Micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the main problems and constraints faced by micro, small and medium‐sized entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approach – To attain the above objective, the study employed a mixed methodology research design where both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. A survey method was used to gather data from 177 MSMEs located in selected cities in Saudi Arabia (i.e. Riyadh, Jeddah, Jubail and Al‐Khobar), and, in addition, 15 of these entrepreneurs were purposefully selected and interviewed. Statistical analysis was conducted to identify the factors constraining the growth and survival of MSMEs in the country. The relevant literature review pinpoints salient issues in the environment of the small business enterprises.Findings – The results show that the difficulties in obtaining financial support, bureaucracy, lack of credit options and unfriendly business environment are the main problems and constraints faced by t...

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