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The purpose of this paper is to consider multigenerational landed estates in Scotland from a family business perspective. The strategic vision for the business is considered here in terms of the family definition of success, drawing upon aspects of cultural identity, legal and fiscal systems and stewardship theory.

A social-constructivist epistemology framed this study, which considered perceptions of family business strategy, culture and family defined visions of success. Semi-structured interview techniques were utilized to collect primarily qualitative date.

Results indicate that the families shared a very cohesive definition of what constituted the family business and were very aware of the importance of long-term planning in the succession process. The cultural and legal dimension of primogeniture played a defining role in the choice of successors, developed from the belief that the successor is the steward of the family property rather than the “owner” in any personal sense. Key priorities for the family included the training of the heir and the limiting of potential taxation liabilities juxtaposed with the desire to retain family discretion in decision making.

By extending current research to businesses that have been successfully transferred between six or more generations this study offers a unique insight into the requirements for effective succession. This research also offers an insight into the strategic management of a group of “family businesses” where the economic and legislative environment have required families to plan, where smaller family businesses are often able to defer.

Multigenerational estates represent some of the oldest family businesses in Scotland, offering a unique sample group of businesses which have survived through six or more generations. The clarity of strategic vision and the perceived importance of long-term planning offer an insight into the reasons for business longevity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategic approach adopted by the current owners of family-held estates in Scotland to explore the approaches that have led to multigenerational ownership.

A social constructionist epistemology was adopted to consider the manner in which owners of large landed estates perceived the strategic approach adopted by the family and the implementation of that strategy. A purposive sample based on the most senior member of the family currently involved in the ownership of five family estates, was developed, drawing heavily on personal contacts and a pre-existing level of trust between the researcher and the families involved.

All respondents had inherited their primary estate. Some had inherited or developed parallel businesses, or indeed both. All see it as their “duty” to pass the estate on and to act as trustees for the next generation. One of the key recurring themes was that despite the legal structures, all respondents had a strong standpoint that they did not really “own” the primary estate or many of the businesses, but rather felt that they were trustees or stewards for the next generation. This culture of obligation to the next generation defines this group of families and steers their actions with regards to the business and their family relationships.

The limitations to this study lie primarily in the small sample size. Further research would enable a wider sample group to be developed and possibly explain the success in retaining the business within the family. Longitudinal research could also be undertaken to see if the family’s culture changes over time and the impact that this has on the family’s survival rates and in this context the impact that the businesses have on their local economy would merit further exploration.

The originality lies in the sample group, about whom limited research is available. The research presented here draws heavily on personal contacts and a pre-existing level of trust between the researcher and the families involved.

Sustainability start-ups introduce business models that address current environmental and social challenges. However, to reach their mission, they need to integrate the intention of delivering such impact since their formulation. Business incubators show promise in supporting them in this process by enhancing their access to resources and knowledge during the early stage. For these reasons, this paper aims to investigate the transfer of knowledge in a support program, outlining what knowledge is transferred in the program and through which activities for encouraging the generation of sustainability start-ups’ impact.

The present paper is supported by a qualitative case study methodology based on primary data (interviews) and secondary data (internal and external documents) related to a French support program.

The study shows that the support program transfers explicit and tacit knowledge for encouraging the generation of sustainability impact, throughout three main phases: awareness, identification and assessment.

The limitation concerns the analysis of a French support program and the focus on sustainability start-ups. Future research lines will study other and more traditional business incubators to confirm and possibly enrich the results.

The study has managerial implications for incubator managers willing to support sustainable entrepreneurship and for sustainable entrepreneurs who want to find a support program and reach their impact.

The study shows that a sustainability orientation in business incubators can play a role in fostering sustainable development through the creation of new sustainability ventures.

This paper contributes to two different fields: sustainable entrepreneurship support and knowledge management in incubators.