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Greek SMEs - Challenges & Opportunities
This survey of 430 Greek SMEs from 20 sectors examined the challenges and opportunities they face. Key findings include: - SMEs expressed high dissatisfaction with support from public administration, especially regarding starting a new business. - Most SMEs saw significant decreases in revenue and had to lower prices in the last 12 months due to economic challenges. - Strong competition was reported, with over half of SMEs saying it was easy for customers to choose competitors. - Four in ten SMEs said they faced difficulties finding qualified employees despite high unemployment. - Awareness and participation in public training programs was very low among SME representatives. - Most SMEs now
Greek SMEs - Challenges & Opportunities
- 1. GREEK SMEs Survey conductedby the E-Business Research centre ELTRUN of Athens University of Economics & Business in cooperation with the online platform Douleutaras.gr
- 2. 02.03 Survey Description Public AdministrationServices Support Business Revenue / Prices Competition Finding employees Training Programs Data Retention Advertising strategies Online Presence Technology Services Evaluation Success factors Evolution prospects Diagrams - Demographic Conclusions 4 6 10 14 16 20 24 26 28 32 38 40 44 46 50 CONTENTS
- 3. Survey “Greek SMEs- Challenges & Opportunities” has been conducted by the E-Business Research centre ELTRUN of Athens University of Economics & Business in cooperation with the online platform Douleutaras.gr which provides users with easy access to the right professional for their needs. 430 SMEs representatives of different categories participated in the survey. The survey captures the different problem categories that different SMEs categories face. Simultaneously, it attempts to capture technology adaptation level within SMEs daily operations as well as SMEs willingness to evolve technologically and exploit technology potentials. Quantitative method has been used for conducting this survey using a questionnaire focusing on the following sections: Capture the as-is SMEs state, SMEs problems, existing technology use levels, participant’s personal characteristics (technology personal perception, technology knowledge, service quality focus), willingness for future technology evolution and possible future steps towards technology evolution. The sample that has been used and chosen to participate in the survey consisted exclusively by SMEs representatives from 20 different sectors aiming to capture SMEs general feeling and view regardless the sector. At the same time, sample size gives the option to isolate the different sectors and study them individually and in comparison in cases that interesting differences or similarities appear. Survey Description 04.05
- 4. 06.07 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SERVICES SUPPORT SMEs collaborationwith public administration services has been and remains one of the basic obstacles and constant difficulty. This survey revealed that the level of guidance, help and support provided by the public administration services during the phase of starting a new business is inadequate. The majority of the participants (8 out of 10), declare that they are unsatisfied by the guidance level they receive from public administration services, by the number of alternative sources of funding provided and by the effort needed to collect all the necessary documents. Respectively, 7 out of 10 participants, SMEs representatives, declare their disappointment concerning the documents submission process and the time needed to complete all the necessary actions to start a new business. Finally, satisfaction levels are much higher concerning the support provided by the public administrator services in finding their necessary suppliers. More precisely dissatisfaction levels are considerably smaller compared to previous indicators. This differentiation is probably due to the fact that for this particular action, SMEs do not seek for public sector support to the extend they do in the previous mentioned actions. Unsatisfying Support from Public Administration Services
- 5. Very Dissatisfying Dissatisfying Neutral Satisfying Very Satisfying Very Dissatisfying DissatisfyingNeutral Satisfying Very Satisfying Very Dissatisfying Dissatisfying Neutral Satisfying Very Satisfying Very Dissatisfying Dissatisfying Neutral Satisfying Very Satisfying Public Administration Services Support 08.09 HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF GREEK PUBLIC SECTOR’S SUPPORT TOWARDS SMES IN THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS NEEDED TO START A NEW BUSINESS. Collection of the necessary documents Documents Submission Quick Business start Guidance Alternative Funding sources Basic Obstacles & Difficulties Very Dissatisfying Dissatisfying Neutral Satisfying Very Satisfying 38.8% 40.5% 14% 6.2% 0.4% 47% 33.2% 13.8% 5.6% 0.4% 27.4% 44.6% 21.5% 5.9% 0.6% 51.1% 28.6% 16.1% 3.8% 0.4% 40% 30.2% 17.4% 11.7% 0.6% 70.23% 79.34% 79.75% 56.25% 71.97% Alternative Funding sources 80.17%Guidance Collection of the necessary documents Documents Submission Quick Business start Finding Suppliers
- 6. 10.11 Difficult financial andeconomic conditions as a result of the continuous and long Greek economic crisis are strongly depicted in this survey results since SMEs combine Greek economy’s “backbone”. Almost 6 out of 10 have faced significant revenue reduction during the past 12 months; many of them have faced a revenue reduction bigger than 50%. On the opposite side, only 2 out of 10 SMEs declare revenue increase which varies between 10% and 30%. This difficult financial condition gets even worst by the fact that 6 out of 10 SMEs declare that they were forced to reduce their prices during the past 12 months in order to remain competitive; absorbing all the new implied taxes (VAT increases etc.). BUSINESS REVENUE / PRICES Significant decrease in revenue and prices
- 7. Business Revenue/ Prices 12.13 WHATCHANGE HAS BEEN MADE IN YOUR BUSINESS REVENUE AND YOUR PRICES DURING THE LAST 12 MONTHS? Business Revenue and Prices 23.8% 16.8% 19.3% 15.7% 21.1% Decreased by >50% Decreased by 30-50% Decreased by 10%-30% Remained stable Increased by 10%-30% 1.0%Increased by >50% 2.3% 31.9% 18.6% 8.5% 4.6% 35.7% 0.2% 0.4%Increased by 30-50% Decreased by>50% Decreased by 30-50% Decreased by 10%-30% Remained stable Increased by 10%-30% Increased by >50% Increased by 30-50% Business Revenue Prices
- 8. 14.15 The majority ofthe participating SMEs identify strong competition levels within their sector. More precisely, 34% of the participating SMEs believe that it is “Easy” and 22% believe it is “Very Easy” for their clients to choose one of their competitors for the same or similar services to those they provide. These facts reveal the need to act in different directions such as investments in developing new innovative products and services, adaptation to this continuously changing environment and technology exploitation in order to survive and face the strong competition. COMPETITION Lack of Competitive advantage 34.1% 8.8% 1.7% 21.9% 33.5% Very Difficult Difficult Neither Difficult Nor Easy Easy Very Easy How easy is for your clients to choose another business of your sector for the same product/service?
- 9. FINDING EMPLOYEES 16.17 It is highlyimpressive the fact that although the unemployment levels are bigger than ever before and the number of individuals that look for jobs is huge, 4 out of 10 SMEs declare that they face difficulties in finding the right qualified employees for their businesses. Difficulty in finding employees 13.9% 30.5% 12.7% 1.7% 41.3% Very Difficult Difficult Neither Difficult Nor Easy Easy Very Easy How easy is to find right qualified employees for your business?
- 10. Finding employees Technical services Web & Design RenovationsAll other sectors 21.8% 17.1% 14.7% 46.4% More precisely, 43,2% of the participating SMEs declared that is “Difficult” or “Very Difficult” to find the right qualified employees, 21,8% of which operates in the sector of “Technical services”, 17,1% offer “Web & Design” services and 14,7% operate in the “Renovations” sector. Focusing on each sector separately and taking into consideration the actual number of participants for each sector, 37 out of 83 (45%) face problems in finding co-workers in the “Technical Services” sector, 29 out of 56 (52%) in the “Web & Design” sector, 10 out of 20 (50%) in the “Plumbing” & «Appliances Repair” sector and finally 12 out of 25 (48%) in the “Accounting services” sector. 18.19 Sectors facing the biggest difficulty finding employees
- 11. 20.21 TRAINING PROGRAMS SMEs representatives’ levelof awareness concerning available training programs provided by the public sector appears to be very low. More precisely, only 2 out of 10 entrepreneurs are aware of training programs provided by the government and only half of them have participated in one of these programs. Given the need and the necessity of SMEs for technological evolution and competitive advantage development, training programs provided by the public sector may provide great value and help towards SMEs evolution regardless the sector of operation. Targeted promotion in combination with the appropriate training programs’ curriculum evolution and update according to the real needs of SMEs could be the case for better exploitation of these training programs by more SMEs. Low level of awareness for the available training programs
- 12. 22.23 Are you awareif there are available training programs offered by the public sector for SMEs entrepreneurs in your town? 78.4% No 21.6% Yes Have you ever participated in any training program offered by the public sector? 89.7% No 10.3% Yes Training Programs
- 13. Customer Data 24.25 Greek SMEsappear to change and to evolve by integrating new technologies in internal operations management. The increasing level of integration is imprinted in the fact that 2 out of 3 keep their customer data in digital files. Similar levels of digital files use have been declared concerning financial data. The cheap and quality services that can be found and used in this area (CRM, ERP) help towards adoption of improved operations internal strategies while the unexploited potential for daily SMES operations improvement remains big. DATA RETENTION Significant use of digital files 25.1% Digital File 7.5% Do not maintain Hard Copy 67.4% Financial Data 33.5% Digital File 6.7% Do not maintain Hard Copy 59.7%
- 14. 15.43% 25.63% 39.08% 13.25% 19.06% Web promotion -Facebook use Web promotion - Google Adwords Email Campaigns Affiliate Marketing Brochure 6.44%Newspaper ads Which of the following ways do you use for promoting your business? 26.27 There is a significant SMEs preference in digital marketing tools since a great percentage of the participants declared that they already exploit their potentials. More precisely, 39% use Facebook services and 26% Google Adwords in order to promote their products and services. On the other hand, traditional ways of advertising like newspaper advertising or brochure distribution seem to have lost their impact and only 6% and 13% respectively of the participants declared that are still using them. ADVERTISING STRATEGIES Digital Marketing Tools Exploitation
- 15. 28.29 Fundamental part ofa business technological evolution is with no doubt to build a strong online presence. It is impressive the fact that 4 out of 5 SMEs are online present while 75% of them declare high levels of satisfaction concerning the effect they have witnessed of their online presence in business evolution in total. It is worth mentioning that half of those that have not yet built their online presence are positive to do so in the near future. This proves SMEs positive perspective towards online presence use and innovative solutions and how important the aforementioned are for their business evolution. ONLINE PRESENCE Online Presence and Web Exploitation
- 16. Online Presence 30.31 Is yourbusiness present online? To what extent do you believe your online presence has helped you? Online Presence Interested in Creating? Not at all To a Small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 2.3% 22.9% 38.9% 18.9% 17.1% If you don’t have online presence, to what extent are you interested in creating in the near future? Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 8.7% 41.7% 28.2% 8.7% 12.6% 23% 50.5% not interested No Yes 77% Online presence has been helpful 74.9% declares it has been helpful 22.6% No 77.4% Yes
- 17. 32.33 In a moreholistic approach towards technology effect in SMEs daily operations, 68% of the participants declare to be updated towards technology issues, having good knowledge of technology use in general and in comparison to other representatives of the same sector. It is a significant percentage that could support and help technological solutions penetration in SMEs infrastructures digitalization aiming at productivity improvement. TECHNOLOGY What do you believe is the level of your technological Knowledge (PC use, smartphone use etc.) Not so good Knowledge 68.09% Good Knowledge 31.91% The aforementioned has been also imprinted in the fact that 3 out of 5 representatives recognize the positive outcomes and the total effects that technology use has caused. ICT Technologies Importance Identification
- 18. 37.80% No 62.20% Yes Do you identify thepositive effects technology use could offer to your Business? Technology 34.35 Business Processes effectiveness Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 0.7% 6,6% 30.5% 35.8% 26.3% Provided Services to the customers Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 1.1% 9.4% 23.2% 34.7% 31.6% Business Image Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 0.4% 3.5% 21.1% 41.0% 33.9% Competitive advantage Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 1.3% 6.0% 27.9% 37.9% 26.8% Acceptance rates are increased when participants are directly asked towards potential specific advantages technology could bring. Percentages that vary between 89% and 96% imprints that participants’ majority cannot ignore technology use potentials and dynamics in any form of use within or not the context of the business. The identified advantages of technology use are related to a variety of processes like simple process automation, business image management as well as competitive advantage acquisition. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE THAT THE FOLLOWING BUSINESS CHARACTERISTICS ARE BEING IMPROVED BY TECHNOLOGY USE?
- 19. Co-operation with business partners Notat all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 2.9% 6.4% 25.3% 37.9% 27.5% Speedup business processes Not at all To a small extent To some extent To a moderate extent To a large extent 0.4% 6.4% 25.3% 38.4% 29.5% 23.78% No 76.22% Yes 92.7% 93.1% 96% 90.7% 92.7% Business Image Speedup business processes Business Processes effectiveness Competitive advantage Co-operation with business partners 89.5%Provided Services to the customers Technology use Τεχνολογία 3 out of 4 participants declare that they will seek technological evolution for their business in the future and declare their intention to exploit to the most possible extend ICT technologies potential. Do you intend to adopt new ways of technology use for your business services/products improvement and to exploit the advantages technology could offer nowadays? 36.37
- 20. 27.5% No 72.5% Yes 38.39 One of thecommon characteristics between successful enterprises is the constant evaluation of the provided products and services and their continuous effort for improvement. More than 7 out of 10 declared that they already conduct product and services quality check and they seek to get their customers confirmation that they have met their expectations and needs. This percentage is a positive surprise against public perceptions on Greek SMEs operational mode. SERVICES EVALUATION Offered Services’ Constant Evaluation Do you often confirm that the services /product you provide meet customers’ expectations and do you evaluate business processes aiming at business improvement?
- 21. SUCCESS FACTORS 40.41 When the participantshave been asked “Which are the main factors of their business success”, customer satisfaction and quality of provided products and services are the factors that stood out according to 56% and 54% of the participants respectively. Following those 2 factors, we find technological evolution and even smaller percentage of participants chose finding the business easily and competitive prices. Consumer - oriented Success Factors
- 22. Success factors 42.43 TO WHATEXTENT DO YOU AGREE THAT THE FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS OF SUCCESS ARE THE FOLLOWING? Services/Product quality Competitive Prices Customers’ satisfaction Easy to find the Business by the interested potential customers Technological business evolution Success factors Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree 1.5% 0,4% 7.5% 36.6% 54.1% 1% 5.8% 19.5% 45.3% 28.3% 0.8% 3.5% 27.8% 47.4% 20.5% Very satisfied Satisfied Neither Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied 1.5% 2.1% 21.3% 43.3% 31.9% 1% 0.2% 5.4% 36.5% 56.8% 28.3% 54.1% 56.8% 20.5% 31.9% Customers’ satisfaction Services/Product quality Technological business evolution Easy to find the Business by the interested potential customers Competitive Prices
- 23. 44.45 High percentages of participantsdeclare optimistic towards their business future despite the continuous economic crisis and the general uncertainty for the future. More precisely 46% declare “Optimistic” and 11% “Very optimistic”. Less than 2 out of 10 declare pessimistic for their business future. EVOLUTION PROSPECTS Remaining Optimistic 45.7% 12.2% 4.7% 11.3% 26.2% Very Pessimistic Pessimistic Neutral Optimistic Very Optimistic How optimistic are you towards your business future evolution?
- 24. 46.47 DIAGRAMS - DEMOGRAPHIC Business Sectorof operations Technical Services Renovations Web & Design Accounting Services Electrician services Appliance Repairs Plumbing services Event Planning Cleaning services Gardening services Lessons Household Transport services Well Being- Sports Legal Services Beauty services Air-Condition services Car Other Services 20.5% 18% 13.8% 6.2% 5.7% 5.4% 4.9% 4.7% 3.7% 3.5% 2.5% 2% 2% 1.5% 1.5% 1.2% 1.0% 2%
- 25. Diagrams-Demographic 48.49 How long doyou operate your business? How many employees are there in your business? Which is your position in the business? Gender Age 0.5% 6.1% 90.3% 0.2% 2.4% 1-5 6-10 11-30 31-50 51-100 0.5%>100 21.1% 27.6% 1.7% 5.0% 44.6% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 >55 Education 88.2% Man 11.8% Woman 13.0% 16.3% More than 5 years 3-4 years 1-2 years 70.7% 76.7% Owner and CEO 17.5%Owner 1.7%CEO 4.1%Other position 29.7% Secondary School 18.3%Bachelor 20.0% University of Applied sciences 10.6% Professional Technical School 4.0%Other 15.8%Master of Science 1.5%PhD
- 26. CONCLUSIONS Greek SMEs haverealized to a great extent the value of technology use and seem to be changing towards this direction. Some of them to a greater extent and some of them less dependently mainly on the sector they operate. The basic and most significant obstacles appear to be their estimation towards the cost of technology use and their incomplete knowledge towards technology possible ways of use. Of course, fundamental problems (low public administrative services support level, difficulties in finding employees etc.) in addition to economic crisis results (sales decrease, sector competition increasing pressure etc.) consist and are the basic obstacles for their business evolution. Despite the challenges and the existing difficulties in Greek business ecosystem, SMEs representatives declare optimistic and willing to evolve. Digitalization opportunities, training opportunities and competitive advantage acquisition opportunities are wide and the visionary entrepreneurs have their chance to take advantage of them for their business and customers benefit. 50.51