European SMEs face a crisis challenge: study reveals lack of knowledge about new EU directive
In an economic context characterised by growing challenges and uncertainties, small and medium-sized enterprises need to prevent and manage financial crises more than ever. However, how prepared are European SMEs to deal with these situations and utilise the regulatory instruments made available by the European Union?
The study "Awareness and Readiness of European SMEs for Financial Distress" investigates this issue. The researchers carried it out as part of the OITBC-MSMES project (Observatory and Initial Training in Business Crisis for SMEs), funded by the Erasmus+ programme. Casartigiani Arezzo coordinated the research, which involved 174 micro and small companies from four European countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria.
The results reveal a significant knowledge gap: only 31pc of the companies surveyed say they have in-depth knowledge of EU Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring, while 491pc have never heard of it.
"These conclusions worry us deeply"says Michele Rossifrom the research team. "The directive introduces essential tools to prevent insolvency and promote business continuity, but companies can't take advantage of these benefits if they don't know about them. We need to bridge this information gap to strengthen the resilience of our business fabric."
Patrice de Micco he adds: "We find it interesting that 64.4% of the companies involved believe that current national regulations do not adequately support business continuity during periods of financial difficulty, which suggests the need for intervention with greater impact at European level."
"Analysing the early warning indicators reveals a particularly significant conclusion?" emphasises Erina Guraziu, from OpenCom, one of the authors of the study. "52.9% of companies admit that they do not know which indicators could signal the start of a financial crisis in their business. This reveals a critical vulnerability in the European business fabric".
An international consortium completed the study through collaboration between Casartigiani Arezzo (Italy) as coordinator and OpenCom i.s.s.c. (Italy), Porto Forte (Portugal), Ce Consulting (Spain) and Global Business Group Ltd (Bulgaria).
The full results of the study can be consulted on the project's website, www.oitbc.eu and download them directly HERE
The results of the study will serve as the basis for the development of training and information materials that will be made available through a specific digital platform. The aim is to provide European SMEs with practical tools to strengthen their ability to prevent and manage financial crises.
Collaboration between partners from different European countries helped to identify common challenges and national specificities, which confirms the importance of a coordinated European approach to supporting the resilience of the business fabric.
