Preparing for Family Business Succession: Evolutionary Selection and Variation in American and Finnish Family Firms

Juha Kansikas, Tuomas Kuhmonen, and Anne Laakkonen

This qualitative study attempts to understand what kinds of resources for change family businesses have when preparing for a family business succession. Evolutionary economics was adapted for this study in order to explain evolutionary change in family business succession. The aim of the interpretative analysis conducted in this study is to increase understanding on how family businesses are prepared for changes in case of a managerial and ownership succession. The results indicate that both selection and variation occur in family business succession.