General Research
Reports prepared or commissioned by the Small Business Branch of Industry Canada.
Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals (February 2011)
This report is based on 14 case studies of individuals who have been working for large companies and who have decided to launch their own companies at midpoint in their career. In addition to creating a profile of mid-career entrepreneurs, this report's objective is to identify the corporate practices that either promote or encumber the process of mid-career entrepreneurship and to verify whether prior knowledge is a key determinant of entrepreneurial success. The results are presented in the three following sections: general characteristics of entrepreneurs and firms; skills, knowledge and experience of the entrepreneur; and issues and barriers surrounding mid-career entrepreneurship.
The Teaching and Practice of Entrepreneurship within Canadian Higher Education Institutions (December 2010)
This report investigates how entrepreneurship is supported and delivered within Canadian Higher Education Institutions. Overall, the survey revealed that Canadian higher education institutions are active in offering entrepreneurship education as well as in providing a network of practitioners to support students interested in entrepreneurship. Two areas of concern, however, were uneven access to entrepreneurship education across faculties and limited support for early-stage entrepreneurship on campus.
The State of Entrepreneurship in Canada (February 2010)
The Small Business Branch has produced, in collaboration with professors Eileen Fischer (York University) and Rebecca Reuber (University of Toronto), a report that provides a portrait of the state of entrepreneurship in Canada. It charts entrepreneurial activity in Canada over time and compares it with leading countries. Entrepreneurial performance indicators observed include: birth and death rates, survival rates, high-growth firms and gazelles, and research and development expenditures. Furthermore, the report provides a profile of the owners of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because important entrepreneurial activity takes place within these firms. Finally, the report identifies areas of strength, areas for improvement, and important areas that cannot currently be addressed.
Entrepreneurship
Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals (February 2011)
This report is based on 14 case studies of individuals who have been working for large companies and who have decided to launch their own companies at midpoint in their career. In addition to creating a profile of mid-career entrepreneurs, this report's objective is to identify the corporate practices that either promote or encumber the process of mid-career entrepreneurship and to verify whether prior knowledge is a key determinant of entrepreneurial success. The results are presented in the three following sections: general characteristics of entrepreneurs and firms; skills, knowledge and experience of the entrepreneur; and issues and barriers surrounding mid-career entrepreneurship.
The Teaching and Practice of Entrepreneurship within Canadian Higher Education Institutions (December 2010)
This report investigates how entrepreneurship is supported and delivered within Canadian Higher Education Institutions. Overall, the survey revealed that Canadian higher education institutions are active in offering entrepreneurship education as well as in providing a network of practitioners to support students interested in entrepreneurship. Two areas of concern, however, were uneven access to entrepreneurship education across faculties and limited support for early-stage entrepreneurship on campus.
The State of Entrepreneurship in Canada (February 2010)
The Small Business Branch has produced, in collaboration with professors Eileen Fischer (York University) and Rebecca Reuber (University of Toronto), a report that provides a portrait of the state of entrepreneurship in Canada. It charts entrepreneurial activity in Canada over time and compares it with leading countries. Entrepreneurial performance indicators observed include: birth and death rates, survival rates, high-growth firms and gazelles, and research and development expenditures. Furthermore, the report provides a profile of the owners of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because important entrepreneurial activity takes place within these firms. Finally, the report identifies areas of strength, areas for improvement, and important areas that cannot currently be addressed.
Exports
Canadian Small Business Exporters (June 2011)
This special edition of the Key Small Business Statistics publication includes three sections. The first section, Key Statistics on Small Business Exports, presents information on exports by firms size, by industry, destination, province and commodity exported. The second section, Financing Profile of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Exporters, presents a profile of SME exporters including their financing activities and perceived obstacles to growth. Finally, the third section looks at SME Involvement in Global Value Chains.
Exporting Matters: Job Creation performance of Exporters, 1993–2002 (November 2005)
As part of the multi-year Growth Firms Project, the Small Business Branch investigated the job creation performance of exporters in the most recent phase of work. Results from tabulations covering 1993 to 2002 demonstrate that firms engaged in exporting were much more likely to be hyper or strong growth firms than those that did not export.
Small Business Exporters: A Canadian Profile (August 2005)
Small businesses (those with fewer than 100 employees) are an important engine of growth in the domestic economy. Given the significant role of exports in the Canadian economy, it seems pertinent to investigate the importance of small business in international markets. For the first time, this is possible thanks to enhancements to the Exporter Registry, which provides data on exports by size of firm. This paper uses these data to construct a profile of small business exporters that establishes new baseline information and provides a basis for policy development to better foster small business exports.
More Important than was Thought: A Profile of Canadian Small Business Exporters (December 2004)
This paper, which is a summary of a longer document, also provides information on exports by size of firm across provinces, industry and export destination, as well as a comparison with U.S. exporting firms.
Financing
Financing Reports
Research reports into niche areas of SME financing.
Venture Capital Monitor
Quarterly publication on the venture capital (VC) industry in Canada.
Small Business Financing Profiles
Short reference documents on a specific segment of the small business marketplace.
Growth Firms
Growth Map of Canadian Firms (January 2010)
This special edition of the Key Small Business Statistics publication examines the distribution of all Canadian firms according to their growth rate (positive or negative) in terms of employment and revenue.
Profile of Growth Firms: A Summary of Industry Canada Research (March 2008)
The profile summarizes the research on growth firms completed by Industry Canada's Small Business Branch and highlights their contribution to job creation, by firm size, region and industry and discusses the factors for successful growth and survival.
The Growth Process in Firms: Job Creation by Firm Age (November 2006)
The ongoing Growth Firms Project of Industry Canada's Small Business Branch looks at how firms grow and, more specifically, at the job creation process. This fourth phase of the project examines job creation and firm turnover at the national level over the 1993-2003 period and compares the results with earlier findings that covered the 1985 to 1999 period. In order to investigate the link between firm growth and firm life cycle, the study also looks at firm survival, the ability of firms to maintain growth over time and job creation by firm age.
Growth Firms Workshop Synopsis (September 2004)
This project aims to improve our understanding of the dynamics of economic growth using a firm-level longitudinal database to investigate which types of firms provide growth, their contribution to job creation, the barriers to growth and the areas where governments can make a contribution.
Growth Firms Project: Phase II Report (September 2004)
Phase II of the Growth Firms project builds on the work done in Phase I by completing additional tabulations. The work in Phase II focussed on employment growth by firm age, the growth of start-ups and firm exits.
Growth Firms Project: Key Findings (September 2003) Updated — 2004-08-27
The Small Business Branch has recently completed the first phase of an analysis of growth firms in Canada. The analysis provides answers to questions about which firms grow, who are the engines of growth and what their impact on creating employment has been.
Management
Case Studies of Managing for Success (December 2005)
Updated — 2006-11-01
Entrepreneurs look for role models as they struggle with the challenges of starting and growing a business. Case studies illustrate the business strategies and management practices new entrepreneurs employ that can lead to success, especially in key areas such as finance, exports and skills development. These case studies could possibly serve to inform the development of future programs and services targeted at those key areas.
Management Skills Workshops (April 2006)
The Small Business Branch (SBB) of Industry Canada engaged Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. to facilitate a series of four workshops with small business advisors in Vancouver, Sudbury, Halifax and Quebec City. These workshops, conducted in February and March 2006, provided SBB with face-to-face contact with members of the business community to obtain feedback appropriate to a decision on whether or not to proceed with the development of a management competency tool.
Management Competencies and SME Performance Criteria: A Pilot Study (December 2003)
This pilot study reports on two relatively unexplored aspects of firm performance: the roles of management competencies and owners' perceptions about success. The research is a pilot test of a Management Competency Index, a diagnostic tool that seeks to measure the nature and diversity of managerial skills and knowledge of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Management Skills for Small Business (March 2001)
The background to this work stems from Industry Canada's central emphasis in the policy agenda on a strategy to encourage innovation as the engine of growth for productivity and competitiveness in the globalized knowledge-based economy. It stems, too, from the department's recognition of competent management skills as the sine qua non for successful innovation, productivity growth and competitiveness and, in particular, of the importance of such skills in the large proportions of overall economic activity that are undertaken in the small business sector.
Regulatory Compliance
Analysis of Regulatory Compliance Costs
These publication showcase the findings from Industry Canada-Statistics Canada Survey of Regulatory Compliance Costs.
Small Business and Regulatory Burden (October 2003)
The purpose of this document is to delineate the issues surrounding regulatory burden. Such an examination is intended to provide a foundation for further analysis of this issue to support small business policy development.
Other
Case Studies of Collaborative Innovation in Canadian Small Firms (May 2007)
Using five companies as case studies, the report on Case Studies of Collaborative Innovation in Canadian Small Firms provides insights into new policy directions regarding university-private sector collaboration on research and development and commercialization. The results highlight the importance for successful collaboration and commercialization of credible research, key individuals, the ability to access potential partners through networks, the availability of angel investors and appropriate support for incubation.
Employee Training Decisions, Business Strategies and Human Resource Management Practices: A Study by Size of Business (October 2006)
The aim of this study is to investigate in detail the proposition often found in the literature that small businesses train their employees less than medium-sized and large businesses. The small business population is much more heterogeneous than that of medium-sized and large firms in terms of motivation because it includes not only growth firms but also foundation firms, which may be less interested in growth.
Infrastructure of Advisory Services for Entrepreneurs in the Waterloo Region (October 2005)
This study is part of an international study being led by the Centre for Economic and Business Research in the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs on behalf of the International Consortium on Dynamic Benchmarking of Entrepreneurship. Up to eight countries will be participating in the study, each focusing on an in-depth examination of a successful region in their country.
Sustaining the Momentum: An Economic Forum on Women Entrepreneurs – Summary Report (March 2005)
This report, prepared by the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and by Industry Canada, presents a synopsis of the research and recommendations stemming from Sustaining the Momentum: An Economic Forum on Women Entrepreneurs. The Forum took place in Ottawa from October 27 to 29, 2004. Its objectives were to share leading-edge research about women entrepreneurs; to examine government support for women business owners and; to identify gaps in research and public policy.
Growth Determinants of Micro-Businesses in Canada (July 2002)
This study draws on the rich information obtained from the 'Micro-Enterprises, 2000' survey, undertaken by Statistics Canada in collaboration with Industry Canada. The survey targeted owner-founders of micro-businesses in seven industries other than manufacturing that had between one and four employees in 1995 and were still in operation in 1999.
Micro-Enterprises Survey, A Progress Report (June 2001)
This paper presents background on the data collection and coverage of the 'Micro-Enterprises Survey 2000' and it highlights key results.
A Business Case Framework for Small Firms Transitioning to E-Business (March 2001)
This paper provides a framework for assessing the business case for small firms regarding the transition from traditional business practices to e-business.
Small Business Information Needs Assessment Survey (February 2001)
The purpose of the survey was to better understand the needs, particularly information needs, attitudes and behaviours of small businesses, including their main sources of information and preferred delivery methods.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Young Entrepreneurs in Canada (November 2000)
It has long been the belief that small business is the engine of economic expansion. The recent increases in self-employment in many developed countries have further reinforced this belief. Canada, in particular, has experienced an unprecedented growth of job creation in the self-employment sector over the last decade.
Multivariate Analysis of Small Business Information Needs (March 2000)
In order to put the basic results in context, multivariate analysis was undertaken. A technical report presents a discussion of the research techniques employed. Substantively, the analysis involved exploring the relationship between various subjective and objective factors and issues that are most central to businesses' orientations toward the federal government as a business information provider.
2011
Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals (February 2011)
This report is based on 14 case studies of individuals who have been working for large companies and who have decided to launch their own companies at midpoint in their career. In addition to creating a profile of mid-career entrepreneurs, this report's objective is to identify the corporate practices that either promote or encumber the process of mid-career entrepreneurship and to verify whether prior knowledge is a key determinant of entrepreneurial success. The results are presented in the three following sections: general characteristics of entrepreneurs and firms; skills, knowledge and experience of the entrepreneur; and issues and barriers surrounding mid-career entrepreneurship.
2010
The Teaching and Practice of Entrepreneurship within Canadian Higher Education Institutions (December 2010)
This report investigates how entrepreneurship is supported and delivered within Canadian Higher Education Institutions. Overall, the survey revealed that Canadian higher education institutions are active in offering entrepreneurship education as well as in providing a network of practitioners to support students interested in entrepreneurship. Two areas of concern, however, were uneven access to entrepreneurship education across faculties and limited support for early-stage entrepreneurship on campus.
The State of Entrepreneurship in Canada (February 2010)
The Small Business Branch has produced, in collaboration with professors Eileen Fischer (York University) and Rebecca Reuber (University of Toronto), a report that provides a portrait of the state of entrepreneurship in Canada. It charts entrepreneurial activity in Canada over time and compares it with leading countries. Entrepreneurial performance indicators observed include: birth and death rates, survival rates, high-growth firms and gazelles, and research and development expenditures. Furthermore, the report provides a profile of the owners of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because important entrepreneurial activity takes place within these firms. Finally, the report identifies areas of strength, areas for improvement, and important areas that cannot currently be addressed.
2008
Profile of Growth Firms: A Summary of Industry Canada Research (March 2008)
The profile summarizes the research on growth firms completed by Industry Canada's Small Business Branch and highlights their contribution to job creation, by firm size, region and industry and discusses the factors for successful growth and survival.
2007
Case Studies of Collaborative Innovation in Canadian Small Firms (May 2007)
Using five companies as case studies, the report on Case Studies of Collaborative Innovation in Canadian Small Firms provides insights into new policy directions regarding university-private sector collaboration on research and development and commercialization. The results highlight the importance for successful collaboration and commercialization of credible research, key individuals, the ability to access potential partners through networks, the availability of angel investors and appropriate support for incubation.
2006
The Growth Process in Firms: Job Creation by Firm Age (November 2006)
The ongoing Growth Firms Project of Industry Canada's Small Business Branch looks at how firms grow and, more specifically, at the job creation process. This fourth phase of the project examines job creation and firm turnover at the national level over the 1993-2003 period and compares the results with earlier findings that covered the 1985 to 1999 period. In order to investigate the link between firm growth and firm life cycle, the study also looks at firm survival, the ability of firms to maintain growth over time and job creation by firm age.
Employee Training Decisions, Business Strategies and Human Resource Management Practices: A Study by Size of Business (October 2006)
The aim of this study is to investigate in detail the proposition often found in the literature that small businesses train their employees less than medium-sized and large businesses. The small business population is much more heterogeneous than that of medium-sized and large firms in terms of motivation because it includes not only growth firms but also foundation firms, which may be less interested in growth.
Management Skills Workshops (April 2006)
The Small Business Branch (SBB) of Industry Canada engaged Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. to facilitate a series of four workshops with small business advisors in Vancouver, Sudbury, Halifax and Quebec City. These workshops, conducted in February and March 2006, provided SBB with face-to-face contact with members of the business community to obtain feedback appropriate to a decision on whether or not to proceed with the development of a management competency tool.
2005
Case Studies of Managing for Success (December 2005)
Updated — 2006-11-01
Entrepreneurs look for role models as they struggle with the challenges of starting and growing a business. Case studies illustrate the business strategies and management practices new entrepreneurs employ that can lead to success, especially in key areas such as finance, exports and skills development. These case studies could possibly serve to inform the development of future programs and services targeted at those key areas.
Exporting Matters: Job Creation performance of Exporters, 1993–2002 (November 2005)
As part of the multi-year Growth Firms Project, the Small Business Branch investigated the job creation performance of exporters in the most recent phase of work. Results from tabulations covering 1993 to 2002 demonstrate that firms engaged in exporting were much more likely to be hyper or strong growth firms than those that did not export.
Infrastructure of Advisory Services for Entrepreneurs in the Waterloo Region (October 2005)
This study is part of an international study being led by the Centre for Economic and Business Research in the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs on behalf of the International Consortium on Dynamic Benchmarking of Entrepreneurship. Up to eight countries will be participating in the study, each focusing on an in-depth examination of a successful region in their country.
Small Business Exporters: A Canadian Profile (August 2005)
Small businesses (those with fewer than 100 employees) are an important engine of growth in the domestic economy. Given the significant role of exports in the Canadian economy, it seems pertinent to investigate the importance of small business in international markets. For the first time, this is possible thanks to enhancements to the Exporter Registry, which provides data on exports by size of firm. This paper uses these data to construct a profile of small business exporters that establishes new baseline information and provides a basis for policy development to better foster small business exports.
Sustaining the Momentum: An Economic Forum on Women Entrepreneurs – Summary Report (March 2005)
This report, prepared by the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and by Industry Canada, presents a synopsis of the research and recommendations stemming from Sustaining the Momentum: An Economic Forum on Women Entrepreneurs. The Forum took place in Ottawa from October 27 to 29, 2004. Its objectives were to share leading-edge research about women entrepreneurs; to examine government support for women business owners and; to identify gaps in research and public policy.
2004
More Important than was Thought: A Profile of Canadian Small Business Exporters (December 2004)
This paper, which is a summary of a longer document, also provides information on exports by size of firm across provinces, industry and export destination, as well as a comparison with U.S. exporting firms.
Growth Firms Workshop Synopsis (September 2004)
This project aims to improve our understanding of the dynamics of economic growth using a firm-level longitudinal database to investigate which types of firms provide growth, their contribution to job creation, the barriers to growth and the areas where governments can make a contribution.
Growth Firms Project: Phase II Report (September 2004)
Phase II of the Growth Firms project builds on the work done in Phase I by completing additional tabulations. The work in Phase II focussed on employment growth by firm age, the growth of start-ups and firm exits.
2003
Management Competencies and SME Performance Criteria: A Pilot Study (December 2003)
This pilot study reports on two relatively unexplored aspects of firm performance: the roles of management competencies and owners' perceptions about success. The research is a pilot test of a Management Competency Index, a diagnostic tool that seeks to measure the nature and diversity of managerial skills and knowledge of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Small Business and Regulatory Burden (October 2003)
The purpose of this document is to delineate the issues surrounding regulatory burden. Such an examination is intended to provide a foundation for further analysis of this issue to support small business policy development.
Growth Firms Project: Key Findings (September 2003) Updated — 2004-08-27
The Small Business Branch has recently completed the first phase of an analysis of growth firms in Canada. The analysis provides answers to questions about which firms grow, who are the engines of growth and what their impact on creating employment has been.
2002
Growth Determinants of Micro-Businesses in Canada (July 2002)
This study draws on the rich information obtained from the 'Micro-Enterprises, 2000' survey, undertaken by Statistics Canada in collaboration with Industry Canada. The survey targeted owner-founders of micro-businesses in seven industries other than manufacturing that had between one and four employees in 1995 and were still in operation in 1999.
2001
Micro-Enterprises Survey, A Progress Report (June 2001)
This paper presents background on the data collection and coverage of the 'Micro-Enterprises Survey 2000' and it highlights key results.
A Business Case Framework for Small Firms Transitioning to E-Business (March 2001)
This paper provides a framework for assessing the business case for small firms regarding the transition from traditional business practices to e-business.
Management Skills for Small Business (March 2001)
The background to this work stems from Industry Canada's central emphasis in the policy agenda on a strategy to encourage innovation as the engine of growth for productivity and competitiveness in the globalized knowledge-based economy. It stems, too, from the department's recognition of competent management skills as the sine qua non for successful innovation, productivity growth and competitiveness and, in particular, of the importance of such skills in the large proportions of overall economic activity that are undertaken in the small business sector.
Small Business Information Needs Assessment Survey (February 2001)
The purpose of the survey was to better understand the needs, particularly information needs, attitudes and behaviours of small businesses, including their main sources of information and preferred delivery methods.
2000
A Longitudinal Analysis of Young Entrepreneurs in Canada (November 2000)
It has long been the belief that small business is the engine of economic expansion. The recent increases in self-employment in many developed countries have further reinforced this belief. Canada, in particular, has experienced an unprecedented growth of job creation in the self-employment sector over the last decade.
Multivariate Analysis of Small Business Information Needs (March 2000)
In order to put the basic results in context, multivariate analysis was undertaken. A technical report presents a discussion of the research techniques employed. Substantively, the analysis involved exploring the relationship between various subjective and objective factors and issues that are most central to businesses' orientations toward the federal government as a business information provider.
