The Gears of Legacy: next-generations driving family business renewal and endurance

Generational dynamics are a central and defining feature of family businesses. Different generations hold distinct perceptions and understandings of the reality, carry unique knowledge and competencies, have distinct goals, and play a key role as active agents in organizations facing change and transformation processes. Generational differences and cooperation between generations shape profoundly the family firms’ ability and willingness to drive strategic and organizational renewal processes, and they contribute uniquely to their ability to survive and thrive in fast-changing social, technological, competitive and institutional contexts.

Tackling these issues requires a deep understanding of the inter-generational dynamics characterizing family firms, a topic that has received surprisingly too little research attention so far in the family business literature. On the one hand, we need more knowledge on the role of incoming generations in developing regenerative capacities necessary to be innovative, international and entrepreneurial, to secure and also enlarge economic and non-economic wealth for future generations. On the other hand, we also need to understand more thoroughly how incoming generations relate to the incumbent or senior one, as the latter must supply critical know how and expertise, mentoring the young and preserving the foundational values, identities and idiosyncrasies of the family business. As several scholars have highlighted the importance of successful intergenerational processes for effectively facing address new and global challenges, expanding knowledge about the different perspectives, feelings, ambitions, fears, capabilities and contributions of different generations in family businesses, and more broadly the role of different generations in renewal processes  is an important priority for family business research and practice.

In 2020, our research exploration into generational issues in family businesses was paused by a global pandemic crisis that prevented us from meeting and discussing our work and ideas on this important topic. Therefore, we are excited to re-launch a new call for papers that focuses on generations in family business research, encouraging submissions of papers that contribute to the presented conference theme “THE GEARS OF FAMILY LEGACIES: Next-generations Driving Family Business Renewal and Endurance”, including (but not limited to) the following examples of research questions:

• Contribution of new generations in addressing new social, technological social, technological, competitive and institutional challenges for family firms. For example: What is the role of new generations in the digitalization of traditional family businesses? How can family firms take advantage of new generations when targeting younger customers (i.e. millennials)?
• Generations in the growing challenge of international competitiveness: How do family firms address global dynamics in an increasingly connected world? What is the role of new generations? Which are the mechanisms through which new generations may add to this big challenge?
• Family business renewal across generations: Which dynamics of change, innovation and regeneration capabilities can help the family business when renewing its legacy? What are the roles of new generations in family firms today? Which are the mechanisms through which the family business can take advantage of involving different generations for organizational renewal? How can the family business maintain and reinforce a sustaining entrepreneurial orientation across generations?
• Intergenerational conflict management and intergenerational reciprocity: How do family businesses manage intergenerational conflict and the trade-offs among the interests of different generations? Which (family) factors influence the intergenerational reciprocity among different generations?
• Family business strategy and long-term sustainability: Which are the main (successful) strategies that help family businesses preserve family business-based intangibles (e.g., identity, culture, values)? Which is the role of each generation in this regard? How can short-term decisions about human, social, and relational capital made by senior generations impact in the long-term to the new generations? How do generations relate to short- and long-term strategies in family firms?

In addition to the conference theme, IFERA more broadly welcomes submissions on all topics that are relevant to family business theory and practice, that help bridge gaps or apparent contradictions in family business research, and advance our collective understanding of family firms, their behaviors and results. We therefore invite papers on all aspects of family business research, including but not limited to succession, leadership, governance, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy, marketing, organizational behavior, sociology, family psychology, history, economics, finance and accounting, as well as topics that lie at the intersection of these and other interrelated disciplines are welcome. Some pressing questions include, for example: (1) How to preserve identity and family values at the same time when family firms need to renew themselves, innovate and regenerate their capabilities;(2) How to preserve attachment to local communities while adopting a global mindset and reaching an international scope; (3) How to reconcile short-term competitiveness and long-term survival.

We welcome and encourage submissions using diverse theoretical perspectives, different and new methodological approaches, and different units of analysis (as the individuals, the family, the firm, etc.).