Purpose

Successors' unwillingness to participate in the family business is known to impede intergenerational succession. However, little is known about why those considered eligible, do not choose to become the next chief executive officer (CEO). The authors investigate why some eligible successors withdraw from the succession process while others remain involved. The purpose of this paper is to build theory for which the authors made use of purposive sampling techniques that complied with certain criteria.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use an inductive, exploratory multi-case study design and investigate six Australian food manufacturers.

Findings

This paper's analysis reveals that successors' decisions are driven by dimensions: pursued outcome and reciprocity. Eligible successors withdrawing from succession are concerned about personal financial sustainability and the business' growth potential; this is accompanied by negative exchanges with the incumbent.

Research limitations/implications

The authors studied a limited number of organizations and these were mainly managed by owner/founders. In this type of organization, successors have been widely exposed to the business and its struggles from an early age. Differences can be present in businesses managed by later generations whose emotional investment, therefore, socio-emotional needs might be different from the cohort being investigated. Second, the authors' aim in carrying out this study was to build theory for which we made use of purposive sampling techniques that complied with certain criteria. Further studies aiming at generalizable results would shed light on the usefulness of the typology and whether other rules apply to the incumbent–successor relationship while ascertaining how the exchanges contribute to the successor's decision to remain or withdraw from the family business.

Practical implications

This study reveals the crucial nature of the incumbent in the succession process. Their role is not limited to how they interact with the successor but how deeply incumbents manage to understand and monitor the successor's motivations and concerns. Incumbents aiming at retaining eligible successors need to thoroughly understand successors' motivations for agreeing to become the next CEO.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to investigate successor withdrawal post training. The authors' methodology includes the responses of non-family senior managers to provide an objective view on the family dynamics.

中文翻译：

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为什么符合条件的继承人会退出家族企业的继承程序？社会交换视角

目的

众所周知，继任者不愿参与家族企业会阻碍代际传承。然而，很少有人知道为什么那些被认为符合条件的人不选择成为下一任首席执行官 (CEO)。作者调查了为什么一些符合条件的继任者退出继任程序而其他人仍然参与其中。本文的目的是建立理论，作者为此使用了符合特定标准的有目的的抽样技术。

设计/方法/途径

作者使用归纳式、探索性多案例研究设计，调查了六家澳大利亚食品制造商。

发现

本文的分析表明，继任者的决策受以下维度驱动：追求的结果和互惠。退出继承的合格继承人担心个人财务可持续性和企业的增长潜力；伴随而来的是与现任者的负面交流。

研究局限性/影响

作者研究了数量有限的组织，这些组织主要由所有者/创始人管理。在这种类型的组织中，继任者从小就广泛接触业务及其斗争。由后代管理的企业可能存在差异，因此，他们的情感投资，社会情感需求可能与被调查的人群不同。其次，作者进行这项研究的目的是建立我们利用符合特定标准的目的抽样技术的理论。旨在获得普遍结果的进一步研究将阐明类型学的有用性，以及其他规则是否适用于现任 - 继任者关系，同时确定交换如何促成继任者'

实际影响

这项研究揭示了现任者在继任过程中的关键性质。他们的作用不仅限于他们如何与继任者互动，还包括现任者如何深入理解和监督继任者的动机和关注点。旨在留住合格继任者的在职者需要彻底了解继任者同意成为下一任 CEO 的动机。

原创性/价值

这篇论文是最早研究继任者退出后培训的论文之一。作者的方法包括非家族高级管理人员的反应，以提供对家族动态的客观看法。