particularly vulnerable in the event of business failures (e.g. regarding pensions, disability
and unemployment entitlements) as well as, in most cases, their use of Information
and Communication Technology and their awareness of the advantages of competition
is considerably low. Thus, their ability to be innovative and adaptable is smaller
(Pedroso et al. 2005: 83). Moreover, there is also a lack of competences and low educational
levels among employers/entrepreneurs themselves. This helps to explain
some of the difficulties in the adaptation to the new highly competitive international
market, as well as some of the resistances towards experiences of joint working. In
fact, it reinforces an “individualist entrepreneurial culture” that creates important obstacles
to the development of relationships based on mutual trust (Valadas 2003;
Valadas 2006).
In spite of the traits outlined above, employment rates are slightly higher than the
EU average14, especially for groups typically under-represented in the labour force (e.g