Small and medium sized enterprises in international trade: the case of Central and Eastern European countries
Small and medium sized enterprises in international trade: the case of Central and Eastern European countries

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims at providing insights into the role of SMEs from selected CEE countries in international trade. The evidence from other regions suggests that SMEs have not participated much in exporting and importing comparing to large firms. The research method used in this paper is the quantitative analysis of trade patterns of four Central and East European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. France and Germany were used here as examples of developed countries for the purpose of comparison. The level of concentration of trade is much higher in the case of large firms. They frequently control almost 100% of trade in the industries. The very important fact is that there are only slight differences between the remaining groups of enterprises. Micro, small and medium enterprises report similar level of participation in imports and exports. SMEs have limited abilities to conquer foreign markets. The fact that small and medium sized enterprises play a minor role in the international trade should not be only interpreted as their weakness. This is rather associated with the dominance of multinational enterprises in international trade. There are also objective limitations to the expansion of SMEs in some industries, especially when the economies of scale are required. Therefore, even with a great support of governments, the chances that SMEs will dominate trade in automotive or IT industry are quite weak.

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