COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN THE BRICS COUNTRIES AND SERBIA

The focus of this study is on the position of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and Serbia in The Global Competitiveness Report for 2017. Constraints related to the public trust in politicians, the burden of government regulation and hiring and firing practices have caused Brazil to have the lowest rank in the examined group of countries. The highest rank has China (27th place), followed by Russia (38th place), India (40th place), South Africa (61st place), Serbia (78th place) and Brazil (80th place). Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) indicators related to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be found in 6th pillar of competitiveness Goods market efficiency (effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy, no. procedures to start a business and no. days to start a business), in 7th pillar of competitiveness Labor market efficiency (cooperation in labor-employer relations, flexibility of wage determination, hiring and firing practices, pay and productivity and reliance on professional management), in 9th pillar of competitiveness Technological readiness (firm-level technology absorption) and in 11th pillar of competitiveness Business sophistication (local supplier quantity, local supplier quality, state of cluster development, production process sophistication, extent of marketing and willingness to delegate authority). China has the highest position among examined countries in terms of indicators related to the small and medium enterprises.