Romanian Journal of European Affairs (Dec 2002)
SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND NETWORKING: THE EMERGING FRAMEWORK IN ROMANIA
Abstract
Networking is a key word in the recent debates on SMEs and regional policies, pointing out the need and advantages of integrating these businesses in a coherent framework, which creates links, relations, exchanges between them and other actors within the region (banks, universities, research institutes, training centres, consulting firms, chambers of commerce, associations of producers, local public administration). This paper aims to explore the main features and significance of the SME sector development for addressing the regional question in Romania during the transition period and to identify the emerging evidence and perspectives of SME territorial networking phenomenon in the specific context induced by the European integration processes. Up to present the idea of creating and supporting regional networks has not been offered the adequate importance in Romania – being only partially, indirectly envisaged, so that this paper proposes some reflections that could be considered by the Romanian regional policy in the forthcoming years, as resulted from the analysis of the international experience and literature devoted to this subject.
