Western Balkans Enterprise Survey

1. Introduction

The Western Balkans Enterprise Survey was designed and conducted to assess the levels of digital and green maturity of businesses in the Western Balkans. Covering a broad range of topics relevant to the digital and green transition, the survey offers a structured overview of the level of preparedness and engagement of businesses across the region, while capturing first-hand insights from private sector respondents on their needs and challenges.

The survey was conducted between April and June 2025 and distributed amongst the enterprises in the Western Balkans. In total, 805 responses were received to the survey from SMEs in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

1.1. Survey design and structure

The questionnaire included 44 questions and was structured around three main sections: general business characteristics, digital transformation and green transformation (Table 1). These were further divided into thematic modules reflecting the key analytical dimensions of the digital and green transitions.

Table 1. Western Balkans Enterprise Survey’s scope

Section	Sub-section	Number of questions
General questions	Business structure and operations	6
Digital transformation	E-commerce	3
	Digital tools	3
	Skills and training for the digital transition	3
	Cybersecurity and data	5
	Digital innovation and use of advanced tools	2
	Artificial intelligence	3
	Government support for business digitalisation	4
Green transformation	Provision of green products and services	2
	Environmental footprint	5
	Environmental monitoring	4
	Government support for business greening	4

Note: Green products and services’ refer to those with a predominant function of reducing environmental risk and minimising pollution and resources.

Several types of questions were included within the questionnaire:

• Single-choice list: Respondents could select one option from a predefined list

• Multiple-choice list: Respondents could select multiple options from a predefined list

• Binary response: Respondents could choose between two options (e.g. Yes/No)

• Five-point Likert scale: Respondents could indicate the strength of their opinion, with responses ranging from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”

In addition, several list-based questions included the option to provide open-ended answers.

1.2. Data collection and processing

The survey was administered online using LimeSurvey, enabling broad dissemination and facilitating data processing and analysis. The online format also allowed partially completed questionnaires to be retained and included in the dataset, thereby maximising response use.

Dissemination of the survey took place through a multi-channel outreach strategy to ensure broad regional coverage. It was initially circulated to a stakeholder network engaged in the OECD’s work on private sector development in the Western Balkans. To further expand the respondent pool, the team conducted targeted outreach to regional and national chambers of commerce, and promoted the survey via social media and the OECD South East Europe Division newsletter. The survey received strong participation in the region, reflecting the size of the business populations (Table 2).

Table 2. SME respondent sample in the Western Balkans, 2025

Economy	Responses	%
Albania	148	30.27%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	47	9.61%
Kosovo*	77	15.75%
Montenegro	40	8.18%
North Macedonia	28	5.73%
Serbia	149	30.47%

Note: The above table outlines the unique respondents by economy. Response rate varies by question. A further 316 respondents (39% of SME responses) did not report their location of operations. These were assumed to be responses from the WB6 and their responses were still considered in full-sample analyses, though their response rate to other questions was lower than those that responded with a location of operation.

While response rates varied by economy, all available responses were retained, including partially completed questionnaires, with each item analysed based on the number of valid responses. Unless otherwise stated, questions are analysed using overall sample averages. Prior to analysis of the results, the dataset was cleaned and processed to ensure consistency.

The survey results were interpreted with a focus on SMEs, for which the EU definition based on staff headcount was applied for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (European Commission, 2026[1]). Two additional categories were introduced: self-entrepreneurs (firms with no employees other than the respondent) and large firms (more than 250 employees).

Table 3. Enterprise size categories used in the survey

Category	Self-entrepreneur	Micro	Small	Medium-sized	Large
Staff headcount	1	<10	<50	<250	250+

Note: Large firms were later removed from analysis given the survey’s focus on SMEs.

Text responses were translated from local languages using AI-supported tools with verification from OECD staff. For instance, in the case of respondents’ main sector of activity, 85 respondents selected “Other” and gave a text response. These were translated and subsequently, 67 responses were recorded into existing structured sector response categories. A series of data validation and logic checks were then conducted.

All the figures included in this report represent the results collected from the OECD Western Balkans Enterprise Survey, unless otherwise stated.

1.3. Limitations and caveats

This survey is subject to several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results. The sample is non-random and based on voluntary participation, introducing potential self-selection bias. As the survey was administered online, firms that are more digitally engaged may be overrepresented.

Sample sizes vary significantly across economies and do not totally reflect the relative distribution of business populations. As a result, not all economy samples allow for statistically robust conclusions. In addition, partial questionnaire completion leads to varying numbers of observations across individual questions.

Finally, the data are self-reported and may therefore be subject to reporting inaccuracies or social desirability bias. Taken together, these limitations imply that, while the survey provides valuable and original insights into SME digital and green maturity in the region, the findings should be interpreted with caution and not considered fully representative of the overall SME population in the surveyed economies.

For a rounded analysis of the region’s enterprise policies, readers are encouraged to refer to the SME Policy Index: Western Balkans and Türkiye 2026. The reports’ series provides a detailed overview of the overall challenges affecting businesses, as well as the policy measures needed to address them.