Three Essays on Family Firm Succession
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TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN Lehrstuhl für Betriebswirtschaftslehre – Controlling THREE ESSAYS ON FAMILY FIRM SUCCESSION Alexandra Katharina Zehe Vollständiger Abdruck der von der Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Technischen Universität München zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Dr. rer. pol.) genehmigten Dissertation. Vorsitzender: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hugo Kehr Prüfer der Dissertation: 1. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gunther Friedl 2. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Frank-Martin Belz Die Dissertation wurde am 28.01.2016 bei der Technischen Universität München eingereicht und durch die Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften am 15.04.2016 angenommen. I TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................. VIII 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 1 2 ESSAY 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 11 LEGITIMIZATION OF THE SUCCESSOR IN FAMILY SMES: DEVELOPING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................................ 11 3 ESSAY 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 90 INNOVATION TYPES AND INFLUENCE FACTORS ON COMMITMENT AND RESISTANCE TO CHANGE DURING SUCCESSION IN FAMILY SMES .............................................................................. 90 4 ESSAY 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 159 VIDEO ELICITATION INTERVIEWS IN ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: APPLICATION IN A FIELD STUDY ...................................................................................................... 159 5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 160 REFERENCES (INTRODUCTION & CONCLUSION) ............................................................................. 166 II TABLE OF CONTENTS – EXTENDED VERSION LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................. VIII 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Family firm succession as a stage of vital importance for family firms ...................................... 1 1.2 The relevance of successions in the German crafts sector .......................................................... 2 1.3 The necessity to become an accepted and legitimated leader...................................................... 3 1.4 The ability to remain innovative during succession processes and to handle resistance ............. 6 1.5 Establishing video elicitation interviews as a new method in organizational research ............... 8 2 ESSAY 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 11 LEGITIMIZATION OF THE SUCCESSOR IN FAMILY SMES: DEVELOPING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................................ 11 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 12 2 Social Power in Family Firms and the Successor’s Legitimate Power ..................................... 16 2.1 Social power within dyadic relationships .......................................................................... 16 2.2 Core aspects of legitimate power....................................................................................... 19 2.3 Effects of legitimation ....................................................................................................... 19 2.4 Determinants of legitimation ............................................................................................. 20 2.5 Legitimation in family business succession ...................................................................... 20 3 Evidence from the German Skilled Crafts and Trade Sector .................................................... 23 3.1 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Research methods .............................................................................................................. 24 3.3 Sample ............................................................................................................................... 28 3.4 Data analysis methods ....................................................................................................... 32 4 Developing a Framework for the Successor’s Legitimization in Family Firm Succession ....... 33 4.1 Results from the focused interviews .................................................................................. 34 4.2 Results from the photographs ............................................................................................ 47 III 4.3 Results from the IPI ........................................................................................................... 49 4.4 Integration of the methods into a theoretical framework................................................... 56 5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 58 6 Conclusion, Contribution, and Limitations ............................................................................... 64 References ......................................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................... 78 3 ESSAY 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 90 INNOVATION TYPES AND INFLUENCE FACTORS ON COMMITMENT AND RESISTANCE TO CHANGE DURING SUCCESSION IN FAMILY SMES .............................................................................. 90 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 92 2 Preliminary Theoretical Assumptions ....................................................................................... 95 2.1 Succession in family firms and its relevance for the German skilled crafts sector ........... 95 2.2 Innovativeness and innovation in SMEs and family firms ................................................ 97 2.3 Resistance and commitment to change ............................................................................ 105 3 Research Methodology, Methods, and Sample Characteristics............................................... 108 4 Analysis and Results ............................................................................................................... 113 4.1 What sort of innovations do family SMEs currently facing succession pursue?............. 113 4.2 What roles do predecessor and successor have regarding the management of innovations dependent on the phase of succession? .................................................................... 118 4.3 Factors influencing resistance and commitment on the part of employees and predecessors................................................................................................................................. 120 5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 126 5.1 Innovation types during family firm succession .............................................................. 126 5.2 The predecessors’ and successors’ roles regarding the management of innovations dependent on the phase of succession ......................................................................................... 130 5.3 Commitment and resistance to innovations on the part of employees ............................ 132 5.4 Behavioral strategies for the successor to minimize employees’