Two Sides of the Same Coin—How Intra-Family Communication Affects Entrepreneurial Spirit over Generations in Family Businesses

Philipp Köhn (), Miriam Lehmann-Hiepler () and Petra Moog ()
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Philipp Köhn: Siegen University
Miriam Lehmann-Hiepler: Siegen University
Petra Moog: Siegen University

Chapter 17 in Family Entrepreneurship, 2021, pp 227-238 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how intra-family communication influences the entrepreneurial spirit over generations within business families and thus the decision of the offspring to succeed in the family business. Therefore, we used mixed data including current family business and entrepreneurship literature, gathered interviews from our past research, and our consultancy experiences in family firms. Our results show that narratives within the intra-family communication, especially when considering business-related topics, can affect the perception of the family business and thus the entrepreneurial spirit of the next generation in both positive and negative directions. Consequently, these narratives should create a positive image of running a family firm, which increases the probability that children with a family business background act more entrepreneurially and like to take over a family business with all the inherent responsibilities. Derived from our results, we developed a seven-step action plan for business families who want to keep or even promote the entrepreneurial spirit within their family across generations, which is, besides the theoretical insights, the main contribution of this chapter.

Keywords: Business families; Entrepreneurial spirit; Intra-family communication; Family business; Succession; Transgenerational (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-66846-4_17

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-66846-4_17

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