The succession of family businesses is a multi-year process during which responsibility, leadership roles and ownership are transferred to the next generation or to external successors. It affects not only legal and tax issues but also role perceptions, expectations, and relationships within the entrepreneurial family.
The WIFU Foundation supports entrepreneurial families in scientifically understanding and actively shaping succession processes. To this end, it provides research findings in the form of studies and practical guides and organises events that promote exchange between entrepreneurial families and members of family businesses. Research into succession in family businesses also contributes to Succession planning in medium-sized businesses to better understand, as family businesses play a central role in this segment.
Company succession encompasses all the steps involved in transferring leadership responsibility and ownership of a company to the next generation. In family businesses, this process is closely linked to the history, values, and long-term goals of the entrepreneurial family. In practice, this is a development process that often takes several years.
Typical areas of conflict arise when:
Many entrepreneurial families initially perceive the planned business.
Die WIFU-Stiftung versteht Nachfolge als mehrphasigen Lern- und Entwicklungsprozess. Jede Phase stellt andere Anforderungen an Kommunikation, Entscheidung und Kompetenz. Das WIFU-Phasenmodell der Nachfolge beschreibt diesen Prozess in zehn Schritten. Diese reichen von der ersten Sensibilisierung für Nachfolgefragen über Qualifizierung und Rollenklärung bis hin zur Übergabe sowie der begleitenden Unterstützung der NachfolgerInnen.
The model illustrates that succession in family businesses is not solely about taking over the company. Instead, it is an interplay of the family system, corporate governance and ownership structure, which begins long before the formal succession plan.
The following principles summarise key findings from the WIFU Foundation on business succession in family businesses and support entrepreneurial families in consciously shaping their succession process:
A detailed description of these principles can be found in our Practical Guide: Secure the Long-Term Succession of Family Businesses„.
Whether a succession is viable depends not only on contracts and structures but also heavily on the competencies of the successors. WIFU studies show that personality traits, motivation, self-efficacy, and family support are decisive factors., how well the next generation takes to its role.
In addition, shareholders need diverse skills: they must understand the logic of the company and the family, support strategic decisions, and act responsibly in committees.
Shareholder competence encompasses the skills and attitudes that members of a family business need to responsibly exercise their role as (future) shareholders – professionally, emotionally, and in cooperation with the family and management.
„Successor wanted“Many business families face the challenge of finding a suitable successor sooner or later. The senior generation wants to hand over responsibility, but it's often unclear who is suitable as a successor and how the transition should be managed. Research and practice on business succession in family businesses show that certain factors are crucial for the success of such processes.
Family governance encompasses all the rules, structures, and processes that entrepreneurial families use to organise their collaboration. These include, among others, family constitutions, family strategies, boards, and dialogue formats. These instruments help to make decisions transparent and to identify conflicts early on.
Successors are increasingly taking on central roles in family businesses. Studies by the WIFU Foundation show that their succession is characterised by particular expectations, role conflicts, and structural frameworks. At the same time, they open up new perspectives for leadership and company culture.
Further information on the topic of female successors can be found in our Practice guide Daughters in Succession: How Successors Become Trailblazers.
For many years, the WIFU Foundation has been examining the success factors, challenges and developments in Succession in family businesses in focus. Topics include, among others:
The insights gained are incorporated into publications, teaching programmes, and events. In this way, the WIFU Foundation supports entrepreneurial families in shaping their succession consciously and well-prepared.
The succession process generally proceeds in several phases – from initial discussions and the qualification of successors to the handover and subsequent support. Wittener Model of Succession Stages describes these phases in a clearly structured way and helps family businesses to orient themselves better.
The question of who inherits a company is determined by inheritance law provisions, wills, and company agreements. In the succession planning for the WIFU Foundation, consideration is also given to how responsibilities, roles, and decision-making powers are distributed within the entrepreneurial family.
Crucial are early planning, clear role allocation, transparent communication, suitable governance structures, and the promotion of necessary competencies in the successor generation.
The WIFU Foundation supports family businesses through research, studies, practical guides, events, and dialogue formats. Scientifically founded knowledge is specifically transferred into the practice of entrepreneurial families.
With formats like the WIFU Forum Family Business and the WIFU at the Succession Stammtisch The WIFU Foundation promotes exchange between entrepreneurial families, science, and the successor generation.
Entrepreneurial families dealing with succession in the family business can find contacts at the WIFU Foundation for:
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