ABSTRACT
The title of Schumacher's famous book, Small is Beautiful (1973), certainly promoted the image of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public opinion. This chapter shows the growth of the SME sector in western Europe. It summarises the reasons for such growth, not only in this but also in other regions. The concept of SMEs covers such a diversity of undertakings that statistics and comparisons are difficult. It ranges from establishments, plants, branches, shops or offices of the same enterprise or group of companies, up to medium-sized, small, very small or microenterprises, including family businesses and other independent workers. The difficulty in finding candidates comes mainly from the fear of victimisation in one way or another and the difficulty of the task of being such a representative especially in small but also not infrequently, in medium-sized enterprises. A new generation of employers and employees as well offers opportunities but also different needs as far as trade union action is concerned.
