Ewa Więcek-Janka, Joanna Majchrzak, Magdalena Wyrwicka and Gerhard Wilhelm Weber
The knowledge of goals of the successor, who is preparing to take over the business, is extremely important for the succession process and further operation of a family…
Abstract
Purpose
The knowledge of goals of the successor, who is preparing to take over the business, is extremely important for the succession process and further operation of a family enterprise. The aim of this study is to structure the goals of Polish family enterprises’ successors and to develop a Synthetic Model of the goals of Polish family enterprises' successors with the application of grey clustering evaluation models.
Design/methodology/approach
Research into the specifics of the diagnosis and assessment of the goals set for the successors of the first succession in family businesses in Poland was carried out in the third quarter of 2016 at two stages using two research methods: in-depth group interview and individual interview. The main aim of the first stage was the extraction of subjectively identified goals by family enterprises' successors (based on their succession experience). The statements were open and obtained during two in-depth group interviews (2 FGI) with successors being in the process of succession at its various stages (total, n = 14). The respondents presented their experiences connected with the succession process along with emotions that are associated with it. In one of the interview stages, the respondents were asked to enumerate their individual goals they set for themselves in the context of upcoming changes. Next, the group agreed on the most frequently mentioned goals by creating their verbal interpretation. The obtained list of 20 goals was recorded and discussed, and thanks to the application of the elimination rule in the collective decision-making process, that list was reduced to 10 goals, which was approved by all participating successors.
Findings
The results show the developed Synthetic Model of the goals of family enterprises’ successors. The study singled out four groups of successors: (1) successors who do not work in the family enterprise yet, (2) successors holding lower-level positions, (3) successors holding managerial positions, (4) successors who manage the entire company. As a result of the calculations, the developed Synthetic Model of the goals of family enterprises' successors was positively verified for successors working in higher-level positions and successors managing the entire family enterprise.
Research limitations/implications
In order to use the results of clustering, e.g. for conducting studies on large samples with the use of statistical tools, a reduced number of goals should be taken into account. A thorough study of three goals may bring results similar to the study of the original ten successors of Polish family enterprises in the process of succession. The aim of future research is to develop a mathematical model using optimization functions that enable selection of elements representing individual clusters in such a way that it leads to the extraction of the elements with the highest value in relation to the accepted criterion for assessing their value.
Originality/value
In the future, conducting family business research in accordance with the developed methodology requires a look at the proposed list of successor goals obtained during the Focus Group Interview (FGI) as it could be shortened using the Cluster of Grey Incidence method. Shortening the list of goals has its analytic and practical justifications. The study of the full list of goals in subsequent (and numerous further studies) could lead to errors related to, for example, different interpretation of goals among the investigated successors. Furthermore, the full list of goals would increase costs and extend research time.
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Ewa Wiecek-Janka, Marcin Nowak and Arkadiusz Borowiec
This paper is a part of the application trend of the development of the grey systems theory. The purpose of this paper is to present the use of the GDM model in the diagnosis of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is a part of the application trend of the development of the grey systems theory. The purpose of this paper is to present the use of the GDM model in the diagnosis of the occurrence of crises in family businesses. The issue of the occurrence of conflicts and crises in family businesses is one of the most important and common in management science in Poland.
Design/methodology/approach
In the paper using the GDM model (in which the weights of the criteria were determined using the modified Thurstone method), the authors presented a way to diagnose the occurrence of crises in family businesses for a sample of Polish family businesses using, among others, a questionnaire-based survey.
Findings
As a result of the conducted research, it turned out that in eight surveyed businesses no symptoms of conflicts were diagnosed. In three businesses, the symptoms of conflicts were diagnosed, but they did not threaten their existence. In the case of four businesses, the symptoms of crisis that threaten their existence were diagnosed and immediate remedial action was recommended to them.
Originality/value
The authors are of the opinion that the presented research results may be a reason for the validity of using the GDM model in the diagnosis of crises in family businesses. At the same time, it is recommended to undertake further research on, inter alia, conflict fields in family businesses, or on the use of the modified Thurstone method as a part of determining the validity of decision-making criteria in GDM models.
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Rafal Mierzwiak and Ewa Więcek-Janka
The purpose of the paper is to analyse the relationships between the competency structure of the successors of family enterprises in Poland and dimensions like gender…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to analyse the relationships between the competency structure of the successors of family enterprises in Poland and dimensions like gender, self-awareness of development, taking their ideas into consideration in shaping the strategy of the firm and the size of the firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Grey relational analysis was employed to analyse the empirical material in the paper. The results of the analysis served a more thorough qualitative analysis of the subject of the family enterprise successors’ competencies by comparing them to theoretical assumptions and other research within this scope.
Findings
In the paper, the relation was shown between the structure of family firm successors’ competencies and the variables such as gender, development self-awareness, taking their ideas into consideration in shaping the strategy of the firm and the size of the firm.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in Poland and therefore its generalisation has limited scope resulting from the cultural and historical conditioning.
Practical implications
The results of the research may serve the creation of tools and methods of succession process management in a family enterprise.
Originality/value
The paper presents the possibilities of employing grey system theory in the research remaining within the scope of the subject of succession in family enterprises, as a tool complementing qualitative analysis.