The Role of Quality of Relations in Succession Planning of Family Businesses in India

Considerable research has been done on the issue of succession in family businesses. However the process of induction, of preparing the members of the next generation for joining the family business has not been examined in detail. This paper attempts to analyse the relevance of three critical factors - ‘quality of relations’, ‘willingness of the inductee’ and ‘the ability to manage tensions harmoniously’ - to the induction process and the progress of the business. It focuses on the Indian context, specifically in the Small and medium Enterprise (SME) area. Qualitative research has been carried out. The Case Study method is used and data has been gathered from two families (including two branches of one family), using frequent unstructured interviews, over a period of five years. It is concluded that positive impact on business, family and the inductee depends to a large extent on the quality of relations, willingness of the inductee and the ability of both the inductor and inductee to handle and manage the tensions. Thus the findings of the study extend current understanding about succession drivers to the specific context of eastern cultural and developing economy represented by the Indian family businesses in the small and medium enterprise sector.