Coaching and mentoring at family businesses in process of transition

Abstract

According to the Spanish saying ('Cuentas claras, amistades largas') the secret of a long friendship is clear accounts. How can this be interpreted in our country's enterprises sector? More specifically in that economic milieu where, based on the EU's expert estimates (Mandl 2008), the ratio of family businesses is 70-75% whose roots go back to the period of the change of regime for most of them. So in the near future, based on the international experiences, showing both the micro and macroeconomic importance of the processes of succession and generation change, the passing on of leaders and owners' roles are deemed as critical and are thus in the focus. One of the theoretical debates concerning family businesses centres round a provocative question: namely whether the world would be better if family businesses operating under professional leaders behaved as businesses free from family influence. We reply no to this pseudo naïve question, and at the same time from our point of view as the result of symbiosis of familiness (resources thanks to family participation) and professionalization, the survival of family businesses forming the backbone of the enterprise sector in Hungary may be improved significantly. In this paper we give an outlook and a literature review about the status of the Hungarian family businesses and we present the relevance and possibilities of succession planning. As the succession is not in quick and easy process, it can be supported by externals as well, like advisors, coaches and mentors; we review that where and what can be the role of these external supports in case of succession issues in family businesses.