| Summary: | 碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 國際企業管理學系碩士在職專班 === 107 === Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were responsible for Taiwan’s economic miracle. When SMEs faced the daunting challenge of competing in the global economic environment, successors of SMEs exhibited creativity and innovativeness. In Taiwan, most SMEs are family businesses, and half of them have been operating for over 10 years. The issue of succession created a crisis in the SMEs, and many struggled to survive. The reasons why owners of SMEs were unwilling to hand over their firms to their successors and how the owners cultivated successors are unclear. This study explored the critical factors that influenced the selection and cultivation of successors in SMEs. The focus of this study was owners who had succession plans and second-generation owners who completed succession. The purpose of this study was to identify the critical factors that influence the selection and cultivation of successors in SMEs to help SMEs adopt selection and cultivation strategies that can help them achieve sustainable business development. We used the Delphi technique to select dimensions and criteria. We used Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze dimensions and criteria. We identified dimensions, criteria, the degree of mutual influence, and the weighted value of the critical factors that influence the selection and cultivation of successors in SMEs. These data can enable owners to make decisions about selection and cultivation strategies in succession to enhance the managerial abilities, skills, and performance of successors.
Relevant studies have determined that 53% of SMEs in Taiwan are sole proprietorships, 51% of SMEs in Taiwan have been in operation for more than 10 years, 53% of owners of SMEs in Taiwan are over 50 years of age, and only 40% of SMEs in Taiwan have succession plans. Many family businesses operated by successors have reported heavy losses in Taiwan. Owners of SMEs are the key players in the initiation of succession. When owners create favorable environments for successors and provide social resources to successors who can make good use of their knowledge and skills, the companies can achieve the goal of sustainable development.
This study used the Delphi technique. This entailed a literature review of studies concerning SMEs, owners, successors, succession and cultivation plans. From the literature review, we obtained the initial dimensions and criteria. Then, we selected a group of experts in this topic who anonymously completed open-ended questionnaires that were designed using the initial dimensions and criteria. According to the results of the first set of questionnaires, we identified thresholds agreed upon by the anonymous experts. The most important dimensions and criteria were those for which the anonymous experts reached a consensus. After we used the Delphi technique to select dimensions and criteria, we used DEMATEL and AHP to analyze dimensions and criteria. By using DEMATEL, we analyzed the effect and relevance of dimensions and criteria. By using AHP, we obtained the weighted value of dimensions and criteria. Finally, we interviewed an owner of an SME in Taiwan to confirm the results of this study.
This study was limited by the scope of the research, research samples, data sources, and research methods; however, the study still has various contributions. First, this study identified the critical factors that influence the selection and cultivation of successors in SMEs and constructed hierarchical evaluation models (DEMATEL and AHP). Second, this study can provide a reference of systematic analysis techniques that owners of SMEs can use to train successors.
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