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Appendix 1 Continued (Key definitions used in the studies)
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Appendixes
The definition of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) used in the
studies is based on the following European Commission criteria for small
and medium sized firms (organizations): average workforce < 250 persons,
annual turnover 50 million (euro), balance sheet (asset and capital total
values) 43 million (euro) and capital ownership or voting rights held
outside of the organization 25 % (Table A1).
Table A1: European Commission definitions of Small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) (Source: European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003)
Enterprise category Headcount Turnover Balance sheet total
Medium-sized < 250 € 50 million € 43 million
Small < 50 € 10 million € 10 million
Micro < 10 € 2 million € 2 million
In Finland around 5.3% of all enterprises are small or medium sized
(Statistics Finland, 2011). Further, if micro firms are included these firms
account for 99.8% of firms and the share of large firm is around 0.2%.
According to the European Commission (2011) micro, small and medium
sized firms comprise around 99% of the total firm population in European
countries. Currently, up to 23 million enterprises in the EU fall within the
definitions of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, these
enterprises provide around 90 million jobs and contribute strongly to
entrepreneurship and innovation. Moreover, these enterprises provide
around 90 million jobs and contribute strongly to entrepreneurship and
innovation. It should be noted that there are country-based differences in
definition of SMEs For instance, in the US and Japan they are defined as
enterprises with < 500 persons and < 300 persons, respectively (sources:
European Commission 2005, definition
of SME; European Commission 2009, Working document on the
implementation of Commission recommendation of 6 May 2003
concerning the definition of SME).