Intergenerational Transition in a Small Family Business

Author(s):  
Carlo Mari ◽  
Olimpia Meglio

Family businesses constitute the key infrastructure of wealth creation across the globe. One of the most important human-resource challenges they face is intergenerational transition, an issue that has received considerable attention from scholars in various countries. Despite this great interest, academics are still attempting to understand the phenomenon and provide effective managerial guidance on how family businesses can make it to the second generation. This chapter seeks to contribute to family business research by offering a more nuanced understanding of intergenerational transition that builds on a conceptualization of the phenomenon as a process rather than the prevailing view of it as an instantaneous event. In order to capture the processual nature of intergenerational transition, evidence is presented from a field study carried out in a small Italian family business that was the arena of three different intergenerational transitions taking place at different time periods. The evidence gathered suggests that the process is shaped by interaction of the different parties involved, who renegotiate their roles as it unfolds, with various factors playing a part.

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 809-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Chepurenko

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deal with informal entrepreneurial activity of micro and small family businesses in the specific transitional environment. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses two cases – an informal micro business (“marginal” family business), and a formal retail small firm (“simpleton” family firm), respectively, of a panel conducted in 2013–2015 in Moscow. Findings First, the real distribution of responsibilities between family members is informal; it relies more on interpersonal trust and “common law.” Second, exactly the ease of governing such trust-based businesses for the founders’ generation sets limits of succession of small-scale family businesses. Third, as trust in the state is very low, the policy of Russian authorities to quickly force informal entrepreneurs to become legalized is substantially wrong; the results would be either a transformation of “simpleton” into “marginal” businesses or quitting business. Research limitations/implications Research limitations of the study are the number of observations and the localization of the panel only in the capital of Russia. Practical implications The fundamental failure of Russian State policy toward small-scale family businesses is its attempt to convince “marginal” to formalize and to oppress “simpleton” family businesses pushing them into informality. In fact, it should be designed vice versa: tolerate “marginal” businesses and let them to “live and die” while shaping a friendly environment for “simpleton” family firms. Originality/value The paper argues that the most important facet of informality in small family entrepreneurship is the informal property rights and governance duties’ distribution among the family members.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asdren Toska ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Léo-Paul Dana ◽  
Gadaf Rexhepi ◽  
Jusuf Zeqiri

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the second-generation successors’ motives to join family businesses and their ability to generate innovation within them.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative methodology is used in this study. Data were collected through structured interview with the second-generation representatives, where the data obtained helped us to come to the results and answer the research questions of the study. A total of 15 interviews were conducted.FindingsThe findings of this study show that the second generation is motivated to continue the family business, cases show that successors since childhood have been oriented towards building an entrepreneurial mindset and also after entering the family business have generated innovation.Originality/valueThe study will bring theoretical implications to the family business literature, providing scientific evidence for the second generation of family businesses, from an emerging country such as Kosovo. As Kosovo is an emerging country, the study will contribute to the literature, suggesting other studies by emerging countries in this way to see the similarities and differences.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1695-1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasios Ntanos ◽  
Stamatios Ntanos

This chapter refers to small family businesses in Greece and examines the impact of their marketing strategy during an economic crisis period. The research took place in the broad area of Athens between December 2011 and March 2012. Data were collected to form a database of Greek independent private family companies (n=380) using personal interviews (structured questionnaire) with owners/managers of first- and second-generation family businesses. The chapter shows how small family businesses indicate marketing strategy using Carson's model. Limitations of expertise outline the marketing background, which can be described as “self-assisted.” The research offers a verification of a previous model so that problems that arise from companies not putting into practice any marketing concepts can be examined. The significance of the chapter is that there have not formerly been any reviews made about Carson's model in Greece during the economic crisis period emphasizing family businesses.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esperanza Huerta ◽  
Yanira Petrides ◽  
Denise O’Shaughnessy

Purpose This research investigates the introduction of accounting practices into small family businesses, based on socioemotional wealth theory. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study was conducted gathering data through interviews and documents (proprietary and public). The sample included six businesses (five Mexican and one American) from different manufacturing and service industries. Findings It was found that, although owners control the implementation of accounting practices, others (including family employees, non-family employees and external experts) at times propose practices. The owner’s control can be relaxed, or even eliminated, as the result of proposals from some family employees. However, the degree of influence of family employees is not linked to the closeness of the family relationship, but rather to the owners’ perceived competence of the family employee, indicating an interaction between competence and experience on one side, and family ties on the other. Research limitations/implications First, the owners chose which documentary data to provide and who was accessible for interviews, potentially biasing findings. Second, the degree of influence family employees can exert might change over time. Third, the study included a limited number of interviews, which can increase the risk of bias. Finally, all firms studied were still managed by the founder. It is possible that small family businesses that have undergone a succession process might incorporate accounting practices differently. Practical implications Organizations promoting the implementation of managerial accounting practices should be aware that, in addition to the owner, some family employees and external experts could influence business practices. Accountants already providing accounting services to small family business are also a good source for proposing managerial accounting practices Originality/value This study contributes to theory in four ways. First, it expands socioemotional theory to include the perceived competence of the family employee as a potential moderator in the decision-making process. Second, it categorizes the actors who can influence managerial accounting practices in small family businesses. Third, it further refines the role of these actors, based on their degree of influence. Fourth, it proposes a model that describes the introduction of managerial accounting practices in small family business.


Author(s):  
Filippo Ferrari

In spite of the considerable importance of career issues in the field of family business gender studies, current literature shows a lack of attention to careers in family businesses. Due to this theoretical limitation, this chapter aims to investigate quantitatively the second generation's career in a sample of Italian family firms (N=297). Findings suggest that the careers of females and males show different characteristics. This chapter contributes to the limited research on daughter succession. Moreover, it provides a contribution to understanding the daughters' organizational and educational career in small and medium-sized family firms specifically, filling a gap in the current literature. Finally, this chapter prompts a reflection on the cultural/contextual aspects that impact upon entry into the company.


Author(s):  
Elena Khoury ◽  
Maria C. Khoury

This case is about a family business, Taybeh Brewing Company (TBC), with strategic and succession planning issues including the need to prepare the second generation of decision makers to take over. It covers the centralization of control and issues that arise when it is time for a founder of a company to relinquish control or share in the decision making process. It also deals with the lack of interest by the second generation to continue what others initiated as a family legacy. The business has been approached to become listed on the stock exchange, but the owners have not made a decision. By reading about the small family business, students can learn about business structure that is proper for a company’s future, the pitfalls of founder’s syndrome, and succession planning, which according to Muna and Khoury (2012) becomes imperative for the first and second generations to take seriously.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Rizwan Yaseen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enhance the longevity and improve the succession process in small family businesses sustaining in Pakistan. Family businesses perform an active role in economic development of any country. Statistics shows, 30/13/3 business transfers into subsequent generation in the interfamily business (Ward, 2016). Design/methodology/approach Data are collected from 365 respondents who were either incumbents or successor in 135 small family businesses in Pakistan. Simple linear regression and process control analysis by Andrew Hayes are used for moderating variable analysis in SPSS20. Findings The results show that customer focus management, business strategies and governance board have a significant positive impact on the succession process of small family business in Pakistan. There is negative significant moderating impact of education on business strategies and customer focus management while there is no moderating impact of education over governance board and satisfaction with succession. Research limitations/implications This study will help the family business incumbents to focus deliberately on the factors that influence the succession process so that business could be transferred to the subsequent generation successfully. Originality/value The previous research does not show the effect of education at different levels and importance of customer focus management toward the succession process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Trung Pham ◽  
Robin Bell ◽  
David Newton

Purpose Many family businesses do not survive into the second generation. A common reason put forward for this is poor succession planning for the second generation. This paper is designed with the aim to explore the role of the father in supporting the son’s business knowledge and development in Vietnamese family businesses. Design/methodology/approach This research adopted an inductive qualitative approach using multiple face-to-face semi-structured interviews with five father–son succession pairs. The interview participants were a cross section of Vietnamese family businesses, where the father–son pair was involved in the process of business knowledge transfer and the succession process was at an advanced stage. Findings The results suggest that the father plays different roles at different stages of the son’s business knowledge development process. In particular, the father acts as an example during the son’s childhood; a supporter to encourage the son to gain more business knowledge from both formal education and working experience outside the family business; a mentor and trouble-shooter after the son joins the family business as a full-time employee; and as an advisor after the son becomes the leader of the firm. Originality/value Most Vietnamese family businesses are still operating under the control of the first generation, and as a result, research into the succession process in Vietnam can help to provide valuable insights. Furthermore, existing research into the role of the predecessor in the whole process from the successor’s childhood until the end of the succession process is ambiguous and requires further research to clarify this research gap.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Carney

The prevalence of minority family businesses in emerging markets has several theoretical and practical implications. First, a practical consequence of institutional weakness suggests that family businesses perform both wealth-creation and wealth-preservation tasks in an emerging market. Legal protection for property rights and financial institutions specializing in wealth reallocation and preservation are often ineffective in emerging markets. Lacking such security, the family business unit necessarily becomes something more than a value-creation device; it may also serve as a wealth-protection and intergenerational and/or geographical transmission device used to preserve and transfer wealth through various informal and often nontransparent means. Consequently, the financial goals of the family firm are subject to frequent trade-offs between entrepreneurial activities that generate new wealth and more defensive activities that preserve, hide, or allow for the geographic or intergenerational transmission of wealth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenfei Jin ◽  
Bao Wu ◽  
Yingjie Hu

This study investigates the internationalization (i. e., foreign investment) of small family businesses by classifying the effects of external socioemotional wealth (family reputation) vs. internal socioemotional wealth (family involvement). The study involved 2,704 small family businesses in China, and the results support the hypothesis that family reputation has a positive effect on internationalization, while family involvement has a negative effect on internationalization. Moreover, entrepreneurial spirit reinforces the positive effect of family reputation on internationalization and enhances the negative relationship between family involvement and internationalization. This study contributes by examining the effect of entrepreneurial spirit as a potential balancing factor for the paradoxical influence of internal vs. external socioemotional wealth.


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