 99% of all enterprises and generate nearly 70% of total value added and almost 80% of employment. However, SMEs productivity is 10% lower than the European average. In addition, among Italian SMEs, there is a 36% mortality rate within the first two years of doing business. It is therefore of pivotal importance to understand which are critical factors for the survival of the business. The evaluation of these factors however may be difficult, and then it is crucial the way in which they are asked to entrepreneurs. The object of this paper is to present the results of an initial pilot survey sample of 33 Italian SMEs. Entrepreneurs were asked to rate the importance on a 5 point Likert scale of several survival factors and barriers to their business, that have been derived from previous studies on SMEs. The sample is representative of Northern Italy. This paper represents the initial phase of a broader study: further steps of the international research will investigate other Italian regions.