International Conference on

Medium Enterprise Development

14 – 16 July 2002

Collingwood College, University of Durham

focusing on: 'The missing Middle'

CALL for PAPERS and CASE STUDIES:

Please submit abstracts for papers and case studies to:

Diane.Guy, MED Conference Administrator

Foundation for SME Development, University of Durham, DH1 3LB, UK

Tel: +44 (0)191 374 2238 Fax: +44 (0)191 374 3399

e-mail: diane.guy@durham.ac.uk

To register your interest in attending this conference, complete details and send it to:

Helke Carvalho Hernandes Conference and Events Organiser

efmd - 88, Rue Gachard B – 1050 Brussels

Tel: +32-2-6290810 Fax: +32-2-6290811

e-mail: carvalho@efmd.be

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International Conference on Medium Enterprise Development

'the missing middle'

14 – 16 July 2002

Collingwood College, University of Durham

The Conference

The Foundation for SME Development at the University of Durham has long promoted Medium Enterprise Development. In 2001 we began a research project with the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Education and Skills looking at the characteristics, significance and contribution of medium enterprises in the UK economy. Whilst Medium Enterprise Development is important to all economies, little work has been done in this area.

Medium Enterprises seem to be ignored at policy level as being too big to be small and in contrast too small to be big. Existing knowledge of this missing middle must be harvested and put to use. It is the intention of this conference to achieve this goal.

This is the first International Conference focusing on the ‘missing middle’. Its intention is to create difference and allow independent study of the medium enterprise.

The Medium Enterprise

Medium enterprises have suffered from definitional boundaries limiting support organisation’s views and policies towards them. Statistics already show Medium enterprises contribute significantly to any economy. Without division there is no vision and so the ‘M’ of SME is the ‘missing middle’. They are not merely ‘a number of people’; they are complex organisations in need of study and support. Medium enterprises have distinct problems; for example, they may have outgrown markets, products, infrastructure, knowledge and skills. They warrant study.

Invitation to submit papers and case studies

There are no set themes to this conference other than focusing on medium enterprise development and creating a difference.

• Papers are invited that focus on the specific needs of medium enterprises. These can be conceptual or based on empirical research.
• Case studies should follow a ‘life story’ of the company, the issues faced and how the organisation has developed, including exploitation of opportunities, overcoming of obstacles and set-backs, concluding with a section on lessons to be learned. Case studies may be co-authored by an academic and a manager of the company.
• Submission dates

Abstracts for papers and case studies (not exceeding 500 words) describing what your topic

is, why it is important and what benefit will medium enterprises gain, should be submitted

for evaluation by: 11 January 2002

• Authors of accepted papers will be notified by: mid February 2002
• Accepted final papers must be submitted by: 8 April 2002