Exploring the diversity of SMEs: a taxonomic approach in a French Region as a way to avoid the dichotomy Gazelles / Muppets (or "Silicon Valley Business Model" and the rest of SMEs)

The importance of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in national economies is widely recognised. These companies represent the overwhelming majority of all businesses in most countries and play a key role in job creation and economic growth (Ayyagari, Beck, & Demirgüç-Kunt, 2003; OECD, 2010b). In this paper we define SMEs using the European Commission definition which identifies them as autonomous firms with less than 250 employees, annual turnover of below €50 million and assets of less than €43 million (OECD, 2004). Using this definition SMEs account for 99% of all enterprises in OECD countries, about 97% of all enterprises in APEC countries and 99.8% of the non-financial sector EU-27 in 2015 (European Commission, 2015). SMEs are also major contributors to employment and employment growth, which has made the SME sector an interest for governments since the publication of Birch (1979). Throughout the world governments have created services and organisations specifically responsible for developing policies and programs to support SMEs (Birch, 1987). Yet despite the importance of SMEs, relatively little attention has been given to them in the mainstream management literature in comparison to large companies.