Editorial Introduction: The Changing Opportunities and Challenges of SMEs in Contemporary Business

SMEs, diachronically, have been characterized by scholars, practitioners and administrators as economic drivers, major employers and innovators. The identity of SMEs, along with their characteristics, attributes and competencies, had been considered to be distinctly different from that of their much larger counterparts. Their strengths and limitations, as well as their opportunities and threats, were therefore linked to their size and its natural pros and cons. The twenty-first century, however, combining significant technological and communications advancements with intense globalization and significant sociopolitical changes, has changed the identity and role of SMEs, substantially broadening their opportunities and the challenges they need to overcome. This book, therefore, brings together a collection of scholarly works that present these contemporary issues through different case studies, perspectives, industries and markets, and individually and collectively add to our knowledge and understanding of SMEs in today’s business and socio-economic context, along with the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.