Generationswechsel in kleinen Familienbetrieben als biographische Arbeit

Abstract

More than 90% of all German companies are family businesses and in one-fifth of them an alternation of generations is taking place at present. In spite of varied career possibilities in a multi-option society, almost half the children take over the company. Based on eight narrative interviews, a biography-theoretical analysis perspective on this social phenomenon has been selected in this thesis: In which biographical (selection-) process is the decision for or against a takeover of the family business embedded? In five cases it turned out that the position of the successor, assigned to one of the children from an early age, is particularly structural effective for the business succession and the persons concerned. The alternation of generations in this family businesses can be characterized as takeover of a position . Three further cases show that years of competition in the business succession play an essential role for the takeover process and the successors. The alternation of generations in this family businesses can be characterized as won contest . The introduced case reconstructions demonstrate that the theme justice in alternation of generations in small family businesses is a structure-relevant aspect interlaced in a lifelong process and biographical treated in terms of competition or by taking a position. It also becomes apparent that the traditional rule of succession gender and rank by age in birth order served as justice concept prevailing in wide parts of Germany for a long time is in the process of dissolution. A result of this research says that the two alternative justice concepts interest or achievement increasingly pulled up for legitimation of career choice, and so as well in the course of the business succession decision, also hold risks. Therefore, the concluding thesis is held that both positional and competition-oriented alternations of generations in family businesses need changed relations of acceptance to enable the effectiveness of democratic principles of justice: Mutual esteem among generations, gender and siblings for there so being , just as for their efforts and interests in every stage of life. The management and the orientation of the business after the takeover are an expression of the successor s biographical work. By long everyday experience with the dissolution of boundaries between family life and working life, which are entering increasingly into other fields of work after the industrial modernity, they can be described as a kind of social avant-garde. Closely connected with this, their life stories can be classified as seismographs for the problems in the working world: On the one hand the experience of early competition in all areas of life promotes the development of mental crises; observable in the working life as well. On the other hand the early experience with an assignment of a position promotes a more inflexible, less market-oriented attitude which is badly prepared for the reduction of the claim to status maintaining; as it is politically forced at present. Against the background of the presented results, mainly such systemic oriented, long-term processes of advice and assistance appear to be advantageous which are refraining from the prevailing purpose of advice preservation of the business . Instead of that they support a new balancing in the relations of acceptance by a dialogic cooperation with the actors.