The Chair of SME Development and Succession was established in December 1998 in collaboration with the Solidarity Fund QFL, the Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec, the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hydro-Québec and Bell Canada

The Chair’s directive is to thoroughly investigate the evolution of SMEs. This research is based on three principal lines of inquiry: the development of SMEs (management and finance); women entrepreneurs; and the replacement of the entrepreneur/manager – vital for the continuation of the SME.

The Chair’s actions aim to both improve understanding in these key areas and to pass on this knowledge to the key actors in these fields, i.e. the owner/managers, the organizations that finance them, and various governmental bodies.

Within these three main fields of research, SME development, women entrepreneurs, and SME succession, the Chair’s activities are divided into two main parts:

1. Firstly, empirical research focuses on gathering data from SME owners. The purpose of harvesting this data is to identify good management practices and to better understand the key issues associated with women entrepreneurs and SME succession.
2. The second part involves contributing to the development and communication of knowledge through the publication of case studies, development of informative material, and the setting up of symposiums, workshops and forums.

Our associate researchers and collaborators are: Francine Richer, Alix Mandron, Andrée Lafortune, Jean-Pierre Dupuis, Narjess Boubakri, Claude Francoeur and Suzanne Landry (of HEC Montréal) and Anne Mione (of the University of Montpellier 1, France).

The Chair of SME Development and Succession collaborates with university researchers around the world, as well as representatives of governmental organizations and the business community, in both empirical aspects of the research and its practical application.

The Chairholder, with the assistance of the associate researchers, represents the Chair in various committees and discussion groups concerned with SME development and succession, as well as participating in national and international forums, conferences and symposiums.