Znaczenie twórczego myślenia w działalności małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw

This article presents the importance of creative and innovative thinking in the activities of small and medium enterprises. In the first part of the article the situation of the private sector in the years 1945 - 1989 was presented. The process of marketization of private enterprises is discussed, and both quantitative and qualitative criteria for small and medium enterprises were presented. In the second part a theoretical discussion of creativity and innovation as well as data from surveys on the innovativeness of Polish small and medium-sized companies conducted :by the Central Statistical Office and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development were presented.