Resumen
In Costa Rica, as in the rest of the Latin American countries, a significant number of SMEs enter into operations every year and their performance is influenced by several factors. This study focuses on identifying the facilitators and barriers that influence Costa Rican SMEs performance. A qualitative research was carried out through sessions, mini group sessions, and in-depth interviews, separating the subjects into three interest groups. The motivations to start up and the factors triggering the closure as well as those that led to success were identified from the entrepreneur?s perspective. Costa Rican SMEs? performance is neither influenced by factors related to the entrepreneur, economy, politics, society nor by personal factors such as education and training, personal attitudes or an entrepreneurial family background.