The current KMU-Spiegel of the FHS St. Gallen focuses on business succession in Switzerland. The question was asked whether a person of Generation Y could be suitable to become an entrepreneur. The results of the study give hope that the Swiss will be able to cope well with the generational change in the SME sector, because “the exemplary entrepreneurship of the baby boomers and the life goals of Generation Y complement each other more than they contradict each other”.

This year’s focus topic of the KMU-Spiegel resulted from the findings of last year’s study, which identified generational change as one of the most important concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland. The current study not only looks at the topic from a macroeconomic perspective, but also looks at the eight most employment-intensive and value-added sectors in Switzerland.

Good preparation is critical to success for business successions in Switzerland

About 1 in 8 SMEs in Switzerland is currently concretely confronted with the organisation of generational change, which means that about 70,000 companies will be looking for a successor in the next five to ten years. Similar to Germany, Swiss entrepreneurs cannot detach themselves from the demographic development: many of the business successions in Switzerland are organised outside the owner family or outside the company. According to the study, company owners have to reckon with a period of 5-8 years for a successful handover. The shortage of skilled workers and the good labour market situation in some sectors make the search for a successor even more difficult. Dr. Marco Gehring - project leader and co-author of the study - points out that this process is delayed even further if the entrepreneur cannot let go: “This is also an expression of the importance of the company for the transferor, who considers it his life’s work.” Failed successions are often due to an incomplete clarification of the entrepreneur’s own goals and needs. .

This makes it clear that a key success factor for business successions in Switzerland lies in good and long-term preparation of the process. The entrepreneur’s own feelings should not be underestimated, and he should first ask himself whether he is really ready to part with his business. Subsequently, he should define new goals for himself to look forward to. Basically, business succession is a complex project that must be managed as such. The Memmingen-based management consultant specialising in generational change in family businesses Norbert LangSwitzerland is no different from Germany in this respect. A company succession that is managed alongside the day-to-day business is not successful in the vast majority of cases.”

In eight industry chapters, the study also addresses the special challenges for Swiss SMEs, such as mechanical engineering or the hotel industry.