The role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the economic development of Turkey: City of Adana as an example

The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been realized since there were dramatic disappointments in the adaptability of large-scale units to changes due to issues with economies of scale and the global financial and economic crisis of the 1980s. In addition to the economic advantages of SMEs, the importance of their social effects has also been realized. Their flexibility is crucial for adapting to new technologies and volatile market conditions, and rapidly-changing world markets are accessed, not by large-scale economies, but by SMEs. These facts are now accepted worldwide. The importance of SMEs in development has been understood by our nation, as in the entire world. SMEs—one of the dynamic and driving elements of Turkey's economy—are quite important, as in the entire world, for our nation's economic growth and the contribution of its growth to regional development. This study compares Turkey's SME practice to international practices. Structural issues were focused, and solutions were presented. An analysis of the status of SMEs in Adana was performed, the city's economic issues were determined, and solutions were proposed. Keywords: SMEs, economies of scale, economic growth, regional development