世界经济论坛：中小企业对未来的准备_38页_1mb

Future Readiness of SMEs and Mid-Sized Companies: A Year On

Core Content

This report focuses on the future readiness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies in the post-COVID-19 era, emphasizing their critical role in global, regional and local economies. SMEs and mid-sized companies represent around 90% of all firms globally, contribute to about 70% of employment and close to 70% of GDP. Despite their significant impact, they face unique challenges in building resilience and adapting to the volatile and uncertain environment of the new normal.

Main Challenges

1. Survival, Expansion, Funding and Access to Capital

• Top Concerns: Survival and expansion (67%) and funding and access to capital (24%) are the most pressing issues.
• New Challenges: Supply chain disruptions, retaining clients, and compliance with new regulations have emerged as critical concerns.
• Policy Impact: 22% of respondents cited less-than-favourable policy environments as a hindrance to growth.

2. Talent

• Talent Challenges: Talent acquisition and retention are major challenges, with 52.5% of decision-makers citing it as a key issue in 2021 and 48% in 2022.
• Talent Fit Importance: The importance of cultural and value alignment in hiring is more pronounced in smaller companies.
• Talent Needs: SMEs require adaptable, multi-role employees, less formal HR practices, and rely on networks and existing staff for talent sourcing.

3. Digital Transformation and Innovation

• Digital Gap: SMEs and mid-sized companies lag behind larger firms in digital adoption and infrastructure.
• Impact on Future Readiness: Digital infrastructure is a significant driver of long-term financial growth and adaptive capacity, but not for societal impact.
• Opportunities: Integrating digital transformation with sustainability goals can enhance future readiness.

4. Sustainability

• Underestimated Challenge: Only 7% of decision-makers cited sustainability as a challenge.
• Societal Expectations: Consumers, employees and investors are increasingly holding businesses accountable for sustainability.
• Opportunities: SMEs can leverage their agility to pivot towards sustainability and understand their impact on supply chains and scope 3 emissions.

Key Recommendations

1. Boosting Resilience

• Successive Stages of Maturity: Focus on authentic leadership, talent development, and formalizing business frameworks.
• Resilience Drivers: Slack resources (financial and social) are crucial during crises. SMEs often lack these, making resilience a major gap.

2. Framework Recommendations

• Talent Management: Develop a strategic approach to talent, emphasizing cultural fit and personal development.
• Digital Transformation: Implement digitization of processes, products and business models in stages.
• Sustainability Measures: Tailor sustainability efforts based on the company's maturity level and integrate them with digital transformation for greater impact.

3. System-Level Growth and Digital Trade

• Interoperability Measures: Harmonize trade data across borders and supply chains to support international trade for SMEs.
• Ecosystem Support: The World Economic Forum aims to build an ecosystem that supports SMEs through resources, benchmarking tools, and peer-to-peer communities.

Main Viewpoints

• Resilience and Agility: SMEs are generally less resilient but more agile than larger firms, which is a key differentiator.
• Leadership and Culture: Authentic leadership and cultural alignment are vital for future readiness and should be institutionalized.
• Digital and Sustainability Integration: Digital transformation and sustainability are not just separate initiatives but should be integrated to enhance future readiness.
• Policy and Ecosystem Support: A supportive policy environment and ecosystem are essential to enable SMEs to thrive and innovate.

Key Information

• Survey Scope: The report is based on over 200 peer-reviewed articles and surveys of about 800 SMEs and mid-sized companies.
• Company Sizes:
  • Small: <49 employees or <$5M revenue
  • Medium: 50–250 employees or <$50M revenue
  • Mid-sized: 250–4,999 employees or <$1.75B turnover
• Talent Trends: The Great Resignation has intensified talent challenges, with SMEs needing to focus on values, purpose, and work-life balance.
• Digital Transformation: While SMEs are lagging in digital adoption, they can leverage it for both financial and societal impact.
• Sustainability: Despite its importance, it remains underprioritized by SMEs, who need to align with societal expectations and integrate it with their business strategies.

Conclusion

SMEs and mid-sized companies are essential to the global economy, yet they face significant challenges in building future readiness. The report highlights the importance of resilience, agility, leadership, and digital transformation in overcoming these challenges. It also calls for a supportive ecosystem and policy environment to help SMEs thrive and positively impact society and the environment.