Balancing identity, construction, and rules : family relationship negotiations during first-generation succession in family businesses

Abstract

This article identifies how relationship-regulation processes between family members support or hinder the succession process in family businesses during first-generation succession. We analyzed interviews with incumbents and successors from twelve first- generation family firms. We found that intrafamily succession is driven by relational negotiation processes organized around three main domains: negotiating the shared identity of the incumbent and successor, their shared construction regarding succession, and shaping the family rules that frame the process. In the proposed theoretical model, their common construction is represented by the metaphor of a bridge built ‘brick by brick’ as a result of their relationship regulation processes. Relationship negotiations around shared identity served as a basis for their common construction, while negotiations on family rules shaped its framework. Findings suggest a dynamic and relationship-oriented approach to succession wherein the role of planning is not central and relationship negotiations regulate the achievement of the succession.