Nurturing the Next-Generation Family Entrepreneurs in the Business Family

Business families think of their family enterprises as dynamically optimized business portfolios that require new businesses for growth and replacement of existing ones that no longer contribute to the families’ visions. This needs to continue adding new businesses makes promoting entrepreneurship among the next-generation family members (NGFE) different. According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, it must begin with the NGFE’s intention to pursue entrepreneurship which is more likely to be fostered naturally within the business family. But the NGFEs must be prepared through mentoring to raise their probability of success. Based on the mentorship literature and our own observations, we argue that mentorship must develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies required; help provide exposure and visibility; protect the NGFEs from long-term damages to credibility and trust; boost the NGFEs’ social capital by enlarging their network; and establish an arrangement for the NGFEs to release the mental and psychological stresses involved. Ultimately, the family’s responsibility toward its members is to help them live a useful and satisfying life which requires the family to go beyond mentoring and nurture. Self-determination theory proposes that nurturing requires satisfaction of the NGFE’s psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.