This paper brings together two bodies of literature. In one, scholars have endeavoured to open the ‘black box’ of dynamic capabilities, investigating their drivers and microfoundations. Dynamic capabilities include learning processes. Another group of scholars considers leadership succession to be a concern, not an opportunity, within the family business setting. Such studies have ignored the idea that succession may be a mechanism for organizational learning within family firms, and, instead, focused on another learning process: that of knowledge transfer from predecessor to successor. Conversely, this paper analyses the ‘opposite direction’ of knowledge transfer: that is, from successor back to predecessor and the organization. I argue that succession can be a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities, as the next generation can spark learning processes in the family business setting. Leadership succession can, thus, be seen as a learning opportunity rather than as a concern for family firms
Ciao, B. (2015). Leadership Succession as a Microfoundation of Dynamic Capability for Family Business. Intervento presentato a: Annual Meeng of the Academy of Management August 7-11, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Leadership Succession as a Microfoundation of Dynamic Capability for Family Business
CIAO, BIAGIO
2015
Abstract
This paper brings together two bodies of literature. In one, scholars have endeavoured to open the ‘black box’ of dynamic capabilities, investigating their drivers and microfoundations. Dynamic capabilities include learning processes. Another group of scholars considers leadership succession to be a concern, not an opportunity, within the family business setting. Such studies have ignored the idea that succession may be a mechanism for organizational learning within family firms, and, instead, focused on another learning process: that of knowledge transfer from predecessor to successor. Conversely, this paper analyses the ‘opposite direction’ of knowledge transfer: that is, from successor back to predecessor and the organization. I argue that succession can be a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities, as the next generation can spark learning processes in the family business setting. Leadership succession can, thus, be seen as a learning opportunity rather than as a concern for family firmsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.