Leaders of family-owned businesses pay more attention to the attainment of personal and organizational objectives than to leadership succession plans for continuity when they leave the business. Despite the significant contributions of family-owned businesses to the social and economic development of nations, founders and leaders still contend with the challenge of leadership transfer to the next generation. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to examine the lived experiences of past and current leaders of family-owned businesses in Lagos regarding the challenge of preparing the next generation for leadership succession. The theory of knowledge transfer formed the conceptual framework for the study. Purposeful sampling method was used to select 15 business owners and leaders from 5 family-owned businesses in Lagos. Data collection methods included in-depth and open-ended telephone interviews. The Steve-Colaizzi-Keen design was used to analyze, and code data to identify prevailing themes. Eight themes emerged in the study of which six corroborate some current studies on leadership succession, while the remaining two new themes could be described as potential gaps in the literature. The study findings may help resolve complexities of determining, choosing, and mentoring potential leaders for eventual takeover when there is a vacuum. The results of the study highlighted the need for education or a foundation to support family-owned businesses in southwest Nigeria in the transfer of leadership to successive generations. This could prevent family-owned businesses from going into extinction at the exit of the founders.

Management in industrial family businesses in textiles, in a politically-charged Iran, tends to seek continuity through inter-generational succession. Scant research into the phases involved and the influences in this regional context means that it would be commercially advantageous to understand how such families manage the process of succession, and what these influences actually are. Thus, initially a broad literature review was conducted in the area of family business succession, to discern whether the succession process of Iranian family business is aligned with existing literature; a conceptual framework representing succession in the target group was developed; and broad influential factors on the abovementioned succession process were identified, and probed for their criticality. Subsequently, this work follows an inductive approach of constructing theoretical frameworks from looking interpretively across multiple case study findings, from company interviews where successors were male, female and joint-tenure. It initially devotes considerable attention to articulating themes of the drivers and challenges, and transition strategy, before distilling through cross-case analysis the essential influential factors and what defines the phases that a successor proceeds through, from both successor and predecessor perspectives. Finally these are discussed with a number of insights coming into focus, namely the peculiarities of: the environment given the governance issues and internationally sanctioned business conditions; the foreign education experience of English-speaking successors and their autonomy as part of their identity alongside their surpassing of the predecessor academically which drives modernisation; and trust as a clear milestone marker. Notably, the widely accepted conceptualisation of succession in four phases – initiation, integration, joint reign and withdrawal – is extended in this work to include an initial phase, priming, supported by substantive literature on affective commitment arising from parent-child relations. Further, a complex conceptual mapping of the innate phase-specific characteristics helps in the understanding of successor capacity and progress. Notwithstanding the limitations inherent from using a flexible instrument in a qualitative study across narrow business perspectives, and without claim to any single generalisation, management consultancy and practice might consider being alert to the above insights and pressures emanating from important points on the two conceptualised models. The study also has an exploratory aspect that opens up multiple avenues for further investigation into specific mechanisms within this type of transition.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / John E. Grable and Kristy L. Archuleta / The efficient operation and succession of family owned businesses plays a critical role in our national economic health. This study was built upon the Family Business Succession Model, which is based on family systems theory. The impact of owner characteristics, enterprise characteristics, business formalizing activities, family influence, access to resources, and external environmental conditions, all on the extensiveness of family business succession preparedness, was assessed. These results were moderated by the generation of the business. With an exploratory and descriptive methodology, primary survey data were obtained from family business owners in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas. Research results provide family business advisors with important insight for developing recommendations around improving the extensiveness of family business succession preparedness, provide important policy implications, and serve as a basis for additional theory development in family business succession planning.

The aim of this thesis is to understand the phenomenon of succession among South Asian small family businesses based in Scotland. It explores the reluctance of the younger generation towards choosing family businesses as their careers. The thesis aims to understand the career orientation of potential inheritors leading to succession or a lack of succession by understanding their socialisation process. Thereby it integrates the literatures of family business succession, socialisation and career development. The thesis presents a conceptual framework of the nature/interaction of factors such as personal factors, familial, cultural, those pertaining to the economic environment, education and family business factors, its effects on Career Orientation and choice of Career pathways leading to succession or not among ethnic minority small family enterprises. This is presented in the context of the changing economic, social and cultural environment in which these businesses operate. Research questions focus on understanding the process of socialisation in a dual cultural context i.e. Asian as well as British, its effects on career orientations and most importantly on Asian family business succession. Although family business succession is presented as a widely researched subject area, this thesis particularly highlights the gaps arising due to an understanding that has specifically developed in the past from the founder or incumbent owners’ perspective. This thesis researched from the perspective of the potential inheritor, to understand the process of socialisation and its effects on career orientation leading to succession in Asian family businesses and contributes to fulfilling the theoretical gap in the literature. The focus of the empirical research is the Scotland based Asian community owned small retail businesses that are family owned. Succession is important for continuity and failure to succeed are seen to have adverse effects on the long term inter-generational continuity. At the same time succession among the second generation is looked at as a career choice which is influenced by a career decision making process. Hence a conceptual framework is necessary that looks at the concepts of socialisation, career decision making and succession together. Having the family and business interdependent in this complex system, it is not just the economic environment that shapes these factors, but also the dynamics within the family, society and community pressures, religion, a conflicting multigeneration perspective on business, culture and life in the UK. These demand a qualitative methodology, using personal interviews with both old and young generations and key informants as well as informal conversations with members of the community for sample selection, data collection and theory generation. The data collection process was guided by the newly formulated theoretical framework. Data was categorised as per themes from the framework and coded into categories in order to understand the process of socialisation and career orientation. This was then used to draw out the various career pathways that the individuals selected providing an understanding of reluctance towards joining the family business. The findings revealed that integrating the concepts of socialisation, career development and orientation provided a greater understanding of the process of decision making about succession among potential inheritors from Asian small family businesses. However, a number of other themes emerged from the findings, these are an emphasis on work-life balance as key to decision making. In addition, other themes that emerged were increased desire for paternal bonding, status and prestige from chosen careers, boundedness due to Asian stereotype, and parental or societal pressure and expectations. Moreover, trans-generational entrepreneurial continuity emerged as an important theme in which the older as well as the younger generation realised alternatives to continuing the existing family business and that true succession possibly is the transfer of entrepreneurial skills and abilities, something that the older generation developed and utilised when starting their own businesses as migrants. The thesis makes a contribution to the theoretical understanding of succession among South Asian family businesses. The findings emphasise the understanding of the succession process as a career decision making process particularly when looked at from the potential inheritors’ perspective. It also contributes to the socialisation literature by developing the multi-dimensional understanding of bi-cultural identity formation due to the dual impact of factors such as culture, religion, peers, family and broader society. This thesis also makes recommendations to policy by suggesting a conscious shift in policy orientation from the traditional first generation migrant to the young generation British Asian child of a migrant who due to their different socialisation has unique needs and orientations. The thesis recommends, on the basis of findings, for policy to be sensitive to the needs of the younger generation and for it to be focused on developing self-employment among this new generation of Asians.

Abstract Background The succession process of a family firm is associated with a number of challenges, and hence a potential for conflicts is strongly pronounced. However, succession is of utmost importance for a family firm, as it is the only way to avoid a company closure in the long run. Previous literature has already extensively researched the phenomena of conflicts in family firms. However, there is a lack of research that looks from a multi-perspective lens into the context of succession and post-succession conflicts. Therefore, in the present research, we examine how family businesses experience and cope conflicts that appear after a successfully mastered intrafamily succession. Purpose This study aims to advance the understanding of conflicts in family firms related explicitly to the context of successions and post-successions. Hence, the thesis aims to determine how conflicts that appear in these contexts are experienced and how they are coped with. Method The study follows a qualitative methodological approach and an inductive analysis. The sample consists of three companies and 14 research respondents, and the data was collected with semi-structured qualitative interviews. Afterwards, the data was coded, and the emerging patterns and themes have been formulated and presented with a general model. Doing so, the focus was on patterns of succession- and post-succession-related conflicts and their coping strategies. Conclusion Our findings reveal that succession and post-succession-related conflicts are experienced as evoked intangible and provoked tangible conflicts and these conflicts are consciously as well as unconsciously coped with. Furthermore, our findings suggest that succession and post-succession family firm conflicts appear as conflict loops. Hence, the coping mechanisms identified and presented are helpful to solve a conflict, but the loop can hardly be escaped.

Notre thèse porte sur l’artisanat et le commerce rural entre 1890 à 1960, période correspondant à l’apogée et au déclin de ces secteurs d’activités. A ce titre la vie de travail de plusieurs familles de petits entrepreneurs a été étudiée : le cadre de la petite entreprise familiale gérée par un couple épaulé par ses enfants avec ou sans employé permet de faire l’histoire relationnelle de ces travailleurs. Ainsi cette étude met au jour le rôle décisif des femmes à la tête de leur propre activité ou aux côtés de leur époux puisqu’elles concilient le travail de l’atelier ou de la boutique, l’éducation des enfants et les tâches domestiques, sans quoi l’entreprise familiale ne peut exister. En découvrant le quotidien de ces femmes, on déconstruit l’image de l’épouse secondant son mari dans son métier tout en rappelant les inégalités bien réelles des relations entre les sexes.Au total 8 huit entreprises et dix secteurs d’activité ont été étudiés grâce à la pluriactivité de familles drômoises et bourbonnaises. Le fait qu’elles traversent les mêmes étapes dans leurs carrières – l’apprentissage, l’installation, le choix du conjoint, le développement de stratégies de travail, la transmission –, rend possible la comparaison entre elles. Les deux principales entreprises retenues sont celles des Bardet correspondant à un restaurant-café-hôtel-bal-épicerie-quincaillerie proche de Moulins en activité de 1896 à 1975 et celles des Thivolle correspondant à une menuiserie-pompes-funèbres-mercerie-chapellerie à 30 km au nord de Valence entre 1900 à 1968. A cela s’ajoute l’histoire de six autres familles d’artisans commerçants drômoises permettant d’aborder d’autres activités telles que la coiffure, la mécanique ou la bourrellerie.Ce corpus permet l’étude de la répartition familiale des tâches entre les époux, les enfants et les ascendants. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans un courant d’étude large concernant non seulement l’égalité professionnelle mais aussi les enjeux du commerce rural de proximité. Il s’agit d’une étude économique et sociale portant sur les problématiques relationnelles de genre, la vie des petites entreprises et la sociabilité au village mettant en œuvre de nombreuses pistes de recherche : viabilité des activités, démographie des ateliers ou boutiques qui en vivent, associations d’artisans-commerçants, combinaison d’activités, pluriactivité, flexibilité de la petite entreprise, transmission héréditaire en ligne masculine, devenir des autres enfants, etc. A cela s’ajoute un croisement des disciplines (sociologie, ethnologie, géographie, économie, histoire) permettant l’étude de cette population en l’intégrant dans un panorama économique et social.Les résultats produits par ces travaux témoignent de la sortie d’une condition paysanne pour les premier artisans-commerçants des familles étudiées. Ils révèlent certains aspects des secteurs d’activité : l’épicerie, la mercerie et les cafés informent sur l’évolution des habitudes de consommation des ruraux en pleine mutation à travers l’augmentation du nombre de points de vente sédentaires dans la commune, la sortie de l’autosubsistance des paysans et la diversification des produits industriels proposés à la vente. Ils révèlent l’extrême pluriactivité de ces familles au début du siècle avant une spécialisation grandissante dans l’organisation de leur travail. Ils mettent au jour le conditionnement de la vie de ces travailleurs et de leurs enfants par leur entreprise : leur parcours de vie étant défini par les exigences d’organisation du travail, économiques, de transmission, etc. afin d’en assurer la pérennité. Ils rendent compte de la forte implication des artisans-commerçants dans la vie des villages et du rôle joué par leurs activités professionnelles dans la construction de la sociabilité villageoise. Enfin, ils informent sur la place précaire des femmes dans ce secteur mais aussi sur l’importance de leur rôle induits par les contraintes de genre et les contraintes économiques. / Our thesis focuses on crafts and rural trade between 1890 and 1960, a period corresponding to the peak and decline of these lines of businesses. As such, the working life of several families of small entrepreneurs has been studied: the framework of the small family business managed by a couple supported by their children, with or without an employee, allows the relational history of these workers to be made. Thus, this study reveals the decisive role of women at the head of their own activity or alongside their husbands since they reconcile the work of the workshop or boutique, the children’s education and domestic tasks, without which the family business cannot exist. By discovering the daily lives of these women, we deconstruct the image of the wife assisting her husband in his profession while underlining the very real inequalities in gender relations.A total of 8 eight companies and ten sectors of activity were studied thanks to the multi-activity of families from Drôme and Bourbonnais. The fact that they go through the same stages in their careers—learning, settling in, choosing a spouse, developing work strategies, transferring knowledge—allows for a comparison to be made. The two main companies selected are the Bardet family, respectively a restaurant/café/hotel/ball/grocery shop/ironmongery near Moulins, which operated from 1896 to 1975, an the Thivolle family, respectively a joinery/funeral director/haberdashery/millinery 30 km north of Valence, between 1900 and 1968. In addition, there are six other families of Drome artisans and merchants who offer other activities such as hairdressing, mechanics and saddlery. This corpus allows the study of the family division of tasks between spouses, children and ascendants. This thesis is part of a broad line of study concerning not only professional equality but also the challenges of local rural trade. This is an economic and social study on gender relational issues, the life of small businesses and sociability in the village, which implements many research avenues: viability of activities, demographics of the workshops or boutiques that make a living from them, associations of artisans and merchants, combination of activities, multi-activity, flexibility of small businesses, systematic male inheritance, becoming of other children, etc. In addition, the disciplines (sociology, ethnology, geography, economics, history) are intertwined to allow the study of this population by integrating it into an economic and social framework.The results produced by this work show that the first artisan merchants of the families studied disengaged themselves from a previous peasant condition. They reveal certain aspects of the sectors of activity: grocery shops, haberdashery and cafés provide information on the evolution of the consumption habits of rural people in full change through the increase in the number of sedentary sales outlets in the commune, the farmers’ departure from self-sufficiency and the diversification of industrial products offered for sale. They reveal the extreme multi-activity of these families at the beginning of the century before a growing specialization in the organization of their work. They reveal the conditioning of the lives of these workers and their children through their business: their life course being defined by the requirements of work organization, economics, transfer of knowledge, etc. in order to ensure their sustainability. They reflect the strong involvement of artisanal traders in village life, and the role played by their professional activities in building village sociability. Finally, they provide information on the precarious position of women in this sector but also on the importance of their role induced by gender and economic constraints.