IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/fambus/v5y2014i3p217-228.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Function, governance, and trust in successor leadership groups in family firms

Author

Listed:
  • Cater, John James
  • Kidwell, Roland E.

Abstract

We examine the function and governance of successor leadership groups in family firms. In a qualitative study of nine family firms, in-depth interviews indicated that excessive competition among successor group members will hinder group effectiveness, while a pattern of cooperation, unified implementation of decisions, mutual agreement to share power and authority, and the development of trust will enhance successor leadership group effectiveness. The findings are encapsulated by seven propositions, and a model proposing how successor groups function, govern and develop trust is advanced. The results lead us to conclude that the use of multiple successors can be an indicator of trust on the part of the incumbent family firm leader as well as a catalyst for building mutual trust among members of successor groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Cater, John James & Kidwell, Roland E., 2014. "Function, governance, and trust in successor leadership groups in family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 217-228.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:5:y:2014:i:3:p:217-228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2013.06.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877858513000417
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfbs.2013.06.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lazear, Edward P & Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(5), pages 841-864, October.
    2. B. Deschamps & Luis Felipe Cisneros Martinez, 2012. "Small Family Business Succession and Entrepreneurial Teams of Siblings: what is new for the succession process?," Post-Print halshs-00787448, HAL.
    3. Dyck, Bruno & Mauws, Michael & Starke, Frederick A. & Mischke, Gary A., 2002. "Passing the baton: The importance of sequence, timing, technique and communication in executive succession," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 143-162, March.
    4. Miller, Danny & Steier, Lloyd & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle, 2003. "Lost in time: intergenerational succession, change, and failure in family business," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 513-531, July.
    5. John James Cater & Robert T. Justis, 2010. "The development and implementation of shared leadership in multi‐generational family firms," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(6), pages 563-585, May.
    6. Long, Rebecca G. & Mathews, K. Michael, 2011. "Ethics in the Family Firm: Cohesion through Reciprocity and Exchange," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 287-308, April.
    7. Morris, Michael H. & Williams, Roy O. & Allen, Jeffrey A. & Avila, Ramon A., 1997. "Correlates of success in family business transitions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 385-401, September.
    8. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Pramodita Sharma, 1999. "Defining the Family Business by Behavior," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(4), pages 19-39, July.
    9. Tsang, Eric W. K., 2002. "Learning from overseas venturing experience: The case of Chinese family businesses," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 21-40, January.
    10. Neil C. Churchill & Kenneth J. Hatten, 1987. "Non-Market-Based Transfers of Wealth and Power: A Research Framework for Family Businesses," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 12(2), pages 53-66, October.
    11. Pramodita Sharma & P. Gregory Irving, 2005. "Four Bases of Family Business Successor Commitment: Antecedents and Consequences," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 13-33, January.
    12. Thomas M. Zellweger & Franz W. Kellermanns & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua, 2012. "Family Control and Family Firm Valuation by Family CEOs: The Importance of Intentions for Transgenerational Control," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 851-868, June.
    13. Neil C. Churchill & Kenneth J. Hatten, 1987. "Non-Market-Based Transfers of Wealth and Power: A Research Framework for Family Businesses," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 11(3), pages 51-64, January.
    14. Steier, Lloyd P. & Miller, Danny, 2010. "Pre- and post-succession governance philosophies in entrepreneurial family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 145-154, September.
    15. Wendy C. Handler, 1990. "Succession in Family Firms: A Mutual Role Adjustment between Entrepreneur and Next-generation Family Members," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 15(1), pages 37-52, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Raphael Lissillour & Jean Michel Sahut, 2023. "Uses of Information Systems to Develop Trust in Family Firms," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 65(2), pages 127-141, April.
    2. Pearce, Craig L. & Houghton, Jeffrey D. & Manz, Charles C. & Dillon, Pamela J. & Fugate, Mel & Wassenaar, Christina L., 2023. "Time for a group hug? Toward a theory of shared emotional leadership in and of family business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    3. Akhmedova, Anna & Cavallotti, Rita & Marimon, Frederic & Campopiano, Giovanna, 2020. "Daughters’ careers in family business: Motivation types and family-specific barriers," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    4. D’Allura, Giorgia Maria, 2019. "The leading role of the top management team in understanding family firms: Past research and future directions," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 87-104.
    5. Cisneros, Luis & Deschamps, Bérangère & Chirita, Gabriel M. & Geindre, Sébastien, 2022. "Successful family firm succession: Transferring external social capital to a shared-leadership team of siblings," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    6. Deferne, Marie & Bertschi-Michel, Alexandra & de Groote, Julia, 2023. "The role of trust in family business stakeholder relationships: A systematic literature review," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1).
    7. Jahmurataj, Veton & Ramadani, Veland & Bexheti, Abdylmenaf & Rexhepi, Gadaf & Abazi-Alili, Hyrije & Krasniqi, Besnik A., 2023. "Unveiling the determining factors of family business longevity: Evidence from Kosovo," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Sunarto Isstianto & Sekolah T. I. E. Surakarta & Suprapti Supardi & Sapja Anantanyu & Mahendra Wijaya, 2016. "The family business of leadership succession by comparison cluster between Kauman and Laewyan Batik industry," Journal of Business & Management (COES&RJ-JBM), , vol. 4(4), pages 172-181, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isabelle Le Breton–Miller & Danny Miller & Lloyd P. Steier, 2004. "Toward an Integrative Model of Effective FOB Succession," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(4), pages 305-328, July.
    2. Jan-Philipp Ahrens & Andrea Calabrò & Jolien Huybrechts & Michael Woywode, 2019. "The Enigma of the Family Successor–Firm Performance Relationship: A Methodological Reflection and Reconciliation Attempt," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(3), pages 437-474, May.
    3. Britta Boyd & Isabel C. Botero & Tomasz A. Fediuk, 2014. "Incumbent Decisions about Succession Transitions in Family Firms: A Conceptual Model," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-24, November.
    4. Sue Birley, 2002. "Attitudes of Owner-Managers' Children towards Family and Business Issues," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(3), pages 5-19, April.
    5. Andrea GANZAROLI & Gianluca FISCATO & Luciano PILOTTI, 2006. "Does business succession enhance firms’ innovation capacity? Results from an exploratory analysis in Italian SMEs," Departmental Working Papers 2006-29, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    6. Jeffery S. McMullen & Benjamin J. Warnick, 2015. "To Nurture or Groom? The Parent–Founder Succession Dilemma," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(6), pages 1379-1412, November.
    7. Yaaser Mahomed & Vuyokazi Mtembu, 2021. "Business Succession in Indian Family Businesses in South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 13(3), pages 73-80.
    8. Shujun Ding & Zhenyu Wu, 2014. "Family Ownership and Corporate Misconduct in U.S. Small Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 183-195, August.
    9. Sinan Caykoylu, 2021. "Retired Yet Involved: How Even After the Succession Predecessors of Family Businesses Continue to Influence Their Firms," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(2), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Cheng-Wen Lee & Shu Hui Chen, 2022. "Contradictions between Founders and Successors in Taiwan’s Family Business Inheritance: A Qualitative Study," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(5), pages 1-5.
    11. Junsheng Dou & Shengxiao Li, 2013. "The succession process in Chinese family firms: A guanxi perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 893-917, September.
    12. Shujun Ding & Baozhi Qu & Zhenyu Wu, 2016. "Family Control, Socioemotional Wealth, and Governance Environment: The Case of Bribes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 639-654, July.
    13. Michel, Alexandra & Kammerlander, Nadine, 2015. "Trusted advisors in a family business's succession-planning process—An agency perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 45-57.
    14. Rodrigo Basco & Andrea Calabrò, 2017. "“Whom do I want to be the next CEO?” Desirable successor attributes in family firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(4), pages 487-509, May.
    15. Umans, Ine & Lybaert, Nadine & Steijvers, Tensie & Voordeckers, Wim, 2021. "The influence of transgenerational succession intentions on the succession planning process: The moderating role of high-quality relationships," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2).
    16. Yangyang Qi & Jiong Wu, 2023. "Performance feedback, succession process and innovative activities of family firms: evidence from China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(2), pages 765-791, April.
    17. Kandade, Kiran & Samara, Georges & Parada, Maria José & Dawson, Alexandra, 2021. "From family successors to successful business leaders: A qualitative study of how high-quality relationships develop in family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2).
    18. Timothy Mathews & Tim Blumentritt, 2015. "A sequential choice model of family business succession," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 15-37, June.
    19. Veland Ramadani & Léo-Paul Dana & Nora Sadiku-Dushi & Vanessa Ratten & Dianne H. B. Welsh, 2017. "Decision-Making Challenges of Women Entrepreneurship in Family Business Succession Process," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(04), pages 411-439, December.
    20. Meleq Hoxhaj & Kamolli Erjus, 2022. "Factors Influencing Tax Evasion of Businesses: The Case of Albania," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 8, ejes_v8_i.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:5:y:2014:i:3:p:217-228. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/719791/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.