Family business succession in ICT-based industries

Succession in family businesses represents an essential stage in the company's life, but also of the family, the success of the process being linked to the family heritage. Transferring the business to the next generation is a complicated process that involves careful analysis of all elements involved (family, management, ownership). These elements will undergo substantial changes following the succession process. Even if the studies on family businesses have become more numerous in recent years, the research on the succession process and succession strategies is relatively limited. Conversely, the general conclusions are related to large businesses in the second or third stage of business transfer to the next generation. Consequently, this study aims to address some specific issues related to the ICT-based family business succession process in Romania from the last decade, when family businesses reached the point of the first business transfer. Specifically, there are three research questions: (Q1) What are the new succession strategies, given the significant changes in the economic sector in recent years? (Q2) Is the level of formal education a sufficient criterion to decide the successor in an ICT-based family business? (Q3) Is succession a way of implementing innovative strategies to ensure business continuity and growth? The study is based both on secondary research (survey of articles and studies published in recent years) and primary research: questionnaire-based surveys of founders and successors of ICT-based family businesses in the book publishing industry, but also in other technological fields of interest (serving as a base of reference). The findings provide clarifications or suggestions for successfully developing the succession strategies in the ICT-based family businesses in Romania.