Success Factors of Small and Medium Enterprises: The Case of Jordan

The importance of the small and medium-sized enterprises come from the vital role of the SMEs in the private sector and because SMEs considered as a labour intensive firms. However, there are some other internal factors that they could be the reason behind the success of these firms. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors that mostly used to reflect the success o Jordanian small and medium-sized enterprises. The data used in this study were provided by financial institutions that provide loans to the SMEs. The analysis is based on the results of the questionnaire survey that was distributed to the sample firms that includes 163 firms distributed over the main three sectors (Services, Manufacturing and Retail) and the three main governorates (Amman, Zarqa and Irbid). The descriptive statistical technique of factor analysis has been used for analysing data. The results indicate a set of five factors separately identifiable factors that have positive and significant impact on the success of the sample firms. These factors, when ranked in their order of importance are as follows: Technical procedures and technology, Structure of the firm, Financial structure, Marketing and productivity and Human resources structure.