Entrepreneurs prefer to hand over their life's work within the family. But how many family-owned companies really plan or realize this route of succession? What influences this decision?
Dr. Nadine Schlömer-Laufen and Prof. Dr. Andreas Rauch (The University of Sydney/Australia and Johannes Keppler University in Linz/Austria) have examined these questions for their article "Internal and external successions in family firms: a meta-analysis". A significant result of their meta-analysis is that 62 percent of these family firms are (planned to be) transferred to family members. The highest rate of (intended) internal successions is observed in the agricultural sector – the lowest rates in the craft industry followed by the service sector. The size of the company, however, does not seem to have any influence.
The article has been published in the Journal of Family Business Management.
