The Impact of Business Support Institutions on the Development of the SME Sector

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to critically review and map the network of business support institutions in Croatia and their impact on the devel­opment of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector. There are many research findings in the literature that link the development of the SME sector to the level of institutional development, but rarely articles that link business support institutions to the improvement of the business ecosys­tem (reduction of barriers). Through in-depth interviews with the heads of business support institutions, this paper aims to explore the impact of busi­ness support institutions on reducing barriers that hinder the establishment and development of SMEs. The results show that business support institu­tions do not have enough resources (time, money, knowledge, etc.) to pro­vide the necessary assistance to SMEs, but also to fulfill other tasks and obli­gations for which they are responsible. The results of the study can be used for the development of better SME policies, but also for the development of services that better meet the needs of SMEs