Succession in Horticultural Family Businesses: Determining Factors

Abstract

Succession is a pervasive topic in recent family business research and receives attention from a wide range of research directions. Strategic and principal-agent approaches discuss the subject from an organizational point of view; gender research takes a sociological viewpoint. The study assesses the perspectives of those involved in the succession process through a qualitative research approach. Based on in-depth interviews, a comparative analysis leads to the development of a substantial grounded theory of succession in horticultural family businesses. Results show a range of determining factors, including socialization of the potential successor, affecting the generation spanning succession process.