As governments look for ways to promote growth in the business sector and create jobs, part of the solution lies with entrepreneurial businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a disproportionate share of job creation, innovation and the accompanying economic prosperity in Canada.

Federal, municipal and provincial governments, which direct nearly 33% of their spending on goods and services, might look like a cash cow for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). But new findings by a team of researchers from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management paint a surprising picture of who’s cashing in, who isn’t, and why.

One of the team’s key findings is that Canadian SMEs are just not that into to the federal government. “Between 2012 and 2014, less than one in ten Canadian SMEs were doing business with the federal government, while nearly 82% currently don’t view the federal government as a potential client,” explains University of Ottawa master’s alumna Diane Liao, one of the study co-authors.

They also found that SMEs supplying the federal government are typically older and have more employees, come from knowledge-based and technology-based industries and are more often male- rather than female-owned. Additionally, SME suppliers were more likely to grow, innovate and export.

A gender gap

Canadian women have been launching businesses at faster rates than men for several decades and now own more than 180,000 firms with employees. Indeed, 16% of SMEs overall were majority female-owned in 2014. However, only 10% of firms supplying the government are majority female-owned.

“A few factors could explain why,” says Barbara Orser, professor at the Telfer School of Management. “Female-owned SMEs are disproportionately younger, women entrepreneurs have typically fewer years of management experience and female-owned firms are less likely to be in the knowledge-based and information and communication technologies sectors, which make up a big part of SME supplier firms.”

Finding solutions

The team’s study reveals that SME suppliers and non-suppliers cite similar hurdles to selling to the federal government: lack of awareness of contract opportunities, complicated or time-consuming application processes, and unsuccessful bids. “There seems to be a need to better inform Canadian SMEs about the types of goods and services purchased by the federal government. Some SMEs also view the application process as complicated,” added Allan Riding, professor at the Telfer School of Management

To help the federal government encourage Canadian SMEs to bid on procurement contracts, the team proposes a research framework to overcome the hurdles identified by businesses:

• Identify factors that help explain why some SMEs are suppliers to the federal government.
• Examine the extent to which being a SME supplier to the federal government improves a firm’s performance, sales, employment figures, innovation and exports.
• Examine the extent to which, if any, gender identity influences the chances of being a SME supplier to the federal government.

According to the team, the payoff could be significant. Policy informed by better information on the relationship between the federal government and Canadian SMEs could be a strong lever for innovation and economic growth.

Members of the research team

Diane Liao (MSc, Telfer School of Management), Dr. Barbara Orser and Dr. Allan Riding (Deloitte Professors in the Management of Growth Enterprises, Telfer School of Management). The study was undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Quang Duong, director, and Jérôme Catimel, manager, of the Business Analytics Services Directorate, Procurement Business Management Sector, Acquisitions Program, Public Services and Procurement Canada.

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When it comes to sustainable development, small and medium-sized businesses innovate in many subtle ways, says Martine Spence. (Photo: Andrea Campbell / University of Ottawa)

Be it for food, fashion or services, today’s consumers are leaning more and more toward products that are organic, locally produced, reusable and responsibly sourced. Sustainable development is no longer an abstract concept; it has infiltrated every area of daily life.

Is this just another fad or a genuine awakening? In any case, companies can’t ignore it, notes Martine Spence, a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.

For the past 10 years, Spence has studied the structure and analyzed the social engagement and sustainable-development practices of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). “These companies contribute heavily to national economies, and they create the majority of jobs out there, so their impact on the environment and on society in general is significant,” she explains. “I grew up in the south of France, where there were many small entrepreneurs. When I studied business, large corporations seemed too abstract to me, and too political. But SMBs are led by individuals who have a true passion for their craft, and that’s always intrigued me.”

So how do SMBs implement sustainable-development practices? What prompts them to do so, and what obstacles must they overcome? Martine Spence examines their behaviour on three fronts: respect for the environment, respect for individuals and respect for the community.

“We observed that the level of involvement depends on the entrepreneur’s own conviction. Those who lend importance to these issues in their private lives are the ones who take their business’s social and environmental responsibility to the highest level,” she says.

In fact, SMBs readily adopt green practices, from shutting down computers at night and installing energy-saving thermostats to choosing active transportation and opting for energy-efficient technologies. “SMBs are particularly innovative and flexible; they don’t have shareholders and can quickly adjust their strategy,” says Spence.

She points out that investing doesn’t frighten them either, and that when SMBs buy in, they innovate a lot because they know it will lead to a good return. She adds that for most of these entrepreneurs, making money isn’t the primary goal; it’s more a question of being part of the community and of pursuing their passion.

What is the situation in other countries? Are the same challenges at play? As a member of the Observatoire international du développement durable en PME (Université de Montpellier) in France, Spence also studies the internationalization of SMBs, and she recently compared those in Canada, in Cameroon and in Tunisia. She found that “sustainable development isn’t yet ingrained in the mindset of the South, even if some Tunisian entrepreneurs see in it an opportunity, as it can help them do business with European nations.”

That said, SMBs are nonetheless engaged in their communities, remarks Spence, with some donating a sheep to the community at Eid, for instance, because social engagement is an intrinsic part of their lives, mostly driven by religion.

In the era of globalization, Spence’s findings show that the widespread adoption of sustainable development will be achieved only if sociocultural contexts are considered, and that inspiration for that ideal can come from everywhere—from the North and the South.

by Marine Corniou

Telfer Research Excellence Awards – 2017 Recipients

Jane O’Reilly - Up and Coming Researcher Award 

While still early in her academic career, Professor O'Reilly has made notable contributions to the study of informal workplace interactions and relationships. She has held a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and her work has appeared in top management journals such as the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Management and the Journal of Applied Psychology. She studies workplace social exclusion, mistreatment and social sexual behaviours in organizations. With support from SSHRC, she examined third parties' responses to sexual harassment in the workplace and the impact on employees’ well-being of being left out of the social circle at work. Her research on mistreatment is focused on how bystanders can help (and sometimes further harm) the targets of workplace bullying and harassment. Professor O’Reilly is also a member of a new partnership research team that is examining disclosure of mental health issues in the workplace.

Lavagnon Ika - Innovative Researcher Award

Professor Ika’ research focuses on capacity building in the context of project management in developing countries. The success or failure of development projects has a lot to do with capacity building, but most researchers have paid little attention to this aspect. His most recent research that is focused on current and former project managers in Ghana, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam discovered that capacity-building projects thrive when four factors are present: high levels of multi-stakeholder commitment, collaboration, alignment, and adaptation. By identifying practical implications, Professor Ika’s research contributes to the likelihood of success of complex development projects.  The research has not surprisingly been of interest to the project management practitioner community and governmental organizations.  

Craig Kuziemsky - Established Researcher 

Professor Kuziemsky’s research focuses on innovation and process transformation in healthcare. Specifically, he looks at system transformation initiatives such as collaborative care delivery, integrated disease management, and patient-centered care. Central to this research is the move from individual to collaborative workflow in order to support patient-centered collaborative teamwork. In his research Professor Kuziemsky works with clinicians from local teaching hospitals and an international network of health informatics researchers. In 2016, he was awarded the University Research Chair in Healthcare Innovation.

Women have been making steady gains in the traditionally male-dominated health care field. They make up over 50% of medical school students across Canada and over 80% of the health care workforce. Yet gender disparities remain. Women lead fewer than 20% of hospitals, and hold relatively few leadership positions overall.

On June 12, efforts to shatter the glass ceiling and empower women leaders in the health care sector received a major thumbs up. The Canadian College of Health Leaders and the Canadian Health Leadership Network, working with University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management professors Ivy Lynn Bourgeault and Barbara Orser, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvements and the Centre for Research and Education on Women and Work, received $400,000 to advance gender equality in health care, health sciences and indigenous health. The funding was awarded by Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef as part of the Canada 150 project grants.

The team’s project, Empowering Women Leaders in Health (eWoLIH), aims to transform the health care, health sciences and indigenous health system by increasing participation, visibility and advancement of women in leadership positions. “Our goal is to build a strong and supportive community of established and emerging women leaders, helping them transform the health care system by drawing on women’s unique leadership skills, experiences and contributions,” says Bourgeault, the project lead. “This network will support community outreach initiatives, build partnerships and work to bring down the systemic barriers that contribute to gender inequity in health care, health sciences and indigenous health.”

The project, which will begin in Ottawa, Toronto and London, will first identify the unique systemic barriers limiting women’s participation in leadership roles. Working with partners, the team will develop and put in practice a set of action tools and resources and promote measures to remove these barriers.

By the end of the project, the team plans to have implemented these activities and evaluated their effectiveness. “Women’s leadership in health sciences is critical to advance research on issues specific to women, encourage female scientists and generate new knowledge to improve health and health care. It will also help shape the next generation of health workers and the leaders of tomorrow,” adds Bourgeault.