SMEs in Public markets

Intentions, structures and outcomes

Abstract

During the 1990s New Public Management ideas were implemented in the Public Sectors in the Western world. In Sweden one of the stipulated goals was to stimulate SME devel- opment. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse how Public markets in different industries have enabled small-business ownership over time. This longitudinal, quantita- tive study confirms previous studies that claim that structural prerequisites create barriers for small-business owners in terms of economic and relational dimensions. The findings would not have been revealed without an analysis of the data at the most detailed industry level. Data was available from Statistics Sweden. The main conclusion is that the relative position of small-business owners is produced and reproduced by the structural prerequi- sites that prevail in industries. The relative position of small-business owners has in- creased the most in industries where there was already a private market and a significant proportion of small-business owners. In the other industries which lacked these structural conditions in 1993, there was little or no change of the relative position over time, despite the fact that the private share of the market expanded.