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Succession in Family Businesses: Exploring the Effects of Demographic Factors on Offspring Intentions to Join and Take Over the Business*
Succession is vital for the survival of family firms. It is not a static event, or a process that begins once heirs are involved in the husiness. it is a long-term process initiated early in the heirs lives. Consequently, it is imperative to understand family members' intentions before they join the business, in order to make better decisions regarding the human
resources most suitable for the firm. Therefore. this researcb has explores the intentions of 18-28 year-old university students to join and take over their parents' firms. These intentions were investigated through a set of demographic variables and a set of reasons that participants cited as most and least important in forming their intentions.
One does not have to limit oneself to cultural interfaces to encounter the bizarre, the parataxic, or the insane. Much is inherent in any given culture...Understanding man, understanding culture, and understanding the world and unraveling the irrational are inseparable aspects of the same process (Hall 1989, p. 216, 220). One could consider irrational and paradoxical the common belief that while family businesses are considered important economic and social pillars throughout the world, not many survive beyond the first generation (Birley 1991; de Jordy 1991; Dunlop 1993; Gallo 1995; Lank et al. 1994; Madore 1993; Rosenblatt et al. 1985: Thomassen 1992). Also irrational, yet understandable, seems the notion that offspring are quite often welcome in the family business regardless of their ability to contribute to its success (Kets de Vries 1993).
Many researchers have attempted to explore the reasons behind such irrationalities, but most of these attempts have focused on the owners and their inability to plan their succession (Aronoff and Ward 1992; Kerr 1993; Marshack 1993; Seymour 1993: Welsch 1993; Whiteseide 1993). Few have focused on the heirs and the factors related to their involvement in the family business (Davis 1968; Handler 1989; Rosenblatt et al. 1985). Even fewer have investigated heir intentions to join and take over the family business (Birley 1991; Stavrou 1996).
Succession is not a static event, or a process that begins once heirs are involved in the business; it is a long-term endeavor...