Introduction

The book explores how, to what extent and with what consequences the international crisis that began in 2007–2008 and the recession which followed have affected European SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), and what can be done at the institutional and political level to uphold them. Notwithstanding several important publications related to the international financial and economic crisis and its impact on SMEs (OECD, 2009; European Commission, 2011a, 2011b), this question still remains unanswered. This project aims at contributing to fill this gap, providing comparative empirical research both at the national and local level, and building a theoretical and methodological framework which can be fruitfully employed in policy analysis.