Disharmony within harmony: contrasting views between incumbents and successors on the selection criterion adopted for family business successions

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the attributes a subsequent successor in family business should possess and to examine differences in expected attributes in the eyes of the incumbent and a successor-to-be. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon the classic framework of Chrisman et al. (1998), 60 in-depth interviews were conducted with family business predecessors and successors-to-be in Thailand. Findings: The attributes of competence and personality traits were prominent in this research; while the importance of current involvement with family business, relationship with incumbent, the relationship with family members, along with family standing, appears to be less important than expected in the context of an Asian collectivistic society. This research highlights the divergent gaps in the attributes desired by the incumbents and successors-to-be. 28 significant gaps between incumbents and successors-to-be have been found in 56.67% of the firms in this research. A majority of the gaps have been, surprisingly, found in the attributes of competence, incumbent relationship and family standing. Research limitations/implications: To increase its reliability, a study with a greater number of family businesses should be conducted, thereby increasing the amount of empirical data on this topic. Originality/value: This study contributes to the under explored research area of differences in expected attributes in the eyes of the incumbent and a successor-to-be. They can be indicators for potential intra-family conflicts and unsmoothed transition.