Abstract
This doctoral dissertation examines family business succession decisions in Pakistan, a developing nation. It investigates how incumbents pursue the succession process in a multiple successor scenario, aiming to avoid conflict and ensure continuity. Although family enterprises are a source of wealth creation and employment opportunities, research has shown that 70% collapse during the transition from the first to the second generation, while only 3% survive into the third generation. The high failure rate during succession warrants in-depth understanding and further research.
Family business research is dominated by its Western contextual foundation, and the existing body of knowledge lacks various crucial elements. First, most family enterprises in the West are run by nuclear families with a limited pool of potential successors, and research on the multiple successors scenario is rare. Second, the socio-cultural context of South Asian nations gives high importance to family well-being (along with business growth), which is not a key feature of Western family businesses. Further, the role of emotional attachment to both family and business is prominent in the South Asian context. To address this research gap, this study explores the succession decision process of Pakistani family businesses through the socioemotional wealth (SEW) theoretical lens. This study investigates the incumbents’ views about three aspects of succession planning, namely successor identification, preparation, and transfer of power in the multiple successor scenario.
Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 family business incumbents to acquire insight into their experiences and perspectives regarding succession decisions. Socioemotional wealth is perceived as having two edges. Positively, it promotes family well-being and strong social and emotional ties among family members, which support the passing of the business on to the next generation. The incumbents view their family businesses as a critical resource for the economic and social mobility of their family. They follow the SEW model by prioritising family values and interests over business progress. The study concludes that Pakistani family incumbents are motivated by family welfare and follow the tenets of SEW to successfully guide their businesses. However, from a negative perspective, family values guiding the business and the strength drawn from following SEW are not adequate to guide the business through the crucial succession phase. Thus, SEW should be complemented through formal processes and modern business practices. This study contributes to the theory of SEW by highlighting its benefits and deficiencies in the context of a developing South Asian country. Further, the implications for practice identify a pressing need to craft an agreed-upon family business constitution for Pakistani family businesses, which should include a comprehensive succession plan with a conflict resolution clause and a focus on family business growth.