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Contracts and communication among family members: Business succession from a contractual view

Contracts and communication among family members: Business succession from a contractual view During family business succession, much information has to be exchanged among the family members involved, contacts have to be transferred, and expectations must be negotiated among the family members. How this exchange of information occurs remains unclear but can be a key success factor during the postsuccession period as information is critical for decision making. By conducting 14 in-depth case studies and considering institutional contract theory and family communication theory, we find that situations arise in which involved members of the entrepreneurial family have different levels of information and different expectations of one another. This study contributes to the family business succession literature through an intrafamily business succession model in which two types of contracts organize information exchange among the involved family members—(psychological implicit) family contracts and (explicit) business contracts. Both contracts serve the purpose of exchanging information in the family and business systems and aligning expectations such that the family and the family business remain capable of operating. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Small Business Management Taylor & Francis

Contracts and communication among family members: Business succession from a contractual view

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References (64)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2020 International Council for Small Business
ISSN
1540-627X
eISSN
0047-2278
DOI
10.1080/00472778.2020.1816429
Publisher site
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Abstract

During family business succession, much information has to be exchanged among the family members involved, contacts have to be transferred, and expectations must be negotiated among the family members. How this exchange of information occurs remains unclear but can be a key success factor during the postsuccession period as information is critical for decision making. By conducting 14 in-depth case studies and considering institutional contract theory and family communication theory, we find that situations arise in which involved members of the entrepreneurial family have different levels of information and different expectations of one another. This study contributes to the family business succession literature through an intrafamily business succession model in which two types of contracts organize information exchange among the involved family members—(psychological implicit) family contracts and (explicit) business contracts. Both contracts serve the purpose of exchanging information in the family and business systems and aligning expectations such that the family and the family business remain capable of operating.

Journal

Journal of Small Business Management – Taylor & Francis

Published: Mar 4, 2023

Keywords: Family firms; succession; contract theory; psychological contract; family communication theory

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