Successors in Dutch family businesses: gender differences
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences among (potential) successors of Dutch family firms with respect to education, self-perceived capabilities and ownership ambition.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis – which includes correlations, t-test and logistic regression analysis – is inspired by several theoretical perspectives used in previous studies and based on a sample of 232 (potential) successors who filled in a questionnaire.
Findings
The results show that there is a clear gender difference regarding ownership; men strive more often for full ownership, whereas women opt for shared ownership, even when controlling for relevant variables such as the presence of children.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should address the precise reasons why female successors prefer shared ownership. Particularly, it would be interesting to include the impact of the institutional environment, for example the specific Dutch working culture, where the majority of women works part-time.
Practical implications
Shared ownership might be more complicated in terms of governance and management than full ownership.
Social implications
Opportunities for shared ownership might stimulate more women to take over the family firm, and therefore contribute to more diversity among family business owners.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the still limited knowledge on gender differences among successors of family firms.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Jacqueline van Zwol for sharing the data set and Lesley Tomaszewski for editing the paper.
Citation
Remery, C., Matser, I. and Hans Flören, R. (2014), "Successors in Dutch family businesses: gender differences", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-09-2013-0021
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited