Succession intentions and expectations: compatibility and determinants in agricultural family businesses

Purpose Succession is the biggest challenge facing family businesses and to overcome it these organizations need to know and align the perspectives of all members involved. The objective was to analyse the degree of compatibility between the succession intentions of the leaders in charge of the family business and the expectations of potential successors, as well as to examine the possible determinants of such compatibility. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on the case study of an agricultural family business that offers appropriate conditions of access to information and complexity due to the number of generations and family members that interact and the number of business units that make up the organization. The case study was supported by the stakeholder theory and the signalling theory. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, questionnaires from each member of the organization and constant feedback. Findings Based on the findings, a theoretical proposition is formulated. The proposition is that agricultural activity and rural spaces are particularly conducive to promoting family unity and teamwork. This way of interacting creates an environment suitable for potential successors to send signals about their succession expectations and for predecessors to observe and interpret them. Finally, signalling allows for high compatibility between those of the probable successors who are referred by the current leaders of the family business as the appropriate successors for each business unit, and those of the potential successors who declare themselves willing, interested and capable of assuming leadership. Originality/value The study is novel in proposing that certain industries (agriculture) and certain spaces (rural) may be especially conducive to generating a signalling environment that facilitates succession planning and execution in family businesses. Likewise, the study contributes something new by extending the organizational complexity in succession processes beyond the number of participants and considering that the family business can be disaggregated into various business units, each of which may require a different suitable successor.