Abstract
Succession is a concern for most family firms. The literature has addressed succession in family firms from different perspectives. However, there are still unaddressed questions concerning the microfoundations of succession, and there is a need to secure a better understanding of the succession process and what role parents play therein. Using the dynamic capabilities approach, we shed light on the influence of parents’ behaviors on successors’ intentions. In particular, the paper pursues a twofold aim; first, to analyze the effect of learning mechanisms that parents deliberately use with their children in the family firm on the succession dynamic capability; and second, to explore the impact of this dynamic capability of successor intention to continue in the family firm. We test the model on a sample of potential successors of family firms in Spain. Using partial least squares (PLS) for a sample of 9146 individuals, we confirm the positive impact of the use of parents’ deliberate learning mechanisms on succession dynamic capability and, in turn, the positive effect of the created succession dynamic capability on the successor’s intention to continue the family firm. Furthermore, we find that perceived self-efficacy fails to have any effect on successor intention.
Highlights
Succession is a worrying issue for family firms [1]
Even though it might seem that the success of the succession will depend on its planning, including the criteria to be met by the successor and how these will be applied, other areas need to be studied for a successful family succession in family firms [3]
Our results indicate that parents deliberately design family learning mechanisms to create a succession dynamic capability, and that this capability positively affects successor intention to remain in the family firm
Summary
Succession is a worrying issue for family firms [1]. The biggest challenge facing family firms’ survival is succession, with most firms having no plans in this regard. In Spain, as in most European countries, the future challenges facing family firms and the main obstacles to generational change have traditionally involved succession planning and professionalization [2]. Firm literature has addressed this challenge from different theoretical perspectives, with the focus progressively shifting towards the parents (incumbents). The social cognitive theory advances our understanding of the antecedents of successor engagement in family firms by theoretically modeling the impact of parental support and psychological control on successors [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
