Strategies adopted by family businesses for the succession process

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.27145

Keywords:

family business, succession, strategies, process

Abstract

Objective: Understand how the strategies adopted to lead to succession occur.

Methodology: A multiple, exploratory, and qualitative case study was carried out with predecessors and successors involved in the succession process of three distinct family businesses located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Originality / Relevance: The fact that family businesses are present in the market and that a high percentage of them do not surpass the first generation of the family demonstrates the need for debate and studies on family businesses, mainly regarding their succession. Given this scenario, where family businesses are present in the global economy, the succession process emerges as a challenging and crucial task for the survival of the business.

Main results: The results suggest that, by the choice of predecessors and successors, the best approach is to achieve balance, treating the family and business systems as the same weight, or equivalent weights.

Theoretical / methodological contributions: Understanding and advancing the succession process in companies with different profiles, enabling the comprehension of strategies that align with literature on the subject.

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Author Biographies

Enzo Bobulak Katz, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from PUCRS - Brazil, with a final project focused on family business management. Academic and professional interests include corporate governance and family business continuity.

Renata Araujo Bernardon, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

She holds a degree in Business Administration (PUCRS | BRAZIL | 2001), Master's Degree in Business Administration (PUCRS | BRAZIL | 2004), MBA Entrepreneurship & Family Business, Creación de Empresas y Gestão de Empresas Familiares (EAE | Spain |2007) and a PhD in Business Administration (Unisinos | Brazil|2017), with a sandwich period at the Center for Studies in Family Businesses (EDHEC |France | 2016). She is currently Director of Continuing Education at PUCRS and a professor at the undergraduate and graduate levels of disciplines related to the theme of Corporate Governance and Family Business Management.

Jefferson Marlon Monticelli, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

He is an assistant professor at the Unisinos School of Management and Business. He completed his postdoctoral studies in the Department of Production and Operations Management at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, São Paulo School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP), São Paulo, Brazil. He holds a doctorate and a master's degree in Business Administration from Unisinos University, Porto Alegre, Brazil. He was a visiting scholar at the Department of Business Studies at Uppsala University, Sweden, during his doctoral studies. His main research interests include coopetition, institutional theory, international business, entrepreneurship, and family businesses. He has published in journals such as Global Strategy Journal, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, International Journal of Emerging Markets, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, among others.

Marcelo Curth, Feevale University, Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

He holds a PhD in Business Administration. He is a professor of the Postgraduate Program in Business Administration and the Postgraduate Program in Cultural Processes and Manifestations at Feevale University, researching topics related to Marketing. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Strategic Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Consumer Behavior, and Management and Entrepreneurship in Health and Sports. He coordinates a postgraduate course (Lato Sensu) in Sports Management. He manages sports and outreach programs and projects. He is a thematic editor of magazines specializing in Entrepreneurship and Management, Marketing, Consumption, and Sustainability. He also works as a partner and owner of consulting, advisory, and training firms, providing marketing strategy consulting services to micro and small businesses.

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Published

14.08.2025

How to Cite

Katz, E. B., Bernardon, R. A., Monticelli, J. M., & Curth, M. (2025). Strategies adopted by family businesses for the succession process. Revista Ibero-Americana De Estratégia, 24(4), e27145. https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.27145

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