Position: President-Elect

Professor Claire Massey, Ph.D.

Professor of Enterprise Development & Head of School of Management, Massey University, New Zealand [Resume (pdf)]

Affiliation: SEAANZ

In 2005 I was elected to the ICSB board as a Director at Large and in 2006 I became Senior Vice-President Research & Publications. In 2007 I became SVP Membership and Affiliates and in 2008 SVP Programmes. In summary, I have taken on every SVP role that was available to me (the current practice being to have an individual based in the US as SVP Finance and Control). I now wish to offer my continuing services to the organisation – as President Elect.

I believe the appropriate experience to be successful in this role: I have experience of the Board, credibility with the membership, a track record of working effectively at Board level and an excellent understanding of the goals of those who have worked to build the ICSB into the organisation it is today. I am also willing to serve – and have the backing of my employing institution.

What I can bring to the Board:

• I have been involved in SMEs for my entire life, and since 1993 I have been an active researcher, with a particular interest in understanding more about the social and economic contributions that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can make, to local, regional and national communities. As a researcher, I see my role both as creating knowledge for (and about) this sector, and in disseminating this knowledge – not simply through traditional forms of academic publication and teaching, but through publication channels that are more directly targeted to the needs of research users – and SME owners themselves. My commitment is firmly to ‘bridging the gap’ between researchers and those who can gain value from the new knowledge created by these individuals.
• In my current university position (Head of the School of Management within New Zealand’s largest business school), and in my former role as Director of the New Zealand Centre for SME Research I have  been able to contribute directly to the developing body of knowledge on New Zealand’s SMEs. I have also gained experience in working closely with a whole range of research users, including government  agencies, NGOs and SME owners.
• I have been a member of SEAANZ (the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand), since 1994 and am an active contributor to this body through my participation in conferences, taking an active role in publishing (until 2008 I was one of two associate editors of the SEAANZ journal) and participating in national and international networks. I served on the SEAANZ committee during the period 1998-2007 and was President during 2006-2007.
• I have been an active member of the ICSB since I attended my first conference in Sydney in the late 1990s. I was a member of the Board during the period 2005-2010 and stepped down reluctantly in 2010. I have taken an active role in the organisation, twice earning the President’s Award for service. I was Academic Chair for the 2006 World Conference (Melbourne, Australia) and am Co-Chair of the organising Committee for ICSB 2012 (Wellington, New Zealand). In short, I have a passion about (and an understanding of) the role SMEs play in economies and societies around the world; I am an active researcher with a particular interest in the communication of research, and I have a keen appreciation of the challenges inherent in working at the interface between researchers and research users – the essential issue for the ICSB. I also have experience of one of the oldest affiliates of the ICSB (SEAANZ) and my experience with this association has given me an understanding of the very real positives inherent in working within a voluntary organisation. I am enthusiastic about serving a further term on the ICSB and have the full support of Massey University in this aim.