Small and medium-sized enterprises: Pillars of Germany's social market economy

Author: Zheng Chunrong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The book is divided into 7 chapters. Chapter 1 starts from Germany's special definition of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and discusses the current status, characteristics, and existing issues in Germany's SMEs, with a focus on the formation process of SME structures in Eastern Germany. Chapter 2 covers the legal and policy framework for German SMEs, primarily discussing the impact of the Antitrust Act and corporate legal forms on SMEs, as well as the content and evolving goals of German SME policies. Chapter 3 includes two parts: one on SME promotion in EU and regional policies, and the other on SME promotion unrelated to regions. It also explains the organizational forms and tasks of federal state, regional, and local economic promotion agencies. Chapter 4 highlights the important role of the banking system in financial support for SMEs, with a focus on Germany's two major promotional banks, guarantee banks, and their host bank procedures. Chapter 5 clarifies the various services provided by German chambers of commerce and associations for SMEs. Chapter 6 consciously selects three areas—entrepreneurship promotion, R&D and innovation promotion, and foreign trade promotion—and further elaborates on the actual operation of related projects based on the systematic introduction in Chapter 3. Chapter 7 summarizes the characteristics of Germany's SME promotion system and proposes several recommendations for reference. The appendix at the end of the book aims to provide Chinese SMEs planning to invest in Germany with relevant information and introduce the current status of cooperation projects already underway in the SME sector between China and Germany.