Intergenerational communication barriers and pitfalls of business families in transition

Abstract of the study

The aim of this study is to investigate the relevant issues, barriers and pitfalls of intergenerational communication in entrepreneurial families during their leadership succession period. Building on the theory of relational leadership, this study applies an action research approach and uses a qualitative case study to investigate communication barriers and pitfalls during the transition in the company. Through action research, interventions were made in the case studied that increased the awareness and personal and social skills of the business family. As a result, business families stuck in ambivalent entanglement understand their underlying motives and needs within the change process, get closer to their emotional barriers and communication obstacles, which is a prerequisite for any change, and break through the phenomenon of the succession iceberg.

Future research should conduct multiple case studies to validate and/or modify the qualitative methods used in this action research to increase the validity and generalizability of the findings. Given the large number of entrepreneurial families in transition, this study shows the beneficial effects that action research can have on the communication behavior of entrepreneurial families along a change process. The results could help other business families understand the value of action research for such underlying challenges and reduce communication barriers. This is one of the few studies that has looked at intergenerational communication of business families using an action research approach.

Key findings of this study

• Intergenerational communication in family businesses during succession is often characterized by barriers and pitfalls, especially the "ambivalent entanglement" type. This manifests itself in a lack of succession planning, an unclear future perspective and a lack of negotiation, which leads to one-sided decisions.
• These difficulties manifest themselves in unplanned succession, unilateral decisions, a lack of integration of new family members and a lack of emotional openness. For example, new family members are difficult to integrate due to different values and there is little innovation as there is no clear takeover.
• Communication problems are often rooted in family members' subjective motives, needs and emotional barriers, which is described as the "succession iceberg". This iceberg effect means that the majority of communication barriers (around 90%) are based on unconscious factors such as feelings, trust and empathy.
• The applied action research approach can increase the awareness as well as the personal and social skills of the business family and have beneficial effects on communication behavior. Through interventions such as individual interviews and workshops, the family members were able to better understand and address their emotional barriers and communication obstacles.
• For a successful succession, clear goals and structures as well as long-term processing of the entanglements are essential. In order to overcome the state of ambivalent entanglement, fact-oriented succession issues must be linked to the underlying motives and needs of the family members, which requires continuous work.