Driven by concerns over Europe's competitive position in global markets, the role of leadership and management in boosting efficiency, productivity and innovation in European firms has moved up the public policy agenda. However, small firm participation in formal management development has been significantly lower than that for large organizations. The main focus of this article is on management training and development as a strategic activity. Seven partners in Britain, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Spain and Romania, took part in the LEONARDO programme's European Management Development project. Each surveyed structured samples of 100 firms, interviewing at least one senior manager and one line manager in each firm. This article contrasts the 191 small firms (20–100 employees) with 201 large firms (500 or more employees). The main contrasts in management development practices were partly due to size effects but also partly due to key differences in strategic approaches to management development.
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