Spatial Conditions Supporting Sustainable Development of Enterprises on Local Level

Abstract

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) represent more than 99% of enterprises in Europe. Therefore, knowledge about this sector, also in the spatial context is important to understand the patterns of economic and social development. The main goal of this article is an analysis of spatial conditions and the situation of MSMEs on a local level using combined sources of information. This includes data collected in the Social Insurance Institution and Tax registers in Poland, which provides information on the employment, wages, revenues and taxes paid by the MSMEs on a local level as well as contextual statistical information. The data is used for a diagnosis of spatial circumstances and discussion of conditions influencing the status of the MSMEs sector in a selected region (voivodeship) in Poland. Taxonomy methods including factor analysis and clustering methods based on k-means and SOM Kohonen were used for selecting significant information and grouping of the local units according to the situation of the MSMEs. There are eight factors revealed in principal component analysis and five clusters of local units distinguished using these factors. These include two clusters with a high share of rural local units and two clusters with a high share of rural-urban and urban local units. Additionally, there was an outstanding cluster with only two dominant urban local units. Factors show differences between clusters in the situation of MSMEs sector and infrastructure. Different spatial conditions in different regions influence the situation of MSMEs.