Patterns of Succession and Continuity in Family-Owned Businesses: Study of an Ethnic Community

Abstract

This paper examines ways in which patriarchalqfamilistic cultural systems condition responses to the kinds of social and economic changes that challenge family-owned businesses. Using a case study of an ethnic enclave in the southeastern United States, the paper looks at intergenerational succession, paying particular attention to how small firms manage to transfer control within the family. Key to successful transfer is the presence of trust and the utilization of social capital as well as the ability of successive generations to acquire skills that enable them to identify new market niches. The manuscript also discusses how firms manage conflict between old and new ideas, develop informal mechanisms for incorporating new ideas, and maintain the flexibility necessary for market survival.

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