Stepping out of the shadow: the leadership qualities of successors in family business

The purpose of this study is to better understand the development of successors in the family business and their approach to the leadership of the firm. Foundational concepts in the family business literature and leadership literature are reviewed. I propose an integration of leadership theory into family business studies. I examine the reasons successors join the family business, the successors development from follower to leader, differences between founders and successors, and the leadership qualities of successors. A case study approach is followed, using a mixture of qualitative interviews and a survey questionnaire, the Organizational Leadership Assessment. Six family businesses are described in detail, including an air conditioning wholesale company, a pest control company, an automobile dealership, a printing business, a funeral home, and an air conditioning service company. Reasons for successors to enter the family business include expectation, convenience, opportunity, and closeness to family members. Successors move through the stages of student of the organization, low level manager, top manager, and finally owner. I identify five areas of differences between founders and successors, including business environment concerns, company changes, ownership complexity, and two internal differences regarding entrepreneurial activity and business risk approach. Important leadership qualities for successors include the need for hands-on technical knowledge, the importance of long-term orientation, the need for a spirit of cooperation among family leaders, and the relevance of servant leadership. I provide eight propositions for encouraging the next generation to join the business, five propositions to encourage the development of successors, two propositions to understand the differences between successors and founders, and two propositions to understand the leadership qualities of successors

Examining the Entrepreneurial Mindset and Entrepreneurial Intentions

We examined factors contributing to developing entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and the relationship between EI and the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) among nascent student entrepreneurs. Further, we seek to increase awareness among business practitioners of the value of nascent entrepreneurs to the economy. Utilizing the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior, we investigated personal and contextual factors related to EI. We surveyed 400 US business college students, comparing those with EI (n=228) and those without EI (n=178). Our findings indicated that compared to respondents who did not have EI, respondents who possessed EI reported several significant personal factors. Specifically, they were more likely to view themselves as entrepreneurs, have family members who owned their own businesses, lead group projects as students, and have previously worked in a startup business. Additionally, the contextual factor of the Covid-19 pandemic positively affected business students who possessed EI

Drivers of Entrepreneurial Intentions in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

This study investigated the effect of the personality factors, creativity, risk-taking, and locus of control, on the entrepreneurial intentions of U.S. business college students, employing the theoretical lens of the theory of planned behavior. We surveyed 353 student respondents, comparing those with self-reported entrepreneurial intentions (n=213) versus those without entrepreneurial intentions (n=140). Our results indicated that the personality characteristics of risk-taking and creativity both significantly and positively predicted entrepreneurial intentions, but locus of control did not have a significant impact. Contextually, this study was undertaken during the extensive difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic. One positive consequence of the pandemic has been a heightened interest in entrepreneurship. We advise business school educators to pursue activities that encourage nascent entrepreneurship by fostering creativity and providing educational initiatives that help students reduce the perceived risk of starting their own businesses

Examining the Entrepreneurial Intentions of U.S. Ethnic Minorities During the Covid-19 Pandemic

We examine minority entrepreneurial intentions in the U.S. and seek to make business leaders and business educators aware of minority students’ interest in entrepreneurship activity. Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, we investigated if demographic and behavioral factors are related to entrepreneurial intentions. A major contextual factor was that we performed our research during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed the entrepreneurial intentions of 400 U.S. business college students, comparing minority respondents (n=137) with white respondents (n=263). The minority respondents belonged to the three predominant minority entrepreneur groups in the U.S. -- African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Minority respondents had significantly greater entrepreneurial intentions than their white counterparts. We investigated contextual factors affecting minority entrepreneurial intentions and found that a significant difference existed regarding the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in that it counter-intuitively increased minority entrepreneurial intentions. Significant personal factors included having family members who own a business and having a role model