VERY SMALL BUSINESS: AN ESSAY IN DEFINITION

Abstract

A multitude of definitions of VSB have been proposed by researchers around the world, but any attempt at a universal definition has been abandoned in favor of definitions by country or even in a few countries by sector of activity, hence the absence of a unitary and universal definition of what a VSB is. To define it, researchers prefer quantitative or qualitative criteria. However, each of the latter have non-negligible limits and cannot be considered in itself as a reliable criterion, hence the interest of Julien's composite method, which combines the two criteria, but this continuum is intended for SME. We propose through this article a continuum adapted to VSB which is based on twelve criteria, using a qualitative approach based on a non-directive interview conducted with two samples, the first composed of 35 VSBs and the second of 35 SMEs. The criteria selected to identify the "real" VSBs are: number of employees, turnover, sector of activity, origin and ownership of the company, internal information system, market, strategy, hierarchical proximity, functional proximity, spatial proximity, technology, and legal status.