IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jouent/v34y2025i4p772-796.html

A Framework for Facilitating the Success of Family Business Intergenerational Leadership Succession Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Abraham Dzvairo
  • Trevor Taft

Abstract

Most family business theories and models used in sub-Saharan Africa are anchored on the Western worldview. However, various researchers acknowledge the flaws of these theories when applied in cultures outside the Western world. A dearth of studies that infuse Western-developed leadership and management theories with indigenous African knowledge exists. This study aims to develop a strategy that solves the problem of family business failure in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings revealed that family business leaders must prepare for succession, develop and select successors, and infuse both Ubuntu philosophy and the Western worldview during succession planning. The study developed a leadership succession planning framework for family businesses in sub-Saharan Africa to close the gap. Using systems theory and thinking and intercultural management thinking, this study shows how infusing the indigenous African knowledge anchored on Ubuntu philosophy can lead to successful succession that may translate into intergenerational family business survival in sub-Saharan Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Abraham Dzvairo & Trevor Taft, 2025. "A Framework for Facilitating the Success of Family Business Intergenerational Leadership Succession Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 34(4), pages 772-796, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jouent:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:772-796
    DOI: 10.1177/09713557251403006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09713557251403006
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09713557251403006?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Augendra Bhukuth & Jérôme Ballet & Qausya Faviandhani, 2025. "Socioemotional Wealth and Leadership Transitions in Indonesian Family Businesses," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 34(3), pages 668-689, August.
    2. Godfred Etse Klugah & Vida Korang & Francis Ransford Essilfie & Mohammed Awal Zingnaa Iddrisu, 2025. "The mediating role of succession issues in succession planning, family influence and successor attributes on SME performance in emerging economies," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 2551282-255, December.
    3. Kenneth Chukwujioke Agbim, 2019. "Determining the contributory factors to successful succession and post-succession performance of family-owned SMEs in South Eastern Nigeria," International Entrepreneurship Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 5(2), pages 53-73.
    4. Hennink, Monique & Kaiser, Bonnie N., 2022. "Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    5. Shikha Bhardwaj & Sumedha Chauhan & Parul Gupta, 2023. "CEO Succession in Family Firm: An Integrated Framework and Future Research Insights," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(3), pages 667-699, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Gülüm Özer & İdil Işık & Jordi Escartín, 2024. "Is There Somebody Looking out for Me? A Qualitative Analysis of Bullying Experiences of Individuals Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Ruth Bhekekile Shandu & Thokozani Ian Nzimakwe & Reward Utete, 2024. "Analysing the effects of flexible working conditions in the workplace: An exploratory study," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 6(6), pages 109-120, December.
    3. Mlamli Diko, 2023. "Advancing agriculture through Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in South African indigenous or black communities," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(2), pages 267-277, March.
    4. Júlio Belo Fernandes & Diana Vareta & Sónia Fernandes & Ana Silva Almeida & Dina Peças & Noélia Ferreira & Liliana Roldão, 2022. "Rehabilitation Workforce Challenges to Implement Person-Centered Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-9, March.
    5. Chikako Ishizuka & Kei Aoki, 2024. "Drivers of sustained brand engagement: cases of long-term customers of hedonic and utilitarian brands in Japan," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(4), pages 979-989, December.
    6. Soo-Young Yu & Eunyoung E. Suh & Seongmi Lim & Ji-yeon Kim, 2024. "An Exploratory Study of Ideal Medical Systems Based on the Experiences of Laypeople in South Korea," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, December.
    7. Duarte Alonso, Abel & Vu, Oanh Thi Kim & Nguyen, Trung Q. & McClelland, Robert & Nguyen, Ngan M. & Huynh, Hoa Thi Ngoc & Akbari, Mohammadreza & Nguyen, Trung Thanh, 2025. "Beyond technology: A socio-technical lens on Industry 4.0 value-adding across industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    8. Joseph M. Buguis & Reynaldo Castro, 2025. "Construct Development and Validation of Service Quality in the Context of Private Hospitals," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(7), pages 6053-6077, July.
    9. Daniel Muir & Cristiana Orlando & Becci Newton, 2024. "Impact of summer programmes on the outcomes of disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ young people: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), June.
    10. Dudka, Aurore, 2025. "A relational approach to prosuming through energy communities: The case of CIREN in France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    11. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:10:p:507-520 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Reem Mohamed Gouda & Yasser Tawfik Halim, 2025. "The role of sustainable social media content in enhancing customer loyalty in the hospitality industry," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    13. Gawon Yun & Douglas N. Hales, 2026. "Drivers of location advantages in the medical device industry: a qualitative study," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 1-17, March.
    14. Immas Nurhayati & Syarifah Gustiawati & Rofiáh Rofiáh & Sri Pujiastuti & Isbandriyati Mutmainah & Bambang Hengky Rainanto & Sri Harini & Endri Endri, 2025. "Community-Based Halal Tourism and Information Digitalization: Sustainable Tourism Analysis," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-23, August.
    15. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:10:p:1949-1961 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Nafew Sajed Joy & Md. Mahfuzur Rahman, 2025. "Exploring Sustainable Publishing Practices in the Publishing Industry of Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study in the Context of the Fifth Industrial Revolution," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 41(3), pages 406-436, September.
    17. Niccolò Morelli, 2025. "Beyond the Rhetoric of Revanchism Towards the Metropolitan Core: An Analysis of Symbolic Representations of Milan From Its Peripheries," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 30(1), pages 116-135, March.
    18. Maria Provenzano & Nicola Cillara & Felice Curcio & Maria Orsola Pisu & Cesar Iván Avilés González & Maria Francisca Jiménez-Herrera, 2024. "Electronic Health Record Adoption and Its Effects on Healthcare Staff: A Qualitative Study of Well-Being and Workplace Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(11), pages 1-14, October.
    19. Beyeler, Laura & Jaeger-Erben, Melanie, 2025. "Sufficiency as a matter of care: Practices to provide for needs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    20. Amro Hassan Ibrahim Alhassan & Zainudin Bin Hassan, 2024. "Understanding the Factors Behind Dropout Decisions: A Study of Primary School Students in Red Sea State, Sudan," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(3s), pages 5023-5034, October.
    21. Kocsis, Zsófia & Pusztai, Gabriella, 2025. "The role of higher education through the eyes of Hungarian undergraduate students and graduates: A qualitative exploratory study," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 12(1), pages 48-75.
    22. Nurul Hidayana Mohd Noor & Amirah Mohamad Fuzi & Nurin Farzana Mohamad Fadzil & Afief El Ashfahany, 2025. "Measuring Financial Management and Bankability of Small Business Mumpreneurs through Triangulation Study," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 17(1), pages 328-341.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:jouent:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:772-796. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ediindia.org/ .

    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.