The way toward a new entrepreneurial balance in business succession processes: The case of management buy-ins
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 15 January 2020
Issue publication date: 29 January 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the under-researched family-external business succession process. It makes use of entrepreneurship theory in order to conceptualize this temporal process. This allows for an operationalization of entrepreneurial functions and tracking them during the two main phases of such processes. This study provides a starting point for further endeavors into researching family-external succession processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on an explorative, quasi-longitudinal, qualitative and multiple case-study approach. It became possible to create trust with stakeholders in three family firms and to conduct face-to-face interviews with a total of 12 interviewees, generating over 300 transcript pages. The case interviews were validated through two expert interviews. A priori research propositions were tested and modified, if deemed necessary.
Findings
Entrepreneurial functions during the two main phases of the process seem to be carried out and aligned depending on several influencing factors: delegation of responsibilities from owner-managers to qualified employees; incumbent owner-managers being heavily involved in the succession’s facilitation and neglecting some entrepreneurial functions; and as a result new owner-managers being forced to prioritize certain functions in the second phase.
Originality/value
This paper benefits from a rather unique access to three family firms undergoing succession in the DACH-region. Therefore, it became possible to study the family-external succession process by including various stakeholders involved. Such an inclusion of perspectives has been suggested by family business scholars for a long time.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Citation
Poeschl, A. and Freiling, J. (2020), "The way toward a new entrepreneurial balance in business succession processes: The case of management buy-ins", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 157-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-04-2019-0107
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited