Conclusiones por objetivo

Regional variations in the density of local units by size are undoubtedly influenced by sectoral differences in regional economies, given that certain sectors — for example, hotels and catering — tend to be dominated by small units and firms, whereas others — for example, industry and energy — have a higher proportion of large units and firms.

Within these broad sectoral differences, however, there are also differences in unit size in the same sector between different European regions. Such differences are illustrated by the next four sectoral maps [pp. 111- 112 and pp. 114-115 (1)].

These show the share of employment of SMUs (local units with 1 to 99 employees) in a particular sector in total regional employment (excluding employment in units with no employees) in that sector. Low shares thus signify that a relatively high proportion of employment in that

sector in that region is in large local units, high shares that a relatively high proportion is in SMUs. No regional sectoral data were available for Spain and the UK. European-wide regional variations in these sectoral indicators are quite considerable, the greatest range being for other services (from 22.8 to 88.1 %), the lowest for hotels and catering (from 54.4 to 100.0 %).

Regional variations in SMU share in the industry and energy sector (see Map, p. 111) range from 23.4 to 83.3 %, the map showing that small and medium-sized units dominate employment in this sector in most Italian and Portuguese regions. The latter are classic small firm-dominated industrial regions, northeast and central Italy in particular containing numerous ‘industrial districts’ characterised by small firms specialising in particular manufacturing sectors (leather goods, textiles, ceramics, clothing).

Industry in east German regions is also dominated by smaller units, some of which are probably branch units of firms from west Germany. In contrast, large industrial units are much more important than small and medium-sized units in most Swedish regions, northern France, southern Germany, and parts of Austria, reflecting historical specialisations on large- scale heavy industry (France), the headquarters location of particular major European companies (Stuttgart and Munich), and national large firm-dominated industrial systems (Sweden).

The hotels and catering sector is dominated by small and medium-sized units almost everywhere (see Map, p. 112) the only distinctive feature here being relatively low small and medium-sized unit shares (higher shares of large units) in all Europe’s major metropolitan regions and cities (Lisbon, Rome, Paris, Vienna, Brussels, Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Stockholm and Helsinki). These are of course Europe’s leading year-round regional markets for larger hotel and catering businesses.

(1) These sectors have been chosen to illustrate European- wide patterns, and although they include key SME sectors, do not together cover the whole economy.

An exactly similar feature is evident from the financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities map (p. 114), with especially low small and medium-sized unit shares (higher shares of large units) in all the major metropolitan regions listed above except Stockholm. High large unit shares are also concentrated geographically in Europe’s economic heartland (Belgian and German regions account for two-thirds of this group). Small and medium-sized units are especially dominant in this sector in a range of less-urbanised regional environments, and in much of Italy, with its strongly small firm-oriented culture and production system.

The map of other services (p. 115), which aggregates transport and communication, health, sewage, organizations, recreational activities and other services, reveals that once again, large local units are especially important if not dominant in all Europe’s major metropolitan regions, as listed above (this time including Stockholm but excluding Helsinki). Again, large units are particularly prevalent in a number of European heartland Belgian and German regions, this time including east Germany. In this sector, small and medium-sized units dominate in more peripheral and rural regions, such as Portugal (excluding Lisbon), rural southern France, most of Finland, and rural Sweden, along with northeast Italy (where small and medium-sized units dominate in virtually all sectors).

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The final set of maps (p. 116 and pp. 118-119) represents an attempt to identify Europe’s most specialised SMU regions in each of three key sectoral groups, namely manufacturing, high-technology industry, and financial and business services.

These three sectors are arguably exceptionally important as a basis for future European, national and

regional economic growth: and SMEs play a major role in each of them, notwithstanding the significance of Europe’s large companies.

Indeed, rapid SME growth often appears to be a diagnostic feature of new, technologically dynamic sectors, such as computer software and services, and management and business consultancies. In the UK, for example, the total number of computer software and service firms, most of which are small firms, increased by no less than 128 % between 1993 and 1998, while numbers of management consultancy and other business service enterprises grew by 45 % over the same period (1).

The three maps record variations in the share of total regional employment in SMUs accounted for by SMUs in each of these three particular sectors. Regions with an exceptional share of their SMU employment in a given sector are exceptionally specialised, in SMU terms, on that sector. Many such regions also contain large numbers of SMUs in the sector concerned. The manufacturing SMU map (p. 116) reveals that Europe’s most specialised manufacturing SMU regions, defined in this way, are, not surprisingly, concentrated in Italy, especially northern and Adriatic Italy, where Lombardia, Veneto and Toscana alone contain respectively 76, 39 and 32 thousand manufacturing SMUs. This reflects and highlights the importance of Italy’s remarkable small firm-focussed ‘industrial district’ phenomenon noted earlier.

(1) NACE sectors 72 and 74 respectively. Data are for firms with at least one employee at end-1993 and start-1998. Over 99 % of firms in each sector have less than 100 employees.

Source: Small and Medium Enterprise Statistics for the United Kingdom, SME Statistics Unit, Department of Trade and Industry, Sheffield, 1993 and 1998.

However, the map also reveals that a number of French regions also specialise on manufacturing small and medium-sized units, notably Rhône-Alpes, which contains 23 thousand such units, and rural regions such as Franche-Comté, Pays de la Loire and Picardie. Rural region specialisation on manufacturing small and medium-sized units is also a feature of Norte and Centro in Portugal, and southern regions of Finland and Sweden. Finally, many German regions also exhibit above-median specialisation on manufacturing small and medium-sized units, notably Freiburg, Tübingen, Oberfranken, Detmold and Arnsberg, again indicating a small town-rural region orientation. These patterns reflect the growth of small manufacturing firms over recent decades in many smaller towns and rural regions of the European Union, as part of an urban-rural shift of manufacturing activity, although large volumes of manufacturing small and medium-sized units are still inevitably to be found in giant conurbations such as the Île de France, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart regions. Perhaps even more interesting is the map (p. 118) identifying European regions whose SMUs are relatively specialised on high-technology sectors, including both technology-based manufacturing and service activities. It is unfortunate that no data were available for the UK, given the clustering of high- technology SMEs in such UK regions as Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, and the so-called M4 corridor.

But the map shows that in the EU countries analysed, specialised high-technology small and medium-sized unit regions are concentrated in three types of location, namely central and southern Germany, northern Italy, and major metropolitan regions such as Paris, Rome, Milan, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Darmstadt), Munich, Berlin, Stockholm and Helsinki. The Île de France region alone contains over 11 thousand technology-based small and medium-sized units, and Lombardia over 10 thousand.

The undoubted existence of smaller clusters of technology-based SMEs in such specific locations as Sophia-Antipolis (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), Grenoble (Rhône-Alpes), Toulouse (Midi-Pyrénées), Oulu (northern Finland), and Linköping (Östra Mellansverige) is also indicated by above-median specialisation indices for these regions.

In contrast, proportionately few high-technology small and medium-sized units are to be found in the regions of Portugal, southern Italy, Austria, and certain more rural regions of Sweden and Finland.

Lastly, the map of European regions whose SMUs are relatively specialised on financial and business services (p. 119) produces a somewhat unexpected pattern focussed on France, all but four of whose regions fall in the highest-specialisation category.

This aside, the most specialised financial and business service small and medium-sized unit clusters are, not surprisingly, located in Europe’s major metropolitan regions, with their agglomerations of specialised small firms in financial services, business consultancy, advertising, market research, accountancy, legal and architectural services, human resources, and a wide range of other business services. The growth of such high-level and professionally-based producer services in cities such as London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Vienna, Brussels, Frankfurt (Darmstadt), Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm and Helsinki has been a major component of the recent economic evolution of these command centres of Europe’s economy. Again, Île de France (56 thousand) and Lombardia (30 thousand) head the list by size of small and medium-sized unit cluster. Below-median specialisation on small and medium- sized units in this sector in many German (and Portuguese) regions is the natural obverse of the above-median specialisation of these regions on other sectors, such as manufacturing.

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LASSIFYING EU REGIONS