Aim/purpose – The aim of the paper is to identify and assess the strategic factors that determine the absorption process of support instruments by SMEs sector companies.
Design/methodology/approach – Strategic factors were identified on the basis of the literature review and opinions of ten experts representing management sciences. Further empirical verification of the proposed assumptions was carried out on a random sample of 1,741 micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises from 22 European Union countries.
Findings – The obtained results indicate a significant positive influence of five identified strategic factors, i.e. social, support environment, resource, management system and organisational, on the support absorption process. This impact is slightly stronger in the acquisition phase than in the use of support instruments by the SMEs.
Research implications/limitations – The results provide a basis for improving efforts to acquire and use external support for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. The limitations of the study include respondents’ high subjectivity of opinions and complex character of considered theoretical constructs.
Originality/value/contribution – The contribution of research to the development of management sciences primarily includes the formulation and empirical verification of a set of strategic factors determining the support absorption process in SMEs.
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