A gender perspective on family business succession: case studies from France

Byrne, Janice; Fattoum, Salma

doi:10.4337/9781782544616.00015

Cited by 9 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…In terms of potential successors, daughters are often not socialised for family business leadership and are usually overlooked during the grooming process (Byrne and Fattoum, 2014;Overbeke, Bilimoria and Somers, 2015). There can be a greater inclination to protect daughters from the "cut and thrust" of business life (Overbeke et al, 2013;Vera and Dean, 2005).…”

Section: Succession Legitimacy and Gendered Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anointed or appointed? Father–daughter succession within the family business

McAdam¹,

Brophy

Harrison

2020

International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurs

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With the focus on events and outcomes shaping most of the existing family business research on intra-family succession, the subtleties of the incumbent–successor relationship and the dynamic nature of succession as a process of becoming is somewhat neglected. In particular, we have limited understanding of how successor identities are constructed as legitimate between incumbent and successor during father–daughter succession. This article addresses this gap in understanding by exploring how the daughter successor engages in identity work with the father incumbent during the process of succession and the role of father–daughter gendered relations in shaping her successor identity. Using a two-stage research design strategy, we draw upon empirical evidence derived from 14 individual and joint semi-structured interviews to present a narrative analysis of five father–daughter dyads. In so doing, we unveil how the daughter’s successor identity was co-constructed as legitimate and how father–daughter gendered relations influenced this process. Although daughters rely on certain father–daughter relations (preparation, endorsement and osmotic credibility) for legitimacy, they also need to develop independently of their father to heighten their own visibility and establish credibility.

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Section: Succession Legitimacy and Gendered Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anointed or appointed? Father–daughter succession within the family business

McAdam¹,

Brophy

Harrison

2020

International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurs

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“…Succession decisions may be informed by both altruism or nepotism (Howorth et al ., ) and specific actions on the part of the family, particularly the incumbent leader, can have a great impact on the succession process (Constantinidis and Nelson, ). Women are often not appropriately socialized for the successor role (Constantinidis and Nelson, ; Byrne and Fattoum, ). Gender role division in the family and exclusionary practices in the workplace mean that women are often sidelined in the succession process (Byrne and Fattoum, ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women are often not appropriately socialized for the successor role (Constantinidis and Nelson, ; Byrne and Fattoum, ). Gender role division in the family and exclusionary practices in the workplace mean that women are often sidelined in the succession process (Byrne and Fattoum, ). The predecessor's gender preference can also play a key role in defining the rules and constraints of the leadership ‘contest’ among siblings (Ahrens et al ., ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, a preference for male successors in family business prevails (Dumas, ; Ahrens et al ., ) and still today, daughters are less likely than sons to obtain a leadership role within the family business (Martinez‐Jimenez, ; Wang, ; Dumas, ). Prior research has offered numerous explanations for the persistence of gender inequality in succession, pointing to the salience of gender roles, socialization and patriarchal relations (Iannarelli, ; Mulholland, ; Garcia‐Alvarez et al ., ; Martinez‐Jimenez, ; Byrne and Fattoum, ) as well as investigating the next generation's human capital, interest and attitudes (Dumas, ; Salganicoff, ; Vera and Dean, ; Byrne and Fattoum, ; Ahrens et al ., ). Given the far reaching consequences of women's under‐representation as successors – for individuals, families, firms and societies – gender inequality in family business succession merits extensive scientific study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research has largely adopted a binary, stereotypical view of gender in family business and family business succession (Hamilton, , ; Heinonen and Hytti, ; Byrne and Fattoum, ; Hytti et al ., ; Nelson and Constantinidis, ). The majority of family business research exhibits a gender‐essentialist positioning meaning that men and women are viewed as inherently different, such that ‘men are like this, and women are like that’ (Bradley, ; Nelson and Constantinidis, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A suitable boy? Gendered roles and hierarchies in family business succession

Byrne

Fattoum

Thébaud

2018

European Management Review

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Given the importance of family business to economies and societies, the persistence of gender inequality in succession requires further exploration. While gender theorizing has penetrated mainstream management theorizing, its application in family business literature remains underdeveloped: extant research conceptualizes gender as an objective property of individuals, synonymous with biological sex. In this paper, we adopt a social constructionist approach and study four cases of family business succession, revealing significant insights into how gender structures successor selection. We show how gender dynamics are more complicated than a binary view focused on gender category would imply. Specifically, we identify how family members, through discourses and interactions, socially construct the successor role, and how this gendered construction of the role frames a hierarchy of potential successors. This hierarchy is based on the combination of gender category and the extent to which an individual's traits and characteristics are perceived to align with that role.

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