The influence of incumbent- and successor-related factors on succession process in family firms: Exploring the role of values in family business succession

• Main Author: ZHU, Shengqin
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
• Subjects: family business succession; value; fit; succession willingness; succession success; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/324; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=etd_coll
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Succession has been a major concern for family business. Although past research studies how to make successful family business succession from factors related to both incumbents and successors, most studies assume incumbents as the key driver of the succession process. Based on the literature about factors contributing to family business succession, the current research adopts a more comprehensive approach by combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine what factors lead to succession success and how to manage the succession process. Viewing succession as the process of mutual role adjustments of incumbents and successors, the qualitative research examines the interactions between incumbents and successors and discovers that value succession plays an essential role in the process. Drawing from the insights about value succession and value fit in the qualitative study, I designed a field survey to examine the effect of value fit between successors and incumbents, and successors and the organization, on succession success. Study 2 found that successors who have a higher value fit with incumbents and the organization are more willing to take over the business, and hence are more likely to succeed in family business succession. Thus, the current research provides a deeper understanding of how to manage family business succession and heightens the role of value fit during succession. Lastly, the findings in the current research have important practical implications to family firms, particularly those in China.