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Previous research indicates that a high percentage of family firms are not able to transfer to the next generation. This is, for the most part, due to poor succession. In this regard, the competency of the predecessor in nurturing a competent successor is a central issue. The purpose of this paper is to identify the predecessor competencies required to nurture a successor.

The research applied a qualitative research methodology with a case study approach, whereby five large Iranian family firms which have maintained superior performance across generations were studied.

The findings indicated that predecessor competencies required for successor nurturing are open-mindedness, risk-taking, patience, explicitness, motivation, trustworthiness, communicative skills, and value orientation. Cross-case analysis also revealed that successor attributes and family attributes influence the importance of the predecessor’s competencies.

The literature suggests a number of attributes that predecessors require for nurturing the successor in family firms. However, previous studies have proven to be weak in doing a systematic study, from a competency-based approach, to find the required predecessor competencies based on the methods used to nurture the successor. Therefore, this research would be helpful in explaining the predecessor’s required competencies for nurturing the successor.

This paper aims to explore and explain how predecessors (incumbents) of ethnic Chinese family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia or appropriately called Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs nurture their successors in procuring transgenerational entrepreneurship.

A total of 25 participants were involved in this qualitative study which employed a multi-method triangulation design with the following research instruments: semi-structured in-depth interviews with experts, incumbents and successors of Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs, field notes from conversations and observations during engagement with participants affiliated to the family SMEs, a focus group discussion with academicians and literature reviews. Another key approach is source triangulation, where different participants – e.g. from among the experts, from among the incumbents, successors and family members in each family business case were interviewed and engaged outside the interview sessions.

The proposed theoretical framework depicts comprehensive attributes of nurturing Chinese-Indonesian successors to continue enterprising at the helm of family SMEs. Propositions are used to explain the impacts these attributes have on transgenerational entrepreneurship specifically. At the personal level, incumbents have to focus on discovering the successors’ passions and nurture them in formal education, childhood involvement, as well as bridging them in entrepreneurial knowledge through cultural values, mentorship, autonomy and role modelling. Incumbents also had to plan for their retirements to provide autonomy for successors. At the firm/family level, incumbents must be able to set a foothold on family governance, firm governance and ownership distribution to reduce conflicts in their family businesses. Furthermore, as a minority group with past traumatic experiences, Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs usually equip themselves with contingency plans to protect their assets for the long-term future.

This study was conducted in Indonesia amongst Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs and thus it is not generalisable in other settings. Literature reviews on family SMEs succession are still scant, especially on the Chinese-Indonesian.

Predecessors/incumbents of Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs could consider implementing the proposed nurturing strategies to their successors to sustain the longevity of the business based on trust, stewardship and harmony. The theoretical research framework resulted from this study offers general suggestions on how to nurture the next generation specifically from personal/interpersonal perspectives, which must be accompanied by specific scopes of family and firm aspects. This study extends beyond indicating the factors (ingredients) by explaining how to nurture transgenerational entrepreneurship (cook the ingredients) in SMEs for a tactful transition. Hence, the incumbents play vital roles and must be poised to adjust their mindsets to certain aspects indicated in this study.

Most overseas Chinese businesses are family-owned, and besides Indonesia constituting the largest Chinese population outside the Republic of China, this 3 per cent of Indonesia’s people are known for controlling about 70 per cent of the economy. Furthermore, SMEs play a significant role in the Indonesian economy, as they provide about 97 per cent off the country’s employment and 57.8 per cent of the gross domestic product. Hence, the longevity of Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs must be well managed to bolster the economy and social welfare of the country.

A transgenerational entrepreneurship model in the context of Chinese-Indonesian family SMEs which incorporates the nurturing process of the successor to step up the helm of the business is proposed in the study.

The purpose of this study is to shed some light on an important phenomenon – how and why intra-family succession may change if millennial cohorts are considered as successors. Specifically, it aims to explore the superordinate themes that support the success of intra-family succession from perspective of two different cohort successors (X and millennial).

An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was adopted for detailed structural analysis of in-depth interview as it aims to explore meaning of participants' experiences. A total of ten individuals participated in the study.

Seventeen superordinate themes emerged from participants' personal statements and experiences. The themes are grouped into four aspects: namely, characteristics of predecessor and successor, succession process, firm and family and succession output. These aspects were found to be different between X and millennial cohort successors. They then form an empirical model of intra-family succession from both perspectives.

This study enriches the theory of family firm by considering generational effect of successors on intra-family succession.

As millennial cohort successors prefer to go directly into business (experiential learning) and are driven by non-material motives (passion-driven), predecessors are expected to utilize them in the process of nurturing and development.

This study considers the role of generation cohort in supporting the success of intra-family succession especially in relation to the characteristics of millennial cohort successors that have been shown to differ from that of X cohort.

The purpose of the study is to unveil the key role of family social capital (FSC) as a driver for transgenerational entrepreneurship (TE) in the specific contexts of challenged successor-driven entrepreneurship.

The paper adopts a multi-case study methodology. Guided by three theoretical propositions, three TE case studies are analyzed. Drawing on ten in-depth interviews with at least three different informants from each intra-family succession case study, evidence about this particularly complex phenomenon was obtained.

The paper highlights the effect of FSC as the key familiness driver to leverage challenged successor-driven entrepreneurship. The paper underscores the systemic and dynamic network of multiple exchanges required to construct successor’s own pool of knowledge resources and to support familiness and thus the competitive advantage of the family firm (FF).

Different scenarios are illustrated, and specific lessons are provided for successors and families that face TE opposition in intra-family succession, regarding the restoration of damaged FSC and involving non-family stakeholders in the successor-driven entrepreneurship. In these cases, opposition to successor-driven entrepreneurship may help to develop successor’s leadership abilities.

Focusing on a specific intra-family succession context where successor-driven entrepreneurial initiatives face stakeholder opposition, the paper highlights the specific role played by FSC in the successor knowledge construction in specific contexts of challenged intra-family succession.

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 paper aims to review the literature on knowledge management in the family business, addressing the research question as follows: “How is knowledge managed across generations in the family business?” This study synthesizes the literature, highlighting the role of multiple stakeholders who affect knowledge management along with the phases of the succession process. Stemming from these findings and embracing a practice-based view, this paper offers research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in the family business. The purpose of this study is not only to conclude the previous research but also to provide insights for future research directions and to provide practical implications.

Through a systematic integrative literature review, this paper collects map and analytically examine 63 published peer-reviewed articles related to knowledge management in the family business from 39 academic journals. This paper applies a rigorous approach to identify the sample of articles, map descriptive information of the reviewed literature and map theoretical contributions according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework.

The sampled articles are analyzed according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework inspired by Daspit et al. (2016). This study identifies critical gaps emerging from the analysis, thus opening the way to future research directions. In particular, this paper prompts scholars to advance the understanding of family-related knowledge and to clarify the assumptions on knowledge in their research.

This paper contributes to the debate on knowledge management in the family business, by systematizing the current literature. In addition, this study embraces a “knowledge from practice perspective” and offers research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in family business succession and potential areas to further management research investigating the role of family-related knowledge. Practical implications are also provided to benefit family businesses, consultants and policymakers.

This study provides a systematic integrative literature review of the articles published on knowledge management in family business according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework. Moreover, it draws an agenda for future research advancing a “knowledge from a practice perspective” in the family business literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine succession planning and performance of family-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional research design were employed. The probability sampling technique was used to draw 219 respondents from the sampling frame. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests were used for data analysis.

It was revealed that most of family-owned SMEs founders in the study area had mechanisms for succession planning for their businesses. Also, there is a difference in business performance when successors are selected and prepared by business founders compared to when they are selected and prepared by other family members. Successors selected and prepared by business founders performed better in business than successors who were selected and prepared by other family members.

This study employed a quantitative research paradigm methodology, which limits deep discussion with respondents. Future studies could consider using a qualitative research paradigm methodology.

The paper presents succession planning process experience in family-owned SMEs in the study area, specifically the existence of succession planning in family-owned SMEs. It also shows a difference in business performance between the two investigated groups. This paper will benefit business founders, family business successors and researchers.

The take‐over of the hospitality family business by the entrepreneur's daughter or son is a complex process. The aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of commitment on succession in hospitality family businesses from the viewpoint of the successors. The contribution aims to shed more light on the different dimensions of commitment relevant for the succession process.

To understand the role of commitment in the succession process this study uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were carried out with 15 successors of hospitality businesses in South Tyrol, Italy. The obtained narrative texts have been transcribed and evaluated with GABEK^®, a tool for analyzing qualitative data. The transcripts of the interviews were separated into text units and coded, developing a network of data. This rule‐based procedure of systematizing, coding and interpreting considers both syntax and semantics and enhances the validity of the results.

The results reveal that commitment seems to play a very major role in the whole succession. A cluster analysis indicates the linkage of three topics: Motives, Family business and Take‐over constitute the construct “Commitment”. The motives show that parents' heritage or the successors' perceptions of the business as the home where they have grown up are important reasons to run this family business. Also trust or personal support through family members can be interpreted as push motives to become the successor.

Results may be influenced by the geographical concentration, but also by the selection process of the interviewees. The research is based on qualitative data that were gathered in one particular region in South Tyrol, Italy. Furthermore, the successors who participated in the survey mostly were very successful businesses keen on joining this research. Further research should focus on the role of commitment and its antecedents and consequences. In addition, commitment bases should be investigated from the predecessor but also from the successors' perspective in the light of the current and past business and business environment situation.

The results highlight that in the succession process, different bases of commitment exist which particularly influence the perception of succession process. Furthermore, they can be interpreted as hurdles or facilitators to the transition of the family business.

This paper provides useful information on the impact of commitment on succession in hospitality family businesses from the viewpoint of the successors.

Succession of family enterprises has been an issue of concern to a number of researchers, and extensive studies have been conducted on this. Transfer of family business from one generation to next has resulted in collapse of most family business in both developed and developing economies. This study looked at succession in family enterprise in Ghana using theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and cognitive dimension of social capital theory to know the intention of founder/incumbent to hand over the family business to an internal successor.

Our target population for this study is family businesses run in Ghana, Western region. Ghana is not having statistical database on family businesses; therefore, the study relied on the database of registered SMEs which was gotten from Registrar General's Department, Ghana. This is the government department that is in charge of registering business in Ghana. A sample of 596 was used and received a response rate of 60%. The study used structural equation model to find out how the variables correlate to discover the intention of the founder/successor on internal succession.

It was discovered that intention of founder/incumbent to hand over to an internal successor is predominantly determined by attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and cognitive dimension of the social capital. Trust does not influence the intention of founder/incumbent but attitude; this rejects the findings of most researchers.

Most family enterprises were not registered, which made it difficult to reach out to all family businesses. This limited the authors approach to only the registered family enterprises.

Family firms are the backbone of any economy, which comprise mostly of SMEs. Therefore, the understanding of succession by incumbents/founders as well as policymakers enhances firms' value and continuity.

The study was conducted in Africa, Ghana in particular, owing to the limited studies in this region.

The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic capabilities required of information technology (IT) entrepreneurs for facing globalized challenges.

Using a methodological approach that combines Q‐technique and questionnaire survey, the author collected 98 statements obtained from interviewing ten IT entrepreneurs. A total of 44 out of 98 critical statements were extracted as Q‐samples based on purposive sampling. Subsequently, 20 experts used Q‐technique in terms of the sample the 44 statements to generate a revised questionnaire to investigate 500 Taiwan IT‐based companies.

According to the responses of the 281 valid copies of questionnaire received, market‐oriented sensitivity, the ability to absorb knowledge, social‐networking capability, and the integrative ability to communicate and negotiate are the dynamic capabilities required of IT entrepreneurs.

As for the restrictions, the expansive nature of the IT industry prevented the author from addressing any specific sector of the industry, and no minimum capitalisation of IT companies was set for the sample‐collecting process.

The results can be used by IT entrepreneurs of SMEs in the self‐assessment of capabilities and the development of dynamic capabilities during their start‐up and growth phases. They can also be applied to nurturing successors and cultivating new entrepreneurs.

This study clarifies the intrinsic dynamic capabilities of IT entrepreneurs, and identifies the required components of such capabilities and their priorities. The results can be used in managerial decision‐making and personnel training, both of which help entrepreneurs in building competitive advantages.