OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023

Annexe A. Sources and definitions

Table A.1. Sources and definitions

SME sector structure and performance
Topic	Code Variable	Description	Source
Size of the SME&E sector	Share of SMEs in total employment (%)	Employment by enterprise size as a percentage of all persons employed in the business economy. The total number of persons engaged is defined as the total number of persons who worked in or for the concerned unit during the reference year. Total employment excludes: directors of incorporated enterprises and members of shareholders’ committees who are paid solely for their attendance at meetings; labour made available to the concerned unit by other units and charged for; persons carrying out repair and maintenance work in the unit on the behalf of other units; home-workers; and persons on indefinite leave, military leave or in retirement. Micro firms include firms with 1-9 persons employed; small firms: 10-49 persons employed; medium-sized firms: 50-249 persons employed; and large firms: more than 250 persons employed.	OECD Structural and Demographic Business Statistics database (SDBS) Variable: EMPN Dimension: Size Class: SME: SME firms NSC1: Micro firms Total: All firms
	Share of SMEs in turnover (%)	Total turnover by enterprise size as a percentage of total amount invoiced in business economy. Turnover equals the total value of invoices by the observation unit during the reference period corresponding to market sales of goods or services supplied to third parties. Turnover includes all duties and taxes on the goods or services invoiced by the unit with the exception of the VAT invoiced by the unit vis-à-vis its customer and other similar deductible taxes directly linked to turnover. It also includes all other charges (transport, packaging, etc.) passed on to the customer, even if these charges are listed separately in the invoice. Reduction in prices, rebates and discounts as well as the value of returned packing must be deducted. Income classified as other operating income, financial income and extra-ordinary income in company accounts is excluded. Operating subsidies received from public authorities, or supranational authorities are also excluded. Micro firms include firms with 1-9 persons employed; small firms: 10-49 persons employed; medium-sized firms: 50-249 persons employed; and large firms: more than 250 persons employed.	OECD Structural and Demographic Business Statistics database (SDBS) Variable: TUTT Dimension: Size Class: SME: SME firms NSC1 : Micro firms Total : All firms
Trade Value	SMEs as exporters (%)	Share of SMEs in trade value, exports. Exports of goods and services consist of sales, barter, or gifts or grants, of goods and services from residents to non-residents. Micro firms include firms with 1-9 persons employed; small firms: 10-49 persons employed; medium-sized firms: 50-249 persons employed; and large firms: more than 250 persons employed.	OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database Variable: TSEC1.2 Dimension: Size Class: 3B: SME firms 1: Micro firms 2: 10-49 employees 3: 50-240 employees Total: All firms
Entrepreneurship and business dynamics
Topic	Variable	Description	Source
Business dynamics	Firm entry (quarter-on-quarter growth (%))	Firm entry refers to the number of new enterprises created during the reference quarter. Quarterly data is presented from the year 2000 (or earliest available) until the second quarter of 2022 (or latest available). Growth is obtained by dividing the value in a quarter by the value the same quarter of the previous year. Firm entry corresponds, whenever possible, to enterprise births. Firm entry excludes reorganisations of existing businesses (merger, spin-off, buy-out, change of legal form, etc.). Please see the Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics for further information on the concept of enterprise birth. Note that available statistics may deviate from this target for some countries (Eurostat and OECD, 2007[1]).	OECD Timely Indicators of Entrepreneurship (TIE) database Variable: ENTRIES
	Bankruptcy (quarter-on-quarter difference (%))	Bankruptcies, expressed as an index with 2015 as reference year. Reference year may differ based on data availability. Bankruptcy refers to the initiation of insolvency procedures. Note that such procedures do not always end up in the dissolution of the enterprise. Growth is obtained by dividing the value in a quarter by the value the same quarter of the previous year.	OECD Timely Indicators of Entrepreneurship (TIE) database Variable: BANKRUPTCIES
Self-Employment	Share of self-employed in total employment (%)	Self-employment is defined as the employment of employers, workers who work for themselves, members of producers' co-operatives, and unpaid family workers. It is expressed as a percentage of total employment.	OECD Annual Labour Force Statistics database Variable: YGTT22P1_ST
SME indebtedness
SME outstanding loans	SME outstanding loans	Bank and financial institution loans to SMEs, amount outstanding (stocks) at the end of period. It is shown by firm size using the national definition of SME or, if necessary, loan amounts less than EUR 1 million or an equivalent threshold that is deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis.	OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard: 2023 Highlights
Women in trade and gender gap
Women in trade and gender gap	Gender export gap	Share of firms that indicate they engage in trade, by gender of leadership. The share of firms is obtained from the question: Is your business engaged in international trade? Firms labelled that engage in trade are those that report "Yes, as an exporter and importer" or "Yes, as an exporter". The sample included in the analysis are firms in OECD countries that have between 1-249 employees. Only answers from owners and managers of the business are included. Equal refers to equal number of men and women managing and owning the company, women-led indicate that more than 50% of managers and/or owners are women and men-led indicate that more than 50% of managers and owners of the company are men.	Facebook/OECD/World Bank (2022), Future of Business Survey
SME integration in global value chains, linkages with foreign markets and multinationals
Trade Value	SMEs as exporters (%)	Share of SMEs in trade value, exports. Exports of goods and services consist of sales, barter, or gifts or grants, of goods and services from residents to non-residents. SMEs include firms with 1-249 persons employed.	OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
	SMEs as importers (%)	Share of SMEs in trade value, imports. Imports of goods and services consist of purchases, barter, or receipts of gifts or grants, of goods and services by residents from non- residents. SMEs include firms with 1-249 persons employed	OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
	Imports from 20+ countries (%)	The import share of firms trading with more than 20 countries expressed as a percentage of all imports. To calculate the import share of firms that import from 20+ countries, first it is necessary to aggregate all the import value of firms that trade with more than 20 countries. This number is then divided by the total value of imports for the year of reference.	OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
Trade value	Export from 20+ countries (%)	The export share of firms trading with 20+ countries expressed as a percentage of all exports. To calculate the export share of firms that export to 20+ countries, first it is necessary to aggregate all the export value of firms that export to 20+ countries and divide that by the total value of exports for the year of reference.	OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
Trade value in long GVCs	SME exporters in long GVCs (%)	Share of SMEs in trade value, exports, long GVCs. Long GVCs are defined as the top 10 longest value chains based on the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) model (De Backer and Miroudot, 2013[2]), and using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision 4 (ISIC Rev.4) at two digits: i.e. manufacturing of textiles (13), manufacturing of wearing appeal (14), manufacturing of leather and related products (15), manufacturing of rubber and plastics products (22), manufacturing of basic metals (24), manufacturing of computers, electronics, and optical equipment (26), manufacturing of electrical equipment (27), manufacturing of other machinery and equipment (28), manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (29), and manufacturing of other transport equipment (30).	Calculations based on OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
	SME importers in long GVCs (%)	Share of SMEs in trade value, imports, long GVCs. Long GVCs are defined as the top 10 longest value chains based on the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) model (De Backer and Miroudot, 2013[2]), and using the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision 4 (ISIC Rev.4) at two digits: i.e. manufacturing of textiles (13), manufacturing of wearing appeal (14), manufacturing of leather and related products (15), manufacturing of rubber and plastics products (22), manufacturing of basic metals (24), manufacturing of computers, electronics, and optical equipment (26), manufacturing of electrical equipment (27), manufacturing of other machinery and equipment (28), manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (29), and manufacturing of other transport equipment (30).	Calculations based on OECD Trade by Enterprise Characteristics database
Foreign affiliate’s activities	Foreign affiliates (FAs) sourcing locally (%)	Sourcing structure of foreign affiliates, percentage of foreign affiliates’ sourcing that comes from domestic multinationals (MNEs) and non-MNEs, total economy. Foreign affiliates are firms with at least 50% foreign ownership; domestic MNEs are domestic firms with foreign affiliates; domestic firms are those not involved in international investment.	OECD Analytical AMNE database
	FAs output used locally (%)	Output use of foreign affiliates, percentage of the output of foreign affiliates that is used by domestic MNEs and non-MNEs for intermediary consumption, total economy. Foreign affiliates are firms with at least 50% foreign ownership; domestic MNEs are domestic firms with foreign affiliates; domestic firms are those not involved in international investment.	OECD Analytical AMNE database
SME networks for innovation, growth and resilience
Professional groups or networks	Professional networks (%)	Share of firms belonging to professional groups. The share of firms is obtained from the question: Which of these kinds of professional groups, if any, are you a part of?. The answers are weighted such that the weight of each firm is 1 in order to account for multiple responses. The sample included in the analysis are firms in OECD countries that have between 1-249 employees. Only the responses obtained from owners and managers of the business (obtained from the question Which of these best describes your main employment situation?) are used in the analysis. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	Facebook/OECD/World Bank (2022), Future of Business Survey Variable: prf_grp_numeric
Innovation networks	Cooperation with higher education institutions (benchmark index)	Firms co-operating on innovation activities with universities or other higher education institutions, as a percentage of innovation active firms. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD Innovation Indicators 2021 Variable: UNIV_XINN
	International Cooperation with enterprises	Firms co-operating on innovation activities with enterprises engaged in international collaboration, as a percentage of innovation active firms. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD Innovation Indicators 2021 Variable:COOP_FOR_XINN
	Cooperation with private businesses	Firms co-operating on innovation activities with private business enterprises outside the enterprise group, as a percentage of innovation active firms. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD Innovation Indicators 2021 Variable: PRV_OUT_XINN
Adoption of platform and network technologies	Customer relationship management software	Firms using CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software (%). Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses Variable: C3B
	Supply chain sharing	Firms sharing electronically Supply Chain Management (SCM) information with suppliers and customers. Sharing information electronically on SCM refers to exchanging information with suppliers and/or customers about the availability, production, development or distribution of goods or services. This information may be exchanged via websites, networks or other means of electronic data transfer, but it excludes manually typed e-mail messages. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest). See readers guide for more information.	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses Variable: C4
	Cloud computing services	Firms purchasing Cloud computing services. Cloud computing services include: e-mail, office software, finance or accounting software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, hosting of databases, storage of files, and computing power to run own software. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses Variable: G3
	Social media	Firms using social media. Use of social media refers to the enterprise's use of applications based on Internet technology or communication platforms for connecting, creating and exchanging content online, with customers, suppliers, or partners, or within the enterprise. Enterprises using social media are considered those that have a user profile, an account or a user license depending on the requirements and the type of the social media. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses Variable: K1
SME access to digital skills: hiring, training and outsourcing
ICT training	Training for ICT (%)	Businesses that provided any form of training to develop ICT related skills to the persons employed, as percentage of businesses with 10 persons employed or more, by size. Small firms include firm with 10-49 persons employed; medium-sized firms: 50-249 persons employed; and large firms: more than 250 persons employed. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses and OECD (2021), The Digital Transformation of SMEs Variable: H1
ICT hiring	ICT employment (%)	Firms that who employ ICT specialists in the last 12 months, as percentage of businesses with 10 persons employed or more. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses and OECD (2021), The Digital Transformation of SMEs Variable: H4
ICT outsourcing	Purchase cloud computing services (%)	Firms purchasing Cloud computing services. Cloud computing services include: e-mail, office software, finance or accounting software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, hosting of databases, storage of files, and computing power to run own software. Presented in the form of benchmarking indices and reported on a common scale from 0 to 200 (0 being the lowest OECD value, 100 the median value, and 200 the highest).	OECD ICT Access and Usage by Businesses Variable: G3

References

[2] De Backer, K. and S. Miroudot (2013), “Mapping Global Value Chains”, OECD Trade Policy Papers, No. 159, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5k3v1trgnbr4-en.

[1] Eurostat and OECD (2007), Eurostat-OECD manual on business demography statistics, https://www.oecd.org/sdd/business-stats/eurostat-oecdmanualonbusinessdemographystatistics.htm.