European SMEs are entering a period in which several major transitions are converging at the same time. Business succession, labour shortages, productivity pressure, digitalisation and AI, sustainability requirements, financing conditions and an increasingly complex compliance environment are no longer separate management issues. Together, they are becoming a broader question of organisational readiness.
In the Netherlands, 68% of entrepreneurs surveyed by ABN AMRO and Ipsos I&O expect to stop managing their business within ten years. International research points in the same direction. Deloitte reports that 40% of family businesses expect a leadership transition now or within the next decade, while EY also identifies a significant succession wave among European family-owned businesses.
But succession is only part of the story.
The central question is not simply who will lead the business next, but whether the organisation itself is capable of operating, changing and growing without excessive dependence on one owner, director or small group of key people.
At the same time, SMEs must respond to structural developments that place additional pressure on management capacity. Digitalisation and AI require new forms of governance and ownership. Sustainability increasingly affects investment decisions, financing and supply-chain relationships. Cybersecurity and compliance requirements can reach smaller organisations directly or indirectly through customers, banks, insurers and larger partners. Scarce labour means that organisations must achieve more with limited capacity.
These developments reinforce each other.
A successor entering an organisation without reliable management information faces a different challenge from one stepping into a mature management structure. A new AI application introduced without clear ownership may create new dependencies rather than remove them. A sustainability programme without clear accountability can quickly become a collection of isolated initiatives.
The real challenge is therefore not simply implementing more projects.
It is building an organisation that can absorb change and continue to function independently.
This publication examines that challenge from a European SME perspective. It explores the relationship between succession, productivity, labour, digitalisation, AI, compliance, sustainability and management capacity — and considers where permanent management, internal development and temporary external expertise can each play a role.
The underlying principle is simple:
The next phase of an organisation should not depend on adding more permanent complexity, but on building stronger processes, clearer responsibilities, better information and more transferable leadership.
Temporary expertise can support that transition — not as a substitute for the organisation, but as a way to help it become stronger on its own.
Read the full publication below or download the PDF version for later reference.
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Want to discuss what this means for your organisation?
Every organisation faces a different combination of succession, growth, digitalisation, management capacity and regulatory pressure. The challenge is not simply identifying what needs to change, but determining what the organisation must be able to manage independently in its next phase.
If you would like to discuss the implications for your organisation, management structure or transition agenda, please contact us via:
Algemeen Directeur / Consultant
Teun Schripsema