Family business succession and external advisors: the relevance of ‘soft’ issues

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on family businesses’ opinions and perspectives concerning soft issues raised by the succession process and their willingness to involve an external advisor. An empirical research study based on multiple case studies was carried out. Through 25 direct interviews with the incumbent and/or successor, 15 Italian family businesses were analysed that have experienced or are going through a succession process and have involved, or have chosen not to involve, external advisors. Results underline that many family businesses are aware of the relevance of soft issues for a successful outcome of succession. However, this awareness does not always turn into a real request for advice. Family businesses often consider succession planning a private affair and prefer not to share it with external subjects. Instead, family businesses that have asked for external advisors have often complained, saying that they are mainly focused on hard issues and forget that managing soft issues is often the real key to effective succession.

KEYWORDS:

• Family business
• succession
• external services
• advisor
• consultant
• accountant
• psychologist
• soft issues
• hard issues

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Francesca Maria Cesaroni is Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. She is the Director of the Research Centre on Entrepreneurship and Small-medium firms – University of Urbino. She is also a member of the scientific board of Ipazia, the Italian Scientific Observatory on the Gender Issues. Her main research interests include entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurs, small business, family businesses and corporate financial communication.

Annalisa Sentuti, PhD, is Research Fellow in Business Administration. She teaches Business Administration and Accounting at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy). Sentuti is a member of the scientific board of Ipazia, the Italian Scientific Observatory on Gender Issues. Her primary research interests include gender in management and organisation, family businesses, women entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses.

ORCID

Francesca Maria Cesaroni http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5466-0827

Annalisa Sentuti http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3476-3781