The “Start-up a Business” Strategy in the Succession Process Planning at the Top of Family Firms

For this reason, he very often fails to allow the family firm to survive after its founder. Although many streams ofresearch address succession in family businesses, significant gaps in the literature remain in the field of thestrategies that can mitigate the vulnerability of the family firms when the old leader retires and a new leader takesthe reins of the company. The underlying argument in this paper is: By starting up one’s own company some years before taking the lead, the successor can solve the problem of his lack of experience and entrepreneurial reputation.If he succeeds in starting up his own company, he will develop experience, reputation, and legitimation on becoming the new head of the family firm. The founder’s original collaborators, commercial partners, and stakeholders willalso thrust him. Finally, this paper presents the results of a survey based on 28 questionnaires filled by the protagonists of the succession to the top of family firms. Some of the candidates to succession have started theirown firms prior to taking on the reins of their family businesses. This sample is significant as this strategy of training and the gaining of experience by the successor after starting up his own business is not very widespread infamily firms. Moreover, it has produced impressive results in companies that have adopted it. This strategy is also very useful in preventing father-son conflicts that affect the survival of many family firms and help the successor tobuild his reputation, legitimation, and to learn through experience how to manage an enterprise. It also allows the successor to experiment with innovations and internalisation processes in his own start-up; thus, removing any riskto his family firm. These experiences can benefit the family business after the successor takes over the leadership.