A Study on Business Succession in Small and Medium-Sized Chinese Enterprises

The survival and development of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) is an important issue for the Chinese economy. In particular, business succession in SMEs is a persistent issue. Business succession involves selection of a successor, asset inheritance, transfer of management rights, accumulation of business connections and technology succession, and so forth. This all requires smooth execution of a business succession plan. However, many SMEs do not have a business succession plan, nor are they preparing one. Our task is to explore the reasons these preparations are not being made. Here, the purpose of our research is to get a picture of the status of preparations for business succession in SMEs in China, and the actual circumstances of succession, based on the results of a fact-finding survey of Chinese SMEs, and at the same time bring to the surface the primary factors which influence preparations and plans. The results of the analysis shed light on the status of business succession preparations, successor’s awareness of issues, decision making, and so on. This survey highlights the awareness of business succession among business managers.