A model for effective planning of SME support services

• The paper investigates problems of Serbian SMEs and the support provided to them.
• Suitability of support is a measure of compatibility with SMEs' problems and needs.
• It is important factor for effective planning of SMEs' support services.
• SME's success is in correlation with the suitability of the provided support.
• The 8-phase planning model aims to fill the gap among SMEs need and support policy.

This paper presents a model for effective planning of support services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The idea is to scrutinize and measure the suitability of support services in order to give recommendations for the improvement of a support planning process. We examined the applied support services and matched them with the problems and needs of SMEs, based on the survey conducted in 2013 on a sample of 336 SMEs in Serbia. We defined and analysed the five research questions that refer to support services, their consistency with the SMEs’ problems and needs, and the relation between the given support and SMEs’ success. The survey results have shown a statistically significant connection between them. Based on this result, we proposed an eight-phase model as a method for the improvement of support service planning for SMEs. This model helps SMEs to plan better their requirements in terms of support; government and administration bodies at all levels and organizations that provide support services to understand better SMEs’ problems and needs for support.