The Stance, Factors, and Composition of Competitiveness of SMEs in Poland

Abstract

The research aims to present a comparative and cause–effect assessment of the competitiveness of small and medium production enterprises. The author’s research comprises 13,943 enterprises in 2007–2019—the entire population of enterprises included in public statistics in Poland as macro-, meso- and micro-structures. The research study presents the extent, trends, and intensity of changes in competitiveness and its factors. The author analyses the characteristics of structures—the stability of positions and changes in the ranking of objects, and presents the classification and comparative analysis of structure profiles. In the methodological approach, the study makes use of a specially designed multivariate competitiveness measure (statistical procedure), its partial measures (productivity of labour cost and cost productivity in regard to export), and determinants. The research on object relocation is based on the ranking method. The research of the relocation of objects is based on the ranking method. The average rank position and its variability are determined. The assessment of the density of objects is based on the specially designed density measure. Analysis of profile similarities are based on the taxonomic similarity measure. As research results have proven: first, small and medium enterprises represent different levels of competitiveness, and the intensity of changes varies in the course of time; second, increased competitiveness in both groups of companies results from export activities rather than an increase in labour productivity; third, in the context of great similarities between small and medium enterprise profiles in terms of their normative competitiveness patterns, the results of the analysis of the existing differences are in favour of medium entities. The value of the research lies in the usage of a unique set of enterprises and the constructed multivariate model for assessing competitiveness, structure variability, and its profiling.