The “Most Wanted”: The Role of Family Strategic Resources and Family Involvement in CEO Succession Intention

Abstract

Stemming from familiness and the notion of nonimitable strategic resources, we investigate, in the presuccession phase, the role of acquisition and accumulation of family strategic resources, along with the way family involvement in the top management team affects resource mobilization and deployment, in determining the intention to choose either a family or a nonfamily member as the next CEO. Data from a cross-country double-respondent family business data set (Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices project) reveal that human capital is a significant family strategic resource reducing the intention to select a family CEO, although leveraging this resource by a top management team dominated by family members enhances this intention.

Bridging locality and internationalization – A research agenda on the sustainable development of family firms

“…Such episodes highlight the need to balance both family and business objectives, underscoring the intricate relationship between a family and business system where unique resources, constraints and processes impact the way a business develops sustainably over time, even amidst disruptions (e.g., Covid-19 or other crises) (Olson et al 2003). This suggests that families have to rethink the use of the local and global resources at hand (Campopiano, Calabrò, and Basco 2020), relying on lessons previously learned (Konopaski, Jack, and Hamilton 2015;Spielmann et al 2021), knowledge (Cabrera-Suárez, García-Almeida, and De Saá-Pérez 2018; Chirico and Salvato 2016), family identity (Fitz-Koch, Cooper, and Discua Cruz 2019), and authenticity (Ranfagni, Runfola, and Sarti 2021), to ensure the firm's continuity, which ultimately feeds into its sustainable development.…”

The Centrality of Family

“…We had 16 articles published in the four issues, along with five editorials. Topics ranged from new spins on traditional topics such as succession (Campopiano et al, 2020), innovation (Becerra et al, 2020), and socioemotional wealth (Swab et al, 2020) to more contemporary topics such as political activity (Combs et al, 2020) and metaphorical interpretations (Tognazzo & Neubaum, 2020).…”

The influence of management team continuation on inefficient investment after family firms inheritance

“…Resources are the sum of corporate social capital acquired and used by participants through activities. Business owners occupied the position of the structure hole and laid a channel for the flow of resources through social interaction (Campopiano et al, 2020). As an aggregation of corporate social relations, the management team can combine various key knowledge and interpersonal resources.…”

“…The talent, experience, and relationships of the executive team are prerequisites for companies to use other resources. These resources are embedded in the organizational processes and markets along with the continuation of the executive team and are critical to the growth of the company (Campopiano et al, 2020). Therefore, as the board members change, these resources will also dissipate (d'Amboise & Muldowney, 1988).…”

“…However, the replacement of the company's successor will lead to the reorganization of the executive team, which may bring about changes in the team's productivity (Kaplan & Minton, 2012), adjustments to corporate decision making, business methods, and related policies (Schepker, Kim, Patel, Thatcher, & Campion, 2017). Intergenerational inheritance is one of the most challenging and unstable events in the life cycle of a family business because the continuation of the executive team caused by intergenerational inheritance may threaten the life of the family business (Campopiano, Calabrò, & Basco, 2020). Some scholars have realized that the continuation of the management team (Berns & Klarner, 2017; Schepker et al, 2017) and the change of the team members (Ting, 2013; Waldkirch, Nordqvist, & Melin, 2018) are of great significance to the sustainable development of enterprises.…”