Characteristic features of small business and large firms: An empirical comparative study

When conducting research into small business, it is necessary to clearly define and identify the particular size classes of enterprises. This can be done by applying quantitative and/or qualitative criteria which reflect the specificity of business entities of different sizes. The effectiveness of solutions adopted in this field is crucial for determining the methodological basis of research into small and large business management, and affects the cognitive and interpretative value of the research, as well as its practical outcomes. In light of the above, the present paper aims to identify and assess the quantitative and qualitative areas that classify firms according to their size into the category of small business (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) and the category of large firms. The objective of the paper was achieved through an empirical comparative study carried out on a sample of 1,784 enterprises of different sizes in the European Union. Based on the results, two research hypotheses were verified, and a series of theoretical, methodological and managerial implications was formulated. The appendix contains a proposal of a research tool for assessing the size of enterprises based on the quantitative and qualitative criteria under investigation.