Bringing a Horse to Water: The Shaping of a Child Successor in Family Business Succession
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v12i2.14631Keywords:
Family business, Succession, Successor, Scotland, Family firmAbstract
This study critically investigates and evaluates the childhood and adolescent year strategies, and efforts that parent-owners of family businesses incorporate to encourage and prepare children for a successful future succession. The sample consisted of six family businesses in the North East of Scotland: two successfully introduced a second-generation, two a third generation and one a fourth generation, with one still in the founder stage. The findings reveal that the succession planning process was an instantaneous event into generational bridging, where no formal planning process was commenced. Parent-owners influenced and facilitated knowledge transfer and education, leaving control to the child successors with career options. The research has also shown the difficulties in how the child successors of the future may find succession challenging and demanding with contextually complex issues.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Allen, J. M. (2011). How front-end loading contributes to creating and sustaining the theory-practice gap in higher education programs. Asia Pacific Education Review, 12(2), 289-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-010-9141-x
Arzubiaga, U., De Massis, A., Kammerlander, N., & Hoy, F. (2022). Knowledge management in family firms: opening the black box and suggestions for future research. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(2), 269-290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2022-924
Bachmann, R. (2001). Trust, power and control in trans-organizational relations. Organization Studies, 22(2), 337-365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840601222007
Billett, S. (2016). Apprenticeship as a mode of learning and model of education. Education and Training, 58(6), 613-628. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2016-0001
Bjuggren, L., & Sund, P. (2011). Ownership restrictions, risk and team considerations in family-owned businesses. European Business Law Review, 22(1), 93-105. https://doi.org/10.54648/eulr2011004
Borgatti, S. P., & Carboni, I. (2007). On measuring individual knowledge in organizations. Organizational Research Methods, 10(3), 449-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428107300228
Botero, I. C., Martínez, A. B., Sanguino, G., & Binhote, J. (2021). The family’s effect on knowledge sharing in family firms. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(2), 459-481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JKM-08-2020-0653
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Chiang, H., He, L. J., & Yu, H. J. (2021). Family firm’s succession and firm’s sustainability. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 43(3), 1-10. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-021-09778-0
Chirico, F., & Salvato, C. (2008). Knowledge integration and dynamic organizational adaptation in family firms. Family Business Review, 21(2), 169-181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2008.00117.x
Corona, J. (2021). Succession in the Family Business: The Great Challenge for the Family. European Journal of Family Business, 11(1), 64-70. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v11i1.12770
Cromie, S., Adams, J., Dunn, B., & Reid, R. (1999). Family firms in Scotland and Northern Ireland: an empirical investigation. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 6(3), 253–266. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006677
Dalpiaz, E., Tracey, P., & Philips, N. (2014). Succession narratives in family business: the case of Alessi. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 38(6), 1375-1394. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12129
Densombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: For small-scale research projects. London, UK: Open University Press.
di Belmonte, S., Seaman, C., & Bent, R. (2016). Keeping it in the family: family, priorities and succession in Scottish landed estates. Journal of Family Business Management, 6(3), 350-362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-08-2015-0033
Duh, M. (2014). Family business succession as knowledge creation process. Kybernetes, 43(5), 699-714. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-08-2013-0172
European Commission (2009). Final Report Overview of Family Business Relevant Issues. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/10389/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/native
Fairlie, R. W., & Robb, A. M. (2009). Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey. Small Business Economics, 33(4), 375-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9207-5
Family Business United Scotland (2019). The 2019 Scottish Family Business Top 100. Retrieved from https://familybusinessunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Final-2019-Report.pdf
Ferrari, F. (2021). The postponed succession: an investigation of the obstacles hindering business transmission planning in family firms. Journal of Family Business Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-09-2020-0088
Ghee, W. Y., Ibrahim, M. D., & Abdul-Halim, H. (2015). Family business succession planning: unleashing the key factors of business performance. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 20(2), 103-126. http://web.usm.my/aamj/20022015/aamj20022015_5.pdf
Giménez, E. L., & Novo, J. A. (2020). A theory of succession in family firms. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 41(1), 96-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-019-09646-y
Goddard, W., & Melville, S. (2004). Research methodology: an introduction. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing.
Gundlach, M. J., & Zivnuska, S. (2010). An experiential learning approach to teaching entrepreneurship, triple bottom line, and sustainability. American Journal of Business Education, 3(1), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v3i1.364
Haynes, G., Marshall, M., Lee, Y., Zuiker, V., Jasper, C. R., et al. (2021). Family business research: reviewing the past, contemplating the future. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 42(1), 70-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09732-6
Hernández-Linares, R., & López-Fernández, M. C. (2020). Entrepreneurial Orientation, Learning Orientation, Market Orientation, and Organizational Performance: Family Firms Versus Non-Family Firms. European Journal of Family Business, 10(1), 6-19. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v10i1.6780
Hosmer, R. T. (1995). Trust: the connecting link between Organizational Theory and Philosophical Ethics. The Academy of Management Review, 20(2), 379-403. https://doi.org/10.2307/258851
Kalss, S. (2015). Company law and the law of succession (Vol. 5). Springer: New York.
Klein, B. (1988). Vertical integration as organized ownership: the Fisher Body - General Motors relationship revisited. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 4, 199-213. https://www.jstor.org/stable/765021
LaChapelle, K., & Barnes, L. B. (1998). The trust catalyst in family-owned businesses. Family Business Review, 11(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.1998.00001.x
Lansberg (1988). The succession conspiracy. Family Business Review, 1(2), 119-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.1988.00119.x
McMullen, J. S., & Warnick, B. J. (2015). To nurture or groom? The parent founder succession dilemma. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 39(6), 1379-1412. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12178
Magrelli, V., Rondi, E., De Massis, A., & Kotlar, J. (2022). Generational brokerage: an intersubjective perspective on managing temporal orientations in family firm succession. Strategic Organization, 20(1), 164-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127020976972
Merchant, P., Kumar, A., & Mallik, D. (2018). Factors influencing family business continuity in Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(2), 177-190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9562-3
Meyer, J., Stanley, D., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 20-52. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842
Morris, M., Williams, R., Allen, J., & Avila, R. (1997). Correlates of success in family business transitions. Journal of Business Venturing, 12(5) 385-401. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(97)00010-4
Neubauer, H. (2003). The dynamics of succession in family businesses in western European countries. Family Business Review, 16(4), 269-281. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865030160040501
Neubauer, F., & Lank, A.G. (1998). The family business. London, UK: Macmillan.
Osborne, R. (1991). Second-generation entrepreneurs: passing the baton in the privately held company. Management Decision, 29(1). 42-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749110141185
Parker, S. C. (2016). Family firms and the ‘willing successor’ problem. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(6), 1241-1259. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12242
Pitcher, P., Cherim, S., & Kisfalvt, V. (2000). CEO succession research: methodological bridges over troubled waters. Strategic Management Journal, 21(6), 625-648. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200006)21:6<625::AID-SMJ107>3.0.CO;2-A
Pollak, R. (1985). A transaction cost approach to families and households. Journal of Economic Literature, 23(2), 581-608. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2725625
Porfírio, J. A., Felício, J. A., & Carrilho, T. (2020). Family business succession: analysis of the drivers of success based on entrepreneurship theory. Journal of Business Research, 115, 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.054
Poza-Valle, E. (2021). Ownership Control Eats Strategy and Culture for Lunch: The Case for Future Ownership Development Prior to Ownership Transition. European Journal of Family Business, 11(1), 12-20. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v11i1.12026
Pruett, M. (2011). Entrepreneurship education: workshops and entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Education for Business, 87(2), 94-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2011.573594
Ramsgaard, M., & Ostergaard, S. (2018). An entrepreneurial learning approach to assessment of internships. Education and Training, 60(7/8), 909-922. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ET-11-2016-0164
Rivera, A. E., Rodríguez-Aceves, L., & Mojarro-Duran, B. I. (2020). Enabling knowledge sharing through psychological safety in inter-organisational arrangements. Journal of Knowledge Management, 25(5), 1170-1193. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-04-2020-0241
Rowley, J. (2000). From learning organisation to knowledge entrepreneur. Journal of Knowledge Management, 4(1), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270010315362
Rubenson, G., & Gupta, A. (1996). The initial succession: a contingency model of founder tenure, entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 21(2), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879602100202
Schroder, E., & Schmitt-Redermund, E. (2013). Antecedents and consequences of adolescents’ motivations to join the family business. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 476-485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.07.006
Sharma, P., Chrisman, J., & Chua, J. (2003). Succession planning as planned behavior: some empirical results. Family Business Review, 16(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2003.00001.x
Sharma, P., & Irving, P. (2005). Four bases of family business successor commitment: antecedents and consequences. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(1), 13-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00067.x
Shi, H. X., Shepherd, D. M., & Schmidts, T. (2015). Social capital in entrepreneurial family businesses: the role of trust. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 21(6), 814-841. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2015-0090
Tagiuri, R., & Davis, J. A. (1996). Bivalent attributes of the family firm. Family Business Review, 9(2), 199-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.1996.00199.x
Ukanwa, I., Xiong, L., Wasim, J., & Galloway, L. (2022). Microfinance and micropreneurship in rural South-East Nigeria: an exploration of the effects of institutions. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 34(7-8), 650-667. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2022.2087747
Vera, C., & Dean, M. (2005). An examination of the challenges daughters face in family business succession. Family Business Review, 18(4). 321-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2005.00051.x
Wasim, J. (2019). Closing the gap between university curriculum in Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Learning in Networks: An interpretivist constructivist approach, PhD thesis, University of Portsmouth.
Wasim, J., & Taylor, J. (2017, November). Knowledge transfer through internal non-family stakeholders after a succession. In Proceedings of the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, Belfast, UK.
Wasim, J., Cunningham, J., Maxwell-Cole, A., & Taylor, J. (2020). Nonfamily knowledge during family business succession: a cultural understanding. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(1), 141-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-05-2017-0167
Wiecek-Janka, E., & Mierzwiak, R. (2015). The analysis of successors’ competencies in family enterprises with the use of grey system theory. Grey Systems Theory and Application, 5(3), 302-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/GS-03-2015-0007
Wang, C. (2010). Daughter exclusion in family business succession: A review of the literature. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 31(4), 475-484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-010-9230-3
Wong, K., & Aspinwall, E. (2004). Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment. Journal of Knowledge Management, 8(3), 44-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270410541033
Yadav, S., & Shankar, R. (2017). Succession planning: some lessons. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 14(4), 406-407. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-07-2017-0081
Zahra, S., Neubaum, D., & Larrañeta, B. (2007). Knowledge sharing and technological capabilities – The moderating role of family involvement. Journal of Business Research, 60(10), 1070-1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.12.014
Zellweger, T., Sieger, P., & Halter, F. (2011). Should I stay or should I go? Career choice intentions of students with family business background. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(5), 521-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2010.04.001
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright generates two different rights: moral rights and patrimonial rights that EJFB recognizes and respects. Moral rights are those relating to the recognition of the authorship. They are rights of a personal nature that are perpetual, inalienable, unseizable and imprescriptible as consequence of the indivisible union of the author and his/her work. Patrimonial rights are those that can be derived from the reproduction, distribution, adaptation or communication of the work, among others.
Authors who publish in EJFB retain the copyright of their work and grant the right of its first publication to the journal in open access. EJFB is authorized to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or communicate the work under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License. This means that you are free to share and adapt this work under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit to its author(s), which implie the right to be reconognized and cited correctly.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
.png){kind=logo}
27.png)
