Anointed or appointed? Father-daughter succession within the family
business.
McAdam, MauraORCID: 0000-0003-2203-5485, Brophy, Martina and Harrison, RichardORCID: 0000-0002-0154-0039
(2020)
Anointed or appointed? Father-daughter succession within the family
business.
International Small Business Journal, 39
(6).
pp. 576-600.
ISSN 0266-2426
With the focus on events and outcomes shaping most of the existing family business research
on intra-family succession, the subtleties of the incumbent-successor relationship and the
dynamic nature of succession as a process of becoming is somewhat neglected. In particular,
we have limited understanding of how successor identities are constructed as legitimate
between incumbent and successor during father-daughter succession. This article addresses this
gap in understanding by exploring how the daughter successor engages in identity work with
the father incumbent during the process of succession and the role of father-daughter gendered
relations in shaping her successor identity. Using a two-stage research design strategy, we draw
upon empirical evidence derived from 14 individual and joint semi-structured interviews to
present a narrative analysis of five father-daughter dyads. In so doing, we unveil how the
daughter’s successor identity was co-constructed as legitimate and how father-daughter
gendered relations influenced this process. Although daughters rely on certain father-daughter
relations (preparation, endorsement and osmotic credibility) for legitimacy, they also need to
develop independently from their father in order to heighten their own visibility and establish
credibility.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
succession; successor identity; identity work; gender