Family business succession practices of private Schools in Nairobi

Abstract

The predominance of family-owned businesses in economies across the world and the criticality of issues peculiar to family owned businesses are, by now, a well-established and a widely accepted fact. Planning for succession is believed to be one of the most challenging tasks facing family business managers and hence it is one of the most widely researched topics since research on issues specific to family firms. With only about 30% of the family businesses making the transition to the second generation and only 10% to the third generation (Beckhard & Dyer, 1983), the remaining sold or liquidated, succession seems to deserve all the attention it receives. The aim of the research is to analyze evolutionary routines in the context of family business succession and owner management. The research arenas of owner management and founder successor relationships (including planning and managing a succession) are representing family business topics that need to be studied in order to increase an understanding on family firms (Brockhaus 2004). Family firms are characterized with succession planning, succession management, next generation training, and family management and ownership. The study was carried out as survey on family business succession practices a case of private schools in Nairobi. The objective of the study was to establish succession practices by private schools in Nairobi and to identify factors that influence private school businesses succession practices. Succession occurs over a long period of time; it begins before heirs even enter the firm and then proceeds through the formal nomination of the successor, the transition phase, and the actual takeover