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The complexity of succession in family firms is multifaceted and can sometimes lead to turbulence. While structured succession strategies offer a roadmap for smoother transitions, intergenerational differences in family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can lead to varied interpretations of an effective succession blueprint. This study synergizes the strategic entrepreneurship framework with the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective to probe into how formalized succession planning impacts performance in family SMEs. Furthermore, it delves into the mediating role of succession satisfaction, especially in family firms characterized by pronounced SEW and helmed by CEOs from different generational cohorts.

Employing a comprehensive dataset from 1,833 global family businesses, this research utilizes bootstrapping regression models to discern the intertwined effects of mediator and moderator variables and their statistical significance.

The main findings suggest that succession satisfaction does matter for a good succession process and that succession plans work only in family firms with a high degree of SEW and that are led by older family CEOs (e.g. baby boomers).

The results offer fresh perspectives on succession processes, with a particular focus on how to improve the satisfaction of millennial family CEOs.

The study uniquely combines strategic entrepreneurship and SEW to offer a holistic view of succession planning, highlighting satisfaction’s mediating role and SEW’s moderating influence. Additionally, it pioneers the incorporation of generational cohorts into the succession discourse.

By combining manifold approaches from migrant entrepreneurship and family business studies, the purpose of the paper is to shed some light upon the contextual features of motivation, resources, generational pathways of Turkish migrant family entrepreneurs in Berlin – through the lens of a mixed and multiple embeddedness approach.

An explorative research design, based on an eclectic theoretical framework and on purposive sampling, combines qualitative in-depth interviews/content analysis and on-site observation resulting in an almost ethnographic assessment of selected case studies of Turkish migrant family entrepreneurs (concerning age (min. 20 years), size (15+ employees) and currently at a stage of succession).

The results show that despite specific strategies vary – four circumstances hold true for all cases: (1) firm trajectories were characterized by little strategic planning and mostly trail-and error processes in the past and business survival is highly dependent on owner families; (2) owner families heavily relied on personal, family and collective resources, not benefiting from promotion programmes or micro-funding measures for SMEs; (3) owner families have actively developed their (mixed) embeddings during the growth of their migrant business beyond the single ethnic group at various spatial scales; (4) succession adds another layer of context – what we call here multiple embeddedness – with ambivalent effects: emerging potentials and conflicts between the preceding and succeeding generation.

Results have shown that is it necessary to set up both: customized funding opportunities for migrant start-ups in general and succession consulting for migrant family entrepreneurs in particular. Given the magnitude of family migrant entrepreneurs and the accelerating migration patterns in most Western European countries, there is urgent need for such measures.

Family entrepreneurship has been often discussed without a migration perspective, neither taking a systematic look at pertinent motivation, resources, and future trajectories nor context. Migrant entrepreneurship studies barely take the family or family-specific issues (e.g. succession) into account, and mainly deal with the integration or economic aspects. Our mixed and multiple embeddedness approach allows for a holistic view on transgenerational migrant family entrepreneurship by integrating both socio-spatial (actor, family, network, micro, meso, macro) and multi-generational contexts (preceding, succeeding).

All family businesses face an inescapable succession process. Succession means the process by which a family business is transferred from one generation to the next, involving most of the members of the family business, either directly or indirectly. There is an extensive literature that deals with the study of successions. In Latin America, work on family businesses stands out, although from business history the analysis of successions for this region is still scarce. This chapter aims to highlight the progress in this arena and help fill the gaps with a brief review of the main theories and debates about succession in family business. In addition to a summary of the main findings for the Latin American countries, we propose some elements for a theoretical and methodological debate in Latin America.

The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of the field of conflict management and the field of family business to the investigation of conflicts in family firms, with the aim of contributing to the further integration of knowledge between the two fields.

Family conflicts and work–family balance issues also received a lot of attention, yet studies in conflict management still seem to overlook a thorough investigation of conflict in family businesses. Conflict is a major aspect of family businesses, which differs highly from non-family businesses, and offers an important research avenue for conflict management scholars to contribute to the investigation of major characteristics of organisations that constitute a large part of the value created in the world.

The results of a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review show that studies concerning conflict in family business aggregate around three clusters: organisational conflicts; firm growth and conflicts; and family control, performance and conflicts. An interpretative framework is also developed to interpret how antecedents, conflicts and growth dynamics in family business influence performances. Findings show how family conflicts and work–family balance issues received a lot of attention, yet studies in conflict management still seem to miss a thorough investigation of conflict in family businesses.

This paper contributes to the field of conflict management and family business by providing a systematic analysis of knowledge and family firms. This paper can be a starting point for researchers interested in understanding how conflicts affect family businesses.

The institutional context in which family firms operate influences their behaviour and performance, yet literature reviews seldom analyse family firms on a regional basis. To fill this gap, this review aims to present research on family entrepreneurship in the transition economies of the Visegrád countries (V4). In this particular group of European economies, the current formal institutions have largely evolved along Western European lines. However, the transformation of informal institutions appears to be still in its infancy.

In order to identify the most representative authors, the methodologies used, the main research topics and to establish a future research agenda, the authors selected, through a systematic process, 112 papers from the Web of Science up to the year 2022. The authors performed a bibliographic analysis using clustering algorithms, complemented by a traditional literature review.

The performance of family firms in transition economies has been the subject of very little research. The results allowed the authors to identify four main areas of research: governance, innovation, sustainability, competitive advantage and considering the influence of the region's characteristics on family business behaviour.

Studies from transition economies can contribute to a broader understanding of family firms in terms of the impact of the institutional environment (especially the influence of sociological changes and specific historical experiences of family members) on their long-term planning, socioemotional wealth (SEW) protection and ethics. In light of recent events, research from the region may also contribute to the understanding of how and to what extent “familiness” influences crisis management or socially responsible behaviour in family firms.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the development and implementation of shared leadership in multi‐generational family firms. Shared leadership or family top management teams involve multiple family members in the top management and ownership of family firms.

A qualitative case study approach was employed, using in‐depth interviews of the top managers of four family businesses. Each case was analyzed separately, and emergent themes found in each case; and then generalizations were made across the four cases in the cross‐case analysis.

Eight factors or conditions were examined that affect shared leadership in multi‐generational family firms according to the respondents – long‐term orientation, close communication and shared understanding, resistance to change, succession planning, failure to release control, reporting relationship confusion, increased decision time, and higher decision quality. The result of this study is the production of eight propositions to build theory concerning shared leadership, which is an under‐researched area for family business studies.

This paper is rich in qualitative detail, but with all such case study research, its limitations regarding sample size are recognized.

This paper views shared leadership as a growing phenomenon that incumbent family business leaders should consider as a viable alternative to primogeniture or the choice of a single successor.

The study described in this paper is groundbreaking in that it examines shared leadership or the development and implementation of top management teams in family firms in depth and detail. The paper contributes a balanced view of the implementation of shared leadership in family firms, exploring both the positive and negative aspects.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the existence and perceived influence of “generational collide” for teachers and leaders across three generations – Baby Boomers, Generation X (Gen X) and Generation Y (Gen Y). The study sought to further determine if a teacher’s generation, gender, school level or position influenced their beliefs about generational leadership change.

This study employed a cross-sectional survey using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. A random sample of teachers and leaders from schools in the Sydney metropolitan area participated in a questionnaire (n=244) and a purposive sample of eight participants from each of the three generational groups (n=24) participated in a follow up interview.

The data revealed that teachers and leaders across all three generations agreed that “generational collide” is real and is currently happening in some schools. Each generation has their own perceptions about the “collide” and often do not recognise that this may differ for other generations. In relation to the key variables, this study demonstrated that primary teachers were significantly more likely to believe that generational leadership change was happening than secondary teachers and that Baby Boomers were significantly more likely to view their staying on past retirement age as positive compared to both Gen X and Gen Y.

The findings from this study have practical implications for system leaders charged with the responsibility of providing the supply of quality leadership for schools through effective succession planning programmes and policies.

The findings from this study have social implications for principals’ (and deputy principals’) professional associations who have the responsibility for the personal, professional and career welfare of principals and aspiring principals.

This paper adds to the growing body of evidence around generational collide in schools by providing an Australian perspective on the phenomenon. Moreover, this paper raises important concerns for school leaders and administrators involved in leadership development initiatives at the micro, meso and macro levels. Teachers in each generation have specific beliefs around promotion, career pathways, knowledge transfer and talent retention that need to be recognised and considered in future succession planning.

Researchers widely argue that the most significant difference between family controlled and non‐family business concerns the way in which executive succession occurs, and more specifically, unique aspects of the process of intergenerational family business transfer. The importance of this study is acknowledged by the fact that it offers researchers and practitioners empirical evidence that links succession issues and the state of performance in UK‐based small‐ and medium‐sized family businesses. The article commences with a review of the conceptual framework that relates to the critical factors influencing the succession process, followed by an introduction of the methodology. Then the article proceeds with a detailed statistical analysis based on a stratified randomly selected sample (169 small‐ and medium‐sized family controlled businesses). In summary, the article concludes with a set of tentative recommendations. It is anticipated that this study will enable a deep debate of the issues surrounding the succession practice and raise a wide awareness of the critical factors shaping the ownership transition.

Despite the extensive breadth of research into the critical challenge of succession in family business, generational succession in family business has been investigated from predominately one-dimensional perspective. The purpose of this paper is to respond to call for a multi-perspectives examination of leadership succession in order to embrace the dynamic and complex nature of succession in a family business. Accordingly, the authors investigated the key personal and professional factors associated with effective family-business succession across four key stakeholders: incumbent, successor, family, and nonfamily members.

The explanatory research design included 16 interviews in Phase 1 and 41 prospective case study interviews in Phase 2, both with Australian family businesses that had or were about to experience generational transition.

Incumbents and successor interview findings support the benefits of maintaining a cohesive family business, adaptable family culture, and familiness for effective succession. The authors also identified several personal components (e.g. family-business socialization and external experiences) that can help determine the commitment of successors and how this commitment can change once they assume a leadership position. Business size was the professional component supported by incumbent, successor, and nonfamily members as having a significant impact on succession process. As family business grows and becomes more highly complex, a clearly defined set of procedures become imperative.

Family-business practitioners can apply the findings to manage the processes and expectations of family and the business to achieve effective generational succession and thereby increase the sustainability of the business.

This research provides a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the interdependencies of competing priorities in the complex succession process that is essential for family-business sustainability and performance.

This research study focusses on the succession challenges in small-medium outboard marine businesses of Malaysian Chinese family ownership. The founder-owners face challenges in convincing the next-generation members to establish their careers within the family business and to ensure successions are in place to safeguard the family's wealth. A gap exists in the research literatures concerning such family business owners; and their experiences would provide valuable information to other Malaysian Chinese family businesses planning to start the succession journey.

An exploratory case study methodology to research five Malaysian Chinese family businesses cases in Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia, is used in this study. The primary qualitative data were obtained through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and observations. The research data lead to the identification of the following themes: generational change affects the survival of small-medium Malaysian Chinese family-owned businesses; the founder-owners' intention and desire for business to pass to the next generation give rise to the imperative of succession; the founder-owners' motive and goals, family context and the business nature would determine a large part to how the succession plans are carried out and the upbringing, expectation and obligations would determine how the next generations of children would view the prospect of taking over the family business. From this, a succession model that detailed an inclusive approach to succession planning process between the two generations is established.

A small purposive sample is included, and it is recommended that a larger and more diverse sample be collected in future studies. This study follows a nuclear family structure of parents and children. If more Chinese family businesses are selected based on a wider set of family members such as uncles and cousins, the findings may differ.

This research study could also facilitate other Malaysian family businesses to rethink and refocus on the importance of undertaking an inclusive approach to succession planning and also help potential next-generation successors in understanding and working towards attaining the qualities that family firms look for in future leaders.

The researcher summarizes the study findings into a management succession model. An inclusive succession approach is needed to overcome these challenges and would enable sustainability, continuity and longevity of the family business. This would help the family business to understand that succession is not a single event but a process that needs to be planned together with the next-generation family members over a certain period of time.