중소기업 보호에 있어 자율규제의 실효성에 관한 연구

Study of the Effectiveness of Self Regulation: the case of the system of suitable type business for small and medium enterprises

중소기업 적합업종 제도는 대․중소기업간의 합의에 의해 규칙이 정해지고 민간 기구인 동반성장위원회에 의해 집행되는 자율규제 방식을 채택하였다. 본 연구는 자율규제 방식이 중소기업의 사업 영역 보호와 경쟁력 향상에 있어 실효성이 있는지를 조사하였다. 자율규제가 잘 작동하기 위해서는 정보의 투명한 공개, 공정한 참여 기회 보장, 자율규제기구의 전문성과 능력, 해당 산업의 논리에 부합하는 규제방식과 인센티브 구조, 자율규제 시스템 자체에 대한 법적 안정성 등이 중요한 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 규칙 제정 과정에서 대․중소기업 간의 힘의 격차로 인해 공정한 참여 기회가 보장되기 어려웠다. 또한 실제 규칙 준수 여부를 확인하기 위해 필요한 개별 기업들의 경영에 관한 정보는 영업 비밀 등의 이유로 공개되지 않는다. 무엇보다도 동반성장위원회의 전문성과 집행 능력이 매우 취약했다.

The system of suitable type business for small and medium enterprises (suitable type of business for SMEs) attempts to prohibiting big businesses from entering certain business areas. This policy is managed by the National Commission for Corporate Partnership (NCCP) and is running based upon mutual agreement between big and small and mid-size companies. The character of self regulation is its key difference from the system of inherent types of business of SMEs abolished in 2006. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy for preserving business areas of SMEs and improving their competitiveness. According to literature on self regulation, several criteria should be met for the regulation to work well including transparent information disclosure, a fair opportunity for participation, expertise of regulation institutions, and rule and reward systems suitable to the industry. To examine whether the policy possesses those charterers required for successful implementation, this study conducted interviews and surveys with people from SMEs. The results indicated that the policy has secured legal stability because of legislation and the efforts of the NCCP. However, due to the difference in power between big and small companies, the owners of SMEs perceived not to be fair in having participation opportunities. In addition, they also revealed that they have difficulty in obtaining business information of big companies. The big companies were considered to be less active in disclosing their business information. One important principle of the policy is that big companies do not expand business in the areas for SMEs. However, the owners of MSE were found to be not much satisfied on the matter. The results also revealed that the SME owners do not seem to fully trust expertise and capability of the NCCP for successful implementation. This study provides several policy implications based upon the results.