Strategic renewal after ownership transfers in SMEs: do successors' actions pay off?

Lex Van Teeffelen and Lorraine Uhlaner

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2010, vol. 2, issue 3/4, 347-365

Abstract: Different types of strategic renewal by the successor are identified: organisational change, innovation, combined actions and no action. The main assumption is that renewal after succession improves SME post-transfer performance compared to no actions taken. Also, successor's timing of the takeover is observed, looking at the economic conditions in the year of ownership transfer: decline, average or growing conditions. The hypotheses are tested on a random stratified sample of 333 Dutch firms. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) and complementary T-tests show that organisational change, product/market innovation and combined actions all increase post-transfer performance compared to no renewal. Strategic renewal pays off in any economic period, but mostly so in periods of economic decline. The control variable firm size is a significant predictor: the smaller the firm the better the post-transfer performance.

Keywords: organisational change; business transfers; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; ownership; succession; strategic renewal; successors; combined actions; post-transfer performance; economic conditions; univariate analysis; variance; ANOVA; complementary T-tests; product innovation; market innovation; Netherlands; Holland; economic decline; firm size; entrepreneurial venturing; business ventures; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; entrepreneurialism; family firms. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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