Themes

One of the objectives of the conference is to bring knowledge and experience from many disciplines together. In this connection, the conference has five cross-disciplinary sub-themes:

Understanding small enterprises, their environment and their strategies to survive is the point of departure. Anthropological research into the culture of owner-managed enterprises and the relations to the employees has challenged the traditional understanding of small enterprises. New types of enterprises and temporary or casual work challenge the concept of an enterprise, the traditional structures, and cultures.

Developing a healthy business is a simple target which is hard to achieve. Nevertheless, a concept like Corporate Social Responsibility could offer a common ground for integrating business practise with Human Resource Management, stress reduction, health promotion and systematic occupational health and safety management.

Healthy people and a healthy working life are the aim of our endeavours. There are many roads to follow, and each of them may contribute to reaching this goal. Risk analysis, systematic audit, the role of safety representatives, training and education, and the relationship between hazards and health are all fields with important new knowledge. When this knowledge is brought together, it may open new possibilities for a more healthy working life in small enterprises. Research and understanding are meaningless if we are not able to reach out to the small enterprises and facilitate improvements. It is necessary to develop multifaceted strategies that incorporate government policies, regional networks, and intermediaries who are in direct contact with small enterprises.

Different industries and specific groups all have their particularities. There are significant differences between approaching a small company in the metal industry, in agriculture or in the informal economy, which is neither taxed nor monitored by a government. It is therefore important to share knowledge about specific characteristics of such sectors in order to develop useful strategies for improving the business and the well-being of the employees. Likewise, the challenge of supporting small businesses in developing countries is very different from the government development schemes that can be found in industrial countries. At the conference, there will be a special focus on the consequences of globalisation and the international dimension of small enterprise issues.