Eureka! Institutional Repository

It is generally accepted that today globalisation, competition and the everincreasing demand of consumers corner the market. Via this, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which compose the basis of global market, exist and develop. It is essential for every business to function, organised and be run in such a way that it can pull through the international, modern setting. The business plan constitute the means to achieve something like that, as long as the market and the corporations are available and receptive towards the syntaxes and implementation of a plan. So, the purpose of this thesis is to study the main characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises and examine in what range the incorporation and the fulfilment of a business plan contribute to the correct programming and the correct organisation of enterprises aiming their development and surviving into the market. In order for the necessary information to be presented the thesis is divided into 3 main units. Firstly, there is a presentation of the main element of the SMEs regarding the meaning, the funding, the positive and negative aspects, the infrastructure, the management, the importance to the Greek and European market and the consequences to the economic crisis. Then, in the 2nd unit there is a presentation of the main characteristics of the business plan, the positive points and the main structure a company should follow for its establishment. In the last unit of the thesis, a survey is carried out which follows the process of sampling and the use of a specific question mark that contains questions related to the main function of SMEs and the implementation of the business plan on them. So, the thesis is completed with the presentation and analysis of the results and the extrapolation of the conclusions that occurred from the survey. After the fulfilment of the thesis the reader will get used to the concept of small and medium-sized enterprises and business plan and will have the chance to draw the necessary information he needs so as to fully understand the connection between them.