EVALUATION OF BUSINESS PROMOTION PROGRAMMES: LITHUANIAN CASE

Abstract

In recent years business promotion programmes generated high interest among researchers. Many studies proved that business promotion programmes positively impact employment rate in different countries, contribute to the reduction of gender, age and wage gap in the labour market and increase the level of entrepreneurship. In practice, there are cases where business support programmes do not give the desired effect (for example, Argentina, project Jefes). The purpose of the article is to evaluate the efficiency of business promotion programmes, researching the experience of the participants of business promotion programmes. The results of the empirical research enabled to establish the main reasons for participation in business promotion programmes (the wish to receive necessary funding, opportunities to make useful contacts, opportunities to get free systematised information necessary for business start-ups and others), the factors determining the efficiency of business promotion programmes (selection of the target group, arrangement of practical activities) and the obstacles for the efficient performance of the business promotion programmes (low personal interest, few opportunities to get funding). With reference to the research results, the recommendations on how to increase the efficiency of business promotion programmes have been introduced too.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.18.1.3979