Abstract
Although there has been a considerable amount of research undertaken on the impact of competition policy upon (large) enterprises and upon consumers, there is almost no work that examines any link between competition policy and SMEs. This paper addresses this issue. It finds that one third of firms are aware of anti-competitive practices such as price fixing, cartels and tender agreements and one quarter have actually been victims of such practices. Its second key finding is that SME victims’ most likely response is to ‘shrug their shoulders and get on with it’. The third key finding is that this reaction is considerably less likely amongst male owners of larger SMEs who have a degree-level qualification. This implies the competition authorities have to recognise that SMEs can be the victims of anti-competitive behaviour, but the latter’s response to this reflects the diversity that characterises the SME population.
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