O processo sucessório e a cultura organizacional em uma empresa familiar brasileira

The study aimed investigating the relationship between the succession process and the organizational culture in a Brazilian family enterprise which has been established for 23 years in the food, beverage and cleaning products distribution industry. The company was divided in three units for the purpose of the research. In unit one, management had been shared by the owner and founder's son and a regional director with large experience in the organization. In unit two, management had been shared by the founder's son and a regional director recruited in the professional labor market. Unit three had been managed by the founder's son with the direct presence of the founder, who still took part in the decision process. In these three units, 197 employees answered a questionnaire about their perceptions concerning values and practices that were typical in the organization. Results showed that members of the unit whose management had been shared by the founder's successor and an externally recruited manager presented perceptions significantly different from the perceptions maintained by members of the two other units. It was concluded that the successor's origin, training and professional background are factors that may have made an effect in the family enterprise organizational culture.