ABSTRACT
Recent increased public policy interest in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the 20 million or so EU firms employing less than 250 people, springs from three perceived SME strengths:
Their role in promoting flexibility and innovation.
Their labour market function in creating jobs and absorbing unemployment.
The enormous size of the sector (99 per cent of EU firms and 70 per cent of EU jobs).
For these three points alone, it is clear that SMEs need to be taken into account when issues concerning citizenship, democracy and governance are considered. However, there are more compelling reasons to include SMEs, especially with information and communication technologies (ICT) now improving communication and offering enhanced participation outside traditional structures and channels of communication. SMEs are not only diffused through every community and locality and, indeed, are often the mainstays of many small communities, they also form a major part of the marginalised sections of society with the lowest rates of participation in political processes. The largest SME segment, the self-employed, are generally from a milieu where personal independence and autonomy are prized. SMEs often organise themselves informally in structures that lie outside official organisations, as networks that address a mix of business, social and political needs. In fact, it is through these networks that many SMEs interface with the larger firms and government organisations that dominate our economies. Because of their importance, and their potential for mediating the participation of SMEs in the e-society, the different types of SME networks require some attention.