PRODUCTIVITY ASA FACTOR FOR COMPETITIVENESS SMEs - MICRO LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

Grupo AD

Abstract

The micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are the highest percentage of enterprises in all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, becoming more than 90 per cent of the total. However, although participate between 25 % and 45 % of jobs and between 15 % and 25 % of production, productivity is between 25 % and 50 % relative to large enterprises, comparatively to the

European SMEs, which may be between 66 % and 82 per cent. Professor Porter writes in his article “Building the Microeconomic Foundations of Prosperity: Findings from the Business Competitiveness Index” (Porter 2003) which, referring to the environment macro and micro business, there may be necessary conditions but not sufficient for the achievement of competitiveness.

Says that: “However, these broader conditions are necessary but not sufficient”They provide the opportunity to create wealth but do not themselves create wealth. “Wealth is actually created at the microeconomic level of the economy, rooted in the sophistication of current companies as well as in the quality of the microeconomic business environment in which a nation's firms lies. Unlessthese capabilities improve, macroeconomic, political, legal, microeconomic and social reforms will not bear full fruit”, it is necessary to develop tools and mechanisms that help improve productivity, avoiding that, as a result of the permanent deterioration of the competitiveness of these companies, continue disappearing and generating inappropriate for the growth of our countries economic dynamics.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Colombian economy has in recent years shown some signs of growth that would enable the country to achieve improvements in the level and quality of life of its inhabitants, as evidenced by the growth of GDP per capita

Colombians (US $ 2,239 in 1999 to $ 3,214 in 2006). However, a high percentage of the economically active population is unemployed or underemployed, figures show the urgent need for find and design innovative strategies to increase substantial industrial production and services in different sectors directing business to meet the growing demand for different world markets due to weak domestic demand.

Considering this, and looking to solve the problem of low growth of the economy, has been generated in the world, and in Colombia in particular, a strong interest in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) due to its great potential in generating employment, promoters of progress in the local environment and its flexibility to become an important complement to the work of the

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