There are many ways in which the firm competitiveness can be understood in the related literature. The purpose of this research is to undertake a better understanding of expectations and concerns of small and medium sized enterprises from Romanian Western region, in term of competitiveness. This study presents preliminary results of a finished grant focused on SME’s competitiveness. There are some positive and negative factors in our research which are influencing firms’ competitiveness. This study has confirmed our hypothesis. The external environment influence on the competitiveness of SME’s is strong and contributes decisively to their performance.

SME’s, competitiveness, growth, external factors, Romania