The determinants of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention: An interplay between business owners and institutional environment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention based on the theory of planned behavior and neo-institutional theory.

Design/methodology/approach

National survey data were collected from Chinese private firms in 2010, and a sample of 804 family firms was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

At the micro level, familism, intrafamily succession regulation and family control have positive effects on owners’ intrafamily succession intention. At the macro level, district succession orientation, which is the district prevalence of intrafamily succession practice, has a positive effect on owners’ intrafamily succession intention. Additionally, the district succession orientation weakens the positive effects of intrafamily succession regulation and family control.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the understanding of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention from both micro and macro perspectives. Besides, it also contributes to the integration of micro and macro research by examining the interaction effects.

Citation

Zhou, Y., Hu, Q., Yao, J. and Qin, X. (2016), "The determinants of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention: An interplay between business owners and institutional environment", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 710-725. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-03-2016-0063