Succession planning and successor selection is a key theme in the FOB (Family Owned Business) literature. To enable the business to continue, FOB owner needs to decide who will be the next leader before resigning. Although the succession process is one of the most researched areas within the family business field, studies have mostly focused only on incumbent or successor viewpoints. However, the purpose of this study is to fill the gap and offers a different perspective on daughters’ succession by analysing owner, successor, and employee points of view. This dissertation aims to identify cultural patterns, and how factors based on different cultural patterns influence the daughter succession process in Turkish family businesses. Additionally, aim to reach novel insights regarding women entrepreneurs in Turkish FOBs, particularly how they gain business leadership positions, and the explicit and implicit factors determining the succession process. The research is grounded in the multidimensional model of succession process in family business theory, which has been expanded to include interactive and collaborative action, by addressing the family business cultural effects associated with stewardship theory. The adoption for this study of an epistemological interpretivist philosophy within a social constructivist perspective is justified. Data was collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 20 FOB owners and daughters, and surveys of 252 FOB employees to obtain information on their perspectives about selecting daughters as FOB successors.

Abstract Plants have evolved various adaptive strategies for balancing the benefits and costs of having a high affinity for resources, plasticity of growth allocation and mycorrhizal symbiosis. The relative growth rates of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants were modelled for stable and variable nutrient availability. Mycorrhizal plants had higher growth rates at low and non-mycorrhizal plants at high nutrient availability. Variation in nutrient availability reduced the growth rate of mycorrhizal plants due to a high affinity for nutrients. However, mycorrhizal plants may be able to buffer against external fluctuations and therefore experience less environmental variation than non-mycorrhizal plants. Non-mycorrhizal plants may even benefit from variation. The optimal allocation of growth between shoot and roots depends on the availability of energy and nutrients. The optimisation model predicted that the requirement for phenotypic plasticity of shoot/root allocation is greatest in environments with low resource availability. Plants with a high affinity for resources required more plasticity in order to tolerate variation than plants with a low affinity. The model predicted a trade-off between the ability to deplete resources and the ability to tolerate resource fluctuations. Changes in the availability and ratio of resources lead to changes in the structure and composition of vegetation during primary succession. The field study of the forested phases of the land uplift island Hailuoto showed a successional change in the vegetation from the dominance of bryophytes and deciduous dwarf shrubs to dominance by lichens and evergreen dwarf shrubs. The humus layer became thinner and the availability of nutrients declined, while the C/N ratio of soil organic matter increased during succession indicating a decline in the quality of organic matter. The increased soil respiration rate indicates a successional increase in the energetic costs of decomposing organic matter. Nutrients mediate both direct and indirect trophic interactions. Indirect interactions of nutrient cycling are not explicit in continuous time models. A transformation to a discrete time model was shown to make the indirect interactions explicit as transition probabilities and allowed their dynamic contribution to be evaluated with an elasticity analysis. The importance of indirect interactions was greater in tundra than temperate forest and increased with the rate of nutrient cycling.

This study estimates the value of farmers stated succession plans in predicting revealed succession decisions. The stated succession plan exists when a farmer answers in a survey questionnaire that the farm is going to be transferred to a new entrant within a five year period. The succession is revealed when the farm is transferred to a successor. The stated and revealed behaviour is estimated as a recursive Binomial-Probit- Model, which accounts for censoring of the decision variables and controls for a potential correlation between the estimating equations. The results suggest that the succession plans, as stated by elderly farmers in the questionnaires, do not provide information that is significant and valuable in predicting the true, revealed successions, once certain farm and farmer characteristics are controlled for.

Substitution of Parties in Civil Proceedings The thesis deals with the substitution of parties in civil proceedings. The aim of the thesis is to analyze this procedural institute and to point out imperfections of current legislation related to substitution of parties in civil proceedings. The thesis is divided into three basic sections, the first section focuses on theoretical fundamentals and basic concepts, the second section focuses on the history of the regulation relating to substitution of parties in civil proceedings, including the professional public discussion on the topic of substitution of parties in civil proceedings, which was published in legal literature prior to the amendment to the Civil Procedure Act No. 30/2000 Sb. The last section is focused on current legislation of substitution of parties in civil proceedings, particularly on the evaluation of current legislation of substitution of parties in civil proceedings and consideration of the proposals according to intended law. Substitution of parties in civil proceedings is divided into the substitution if the claim is not extinguished (if a party dies and the claim is not extinguished), i.e. the universal succession, and into transfer of interest (if an interest is transferred), i.e. the singular succession. Substitution of parties if the...

The significance of the family firm in the South African economic environment is growing each year. This increasing relevance is owing to growth experienced by family businesses in South Africa. Family businesses are found to provide jobs to a large unskilled population in South Africa, and in turn contribute to the stability and growth in the communities in which they operate. However, family firms experience a 70% failure rate in their second generation of operation and an 88% failure rate in their third (Downes, 2011). It is found that one of the major issues in the failure rates of subsequent generations of family businesses is due to the inability of family businesses to manage the dynamics that influence the succession planning process. The aim of this study is to provide insight into the family business’s characteristics, dynamics and practices, primarily those characteristics that govern cross-generational ownership. According to Adendorff and Boshoff (2011), Gupta and Levenburg (2010), Papalexandris and Panayotopoulou (2004) and Taruwinga (2011), the organisational culture is amongst the most important dynamics that influence succession planning. This study therefore focuses on understanding the influence of culture on the succession planning process of family businesses. Eight South African Muslim-owned family businesses have been selected as the sample for the current study and therefore provide a unique insight into the influence of culture on succession planning in family businesses of religious commonality. A Rapid Ethnographic research methodology was adopted to provide insight into the cultural elements of the businesses. Cultural elements were found to influence the planning for the handover, the selection process of the successor, the training and development of the successor, the handover process and the management stage of the businesses. The study found that certain cultural aspects were influenced by religious practices and sentiments stemming from the Islamic belief system. These cultural aspects were found to be the most influential cultural elements in the succession planning process of South African Muslim-owned family businesses. This study therefore implicitly provides insight into the strong influence that religion has on organisational culture and ultimately on succession planning of family businesses. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

This research study addressed the importance of succession planning for the organisations’ survival, which depends on the continuous supply of competent, experienced and well trained managers. It addresses the problem of determining the strategies that can be used by SARS Enforcement Port Elizabeth to manage succession planning effectively. To achieve this objective a comprehensive literature study was performed to determine the views on various succession planning models. The literature review serves as a model in the development of a guideline for SARS Enforcement Port Elizabeth management to manage succession planning. An interview was conducted with the Human Resource Manager and Middle management from the various departments who were requested to complete a questionnaire in order to determine the current practices of succession planning. The questionnaire was developed in accordance with the findings from the research. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the relevance of the study to the problem questions and to evaluate whether the questionnaire will be easily understood. The answers of the respondents were analysed and compared to the findings of the literature study. The information obtained from the literature study and from the respondents resulted in various recommendations and conclusions.

Primary plant succession was examined on the foreland of the retreating Twin Glacier at Alexandra Fjord, Ellesmere Island. The position of the glacial front was monitored directly from 1980 to 1995 (except 1986-1991), and airphotos show the position of the glacier in 1959. Hence, there was an excellent opportunity to study primary succession where there was adequate chronological control. Presently, a well preserved pre-Little Ice Age plant community and organically rich (paleo) soil are being released from the Twin Glacier, in addition to glacio-fluvial sediments, rendering this foreland study unique. A terrain age scheme was developed using direct retreat measurements, airphotos and Salix aging. The relationship between the clump diameters of Luzula confusa and terrain age was determined to provide an alternative to lichenometry. Vegetation cover was assessed in 1994 and 1995 using a stratified random design. TWINSPAN and canonical correspondence analysis (detrended and non-detrended) were used together to examine vegetation patterns in relation to environmental variables. Soil seed bank and seed rain patterns were examined in relation to the above-ground vegetation. The seed bank was sampled in 1994, including samples from paleo-soil and glacio-fluvial sediment. To assess the fall-winter seed rain, seeds were collected between mid-August 1994 and early June 1995, using seed traps (artificial turf). Winter seed rain was sampled by collecting snow-core samples in early June 1995. Terrain age accounted for most of the variation in species composition over the study area. By directional-replacement, the succession followed four main stages of dominance in 44+ years: mosses —> graminoid-forb —> deciduous shrub-moss —> evergreen dwarf-shrubmoss. There was little difference in the successional sequences exhibited by the vegetation growing on the paleo-soil compared to that growing on the glacio-fluvial sediment. The relationship between the Luzula confusa clump diameters and terrain age was logarithmic. Luzula confusa dominated the above-ground vegetation, as well as, the germinable seed bank and seed rain. The average germinable seed bank, fall-winter seed rain and winter seed rain densities were 367 ± 32, 384 ± 47 and 180 ± 53 seeds/m2, respectively. The seed bank was significantly positively correlated with the above-ground vegetation cover for all species combined, Luzula confusa (monocotyledons), dicotyledons and Papaver radicatum. There was a significant positive correlation between the fall-winter seed rain and the above-ground vegetation cover for Luzula confusa. No difference was detected in seed bank density between the paleo-soil and the glacio-fluvial sediment. However, the total vegetation cover was significantly higher on the paleo-soil. The relationship determined between Luzula confusa clump diameters and terrain age appears to be a valuable alternative to lichenometry on the Twin Glacier foreland. Although the results showed that directional-replacement is possible in high arctic environments, this mode of succession is likely atypical of such environments; the Twin Glacier foreland is located in one of the very few polar oases in the Queen Elizabeth Islands. The positive correlation of the above-ground vegetation with the seed bank and fall-winter seed rain suggests that colonization is largely constrained by seed availability. The winter seed rain appears to be relatively important on the Twin Glacier foreland. The higher vegetation cover on the paleosoil versus the glacio-fluvial sediment suggests, at least for some species, that the former provides conditions more favourable for establishment and growth than the latter. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Family businesses represent a large proportion of the businesses registered in South Africa today, however very few of these businesses will cease to exist after the first generation. This represents a great loss in skills and wealth transfer, and a chance to contribute to economic growth. Family businesses need to learn how to manage the factors that affect the succession process. Therefore the aim of this study is to provide family business owners and managers with a keen insight of the determinants of successful family business succession.This research project consists of the analysis of eight South African family business case studies. Primary data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth discussions with family members in various capacities of ownership and management in the family business. A conceptual model was created to try and assist family businesses to understand the determinants of successful succession.Five key determinants were identified with a plethora of antecedent factors. The model acts as a mechanism to try and understand the various elements of the family business system and subsystems, and how they interact with each other at different stages of the business life cycle. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of this research report was to establish what the key contributing factors are towards the long-term sustainability of family owned agribusiness in South Africa. The reason this study was conducted in the agribusiness sector is that 90% of agricultural enterprises in South Africa are reportedly family-owned. Succession was chosen as a key construct, considering the fact that the ability of enterprises to have long-term sustainability is influenced by whether or not they have a plan for succession. A case study method of analysis was used to collect data, which involved interviewing four commercial farming families in the Eastern Free State. It was established from the interviews that each family had unique drivers that enabled or inhibited the succession process. A comparative analysis was conducted to analyse the key factors responsible for a smooth transition and what the barriers were. The research study was also intended to assess how succession planning within South African family-owned agribusinesses was unique. The political context in the country had a major influence on how these farming families would plan for their sustainability going forward. The papers thus examined how these reasons affected black and white commercial farmers differently. The literature that was reviewed was based on the nature of family business succession planning as well as the agriculture sector in both a global and South African context. The theory base used was that of the Conceptual Model of Satisfaction with the Succession Process Sharma et.al. (2003) supported by other theoretical frameworks. The intent was to bring about knowledge that could contribute to the study of family businesses and to find key insights that may be useful to stakeholders in the agricultural sector be it from a firm, advisory, or policy formulating perspective. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Post-mining landscapes, and the dynamics and distribution of soil faunal succession M.Sc. Jabbar Moradi Abstract Soil biota play an essential role in ecosystem services provided by soil. Here we studied some of the factors affecting soil biota colonization, distribution, biodiversity and conservation values, and their impact on plants' interactions, in reclaimed and unreclaimed (spontaneous succession) post mining sites, located in the spoil heaps after coal mining near Sokolov, Czech Republic, which was summarized in four research papers. Transplant of soil blocks show that despite abundant soil fauna communities in the blocks, they migrate little into surrounding sites, which indicate that access to the disturbed surfaces does not guarantee a successful colonization in the post mining sites where a new soil profile is to be developed. Studying the heterogeneous distribution of fauna under various vegetation patches and sites, we showed that different faunal (i.e., microbial, meso, and macrofaunal) groups' distribution heterogeneity could be partly explained by different explanatory factors and using one set of factors for all the groups would not be powerful enough to create a short-list of the influential elements for each of the faunal groups. Investigating the importance of microtopography, in our...