The role of commitment in the succession of hospitality businesses

Abstract

PurposeThe take‐over of the hospitality family business by the entrepreneur's daughter or son is a complex process. The aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of commitment on succession in hospitality family businesses from the viewpoint of the successors. The contribution aims to shed more light on the different dimensions of commitment relevant for the succession process.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the role of commitment in the succession process this study uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were carried out with 15 successors of hospitality businesses in South Tyrol, Italy. The obtained narrative texts have been transcribed and evaluated with GABEK®, a tool for analyzing qualitative data. The transcripts of the interviews were separated into text units and coded, developing a network of data. This rule‐based procedure of systematizing, coding and interpreting considers both syntax and semantics and enhances the validity of the results.FindingsThe results reveal that commitment seems to play a very major role in the whole succession. A cluster analysis indicates the linkage of three topics: Motives, Family business and Take‐over constitute the construct “Commitment”. The motives show that parents' heritage or the successors' perceptions of the business as the home where they have grown up are important reasons to run this family business. Also trust or personal support through family members can be interpreted as push motives to become the successor.Research limitations/implicationsResults may be influenced by the geographical concentration, but also by the selection process of the interviewees. The research is based on qualitative data that were gathered in one particular region in South Tyrol, Italy. Furthermore, the successors who participated in the survey mostly were very successful businesses keen on joining this research. Further research should focus on the role of commitment and its antecedents and consequences. In addition, commitment bases should be investigated from the predecessor but also from the successors' perspective in the light of the current and past business and business environment situation.Practical implicationsThe results highlight that in the succession process, different bases of commitment exist which particularly influence the perception of succession process. Furthermore, they can be interpreted as hurdles or facilitators to the transition of the family business.Originality/valueThis paper provides useful information on the impact of commitment on succession in hospitality family businesses from the viewpoint of the successors.

Daughters’ careers in family business: Motivation types and family-specific barriers

“…However, the feasibility of a career in the family business does not automatically make it a desirable career option. Apart from "not having barriers", a daughter in a family business should also feel a strong inclination to work with the family and for the family, which resonates with various studies (Björnberg & Nicholson, 2012;Daspit et al, 2010;Dumas, 1998;Murphy & Lambrechts, 2015;Peters et al, 2012;Salganicoff, 1990;Song, 1995;Vera & Dean, 2005).…”

“…In a similar vein, Daspit, Holt, Christman, and Long (2010) suggested that being proud of the family business, feeling loyalty, and agreeing on business goals, plans, and policies increases the commitment of the next generation and the desire of the senior generation to keep the business in the family. Khanin, Turel, and Mahto (2012) found that familybusiness embeddedness increases family employees ' job satisfaction;and, Peters, Raich, Märk, and Pichler (2012) suggested that successors' perceptions of the business as being the home where they have grown up is an important reason for running a family business.…”

Barriers or motivation? Career progress in the family firm: daughters' perspective

“…Finally, the ability to improve upon and contribute to the common goal: "family pride", the product or service, perpetuation of the business in general, -can be motivation enough to enter the family firm (Sharma and Irwing, 2005;Dumas et al, 1995). Contribution to family is an important issue in family business literature, especially because daughters in family business are often drawn to the business by a desire to help the family (Daspit, Holt, Christman and Long, 2016;Peters, Raich, Märk and Pichler, 2012), continue the family tradition, give back to the family, live the family dream, take care of parents, or create something to pass on to children (Salganicoff, 1990;Dumas, 1998;Vera andDean, 2005, Murphy andLambrechts, 2015), with salary being a secondary issue (Overbeke et al, 2013). Finally, social contribution was rather hypothesized based on the literature about social emotional wealth (SEW) (Berrone, Cruz, Gomez-Mejia, 2012).…”

“…Ethical motivation (i.e. motivation to help family) might increase daughters' commitment toward work in the family firm (Daspit et al, 2010;Peters et al, 2012). Ethical motivation might also moderate the daughter's relationship with other stakeholders: non-family employees, clients and partners, as her attitude might help her gain their respect as a viable successor, which is often is an issue (Cole, 1997).…”

Succession in Family Restaurant Business: An Intergenerational Perspective

“…In this matter, [9] and [10] found that the former owners of a family business will decide the successors from their family. The second focus is based on [11] and [12] who studied the strength of the relationship between family members. They also revealed that family values would influence the succession process.…”