Conceptual Framework

Although no theory on family businesses is specifically recognized to date, substantial progress has been made toward achieving one (^{Chrisman et al., 2003}; ^{Chua et al, 2003}; ^{Pieper & Klein, 2007}; ^{Casillas & Acedo, 2007}; ^{Debicki et al., 2009}; ^{Moores, 2009}; ^{James et al., 2011}; ^{Litz, Pearson & Litchfield, 2012}); furthermore, within this current literature the topic of succession is always present.

Socialization Stage

The theoretical model of succession from the parent to the child in the leadership of the family business considered in the long term (^{Longenecker & Schoen, 1978}), outlines a seven stage process that begins in childhood and culminates at the time of maturity of the successor's performance. This model states that "[...] parent-child succession involves a long term socialization process, in which the child is gradually prepared for leadership through learning experiences" (^{Longenecker & Schoen, 1978}, p. 1). On the other hand, ^{Ward and Aronoff (1991)} demonstrate important reasons to hire children in summer jobs before they enter the business as full-time employees. Additionally, ^{Ward (1994)} further explains that the process must be initiated at home, in what is directly taught through parental guidance and behavior during childhood. ^{García et al. (2002)}, state that the socialization process consists of two stages: Primary socialization, also called preparation by ^{Gersick, Lansberg, Desjardins & Duna (1999)}, covers everything related to the acquisition of knowledge and values; whereas secondary socialization entails the acquisition of specific knowledge and is assumed to have been preceded by primary socialization.

A review of the literature on the socialization stage reveals the presence of four relevant factors identified by various authors: Values (^{Wortman, 1994}; ^{Koiranen, 2002}; ^{Lozano, 2003}; ^{García & López, 2001}, 2003; ^{García, 2005}), leadership ability (^{Turner, 1995}; ^{Drennan, Kennedy & Renfrow, 2005}; ^{Craig & Moores, 2006}), formal education (^{Goldberg, 1996}; ^{Howort & Assaraf, 2001}; ^{Lambrech, 2005}; ^{Venter et al., 2005}); and transmission of tacit knowledge (^{Polanyi, 1966}; ^{Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995}; ^{Cabrera et al., 2001}). Each of these individual factors may be influenced by the family, the business, the industry, or individuals themselves.

Involvement Stage

This stage represents the transition between the socialization stage of successors and their performance in their first full-time jobs as employees in the family business. ^{Stavrou and Swiercz (1998)} found that between the pre-admission moment and the effective admission moment into the family business, descendants may make a decision that may lead their parents to simultaneously evaluate their potential successor. The decision is usually made when descendants are between 18 and 22 years; the time when many of them are in college. The successor can decide between looking for employment outside the family business or working at it. In this regard, ^{Longenecker and Schoen (1978)}, ^{Birley (1986)}, ^{Davis and Tagiuri (1989)}, and ^{Handler (1989)} propose that when the successor decides to work in the family business the reasons frequently taken into consideration for such a decision are family-based, personal, social, business-related, or market-related. These findings can additionally be complemented with others from studies on career choice intention (^{Zellweger, Sieger & Halter, 2010}; ^{Schoröder, Schmitt-Rodermund & Arnaud, 2011}).

The Initial Belonging Stage

In the existing literature, little research is specifically related to the first jobs of potential successors in the family business full-time. In contrast, the current study places importance on this stage and relates it to the concepts of satisfaction and commitment.

In the concept of satisfaction, ^{Sharma et al. (2001)} examine the issues that influence initial satisfaction with succession processes in family businesses. The continuation of this work (^{Sharma et al., 2003}) emphasizes that successful succession has two dimensions in family businesses: Satisfaction with the succession process and satisfaction with the business performance. As for the concept of commitment, it is necessary to highlight the work of ^{Lansberg and Astra-chan (1994)}, who emphasized family commitment to the business, which contributes to family cohesion in the planning of succession and training of the successor as an important factor. On the other hand, ^{Chrisman et al. (1998)} and ^{Sharma and Rao (2000)} found that integrity and commitment to the business are the most important performance attributes of the successor, which suggests the need to emphasize them early in the succession process.

In order to conduct the research for this study it was necessary to adopt a definition of family business, since no general consensus presently exists for one (^{Chua et al., 1999}; ^{Upton, Teal & Felan, 2001}; ^{Astrachan & Shanker, 2003}; ^{Cabrera, 2005}). Therefore, for the purposes of the current research, the definition provided by ^{Cabrera (2005)} was adopted with minor adjustments: A family business is one in which 51% or more of the ownership is in the hands of the members of one family, who have the intent of controlling its ownership and possibly its management, and into which a second or later generations have been incorporated. For this article, we define a second or later generation as the descendants of the founder(s) and their corresponding descendants, referred to as descendants or potential successors.

The four case studies which constitute the first part of the empirical work in the investigation and examination of literature allowed for the construction of a theoretical model of the socialization, involvement and initial belonging of potential successors to family businesses.

This conceptual model that arise from the theoretical analysis and the four cases about the socialization process, involvement and initial belonging of potential successors to the family business, dynamically linked these three stages and points out the factors that constitute them. In this sense, the model has similarities with the general features of the models proposed by ^{Longenecker and Schoen (1978)} and ^{Matthews, Moore and Fialko (1999)}. Also, has similarities with the integrated model by ^{Le Breton-Miller, Miller and Steier (2004)}, oriented at an effective succession in family businesses. The derivated model is illustrated in figure 1. Additionally, the derived hypotheses are explained below.

Source: Own elaboration.

Figure 1 Proposed model for the process of socialization, involvement and initial belonging. 

The model proposes a dynamic structure process considering flexibility to evolve over time, in order to facilitate the study of factors during different times and circumstances and taking into account that the stage of socialization influences the stage of involvement, which, in turn, influences the stage of belonging. The model defines a number of these factors and identifies others that emerge as a consequence of taking into account and integrating related concepts that other authors had addressed in isolation in their precious work. The relationships among the constructs of these three dimensions led to proposing several hypotheses derived from the qualitative study and the reviewed literature. These hypotheses will be presented below.

It is widely accepted that leadership continues to be one of the most recognized disciplines within the organizational field (^{Sorenson, 2000}; ^{Abell, 2006}; ^{Rodríguez & Rodríguez, 2006}). In the literature, it is not only relevant in the training of family business potential successors, but also associated with the development of autonomy and the ability to make decisions (^{Turner, 1995}; ^{Kambil, 2010}).

When leadership training is most influenced by the family-business system, the successor acquires the ability to examine how his or her involvement in the family business will take place. The intention of young adults to get involved and later manage the family business can be influenced by their potential power to make decisions (^{Stavrou, 1998}), which is closely related to leadership development within the family-business system (^{Lozano, 2006}). Additionally, ^{García et al. (2002)} and ^{Dunemann and Barret (2004)} underline the importance of a gradual formation of the successor, who initially shares predecessor's perspective on the business; eventually acquiring the autonomy that will allow him or her to exert influence over the way of joining to the family business in a full-time job.

In contrast, if the leadership development is more influenced from outside the family business system, it entails that the successor will operate in landscape that separates him/her, to some degree, from the daily routines of the family business, forcing him/her to be more independent and to determine the best timing to join the business full-time. For ^{Stavrou and Swiercz (1998)}, the importance of the family dimension suggests that family dynamics, values, relationships, needs and desires can drive children out of the family business if they tend to disengage from their parents' traditions and explore their own career options. In concordance with this, ^{Pasi (2001)} argues that many managers of small and medium-sized family businesses lack high level training and formal education, which could mean they entered at the wrong time and had not evolved professionally at the same rate as the business. This leads to the following hypotheses.

H1: In family businesses, leadership training for decisionmaking within the family business system positively influences the mode of involvement of the descendants.

H2: In family businesses, leadership training for decision-making outside the family business system positively influences the timing of involvement of the descendants.

The manner in which the successor joins the family business can be primarily determined by the conditions of the job contract and by the manner of entry. Frequently, the job contract terms of potential successors to the family business are proposed by the parents and are generally welcomed by their descendants; even if not considered fair, with the hope that job conditions will improve in the future, something that does not always happen.

In their study on the father-son relationship, ^{Davis and Tagiuri (1989)} found seven factors that strongly influence the quality of any work relationship. Among these factors, two stand out: The agreement between the two people over the formal intention of their work relationship, and the costs and benefits that each person perceives in the relationship. In family businesses, these two aspects commonly remain vague or inconclusive when pacts of involvement are made with potential successors. This then influences the level of satisfaction of the successors with his or her first job. Yet, even if when joining the potential successors know the rules to abide (^{Lozano, 2006}) and the initial contract is not attractive, in some cases, the family identity, trust, personal connections and monitoring functions provided by family relations encourage better incentives for success than explicit formal contracts. However, ^{Ibrahim, Soufani and Lam (2001)} found that some family businesses establish guidelines and clear policies regarding the involvement of relatives in the business. In any case, the expectation of seeking better conditions later on after entering the family business can generate a certain level of satisfaction with the initial job. The generated hypothesis is presented below:

H3: In family businesses, the contractual condition of involvement positively influences the satisfaction of the potential successors with their first job.

^{Dunemann and Barret (2004)} state that families face a dilemma when the potential successors are not sufficiently prepared, since they may undermine and jeopardize the business. In line with this, academic preparation reinforces the capacity and the beliefs to contribute to the family business and, thus, the voluntary self-commitment to the family interests. If the potential successor obtains higher academic preparation, the perception of power to face bigger challenges increases, which in turn fosters a tendency to set goals of major commitment.

In reference to commitment, ^{Sharma and Irving (2005)} recommend the commitment of potential successors to the business. ^{Harvey and Evans (1994)} propose that the goal of an organization is to attract qualified members, while ^{Chirico and Salvato (2008)} highlight the importance of integrating specialized knowledge possessed by the family to be successful in dynamic markets. That is to say, within a family that owns a company, the preparation of all its members is profitable if their knowledge and skills are combined with their application to the company. These arguments lead to the hypothesis presented below:

H4: In family businesses, the academic background when joining the company, positively influences the commitment of potential successors in their first jobs.

The motivation of descendants to engage in the family business full-time can have its roots in the perceived possibilities for professional accomplishment (^{Stavrou, 1998}). This motivation encourages them to involve themselves with the tasks of their first jobs and feel satisfaction when fulfilling them. Similarly, when potential successors perceive these possibilities for professional accomplishment in family businesses, it is more likely for them to demonstrate their commitment and more willingly undertake their tasks efficiently.

A constant search for professional accomplishment leads to finding a job that satisfies individual preferences. In this respect, ^{Dumas et al. (1995)} found evidence that successors worked in family businesses because it allowed them to apply their professional degrees and interests, increasing their belonging. ^{De Massis et al. (2008)} argued that if the tasks assigned to the potential successors did not fulfill them, their motivation decreased and they felt neither satisfied nor committed, which eventually may lead to their abandoning of the business. The opposite will occur if the activities undertaken are found to be fulfilling and interesting. In addition to the aforementioned, ^{Venter et al. (2005)} highlight the importance of matching the personal needs of the potential successor with the type of work performed in the family business. The arguments expressed lead to the following hypotheses:

H5: In family businesses, the possibility of professional accomplishment when joining, positively influences the satisfaction of potential successors with their first job.

H6: In family businesses, the possibility of professional accomplishment when joining, positively influences the commitment of potential successors to their first job.

^{Dumas et al. (1995)} found that descendants value not only stress-free work, but also the freedom to choose, as well as the opportunity to feel comfortable in a congenial environment. Meanwhile, ^{Handler (1992)} determined that the level of mutual respect and understanding between generations is a relevant factor. On the other hand, ^{Eckrich and Loughead (1996)} indicate that the more conflicts successors of family businesses have with their parents, the less likely they are to commit to a career in those businesses.

A good working environment and harmony among the family members is one of the major attractions for new personnel joining the business. In the context of the family business, when relations between employees and family members are harmonious, these relations become a motivation for the potential successors to involve themselves full-time (^{Lozano, 2006}). In addition to entering an affable environment when family harmony exists, successors come to feel satisfaction with their tasks.

Family harmony is a subject which frequently appears in research on family businesses (^{Dunn, 1999}; ^{Venter et al., 2005}; ^{Lozano, 2006}; ^{Björnberg & Nicholson, 2007}; ^{Eddleston & Kellermans, 2007}). Recently, ^{De Massis et al. (2008)} highlighted the factors of the relationship between groups or individuals deeply associated with the process of succession. Hence, the following hypothesis was derived:

H7: In family businesses, harmony at the timing of joining, positively influences the satisfaction of potential successors in their first jobs.

In order to recognize the relevance of ownership for family businesses, several authors point out its clear relationship to the succession process (^{Williams, 1992}; ^{Ward & Dolan, 1998}; Westhead, Cowling & ^{Howorth, 2001}; ^{Habbershon & Pistrui, 2002}). On this topic, ^{De Massis et al. (2008)} indicate that the possibility of losing shareholding control or the absence of sufficient attraction for additional investments could become an impediment for succession to be implemented with members of the owning family.

To be a current or potential owner grants power over the control of the family business, therefore this can become a motivation to join it full-time. The feeling of ownership is a condition of privilege if compared to the large number of people not in that position. More specifically, the condition of being the owner or potential owner appears to contribute to a clear propensity for commitment to the first full-time job. Similarly, ^{Chrisman et al. (1998)} assert that a successor can be involved in the family business through holding shares, which implies a proclivity on his or her part for the responsible completion of their tasks. The arguments expressed lead to the following hypothesis:

H8: In family businesses, the possession of actual or potential ownership positively influences the commitment of potential successors in their first full-time jobs.

Case Studies

As succession of family businesses is a complex social phenomenon. Case studies have become a valuable research tool used by some academics within the field. (^{Yin, 1994}; ^{Handler, 1994}; ^{Chetty, 1996}; ^{Kirby & Lee, 1996}; ^{Sharma et al., 1997}; ^{Cabrera, 2005}).

^{Yin (1994)} argues that the case study is the most appropriate research strategy in those situations the researchers are based on the "how" and/or "why" types of questions, on a set of contemporary events, or when it has recently occurred. In fact, on those the researcher has little or no control. Therefore, the case study is also an ideal method to in-depth identify and understand the features that characterized the stages and their relationships, as well as other concepts leading to advance knowledge of the phenomenon.

The four cases used for this research were constituted with two large and two medium-sized family enterprises, where a total of 12 informants were interviewed in order to collect the data. Additionally, an interview protocol based on both the literature review and the succession theory was designed for obtaining the necessary information, guaranteeing the covering of all relevant parts of the study. Table 1 summarizes the description of the companies.

Table 1 Enterprises of qualitative sample. 

Source: Own elaboration.

For the case studies that constitute the qualitative phase of research for the current study, four businesses were selected based on the following criteria: I) medium or large-sized business; II) at least ten years old and have second or later generation members involved; and III) at least one family member from the youngest generation must be working in the business full-time. This sample size complies with the minimum number of cases advised by several authors for a qualitative study (^{Lambrech, 2005}; ^{Eisenhardt, 1989}), although there is no precise guide for an exact number (^{Perry, 1998}).

^{Yin (1994)} recommends both the application of multiple sources of data in compliance with the principle of triangulation, thus applying his criteria for the validity and reliability of the research, and applying an interview protocol in order to obtain the necessary information; these guarantee a full coverage of all relevant parts in the study. The sources of information for this study were, first, interviews with potential successors belonging to the youngest generation involved, as well as with other key family informants; second, direct observation through visits paid at business facilities; and, third, documents of interest to this research.

In any scientific research, quality and objectivity are measured by the criteria of validity and reliability. Regarding the validity of its construction, three tactics were applied for this qualitative research. On one hand, multiple sources of evidence were used, as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. In each particular case, as many informants as deemed necessary were included in order to contrast the different versions of events. In the four cases, siblings or cousins belonging to the last generation full-time involved in the business were interviewed in order to verify and complement the information. On the other hand, a chain of evidence was established, so it was possible to follow the derivation of any conclusion of the case studies from the research questions and through analysis of the evidence. Subsequently, descriptive reports of events for each of the cases were drafted and then reviewed by the involved descendants considered as key informants. In order to clarify the confusing points, these reports also included information deemed contradictory.

Regarding internal validity, this is intended to ensure that inferences of the variables are correct, that all the explanations have been considered and that the evidence converges with the explanation the researcher provides. To do this, a review of the pertinent literature was taken as a starting point, along with the definition of research questions and theoretical development. An explanation of the phenomenon under study was now articulated, based on the analysis of the evidence, on the review of the research questions and on a new iterative study of the evidence.

External validity concerns the scope of the study findings. This generalization is analytical in nature, i.e., it is based on a particular set of results to sketch a broader theory, not a statistical generalization to make inferences about a population or universe based on data obtained from the sample. In this qualitative approach the main factors of the process under study were thus determined, so that it was possible to verify in each case whether a replication of the theoretical premises would follow.

The reliability criterion aims to check whether a second researcher, performing the same case study described by a first researcher and, following the same procedures for the recovery of the data described, would come to the same findings and conclusions. Thus, reliability refers to the internal consistency of the analysis that provides stable and consistent results. Therefore, the objective is to minimize errors and biases in the study. The study protocol described before was developed for this purpose, and a database of interview transcripts and relevant selected texts was built; these can be accessed on the hermeneutics unit Atlas/ ti, the qualitative data analysis assistance program used by the researcher. In addition, this was complemented by the file with field notes and documents collected in each of the four cases. Furthermore, questions related to each other were made in the same interview, contributing to confront and verify the information obtained.

For information analysis, recommendations on inductive analysis (^{Marshall & Rossman, 1995}) and deductive analysis of the data (^{Miles & Huberman, 1994}) were taken into account. An iterative methodology was implemented, supported by the use of the Atlas/Ti program, by means of which the transcripts of the interviews and field notes were read and reread. With this information, categories and codes were constructed (^{Strauss & Corbin, 1990}; ^{Miles & Huberman, 1994}). Subsequently, relationships between the categories were sought and matrixes were constructed (^{Miles & Huberman, 1994}) when deemed necessary for the analysis.

In the results, the generated list of codes and categories for the socialization stage showed three dimensions (values, knowledge, leadership) and five influential elements (family, company, market, descendants, society), as shown in table 2.

Table 2 Codes and Categories of Socialization Stage. 

Source: Own elaboration.

From literature, and particularly from case studies, three new dimensions are identified and confirmed as pillars for the involvement stage: mode, timing and motivations, as illustrated in table 3, with its codes and categories.

Table 3 Codes and categories of involvement stage. 

Source: Own elaboration.

Similarly, based on literature and cross-analysis, two major dimensions are confirmed for the initial belonging stage: satisfaction and commitment. The corresponding codes and categories are shown in table 4.

Table 4 Codes and categories of the initial belonging stage. 

Source: Own elaboration.

Quantitative Study

The theoretical model derived from the case studies was subject of an empirical contrast with the formulated hypotheses. The information obtained from the quantitative sample provided the necessary input to perform the statistical procedures and contrasts by means of structural equation techniques.

Empirical support was provided by a sample of 274 family businesses located in the Cali-Yumbo region, in Valle del Cauca department, Colombia. A directory generated from data gathered by the 56 Chambers of Commerce of Colombia was consulted for selecting the sample. Several filters were applied to this database, resulting in the identification of 900 large, medium and small-sized family businesses in the region before mentioned. A measuring questionnaire designed for quantitative research was distributed to these businesses, obtaining responses from 292. Out of the 292 responses obtained, 274 were correctly and completely filled. The final sample reached a 30.4% of responses, stemming from the proportion 274/900.

The questionnaire was designed in four blocks consisting of 88 items in a five point Likert scale. It ranged from a value of 5 (completely agree) to 1 (completely disagree). Through this method, questions were posed about the experiences of the second generation or later descendants before entering the family business full-time, as well as about their process of engagement and the degree of their belonging to the family business in their first jobs.

In designing the questionnaire, the conceptual model derived from qualitative research. The analysis and conceptualization of the literature reviewed on family businesses related to the area of succession were also taken into account. The initial version of the questionnaire was then reviewed by several experts who suggested a series of adjustments. Subsequently, a pilot test leading to further improvements was performed.

In tables 5, 6 and 7, the definitions of factors or variables are presented, with key sources being indicated. Both the definitions and the sources of information for establishing the items were taken into account in the design of the questionnaire. In addition, Cronbach alpha statistics are shown for each variable, extracted from calculations meant to evaluate the reliability of the variables or constructs used in the models.

Table 5 Operationalization and Reliability of Socialization Variables. 

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 6 Operationalization and Reliability of Involvement Variables. 

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 7 Operationalization and Reliability in the Variables of Belonging. 

Source: Own elaboration.

The constructs initially proposed were analyzed to determine the correlation of its variables and to make the appropriate filter. This process also included the constructs with low values of Cronbach's alpha with some disparity into its variables.

The exploratory procedure of validating the measuring scale shows that the three large dimensions (socialization, involvement and initial belonging) have relatively high Cronbach alpha coefficients, suggesting a proper degree of internal consistency. The socialization dimension has the highest value (0.83), followed by belonging (0.82) and involvement (0.74).

This quantitative phase of the study is based on the developing of a structural equations model (SEM). The first to be taken in account was the structural sub model of the constructs of descendants' socialization and involvement dimensions, which focuses on the relationships among the different factors of the socialization dimension (measured through exogenous constructs of value socialization, knowledge socialization and leadership socialization) and the three factors of the dimension of descendants' involvement (measured through the endogenous constructs of mode, timing and motivation for involvement). Then, the structural sub-model of the constructs of the descendants' involvement and belonging dimensions was taken into account. This sub-model seeks the relation among the aforementioned factors of the involvement dimension with the factors of the initial belonging dimension (measured through the satisfaction and commitment endogenous constructs).