Deloitte has today released its most recent NextGen Survey which looks at the opportunities and challenges that exist for family-owned businesses.
The report includes in-depth interviews/surveys with 268 successors of family-owned companies in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Themes such as succession, disruption, growth and strategy were discussed. The survey was held from January to April 2017
When asked about the catalysts of change within the market in which the business operates, economy (65%), customer mindset (60%) and public policy (46%) came out top from an Irish perspective. Interestingly, enabling technology was the third highest ranked catalyst from a European perspective at 54%. However, in the Irish market, just 44% of those surveyed noted it as a key driver of change.
Thirty five percent of Irish family-owned business successors interviewed think that they will lose market share to new entrants while 56% of Irish businesses interviewed expect that the market in which they operate will face disruption in the next two to three years
Fifty six per cent of Irish businesses have a strategy in place to anticipate disruption and 50% see disruption as a normal part of the business cycle with 38% seeing it as an opportunity
The biggest disrupting factor for family-owned businesses in Ireland is market disruptions (40%) with changes in family relationships at 17%
Commenting on the research, Deloitte Ireland Family Business and Private Markets Leader, Daniel Murray said, "Irish family-owned businesses are showing increasing concern about the economy and new entrants to the market. Interestingly, far more so than other companies across Europe."
He added, "With the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and the global economy, Irish businesses may be more aware, and fearful of what the coming years hold by way of disruption. It’s crucial that these family-owned businesses have strategies in place to anticipate market disruption, be it internally or externally driven."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
