Critical successor attributes in Indian family owned businesses in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper was to identify and understand critical successor attributes in Indian family owned businesses in South Africa. The understanding of these attributes may inform management’s selection criteria in choosing an appropriate successor. Succession is crucial in terms of the survival of Indian family owned businesses in South Africa. A literature review on the topic of succession in family owned businesses was done. From the literature, 30 critical successor attributes were identified. The research question was formulated after discovering that there have not been any South African studies on the topic of critical successor attributes. Interviewees were asked to list and discuss critical successor attributes as part of the open ended questions during the interview and then later presented and asked to rate the importance of the 30 successor attributes identified from two previous studies. Eight Indian family owned businesses were identified through purposive sampling where the predecessor/potential predecessor and the successor/potential successor were interviewed. The open ended questions in the interview provided rich descriptive data and highlighted critical successor attributes according to this sample. The most critical successor attributes identified were financial and accounting skills; education; and business acumen. When presented with the 30 attributes identified from the previous two studies, “integrity” and “commitment to business” were identified as the two most important successor attributes from this list. Copyright