A Technical Note on Management Succession in Family Firms and the Role of the Board

Boards of directors have important responsibilities in the context of top management succession processes. However, their role has not been sufficiently studied in the setting of family-controlled firms. Meanwhile, family executives often play a major role in the performance of family firms. In fact, replacing those family managers has important implications and needs to be treated as a priority by boards of directors. In this industry note, we explore the unique challenges that succession processes pose for the boards of family firms. We conclude that boards of directors should be particularly conscious of the need for planning, coordinating, and overseeing succession processes to meet both the business challenges and the controlling family’s expectations.