La fabrique de l’entrepreneur familial. Comment des héritiers deviennent entrepreneurs et reprennent la direction d’une entreprise familiale

In this article, we study the case of a 5th generation family business, the transmission of which, from one generation to the next, implies multiple predecessors and successors. We use the framework proposed by Gersick, Lansberg, Desjardins and Dunn (1999) and we enrich it using the concepts of socialisation and commitment. We reveal the existence of a « manufacturing » process which turns heirs into family entrepreneurs through an early-stage socialization. This generates commitment and enables the next-generation family entrepreneurs to stand out from a pool of heirs. A first part presents our theoretical framework. A second part presents and analyses the succession process from the 3rd to the 4th generation as well as the on-going one from the 4th to the 5th generation. We show that the growing complexity of the family goes hand in hand with an increasing formalisation of the transmission process, in order to make successors stand out. Each generation found the solutions which fit with its historical context. We conclude on the specificity of being an entrepreneur in a family business.