The Survival of Family Farms: Socioemotional Wealth (SEW) and Factors Affecting Intention to Continue the Business

Abstract

This article addresses the problem of succession in family farms in a context of generational change. Family businesses are characterized by their long-term orientation and by having a positive effect through environmental goals that remain in place generation after generation. The general increase in average age among farmers is seen as a barrier to more sustainable land use, and the survival of family farming therefore depends on the availability of a successor in the family. Socioemotional wealth (hereafter, SEW) is understood as the affective endowment of family members. This study adopts the SEW dimensions conceptually validated to analyse the effects of psychological and socioeconomic factors on potential successors’ intentions. The results of a survey administered to students attending agricultural schools in Catalonia show that intentions to assume the management and ownership of the family farm increase in line with individuals’ interest in creating their own business, their ability to take over the farm, and their emotional inclination to continue the family legacy. In addition, SEW was measured in relation to the potential successor and not the incumbent, as has typically been the case in previous work, bringing this important research subject as a principal actor. Finally, an empirical validation of a short FIBER scale, i.e., REI scale, was obtained that relates individuals’ intentions to succeed the family farm to the socioemotional wealth of business families, testing suitability of the REI scale as a measure of intention to succeed.

Factors Affecting Farm Succession and Occupational Choices of Nominated Farm Successors in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

“…Therefore, married farm successors, due to their greater responsibilities, may hesitate to abandon their farming business. These results are in line with other studies [32,50].…”

Factors Influencing the Chance of Inheriting the Family Farming Career among Heirs in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand in the Crisis of Farming Labor Decline

“…The questions in the questionnaire were formed by applying the concepts of the theory of vocational development of Super [14] and theory of occupational choice of Ginzberg [15]. In addition, some independent factors were also adopted from previous, similar studies reported in other countries [4,13,16,17]. However, the adoption of factors from other studies was based on the proper context that was deemed most suitable for Thailand's agricultural circumstances.…”

“…In Ghana, the receipt of federal services in the form of academic advice can help to boost the farming family's productivity and income [27,28]. Having a positive attitude towards the farming career can clearly strengthen the survival of family farms [4]. The reports of the International Fund for Agricultural Development [29] and the study reported in [30][31][32] reached the same conclusion, stating that the family's land size is one of the most important factors necessary to sustain the succession of family farming.…”

“…Various emerging and unavoidable problems, such as climate change, the misuse and overuse of chemical farming substances, and economic volatility, challenge the success of the farming career [2]. Aging impacts farmers' health, which directly decreases their proficiency t farming activities in terms of the number of agricultural products and quality [3,4].…”

Engagement of new entrants in mountain farming through the lens of generativity: Lack of family farming background and its implications in Alpine Austria and Italy

“…On the one hand, emotional attachment to the farming family and its previous generations ensures the continuity of small‐scale family farms, albeit primarily as a part‐time lifestyle and less for economic profit (Hu & Gill, 2021, p. 411). Affective relationships with the family, early socialisation and involvement in farming foster succession (Bertolozzi‐Caredio et al., 2020; Plana‐Farran & Gallizo, 2021). On the other hand, transferors fear loss of control and identity—even in intra‐familial settings—which inhibits stepping aside (Cassidy et al., 2019; Chiswell, 2018; Conway et al., 2017, 2021).…”