Current challenges and future trends for Romanian small and medium enterprises : an empirical study

This study is an exploration of the dynamics of the present Romanian SME’ landscape. I offer first an overview of the characteristics of Romanian entrepreneurship and of the general impact of the recent crisis on the Romanian SME. I outline further the main constraints faced by the SME in the specific Romanian context and sketch current trends of Romanian SME. I employ hereby an econometric model - Markov chains - which I state as rewarding when investigating the evolution of SME, and apply it to a set of empirical data (SME from Romania’s South-Eastern region), in order to assess the evolution of these Romanian SME during the period 2007-2011. I present further two scenarios for the evolution of Romanian SME for the current and next period (up to 2016). Based on the results of this analysis, I formulate in the conclusions a set of recommendations which are aimed at supporting the consolidation of the Romanian SME sector.