Succession planning in family-owned businesses - Evidence from Turkey

A key issue for many family-owned businesses (FOBs) is intergenerational management succession. This article investigates the dynamics of the succession process for FOBs that have already taken the succession decision and have selected their successors. The primary goal of the study is to delineate the factors behind the succession process by investigating selection, training and entry mode of successors as well as the involvement of family members and stakeholders in the succession process. Data from the predecessors of 408 FOBs in Turkey reveals a number of insightful findings regarding major characteristics of the FOB succession process including the views of predecessors on the succession process, successor selection criteria and the post-succession period. This is the first systematic study to deal with the succession process in Turkish FOBs, which previously has been informed only by anecdotal evidence.