Family business owners may intend to pass their firm to the next generation, but what happens when those plans meet reality? In Family business successions between desire and reality, André Pahnke, Susanne Schlepphorst and Nadine Schlömer-Laufen of the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn examine what actually happens to family businesses after succession intentions are formed.
Their findings reveal a striking gap between intention and outcome. Among family businesses planning a succession within five years, only around 12% completed a partial or full succession. About 58% were still operating without an ownership transfer, while approximately 31% had closed.
Even more surprisingly, the researchers identified up to 5.5 times more unintended than intended business successions. Why does this matter? Succession is not simply about having a plan. The business’s economic viability and competitiveness also shape whether that plan can be realized. For family business owners, advisers and policymakers, the message is clear: transgenerational continuity should not be taken for granted.
📖 Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235267342400009X
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