{"id":3098,"date":"2021-03-31T04:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T08:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpp.hec.ca\/en\/?p=3098"},"modified":"2022-02-23T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T16:34:38","slug":"performance-des-pme-quebecoises-perspectives-sur-la-formation-des-dirigeants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpp.hec.ca\/en\/performance-des-pme-quebecoises-perspectives-sur-la-formation-des-dirigeants\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of education among heads of SMEs harming productivity in Quebec"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the productivity issue inhibiting Quebec\u2019s economic growth was diagnosed more than 20 years ago, it does not seem to be disappearing. Yet the source of the problem has been clearly identified: Quebec firms invest little and are less innovative, and many prefer to rely on the relative weakness of the Canadian dollar to remain competitive. Now a study released today by the Centre for Productivity and Prosperity \u2013 Walter J. Somers Foundation (CPP)<\/a> may well reverse this trend, by identifying the education of SME managers as one of the probable causes of this failure to address the problem. This finding is particularly important, given that the Quebec government is counting on SMEs to drive the recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two factors underpinning our approach,\u201d explains CPP Director Robert Gagn\u00e9. \u201cFirstly, SMEs are the basis of the province\u2019s economic fabric, generating over 85% of jobs in the private sector. This means that they are also central to the productivity problem. Secondly, decision making in SMEs is normally in the hands of a small number of people, even a single individual in many cases. Consequently, we wondered whether the heads of Quebec SMEs bear some responsibility for Quebec\u2019s poor performance in terms of productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they analyzed the data in the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises<\/em> conducted by Statistics Canada, CPP researchers realized that this could well be the case. \u201cMany studies show an indisputable link between businesses\u2019 performance and the human capital value of their leaders. So we set out to explore this aspect,\u201d says Gagn\u00e9. \u201cThe results were particularly convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other findings, their analysis revealed that SMEs headed by university graduates were more likely to adopt advanced technology, to innovate and export, and to hold intellectual property. \u201cSince fewer heads of Quebec SMEs, proportionally, have university degrees than their counterparts elsewhere in Canada, our analysis could not only partly explain the province\u2019s longstanding productivity lag, but also open up new avenues to remedy the problem,\u201d says Jonathan Deslauriers, CPP Executive Director.<\/p>\n

Some highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n

A comparison between SMEs directed by someone with a university degree vs those headed by someone with a high school diploma shows that:<\/p>\n