Challenges of a female successor of a family...

Master Thesis

Challenges of a female successor of a family business

Author: Theresa Fritsch Supervisor: Björn Bjerke Examiner: Philippe Daudi Academic term: 18.05.2017 Subject: Leadership and Management in International Context Level: Master Course code: 4FE75E

CHALLENGES OF A FEMALE SUCCESSOR OF A FAMILY BUSINESS

MASTER THESIS

submitted at the

IMC Fachhochschule Krems

(University of Applied Sciences)

Master Programme

Marketing and Sales

Linnaeus University Sweden

Master Programme

Leadership and Management in International Context

by

Theresa FRITSCH

for the award of the academic double degree

Academic Degree

Master of Arts in Business & Master of Science in Business and Economics

Advisor FH Krems: Edith Singer, Prof. (FH) Dr.

Advisor Partner University: Björn Bjerke, PhD.

Submitted on: 31.05.2017

I

Statutory Declaration

I declare in lieu of an oath that I have written this Master thesis myself and that I

have not used any sources or resources other than stated for its preparation. I fur-

ther declare that I have clearly indicated all direct and indirect quotations. This

Master thesis has both been submitted at the IMC Fachhochschule Krems and the

Linnaeus University and has not been handed in elsewhere for examination pur-

poses.

Kalmar, Sweden, 31.05.2017 Signature Student

II

Acknowledgements

This master thesis is the crowning achievement of my academic path and I would

have never accomplished it without the endless support of my family, my boy-

friend, closest friends and supervisors. I am very grateful for their advice, their pa-

tience, their encouragement and their love.

III

Abstract

Family businesses are the backbone of the German economy and, indeed, of al-

most all economies in the world. Every year business owners face many challeng-

es, one of which is the succession process. Unfortunately, daughters are often

considered or perceived as less suitable or viable choice for the position of a suc-

cessor, compared to sons. The aim of the master thesis is to identify potential

challenges a female successor faces when taking over a family business and

whether various strategic and/or structural requirements need to be considered by

the daughter within the succession process. Empirical data has been gathered

within the methodological framework of the grounded theory. Semi-guided expert

interviews have been conducted to gain empirical insights. The results indicate

that the challenges each individual successor will experience as most crucial or

difficult will always depend on her personal character, on the senior family mem-

bers’ behaviour during the succession process, and on the company’s hand-over

capability at the outset of the process. Moreover, the strategic and/or structural

requirements the successor faces are not as much influenced by gender, as by the

up- or out-dated circumstances of the existing strategies and structures of the fam-

ily business, which will ultimately determine the requirements the daughter has to

fulfil. In conclusion, the succession process is very complex and burdened with

emotions from the family members. Having a clear road map for the succession

that leaves room for improvement in case of unpredictable factors in advance can

be essential for the success of the succession. Hiring an external expert as sup-

port can be beneficial as well. Additionally, the daughter aspiring to lead her fami-

ly’s company must be 100 % sure that her life’s vision is compatible with the vision

of the family business.

Keywords:

Female successor, family-business, succession, female leadership, millennials

IV

Table of Contents

Statutory Declaration ................................................................................................ I Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. II Abstract ............................................................................................................. III Table of Contents .................................................................................................. IV List of Figures and Tables .................................................................................... VII List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................. IX

1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background and Justification of the Topic .................................................. 1 1.1.1 Economical Aspect .................................................................................. 1 1.1.2 Rhetorical Aspect ..................................................................................... 3 1.1.3 Women of the Generation Y..................................................................... 3 1.1.4 Leadership and Entrepreneurship: Building the Bridge ............................ 4 1.2 Personal Interest of the Topic ..................................................................... 7 1.3 Research Gap ............................................................................................ 8 1.4 Research Problem, Research Objectives, Research Question and

Methodology ............................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Research Problem ................................................................................... 9 1.4.2 Research Objectives .............................................................................. 10 1.4.3 Research Question ................................................................................ 10 1.4.4 Methodology .......................................................................................... 11 1.5 Scope and Limitations .............................................................................. 12 1.6 Chapter Outline of the Thesis ................................................................... 13 2 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 15 2.1 Definitions ................................................................................................. 15 2.1.1 Family Business ..................................................................................... 15 2.1.2 Generation Y and Millennials ................................................................. 18 2.1.3 Leadership and Female Leadership ....................................................... 19 2.1.4 Company Succession ............................................................................ 24 2.2 Different Types of Company Takeover ..................................................... 26 2.2.1 Internal succession ................................................................................ 27 2.2.2 External succession ............................................................................... 33

V

2.3 Challenges of the Handover Process: the business-family-successor paradox .................................................................................................... 37

2.3.1 Business Indicator .................................................................................. 41 2.3.2 Family Indicator ...................................................................................... 46 2.3.3 Personal Indicator .................................................................................. 54 2.4 Female Leadership ................................................................................... 60 2.4.1 Types of Female Leadership from the Perspective of Behaviour and

Characteristics ....................................................................................... 61 2.4.2 Gender-related Aspect ........................................................................... 66 2.4.3 Generation Y is leading differently ......................................................... 70 2.5 Interim Conclusion .................................................................................... 73 3 Empirical Analysis ....................................................................................... 76 3.1 Methodology and Research Style: examining `Grounded Theory´ ........... 77 3.2 Literature review ....................................................................................... 78 3.3 Data Collection ......................................................................................... 79 3.4 Research Objectives ................................................................................ 79 3.5 The interview ............................................................................................ 81 3.5.1 Structure of the Interview Guide ............................................................. 82 3.5.2 Selection of the Interview Experts .......................................................... 83 3.5.3 Pre-Test ................................................................................................. 84 3.5.4 Performance of the Interviews ............................................................... 85 3.5.5 Evaluation of the Interviews ................................................................... 85 3.5.6 Theoretical Sampling and data saturation .............................................. 87 3.6 Framework of the applied Methodology .................................................... 88 4 Data analysis .............................................................................................. 89 4.1 Data Analysis of the Findings and Interpretation of the Research –

Personal Aspect ....................................................................................... 89 4.1.1 Question 1 – Annex 3 ............................................................................ 89 4.1.2 Question 1A – Annex 4 .......................................................................... 91 4.1.3 Question 6 and 7 – Annex 5................................................................... 93 4.2 Data Analysis of the Finding and Interpretation of the Research –

Grounded Theory ..................................................................................... 95 4.2.1 The Coding Process .............................................................................. 96 4.2.2 Open Coding .......................................................................................... 98 4.2.3 Axial Coding ......................................................................................... 108 4.2.4 Selective Coding .................................................................................. 124 5 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 131

VI

5.1 Discuss the research findings ................................................................. 131 5.1.1 Research Question and Findings ......................................................... 131 5.1.2 List of Potential Challenges for Female Successors ............................ 134 5.2 Outlook and Future Research ................................................................ 137 5.2.1 The Senior Family Member’s Gender .................................................. 137 5.2.2 More than one Family is involved in the Succession ............................ 138 5.2.3 Cultural Differences of the Succession Process .................................. 138 5.3 Personal Recommendations .................................................................. 138 5.3.1 External Support .................................................................................. 139 5.3.2 Road Map ............................................................................................ 140 5.3.3 Focus on the Employees ..................................................................... 140 5.3.4 Leader Self-Development .................................................................... 141 5.4 Beyond the Conclusion: The Author´s Perspective ................................ 142 List of References ............................................................................................... 144

VII

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1: Family - Business - Individual Successor – Paradox.............................. 38

Figure 2: Allocation of Male and Female Successors, Family Intern - or Family

Extern Members ............................................................................................. 55

Figure 3: How the Interviewees have Personally Experienced the Succession

Process .......................................................................................................... 92

Figure 4: Own Interpretation of Grounded Theory I ............................................... 97

Figure 5: Own Interpretation of the Grounded Theory II ........................................ 98

Figure 6: Challenges List for Female Successors ............................................... 136

Tables

Table 1: Family - Individual Successor - Business – Paradox ............................... 40

Table 2: Behaviour or Characteristics of a Female Leader ................................... 65

Table 3: Information about the Interviewees ......................................................... 84

Table 4: Interviewees´ Position in the Succession Process .................................. 90

Table 5: Advice for Female Successors by the Interviewees ................................ 94

Table 6: Open Codes - Question 2A ................................................................... 101

Table 7: Concepts - Question 2A ........................................................................ 102

Table 8: Concepts - Question 2B ........................................................................ 102

Table 9: Concepts - Question 2C ........................................................................ 103

Table 10: Concepts - Question 2D ...................................................................... 104

Table 12: Concepts - Question 4 ......................................................................... 106

VIII

Table 14: Categories - Question 2A, 2B, 4 .......................................................... 110

Table 15: Core Categories .................................................................................. 125

IX

List of Abbreviations

e.g. Latin: exampli gratia; English: in example

etc. Latin: et cetera; English: and so further

MBI Management Buy-In

MBO Management Buy-Out

BMW German: Bayerische Motoren Werke (famous car brand of Germany)

IfM German: Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (institute for midsized-business

research)

BGA German: Bundesweite Gründerinnen Agentur (national founder agency in

Germany)

SME small and medium sized enterprise

Introduction

1

1 Introduction

In the following chapter, the topic of the master’s thesis, the challenges for a fe-

male successor of a family business, will be introduced as well as justified and the

research goals presented. Further, a brief chapter outline will conclude the intro-

duction chapter.

1.1 Background and Justification of the Topic

Family businesses are the backbone of the German economy and, indeed, of al-

most all economies in the world. Every year business owners face many challeng-

es, one of which is the succession process. Furthermore, it is usually the case that

potential male successors are seen as preferable and more suited to the top man-

agement positions within a company in the future. Indeed, daughters of family

business owners are still in their brothers’ shadows when it comes to becoming

successors. Potential female successors undoubtedly want to be considered equal

to male successors, and more and more daughters are willing to take on the re-

sponsibilities of being the next generational leader of the family business. Female

successors face various explicit challenges over and above those faced by the

male successors as a result of the takeover procedure.

1.1.1 Economical Aspect

Germany has been called the “country of family businesses”. In 2014, family con-

trolled businesses represented 91% of the total amount of active companies in

Germany. Furthermore, family controlled businesses are responsible for 48% of

the turnover and provide 56% of the socially insured employment in Germany

(Stiftung Familienunternehmen, 2016). Moreover, 88% of the total amount of en-

terprises are family businesses managed by the owner; indeed, 55% of the total

number of employees work for a family business, which are responsible for 44% of

the German total turnover (Stiftung Familienunternehmen, 2014). Furthermore,

there is a difference between family controlled businesses and family owned and

managed businesses. Family owned and managed businesses are those busi-

Introduction

2

nesses that are led by, legally speaking, a natural person who contributes to the

success of the family company (Stiftung Familienunternehmen, 2014). Ownership

and performance, however, do not need to be related. This master’s thesis focus-

es specifically on those businesses that are owned and run by a family.

Additionally, family businesses can be mostly categorised as small and medium

sized enterprises (SME). In Germany, around 99,6% of businesses are SME

(BGA, 2015, p.6). Further, in 2014, SME were responsible for 33,5% of the annual

turnover of all companies in Germany. Moreover, in line with IfM Bonn, the follow-

ing terms can be seen as synonyms: mid-sized sector, family business, companies

run by a family, and owner-managed enterprises (IfM Bonn, 2016). According to

the institute of SME research, IfM Bonn, in Germany small enterprises are charac-

terised by having up to nine employees and an annual turnover of 1 million euros.

Medium enterprises employ between 10 to 499 people and have an annual turno-

ver up to 50 million euros (Söllner, 2011, p.1088). Unfortunately, no exact number

could be obtained regarding how many family businesses can be characterised as

a SME; however, given the data provided by the IfM, it can be assumed that most

of the family businesses in Bonn are SMEs.

According to a research study conducted by IfM Mannheim and IfM Bonn, around

10% of family businesses were handed over to the family’s daughter in 2000

(BGA, 2005, p.4). Indeed, actual numbers and statistics related to how many fe-

male successors are taking over the family business in general could not be found:

official statistics do not provide up-to-date data on company takeovers by women

(BGB, 2015, pp.4-5).

Moreover, the Institute “Bundesweite Gründerinnenagentur” (BGA) (national

founder agency in Germany) stated in their report that male owners of family busi-

nesses tend to hand their businesses over to sons (72,8 %) rather than daughters

(27,2%). On the other hand, female owners choose to give the business to their

sons in 55,2% of cases and to their daughters in 44,6% of cases, which is more

equal (BGA, 2015, p.5).

In a nutshell, family businesses are enormously important for the success and well

being of the German economy. Businesses face the challenge of finding a suitable

Introduction

3

successor. Indeed, women are still not considered to be as suitable for the position

of head of the family business as their male siblings.

1.1.2 Rhetorical Aspect

Another aspect that is particularly relevant to the chosen topic is the rhetorical as-

pect. In this section, we will take a closer look at companies’ names. When we

think of a successor we tend to think of a male person. The question which is often

asked is why? The author of the present study aims to take the rhetorical compo-

nent into account. Hypothetically speaking, the answer to the question of why we

tend to think this way can be traced back to the common practice of companies to

add the prefix “& son” to the company name. Brands such as Thomas Cook & Son

or Schmitt & Son, for example, show how deeply embedded this practice is in our

language and linguistic characteristics. Indeed, according to the author´s research,

companies who add this annex to the firm´s name tend to be family businesses

that have been handed over to the owner´s son in the next generation or where

the son has joined the family business while his father still works in the company.

From the author’s perspective, another aspect influencing the male’s assumption

of successor position was that the practice of adding the extension “& son” is seen

to provide credibility, playing on stereotypes by suggesting to potential customers

or clients that a strong man is in charge.

Unfortunately, less women or daughters have been considered to succeed the

position of successor in family companies, as shown in the previous paragraph.

For today´s generation in particular, where gender equality plays a significant role,

it is essential to include and support women – “& daughters”, of course – when

seeking to fulfil the successor position. Indeed, we need to stop believing in and

relying on stereotypes, biases, and prejudices against potential female successors

of family businesses.

1.1.3 Women of the Generation Y

The women of the Generation Y, also known as millennials, are defined as the

generation born after 1980 and before 2000 (Howe, Strauss, 2000, p.11). People

Introduction

4

belonging to this generation have been characterised in the following ways: they

are often enormously ambitious; they are better educated than any other genera-

tion in history and “smarter than most people think” (Howe, Strauss, 2000, p.9);

they are cooperative and collegiate team-players; they are concerned about

achieving work-life balance; they want to have a “career they are passionate

about” (Bay, 2011); they want to be their own boss; they show considerable initia-

tive and entrepreneurial spirit; and they are willing to take responsibility as a leader

(Howe, Strauss, 2000, pp.9-17). Given this outline of the personality profile of

generation Y women, it can be assumed or hypothesised that more and more

daughters would be willing to take responsibility for being the next generational

leader of their family’s business. Indeed, women are participating in excellent edu-

cational programs all over the world and are willing to obtain work experience be-

fore they see themselves in the position of becoming a female successor. Further,

generation Y women need to be considered as a valuable group with the potential

to take on the successor position, especially if they demonstrate the aforemen-

tioned personal qualities. Given these circumstances, women face different chal-

lenges in leadership positions to those faced by men. Therefore, the present sci-

entific paper deals with the challenges a women successor faces today when it

comes to the issue of handing over a family business.

1.1.4 Leadership and Entrepreneurship: Building the Bridge

“There won´t be any success without the women.”

(Tucholsky as cited in Probst, 2010, p.50).

The following paragraph is a personal account of the author’s understanding of the

two components, leadership and entrepreneurship, which are indispensable to the

chosen topic.

Does the success of women matter in terms of the development of the wider

economy? From my perspective, the female successor of a family business is at

once a leader and an entrepreneur: the female successor has to lead the company

while also giving fresh impetus, innovations, and ideas to the organization.

Introduction

5

Researchers all over the world have tried to come up with a definition of leadership

and to determine what a leader is, but there is no universal definition. Every indi-

vidual has a different understanding of what leading means to him or her and how

he or she would define the term leadership. There are nearly as many definitions

of leadership as there are people on earth. Indeed, there are many ways in which

the following sentence could be finished: “Leadership is …” (Northouse, 2013, p.

2). In a nutshell, from my perspective, leadership can be seen as a process of

transaction and interaction between leader and followers who are dependent on

each other: leadership is about the person who is leading, leadership is about in-

fluencing, leadership is about enabling the talents of the followers, leadership is

about authenticity, leadership is about working towards a common goal, leadership

is not management, leadership is about vision, leadership is about communicating

in order to influence the emotions of the counterpart and/or to induce change,

leadership is about supporting, leadership is about leading oneself, and so on.

(Sudrajat, 2015, p.479).

In a similar manner, no exclusive definition can be given of entrepreneurship. Hen-

rekson and Stenkula (2016) argue that “the term èntrepreneur´ originates from the

French verb entreprendre, which means to supply or create a `space´ to be able to

do something.” (Henrekson & Stenkula, 2016, p.27). I would like to briefly state my

understanding of “being an entrepreneur and/or entrepreneurship”, which is to

create something incredible and unique as a result of the entrepreneur’s imagina-

tive ability to identify and exploit various opportunities. The entrepreneur is a cal-

cutalted risk-taker who turns uncertain possibilities into successful actions, has a

clear vision, is passionate about what he/she does, develops innovative ideas and

improvements, while allocating resources in the most efficient and effective way

possible, is a creative person, is not afraid of failure, is an optimist and a positivist,

is goal and achievement oriented, and can identify and exploit new opportunities

(Sudrajat, 2015, p.478). Indeed, Bjerke (2013, p.17) has suggested that an entre-

preneur should involve four parts of his/her body: “the brain – in order to

know/think the impossible”, “the heart – in order to be willing/to believe in your ide-

as”, “the stomach – in order to dare”, and “the limbs – in order to do things”. In

Introduction

6

short, activities such as thinking, believing, daring, and doing are in my eyes indis-

pensable markers of a successful entrepreneur.

Given the designated topic of the present master’s thesis, leadership and entre-

preneurship should not be seen as two isolated topics, but rather the concept of

entrepreneurial leadership plays an important role. Leadership, after all, has a pos-

itive and direct effect on the entrepreneurial mind-set and its innovative creativity

(Sudrajat, 2015, p.481). Hypothetically speaking, the entrepreneurial behaviour of

a successor can influence the family business in terms of developing innovative

ideas and seeking out opportunities based on existing resources, taking risky de-

cisions to break free from the strategic and structural approaches of the previous

generation, and/or designing a new vision for the family business in order to

achieve set goals in the most effective and efficient way possible. Indeed, entre-

preneurial leadership, as defined by Thornberry (2006), shows that: “Leadership

requires passion, vision, focus, and the ability to inspire others. Entrepreneurial

leadership requires all these, plus a mind-set and skill set that helps entrepreneur-

ial leaders identify, develop, and capture new business opportunities.” (Thornberry

as cited in Renko et al., 2015, p.55). Similarly, Cunningham and Lischeron (1991)

argued: “Entrepreneurial leadership involves setting clear goals, creating opportu-

nities, empowering people, preserving organizational intimacy, and developing a

human resource system.” (Cunningham and Lischeron as cited in Renko et al.,

2015, p.55).

Consequently, entrepreneurial leadership occurs at the intersection of entrepre-

neurship and leadership. The intersection of both concepts plays a significant role

within the succession process. On the one hand, the female successor wants to

be the best leader she can be and, on the other hand, continuing the business in

an identical manner to her father is not exactly the preferred option. Daughters

seek to make their own individual contribution to the success of the family busi-

ness by using their abilities to lead in an entrepreneurial way.

Introduction

7

1.2 Personal Interest of the Topic

This following paragraphs explore the author´s personal reasons for choosing the

specific topic. As the researcher, I would like to outline the reason for choosing this

specific topic, beyond its relevance for research as shown above.

Indeed, this master’s thesis on the challenges for a female successor has consid-

erable significance for me personally, as a potential female successor in the first

generation of the handover process. Whether or not I will become the successor of

my family’s business will be decided in the coming years, and I would be honoured

to be seen as suited to and appropriate for this specific position.

My reason for choosing this topic is therefore because I have seen from an early

age how our family’s business has grown, experienced how my parents have

worked hard every day in order to create a safe, caring, supporting, and loving

environment for their children, and witnessed how my parents have established

something successful without any existing financial reserves or entrepreneuri-

al/leadership experience. The company is currently successful, profitable, and es-

tablished on the market, with more than thirty satisfied employees. I would thus

like to play my part in contributing to the future success of the business. My per-

sonal aim is to continue our family’s business and to assume the role of female

successor within the next ten years. At this moment in time, it is yet to be decided

whether our business will be continued by either a single manager or in a tandem

management structure, in which the leading positions would be assumed by my-

self and my two brothers.

My personal goal with this master’s thesis is therefore to figure out what my partic-

ular challenges are as a female successor. Further, I hope to learn something

about and for myself; in other words, I see opportunities within this thesis to devel-

op myself personally as a possible future leader. Due to my emotional investment

in this issue, which influences my conscious effort, I am deeply convinced that the

thesis provides enormous potential for creating a structure of support, encourage-

ment, and boldness in order to overcome the challenges other female successors

face or confront.

Introduction

8

1.3 Research Gap

In the following paragraph the current research gap will be discussed and an out-

line of the essential literature provided.

Due to the economical relevance of family businesses, as outlined before, the top-

ics of succession process and generational change in family businesses have

been discussed and analysed over the past three decades. An increasing number

of “how to” guides or practical handbooks related to successful succession are

being published, aimed at the owners and CEOs of family companies, outlining

what needs to be done in order to hand over the business in the most effective

and efficient way. For example, Schwetje, Demuth, and Schubert (2016) have

published a guide for owners, as well as consultancies, that covers perspectives

such as economic attitudes, legal attitudes, and tax attitudes, which should be

considered when it comes to succession planning. Further, the number of consul-

tancy agencies with a specific focus on family business succession is increasing,

for example: Stifung Familienunternehmen (foundation for family businesses),

Equa Stifung (equa foundation), Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Weismann Group, etc.

Indeed, such consultancies publish several publications specifically on family

business topics every year. Moreover, the general succession process of a family

businesses is not only well known in Germany, but also globally. For example, in

the United States of America the succession process is a frequently discussed

issue: family businesses represent more than 60% of the gross domestic product

and more than 80% of U.S. companies are family owned (Vera & Dean, 2005,

pp.321-322). In a nutshell, literature related to succession is shaped by guide-

books. It should also be noted that when literature actually focuses specifically on

the successor, daughters are usually seen as less suitable successors than men.

Over the last couple of years, the number of publications examining female suc-

cessors or women in family business has increased. For example, Annino et al.

(2009) specifically discuss the various roles played by women in a family business,

such as being the wife, the mother, the widow, the daughter, etc. In addition, Jä-

kel-Wurzer and Ott (2014) address the daughters of family businesses and state

the problems they may find within themselves or within their family during the suc-

Introduction

9

cession process. In terms of literature specifically studying the different challenges

faced by female successors, they can only be found in certain small sections of

several diverse books.

Therefore, the chosen topic – the challenges for a female successor of a family

business – can be seen as relevant to current research. Moreover, most literature

related to succession adopts a “cook book” approach and outlines “how to” ap-

proach the issue; far less has been written and researched on the specific chal-

lenges for a female successor when it comes to the combination of the challenges

she may face based on business indicators, family indicators and within herself.

1.4 Research Problem, Research Objectives, Research Ques-tion and Methodology

Based on the context clarified above, the aim of the master’s thesis will be outlined

in the following paragraphs.

1.4.1 Research Problem

The succession process of a family business is enormously risky and can be piv-

otal: whether the succession is successful or unsuccessful can have crucial con-

sequences on the effectiveness, efficiency, well-being and competitiveness of the

company´s future. Indeed, strongly embedded societal stereotypes and prejudices

nowadays have resulted in a situation whereby, in general, male successors are

more often seen as capable of being the head of the family business. Unfortunate-

ly, female members of the next generation in a family business are often consid-

ered or perceived as the less suitable or viable choice for the position of a succes-

sor, compared to sons.

Yet, more and more women want to be seen, valued, and considered as an ap-

propriate successor of the family business. Especially in the author’s generation Y

demographic, females are highly educated, willing to take risks, and see them-

selves in leading positions. In addition, the number of successful female entrepre-

neurs and women in leading positions has increased in recent years (VanderBrug,

Introduction

10

2013). Therefore, transferring the family business to the daughter can be a promis-

ing prospect.

Women successors thus face various different challenges in the takeover process

than those faced by men due to prejudices and stereotypes surrounding how a

successor should be that still exist. This master’s thesis focuses on determining

and disclosing these challenges and exploring how such threats can be overcome.

I believe that this will be the crux of the analysis and discussion: the issues for a

female successor of the next generation in a family business.

1.4.2 Research Objectives

The aim of the author in writing this master thesis is to provide valuable content for

and insights into the research field, contributing to existing literature related to be-

ing a female successor of a family business. If successful, the outcome may be

used in supporting consultancies, businesses, researchers, and future female suc-

cessors to understand the research topic in more detail and to classify the chal-

lenges for a women successor that go hand in hand with the takeover process in

general.

Further, the secondary objectives concern me personally: the opportunities I can

take away from the process and the obstacles confronted in writing the thesis. As

mentioned previously, I find myself in the position of a female successor to a fami-

ly business; my aim is thus to figure out how I can deal with the takeover process

in the most effective and efficient way possible. Indeed, I am required to show

commitment to our family business in order to sustain its success.

1.4.3 Research Question

In order to accomplish these objectives, the master’s thesis aims to answer the

two following research questions:

1) What challenges do female successors face when taking over a family

business today?

Introduction

11

2) Are there any structural and/or strategic requirements that need to be con-

sidered by a female successor within the overtaking process?

To elaborate, the first research question will examine the profile of potential female

successors from the generation Y and millennial demographic. Further, the chal-

lenges of generational change within family businesses in Germany will be ana-

lysed. There are two reasons for providing these clarifications. Firstly, in terms of

the former, from the author’s perspective, it was essential to focus only on these

specific generational groups because these are the groups involved in the genera-

tional shift and changing workforce today (Burgess, 2008). Secondly, the takeover

process of a family business is restricted to Germany, because the author’s family

business is based in Germany and, as described above, family businesses form

the backbone of the German economy and are constantly facing challenges relat-

ed to generational change.

Furthermore, the second research question will deal with the possible structural

and/or strategic requirements of the succession process. Certain necessary condi-

tions are limited to the experience of female successors. The idea behind this

question is not to establish a detailed “road map” or “how to guide” that explains

exactly how to overcome any structural and/or strategic changes; rather, it should

be seen as an account of the potential structural and/or strategic potential re-

quirements that female successors may face.

1.4.4 Methodology

In order to be able to answer the research questions, described in the previous

chapter, the aforementioned methodology will be used. Indeed, the methodology

will be described more extensively within the Chapter 3.

The methodology “grounded theory” is seen as the most appropriate method in

order to fulfil the research objectives. Grounded theory is a qualitative research

methodology, developed by Glaser und Strauss in 1967. The main purpose of this

methodology is to develop a theory from data that has been gathered and ana-

lysed (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.1).

Introduction

12

Moreover, semi-guided expert interviews have been conducted to gather the em-

pirical data. Face-to-face interviews are seen as appropriate to perceiving the

emotions that can occur as a result of the intense topic discussed in the interview

guide. Precisely, the sample used for the empirical analysis is defined in the chap-

ter 3.6.2.

1.5 Scope and Limitations

The following paragraph will classify the delimitations of the master’s thesis topic.

The chosen topic has been restricted by several factors, so as not to extend the

scope of a master’s thesis too broadly and to enable the researcher to determine a

precise topic and narrower focus.

Firstly, the topic was chosen within the framework of analysing the challenges for

female successors of family businesses in Germany that are managed and owned

by a family, rather than controlled. Furthermore, the challenges for a female suc-

cessor are considered through the lens of those categorised as members of the

millennial or generation Y demographic. Secondly, the challenges of a succession

are limited to three overall classified variables, which are the business, family, and

personal indicators. For example, within the scope of the business variable, the

various aspects that challenge the succession process are outlined appropriately;

however, no excessive detail is provided related to factors such as financial chal-

lenges, legal challenges, or tax challenges, as this would be beyond the capacity

of the present paper. Thirdly, it is acknowledged that, in general terms, there are

many different ways of continuing a business, for example through management

buy-out, merging and acquisition, inheritance, etc. The present master’s thesis will

only include those alternatives that are the most common internal or external ways

of continuing a company within family businesses in Germany. Fourthly, the fe-

male leadership component of the theory is not seen as a comparison between

men and women in general, but rather as an account of female leadership and its

particularly distinct aspects, in the author’s own opinion. Fifthly, the identified and

described challenges a potential female successor face can be also relevant for

their male counterpart. Indeed, within the scope of the master thesis the author

Introduction

13

classifies the challenges for females and is not considering or differentiating

whether the challenges can be suitable or not for both genders.

1.6 Chapter Outline of the Thesis

In the following section, the topics covered in each of the defined chapters of the

master’s thesis will be given. The first chapter aims at providing a comprehensive

introduction and defining the background, which is based on economical, historical

and female components. Furthermore, a justification of the chosen topic’s rele-

vance will be included and the author’s personal interest in the topic of research

will be outlined. Moreover, the research gap will be discussed, as well as the re-

search problem, the research objectives, and the research questions. In order to

answer the research questions, the methodology approach used, in terms of the

collection and analysis of empirical data, will be described and defined in greater

detail.

The second chapter defines the theoretical framework of the scientific paper. Re-

quired definitions of basic concepts, ideas, and issues for the thesis will be deter-

mined. Additionally, the general approaches to the contribution of a business

based on internal and external aspects will be illustrated. The challenges of the

succession process will also be analysed according to the three main aspects,

namely the business indicator, the family indicator, and the personal indicator.

Moreover, as it forms a central part of the research issue, a comprehensive over-

view of female leadership will be provided.

In the third chapter, the chosen methodological approach, which was used to

gather the empirical data, will be defined. The research objectives will be outlined,

as well as the limitation and scope of the master thesis. Additionally, the structure

of the interview guide and the interview characteristics will also be presented.

In the fourth chapter the results, findings, and outcomes of the research will be

analysed as well as interpreted for each of the three coding steps.

The fifth chapter aims to present the conclusions that can be deduced from com-

paring the theoretical framework with the empirically collected data. A challenge

Introduction

14

list will be developed in light of this, which includes the possible challenges for a

female successor, according to the three aforementioned variables: the business

indicator, the family indicator, and the personal indicator. Future research topics

will also be suggested. Finally, the author will present her personal recommenda-

tions for female successors.

Theoretical Framework

15

2 Theoretical Framework

In the following section of the scientific paper, the theoretical framework will be

outlined, defined, and analysed, which is essential to establishing a comprehen-

sive understanding of the topic. Firstly, several indispensable definitions will be

clarified with a view to developing a basic shared understanding of their use in re-

lation to this topic. Secondly, various possible internal and external ways of con-

tinuing a family business will be analysed. Thirdly, the various challenges of the

succession will be defined according to the three main points: the business indica-

tor, the family indicator and the personal indicator. Fourthly, the overall topic of

female leadership will be analysed by looking at various dependent components

and aspects.

2.1 Definitions

In the following chapter the author will characterise the required definitions when

considering this topic that are necessary to establishing a common theoretical

ground. Further, the definitions outlined below will also help to clarify the chosen

topic in more detail.

2.1.1 Family Business

In the following paragraph related to the overall aspect of the thesis, “the family

business” will be defined.

The various manifestations of family businesses are as diverse as they are differ-

ent; it is therefore not surprising that diverse definitions exist and that no universal

definition can be found. Indeed, each researcher tends to apply the definition that

best suits his or her purpose. Family companies are also characterised as hetero-

geneous businesses, which means the variety of businesses that can be catego-

rised as a family business is extensive (Döring, 2015, p.8). At present, there is no

prevailing definition of family business that could be deemed valid. The question

“What is a family business?” was first asked by Landsberg at al. (1998) in the first


16

issue of the “Family Business Review”, but no universal answer to his question

has thus far been found. In fact, in this article, the authors argued that “people

seem to understand what is meant by the term family business, yet when they try

to articulate a precise definition they quickly discover that it is a very complicated

phenomenon” (Landsberg et al., 1988, p.1 as cited in Döring, 2015, p.8). Further-

more, Landsberg et al. (1988) figured out that “until researchers agree on what a

family business is, they will find it difficult to build on each other’s work and to de-

velop a usable knowledge base (…)” (as cited in Döring, 2015, p.8). Determining a

universal definition of family business is exceptionally difficult because the term is

the result of day-to-day economic practices and is used in the different forms and

for different purposes. Furthermore, the term is not linked to any institutionalised

criteria such as size of the business, its legal form, the number of employees, the

industry, the age of the company, its organizational structure, or the family genera-

tion (Prym, 2011, pp.70-71). As it happens, scholars do agree on the fact that the

term family business does describe itself in the sense that the family plays a signif-

icant and leading role in (the success of) the business (Prym, 2011, p.71). The

family is defined as a group of people who are either connected due to their family

relationship or due to their marriages, enabling them to thus become a part of the

family (Schramy, 2010, p.10). Accordingly, a family business is commonly de-

scribed as the interaction between the systems of family and business. Hence,

Hack (2009) stated that the agreement among scholars ends at this point, and

whether other defining characteristics – such as ownership, property, manage-

ment, government, number of C-seats, and succession – will be agreed on in the

future is unclear (as cited in Prym, 2011, p.71).

The definitions seen as most relevant and suited to the current paper are listed

below:

“Family involvement is only a necessary condition; family involvement must be

directed towards behaviour that produce a certain distinctiveness before the busi-

ness can be considered a family firm” (Chrisman et al., 2005, p.557 as cited in

Barrett & Moores, 2009, p.13).


17

“Ownership and management are concentrated in a family unit (in which) individu-

als within the firm seek to perpetuate or increase the degree of family involvement”

(Litz, 1995 as cited in Barrett & Moores, 2009, p.13).

“Members of a family have legal control over ownership” (Landsberg et al. 1988,

p.2 as cited in Barrett & Moores, 2009, p.14).

“The business will be passed on for the family´s next generation to manage and

control” (Ward, 1987, p.252 as cited in Barrett & Moores, 2009, p.14).

“A family business results from the interaction between two sets of organizations,

family and businesses, which establishes the basic character of the family busi-

ness and defines its uniqueness” (Davis, 1983, p.47 as cited in Barrett & Moores,

2009, p.14).

“Practice is controlled by the members of a single family” (Barry, 1975, p.42 as

cited in Barrett & Moores, 2009, p.14).

In other words, a family business is defined by the author as a company which is

owned, managed, led, and controlled by a family. The family also influences the

organization due to their capital participation. Furthermore, the family business is a

unique system because of the effective and efficient interaction between the family

itself and the business. The family is, after all, actually involved in the business

and responsible for its success, and for the succession process. Moreover, the

family business aims to realise a vision over several generations.

Additionally, the size of family businesses varies significantly: one of the biggest

family controlled companies in the world is Ford Motor Company, in which the

Ford family (now the fourth generation) owns 40% of the company shares (Ken-

yon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.1). In Germany, the Volkswagen stock cooperation

is the biggest family controlled business (Die deutsche Wirtschaft, 2017). This sci-

entific paper, however, focuses specifically on small and medium enterprises as

mentioned in the introduction chapter.


18

2.1.2 Generation Y and Millennials

Within the following paragraph, the terms generation Y and/or millennial will be

introduced.

The terms generation Y – Gen Y for short – and millennials are used to describe

people who reached their twenties, teenage years, and early adulthood around the

turn of the 21st century. There is not, however, a precise delineation of the birth

years that determine an individual as belonging to Gen Y:

o In an article from the Times, it was stated that Gen Y includes all

people born between 1980 and 2000 (Sanburn, 2013).

o Howe and Strauss similarly categorised the Gen Y and millennials

as a generation born after 1980 and before 2000. (Howe, Strauss,

2000, p.11).

o Sheahan defined Gen Y as those people born between 1978 and

1994. (Sheahan, 2005, p.3).

o According to Permant, Gen Y refers to people born between 1980

and 1994. (Permant, 2009 as cited in Hansen, 2011, p.2).

o The magazine Gründerszene (founders or entrepreneurs scene)

classified people born between 1980 and 1995 as belonging to Gen

Y (Gründerszene).

Despite this inconsistency, it is clear that generation Y and millennials are terms

used to describe the generation following generation X (people born in the 1960s

and 1970s) and the “baby boomers” (people born between 1940s and 1960s)

(Twenge, 2006, p.5). Those belonging to Gen Y or millennials are part of the first

generation growing up with the Internet, with electronic devices, and in an increas-

ingly online world characterised by social networks (Twenge, 2006, p.5). They

have also been referred to as “the world´s first generation to grow up thinking of

itself as global” (Howe, Strauss, 2000, p.16). Therefore, the Gen Y is similar to

terms such as millennials, net generation, digital natives, “Generation Why” (Han-

sen, 2011, p.2) and the “Me Me Me Generation” (Sanburn, 2013). It is often con-

sidered to be the case that Gen Y children had an enormously protected childhood


19

(Hansen, 2011, p.2). As mentioned previously in the introduction chapter, Gen Y

women can be characterised as follows: they are enormously ambitious; they are

better educated than any other generation in history and “smarter than most peo-

ple think” (Howe, Strauss, 2000, p.9); they are cooperative and collegiate team-

players; they are concerned with having work-life balance; they want to have a

“career they are passionate about” (Bay, 2011); they want to be their own boss;

they show an enormous initiative and entrepreneurial spirit; they are willing to take

responsibility as a leader (Howe, Strauss, 2000, pp.9-17); they want to continually

educate themselves; they are enormously independent; they value transparency;

and they seek to actively contribute (Zukunfts Institut, 2013, p.11). Additionally,

millennials are seen as an enormously open and tolerant generation for whom is-

sues such as equal marriage, freedom of religion, veganism, and the legalisation

of certain drugs are commonly and openly accepted (Zukunfts Institut, 2013, p.11).

As millennials have also “been raised under the mantra `follow your dreams´ and

been told they were special, they tend to be confident“(Rouse, 2015). Further-

more, according to the aforementioned Times article generation Y is also consid-

ered narcissistic, lazy, coddled, and a bit delusional (Sanburn, 2013). Another

negative trait, characterised by Sheahan (2005), which needs to be mentioned is

that millennials tend to be manipulative; they are not hesitant about twisting and

distorting information to their own benefit (Sheahan, 2005, p.15)

2.1.3 Leadership and Female Leadership

In the following paragraph, the author clearly does not intend to define leadership;

instead, a comprehensive outline of the scholar´s understanding of the phenome-

non of leadership will be presented, as well as a consideration what leadership is

from the author’s perspective.

Nowadays, the term leadership is found in almost every language; everyone is

trying to understand what leadership is about, how to apply leadership, what dif-

ferences there are between male and female leaders, the influences of culture on

leadership, how to be a better leader through leading oneself, and so on. Indeed,

leadership has no universal definition; rather, every scholar or individual has their

own way of interpreting what leadership means for them, according to their per-


20

sonal interest and individual perspective. There are perhaps as many definitions of

leadership in the world as there are people living in it. Klenke (1996) explained that

words for leaders, leadership and followers have been found in ancient Egyptian

hieroglyphics. Furthermore, in “early Greek and Latin, the word leadership is de-

rived from the word to act. Two Greek verbs, archein (to begin to lead, to rule) and

prattein (to pass through, achieve) correspond to the Latin verb agree (to set into

motions, to lead)” (Jennings, 1960 as cited in Klenke 1996, p.6). The term leader-

ship or the leader is deeply embedded in our languages; it could thus be suggest-

ed that a common definition of leadership cannot been found by turning to ancient

history.

Traditional leadership scholars and their theories tend to formally discuss the pe-

ripheries of leadership such as “traits, personality characteristics, born or made

issues, greatness, group facilitation, goal attainment, effectiveness, contingencies,

situations, goodness, style, and above all, the management of organizations –

public and private” (Rost, 1991, p.3). In the past, the traditional leadership scholars

were unable to specifically identify and define leadership, because they missed a

very important component of leadership: the relation between the leader and his or

her followers (Rost, 1991, p.3). The approach concerning the peripheries of lead-

ership has also been defined as a drama (Hatch, Kostera & Kozminski, 2004), as

well as an art (DePree, 2004).

Additionally, Michael and Lochrie (2006) have argued that the four main elements

of a leadership definition are: “A. the relationship is based on influence. B. Leaders

and Followers are the people in this relationship. C. Leaders and Followers intend

real changes. D. Leaders and Followers develop mutual purposes.” (Michael &

Lochrie, 2009, p.54).

The following list provides several scholars´ definitions of leadership and leader

that have been most relevant to the author of the present study:

o “Leadership is defined as an influential relationship among leaders and fol-

lowers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purpose.” (Rost,

1991, as cited in Michael & Lochrie, 2009, p.56)


21

o “Leadership is both a personality phenomenon and a group phenomenon; it

is also a social process involving a number of persons in mental contact in

which one person assumes dominance over the others. (…) It is the pro-

cess in which at every stage the followers exert an influence, often a chang-

ing counter-influence, upon the leaders” (Bogardus, 1934 as cited in Klen-

ke, 1996, p.7). o “Leadership is a process whereby and individual influences a group of indi-

viduals to achieve a common goal.” (Northouse, 2013, p.5) o “Leadership is what gives an organization its vision and its ability to trans-

late that vision into reality. Without this translation, a transaction between

leaders and follower, there is no organizational heartbeat.” (Bennis &

Nanus, 2007, p.19). o “The art of leadership (…) is liberating people to do what is required of

them in the most effective and human way possible.” (DePree, 2004, p. xxii) o “Leadership is much more complex. (…) we know the equations and formu-

las. If we put the right numbers into them and do the right things we will get

a result. But as a leader you are dealing with people. (…) Leadership is not

really something that we have or possess; it is something that we do. When

we think about leadership, think actions, think behaviour. (…) Leadership is

a responsibility. (…) People are looking to you. People are expecting things

of you. If you are really leading, people are following you. (…) Leadership is

an opportunity. (…) you also, as a leader, have the opportunity to make a

difference: for customers, for the organization, for those you lead, for the

world stage.” (Eikenberry & Harris, 2011, pp.10-12) o “leadership necessarily occurs – namely, the human mind. (…) characteri-

zation should be pluralized as human minds, (…) concerned equally with

the mind of the leader and the minds of the follower (Gardner & Laskin,

2011, p.15) o “The leader is the `servant´ of his followers in that he removes the obstacles

that prevent them from doing their job. (…) the true leader enables his or

her followers to realize their full potential.” (DePree, 2004, p. xxii)


22

o “Servant leaders place the good of followers over their own self-interests

and emphasize follower development.” (Hale & Fields, 2007 as cited in

Northouse, 2013, p.220). o “To become a leader, then, you must become yourself, become the maker

of your own life.” (Bennis, 2009, p.48). o “Leaders make things happen.” (Bennis & Nanus, 2007, p.xvi). o a leader is “a person who, by word and/or personal example, markedly in-

fluence the behaviour, thoughts, and/or feelings of a significant number of

their fellow human beings (here termed followers or audience members).”

(Gardner & Laskin, 2011, p.8) o Leaders achieve their effectiveness chiefly through the stories they relate.

(…) Leaders in the arts characteristically inspire other by the way they use

their chosen media of artistic expression (…) leaders embody those stories.

(Gardner & Laskin, 2011, p.8)

Based on the above definitions, the author will now classify her personal under-

standing of the terms leadership and leader in the following paragraph.

From my personal perspective, defining leadership is impossible; I would thus pre-

fer to share my ideas of what leadership and being a leader are about.

Leadership, as described by Bennis (2009), requires three main ingredients: the

leader’s guiding vision, the leader’s passion, and the leader’s integrity (Bennis,

2009, pp.33-34). A leader can appear in any size, shape, gender, and age catego-

ry; what they all have in common, no matter what they look like, is their passion for

what they do, their vision that guides their followers to a certain goal, and their be-

lief in integrity, which is indispensable. Another argument put forward by Bennis

(2009), which has been enormously inspiring for me, is the idea that “Leaders in-

vent themselves” (Bennis, 2009, p.35). The on-going discussion of whether a

leader is born or made will not be easily resolved; I have decided for myself to

support the idea that a leader is made rather than born. Leaders are the inventors

of their own path; they determine how they want to act and what they are going to

do with their lives. Moreover, as DePree (2004) has argued, leadership is the abil-

ity to liberate and facilitate the abilities of the people (the followers) (DePree, 2004,


23

p.10). Metaphorically speaking, the leader can be seen as an orchestra director.

The music conductor listens very carefully – abandoning himself or herself to the

strengths of other – to the personal abilities, needs, and desires of the musicians

and then figures out a way of bringing out those abilities. Indeed, the director has

to make up his or her mind in order to come up with ideas to achieve the goal of

producing unique and melodic music. To do so, the musicians need to have a

comprehensive and specific understanding of their role, position, strengths, and

task. Until the musicians have acknowledged their responsibilities, as well as their

relation to the other musicians and to the director, the music composition will not

be successful. In order to support, direct, guide, and help the musicians to

acknowledge this, the conductor serves as a servant: he removes the obstacles

preventing the musicians from successfully carrying out their job. The director has

effectively realised his role when the orchestra, and all its musicians, is able to

play Beethoven’s 5th symphony accurately. In other words, by enabling and liberat-

ing the various abilities of all the musicians and bringing them together in the right

way, the director has invented a personal, unique, and melodic composition. Simi-

lar to the role of conductor, the art of leadership is something that has to be

learned over time, it is not something that can be mastered overnight.

Furthermore, leadership results from the transaction between the leader and his or

her followers, or from the transaction between the musicians and the conductor.

Empowering people plays a significant role in leadership and followership: “Lead-

ers empower other to translate intention into reality and sustain it” (Bennis, Nanus,

2007, p.ii). Empowering people is for me one of the key success factors in leader-

ship. Furthermore, empowering means to encourage other people to fully reach

their own potential and enable their own talents to be realised (De Pree, 2004,

p.xxii).

In order to reinforce my understanding of what leadership is, I am going to clarify

what I do not consider to be part of leadership: it is not a skill; it is not a gift pos-

sessed from birth; it is not about title or position; it is not dependent on one’s gen-

der, size, shape, or age; it does not exist only in the higher levels of an organiza-

tional hierarchy; it is not about bossing, manipulating, controlling, or pushing; it is

not influenced by dimensional thinking about how to increase shareholder value; it


24

is not determined by power; it is not the leader’s pride; it is not simply saying the

right things; it is not simply telling people what to do and how to do it; it is not

about avoiding making mistakes; it is not management; it is not about the leader; it

is not about doing everything oneself; it is not having all possible answers; it is not

about avoiding personal responsibility; it is not charisma alone; it is not about per-

sonal intelligence; it is not avoiding conflicts; it is not maintaining the status quo; it

is not saying “yes” to everything; it is not getting the job done; it is not following.

Ultimately, leadership is about every single individual; it is about how he or she

wants to act in order to create something considerable and unique.

2.1.4 Company Succession

In the following paragraph, the term company succession will be comprehensively

defined. The phrase company succession is currently not universally determined in

the literature. The word succession, according to the German Duden, is described

as “the takeover of a certain position, function, place or rank by a predecessor;

successorship” (Bibliographisches Institut, 2017). Felden and Pfannenschwarz

(2008) stated that the term succession is used in order to describe a temporary

change between certain instances (Felden & Pfannenschwarz, 2008, p.25). Fur-

thermore, the term company succession is described in the literature as a “genera-

tional change” or “business(man) succession”, but the term “generational change”

is only used as a synonym in the context of internal family succession (Stephan,

2002, p.12). Moreover, Spielmann (1994) has characterised the generational

change/company succession as the handover of capital as well as ownership,

business leadership, and management to the next generation (Spielmann, 1994,

p.22). In addition, Hering and Olbrich (2003) defined company succession as the

transition of ownership with the related power of performance, no matter whether

the company´s ownership refers to a juridical person, such as a GmbH, or a real

person, possibly also a family member. Furthermore, the person who is handing

over the business has to be in charge of ownership as well as its related power of

performance; only when these two criteria are fulfilled the author is referring to

company succession (Hering & Olbrich, 2003, p.4).


25

Moreover, company succession within a family business can either be an internal

succession or an external succession. The internal succession in particular is de-

fined as the transition of enterprise by the previous business owner to the next

successor within a family. In other words, the company will be continued by a fami-

ly member (commonly due to a generational change); in this case, the ownership

of the company, as well as the leadership and management of the business, will

be handed over to the successor (Freund, 2000, pp.17-23). On the other hand, the

family business can also be continued due to various forms of external succes-

sion. In such cases, the ownership and business leadership will be transferred to a

non-family member (Freund, 2000, pp.17-23). Possibilities for external succession

can be selling, management buy-out, management buy-in, leasing, merging and

acquisition, and so on. According to a study conducted by the IfM Bonn, around

54% of family businesses involve handing the company over to a family member

(IfM Bonn, Kay & Suprinovic, 2013, p.19).

In a nutshell, the present author has decided to define company succession based

on the aforementioned literature as follows. The term company succession in rela-

tion to a family business, also known as generational change when involving an

internal succession within a family business, is used to describe the transition of

ownership – including control over the business, leadership and management, and

judicial decision making power – to either an external person (non- family member)

or to an internal person (family member). It is also possible for the previous owner

and manager of the business to hand over the business to more than one family

member if desired. The question of how operating and decision-making power

should be divided between siblings if someone chooses to hand over their family

business to more than one descendant will not be taken into account here, be-

cause it would go beyond the scope of this master’s thesis. Additionally, one of the

core points of the present paper is its focus on succession by female family mem-

bers and specifically by daughters.

Another point that should be mentioned is that the internal successor of a family

business can either be male or female. According to a study conducted by the IfM

Bonn (2010), 56% of currently operating family businesses are looking to hand

over to their sons, one third to hand over to their daughters, and 26% are seeking


26

a cooperative succession between their sons and daughters. It is less common for

nephews or nieces to be considered as possible successors (7%) and even less

commonly the spouse (6%) (IfM Bonn 2010 as cited in Bundesweite Gründerin-

nenagentur, 2013, p.17).

2.2 Different Types of Company Takeover

A large variety of possible company takeover methods are evidenced in the litera-

ture today and so, in the following chapter, the most common types of company

takeover will be defined and described. The author focuses particularly on internal

and external types of business succession within a family business.

Company takeovers and company succession are well-known phenomena nowa-

days. Every family owned business confronts the question of whether a suitable

and able successor will arise. The question usually considers whether the succes-

sor will be found internally or if another possibility of continuing the organization is

more favourable, that is to say an external succession solution. According to IfM

Bonn, between the years 2010 and 2014 a total of 110.000 company takeovers

were performed, or around 22.000 family business succession taking place annu-

ally (Hauser et al. 2010 as cited in Ullrich & Werner, 2013, p.2). Indeed, the rele-

vance of the issue of succession will only increase over the next century. Due to

the demographical changes, estimates from Müller et al. (2011) suggest that the

number of company successions will increase over the coming years, while the

number potential of suitable successors will be in decline (Müller et al. 2006, Eu-

ropean Commission 2006, as cited in Ullrich & Werner, 2013, p.2). Defining the

traits of successful succession is extremely relevant for the country’s economic

well-being, because of the potential loss of employment and productivity if the

takeover process fails (Ullrich & Werner, 2013, p.2).

The feasible possibilities, limited to internal and external opportunities in family

businesses, of a company takeover and/or company succession within family

businesses are outlined below.


27

2.2.1 Internal succession

There is no doubt that resigning or stepping back from being head of a business

can be a life-changing event for the owner (for example, the father or mother); it

could be that he or she even founded the company and put all his or her soul and

energy into the family enterprise, with passion driving him or her to succeed. Yet,

in order to keep the company alive, competitive, and successful, at a certain point

the owner has to hand the business over to the next generation.

Internal succession within the family is more or less self-explanatory: the family

business will be continued by another family member, related to the existing head

of the company biologically or by marriage. Therefore, possible successors from

the next generation could include the owner’s spouse, daughter, son, aunt, uncle,

niece, nephew, or the spouse of one of these family members.

Moreover, the owner can inherit, sell, or donate (as if the company were a present)

the business to the successor. The various possibilities open to the owner will now

be detailed below.

2.2.1.1 Heritage of the Family Business

Company succession by means of anticipated heritage is a widespread practice

used by owners. In this case, the owner of the company leaves the company and

the personal property to the heir during their lifetime or after their death. It is also

possible for the owner to leave the family business to two or more heirs, in which

case the inheritance shares are divided as defined by the owner. Moreover, it is

possible for the whole company to change owner or for only smaller company

shares to be assigned. The main advantages of heritage are:

o Determining the date of succession

o A peaceful process, agreed with the family

o Planning security for the successor

o Step-by-step transmission of the inheritance is possible due to

donation during the owner’s lifetime or due to heritage


28

Additionally, it is important to mention that in the case of heritage, the testator has

to make sure that, if he or she has more than one child, those not considered to be

successors of the company receive compensation and the heritage process is

openly discussed within the family. If not, potential conflicts between the siblings

may arise (Gruendungswissen 2010, Nachfolge guide).

2.2.1.2 Donation of the Family Business

The process of donating the family business to the successor is another frequently

used company takeover method. The owner, who may withdraw from the family

company, is able to hand over his or her company share or the whole company to

the successor, either free of charge or partly free of charge. In essence, the owner

can either donate the company or transfer the company for a small amount of

money. Furthermore, the owner can also donate money to the successor with

which he or she can buy himself or herself into the company. Similarly, he or she

can donate compensation, such as money, real estate properties, or other assets,

to those family members who will not fulfil the position of successor. A donation

can happen during the owner’s lifetime or after death and, depending under which

circumstances the company has been donated, different formal regulations need

to be considered (Müller & Saurer, 2008, p.58). Additionally, the main advantages

of donation are:

o The successor can deal with the new position peacefully and in

advance

o The future of the company is secured

o Internal position of the points can be worked out way before the

succession

o The chosen successor may be the best option for the position

o The most family and company friendly succession solution

The successor takes over the company, including all company debts and proper-

ties. If the successor is the child of the owner, he or she can pay compensation to

his or her parents in the form of retirement fees. Further, the successor may be

required to pay compensation fees to his or her siblings as well (Nachfolgeguide).


29

2.2.1.3 Lease of the Family Business

Another method of continuing a family business that may be suitable for those

owners who are not yet ready to hand over the business, as well for those who do

not want to retire and leave the company, is leasing the business. This is especial-

ly appropriate for those who were maybe the founder or the godfather of the busi-

ness, for whom it can be hard to separate themselves from the present state of the

company. Indeed, leasing the company for a specific amount of time, without los-

ing ownership, may be the best possible and most suitable solution for many own-

ers. In a nutshell, the leaser hands over the whole business to the new leasehold-

er for personal use versus monetary compensation and for a defined time period.

Moreover, with this form of succession, the leaser/owner is guaranteed on the one

hand that he or she will still profit from the business’ revenues, but on the other

hand the leaser no longer has any influence on the business management. Fur-

thermore, leasing has the advantage that the owner of the company can determine

whether or not the potential and chosen successor is the right choice for the posi-

tion as head of the company by evaluating how he or she manages the situation of

being the leader of the family business. It can be seen by both parties, the owner

and the successor, as a trial period. If the successor is seen as suitable for the

position, and he or she actually wants to continue in that position, the succession

can enter a second phase after the expiration of the agreed leasing period as-

signed to the successor, transferred either in the form of inheritance or a company

purchase (Klein & Vossius, 1999, p.140). The leasing contract can be a formless

and effective declaration, but a written and signed contract is highly recommend-

ed. In particular, the contract should include to what extent the leaseholder is obli-

gated to receive the business assets. Further, the contract needs to be agreed on

by both parties the leaser and the lease. Within such an agreement, the lease-

holder is contractually acknowledged as taking over responsibility for all necessary

procurements, replacements, corrections, renewals, maintenance and repair costs

within the scope of the substance preservation (Nachfolgeguide). Additionally,

within the lease, the place of inventory will be handed over to the leaseholder, as

well as the essential prerequisites for the business management, such as opera-


30

tional material, customer base, warehouse and the business licence, and an oper-

ating obligation will also be arranged (Krejci, 2008, p.143).

In summary, the possibility of leasing the family business to the potential succes-

sor can be seen as advantageous due the trial period, where both the leaser and

the lease figure out whether or not they wish to accept and manage the succes-

sion process.

2.2.1.4 Selling the Family Business

Selling the company to a family member is also a possible form of internal succes-

sion. An active enterprise can, with all its components, be seen as a sales objec-

tive and can therefore be transferred in return for payment. It is thus insignificant

whether the company is based on freelance, trade, commerce, or industry. A com-

pany sale can also be seen as dividing the overall sales price into several individ-

ual portions of the acquired assets (Bachl, 2009, pp.60-62).

In addition, the business sale does not have to proceed according to market terms

and conditions; it can contain costly benefits, reductions, or discounts in favour of

the successor. Succession in return for payment has an advantage over other

methods, such as in the case of the unexpected death of the owner where the dis-

tribution of the company’s assets between several heirs does not need to be taken

into consideration. If the owner is selling the company for an appropriate price to

the successor, it is not necessary to ensure a legitimate and proportional distribu-

tion to the owner´s other children (Müller & Seyer, 2007, p.21). In order to be able

to classify an appropriate price for the company sale, and therefore avoid being in

the position of an inheritance appeal or crediting the portion of inheritance, the

owner has to ensure a comprehensive company valuation is ordered.

Three different types of company sales in return for payment can be identified.

Firstly, the company sale can be performed based on a single payment. Both par-

ties can determine a single payment based on the company valuation and, at a

certain point in time, the ownership will be transferred from the owner to the buyer/

(family member). Secondly, the buyer does not have to paying the full amount in

one instalment, he or she can arrange the payment to be completed through re-


31

tirement payments, instalment payments, or several continued payments over a

longer and limited time period. The advantage for the buyer here would be that

less external capital and starting capital is required. The disadvantage, from the

seller’s perspective, would be that he or she is dependent on the success of the

buyer. Thirdly, a sale based on continuing loans consists of recurring expenses

paid over a certain time period of at least ten years. In comparison to the system

of retirement payments, continuing loans do not require consistency in the assets

assumed (Nachfolgeguide).

The contract of sales is characterised in Germany as a consensual contract; in

other words, the corresponding volition of both parties is required for the contract’s

conclusion. Further, the contracting parties agree on the transfer of the object of

purpose in exchange of money to the other party (Binder as cited in Schwimann,

AGBG IV, §1053 Rz.1).

To conclude, selling the company can be characterised a suitable solution for the

owner and the successor: on the one hand, the owner enjoys the twilight of his or

her life, due to the receipt of appropriate compensation, and on the other hand, the

buyer does not necessarily need to have the total amount of starting capital in or-

der to become the successor.

2.2.1.5 Family Foundation

The family foundation should not be seen as a traditional form of succession, ra-

ther it ensures that the family business remains in the family’s hands and, no mat-

ter which family member is seen as the successor, all family members benefit from

the foundation.

The establishment of a private foundation in the form of a family foundation meets

the wishes of the family business owner as it ensures that the enterprise will re-

main in the family’s hands and that the traditions of the owner will be kept alive.

Roughly, two thirds of founders in Germany are characterised as private founders

(Bundesverband Deutsche Stiftung), and there are up to 500 family foundations

registered in the country (Die Stiftung, 2014). Further, the owner may use this

method to guarantee him or herself and his or her family members a carefree fu-


32

ture (Krempl, 2013). Overall, a foundation can be characterised as a general facili-

ty, pursuing a certain cause determined by and with the support of the assets.

Usually, the assets will be permanently preserved. Additionally, only the revenues

and income will be used for the purpose of the family business. The foundation

also makes sure to invest the transferred assets profitably and safely. The founded

assets must be maintained as shared capital in the foundation (Bundesverband

Deutsche Stiftung). Moreover, foundations exist in various legal forms and can

manage or fulfil different purposes, depending on the founder’s preferences, be-

cause he or she has the freedom to design the foundation according to their needs

(Huth, 2017). In general, a foundation is established for eternity and not consid-

ered possible for liquidation.

The family foundation is a special case, a privately and legally responsible founda-

tion. Indeed, the family foundation is characterised as a foundation established in

the essential interest of one or more families. The purpose of the foundation is

provided for the founder and the family members of the founder. Moreover, the

purpose of the foundation is determined by the founder and cannot be changed.

For example, a family foundation often remains a non-profit enterprise (Bun-

desverband Deutsche Stiftung). The establishment of a foundation ensures that

the family business will be kept alive as a whole entity and not ripped apart into

small units. In addition, establishing a family foundation provides specific ad-

vantages in terms of preventing the family business from being ripped apart due to

discrepancies between the various heirs, the high amount of inheritance, or the

sale of the company (Krempl, 2013). Furthermore, family foundations make it pos-

sible to avoid normal heritable succession and therefore protect the family assets

against bad decisions, internal conflicts, or economic risks (Die Stiftung, 2014).

Generally speaking, the founder can choose a suitable successor from the pool of

family members, but the other family members are not at a disadvantage in terms

of assumed disputes based on monetary payments or unfair distribution of assets,

because the assets of the family business will be held within the foundation,

whoever the next generation successor may be.


33

In other words, from the author’s perspective, a family foundation may be the op-

timal solution for a peaceful succession.

2.2.2 External succession

According to Deutsche Bank (2014), by 2018 up to 135.000 company takeovers

will challenge existing enterprises. Every year roughly 20.000 businesses confront

the challenges of the succession process. Furthermore, in around 80% of cases,

the handing over process is successful in family businesses. Overall, only one

third of the family-owned businesses have had difficulties in finding a suitable suc-

cessor. Internal succession is favoured by most of family business owners, with

less people considering external succession. Owners tend to search for a succes-

sor within the family because they want their traditions to be kept alive, the spirit of

the company to be valued, and to keep their hard-earned success within the fami-

ly. It is often the case, however, that potential successors are not suitable or suffi-

ciently educated to take on the required role. Successors can also underestimate

the tasks, challenges, duties, physical burdens, and requirements demanded by

such a position (Deutsche Bank, 2014, pp.1-2). Therefore, owners of family busi-

nesses have to consider other possible solutions when looking for successors for

their beloved company. Hence, they need to start thinking outside the box. In es-

sence, they need to start searching for a suitable successor or successors outside

the family unit. Moreover, an external succession of the family business can also

have its advantages – the process just needs to be analysed, understood,

adapted, and internalised by the family business and its owner.

2.2.2.1 Acquisition

An acquisition process sees the family business being bought by another (often

bigger) company and is therefore a very common form of company takeover. With-

in an acquisition, the purchased company loses any economic independence. Ex-

amples of acquisition succession would be WhatsApp being bought by Facebook,

or Rover by BMW (Hungenberg, 2014, p.490). After all, companies do not only

grow organically based on increased turnover or acquiring new units; they can al-

so expand due to the acquisition of new companies. Depending on the legal form


34

and ownership structure, the acquisition can be worked out differently (Berner,

2015).

Company acquisition can be divided into two subsections: the asset deal acquisi-

tion and the shared deal acquisition.

(asset deal)

The asset deal is characterised as the purchase of a certain company by the ac-

quiring company. In this sense, the buying enterprise acquires and assumes all

the company assets, economic goods, and debts of the business they have pur-

chased and then, in a second step, integrates the new business into their balance

sheet (Glück, 2017). The buyer is obligated to transfer all the objects and goods of

his or her company, such as licences, patents, movable assets, properties,

brands, business secret, customer lists, and so on (Rechtslexikon, 2014).

(shared deal)

The shared deal is characterised as the process in which the buying company ac-

quires the majority of the buyers´ shares and voting rights. This method is more

common than the asset deal (Glück, 2017). In this system, a large number of

shares of the purchased business will be acquired by the buying company. This is

very often classified as a purchase of rights (Rechtslexikon, 2014).

In summary, acquisition as a form of external succession is a well-known company

practice, used to increase and establish the company’s portfolio of the buyer.

Moreover, the question of whether or not the acquisition will be successful and

profitable for the buyer is often discussed. The acquisition process is seen as suc-

cessful when value is generated, and in particular when the company value of the

acquired company is higher after the acquisition than it was before (Hungenber,

2014, p.495). In the end, it is the business owner´s decision and instinct that will

determine what is best for the company.

2.2.2.2 Merger

Another method of external succession available to family businesses is a merger,

which is described as the combination of two or more existing companies into one


35

(larger) corporate company. In other words, “a merger is a corporate strategy of

combining different companies into a single company in order to enhance the fi-

nancial and operational strengths of both organizations“ (InvestingAnswers, 2017).

In this sense, the merging process involves the transfer of ownership of the con-

cerned businesses.

Due to the merger, one legal entity (company) has to disappear for a new legal

entity to be founded. The active and passive accounts of the balance sheets of the

merging companies will be transferred to the newly established enterprise or to the

chosen legal entity . Further, a merger often requires a new branding or identity for

the involved companies, which has to be considered from the beginning on of the

process. Additionally, the advantages of a merger are that the merging companies

can learn and profit from each other; for example, they can combine and share

their assets, their customers, their market, their professional know-how and com-

petencies, their evaluation of other competitors, their financial benefits, their R&D

costs and so on. Indeed, the merger of two or more companies often fails because

of irreconcilable conflict arising from differences in issues such as company cul-

ture, leadership style, company hierarchy structure, company structures and tech-

nologies, organizational vision and mission, and company purpose (In-

vestingAnswers,2017).

To conclude, a merger has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to the

family business owner to figure out whether this method is suitable for their suc-

cession process or not.

2.2.2.3 Management Buy-out (MBO)

MBO is seen, from the author’s perspective, as another kind of a company pur-

chase. In this process, the company will be handed over to the existing manage-

ment of the business. The whole management group or individuals in the existing

management group acquire a profitable and extensive proportion of the capital´s

voting power; in other words, the management purchases the majority of the busi-

ness owner’s capital. The MBO is legally in force when the management com-

mands a minimum of around 25% of the shares capital. Therefore, the equity capi-


36

tal ratio of the management is very low; a considerable portion of derives from ex-

ternal capital creditors (Nachfolgeguide). Further, the success or failure of the

MBO´s succession is determined by the competences, leadership abilities, com-

mitment, goal orientation etc. of the chosen management. The most valuable ad-

vantage of the MBO is that the management will already have a common under-

standing and shared experience of the company’s values, culture, identity, vision,

mission, structure, and leadership style. They know exactly how to continue to

manage the company in line with the owner’s preferences (Nachfolgeguide, Grü-

nerszene A).

2.2.2.4 Management Buy-In (MBI)

Family business owners often have no children, and therefore no suitable succes-

sors; such businesses may consider the MBI. In contrast to the MBO, the MBI the

company sees an externally chosen management assume responsibility for own-

ership and successful performance of the company. Furthermore, the MBI is often

also supported by an external investor (Hoffmann, 2015). Within this method of

company takeover, the owner and the chosen management have to work hand in

hand during the complex succession process. The major advantage of the MBI is

that the newly-named management can bring fresh perspective, new ideas, or

technological innovations to the company, and dismantle any out-dated company

structures or models.

2.2.2.5 Joint Venture

A joint venture should not be seen as a traditional form of company succession,

but rather as an agreement in which the family business has the chance to profit

from the joint venture partner and therefore be more successful, competitive, ef-

fective, and efficient. Additionally, a joint venture is, on the one hand, defined as a

kind of cooperation between two or more enterprises and, on the other hand, used

to describe the investment of two or more independent companies in one joint

subsidiary (Gründerszene B). The potential risk and dangers to the company can

thereby be equally divided with the joining party; a synergy effect can thus be an-

other benefit of this process. Indeed, a joint venture is characterised as a process


37

that “encompasses any collaborative undertaking by which two or more entities

devote their resources to pursuing a common goal” (American Bar Association,

2016, p.5). The uniquely defined conditions of the joint venture will be outlined in

the joint venture contract. Moreover, the ownership is equally distributed to both

entities, without no single party granted complete dominance (Guo, 1998, p.10).

Furthermore, the duration of the joint venture can be determined: it is up to the

involved parties to decide whether the agreement is legally applicable for just one

project or for a period of 10 years. In addition, the joint venture agreement can al-

so take place between companies from different geographical areas, within the

feasible legal requirements.

In a nutshell, all companies, small or large, can be part of a joint venture agree-

ment. In doing so, the joint venture can help the involved entities in several ways:

to grow faster; to build up long-term relationships; to increase the profit, competi-

tiveness, productivity, market share, capacity, and the number of distributing mar-

kets; to simplify access to resources; and to reduce the risk of uncertainty and le-

gal processes. Indeed, the objectives for agreeing to a joint venture contract can

be based on many different expectations, depending on the company’s needs.

2.3 Challenges of the Handover Process: the business-family-successor paradox

The generational change within a family business involves many hidden challeng-

es. It is often the case that the owner of the business, and the potential successor,

will not have reflected on how to hand over the business, considered the overall

future company strategy, or clearly defined the succession process in advance. Of

course, there are many other factors that cause challenges in the succession pro-

cess, but the ones named here are seen, from the author’s perspective, as most

relevant. The family business is an extremely complex, and often emotionally in-

volved, enterprise. Factors such as trust, gratitude, appreciation, obligation, com-

mitment, and guilt play an enormously significant, major, and crucial role in the

framework of a family business – more so than in any other business. It can be

extremely hard for family members themselves to differentiate between family and


38

business, between parent and head of company, between siblings and potential

future co-workers, between living room and office (Wimmer & Gebauer, 2004). Is it

ever possible to simply think, behave, and act either as a family member or as a

business owner according to the specific environment, without ever confusing

these roles? The answer to this question remains unclear. What can be said at this

stage, however, is that the succession process not only conceals but also causes

various challenges for the individual, the family, and the business.

Within the following chapter possible challenges of the handover process for a

family business will be discussed based on three main indicators: the business

indicator, the family indicator, and the individual successor, or personal, indicator.

The author sees these three indicators as those most relevant to the succession

process. The reasons for this are clarified below.

(modified after Simon/Wimmer/Groth, 2005, p.17 as cited in Wiesner-Landerl,2007,

p.317.)

The above graphic illustrates the tension between the three indicators. Indeed, the

tension here can derive from a combination of several factors, such as an unclear-

ly defined role for the female successor in terms of her responsibilities in the busi-

BUSINESS FAMILY

INDIVIDUAL SUCESSOR

Figure 1: Family - Business - Individual Successor – Paradox


39

ness. Communicating the position of the female successor both to the employees

and to the family members is essential to creating a clearly defined understanding

and distribution of her role. Hence, women in family businesses are often seen as

fulfilling a “stand-by-function”. To elaborate, they are often pushed into positions

that play on prejudices of female behaviour, characterising women in family busi-

nesses as the èmotional support´ or the `soul´ of the company, which leads to

them being denied the chance to prove or realize their full potential in the business

(Wiesner-Landerl, 2007, p.319; Klinger, 2007, p.330). This phenomenon will be

discussed in more detail within this chapter. Another factor which causes tension

is that, when the owner of the family business is a father, which is often the case,

he may want to protect `daddy’s little girl´ from a rough working environment and

unpleasant experiences; in essence, daughters can be kept in this diminished role

by their fathers (Martin, 2001, p.226). Moreover, the prejudices surrounding female

successors and reservations about their potential success come from the family´s,

and especially the father´s, perspective include the following: untypical industry for

women, increased family predisposition, lower physical resilience, lack of ac-

ceptance by the business partners, greater need for security, and less marked

leadership affinity (ATI Küste, 2003, p.73). This underestimation of the daughter´s

capabilities, often by her closest relatives, can have an enormously negative im-

pact on the self-esteem of the female successor. From the author’s personal expe-

rience, as a succeeding daughter, your overall aim is to make the family proud, to

be accepted as the head or leader of the company, and not to destroy your loved

ones’ life´s work. Generally speaking, the tension between the three indicators is

very sensitive and emotionally burdened.

In the following table, the paradox between the three factors will be outlined.

Family Individual Successor Business

Trust Lead Control

Emotions Good feeling, prove one-

self

Performance


40

Orality Build the bridge between

orality and textuality

Textuality

Non-terminable As long as she can possi-

bly healthily handle the

position

Terminable

Loyalty Self-realisation Competitiveness

Surviving Fulfil expectations Achieve maximum success

Supporting the weakness-

es of others

Be the best she can, play

a stand-by function

Supporting the strengths of

others

Limited members Possibility of sharing the

successor position with

siblings

Constantly changing among

members

Sustainability Create something she will

be known for

Fast pace

Values such as: security,

traditionalism, warmth,

passion

Values such as: ambigui-

ty, appreciation

Values such as: profit,

growth, consistency

Table 1: Family - Individual Successor - Business – Paradox

(own table based on Hennerkes & Kirchdörfer, p.77)

The differences between the overall aim, values, core function, roles and respon-

sibilities, individual relationships, goals, characteristics and traits, main purpose

and position of the three indicators (family, individual-successor, and business)

could clearly not be more diverse. Combining and aligning the fundamental diver-

sity of these three factors is significantly challenging for everyone involved in the

succession process.

The following paragraphs will analyse to what extent these differences determine

the coherent challenges of each indicator.


41

2.3.1 Business Indicator

The challenges of the succession according to the business indicator include the

various aspects that the family business faces as an independent entity.

In general, changes and insecurity in legal regulation, economical unpredictability,

and demographic change all influence the environment of a business and there-

fore the succession process as well (Andric et al., 2016, p.10). Indeed, the suc-

cession process is relevant not only for the family business concerned, but also for

the company’s stakeholders and business partners (Andric et. at., 2016, p.11).

Moreover, if profitable companies fail as a result of the succession, economic val-

ue is lost in form of employment, added value, and tax substrate (Andric et. al.,

2016, p.11).

One enormously important aspect, according to the challenges based on the busi-

ness indicator, focuses on the property and ownership strategy for the future. The

senior member of the family business has to make up his or her mind on the fol-

lowing issues before the succession process begins:

x management of the ownership: how the ownership should be divided

and in what percentage, what proportion of shares should the share-

holders or the family members possess, how many family members

should have shares in the company, how is the ownership structure dis-

tributed, and so on. (Nagl, 2015, p.42).

x right of decision making: what will the decisions process look like for the

owner(s), who has the final decision, who is responsible for each deci-

sion, when and how will information be equally distributed to the own-

er(s) and the employees (Nagl, 2015, p.42).

x type of property: which items of property represent the assets or proper-

ties, are these mostly from the enterprise or do further assets exist, and

how are these assets linked to each other (Nagl, 2015, p.42).

x transfer of the shares: who is allowed and under which circumstances to

have shares in the company, who is a potential heir, is an internal suc-

cession intended for right of first refusal (Nagl, 2015, p.42).


42

This process is evidently extremely challenging. Firstly, there are challenges for

the owner: the question of whether he or she is making the right decision about

what is best for the family company when it comes to the above points. Secondly,

it is challenging for the successor to accept the situation and to resign oneself to

the fact that the decision lies with the existing business owner and has to be made

in light of the future of the company´s property and ownership strategy.

Another challenge to be considered in relation to the property and ownership

strategy is that of hurdles based on the investors in the family business. If the

company depends on investor(s) and those investors are not in favour of the

daughter becoming successor, conflicts and difficulties may arise because of the

non-existing trust basis, or because of biases towards the female successor, or

because the daughter may not be seen as suitable for the position of a successor

by the investors (Wegmann & Wiesehahn, 2015, p.29).

Having a comprehensive understanding of the future business strategy is a signifi-

cant challenge for both the former owner and the successor of the family enter-

prise. Indeed, having a clearly defined business strategy is extremely relevant for

the future wellbeing of the business. It is often the case (though of course not al-

ways) that, at the point of succession, the business strategy in a family business is

out-dated and needs to reworked and adapted to new circumstances, perhaps to

focus more on innovation, for example. Redefining and adapting the goals, values,

culture, and vision needs to be done during the succession process, preferably by

the both the former owner and successor together. The two generational leaders

have to act in tandem, communicating the changes clearly to their employees and

other family members. In the following list, the author states the most relevant

questions, in her view, when it comes to determining future business strategy:

x What are the company’s strategic and operative goals?

x Where do we see the company in the next 5 to 10 years? What are our

short-, middle-, and long-term goals?

x What is the expected growth rate? What is the expected profit? What

are the expected future sales?

x How will the profit be distributed and be accumulated?


43

x How will we invest in the future in the company? (externally or internally)

x Who are our investors? How many investors do we have?

x Do we have or are there any planned cooperation or equity holding of

another firm?

x How are our financial measures planned, elaborated, and evaluated?

x Are there any legal requirements necessary for succession?

x Are there any taxation requirements necessary for succession?

x Are any changes planned?

x What do our company culture, values, vision, mission, and purpose look

like?

x Should we maintain our old traditions, processes, and hierarchy struc-

ture?

x How does the daughter want to lead the company?

x What are the company´s strengths and weaknesses?

x What are our core competencies?

x What is our unique value proposition?

x How are our resources profitably allocated? What resources do we

need? (personnel and material)

x How are prices allocated?

x What are our core markets? Do we want/need to expand? What is our

market volume? What are the market trends? What is our market seg-

ment? What is our competition strategy?

x What does our product or service portfolio look like? Are any product re-

newals planned?

x What are our planned distribution and communication channels?

x Shall the operative management still be done by family members in the

next generation, and if so, who is considered to be a family member?

x What are the requirements for succession? Who shall the potential suc-

cessor be?

x How can other family members be part of the company? Which respon-

sibilities and roles can they have?


44

x Is it necessary to create a supervisory body, such as an advisory board,

who will play a supportive role in the succession process?

(Nagl, 2015, pp.43-44; Schwetje et al., 2016, pp.102-103; Papesch,

2010, pp.104-105)

Of course, there are many more questions and aspects to be considered in the

design of a future business strategy, but the above listed points are essential for

any potential successors. Each and every question itself contains a challenge for

the daughter, and it is her responsibility to deal with each challenge either alone or

together with the former owner or with her siblings. Additionally, an inventory and

situational analysis is appropriate when considering the continuing existence of the

family business. Setting the company on the course to innovations can hereby be

initiated (Ziniel et al., 2014, p.46). Indeed, innovations are crucial for the future

well-being and sustainability of the company: innovations can prevent the ageing

of a business´s product, services or internal processes. The potential of a family

business to come up with innovations is important when estimating succession

suitability (Ziniel et al., 2014, p.46).

Furthermore, the success of a family company is not guaranteed by its business

strategy alone, but is also dependent on the personal objectives of the owner, the

successor, and the other family members involved (Papesch, 2010, pp.104-105).

The succession process demands a critical analysis of the surviving and develop-

ing chances of the family business and possible new position ideas are needed in

facing the present reality. The family thus has to analyse and localize their own

bottleneck factor, such as their size, production capacity and resources, in order to

examine their long-term effectiveness on the basis of environmental changes

(Papesch, 2010, p.105). Therefore, the succession process can also be seen as a

considerable advantage because the new successor can breathe new life into and

revive the spirit of an ageing company.

An insufficient organizational structure within the family business can also be clas-

sified as a challenge for female successors. The senior member of the family

business is used to deciding everything independently without being controlled by

someone else, often using their gut feeling as the most important factor in deci-


45

sion-making, with information and other control systems often neglected. Overall,

decisions made by the owner, in terms of the operational and organisational struc-

tures of the business, have been made on a more intuitive basis (Papesch, 2010,

p.102). The senior member will likely have developed, due to their role in daily

business operations, a degree of business acumen and have thus been successful

setting the business on the right track based on their perception of favourable

market opportunities. For this reason, the possibility of failure is extremely high.

Indeed, if the senior member has always made decisions based on his or her gut

feeling, then information on the company’s economic performance may be lacking

and decision-making or working processes may not have been defined, resulting

in it being extremely difficult for the next generations to continue to grow the busi-

ness, and they will need to be highly resilient (Papesch, 2010, p.103). Despite this,

organizational problem areas can also emerge in relation to the delegation of and

coordination with market partners, customers, and the bank (Papesch, 2010,

p.103). In general, factors such as the character, values, preferences, and per-

sonal vision of the senior member shape the leadership style used in his or her

family business. The operational and organisational structure is in this way tailor-

made to the owner of the enterprise (Letmathe & Hill, 2006, p.1126).

Acquiring the respect and trust of employees is another challenge the female suc-

cessor has to deal with. Employees evidently play a crucial role in the success of a

business. Therefore, the succession process has to be openly and clearly com-

municated to the rest of the company. Employees may have a stereotypical image

of the right successor in mind, and the daughter may not therefore seen and ac-

cepted as the future leader by said employees. Any fears, desires, and hopes of

the employees, which are a result of the succession process, also need to be ad-

dressed. The successor has to build relationships with her employees, through

employee appraisal, in order to understand their point of view on the succession

process and overcome any prejudices they may hold. In this way, relations be-

tween the daughter and her employees will be developed on a foundation of trust,

which is indispensable to ensuring mutual respect (Nachfolgeguide).


46

2.3.2 Family Indicator

The challenges of succession within the family indicator focus on the emotional

aspects that affect relations between the family members involved.

The succession process is arguably one of the most important and difficult

milestones within the life time of a company. Further, emotional components and

family bonds play a significant role since, for the various founders of family busi-

nesses, handing over their life´s work is a significantly challenging time (Andric et

al., 2016, p.8).

One of the biggest challenges for succession concerns the existing business own-

er, for whom it can be enormously hard to let go and hand over the reins. Moreo-

ver, the owner may not want to transfer the leadership role, either consciously or

unconsciously, which can cause significant problems and conflicts during the suc-

cession process. Some owners see retirement as a life-changing experience in

which they lose their spirit, their purpose in life, or simply their joie de vivre. In-

deed, it is well known that the owners of a family business, who may even be the

founders of the company, are often deeply emotionally connected to the long-term

well-being of said company; letting it go and turning their back on the company’s

issues, concerns, and problems can thus be extremely difficult for them. It can be

especially hard and exhausting for the successor if the founder of the business is

convinced that no one else will ever be able to live up to his or her reputation

(Papesch, 2010, pp.96-100; Wulf & Stubner, 2010, p.18).

Another challenge can arise if the founder of the company expects too much from

the female successor and puts her under pressure to perform to the same stand-

ards or in the exact way as he or she did. Indeed, if the owner is a very dominat-

ing, goal-oriented, and strong-willed person, who expects his or her daughter to be

similar to him or her, this can lead to discrepancies between them. Moreover, such

behaviour can diminish the female successor’s potential to realise her own abilities

as a leader and to create her own preferred and most suitable way of leading.

Moreover, if the senior family member is inflexible in their understanding of what

the business should look like, or how it should act, and so on, he or she may end

up pushing the successor into a certain direction, which correlates to its future ori-


47

entation (Wimmer & Gebauer, 2004). The owner has to accept and internalize the

fact that the daughter will breathe new life into the company, and that new re-

quirements and changes are thus indispensable.

Crucial challenges can also be caused within the succession process by badly

defined and communicated roles and responsibilities among the family members

themselves and across the business. Planning for succession is a comprehensive

and difficult process. Agreeing who will be the most suitable successor of the pos-

sible family members is an extremely challenging decision, which can also imply

certain dangers, risks, and conflicts for the whole family (Nissen & Wengelowski,

2007, p.70). If, for example, more than one family member wants to continue the

family business, then a solution has to be worked out; however, determining what

this process looks like and what factors may help the owner to make the right de-

cision is out of the scope of this thesis. Here, the focus is instead on the fact that

clearly communication within the family circle is essential when determining which

person will fulfil which role and take on which responsibilities, and deciding who is

going to be the next generational leader, so that all family members know exactly

what is required of them. Early and optimal planning for the future objectives and

professions of family members is seen as a valuable strategy in order to avoid sib-

ling (or cousin) rivalry. If, for example, a sibling of the successor decides at a later

stage that they would also like to work in the family business, then there has to be

a family constitution in place before the owner hands over the reins, which would

clearly define what should happen in such an unpredictable situation (Huber &

Sterr-Kölln, 2006, p.42). In summary, every single family member, especially those

who are or who may be actively involved in the family enterprise at a later date,

has to have an overall understanding of who is seen as the next generational fami-

ly business owner, the leader and head of the company, and what that person is

responsible for, as well as the succession process itself and the future strategy of

the business (Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.62). Furthermore, in order to

communicate an understanding of the different roles clearly, it is also necessary to

communicate this to non-family members in the external business environment. It

is often hard for the owner of the family company to step aside and to make space

for the successor. This can lead to confused employees, business partners,


48

stakeholders, and so on, particularly if the “retired” owner still seems to have his or

her fingers in the pie, so to speak, and still assumes the lead whenever he or she

can. Overall, the daughter’s authority will be questioned and internal processes

can become confused. Employees can also often end up being caught in the

crossfire between the daughter and the former business owner (Jäckel-Wurzer &

Ott, 2014, p.8).

This reflection on the behaviour of the retired owner brings us to the next chal-

lenge: the daughter´s constant sense of competition and comparison with the for-

mer owner. According to Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott (2014), daughters have previously

experienced situations in which their beloved family members are not aware that

they tend to overstep the barriers when it comes to decision making, problem solv-

ing, and other difficult issues in the company. The senior family members may ar-

gue that nobody else knows how to solve, act, or deal with the situation except him

or her and that no one is better suited to the role than him or her because he or

she knows exactly what to do to in such difficult situations. For example, this could

manifest itself as the former owner asking for information behind the daughter’s

back, negotiating with business partners without her authorization, participating in

important meetings or admonishing employees (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, p.7).

Moreover, traditions play a significant role in the family business environment,

which can foster the feeling of togetherness and community that characterises

such businesses. Yet, traditions (which were formed, established and communi-

cated by the senior) can also be seen as a challenge for the successor, because

the organizational environment may have changed and the company itself may

even grown and transformed considerably in the past years since succession. Old

traditions need to be renewed and changed in order to enable the daughter’s fresh

spirit to carry the company forward (Fueglistaler et al., 2008, p.171; Huber, 2014,

p.15).

The distribution of roles between the female successor and the handover genera-

tion is an enormously intense time, which can result in tension or stress for all par-

ties involved. Indeed, the interactions that take place in the emotionally-charged

family environment are fundamentally different to those in the business environ-


49

ment, which tend to focus on rationality and profitability, whilst the roles of each

family member are completely different within the family and in the business

(Baus, 2010, p.24). Within the father-daughter dynamic in particular, their under-

standing of their different roles needs to change, and the questions of whether

both parties will accept these new roles within the family-business system can be

enormously challenging. The father-daughter relationship will undoubtedly be put

to the test during the succession process. As mentioned above, the factor which

causes particular tension here is that mostly the father of the family business

wants to protect `daddy’s little girl´ from a rough working environment and un-

pleasant experiences, resulting in daughters being kept in diminished roles by their

fathers (Martin, 2001, p.226). Moreover, the daughter wants to be seen as a wom-

an who is capable of handling all these difficulties and who has unique and valua-

ble abilities necessary to leading the company to success (Sies, 2000, p.48).

Therefore, the father-daughter dynamic during the succession process is shaped

by a crucial conflict of roles. Torn between the different role requirements – from a

daughter or `daddy’s little girl´ who is fragile, helpless, and dependent on her fa-

ther to a competent and tough businesswoman. Daughters are often dependent on

their idealised father and, desiring to become like him, often they act according his

will. Therefore, the daughter is not seen as an individual and independent person,

but rather as an embodiment of her father or what she believes he wants to see in

her (Haubl & Daser, 2006, pp.17-36). Further, the tendency for a female person to

`take care of others´ and `be considerate´ can be counterproductive in the succes-

sion process: the daughter does not want to disobey her father and thus holds

herself back in order to avoid conflict. By contrast, from the father’s perspective,

he sees himself as the chief protector and supporter when his ‘little girl’ is faced

with ‘insurmountable’ obstacles. In general, the behaviour of the two interdepend-

ent family members does not only have a negative impact on the succession pro-

cess and on communication between father and daughter, but it also impacts the

daughter’s autonomy, self-development, and accountability (Vera & Dean, 2005,

p.327).

In summary, changing the father’s understanding involves emphasising the fact

that `daddy´s little girl´ is à grown-up woman´ and this can be particularly de-


50

manding. Equally difficult is changing the daughter’s view of herself as a carer who

must avoid conflict and hurting her father. Both father and daughter are therefore

required to break the existing rules, in order to both support the next generational

leader to succeed and to sustain a healthy father-daughter dynamic.

Moreover, beyond the father-daughter dynamic, the mother-daughter dynamic also

presents challenges to be explored. On the one hand, the dynamic is influenced

when the mother is also the owner of the family company. It can be extremely hard

to hand over the business to her daughter, because she is deeply connected to

her business, particularly if the industry is already more male dominated: it will be

difficult for her to transfer the decision making power to someone else and to ac-

cept that she is no longer able to control every single detail. Moreover, the suc-

cession will be significantly challenging if the mother is what can be characterised

as a ‘Queen Bee’. The queen bee phenomenon describes a woman in a position

of authority who does not lead in the way typically expected of females, but rather

treats her subsidiaries as if they were women beneath her and often more critically

(Bellman & Jonas, 2009, p.207). A daughter taking over the business from a

queen bee mother thus has to deal with various challenges, and has to prove her

abilities. Such a mother may also be afraid of losing control and thus expects per-

fection from her daughter´s performance (Vera & Dean, 2005, p.312-345; Bellman

& Jonas, 2009, p.207). On the other hand, the dynamic can also be influenced by

a mother who, by contrast, has never received the deserved recognition for her

role in the company because her husband has been playing the dominant role as

the owner of the family business. The mother may have always been in the shad-

ow and background of her husband, despite the fact that she was likely responsi-

ble for everything else in his life, enabling him to focus solely on the business. In

such a case, these mothers may have never received appropriate recognition from

the spouse for the role played, also dedicating her whole life to the business in a

sense. The daughter identified as the next generation successor will be thus more

visible than the mother has ever been, which could lead to dissatisfaction or jeal-

ousy on the part of the mother. Whether this lack of support is shown consciously

or unconsciously, it can nonetheless result in an emotional conflict between moth-

er and daughter (Haubl & Daser, 2006, pp.38-39). In both cases, having a clear,


51

unaffected, and unbiased relationship is essential; this can be accomplished

through honest and open dialogue.

Furthermore, other challenges may arise from rivalry and the pressure to prove

oneself among siblings. If there is more than one child of an family business owner

existing, rivalry among the children may arise as a result discussions related to the

potential positions and the future successor. Establishing a fair division of the

business assets among siblings can cause conflicts of interest. Situations in which

an eldest brother is denied his ambitions of successorship by a younger sister tend

to end in dispute. If all, or even if some, other siblings are already working in the

family business, the pressure to prove oneself in front of the other siblings is signif-

icant. When unsolved conflicts from the past are also influencing the siblings’ be-

haviour, this can result in personal conflict between them, which is extremely

counterproductive for the future well-being of the family business: in order to be

successful, family businesses require a framework of trust, acceptance, and

recognition to be established by all family members involved (Haubl & Daser,

2006, p.43; Vera & Dean, 2005, pp.328-330; Schlippe, 2012, p.173). In the worst-

case scenario, sibling rivalry can even destroy the family business. Therefore, it is

essential to have an open and transparent discussion at an early stage (i.e. before

the succession process has started) with all family members in which issues such

as the succession position, newly defined roles and responsibilities, the division of

the assets, and so on, are discussed in order to take the pressure off the siblings

and to reduce the chances of any rivalry arising.

Additionally, while disputes or conflicts are generally unavoidable when it comes to

the succession, catastrophe and disaster can be avoided by enabling and ensur-

ing the impartiality of the parties involved and their ability to communicate with,

listen to, talk to, understand, show concern for, and trust in each other. In fact,

conflict is often characterised as the immaterial value destroyer of family busi-

nesses (Hennerkes & Kirchdörfer, 2015, p.63). The family business is not a ration-

al construct as the typical business: nothing in the family system is predictable or

foreseeable, and emotions are often the driving factors. It is often the case that

business decisions are not made according to the company standards, but are

instead based on the family members’ gut feelings. The merging of two systems,


52

family and business, which could not be more different, often results in crucial and

fundamental conflicts. Distrust between the various participants then grows.

Conflicts within a family business are not often discussed openly, but rather ig-

nored in the hope that the problem will resolve itself. Indeed, unresolved issues

tend to be the basis for new emerging conflicts, which metaphorically speaking

leads to a downward spiral of conflict (Hennerkes & Kirchdörfer, 2015, pp.63-64).

To settle the dispute, the cause has to be analysed and defined so it is also helpful

to have an external expert mediator whose intention is to guide the problem-

solving process in the best possible direction (Hennerkes & Kirchdörfer, 2015,

p.68).

Indeed, within the succession process maintaining open and transparent commu-

nication is indispensable. For example, in order to diminish potential challenging

and unnecessary disputes among family members it is imperative to fulfil the re-

quirements of an effective and efficient communication, and this is something that

needs to be learned and developed over time. Moreover, it is essential to be clear,

transparent, and direct in the messages communicated, which in turn need to be

conveyed using a simple, neutral, controlled language and transmitted in a calm

manner to ensure successful communication and to mitigate or resolve any possi-

ble conflicts or disputes (Greene, 2013).

Moreover, the whole succession process is often emotionally-charged within the

family (Nissan & Wengelowski, 2007, p.20). Therefore, balancing the family´s

emotions is highly challenging, as is maintaining the family harmony (Kenyon-

Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.5). As Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward emphasise, “Families

are governed by equality, inclusiveness, and caring feelings” (Kenyon-Rouvinez &

Ward, 2005, p.4). For example, conflicts can easily arise if any family member

feels at a disadvantage or that the family’s core values have been disregarded, as

described above (Annino et. al., 2009, p.39). Therefore, it is necessary to be

aware of the fact that the succession process, like the family business itself, is

enormously emotionally-charged. It is also important to maintain and demonstrate

the core values of the family and of the business, as these can be a useful frame

of reference for all individuals when it comes to resolving disputes. Core values

are remarkably important for businesses that have been operating over genera-


53

tions and that have always fulfilled such values (Annino et. al., 2009, p.31). More-

over, the core values have to align both family and business interests, such as

trust, integrity, recognition, modesty, long-term view, profitability, work ethics, and

so on (Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.5).

Another challenge is having the ability to put aside one’s own interests and con-

cerns. Family businesses need to understand and internalize the fact that the suc-

cess and survival of the business is an essential part of their own livelihood.

Therefore, it is crucial that all family members put his or her own interests and

concerns aside to focus on the well-being of the company. According to Weiss-

mann (2014), successful family businesses have given over their own individual

resources, abilities, and skills to the family business for generations in order to

secure the company’s existence (Weissmann, 2014, p.27). The company’s well-

being and the family members’ interests are actually fundamentally intertwined,

due to the fact that the two factors, the family’s security and financial safeguarding

of the company, have to be evaluated and balanced in order to keep the business

running and to ensure the family can live peacefully (Malinen, 2001, p.200). For

family members, if they are too emotionally-attached to their own livelihood, it can

be extremely difficult to make rational decisions when important choices need to

be made in the business.

As mentioned above, daughters within family businesses tend to be consigned to

a “stand-by position or function”. Indeed, all women in family businesses are often

seen as fulfilling this “stand-by-function”; in other words, they are often pushed into

positions based on gender prejudices, such as the èmotional supplier´ or the

`soul´ of the company, which leads to them being denied the chance to prove or

realise their full potential in the business (Wiesner-Landerl, 2007, p.319; Klinger,

2007, p.330). Moreover, from the moment the daughter first enters the family busi-

ness, she is not pursuing her own stunning career objectives or even self-

realisation, but is rather fulfilling a certain purpose for a specific amount of time

(Salganicoff, 1990, p.128). Furthermore, the role the daughter plays in the system

of a family business is not always clearly defined or communicated, and the inter-

ference from other family members or the conflation of their roles can happen on


54

a daily basis (Wiesner-Landerl, 2007, p.320). It is vital that a clear distinction is

drawn between the daughter’s role in the family and in the business.

In addition, women in family businesses often focus their unused energy on the

“stand-by position”; after all, they are usually well informed about the various deci-

sions and happenings of daily business life and unofficially play the role of con-

sultant. Yet, they often do not have the ability to act officially or the legal capacity

to make decisions by themselves. Additionally, they are often consigned to ‘waiting

in the wings’ until they are needed and their abilities are required (Wiesner-

Landerl, 2007, p.320). Immeasurable abilities and the performance of the female

successor can result in women being less valued and esteemed when it comes to

sustaining the business’ well-being (Klinger, 2007, p.330).

Ultimately, decisions about the daughter’s role, about what may or may not be

good for her, or about the degree of physical stress she can bear, are issues that

have to be made, and can perhaps only be made, by the daughter herself.

2.3.3 Personal Indicator

The challenges of succession according to the successor refers to the personal

difficulties one has to cope with when confronted with the prospect of holding a

new and unpredictable position of power in the future.


55

Figure 2: Allocation of Male and Female Successors, Family Intern - or Family Extern Members

(own figure based on Andric et. al. 2016, p.17)

The above graphic clearly shows that majority of senior managers are male, with

only 23% being female. Around 80% of executive managers come from the fami-

lies of business owners. Additionally, only 20% of females in management are

from external organisations (Andric et. al. 2016, p.17).

The above statistics have led the author to assume that women from the families

of business owners are willing to take on management positions, but the system

dynamics of the family business unit are resulting in the next generation of women

leaders being unprepared (Wiesner-Landerl, 2007, p.316). The female successor

has to confront herself with a series of potential personal challenges in order to

meet her individual expectations and to prove herself.

The female successor is not often even considered as a potential successor, and

this is one of the main challenges faced by the next generation of female leaders.

Indeed, daughters of business owners often feel that they are not really consid-

ered to be viable successors. The reason can be traced back to the previously

described distributions of roles to which a woman can aspire, and is fulfilling, in the

family-business environment (Vera & Dean, 2005, p.327). Additionally, again as

mentioned above, daughters may experience being consigned to stand-by func-


56

tions, in which they cannot examine their performance potential. Moreover, any

doubts expressed by the often beloved and idealised father figure with regard to

successful succession by the daughter can damage her self-esteem and self-

confidence. Within the succession process, the daughter has to learn how handle

her false sense of incompetence as an effective leader, often gleaned from family

members she admires.

This challenge goes hand in hand with the challenge of handling gender stereotyp-

ing and discrimination as a female successor. Being a woman in the highest posi-

tion of a family business can be enormously nerve-wracking due to gender stereo-

types and biases surrounding female leaders that still remain. Indeed, this judg-

ment of women is not only done by men, but also by other women – the so-called

Queen Bees mentioned in the previous sub-point – who perpetuate these biases.

Being judged by one’s own gender can be extremely harmful, especially for a

woman who has recently assumed a position at the head of the business (Gou-

dreau, 2011).

Another significant challenge for the female successor is the absence, and there-

fore development, of a distinctive performance orientation. Indeed, having a dis-

tinctive performance plan is cited as an essential condition for not only the compa-

ny’s success but also personal success in career development (Dienst-Loth, 2003,

p.14). Additionally, people who are enormously performance oriented constantly

need to execute a task to a high standard and always demand feedback (Raucher

& Frese, 1998, p.13). Sustaining above average performance orientation is often

seen to go hand in hand with the ability to work harder than others and thus to

forego being pleasant to others (Hoepfner, 1991, p.16). Distinctive performance

orientation is, according to Gottschalch et al. (1971), an intrinsic motivation,

whereby personal success has an effect on one’s own conformity (Gottschalch et.

al. 1971, p.103). Distinctive performance orientation in the senior member of the

family business is often strongly marked, since survival is central to the family

business system. The owner of the business is also seen as a role model and idol;

family members or employees thus expect the new generational leader to have the

same attitudes and behaviours. In this sense, a female successor is often required

to develop distinctive performance orientation, which can be quite challenging due


57

to the fact that some successors have not been anticipated such expectation or

even thought about their personal level of performance orientation and how to

manage or even establish it.

Leading a company successfully requires someone with comprehensive and valu-

able professional competences, social competences, and methodical expertise.

Moreover, the business leader has to understand the developing technological

environment and has to demonstrate an aptitude for executing innovation (Spels-

berg, 2011, pp.70-71). There are of course endless abilities and characteristics

associated with potential successors, but from the author’s perspective, every

owner handing over their business will have their own perceptions of what abilities

the successor should have; it is thus fundamental that the organisation, the indus-

try, and the owner clarifies what they see as indispensable for the role of succes-

sor. Often senior members may wish to hand over the family business internally,

outlining whether the desired successor is suitable according to professional, so-

cial, personal, and methodical competences. Indeed, the successor herself faces

the challenge of possessing the required competencies for the leading position

open to her. In order to be seen as a suitable successor, she has to have certain

professional competencies and the required know-how for the industry, ideally

gained during experiences out with the family’s area of business. Being exposed

to a large variety of experiences prior to succession is extremely beneficial for the

successor herself in order to refuse all the possible prejudices and to fulfil the re-

quirements in the best way possible. In addition, the scholar Kempert (2008) has

defined four main criteria that are essential to personal and company success:

entrepreneurial behaviour and mind-set, social and leadership skills, qualifications

and critical thinking skills (meaning strategic ability, creativity, management know-

how, analytical, and critical questioning), and value orientation (Kempert, 2008,

p.190). Moreover, social competencies are enormously important for a family

business and play a primary role. The daughter should be able to fulfil these crite-

ria in order to succeed in the succession process (Spelsberg, 2011, p.72).

Yet, the successor also has to have specific professional and personal competen-

cies that allow her to sustain the entrepreneurial spirit of the company in the future,

such as innovative capabilities, an awareness of and appetite for risk, and the ca-


58

pacity to develop new ideas regarding the policies, strategies, mission, vision, pur-

pose, and goals of the company (Stephan, 2002, p.134).

In a nutshell, the female successor is the architect of her own fortune, whether she

is able to cope with these requirements or not has an influence on the success of

the family business.

Creating and establishing a functioning work-life balance is especially challenging

for female leaders. Overall, work-life balance, as defined by Grzywacz & Carlson

(2007), is “the accomplishment of role-related expectations that are negotiated and

shared between an individual and his or her role-related partners in the work and

family domains” (Grzywacz & Carlson, 2007 as cited in Heat, 2012, p.18). Women

are advancing in more and more industries, often assuming leading positions, so

they have to decide between their job and their family to a lesser extent. Whether

or not a salary gap between women and men exists is still up for debate. It can

certainly be said that the role of women in the society has changed in recent years

and that the barriers women have faced in the past to participate in the economy

have decreased enormously (Rockefeller Foundation, 2016).

Furthermore, it is enormously challenging for the female successor to be a mother,

daughter, wife, leader, and/or sister, whilst also being herself and fulfilling all the

various expectations of her. A functioning and well-designed work-life balance can

increase a female leader’s creativity, productivity and motivation, because it gives

her the possibility to recharge her energy, by doing something else important to

her, and thus gives her the strength to meet the various demands (Lukoschat &

Bessing, 2004, p.12). Indeed, it can be difficult for a woman to find the right bal-

ance between communicating properly and having doubts about taking maternity

leave whilst still being the head of the firm. As a woman, simultaneously managing

having a career on the one hand and raising a family on the other hand can lead to

an increase in stress. Indeed, the openly voiced prejudice that many people may

have against female leaders can be influenced by the maternity dilemma (Lukos-

chat & Bessing, 2004, p.21).


59

In summary, a functioning work-life balance is key, but this realisation can be par-

ticularly challenging for daughters expected to fulfil various roles, responsibilities,

and tasks at the same time.

In the same vein, combining the demands of personal life with those of the com-

pany can be seen as significantly challenging for the daughter. Indeed, successful

and happy people usually have a clear understanding of their purpose of life, what

they want to do with their lives, and what the future should look like – their mind-

set can be characterised as one with clear vision. According to Hug (2017), a vi-

sion is like a self-fulfilling life prophecy, which explains why such people are so

happy and satisfied (Hug, 2017). By contrast, the company vision is seen as a

clear guiding vision that directs the business to the desired and admired future

goal (Fernandez, 2016). Especially for family businesses, if the personal vision of

the successor correlates to the wider business vision this can support long-term

business success; in other words, having a healthy business, a healthy family and

a healthy outlook for successorship is indispensable for the future success of the

company (Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.16). “Substantial attention to each is

essential of each is to be healthy.” (Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.16). Over-

all, the female successor has to feel that her personal vision is not constricted by

her business vision; rather, the two different beliefs should support and interact

with each other.

Another factor that can have a massive impact on the daughter’s behaviour is a

lower estimation of personal leadership qualities. As mentioned in a previous

chapter, leadership is not something that one either possesses or does not; it is

more about how one strives to personally be one’s own leader. As Bennis puts it,

“Leadership is first being, then doing” (Bennis, 2009, p.134), which is similar to the

idea that “the ability to lead others, derives from the ability to lead oneself” (Daudi,

2017). More precisely, daughters may feel that their personal leadership abilities

are not sufficient to successfully leading the family business, due to the fact that

she never has experienced such as situation before. According to Bennis (2009),

leaders can come in any form, but there are 3 ingredients they share: passion,

integrity, and a guiding vision (Bennis, 2009, pp.33-34). Moreover, being a good

leader is not something that can be learned overnight; leadership is a lifelong


60

learning process. In essence, the daughter’s leadership qualities will be examined

over time, but what is important for her is to show passion, integrity, vision, and

authenticity. Leadership and management workshops, continuing employee inter-

views, mentoring leaders, and writing a daily diary reflecting on one’s behaviour

are all activities that can help alleviate daughters’ insecurities about leading (Lu-

koschat & Bessing, 2004, p.22).

In a nutshell, the challenges a female successor possibly faces, can be catego-

rised according to the business, family and personal aspect. Indeed, the listed

challenges are as diverse as the potential successors themselves.

2.4 Female Leadership

“When you meet a human being, the first distinction you make is `male or

female?´ and you are accustomated to make the distinction with unhesitat-

ing certainty.” (Sigmund Freud, as cited in Northouse, 2013, p.349).

Women in leadership positions. The topic of gender-related leadership has been

discussed, analysed, and understood in different ways worldwide, with various

different scholars publishing articles, books, magazines, etc. on the topic. Due to

the fact that the number of women in leading positions is increasing globally, with

more women are willing to step into leading positions and the number of female

entrepreneurs increase significantly, critics are now asking such questions as `do

women lead differently than men do?´; `how do they lead?´, àre they meant to be

a leader?´; `what has held them back from assuming a leading position before and

why?´ (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, p.41; Northouse, 2013, p.349; SpiegelOnline,

2016).

According to a study conducted by Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott (2014), female successors

have had to fight their way to the top from the very bottom within the family busi-

ness structure; indeed, they can only get there by `fighting´ and `proving them-

selves´, and such experience can usually only be acquired in other external enter-


61

prises, in which the leadership has long been dominated by men. In general, the

so called `glass ceiling’ metaphor, which refers to the gender barriers that prevent

women from progressing into top management positions, is often seen as a rea-

son for the personal experiences of female successors. (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott,

2014, p.41; Acker, 2009, p.199). Usually, the glass ceiling is not a phenomenon

experienced within the daughter’s own family company, but one confronted as a

crucial issue in external enterprises. Such experience often only strengthens the

personal desire of female successors to overtake and continue the family compa-

ny. Indeed, following their external experiences, daughters often step directly into

top leading positions without detours and with the unconditional support of the

senior family member. Furthermore, the management and leading tandem of par-

ent and daughter is appropriate for the reorientation within the succession process

(Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, p.41). Once women have decided to be the next gen-

erational leader, they carefully evaluate their personal competencies, acquire

knowledge in the relevant fields and complement their own knowledge through

thoughtfully choosing their leadership team (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, p.42). In

addition, daughters want to use their personal leadership style or approach to dif-

ferentiate themselves from their parents (senior members of the family business);

they want to go their own way and want to make their own mistakes. In order to be

authentic as the head of the company, daughters have to be careful not to copy

the former leader´s way of leading. They have the opportunity to earn the respect,

acceptance and trust of the employees by executing their personal and unique

leadership spirit (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, pp.45-46).

The following chapter therefore addresses the topic of female leadership in more

detail and elucidates the topic from different angles.

2.4.1 Types of Female Leadership from the Perspective of Behaviour and Characteristics

The following paragraph outlines female leadership styles according to the lead-

ers’ behaviour and characteristics, which have been present in the literature and

are mostly applicable to the present study. The author would like to underline the


62

fact that rather than trying to categorise all female leaders into one of the de-

scribed female leadership styles, the purpose is to be defined and executed.

That is to say, the aim is not to define the leadership styles that exist, because it

does not seem applicable to this context to think of fixed types of female leader-

ship styles that could be seen as stereotyping; rather, the focus is on the behav-

iour and characteristics of a female leader that are typically relevant according to

the reviewed literature. Indeed, the author is classifying how women can lead; the

question of whether or not certain characteristics or behaviours in leadership can

be found in each and every female leader depends significantly on the individual

person. Leading is something very personal. Every single individual has their own

personal understanding of leadership. Despite the different behaviours male and

female leaders demonstrate, both are effective in their way of leading; whether the

leadership is perceived and evaluated as effective is largely based on the personal

perception of one individual. In addition, the effectiveness of a female leader de-

pends to a great extent on her personal behaviour and characteristics. The ques-

tion of how she can be truly herself while leading – in other words, her authenticity

– is from the authors perspective connected to her effectiveness, since seeing fe-

male leader as authentic depends on her own interpretation, based on her toolkit

and personal limitations (i.e. characteristics and behaviours) in order to benefit and

act the way she wants to lead and, ultimately, be. Moreover, whether or not her

way of leading is characterised as toxic leadership, even if she shows authenticity,

depends on her followers, their personality, and perceptions.

In the following section, the author will present the most applicable behaviours or

characteristics of a female leader as described in the literature.

Female leader is charac-terised overall as:

Description: `how she acts´

The Queen Bee Describes a woman in a leading position who dimin-

ishes other women and prevents them from stepping

into higher positions. Queen bees have assumed

leadership positions as a result of extremely hard


63

work, and have proven themselves, are ambiguous

and do not see the value in supporting other women

to reach the same level as them. These women can

be aggressive towards other females, sometimes in

quite an obvious manner. This lack of solidarity in

their behaviour has lead other women to label such

leaders as queen bees (Stead & Elliot, 2009, p.50).

The Iron Maiden Describes a female leader who displays typically

male traits, and behaviour in her leadership. Com-

mon characteristics include the desire to control,

strictness, aggression, manipulative behaviour, au-

tocracy, directness and assertiveness (Stead & El-

liot, 2009, pp.51-52; Visser, 2011, p.23).

The Selfless Heroine Describes a woman who places the needs of other

people before her own, with a view to achieving indi-

vidual fulfilment. She holds back from others, letting

them act freely, but is always there to help and sup-

port and is extremely selfless, displaying characteris-

tics often associated with motherhood. Such women

seek to help, enable, empower, and teach, expecting

nothing or very little in return (Stead & Elliot, 2009,

pp.52-54).

The Facilitator Describes a woman who seeks to empower and

hand power over to her followers. Such women give

the people the power to make their own decisions

and work independently in order to enable their per-

sonal abilities (Madsen, 2008, p.252).

The Caring Mother Describes a woman who distinguishes herself from

others due to her kindness, compassion, and con-

cern for equality, her will to create a safe and caring

environment. Empowerment is important for such

women who engender a foundation of hope and


64

faith, produce innovative ideas for improvements,

show mutual respect and concern, and self-sacrifice

unconditionally (McDowell & Williams, 2017).

The Visionary Describes a woman who has visionary ideas and is

willing to implement them, for whom change is often

indispensable. She works with her imagination, see-

ing the big picture and thinking strategically. Moreo-

ver, her spirit brings people together, who then follow

her and share an understanding of the purpose and

meaning behind her ideas (Kemp, 2016).

The Problem-Solver Describes woman who is able to solve a problem in

the most effective and efficient way possible: she is

able to analyse, define, and deal with or solve the

issue. Indeed, this women are often collaborative

problem solvers, gifted with the ability to help and

support others in finding solutions. Further, they

have no problems with making difficult decisions

(Kemp, 2016; The Complete Leader, 2016).

The Feminine Leader Describes a woman who demonstrates more equali-

ty, who is proud to be a woman and brings `female´

qualities to her job with confidence. Moreover, com-

pared to the queen bee, the feminine leader works to

build a platform for equality among women. Qualities

such as caring, listening, understanding, trusting,

openly communicating, respecting, helping, nurtur-

ing, connecting to people, kindness, and openness

are at the centre of this type of leader (Tappin &

Marrinovic, 2017).

The Inspiring Leader Describes a woman who does not dictate but rather

inspires others in the way she acts. The inspiring

leader is an extremely positive person, who is al-

ways able to see the positive side. Such women also


65

communicate their gratitude, have a clear under-

standing of their future vision, are thoughtful listen-

ers, have impeccable communication skills, place

considerable importance on trust, and are extremely

enthusiastic and motivational (Tappin & Marrinovic,

2017; Newlands, 2015).

The Integrated Woman Describes a woman who is successful in her position

today as a result of her ambiguity and her support for

equality in the working environment. Such women

have a clear direction for their future success and

are willing to improve their leading philosophy by

reflecting on their experiences. It is hard for them to

have a clear work-life balance because for them it is

tough to separate work from private life. Their

strengths are influencing others, collaborating and

connecting with their team, empowering others to

bring out the best in them, and co-operating with

both genders (Tappin & Marrinovic, 2017).

Table 2: Behaviour or Characteristics of a Female Leader

The scholar Visser (2011) stated that female leaders’ impact within the work envi-

ronment can have an extremely positive effect on subordinates and their personal

experience not only in work but also in terms of well-being and individual health

issues. Moreover, those supervised by female leaders have commented on the

high level of social support and the parameter for mastery as well. Furthermore,

complaints of a lack of work-life balance or depression were mentioned less by

employees, which may have been a result of the female leader´s action (Visser,

2011, p.23).

Moreover, women’s emotional intelligence is another aspect that shapes and influ-

ences the behaviour of female leaders. Salovey and Mayer (1990) were the first

authors to introduce the concept of emotional intelligence: their approach de-

scribes the ability of an individual to be aware of and recognize one’s own emo-

tions or feelings as well as the emotions or feelings of other people. What the per-


66

son does with the emotional data he or she receives depends on the context; for

example, it could be used by a leader to optimise decision-making or to under-

stand why a follower is acting in a specific way (Mayer et al., 1990, p.189; Freed-

mann, 2012; Goleman, 2011). Moreover, emotional intelligence is based on the

four pillars of empathy, self-awareness, social skills, and managing one’s own

emotions (Goleman, 2011). Tests have shown that women have a more intense

emotional intelligence than men in these four characteristics of emotional intelli-

gence; indeed, the profile of emotional intelligence is dependent on gender. Com-

panies are increasingly becoming aware of the importance and value of emotional

intelligence when it comes to leadership behaviour or team-player abilities, and

women have recognised their advantage in this area in terms of advancing their

career and occupying leading positions (Goleman, 2011; Freedmann, 2012). Fur-

thermore, it has been shown that women are more empathetic then men. Empathy

is required to understand how another person sees things, to feel what someone

else if feeling, or to recognise when a peer is in need of support (Goleman, 2011).

Female leaders have to take advantage of their emotional intelligence in order to

distinguish themselves from men. Their personal emotional intelligence influences

their behaviour as a leader and their way of leading, as well as their soft-skills,

self-perception (on an intra- and interpersonal level), and ability to respect one´s

own feelings and recognize others’ feelings (McCallum & Piper, 2000, pp. 126-

127).

Female leaders and their behaviour cannot therefore be characterised or analysed

based on a universal and comprehensive approach. Every woman in a leadership

position will have her own way of leading, and whether or not this correlates to one

of the aforementioned types of female leader depends on the woman herself.

Once again, there are as many leadership definitions out there as there are people

on earth, and the author does not want to generalize the behaviour of female

leaders.

2.4.2 Gender-related Aspect


67

“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as

an anomaly” (Margaret Atwood, as cited in Northouse, 2013, p.352).

Even though women are increasingly occupying leadership positions around the

world, and even though their circumstances have significantly improved, women

still face disadvantages in male-dominated area of leadership (Northouse, 2013,

p.352; Ferraira & Gyourko, 2014, p.24). Indeed, as Visser (2011) stated, that the

concept of leadership is still perceived more as a masculine construct in our socie-

ty (Visser, 2011, p.17). Latu et al. (2013) have similarly suggested that women are

less associated with leadership positions than men; indeed, this prejudice even

influences and determines women´s performance in leadership tasks (Latu et. al.,

2013, p.444).

By contrast, the role of women in society has changed, with more and more wom-

en shifting from domestic to paid labour. Furthermore, the personal barriers, which

may have held women back from entering formerly male dominated roles, are be-

ing broken down. The values women have placed on their jobs and the skills they

require are also becoming more similar to those historically stated by men, such

as power, freedom, prestige, and challenge. Additionally, women´s aversion to

risk-taking, a significant component of leadership, has decreased. Given these

changes, it is hardly surprising that women are tending to “become more mascu-

line, particular in terms of genetic attributes, but this is not, however, at the sacri-

fice of their feminine qualities” (Eagly & Carli, 2003, p.826).

In order to better understand and identify the gender related themes pertinent to

this study, the following list details the characteristics, traits, qualities associated

with male and female. Rosener (1990) was the first scholar who examined and

considered how female managers behave. In the same vein, Fondas (1997) has

written about “feminine traits and theorising using a cultural analysis” (Werhane &

Painter-Morland, 2011, p.66). Nevertheless, some leading characteristics can be

overlapping as well.


68

Female traits include “empathy, helpfulness, caring, nurturance, interpersonal

sensitivity, attentiveness to and acceptance of others, responsiveness to their

needs and motivations, orientation towards the collective interests and towards

integrative goals such as group cohesiveness and stability, a preference for open

and cooperative relationship – rather than hierarchical ones, interest in actualising

values and relationship of great importance to the community” (Fondas, 1997,

p.260 as cited in Werhane & Painter-Morland, 2011, p.66); “friendly, emotional,

caring, supportive, sensitive, empathic, dependent” (Rosener, 1990 as cited in

Visser, 2011, p.17); and kindness, openness, ability to connect with people, and

mildness (Visser, 2011, p.17).

Male traits include “an ability to be impersonal, self-interested, efficient, hierar-

chical, tough minded and assertive, an interest in taking charge, control and domi-

nation, a capacity to ignore personal, emotional considerations in order to suc-

ceed, a proclivity to rely on standardized or òbjective´ codes for judgement and

evaluation of other, an heroic orientation towards task accomplishment and con-

tain effort to act on the world and become something new or other” (Fondas, 1997,

pp.260-261 as cited in Werhane & Painter-Morland, 2011, p.66); “dominant, ag-

gressive, strong, autocratic, analytical, competitive, and independent” (Rosener,

1990 as cited in Visser, 2011, p.17).

In a nutshell, from the author’s perspective, female leaders are more people- and

relationship-oriented and more emotionally driven, while men are more hierarchi-

cal, task-oriented, and focused on rationality. Whether a female leader is seen as

appropriated, accepted, and valued for her style depends on the context – is the

ways she is leading suited to and aligned with the context in which she is exercis-

ing? (Eagly & Carli, 2003, p.823). For example, in extremely biased environments,

women are prevented from occupying or even accessing top leadership positions,

and this can also influence the efficiency of women in leadership positions in ex-

tremely prejudiced settings (Eagly & Carli, 2003, p.823).

Another point to mention, from the point of view of the author, when discussing

gender and leadership in a globally changing working environment, is the burden

placed on women today. Even though the uptake of parental leave has increased


69

among men, women still do the majority of the domestic work and child care

(Northouse, 2013, p.355). Moreover, women still have to manage the double bur-

den of having a fulfilled private and work life. Of course, the woman can decide

where to go – to either be a full time mother or climb the career ladder – and this

choice depends on her personal values and desires. It still seems hard for women

to combine everything and to eliminate the prejudices that go hand in hand with

wanting to be a leader in a male-dominated world on the one hand, and on the

other hand, caring full time for her children. To the author, these desires to some

extent sound paradoxical. Overall, it has become more common for men to take

advantage of paternity leave, but it is still not as accepted as it could be by the so-

ciety and by male workers; there is clearly still room for improvement and a need

to unburden the female population. From my personal perspective, the `gender

mainstreaming strategy´ – a European Union (2002) gender equality policy that

focuses especially on the sensitisation of employers, and therefore the transfor-

mation of the organisational culture – requires being as gender unbiased as possi-

ble and, if possible, eliminating all gender prejudices (Booth & Bennett, 2002,

p.443). Furthermore, on the one hand, men are showing increased concern for

overcoming gender equality: they are more aware of the fact that women put all

their heart and soul into their work to overcome discrimination based on their fe-

male attributes, traits, or behaviour. On the other hand, men are indeed resistant

to gender equality as they still seek special treatments and privileges because of

the barriers between men and women (Von Nostrand, 1993, p.xvii). Bridging the

gap between these two perspectives is extremely challenging for women but is

nonetheless indispensable in our current society.

In summary, when focusing on the differences between women and men leaders,

women are often underestimated de facto. Indeed, female leaders are not neces-

sarily less effective leaders than men, or less committed then man, or less moti-

vated to fulfil leadership roles than men. A female leader is thus less self-

promoting than a male leader, or less willing to initiate negotiation. Despite this, a

woman can have or experience the same advantages of leadership as a man, if

she follows her heart and truly knows herself as a leader (Northouse, 2013,

p.374).


70

2.4.3 Generation Y is leading differently

The so-called millennials or Gen Y or digital native generation are now entering

the work environment and are, therefore, demanding new leadership behaviours

and leadership styles. With regard to their working values, millennials are charac-

terised, as outlined, in a previous chapter, by the following attributes: extremely

ambitious, exceptionally confident, high levels of self-esteem, very well educated,

team-players, demand for a fair work-life balance, career-focused, a desire to be

their own boss, entrepreneurial spirit, open to feedback, willing to take responsibil-

ity, independent workers value transparency, active contributors, individualistic,

born in the age of material security, internationally oriented, flexible, transparent,

desire for open communication, and a preference for communication technologies

(Schirmer et al., 2014, p.24; Howe, Strauss, 2000, pp.9-17; Bay, 2011; Zukunfts

Institut, 2013, p.11; Chou, 2012, pp.72-75). At a first glance, such traits may not

seem so different from the values advocated by other generations; however, upon

closer inspection, significant differences are emerging and the contrast between

this group and previous generations is crucial. Moreover, millennials display differ-

ent beliefs, values, objectives, requests, dreams, and desires within the area of

work satisfaction from all previous generations (Chou, 2012, p.71).

Indeed, the social component, for example having friendly co-workers or interest-

ing and challenging tasks, is extremely important for millennials in their working

environment. Their intense need for positive social circumstances means they

seek close relationships with their peers and are overall enormously team orient-

ed, a factor that distinguishes them from generation X for instance (Chou, 2012,

p.75). As mentioned previously, what is extraordinarily important for them in their

working environment is an open feedback culture and transparent communication

within the organization (Chou, 2012, p.75).

To respond to the aforementioned values of the generation Y in terms of their de-

sired working environment, companies and leaders have to start rethinking and

reorganising their leadership styles and behaviours in order to be competitive, to

attract and retain millennials, and to stay in the game.


71

On the one hand, it is necessary to have a closer look on how millennials want to

be led, in other words what factors need to be considered when it comes to lead-

ership principles. Schirmer et al. (2014) have analysed what managers or leaders

need to have to satisfy the millennials’ needs. The results showed that intensive

communication and information sharing is indispensable for those of generation Y,

as is a remarkable support network and the possibility to develop themselves and

their career. Exact instructions and decisions are favoured in order to have clearly

structured processes. Millennials are also motivated by a meaningful and value-

oriented vision, desire challenging tasks which require independent working, want

their performance to be appreciated and recognised, often through material incen-

tives, and are often in favour of participative leadership styles (Schirmer et al.,

2014, p.29; Barot, 2016). Indeed, Chou (2012) has demonstrated that participative

leadership benefits the millennial generation (Chou, 2012, p.75).

On the other hand, it is also important to classify how millennials tend to lead. As

reported by Mertz (2014) leadership traits displayed by millennials include the fol-

lowing: a conscious and detailed reflection on work, self and the society; highly

future-oriented, in the sense that they are not scared of the future but willing to

shape it in their favour; transparency as crucial for a trust based leadership ap-

proach; collaboration with followers, including everyone and their personal abili-

ties; an exceptional focus on change and a willingness to solve-problems as they

strive to make the work environment a better place for all (Mertz, 2014). Moreover,

it can be challenging for millennials to lead and supervise older generations, who

can find it extremely hard to accept a younger person, with less work and life ex-

perience than them, in a higher position than they are, especially if the older per-

son has worked extraordinarily hard to reach said position. Indeed, accepting the

advice or the demands of a millennial requires considerable effort on the part of an

older person (Kasperkevic, 2017).

Furthermore, the leadership styles and behaviours of millennials has been criti-

cised as effective, but not necessarily efficient. In order to reach certain goals, the

millennials tend to put in more effort than is required or appropriate. A reason for

this, according to Hockling (2015), is their communication patterns and behaviour.

Growing up during the digital media boom, focused on emails and text messages,


72

the majority of their interactions with other employees are written. Yet, written

messages alone do not constitute communication: texts are only there to support

the spoken language and having a face-to-face conversation is indispensable,

even if, for example, written messages are needed following a conversation to

support the significance of the spoken words. In this sense many millennials lead-

ers lack certain soft skills or social competences because they are too focused on

non-verbal communication tools (Hockling, 2015). In addition, young leaders are

often not in favour of strict hierarchy structures or demonstrations of power; reject-

ing the `highest authority is allowed to decide approach´, they establish freer poli-

cies for the employees, empowering them by rotating positions or working in an

interdisciplinary manner (Hockling, 2015; Feltes, 2015).

Indeed, millennial women leaders are now an emerging group among the top tier

of talented young professionals. Such women are entering a workforce significant-

ly different to the environment experienced by their mothers or grandmothers. The

young millennial takes on her position with a more clearly focused career mind-set.

The female worker is thus now a more ambitious, career oriented, confident, open

minded, globally focused, better educated woman with entrepreneurial spirit, who

strives for work-life balance and flexibility as well as being more concerned about

feedback and reputation than any previous generation (Flood, 2015, p.29). In fact,

young female millennials are often the head of their student unions, societies, or-

ganizations, or act as their class representatives, are more present during the

classroom discussions, and are surrounded by feminine role models from all over

the world (Biddle, 2015). Such factors could explain why they often have the pre-

requisites necessary for top positions and compete for leading positions in the

world. As an example, in the year 2016, 50% of the workforce was female, and

nearly 80% of employees will soon be millennials born between 1980 and 1995, so

the millennial generation of women are certainly making up a considerable propor-

tion of the global talent pool (Flood, 2015, p.2).

So far the author has not found any relevant literature related to how female mil-

lennial leaders lead, but there is some existing literature available on how millen-

nials in general lead. The reason for the missing information, from the author’s

perspective, might be caused by the fact that such women may only become fe-


73

male leaders in the near future, and those who are already in leadership position

are still developing their leadership style and trying to cope with the generation

gap or other differences. In the author´s personal opinion, the leadership charac-

teristics of female millennial leaders does not significantly vary from the traits of

millennial leaders specifically. It could be the case that certain soft skill traits are

still more evident among females than males, due to the evidence provided in the

previous point regarding the aptitude for strong interpersonal emotional intelli-

gence among women (TrainingZone, 1999).

In a nutshell, the number of women in leadership positions is an issue in which

there is still room for improvement. The absence of females in higher ranked posi-

tions is often seen as a driver of cultural concerns, and needs to change. Moreo-

ver, it is necessary to have a balance between female and male leaders, because

having more women occupying top positions could achieve the following: reduce

discrimination, demonstrate the power of legitimacy and equality, improve the

quality of decision-making processes overall, increase the level of innovations,

achieve greater productivity, influence the ethical behaviour of a company, be ad-

vantageous from a PR perspective, increase the well-being and satisfaction of

employees, and so on (Visser, 2011, pp.26-35). Indeed, from the author´s per-

spective we need women in leadership positions. Women have to be proud of who

they are and they need to figure out how to build on and promote their unique abili-

ties and qualities as traits that give them a competitive advantage over men.

2.5 Interim Conclusion

Family businesses are the backbone of the German economy. The family busi-

ness is a very emotionally-charged system, in which the succession process can

present unpredictable challenges. Yet, the family business construct can also offer

unique advantages. Several possible ways of continuing a family business have

been mentioned in the preceding sections. Focusing on internal successions with-

in the family, and especially on daughters, it is clear that female successors will

face various challenges in the succession process. Further, it is in the daughter’s


74

interests to have a clearly structured, planned, and well thought out agreement for

the succession, decided upon by both successor and the senior family member, as

this can decrease the potential for conflicts between the two generations. Moreo-

ver, the challenges female successors face today in taking over the family busi-

ness can be categorised into three main aspects: the business aspect, the family

aspect, and the personal aspect. According to the literature, the most challenging

factors within the business aspect are the future property and ownership strategy,

the investors’ views on the succession, the future business strategy, the potentially

insufficient organizational structure, and the need to acquire the respect and mu-

tual trust of the employees. Having a closer look at the family aspect, potential

challenges for the female successor include the following: the senior family mem-

ber being able to let go and hand over the reins; expect way to muss of the suc-

cessor; pressure from the senior family member who may push the successor in a

certain direction; undefined and badly communicated roles and responsibilities

among the family members themselves and within the wide business; constant

comparison and competition with the senior family member; traditions; the father-

daughter dynamic; the mother-daughter dynamic; rivalry and the pressure to prove

oneself among the siblings; disputes or conflicts; open and transparent communi-

cation; managing the family´s emotions; maintaining the family balance; the ability

to put aside one´s own interests and concerns; and the stand-by position or func-

tion in which the female often finds herself. For the individual successor challeng-

es include being considered for the successor role as female in the first place,

handling gender stereotyping and discriminations, acquiring the required compe-

tencies for the leadership position, achieving a functioning work-life balance, com-

bining one’s personal vision with the company vision, and having a lower estima-

tion of one’s own personal leadership qualities. Moreover, the challenges for a fe-

male successor today are also influenced and shaped by the characteristics of the

millennials generation, who have distinct expectations of their working environ-

ment. After all, the leadership style of millennials, and especially of the female

leaders among them, will shape the working culture of family companies in the

future. At present, very little can be said about the strategic and/or structural re-

quirements that are necessary for a female successor within the takeover process,


75

because no exact studies have thus far been identified, as far as the author can

ascertain from the literature review. Nevertheless, key considerations for the future

include adapting the legal structure or company strategy, redesigning of the hier-

archical structure of the company towards the needs of the millennial female, and

making changes to corporate culture based on the influence of the female leader.

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3 Empirical Analysis

In the following chapter, the methodology of the thesis will be clarified in detail as

well as the methodological framework and the empirical proceedings.

Corbin and Strauss (2008) have argued that methodology is “a way of thinking

about and studying social phenomena” (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.1). In other

words, research is a unique way of thinking, and it is not only about using a set of

suggested skills (Kumar, 2014, p.2). Moreover, within the framework of thinking,

the responsibilities of a researcher can be summarised as questioning what is be-

ing observed, understanding/analysing/explaining what has been observed, and

being able to make a conclusion in order to enhance the data base and the re-

searcher´s personal researching skills (Kumar, 2014, p.2). Furthermore, doing re-

search is more than simply gathering and analysing data according to a required

process; indeed, surely the researcher´s dream is to “make a difference in the

world through the insights and understandings they arrive at” (Corbin & Strauss,

2008, p.15). Unfortunately, being a dreamer is not enough; as researchers, we are

responsible for turning dreams into reality and accomplishing them (Corbin &

Strauss, 2008, p.15).

In order to be able to answer the research question, the basic methodological

structure was designed as follows. Qualitative research was deemed to be prefer-

able to the quantitative research method, because the author sought to disclose

the individual perspectives, ways of thinking, personal experiences, and intimate

doubts of those interviewed on this sensitive topic. Moreover, since the challenges

for female successors today, have not been discussed explicitly in existing litera-

ture, and said literature has not paid specific attention to the personal aspect of

challenges for female successors of family businesses, in the author’s opinion,

qualitative research offers the opportunity for a new perspective to emerge.

In general, the research style used is `grounded theory´, as described by Strauss

and Corbin (1996), which was chosen in order to move towards the creation of a

new theory based on the qualitative data collected. Grounded theory is a research

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77

style that derives from hermeneutic and qualitative social research. Given that the

aim of the grounded theory is to come up with new and innovative concepts and

theories, determined hypotheses are not important and, indeed, are excluded from

grounded theory (Lamnek, 2005, pp.22-23). Using the technique of face-to-face

interviews, empirical data was gathered. Following the steps of grounded theory, a

theory is then developed that is rooted, or grounded, in the analysed data.

Grounded theory was chosen by the author because the goal of the thesis is to

reconstruct the most influential and challenging factors for female successors,

which are consolidated by the statements, experiences, and views of the chosen

interviewees (research field). Grounded theory strives to open up new perspec-

tives within the research issue (Lueger, 2009, p.200). According to Strauss and

Corbin (1996), grounded theory is used as an approach with the goal of develop-

ing an object-related representation of the theory (Mey & Mruck, 2007, p.12).

In summary, the qualitative research method was elaborated due to the decision to

use the grounded theory approach, and the data was gathered via semi-guided

face-to-face interviews, before applying a 3-step coding system to the grounded

theory.

3.1 Methodology and Research Style: examining `Grounded Theory´

In the following paragraph, the main ideas of grounded theory will be outlined.

“Grounded Theory is reportedly the most invoked method in qualitative research

worldwide” (Gynnild, Martin, 2001, p.1). Glaser and Strauss (1967) developed

Grounded Theory as a way to construct theory from data (Corbin & Strauss, 2008,

p.1). In other words, grounded theory is a (methodological) strategy – or a re-

search style within hermeneutic and qualitative social research, as described

above – used for processing data within a research field. The purpose is to make

complex events or incidents understandable, explainable, and describable. In-

deed, scholars of grounded theory aim to analyse the gathered data with unbiased

hypothesis and ideas in order to state the actualities of the reality (Ke &

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78

Wenglensky, 2010). Additionally, the relationships and behaviour of a certain re-

search topic have to be analysed within a preconceived in-depth viewpoint (Ke &

Wenglensky, 2010). In short, researchers who are gathering data using the

grounded theory method are enabling theory to emerge from the data. Indeed,

theory that is based on and developed from the empirical data is more precise in

its reflection of the real situation (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.16). Grounded theory

compiles empirical data through qualitative research methods, such as interviews,

surveys, existing cases etc. (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.27). The various research

methods can be used in combination or alone, depending on the research problem

(Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.16). Qualitative research allows scholars to go into the

depth of a specific topic, because the researcher is able to understand the inner

experiences of the person being questioned (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p.12).

Empirical data analysis and comparison have to be conducted at the same time.

Within grounded theory, there are three steps taken to analyse the data. Firstly,

so-called open coding is used to create a summary of the data, which is followed

by axial coding in order to figure out familiarities and categories, before the final

stage, selective coding, in which the familiarities are transferred into a complex

framework within the core research issue (Ke & Wenglensky, 2010).

3.2 Literature review

In the first instance, secondary information was retrieved and analysed in order to

establish a theoretical framework of the topics underpinning the basic structure of

the thesis. From the authors perspective, starting with the secondary research in

the methodological framework of the grounded theory had the reason to get a

deep and comprehensive understanding of the topic. By doing so, the author was

able to create an interview guide whose questions were developed through the

deep insights gain in the secondary research. Collecting secondary data was high-

ly valuable in the research process: it provided fundamental insights into the the-

sis’ core problem and furthermore, led to the favourable result of establishing an

approach to counteract the research problem.

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Indeed, a variety of secondary sources, such as magazines, books, periodicals,

online reports, newspapers, and scientific articles, have been considered in order

to enhance the theoretical framework and to establish an in-depth view of the topic

(Kumar, 2014, p.383). Secondary data also provides the opportunity to gain infor-

mation that has already been stated in accessible sources “such as journals, pre-

vious reports, or consensus” (Kumar, 2014, p.383). The researcher extracted the

required data and integrated this information within the frame of the empirical re-

search (Kumar, 2014, p.383)

The literature review served as the basis for designing the research, based on the

information gaps that were found in the literature.

3.3 Data Collection

The data was collected using a qualitative research method. Qualitative research

is characterised as an “open, flexible and unstructured approach; aims to explore

diversity rather than to quantify” (Kumar, 2014, p.14). In short, qualitative research

provides the possibility to actually reveal and experience the behaviours, percep-

tions, understandings, and feelings of the experts being questioned. The qualita-

tive research style, as described above, is `grounded theory´, and the research

technique used was semi-guided expert interviews. The group of experts included

senior family members that are currently handing over their business to a daughter

in the next generation, female successors, and a coach of the succession process.

3.4 Research Objectives

The research objective, as described in the introduction to the thesis, is to provide

valuable content and insights that will contribute to the research field related to

being a female successor in a family business. If successful, the outcome may be

used to support consultancies, businesses, researchers, and future female suc-

cessors in understanding the research topic in more detail and in classifying the

challenges for a woman successor, which also reflect the takeover process in

general.

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80

Furthermore, the secondary objectives concern the author herself. As mentioned

previously, the author will soon find herself in the position of a female successor of

a family business. The aim of the present thesis is thus also to figure out how she

can deal with the takeover process in the most effective and efficient way possible.

Indeed, she also needs to show commitment to her family business in order to se-

cure and maintain success.

In order to accomplish these objectives, the two following research questions will

be answered:


business today?



To elaborate, the first research question will take a closer look at potential female

successors from the generation Y and millennial demographics. Further, the chal-

lenges of a generational change within a family business in Germany will be ana-

lysed. The reason for characterising these elaborations are the following: firstly,

from the author’s perspective, it was essential to focus solely on generation Y and

millennials because these groups are involved in the generational shift and chang-

ing taking place in the workforce today (Burgess, 2008). Secondly, the analysis of

the takeover process within family businesses is restricted to Germany because

the author’s family business is based in Germany and, as described above, family

businesses are the backbone of the Germany economy and must constantly re-

spond to challenges of generational change.

Furthermore, the second research question will deal with the possible emerging

structural and/or strategic requirements of the succession process. The necessary

conditions here are limited to those affecting female successors in particular. The

idea behind this question is not to establish a detailed “road map” or “how to

guide” that shows the successor exactly how to overcome any structural and/or

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81

strategic changes; rather, it should be seen as an account of the potential struc-

tural and/or strategic requirements that female successors may face.

In a nutshell, in order to fulfil the objective of the master’s thesis, it is essential to

answer the research questions through the development of a new theory based on

the data gathered from the interviews conducted with experts.

3.5 The interview

Semi-guided expert interviews were chosen as the qualitative research technique

or method used to gather the empirical data. Face-to-face interviews are seen as

appropriate to perceiving the emotions that can occur as a result of the intense

topic discussed in the interview guide. The interview guide provides the required

insights that are indispensable in order to answer the research questions (Balzert

et. a., 2008, p.57). Due to the fact that expert interviews are categorised as a qual-

itative research method, which does not require standardised processes, the data

cannot be analysed as quantitative research interests (Brink, 2013, p.132). The

advantage of the guided expert interview is that the interviewer can immediately

respond to comprehension questions or clarify potential misunderstandings. More-

over, due to the guiding interview guide, the interviewer does not go off topic dur-

ing the interview, which ensures that important and crucial aspects are not forgot-

ten. Moreover, the guided interview allows some flexibility in the answering of the

questions. Indeed, the interviewer is able to prevent the interviewee from digress-

ing from the actual topic in question (Mayer, 2008, p.37).

The author chose expert interviews as the preferred qualitative research method

because this gave the author the chance to expand on the individual expert’s

knowledge and take as much time as needed for each interview. Indeed, since the

succession process often involves emotions and feelings, the author had the

chance to interview respondents personally in order to capture and perceive all

their emotions, something which would not have been possible with an online-

questionnaire for example. Moreover, due to confidentiality, the names of the in-

terviewees are not listed in the master thesis.

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82

3.5.1 Structure of the Interview Guide

The design of the semi-guided interview guide was shaped by the two principals

identified by Gläser and Laudel (2010): the principal of theoretically based pro-

ceeding and the principal of openness.

Firstly, principal of theoretically based proceeding explains that the questions of

the interview guide should be based on the information gaps identified as relevant

to the discussed topic and on the defined research question. A detailed literature

review, research, and critical questioning are basic prerequisites. Therefore, the

author is able to formulate questions on several topics in a flexible manner (Gläser

& Laudel, 2010, p.115).

Secondly, the principal of openness, defined by Gläser and Laudel (2010), was

used while designing the interview guide. This refers to the fact that the interview

guide should encourage the interviewed experts to share personal interests, expe-

riences, and knowledge throughout the interview. The basis of this principal influ-

enced the choice to use a semi-guided interview and an open question, which al-

lows the interviewer a certain degree of adaptability with regard to the direction of

the interview (Gläser & Laudel, 2010, p.115).

The interview guide designed in light of these reflections consists of 4 main parts

and 7 main questions, some of which contain sub-questions.

Overall, in designing the interview guide, 4 main subject areas were formed:

o Personal questions

o Questions focusing on the challenges of a female successor

o Questions focusing on the strategic and/or structural requirements neces-

sary for the takeover process

o Concluding questions

Moreover, the interview guide was designed in English (Annex 2) and in German

(Annex 1), and the decision to conduct the interview in German or English de-

pended on the interviewee’s personal ability and estimation of his or her language

skills. Indeed, the interviewees were able to choose the interview guide in the lan-

guage they felt most comfortable with, which guaranteed that the interviewees had

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83

the chance to state and explain everything they wanted to say without being lim-

ited by any potential language barrier.

Furthermore, the duration of the interview guide was designed to last around 30

minutes, allowing enough time for the interviewees to reflect and explain their

points of view in detail.

Essentially, the interview guide used for the interviews consisted mostly of open

questions, firstly because the author’s aim was to gather as much as information

possible, and secondly because the succession process involves many emotions,

so the interviewees thus had the chance to share all their experiences, personal

feelings, concerns, desires, and beliefs.

3.5.2 Selection of the Interview Experts

Overall, a person is defined as an expert if they have acquired specific competen-

cies related to a certain topic over several years of experience in an area in which

such knowledge is not generally available to the public. Moreover, by sharing their

personal knowledge, experts allow the author or the researcher to gain a deeper

understanding of what they have individually experienced, or even enter that expe-

rience in some way. The selection of the various experts thus has a crucial influ-

ence on the quality and type of information delivered and data gathered (Brink,

2013, p.131).

For this master’s thesis, three different kinds of experts were chosen: the first

group comprised daughters who had overtaken the family business; the second

group comprised senior family members, all male, who were handing their busi-

ness over to a daughter (or daughters); and the last group was a coach or con-

sultant who supports female successors, their families, and family businesses. In

addition, all interviewees questioned for the research are linked to family busi-

nesses settled and founded in Germany, which can be categorised as SMEs. Yet,

it should be noted that all interviewees came from a different industry backgrounds

in order to gain a comprehensive set of findings, perceptions, and experiences,

because some industries may have distinctive stereotypes of female leaders. (An-

thes, 2010).

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In the following table, the names of the interviewed people are not provided be-

cause the data is anonymous:

Interviewee Position in the succession pro-cess

Industry

Interviewee 1 Daughter Leisure Industry

Interviewee 2A

Interviewee 2B

Daughter

Daughter (two

female succes-

sors)

Fast-moving Con-

sumer Goods

(FMCG) Industry

Interviewee 3 Senior family

member – male

(will hand it over

to 3 daughters)

Gravel plant in-

dustry

Interviewee 4 Coach Consulting only

female succes-

sors

Interviewee 5 Daughter Outdoor clothing

industry

Interviewee 6 Daughter Printing Industry

Interviewee 7 Daughter Hotel Industry

Interviewee 8 Senior family

member – male

Luxury Goods

Industry

Table 3: Information about the Interviewees

3.5.3 Pre-Test

In order to determine whether the designed interview guide was clearly elaborated

and understandable, the author conducted a pre-test. The author interviewed peo-

ple from three different groups and from different backgrounds: one group com-

prised a male and a female who would soon hand their business over to their

daughter; the second one was a man who would be continuing his family business

with his sister in the future; and the last one was an individual who has not been

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85

involved in the succession process of a family business. The aim of this pre-test

was to enable the questions to be adapted and improved in light of the different

angles and viewpoints that each group had on the succession process.

3.5.4 Performance of the Interviews

After the pre-test was successfully completed and the questions were adapted, the

expert interviews were conducted. Only those experts mentioned above were in-

terviewed. They were chosen because of their specific individual experiences

gathered during the succession process of a family business. The carefully select-

ed people were contacted either directly by email or via the administration of their

company, also by email.

In order to achieve a better standard of qualitative interview, the interview guide

was sent to the experts more than one week in advance of the set interview date,

both in English and in German. The interviews were held either in the experts

working environment or via Skype. All of the interviews were recorded using a dic-

tation device in order to ensure the transcription of the interviews was correct.

Moreover, all of the interviewees were informed beforehand that the interview

would be recorded. Additionally, the interviewees were granted anonymity.

3.5.5 Evaluation of the Interviews

The insights of the semi-guided interviews were processed according to the quali-

tative research approach used, grounded theory, the aim of which is to develop a

new theory concept. The research steps taken are thus not linear, but rather circu-

lar, taking place simultaneously in the research process, during data collection,

evaluation, and analysis (Corbin & Schuff-Werner, 2011, p.10). In the following the

author will outline the process used in the evaluation of the interviews:

1. Transcribing

Transcribing refers to the written transfer of interviews recorded with a dic-

tation device (Mayring, 2010, p.70). A transcription is a prerequisite of any

qualitative research and can therefore be seen as the first step in starting

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86

the evaluation. The interviews for this research were transcribed and can be

reviewed in Annex 18 - 25.

2. Paraphrasing

The transcript was then reduced and its most important parts summarised,

in line with Mayring (2010, p.70). The relevant parts of the interviews that

were conducted in German were translated in English to guarantee a con-

sistent language.

Following the process of transcribing and paraphrasing the interviews, the author

then evaluated the content using the three-step coding system outlined by Corbin

and Strauss (2008):

3. Open coding

Open coding is the first step in the coding system. At this stage, the data

was analysed in great detail and the W-questions were addressed by the

author. The concepts, also known as codes, were developed in order to de-

scribe, name, and classify the research phenomenon. In order to achieve

this, the data was segmented into meaningful expressions. The developed

concepts were then used to summarise what the author classified as `what

happened in the interview´ concerning a certain question, for example (Mey

et al.; Gallicano, 2013).

4. Axial coding

The next step was axial coding, which consisted of identifying similarities,

commonalities, relationships, and connections among the open codes (Gal-

licano, 2013).

5. Selective coding

Selective coding was the third and final step. The goal was to figure out the

core codes that included all the data (Gallicano, 2013). Based on the core

codes, a theory can be developed that is grounded in the data gathered

(Mey, et al.).

The coding system, and the evaluation of the interviews, helped the author to an-

swer the research question and to achieve the overall goal of the master’s thesis.

What needs to be mentioned at this point is the fact that the author chose to not

include questions 1, 1A, 6, and 7 into her elaboration of the grounded theory. The

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87

reason for this was that questions 1 and 1A only focused on the interviewee’s per-

sonal position in the succession process and their experiences. As such, their an-

swers are not seen as relevant to answering the research question, but were

asked in order to understand the interviewees’ backgrounds. Meanwhile, ques-

tions 6 and 7 asked the interviewees to offer any advice they had for female suc-

cessors and then if they had anything they would like to add. The advice given by

the interviewees was highly personal and varied from person to person. Additional-

ly, the answers were shaped by the personal experience, beliefs, and feelings of

each individual. The purpose of asking this question was to seek out any useful

advice for other successors.

3.5.6 Theoretical Sampling and data saturation

Another component of grounded theory is theoretical sampling, which is closely

connected to the coding process. Theoretical sampling describes a procedure by

which one can select the data to be examined, whereas statistical sampling focus-

es on the investigation of the data gathered empirically. Further, the selection of

the data takes place according to its theoretical relevance and intention, and not

according to external necessities (Glaser & Strauss, 1998, p.53-56). Of course, the

described procedure is simply an ideal performance, and many scholars using

grounded theory are often limited by structural constrains. The main questions

raised by theoretical sampling are the following: which groups and subgroups will

be addressed through the data collection, and to what theoretical end? (Glaser &

Strauss, 1998, p.55). Indeed, the sample is not defined from the beginning, but it is

selected in light of the theoretical problems that the researcher seeks to solve. The

approach is a form of circular research process (Halbmayer & Salat, 2011). More-

over, the methods of gathering data and elaborating theories can be modified,

adapted, and altered until the outcome of the author’s research is seen to suffi-

ciently prove the underlying theory.

The abort criterion within theoretical sampling is data saturation. Data saturation is

achieved when no additional data can be found to help further develop the charac-

teristics of the categories. The process of gathering the data is complete when all

the categories that have been identified within the coding process are saturated

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88

and no additional or new findings can be found by extending the data (Glaser &

Strauss, 1998, p.69).

According to the empirical research conducted by the author of the thesis, the

point of data saturation was reached while conducting, or indeed evaluating, inter-

view number 8.

3.6 Framework of the applied Methodology

The purpose of the study was to define the challenges facing female successors

today and to assess whether any strategic and/or structural requirements are

needed for the succession process. The qualitative research method known as

grounded theory, as defined by Corbin and Strauss (2008), was used to gather

and analyse the data. The author intends to study the succession process as ex-

perienced by the daughter, rather than her male counterpart. Moreover, the topics

studied within the interviews include personal attitudes towards the succession

process, the perceived challenges for a female successor, and the strategic and/or

structural requirements. The research technique chosen was semi-guided expert

interviews. The expert group interviewed included the following individual: male

senior family members that were in the process of handing over their business to

their daughter(s), daughters who had already taken over their family business, and

a female coach who was currently consulting family businesses and their female

successors. No female senior family members handing the business over to their

daughter(s) were interviewed. Additionally, the author´s research only concerned

family businesses where the senior family member of the business was/is the sole

leader; no one was interviewed from a business where the hand-over generation

involved more than one family unit. Moreover, all of the interviewees’ conduct

business that is settled and was founded in Germany, and all of their companies

can be characterised as SMEs. The interviews were conducted between

30.3.2017 and 17.4.2017.

Data analysis

89

4 Data analysis

Within the present chapter the empirical data and findings will be analysed and

interpreted. First, the questions excluded from grounded theory are analysed, de-

scribed, and interpreted within the subtopic `personal aspect´. Secondly, the find-

ings of the grounded theory method will be outlined in detail.

4.1 Data Analysis of the Findings and Interpretation of the Re-search – Personal Aspect

In the following section, those questions focused on understanding the interview-

ees’ personal and individual interest in the succession process, which will there-

fore not be part of the grounded theory, are analysed and interpreted. These ques-

tions can be compared to the other questions answered by each individual herself

or himself and were designed to let the interviewee express his or her personal

feelings, giving their answers a personal touch.

4.1.1 Question 1 – Annex 3

The interviewees were asked in the first question to define their position in the

succession process.

The following table 4 shows the key points made in their answers, to which the

three-step coding system has not been applied. Instead, a micro-level analysis

was conducted to figure out how these interviewees are involved in the succession

process and to obtain an overall impression of their position. Their answers here

have not influenced the outcome of the research.

Interviewee: Position:

Int. 1. Daughter, in the middle of the succes-

sion process, father and daughter are

currently both managing directors of the

business

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90

Int. 2A.

Int. 2B.

Daughter,

Daughter, in the middle of the process,

father is the still the managing director

Int. 3. Father, senior family member, will hand

over the business to his 3 daughters

Int. 4. Coach, Consultant

Int. 5. Daughter, managing director, succes-

sion is completed


sion is completed


sion is completed, father is still involved

in the business

Int. 8. Father, senior family member, will hand

over the business to his daughter

Table 4: Interviewees´ Position in the Succession Process

For the purposes of the research, one coach was asked how she perceives the

succession process, as well as two senior family members who were due to hand

over the business to their daughter(s). Two sisters were interviewed who were in

the middle of the succession process at the time of interviewing, and whose father

was still the managing director but had communicated to the employees, share-

holders, and stakeholders that the daughters would continue the business. Addi-

tionally, one daughter was asked who was still in the middle of the succession

process, but was the managing director of the family business together with her

father. Another daughter was interviewed who was already the managing director

and for whom the succession process had been completed but whose father was

still involved in the business. Furthermore, two daughters were interviewed who

were the managing directors of their respective family businesses, who had com-

pleted succession process, and whose parent was no longer working in the family

business (Annex 3).

The succession process can be seen as a rather time-efficient process. The father

often works together with his daughter for a certain amount of time, as the head of

Data analysis

91

the family business, and they lead the company in tandem. In this way, the daugh-

ter has the chance to learn from the senior family member, get to know the busi-

ness, understand its philosophy and values, develop personal leadership abilities

or skills, and earn the respect and trust of employees, stakeholders and share-

holders (Jäkel-Wurzer et. al., 2017, p.191).

From the author’s perspective, leading in a father-daughter tandem model can be

extremely valuable in allowing the female successor to learn first-hand from the

senior family member and gain the relevant knowledge required for her future po-

sition as head of the family business. Moreover, the father can officially introduce

the daughter as the next generational leader to employees, stakeholders and

shareholders. Additionally, the father can slowly retreat himself from the daily

business, handing over more and more responsibilities to the female successor

with time.

4.1.2 Question 1A – Annex 4

The following mind map shows (figure 3) the interviewees’ paraphrased and sum-

marised answers to the question on how they have personally experienced the

succession process. The answers received could not be any more different. For

example, whereas Interviewee 1 experienced a very smooth, well-organised, and

structured process, Interviewees 2A, 2B, 6 all experienced a rather unorganised

and unplanned succession, during which difficulties were encountered. Moreover,

the interviewees agreed that the succession process was a long-term process that

cannot be worked out within two weeks, but instead requires detailed planning in

advance – preferably with external help and before the daughter enters the family

business – and the involvement of all persons implicated in the succession pro-

cess.

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92

(own figure, with the help of URL: https://www.mindmeister.com/883036682#)

Moreover, the succession process as stated by Interviewees 2A and 2B is shaped

by emotions, since conflicts within families are dealt with on a more emotional lev-

el. Moreover, the senior family member in this case had difficulties in handing over

the reins to his daughter during the succession process, which significantly influ-

ence the experiences of the daughter. As Interviewee 7 explained, openness be-

tween the two generations is required during the succession process in order to

decrease the potential for conflicts or difficulties. Furthermore, as mentioned by

the Interviewee 6 and 5, out-dated organisational structures need to be reviewed

and re-designed during the succession process. For Interviewee 3, it was im-

portant that the successor should get to know and understand the various facets of

the business before taking over. In summary, each individual experienced the suc-

cession process differently, with various forces shaping their experience and the

smooth running of the process.

Figure 3: How the Interviewees have Personally Experienced the Succession Process

Data analysis

93

In light of this, having a clear structured and planned succession road map is in-

dispensable (Rothwell et. al., 2015, p.237). External consulting agencies can be

valuable in the planning phase and can help the family to get on the right track

with their succession (Jäkel-Wurzer et. al., 2017, p.IX). The emotional element

plays a key role in the succession process, which can be both a barrier for the

members when making crucial decisions and also a strong bond that brings the

family together (Andric et al., 2016, p.8). Moreover, as mentioned in a previous

chapter, one of the biggest challenges in the succession process is letting go and

handing over the reins on the part of the senior family member, something that

Interviewees 2A and B actually experienced first-hand (Papesch, 2010, pp.96-100;

Wulf & Stubner, 2010, p.18).

From the author’s point of view, it is essential to have a clear, structured, and long-

term succession plan, which has been worked out together with all those involved

and an external consultant, in order to create a strong platform for the succession .

Moreover, the daughter has to be aware of the fact that emotions will always influ-

ence behaviour in family conflicts; openness, transparency, and communication

between the generations are therefore required in order to ensure a successful

succession process. Additionally, as existing structures can be out-dated, the

daughter can bring a fresh perspective to the organization´s re-design and restruc-

turing.

4.1.3 Question 6 and 7 – Annex 5

Within the last part of the interview guide, the interviewees were asked to give a

piece of advice for female successors. The tips provided proved to be extremely

personal and diverse. In the following table, all the various pieces of advice for a

female successor are described.

Advice for what a female successor CAN DO:

Advice for what a female successor SHOULD NOT DO:

Communicate openly and clearly say what you think, what your expectations are, what your fears are (between sen-ior family member and daughter)

Have personal relationships with the employees, tell them about your private live

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Be aware of how you communicate with family members in the business in front of the employees, especially when you have a conflict, don´t criticise family members in front of the employees

Don’t apologize or justify decisions you have made to the employees, stick to what you have decided and don´t curl up tight

Listen to your gut feeling Don´t copy any male leadership behav-iours or try to act like a male leader

As a successor, you are allowed to make mistakes, don’t forget that

Decide for yourself if you really want to be the head of the family business, is that your heart-dream and your deepest wish?

As a successor, you have to be pas-sionate about what you are doing

Try and have the courage to go your own way, and be consequent in what you are doing, and believe in yourself and your abilities

Make up your mind about where you see the company in the future (next 10-15 years)

An external consultant is helpful for the succession planning (Æfamily constitu-tion), this has to be accepted by all family members involved in the succes-sion

Create your own work experiences out of the structure of the family business

Network with other female successors via various platforms and share your thoughts, no female successor is alone

Have a dogma (sentence of believe - Glaubenssatz), which you repeat to yourself all the time, for example `you can achieve everything you want´

Keep a diary (the diary is kind of an ex-ternal observer, by doing this you can observe yourself and `fine tune´ your actions)

Live your femininity and experiment with your femininity

Don´t feel that you can´t live up to the senior family member - have the cour-age to go your own way, be proud of what you are doing and what you have achieved

Table 5: Advice for Female Successors by the Interviewees

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(Table based on Annex 5)

The advice given by the interviewees is very personal and sounds appealing to the

author. Indeed, from the author’s perspective, giving the interviewee the space to

describe and state what they would suggest to another female successor was very

valuable. Some of the issues most commonly mentioned by the interviewees were

having the courage to go your own way as a female successor, believing in your

femininity, being passionate about and proud of what you are doing, and not trying

to live up to the senior family member’s reputation. In the author’s opinion that is

one of the essential aspects of a successful female successor. Another point that

seems essential to the author is open and honest communication between the

senior family member and the female successor throughout the succession pro-

cess. Moreover, building up a network of other female successors and writing a

diary seem like good opportunities to develop oneself personally as a potential

successor, in the author’s eyes. Indeed, networking and building up relationships

with other daughters was seen as an advantage in that a successor can exchange

and receive first-hand information from other people who have been in the exact

same situation, which can be relieving and energising for female successors of

family businesses. Nevertheless, as a successor, sticking to one’s decisions is

key; as the interviewees mentioned, it is not necessary for daughters to justify or

apologise for decisions made. Further, daughters should not aim to follow in the

senior family member or male leader’s footsteps, but rather go their own way as

female leaders.

To sum up, in the author’s opinion, the fundamental elements in the spirit of a fe-

male successor are believing in oneself, being passionate about one’s work, and

having the courage to go one’s own way.

4.2 Data Analysis of the Finding and Interpretation of the Re-search – Grounded Theory

In the following, the author´s personal interpretation of the coding process will be

classified as well as the empirical findings analysed and interpreted.

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96

4.2.1 The Coding Process

Mills et al. (2006) stated that the explanatory power which derives from grounded

theory can “[…] illuminate common issues for people in a way that allows them to

identify with the theory […]” (Mills et. al., 2006). In short, the author executing the

grounded theory method is allowed to identify personally with the theory’s out-

come. Further, the whole process of grounded theory is shaped by the author´s

personal point of view.

The following two graphics (figure 4 and 5) display the personal interpretation of

the author’s understanding of the elaboration of grounded theory. The three coding

steps were applied to the question(s) of one overall topic. For example, questions

2A-D, 3 and 4 refer to the overall topic of `challenges of a female successor´, and

question 5 refers to the overall topic `strategic and/or structural requirements nec-

essary for female successors´ (see figure 5). First, in the open coding process,

open codes were defined for every question, based on the paraphrased answers

of the interviewees (ANNEX 6). Further, the open codes for each question were

summarised according to their similarities to concepts or subcategories. If there

were no similarities found then the open code could also be its own subcategory.

Second, in the axial coding process, the concepts of the respective questions were

analysed and compared to similarities between the questions that belonged to

each subtopic, and as a result categories were formed. The subtopics can be

found in the second chart and are named as follows: challenges of a succession

daughter, overcome and minimize the challenges, challenges for millennials, and

strategic/structural requirements. Third, in the selective coding process, based on

the categories designed in the axial coding step, the respective subcategories of a

question, main categories were designed to combine categories that fit well to-

gether and show commonalities across all defined categories, irrespective of the

overall topic, subtopic, or question to which they belonged. Finally, theories were

developed based on the main categories identified.

I would like to mention that the conceptualisation of grounded theory, as shown in

the figure 5, is the author’s personal interpretation and the process is based on the

individual circumstances of the author’s empirical data analysis. It could thereby

Data analysis

97

be verified that the results of the grounded theory were determined in the best

possible way.

Figure 4: Own Interpretation of Grounded Theory I

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98

Figure 5: Own Interpretation of the Grounded Theory II

4.2.2 Open Coding

The goal of open coding is to summarise the data and the phenomena that have

been sought out in terms and concepts. The paraphrased text is then set out and

conceptualised. The scholars Corbin and Strauss stated that within the open cod-

ing the data analyst is “taking apart an observation, a sentence, a paragraph, and

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99

giving each discrete incident, idea, or event, a name, something that stands for or

represents a phenomenon” (Corbin & Strauss, 1990, p.63). The starting point of

the open coding is the disassembly of the data into small understandable sense-

units, which form the remarks – or so-called codes – provided (Ruge, 2009).

For grounded theory, the author focuses on the two main parts of the interview

guide, that is to say the issues regarding the challenges of a female successor and

whether strategic and/or structural requirements are necessary for the takeover

process. Furthermore, based on the paraphrased answers of the interviewees,

open codes are designed accordingly for each relevant question – namely 2A-D,

3, 4, and 5 – in order to maintain the overall view and to separate the codes ac-

cording to the overall topic. In the next step, the codes will be summarised by con-

cepts or subcategories.

In the following section, the author demonstrates how she proceeded.

The open codes that have been identified for the question number 2A are listed

below (table 6). The question addresses the challenges for female successors that

were classified according the three aspects: the business aspect, the family as-

pect, and the personal aspect. Moreover, the open codes were designed based on

the paraphrased answers of each interviewee to question 2A.

Business aspect – Open Code

Family Aspect Open Code

Personal Aspect Open Code

gaining and earning the

employees respect

difficulty separating family

and business

Finding a role between

daughter, sister, and CEO

making the face of the

head of the company

known to the public

difficulty separating mum,

father, daughter, and co-

worker roles

not becoming too emo-

tionally involved

conversion and change

due to succession pro-

cess within the company

call your parents with the

first name in front of an

employee

making crucial decisions

making sure in advance

that the company is

being taken seriously by

the senior and not treated

making a cancelation and

having critical discussions

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handover-capable like a child with the employees

succession where more

than one sibling is in-

volved

discussing crucial issues

internally first

figuring out for oneself

how much one wants to

be involved in the com-

pany

feasibility of the genera-

tional change

open communication

among the generations

figuring out for oneself

how much time one wants

to invest in the firm

Employees, stakeholders

and seniors acceptance

or agreement of the re-

newals and new impuls-

es of the successor

having support from all

family members, ensuring

no one feel neglected

which may cause conflicts

being confident enough

and believing in potential

for personal growth due

to the succession

changing the company

culture based on the new

way of leading – will it be

accepted?

integrating the daughter´s

own family into the family

business

figuring out for oneself if

the succession is one’s

deepest wish

acquiring the specific

knowledge about the

market, the industry, the

branch, and the company

itself

managing a new relation-

ship with one’s father

combining being a mother

and the leader of the

company

being respected and

appreciated by the em-

ployees

creating time and space

for the family

ensuring the culture that

comes with the new lead-

er is accepted by the em-

ployees

leaving your personal

mark

finding the time for your

partner

finding one’s own recipe

for leadership

asking what does the suc-

cession process means,

ensuring no one feels ne-

glected

not losing oneself as a

person

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Table 6: Open Codes - Question 2A

(based on annex 7)

In the second step, the author summarised the open codes that showed similari-

ties to concepts or subcategories, which is explained with the various colours – the

open codes that belong to the same concept have the same colour in table 6 and

7. For example, the concept called “new relationship and roles between the

daughter and the family/families” is seen as an overall challenge for female suc-

cessors, and the concept involves the open codes “combining being a mother and

the leader of the company”, “new relationship with the father”, and “finding a role

between daughter, sister, and CEO”. In total, for question number 2A, 16 concepts

were identified, as the table below describes.

Colour Concept or Subcategory

1 New relationships and roles between the daughter and the family(s)

2 Finding time with your loved ones

3 In a succession with more than one sibling, ensuring no one feels

neglected

4 Earning the respect, trust, and appreciation of the employees and

the senior family member

5 Acceptance of the cultural change, and the new impulses that come

with the new way of leading

6 Making critical decisions – discussed first internally

7 Figuring out whether or not succession is my deepest wish and

whether I want to live for the company

8 Is the company handover-capable

9 Finding one’s own memorable way of leading

10 Not losing oneself

11 Open communication among generations

12 Acquiring market, industry, branch, company specific knowledge

13 Making the face of the head of the company known to the public

14 Self-confidence as a successor, believing in oneself

15 Keeping emotional distance

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16 Difficulties separating family and business

Table 7: Concepts - Question 2A

The open codes regarding the question number 2B have been summarised in the

table that can be found in annex 8. Within the question 2B, the interviewees were

asked to name their major challenge in the succession process. Additionally, elev-

en concepts were identified in total. The process by which the concepts emerged

can be seen clearly in annex 8, and the final subcategories are stated in the fol-

lowing table:

Number Concepts / Subcategories

1 Letting yourself make a mistake and accepting failure

2 Working with people and clearly communicating messages

3 Earning the respect and trust of the employees and stakeholders

4 A succession where more than one sibling is involved

5 Relying on your gut feeling, standing by your decisions, believing in

yourself, and following your heart

6 Being able to go you own way

7 Becoming the new face of the company and being seen as the new

leader

8 Hiring someone to support or help is not always positive

9 Adapting the family relationships

10 Deciding when the company belongs to the senior family member and

when it belongs to the daughter

11 Handing over the reins and not being seen as the child anymore

Table 8: Concepts - Question 2B

One of the major challenge for example, is concept two, “working with people and

clearly communicate messages”, which consists of the open codes “knowing how

to work with, handle, and communicate with people correctly” and “communicating

clear messages” (annex 8).

Having a closer look at question number 2C, the open codes are listed in annex 9.

The question was about how the interviewees have overcome the challenges of

the succession. Furthermore, the concepts related to the open codes are listed

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below. Eleven subcategories were also identified, which are outlined in the chart

below.


1 Communicating and reflecting on the others behaviour in order to un-

derstand them

2 External professional support, networking with peers

3 Having a road map for the succession, with room for improvement

4 Making the company handover-capable

5 Successor has to create her own experiences externally first

6 Designing a family constitution

7 Ensuring solidarity and coherence among the family, leading sisters

8 Learning by doing, educating oneself

9 Allocating one’s own responsibility areas as a successor

10 Cancelling contracts with people that cause conflicts

11 Setting new ground rules for a value system

Table 9: Concepts - Question 2C

In order to overcome these challenges, concept number one, for example, “com-

municating and reflecting on the others behaviour in order to understand them”,

was designed based on the open codes of “communication”, “communication be-

tween the generations”, and “reflecting on one’s own and others’ behaviour in the

succession process to understand each other better”. The way in which the con-

cepts are composed is also listed in annex 9.

In the chart below, the concepts of the question number 2D are classified. The

interviewees were asked what could have been done in advance to minimise the

challenges. The open codes created from the interviewees´ answers can be re-

viewed in annex 10.


1 Maintaining your private life and distance with the employees

2 Having a plan for the succession in advance that leaves room for adap-

tion and flexibility and includes the opinions of everyone involved –

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moderated succession process will be easier (easier to hand over the

reins)

3 Building up a network with peers

4 Designing a family constitution

5 Knowing the person you are hiring inside out

6 Having an education that fits the purpose of the business but being as

diverse as possible in terms of knowledge

7 Taking advantage of being thrown in the deep end

Table 10: Concepts - Question 2D

For example, in order to minimise the challenges in advance, concept two sug-

gests “having a plan for the succession in advance that leaves room for adaption

and flexibility and include the opinions of everyone involved – moderated succes-

sion process will be easier (easier to hand over the reins)”. This concept is based

on the following open codes: “to have a road map for succession, which leaves

room for adaption and is flexible ”, “agreed road map by the senior, which will help

him to hand over the reins”, “clear structured and external moderated hand-over

process”, “succession process planning in advance with all the involved people

sharing their opinion”, and “everyone involved states how they would elaborate the

succession process” (annex 10).

In question number 3, the interviewees were asked about the challenges they saw

for millennials involved in the succession process. The open codes related to this

question are outlined in annex 11. In short, ten concepts are defined in the chart

below, made up of the open codes.


1 Accepting not being perfect, allowing for failures, and relaxing

2 Seeking to know the purpose and the sense of their work

3 Lack of social competencies, empathy, compassion, and soft skills that

are necessary for a leader and a team player

4 Adapting communication according to various people and circumstanc-

es

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5 Finding acceptance among and common ground in the different ideolo-

gies of the generations

6 Less career focused: effort, diligence, and presence are not the focus,

but rather work-life balance is key

7 Decreased willingness to take responsibility: do not want to take re-

sponsibility and be their own boss

8 Different in their way of leading, company culture will change because

of their behaviour

9 Wanting to contribute

10 Having diverse knowledge

Table 11: Concepts - Question 3

For instance, concept number six states that one challenge millennials face is that

they are “less career focused: effort, diligence, and presence are not the focus, but

rather work-life balance is key”. This concept is based on the open codes “less

hard working then previous generations”, “aiming for higher living standard, pref-

erably with less effort”, “not only focusing on work-life balance, diligence and pres-

ence is still key”, and “being less career focused and oriented than others” (annex

11).

Question number 4 asked the interviewees whether or not they thought that fe-

male successors have different challenges from men. The complete list with all the

open codes can be viewed in annex 12. Furthermore, the concepts that have been

established, and are itemised below, are based on the in advance designed open

codes.


1 Combining being a mother and the leader of the company is difficult,

women are burdened by their various roles

2 Women have to learn how to deal with stereotypes and be aware of

prejudices

3 Women have to perform better, be more competent, have more know-

how, and be more authentic than men before they will be respected

4 Whether the senior family member is a man or a woman and whether

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the successor is a man or a woman, makes a difference to attitude of

the handing over generations

5 Abilities are essential to choosing a successor, not gender

6 Society has to believe and trust more in women, and women have to be

more confident and believe in themselves in order to create something

great


Taking a closer look at challenges that a woman has to confront, concept one de-

scribes, for example, the difficulty of “combining being a mother and the leader of

the company […] being burdened by their various roles”. This concept is an amal-

gamation of the following open codes: “family planning is easier for a man”, “how

to handle children as a woman”, “combining being a mother and the leader of the

company”, “combining being a mother and the head of the company”, and “being

burdened by their various roles” (annex 12).

Finally, the concepts gathered in question number 5 are listed in the following

chart. The interviewees were asked whether or not certain strategic and/or struc-

tural requirements need to be considered by a female successor within the takeo-

ver process. The open codes that were used in designing the concepts can be

reviewed in annex 13.


1 Making the senior family member gradually step back from business

operations and hand over the tasks, in the future the senior will have its

small projects (within the family business, e. g. doing factory tours)

2 Adapting a structure geared towards the new roles and responsibilities

3 Position of the successor in the company, sole-leader

4 Female successors or siblings has/have to figure out how she/they

want to lead the company

5 Those companies who have been up to date and innovative in the past

with their structures and strategies, don´t necessarily have to change

6 The chance for out-dated structures and strategies to be renewed, be

improved, made future-oriented and sustainable, and to decrease inno-

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vation backlog due to the succession

7 Changes to hierarchy structure and company culture slowly taking

place due to a different style of leading from the daughter that has to be

accepted by the employees

8 Gender neutrality towards structural or strategic requirements

9 Legal requirements have to be adapted to the situation

10 Publicly announcing the new leaders of the firm

11 Strategically working out 5 year succession plan and/or family constitu-

tion so everyone has a clear understanding how it will be elaborated

12 Figuring out how to combine being a mother and a leader

13 Earning the respect and trust of the employees via a small project

14 Making sure that the company is handover-capable, doing everything

required in advance

15 The female successor has to be involved from the beginning on in the

process and she can share her own vision where she wants to go, and

develop the strategy further with the senior

16 no strategic breaks, strategies need to be continuously adapted


Taking a closer look at concept six, the example of a concept that focuses on the

potential strategic and structural requirements the “the chance for out-dated struc-

tures and strategies to be renewed, improved, made future-oriented and sustaina-

ble, and to decrease innovation backlog due to the succesion”. This is based on

the following open codes: “out-dated structures and strategies need to be re-

newed”, “bring a fresh perspective to the company, innovation backlog, room for

improvements”, and “the succession process is a chance for the company to re-

new strategies and structures and make them future oriented and sustainable”

(annex 13).

Having defined and categorised all the concepts of the various questions – based

on the previously established open codes related to each question, derived from

the answers of the interviewees – the next step (axial coding) will compare the

concepts across all questions and categories will be defined. All the detailed

charts containing the open codes and concepts can be reviewed in the annexes.

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4.2.3 Axial Coding

Axial coding is second step of the three-step coding system. The overall goal of

axial coding is to identify the categories central to the theory, the so-called axle

categories (Corbin & Strauss, 1990, p.97). Moreover, the relationships between

several categories and subcategories should be presented in detail (Flick, 2007,

p.393).

In the author’s research, the categories were identified based on the overall topic

they belong to. Furthermore, it was difficult to identify concepts within the overall

topic `challenges of a female successor´, which were completely interconnected

with the different sub concepts of the questions and consistent to all of the ques-

tions arising from the overall topic, therefore three sub topics have been identified:

challenges of a succession daughter (question 2A and B and 4), overcome and

minimise the challenges (question 2 C and D), and challenges for millennials

(question 3). Categories have also been identified. There are, of course, some

overlaps between the three main topics as well.

Moreover, the categories that have been identified within the overall topic `strate-

gic and/or structural requirements that are necessary for a female succession´ are

based on the designed concepts for question number 5.

4.2.3.1 Axial Coding for the challenges of a succession daughter– Questions

2A, 2B, and 4

The following chart shows the five categories the author identified from the de-

signed concepts or subcategories in the previous open coding step. Moreover, in

the third column of the chart, the concepts that belong to a certain category are

listed, as well as the number of the question and the number of the concept within

that question. For example, with regard to Q2A, 11, Q2A refers to the concepts

related to question 2A, while 11 refers to the concept listed as number 11 within

question 2A (annex 7). The five categories that are determined within the subtopic

`challenges of a succession daughter´ are as follows: clear communication, earn-

ing respect and trust, adapting relationships and roles, succession planning in ad-

vance, and daughter´s limitations/abilities/carefulness.

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Number Categories Concepts which belong to the category (with the question number and the number of concept of the respective questions)

1 Clear commu-nication

o Open communication among generations (Q2A, 11)

o Working with people and clearly communi-cating messages (Q2B, 2)

o Communicating and reflecting on others’ be-haviour in order to understand them (Q2C, 1)

2 Earning re-

spect and trust

o Earning the respect, trust, and appreciation of the employees and the senior family member (Q2A, 4)

o Earning the respect and trust of the employ-ees and stakeholders (Q2B, 2)

o Becoming the new face of the company and being seen as the new leader (Q2B, 7)

o Making the face of the head of the company known to the public (Q2A, 13)

o Learning how to deal with stereotypes and being aware of prejudices as a woman (Q4, 2)

o Performing better as a woman, and being more competent, having more know-how, and being more authentic than a man before being respected (Q4, 3)

o Society has to believe and trust more in women, and women have to be more confi-dent and believe in themselves in order to create something great (Q4, 6)

3 Adapting rela-

tionships and roles

o New relationships and roles between the daughter and the family(s) (Q2A, 1)

o Difficulty separating family and business (Q2A, 16)

o Adapting the family relations (Q2B, 9). o Combining being a mother and the leader of

the company is difficult, women are burdened by their various roles (Q4, 1)

4 Succession

planning in ad-vance

o Ensuring no one feels neglected in a succes-sion with more than one sibling (Q2A, 3)

o Is the company handover-capable (Q2A, 8) o Succession where more than one sibling is

involved (Q2B, 4) o Deciding when the company belongs to the

senior and when it belongs to the daughter (Q2B, 10)

o Handing over the reins and not being seen

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as a child anymore (Q2B, 11) o Hiring someone to support or help is not al-

ways positive (Q2B, 8) o Whether the senior family member is a man

or a woman and whether the successor is a man or a woman makes a difference in the attitudes of handing over generations´ (Q4, 4)

o Abilities are essential in choosing a succes-sor, not gender (Q4, 5)

5 Daughter´s lim-

itations, abili-

ties, careful-ness

o Finding time for your loved ones (Q2A, 2) o Accepting the cultural change and new im-

pulses that come with the new way of leading (Q2A, 5)

o Making critical decisions, discussed internally first (Q2A, 6)

o Figuring out whether succession is one’s deepest wish and whether one wants to live for that (Q2A, 7)

o Finding one’s own memorable way of leading (Q2A, 9)

o Not losing yourself (Q2A, 10) o Acquiring market, industry, branch, company

specific knowledge (Q2A, 12) o Self-confidence of the successor, believing in

oneself (Q2A, 14) o Keeping emotional distance (Q2A, 15) o Relying on your gut feeling, standing by your

decisions, believing in yourself, and following your heart (Q2B, 5)

o Being able to go one’s own way (Q2B, 6) o Society has to believe and trust in more

women, and women have to be more confi-dent and believe in themselves in order to create something great (Q4, 6)

o Maintaining your private life and distance with the employees (Q2D, 1)

Table 14: Categories - Question 2A, 2B, 4

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The first category for the challenges of a female successor is clear communica-

tion, which includes the following concepts: open communication among genera-

tions; working with people and clearly communicating messages; and communi-

cating and reflecting on others’ behaviour in order to understand them. In other

words, the female successor’s challenge is to communicate clear messages,

among the various generations, employees, and stakeholders, whilst also reflect-

ing upon one’s own behaviours and communication. This reflects the literature in

which transparent and open communication is defined as a crucial challenge for

the successor. Indeed, open communication can decrease the number of disputes

and conflicts between the people involved in the succession process (Greene,

2013). Furthermore, communication is something that needs to be learned and

improved over time. A good communicator can get people back on the right track

and influence their behaviour indirectly through verbal communication (Greene,

2013). From the author’s perspective, openly communicating one’s individual

fears, beliefs, dreams, vision, and tasks is indispensable within the succession

process; whether the successor has excellent communication skills or not is an-

other issue. Openly communicating can often be quite challenging for the succes-

sor, because she does not have the self-confidence or the interpersonal skills to

handle and deal with people or the senior family member, for example. Additional-

ly, being aware of and able to reflect on one´s own behaviour and communication

is, from the author’s perspective, an enormous advantage. For those daughters

who are not conscious of self-reflection, conflicts between the handing-over gen-

eration and the successor may arise earlier.

The second category of challenges for a female successor is earning respect and

trust. Concepts that belong to this category include the following: earning the re-

spect, trust, appreciation of the employees and the senior; society has to believe

and trust in more women, and women have to be more confident and believe in

themselves in order to create something great; learning how to deal with stereo-

types and being aware of prejudices as a woman. In short, the female successor

faces the challenge of earning the respect, trust, and appreciation of employees,

stakeholders, shareholders, families, and the public. Moreover, dealing with preju-

dices and stereotypes is required in order to be respected by men, for instance

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(Goudreau, 2011). To be respected, the female successor has to work harder, per-

form better, and be more authentic. As stated in the literature, the successor has

to get to know her employees, has to try to understand them and their point of

view in order to be able to overcome the prejudices and earn their respect and

trust. A foundation of trust is one of the most important aspects needed to acquire

the mutual respect (Nachfolgeguide). From the author´s point of view, earning the

trust and respect of stakeholders, family, employees and so on can be challenging

for the successor, because she has to fill the shoes of the senior family member

and live up to his or her reputation. Indeed, trust and respect are the fundamental

pillars of a positive working relationship. Women today have to perform better than

men, for example, in order to be respected and to be more authentic. Despite this,

women and female successors have to believe in themselves and believe that

they can actually earn the respect of employees and stakeholders and that they

can be a successful leader.

The third category of the challenges for a female successor is adapting relation-

ship and roles. The concepts within this category include: new relationships and

roles between the daughter and the family/families; difficulty separating family and

business; and difficulty combining being a mother and the leader of the company

as women are burdened by their various roles. In particular, adapting to and defin-

ing new relationship and roles is challenging from the daughter´s perspective. Go-

ing from being seen as the little child to being seen as the future leader can be

quite demanding, as can combining being a mother and being the head of the

company. As Kenyon-Rouvinez and Ward (2005) have described, every member

involved in the family succession process needs to know the new individual re-

sponsibilities and roles that emerge due to the succession process (Kenyon-

Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.62). Therefore, misunderstandings or rivalries are less

likely to arise. Moreover, new relationships, roles, responsibilities must also to be

communicated to non-family members, otherwise confusion can arise as a result

of employees not knowing who is responsible for what or with whom they should

discuss a certain topic (Jäckel-Wurzer & Ott, 2014, p.8). For the author, it is indis-

pensable to communicate the newly defined relationships, roles and responsibili-

ties among the employees, stakeholders, and so on. It can therefore be ensured

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that people are aware of the person responsible for each specific topic. Moreover,

family members have to be aware that, due to the succession, they have to be-

have professionally in front of the employees, and call the father by his first name

in the office. In addition, the daughter has to figure out with her family or senior

family member how she can combine being a mother and the head of the compa-

ny. Having clearly defined and communicated relations is essential to the succes-

sion process.

The fourth category of the challenges for a female successor is succession plan-

ning in advance. Concepts which are listed in the category include: asking if the

company is handover-capable; succession where more than one sibling is in-

volved; deciding when the company belongs to the senior and when it belongs to

the daughter; handing over the reins and not being seen as a child anymore; and

whether the senior is a man or a woman and whether the successor is a man or a

woman makes a difference to the handing over generations´ attitude. In short,

there are various diverse topics that need to be considered before the succession

planning process begins in order to ensure a smooth and an uncomplicated hand-

over process. For example, rivalry among siblings is seen as a potential challenge

for female successors (Haubl & Daser, 2006, p.43; Vera & Dean, 2005, pp.328-

330; Schlippe, 2012, p.173). If there is more than one sibling seeking to continue

the family business, conflicts may arise as a result of rivalry among them. Moreo-

ver, there has to be a clear and defined point in time when the company will be led

by the daughter and when does the senior family member will officially step back

from the business operations. Handing over the reins to the daughter is enormous-

ly hard for the senior and can also be quite challenging experience for the succes-

sor, because the company is the life´s work of the owner (Papesch, 2010, pp.96-

100; Wulf & Stubner, 2010, p.18). Moreover, from the author´s perspective, there

are many more aspects that need to be discussed or planned in advance of the

succession process. Sibling rivalry is a complex issue, because the senior family

member does not want to neglect any of his children. Open communication among

the siblings is required in order to diminish potential conflicts. Yet, siblings also

have to decide for themselves whether taking over the company succession is

their deepest desire or not; only when they have decided for themselves what their

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purpose is in life can they rationally evaluate the succession process and also the

succession position. Further, it has to be discussed in advance when the senior

will step back from business operations and at what point the female successor

will be the representative of the firm and therefore in charge of business opera-

tions. Indeed, handing over the reins will not be easy for the senior family member;

consequently, the daughter has to be aware of and know how to deal with such an

unpredictable and specific situation. She could gather ideas through networking

with peers or through external help from coaches that deal with the succession

process on a regular basis.

The fifth category of challenges for a female successor is the daughter´s limita-

tions, abilities, and carefulness. Concepts which belong to this category include: to

finding time for one’s loved ones; accepting the cultural change and new impulses

that come with the new way of leading; making critical decisions, discussed inter-

nally first; relying on your gut feeling, standing by your decisions, believing in your-

self, and following your heart; not losing yourself; keeping emotional distance; and

maintaining your private life and distance with the employees. In addition, it is cru-

cial that all family members put their own interests and concerns aside and focus

on the well-being of the company, according to Weissmann (Weissmann, 2014,

p.27). It should also be mentioned that being a good leader is not something that

can be learned overnight, and leadership is a lifelong learning process. In short,

the daughter’s leadership qualities will be examined over time, but what is im-

portant for her is to show passion, integrity, vision, and authenticity (Lukoschat &

Bessing, 2004, p.22). Indeed, change is a very sensitive topic: how people re-

spond depends on their personal drivers and their resistance to the subject of the

change. From the author´s perspective, change is something natural that appears

and is executed slowly within the environment of a company; hence, the new way

of leading introduced by the daughter will influence the company culture and the

behaviour of the employees, but whether the change will be experienced in a posi-

tive or negative manner cannot be known from the beginning. What can be said,

however, is that the next generational leader has to believe in herself no matter

what happens: she has to stand by her decisions, be authentic in her way of lead-

ing, believe in her dreams, and listen to her gut feeling when making crucial deci-

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sions. Another point to mention is maintaining an emotional and personal distance

with employees and not interacting with employees as if they are one’s best

friends. Having fun at work and enjoying nice conversations need not be forbid-

den, but maintaining distance and not involving co-workers in one’s private life as

a leader is key to preserving respect. The female successor not only has various

challenges concerning her abilities and carefulness, but also limitations of which

she has to be aware.

4.2.3.2 Axial Coding for overcoming and minimising the challenges – Question

2 C and D

Within the framework of axial coding, the author searched for similarities among

the answers to question 2C and 2D in the interview guide. Three categories thus

emerged within the subtopic of òvercome and minimise the challenges´. These

three categories are external support, having a road map for succession planned

in advance, and education. The chart listing all the concepts within this category

can be reviewed in annex 14.

The first category, external support, consists of concepts including external pro-

fessional support, networking with peers, and building up a network with peers. In

order to minimise and overcome the challenges for female successors, external

support can allow daughters to exchange their know-how, either in the form of

coaching or consulting or in the form of participating in peer group meetings where

all the daughters that have experienced a succession can interact. In general,

building a support network can be seen as crucial for the successfulness of the

hand-over process. So far, the category of external support has not been covered

in the literature. Indeed, interviewees 1, 3, 4, and 5 (annex 6) stated that external

support for the succession process has to be considered, because conflicts can be

more easily diminished, and the coach or consultant can also guide the succes-

sion process and work out or plan a clear road map for the hand-over, asking what

the next steps are, how they will be elaborated, and so on. Of course, hiring

someone external for advice does not necessarily mean that the outcome will be

good, and such a scenario was experienced by interviewees 2A and 2B (annex 6)

first-hand, because the consultant was biased towards the siblings leading abilities

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(Egerth, 2017). From the author’s perspective, external support for the process

has its advantages: for example, the succession process may be more structured

and well thought out overall and it can also help the senior family member to hand

over the reins to the daughter. Another positive point is that all family members

involved in the succession process have to talk to each other and openly share

their personal beliefs and fears related to the succession so potential conflicts can

thus be diminished and misunderstandings can be cleared up. Moreover, a coach

can act as a psychologist, especially if the daughter (or the senior family member)

has doubts about whether succession is a good decision or not. In general, having

someone externally involved in the succession process may be valuable for suc-

cess, because the coach is unbiased and offers another perspective on the pro-

cess. Moreover, building up a network with peers, who have also experienced the

succession process or are even still undergoing the process, allows daughters to

share their experiences and can be very inspiring for the successor herself. For

example, the initiative known as `generation daughters´ provides a platform either

online or offline where female successors can exchange their knowledge and ex-

periences (generation töchter).

The second category within overcoming and minimising the challenges is having a

road map for the succession planned in advance. The concepts within this catego-

ry include the following: having a road map for succession, with built-in room for

improvement; making the company handover-capable; designing a family constitu-

tion; setting new ground rules for a value system; defining one’s own responsibility

areas as successor; and ensuring solidarity and coherence among the family and

leading sisters. Indeed, having a road map for the succession that builds in room

for improvement and provides flexibility for adaptions would be an advantage for

the succession itself, from the author’s perspective. As the business consultant

Rohrer has mentioned, an individual and detailed handover plan is indispensable

for a successful succession (Rohrer). Numerous questions have to be addressed

before the succession itself takes place, for example, the question of legal re-

quirements, defining what the successor is responsible for, and so on (Rohrer). In

the author’s eyes, having a road map that is flexible and able to adapt to unpre-

dictable circumstances is essential to the succession process. This ensures every

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person involved knows exactly what the next steps are and who is responsible for

each step. Designing a family constitution can also be a valuable foundation for

the succession plan itself, because sensitive issues are discussed and agreed on

beforehand. To summarize, there are many things that need to be done in ad-

vance of the succession process, but the families, the senior family members, and

the daughters themselves have to decide what is necessary based on their per-

sonal situation and circumstances.

The third category within the subtopic of overcoming and minimising the challeng-

es is education. The concepts that are part of this category are as follows: the

successor has to create her own experiences externally first; learning by doing

and educating oneself; and acquiring an education that fits the purpose of the

business whilst also being as diverse as possible in the knowledge gathered. In

other words, the interviewees felt it was advantageous to have an education that

reflects the purpose of the business and that was preferably gained outside of the

company (annex 6). Leading a company successfully requires a person who has a

comprehensive and valuable professional competences, social competences, and

methodical expertise. Moreover, the business leader has to understand the devel-

oping technological environment (Spelsberg, 2011, pp.70-71). Having experiences

elsewhere and gaining know-how externally is beneficial for the next generation

leader. Furthermore, from the author’s perspective, having a diverse range of

knowledge and understanding the basics necessary to leading a company is es-

sential for the successor. Additionally, the successor has to show personal initia-

tive: if she does not know something important, she must be willing to acquire the

required knowledge. Of course, there are endless abilities and characteristics de-

fined as being qualities of a potential successor, but from the author’s perspective,

every owner handing over their business has different expectations for the desired

abilities their successor should have. It is fundamentally up to the organisation, the

industry, and the owner him or herself to clarify what qualities are indispensable in

a potential successor from the senior family member´s perspective.

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4.2.3.3 Axial Coding for challenges for millennials - question 3

Investigating the axial coding step within the subtopic of the challenges for millen-

nials refers to question three in the interview guide. In general, four categories

have been determined: (social) competencies, leadership behaviour, generational

conflict, and limits and characteristics of millennials. In addition, the table including

all the concepts that belong to the four categories can be examined in annex 15.

The first category of challenges for millennials is (social) competencies. Concepts

within this category consist of the following: a lack of the social competencies, em-

pathy, compassion, and soft skills necessary for a leader and a team player;

adapting communication according to various people and circumstances; and hav-

ing diverse knowledge. According to the interviewees, they see the main challenge

for employees as the lack of social competencies and communication skills among

millennials due to the environmental influence of the social media: millennials

communicate via social media and meet less in person, and are growing lonely

(infoticker, 2017). Social competencies and the ability to communicate are essen-

tial abilities of a successful business leader. This somewhat contradicts the litera-

ture in which the social component, such as having friendly co-workers or interest-

ing and challenging tasks, is extremely important for millennials in their working

environment. Indeed, millennials have an intense need for positively perceived

social circumstances, and seek close relationships with their peers and are gener-

ally enormously team oriented (Chou, 2012, p.75). From the author’s perspective,

soft skills such as social competencies, empathy, and compassion are crucial abili-

ties for the successor. Moreover, the ability to communicate effectively with people

with different backgrounds and beliefs is essential for a leader. On the one hand,

the author recognises the millennials´ challenge in terms of a perceived lack of soft

skills and social competencies, due to their decreased tendency to meeting face-

to-face; yet, on the other hand, having a social working environment is significantly

important for this group, based on their preference for a balanced work atmos-

phere.

Secondly, the category of leadership behaviour is also classified as a challenge for

millennials. This category is composed of the following three concepts: differences

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in their ways of leading; changing company culture because of their behaviour; a

decreased willingness to take responsibility, as they do not want to take responsi-

bility, be their own boss, or contribute extensively. It has recently been stated that

millennials lead differently from previous generations; their way of leading is signif-

icantly influenced by their desires, beliefs, values, and wishes (Chou, 2012, p.71).

As reported by Mertz (2014), the leadership traits that are exceptional among mil-

lennials include the following: a conscious and detailed reflection on work, self,

and society; highly future oriented in that they are not scared of the future and are

willing to shape it in their favour; transparency as crucial to a trust-based leader-

ship approach; collaboration with followers is indispensable, as is including every-

one; their personal abilities, including their uncommon focus on change and will-

ingness to solve-problems; and their desire to make the work environment a better

place for all (Mertz, 2014). Furthermore, from the author´s perspective, millennials

are a generation who want to contribute extensively and want to actively partici-

pate in shaping their environment; for them, it is essential to know the purpose of

their task and why they are doing something. This change in the way of leading

has an influence on company culture, and whether employees from different gen-

erations are willing accept such change depends on their personal level of re-

sistance to change. In general, millennials face challenges in terms of their leader-

ship behaviour, and whether or not their approach will be successful in the future

is unpredictable.

The third category defined as a challenge for millennials is generational conflict.

The category consists of the following concepts: finding acceptance among and

common ground in the different ideologies of the other generation; being less ca-

reer focused; focusing less on effort, diligence, and presences and more on work-

life balance. Millennials are characterised as less focused on their work perfor-

mance and less committed to their work, though work-live balance is essential for

them (Bay, 2011). Indeed, older generations were/are following different ideologies

than millennials; they may have identified themselves by their work, have put work

before their family, have communicated more face-to-face, and so on (Moore,

2013). From the author’s point of view, the differences between the generations

can potentially be crucial in causing conflicts. The various generations have to en-

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gage and communicate with each other regarding their different ideologies, so that

biases and misunderstandings can be reduced. Nevertheless, generational conflict

will always be a critical point for millennials, and for the whole succession process,

because everyone believes that their ideology is key and better than others’ opin-

ions.

Limits and characteristics of millennials constitute the fourth category within the

subtopic of challenges for millennials. The concepts that belong to this category

are firstly, accepting not being perfect, allowing for failures and relaxing, and sec-

ondly a desire to know the purpose and sense of one’s work. Indeed, it is difficult

for millennials to accept having made a mistake or having failed. Indeed, millenni-

als can be characterised as enormously ambitious, as they are better educated

than any other generation in history and “smarter than most people think” (Howe,

Strauss, 2000, p.9). Therefore, for them, making mistakes or experiencing failure

can be devastating. Moreover, they prefer to understand the reasons behind cer-

tain tasks and their purpose. Working values for millennials include a desire for

transparency and open communication, which consequently means employers

must ensure millennials know the purpose of their job. In addition, in the author´s

opinion, accepting and allowing failure is indispensable for an authentic leader.

Having the courage to take the responsibility for your own mistakes is also key.

Hence, though ambiguity is desirable for this job, allowing and accepting failure is

also necessary.

4.2.3.4 Axial Coding for strategic and structural requirements – question 5

The axial coding for the overall topic of `strategic and/or structural requirements

that are necessary for a female successor´ is classified into five categories: renew-

ing out-dated structures and strategies, no strategic and structural renewals nec-

essary due to constant adaption, planning the succession process in advance,

defining new roles and responsibility, and adapting to a new female leader. The

chart clearly listing all the concepts in each category is provided in annex 16.

Before the five categories are described in detail, the author would like to mention

that multiple interviewees mentioned that the strategic or structural requirements

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necessary for succession are not dependent on the gender of the successor (an-

nex 6). From the author´s point of view, the strategic or structural requirements

necessary are thus not differentiated according to gender, since in any new lead-

ership changes whether said leader is a man or a woman is irrelevant. The assort-

ed characteristics of the leadership behaviour may have an influence on and can

be categorised according to a female or a male leader.

The first category, renewing out-dated structures and strategies, consists of the

following two concepts: firstly, succession creates the opportunity for out-dated

structures and strategies to be renewed, improved, made them future-oriented and

sustainable, and to decrease innovation backlog; and secondly, legal requirements

have to be adapted to the situation. In short, the succession has to be seen as a

chance for family businesses that are not up to date in the sense that the strate-

gies and structures they have relied on are old, tried and tested methods. Addi-

tionally, an innovation backlog may have emerged due to such out-dated ap-

proaches or legal requirements may need to be adapted and renewed in order to

make the company handover-capable. The succession can thus breathe new life

into old business structures and strategies and bring the family business back on

track, making it competitive and profitable. Indeed, innovations are crucial for the

future well-being and sustainability of the company as they can prevent a busi-

ness´ product, services or internal processes from stagnating (Ziniel et al., 2014,

p.46). From the author´s point of view, it is indispensable to renew, adapt, and im-

prove out-dated structures and strategies within the family business during the

succession process. It is the responsibility of the senior family member and the

successor to make the company future-oriented and sustainable, and to do every-

thing necessary to make it happen. Moreover, attention has to be paid to innova-

tions in order to ensure the company is successful, profitable and competitive in

the long-term.

The second category no strategic and structural renewals necessary due to con-

stant adaptions. This category consists of the following concepts: firstly, compa-

nies already using up-to-date and innovative structures and strategies, do not

necessarily have to change; and secondly, no strategic breaks or changes, though

strategies need to be continuously adapted. In other words, if the company has

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been adapting and renewing its structures and strategies constantly, the succes-

sor may not be required to introduce changes. Interviewee 8 stated, for example,

that he would do everything necessary in advance (more than 5 years before the

succession) in order to make the company handover-capable (annex 6, Interview-

ee 8). Insufficient organisational structures and strategies has an impact of the

future well-being of the company (Papesch, 2010, p.102). Therefore, the senior

family member needs to be aware of this and do everything necessary to constant-

ly renew, improve, adapt, and rely on the power of innovations. From the author´s

point of view, constantly adapting and renewing strategies and structures in light of

external or internal environmental changes or influences is essential to being a

competitive and profitable family business.

The third category of planning the succession process in advance consists of the

following concepts: creating a strategically designed 5-year succession plan

and/or family constitution to be elaborated in a way everyone understands; figuring

out how to combine being a mother and a leader; making sure that the company is

handover-capable; and preparing everything required in advance. As mentioned

before, it is important to have a plan for succession and to figure out in advance

what needs to be done and what decisions have to be made, in order to make the

family organization handover-capable. Everyone implicated in the succession pro-

cess needs to be involved in the planning in order to eliminate misunderstandings

and decrease the potential for conflict. Of course, issues such as how to combine

the female successor’s role as a mother and as leader of the company have to be

addressed as well. In summary, for a successful succession, it is indispensable to

prepare a plan or road map for the succession process in advance, deciding

ahead of time what needs to be done in order to make the family company hando-

ver-capable.

The fourth category is defining new roles and responsibilities, and the concepts

within this category are as follows: the senior family member has to step back

gradually from business operations and hand over the tasks, as in the future he

will have its own projects, e.g. doing factory tours; adapting the structures to the

new roles and responsibilities; defining the position of the successor in the com-

pany as sole leader; and publicly announcing the new leaders of the firm. Adapting

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and defining new roles and responsibilities has been mentioned previously, but is

also essential from a strategic and structural point of view. Clearly defining who is

responsible for what and who has a certain role should be communicated to the

employees, to essential stakeholders and within the family itself, which will elimi-

nate potential misunderstanding between parties. Defining when the senior family

member will step back gradually from business operations and when the succes-

sor will take over his responsibilities is also beneficial; this ensures that employees

and stakeholders have a clear idea of who is the head of the company and who is

responsible for what roles.

The fifth category is adapting to a new female leader and concepts within this cat-

egory include the following: the female successor or siblings has/have to figure out

how she/they want to lead the company; changes to hierarchical structure and

company culture changes, due to daughter’s different style of leadership, have to

be accepted by the employees; and the female successor has to be involved from

the beginning on in the process so that she can share her own vision of where she

wants to go, and develop the strategy further in tandem with the senior family

member. Indeed, the succession process is not only relevant to the family con-

cerned but also to the stakeholders and business partners of the company (Andric

et. at., 2016, p.11). Moreover, if profitable companies fail during the succession,

economic value is lost in form of employment, added value, and tax substrate (An-

dric et. al., 2016, p.11). Therefore, it is essential that the succession process suc-

ceeds, which can be achieved by involving the successors from an early stage in

the process, giving them the voice to share their believes, and asking where they

see the company in the future. Indeed, a new leader can initiate various changes,

to the company culture or to the hierarchical structure, but whether the employees

and stakeholders can adapt to the changes depends on their level of resistance. It

is the new generational leader’s responsibility to influence people through her be-

haviour and demonstrate that the changes are necessary for the future well-being

of the company, and therefore for their personal job security.

In a nutshell, all the above named categories designed in the axial coding step, as

well as the defined concepts and open codes, reflect the overall literature review

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as elaborated in the second chapter of this master’s thesis. Of course, some

points, such as the external support category, need to be adapted.

4.2.4 Selective Coding

The selective coding step is the last pillar of the three-step coding system, in which

the core categories have to be identified. Indeed, the process is “not much differ-

ent than the axial coding. This is done at a higher more abstract level of analysis”

(Corbin & Strauss, 1990, p.117). The defined categories from the axial coding step

are repeatedly classified on a higher abstract level of analysis in order to come up

with the core categories. The core categories will be described briefly together with

the relationships, which is classified in English with the word `story´. In addition,

new theory will be derived from this stage and verified using the gathered data

(Flick, 2007, p.396). The basis of the formulation is the transcribed memos of the

interviewees that were written during the coding process (Ruge, 2009).

The following table shows the four main categories, which overall topic they be-

long to, and the categories included in their core category. To clarify, `Q2, A, B, 4,

no. 4´ would refer to category number 4 on the chart of the questions 2A, B and 4

axial-coding category chart.

Number Core category overall topic it be-longs to

Category it consists of

1 Road map and planning in ad-vance

Challenges and

strategic/structural

requirements

- Planning succession in advance (Q2A, B, 4, no. 4)

- External support (Q2C, D, no.1)

- Road map for succes-sion planned in advance (Q2C, D, no.2)

- Planning succession in advance (Q5, no. 3).

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2 Adapting strate-gic/structural re-quirements to cir-cumstances

Strategic/structural

requirements

- Out-dated structures and strategies renewed (Q5, no.1).

- No strategic and struc-tural renewals due to constant adaptions (Q5, no.2).

- Adapting to a new fe-male leader (Q5, no.5).

3 Implications of succession

Challenges and


requirements

- Earning respect and trust (Q2A, B, 4, no.2)

- Adapting relationships and roles (Q2A, B, 4, no.3)

- Defining new roles and responsibilities (Q5, no.4)

- Generational conflict (Q3, no.3)

4 The daughter framework

Challenges - Clear communication (Q2A, B, no.1)

- Daughter´s limitations, abilities, carefulness (Q2A, B, no.5)

- Education (Q2C, D, no.3) - (Social) Competencies

(Q3, no.1) - Leading Behaviour (Q3,

no.2) - Limits characterising mil-

lennials (Q3, no.4) Table 15: Core Categories

The four main categories that have been identified in the selective coding process

are road map and planning in advance, adapting strategic/structural requirements

to circumstances, implications of succession, and the daughter framework. The

selective coding process was elaborated using the various overarching questions

and their associated subtopics.

The first main category, road map and planning in advance, applies to both overall

topics. On the one hand, having a road map or planning succession in advance is

necessary to adapting strategic or structural requirements according to the suc-

cession. Leaving room for improvement and allowing for flexibility is beneficial for

the succession process, meaning that when something unpredictable occurs, the

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plan can be adjusted (Rohrer; Egerth, 2017). Moreover, decisions thus need to be

made in order to make the company handover-capable, which could include, for

example, adapting legal requirements, changing the hierarchical structure, de-

ciding when the senior family member has to step back from business operations,

setting ground rules for a new value system to suit the successor, elaborating a

family constitution (Bundesverband Deutsche Stiftung), deciding if there are more

children involved who want to take over the business (whether it will be a sole-

succession or multiple-succession), agreeing what needs to be done to allow the

successor to combine being a mother and being the head of the company (e.g.

tandem management), and so on. In addition, having external support during the

planning stage and when designing the road map for succession was something

desirable for the interviewees. Indeed, having a moderated succession process or

a coach can help the family not only to diminish conflicts and but also to eliminate

misunderstandings through communication exercises. Moreover, this main catego-

ry, `road map and planning in advance´, can be also seen as a challenge for the

successor herself. For instance, for a woman it can be a challenge to combine be-

ing a mother and being the leader of the family business; this will be even more

challenging for the successor if the company is not handover-capable or if the sen-

ior family member does not want to hand over the reins or stepping back from

business operations. Potential conflicts can arise because of discrepancies be-

tween the successor and the senior family member regarding such issues as what

the future company will look like and when the successor will become the sole

leader of the company.

The second category is named àdapting strategic/structural requirements to cir-

cumstances´ and belongs to the overall topic ‘strategic and/or structural require-

ments necessary for a female successor’. For example, out-dated structures or

strategies and a backlog of innovation result from a lack of continuous improve-

ment. Indeed, the female successor has to renew, improve, and adjust everything

necessary according to her circumstances in order to get the company back on a

future-oriented and sustainable track. Moreover, it could also be the other way

around: the senior may have recognised the need to constantly adapt and renew

old strategies and structures, making the company better designed for succession

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and the business handover-capable. Additionally, with any succession, a new

leader automatically brings changes and new ways of leading: behaviour, values,

beliefs, and so on. Indeed, company culture changes slowly and strategic and

structural requirements are necessary, for instance, the hierarchy structure or the

vision of the company is shaped by the daughter, which has an influence on the

long-term strategy of the family business (Papesch, 2010, pp.102-105; Letmathe &

Hill, 2006, p.1126; Nagl, 2015, pp.43-44; Schwetje et al., 2016, pp.102-103)

The third main category named ìmplications for succession´, applies to both

overall topics. While, on the one hand, succession implies challenges for a female

successor, such as earning the respect and trust of the employees and stakehold-

ers (Nachfolgeguide). The woman may also have to perform better, be more com-

petent, have more know-how, be more authentic than a man before she will be

respected, learn how to deal with stereotypes, and be aware of prejudices (Gou-

dreau, 2011). Generational conflicts may arise because of the different ideologies

of the generations, for instance (Hennerkes & Kirchdörfer, 2015, p.63), and new

relationships and roles may need to be defined between the daughter and the fam-

ily (Kenyon-Rouvinez & Ward, 2005, p.62). There are clearly various challenges

for a female successor based on the implications of succession, with assorted

characteristics one can imagine. On the other hand, the implications of succession

can have an influence on the strategic and/or structural requirements that are nec-

essary for the female successor. Indeed, defining new roles, responsibilities, and

relations among employees, family members, has an impact on the structure of a

company. Additionally, the position of the new leader has an impact, depending on

whether she is aiming to be a sole successor or head of the company or not. As

well as this, the senior family has to step back gradually from business operations

and hand over the main tasks to the daughter (Papesch, 2010, pp.96-100; Wulf &

Stubner, 2010, p.18); here, it could be helpful for the senior family member to hand

over the reins knowing that in the future he or she will still have his or her own pro-

jects.

The fourth category is called the daughter framework and belongs to the overall

topic of challenges of a female successor. Various challenges are defined based

on the daughter´s personal limitations, abilities, and competencies. For example,

Data analysis

128

the female successor can face some of the following challenges: an insufficient

education; a lack of social competencies or soft skills; problems clearly communi-

cating her desires, tasks, beliefs, and concerns to different people; difficulties al-

lowing failure and accepting mistakes; lack of belief in herself and in her way of

leading; lack of diverse knowledge; maintaining emotional distance; not losing her-

self; relying on her gut feeling and following her heart; maintaining her private life

and distance from the employees; find her own memorable way of leading; find

time for loved ones; communicating and reflecting on the others’ behaviour in or-

der to understand them, and so on. This extensive list of possible challenges does

not fully represent the scope of the interviewees’ answers. How the daughter ex-

periences the succession process and what challenges she may face ultimately

depends on her personality, her characteristics, her limitations, her leadership

style, and how she handles setbacks, in the author´s opinion. Indeed, as

McCallum and Piper (2000) have stated, personal emotional intelligence, soft-

skills, self-perception (intra and interpersonal), as well as respecting one´s own

feelings whilst recognizing the feelings of others, will all influence her behaviour as

a leader and her way of leading (McCallum & Piper, 2000, pp.126-127). The emo-

tional intelligence of a female leader is beneficial and, as shown in the research,

challenges may arise for young women today because of a lack of social compe-

tencies. In general, the emotional intelligence of the female successor can also

have an influence on her unique way of leading. Moreover, as Bennis (2009) sug-

gested, the daughter has to have faith in herself, and her leadership qualities will

be examined over time, but what is important for her is to show passion, integrity,

vision, and authenticity (Bennis, 2009, pp.33-34).

In the following list, the theories that have been derived from the four main catego-

ries are outlined:

1. A well thought out road map, which leaves room for flexibility and unpre-

dictable events, is beneficial for the successfulness of the succession pro-

cess, as well as planning the succession process in advance with the help

of external professionals in order to make the company hand-over capable.

Indeed, the female successor has to be involved in the planning process as

well, in order to be able to share her values, ideas, and vision for the future

Data analysis

129

of the family business. Additionally, strategic and structural changes are po-

tentially required depending on the circumstances of the succession and

the new way of leading. Moreover, having a road map for the succession

process ensures that the family business is hand-over capable in advance

of the succession, allowing the challenges for the next generational leader

to be reduced and/or the potential for conflict diminished.

2. The renewal of strategies and structures is needed when the senior family

member of the business has not updated, adapted, or improved out-dated

strategies and/or structures. Further, an innovation backlog can cost the

company’s future successfulness, competitiveness, and sustainability. It is

the female leader’s responsibility during the succession to get the company

back on the right track. Her leadership style has an influence on the overall

company culture and behaviour. Believing in her vision is an essential driv-

ing factor for her and will also likely affect how the employees or stakehold-

ers adapt to the new way of leading. By contrast, if the senior family mem-

ber recognises the importance of continuously adapting strategies and

structures, renewing existing methods can be an advantage, but does not

necessarily have to be done. If the female successor is not involved in deci-

sions that have a significant impact on the future long-term strategy of the

business, this can have a devastating impact. Ultimately, the successor has

to live with decisions that cannot be undone if the senior has made them

without her. Involving the successor from an early stage in the decision pro-

cess is therefore favourable.

3. There are various challenges for a female successor based on the implica-

tions of succession, with assorted characteristics one can imagine. Indeed,

the challenges can be very diverse and include, for instance, earning the

trust and respect of the employees as well as handling generational con-

flicts or disputes with siblings who feel neglected. The way in which the

successor experiences such burdens or challenges depends on her own

human being and character. Every individual, every leader, and every suc-

cessor is different and will therefore experience the challenges implicated

by succession differently. Open communication and reflection on one’s own

Data analysis

130

behaviour can be valuable for the daughter; however, in the end, she has to

find her own unique way of leading and decide how she wants to handle

such challenges. Having a comprehensive network of peers to exchange

thoughts, fears, and concerns can also be beneficial for the successor. Yet,

once again, the female successor has to figure out for herself how she

should best meet the challenges. Moreover, the implications of succession

can also have an impact on the structural and/or strategic requirements; for

example, the new roles, responsibilities, relationships have to be defined

and communicated to the people involved so that they have a clear picture

of the new leader. Difficulties can arise when the senior family member is

not ready to hand over the reins to the female successor, and he does not

want to step back from business operations. Indeed, it is important for the

public, the stakeholders, and the employees to have a clear idea of who

their leader is and who they (must) follow.

4. The fourth theory concerns the female successor herself. Various challeng-

es are defined based on the daughter´s personal limitations, abilities, and

competencies. Every daughter will face different challenges according to

her individual limitations and abilities. Finding her own memorable way of

leading and executing tasks is indispensable for the female successor.

Moreover, having a clear vision of the company, believing in oneself, and

trusting one’s gut instinct are unique characteristics of a business leader.

Social competencies are key to any interaction within the environment of

the company. Within the succession process, the daughter will constantly

face new personal challenges; how she handles those challenges is differ-

ent from the way any other person may handle it. Indeed, the daughter has

to learn how she can truly be herself and how she can be the authentic

leader she wants to be. In this sense, reflecting on one’s own behaviour can

be a good starting point. Finally, having a strong desire to improve and con-

firming it is her deepest wish to overtake the company successfully will

support her on this difficult journey – the succession process.

Conclusion

131

5 Conclusion

The last chapter of the scientific paper is dedicated to the conclusion, which con-

siders the results and findings of the study as well as the outlook for future re-

searchers and the author’s personal recommendations.

5.1 Discuss the research findings

In the following chapter, the research findings will be discussed, and the research

question will also be addressed. Moreover, a list of the analysed potential chal-

lenges a female successor can face will be presented.

5.1.1 Research Question and Findings

In the following paragraph, the research findings will be discussed, and the re-

search question will be addressed.

In the present scientific paper, the author addressed the challenges for female

successors of a family business. Family businesses are the backbone of the Ger-

many economy; in order to ensure the future profitability and sustainability of such

companies and to guarantee this workplace for employees, the successfulness of

the succession is therefore crucial. Succession can be seen as a life-changing

event for the business, as well as for the senior family member and for the daugh-

ter herself. Various challenges can arise because of the hand-over process. In-

deed, these challenges can arise in various different forms and manifestations,

overall the challenges are closely linked to the senior, the involved family mem-

bers, the successor, and the handover capability of the business.

The research questions addressed in this study are:


business today?



Conclusion

132

The first question addresses the challenges female successors face today, espe-

cially female millennials, when taking over a family business in Germany. The var-

ious challenges identified for female successors could not be more different. They

vary from a senior family member “not handing over the reins to the daughter” to

the need to “find one’s own memorable recipe for leadership”, “rivalry among the

siblings”, and “earning the respect of the employees”, to name but a few.

Moreover, the challenges a female successor faces can be categorised into three

main groups: business challenges, such as “insufficient organizational structure”;

family challenges, such “difficulty separating between family and business”; and

personal challenges such as “handling gender stereotypes and discriminations” or

“a lack of social competences”. The various challenges the author has identified

are listed in the figure 6 that follows the next point.

Indeed, the challenges that each individual successor will experience as most cru-

cial or difficult will always depend on her personal character, on the senior family

members’ behaviour within the succession process, and on the company’s hand-

over capability at the outset of the process. Whether or not these three compo-

nents interact successfully will have an influence on the challenges the daughter

faces. Moreover, involving someone external to support the succession process,

who can communicate with and mediate conflict between the two parties from the

two different generations, can be helpful and profitable. Furthermore, preparing a

road map for the succession process in advance is seen as valuable to the whole

process. If the members of a family business involved in the succession process

openly share their personal beliefs, concerns, fears, and possible challenges in

advance, the road map can be developed taking into consideration the various

individuals and can account for different possibilities and compromises. In this

way, the challenges for female successor, as well as the potential intergeneration-

al conflicts because of individual ideologies, can be diminished. In addition, the

successor herself has to be aware of what to expect as the next generational

leader; if she has any self-doubt, she has to figure out how she can eliminate them

or, indeed, if she can. The successor should be seen as central to the succession

Conclusion

133

process, because the success of the succession lies with her abilities, behaviour,

skills, leadership characteristics, self-confidence, and so on. Every future succes-

sor has to be one hundred per cent sure of her choice and taking over the compa-

ny has to be her deepest wish, as her desire will shape her vision and her ability to

lead the company.

In a nutshell, there are various different potential challenges for female successor

in the takeover process today. What these challenges look like and how they will

be interpreted and experienced depends on the successor herself and on the envi-

ronment of the family business.

The second question refers to any strategic and/or structural requirements that a

female successor needs to take into account during the takeover process. Further,

it should be seen as an account of the structural and/or strategic requirements that

may potentially be faced by a female successor, as stated at the very beginning of

this thesis. The study revealed that the strategic and/or structural requirements do

not necessarily depend on the gender, but rather on the circumstances. If existing

structures/strategies have been continuously adapted and improved or become

out-dated, this will influence the requirements the successor has to take. Moreo-

ver, the question of whether it is in the senior family member’s interest to make the

business hand-over capable in advance will also influence the strategic and/or

structural requirements the female successor needs to consider. Furthermore,

preparing in advance a clear road map of what needs to be done in order to be

effective in the succession process will also impact strategic and/or structural re-

quirements: it is key for the senior family member and the daughter to discuss

what needs to be done in order to make the company-handover-capable together,

and to work together on a future business vision that aligns the daughter’s inter-

ests with the business interests. Indeed, gaining the support of either the senior

family member or an external person is valuable for the female successor when

deciding the long-term goals and strategies of the company. Having the senior

family member on her side, and leading in tandem with them for the first one to

two years can be essential for the daughter. Furthermore, the daughter´s individu-

al leadership style will have an influence on the structural realities of the business;

however, her way of leading will not be shaped overnight and this is a long-term

Conclusion

134

learning process. The daughter therefore has to earn the respect and trust of the

employees before they can adapt to new ways of leading and new hierarchical

structures, for example.

In summary, the strategic and/or structural requirements the successor faces are

not as much influenced by gender, as by the up- or out-dated circumstances of the

existing strategies and structures of the family business, which will ultimately be

determining the requirements the daughter has to fulfil. The senior family mem-

ber´s efforts in making the family business hand-over capable in advance, and in

mentoring the daughter in her first years as the head of the company, can also

have a positive impact on the strategic and structural requirements.

5.1.2 List of Potential Challenges for Female Successors

The figure 6 below states all challenges the author found, based on the literature

review and on the interviewees’ answers. The challenges a female successor can

face are divided into three main categories: challenges concerning the business,

the family, and the individual successor herself. The figure can help the successor

before the succession process, in terms of outlining what challenges she can ex-

pect and for example as a result she can identify and examine for herself how she

can prepare for this comprehensive and life-changing event – the succession. In

general, the figure can also used by coaches when sorting out the challenges

most relevant to the family they are coaching, and when deciding which challeng-

es they have to explicitly cover. Moreover, the figure can also be transformed into

a questionnaire to be filled in by both the senior family member and the successor,

allowing them to identify the potential challenges they see as likely to exist. Based

on this exercise, both generations will have a basic understanding of the succes-

sion process and of those factors most relevant to their individual situation. They

may even have the chance to eliminate or mitigate certain potential challenges in

advance, thus allowing the whole succession process to be more smooth, suc-

cessful, and less likely to spark conflict. In addition, which of the listed challenges

the individual successor see as most challenging and crucial depends on the per-

sonal situation and the environment.

Conclusion

135

The author’s personal statement:

I can only speak for myself, and I am grateful that I have now a comprehensive list

of the potential challenges that I may face during the takeover process. Indeed,

upon first looking at the figure, it can be quite shocking and overwhelming to see

the sheer number of possible challenges and to realise that there are likely more

possible challenges out there, depending on the successor’s personal situation

during the succession process. Despite this, I have to be honest about the fact that

being aware of a large number of possible challenges in advance gives me a

sense of security. It also pushes me towards the decision of actually accepting the

succession, because I know that, for myself, none of the listed challenges are in-

surmountable. Of course, the succession process is challenging and highly de-

manding for all involved, but in the end I know that it is the right decision to contin-

ue the family business. Moreover, being aware of and internalising the potential

future challenges encourages me to do everything in my power to diminish and

limit the effect of such challenges before the succession process has even started.

In light of this, from my personal perspective, it is valuable to openly communicate

the personal challenges, fears and aims of all family members involved in the suc-

cession process ahead of time. A platform can thus be established from which the

succession can be launched, with nothing to prevent the successfulness. Although

there may always be some unpredictable events, these are not considered at the

moment. In summary, speaking from my personal perspective, the list of challeng-

es outlined below will not only help me in my succession process but also provide

security for me.

Conclusion

136

Figure 6: Challenges List for Female Successors

Conclusion

137

5.2 Outlook and Future Research

In the following paragraph, the author will state her recommendations for future

research, including which areas are most relevant from her perspective and which

areas need to be analysed in more detail. The outlook is closely connected to the

limitations of the master’s thesis, as the topic of this master’s thesis has been

viewed from a somewhat narrow perspective. While reviewing the literature and

analysing the empirical data, the author´s was drawn to interesting upcoming as-

pects within the framework of the thesis, which could not be addressed here due

to the confined limitations and scope of the present paper. The author’s aim is thus

to encourage and inspire future scholars to conduct further research on this en-

lightening and relevant topic. The possible angles for future research are de-

scribed in the following paragraphs.

5.2.1 The Senior Family Member’s Gender

The empirical research conducted in this master’s thesis focused particularly on a

male senior family member and his relation to his daughter and the challenges and

strategic and/or structural requirements experienced as a result. Further research

needs to be done to consider the impact of a female senior family member hand-

ing over the business to her son or her daughter, when the family business is be-

ing continued by another family member. It could be interesting to determine

whether the gender of the senior family member has an influence on the challeng-

es for the successor or on the strategic and/or structural requirements necessary

for the successor. In Germany, the percentage of female leaders of family busi-

nesses and of women founding their own companies is increasing (BGA, 2015,

p.4-6); therefore, handing over the family business from a female senior family to

her daughter will become increasingly common and relevant in the future. Moreo-

ver, a woman’s leadership behaviour is different to that of a man; indeed, the

company culture is shaped by the leadership approach as well as the structures

and/or strategic requirements. In addition, conflicts between the female senior

family member and the successor may also be influenced by their individual exist-

ing ideologies and those of the diverse generations; therefore, another question for

Conclusion

138

future researchers could be exploring the effect of this on the challenges faced by

successors.

5.2.2 More than one Family is involved in the Succession

As the master’s thesis has primarily focused on one senior family member handing

over their family business to their daughter, further research should be done con-

cerning the challenges that successor(s) face if there is more than one family who

represents the company’s leadership. After all, family businesses currently in the

second generation will soon be handed over to the third generation. The first gen-

eration may have involved a senior family member handing over the business to

his or her three daughters (the second generation). If this was the case, in the

transition from second to third generation, when the three daughters want to retire,

they would then face the challenge of how to conduct the handover process this

time round: each daughter may have children who also want to be part of the firm.

Further research could be conducted into succession processes involving more

than one senior family member and more than one successor.

5.2.3 Cultural Differences of the Succession Process

This scientific paper focused only on family businesses and the succession pro-

cess in Germany. In the future, a cross-cultural comparison of the experiences of

female successors could be interesting. It would be especially interesting to exam-

ine those countries in which women still have a disadvantaged position in the fami-

ly hierarchy compared to men. The challenges that may exist in these specific

countries could vary from those in which gender equality is actively promoted.

From the author’s perspective, future research needs to consider the impact of

such cultural differences on the succession process.

5.3 Personal Recommendations

In the following section, the author will state her personal recommendations for

any future female successor. Indeed, as reiterated throughout this study, every

successor will face different challenges and different strategic and/or structural

Conclusion

139

requirements; however, the points mentioned can be adapted or implemented by

any possible successor. Of course, there are more possible points that could be

raised, but the following aspects are the most relevant ones for the present author.

For this reason, the author will therefore now write in the first person singular.

5.3.1 External Support

From personally conducting the interviews, I have found that opinions on hiring

someone external to support and throw some light on the succession process

could not be more different. From my personal point of view, whether the input of

an external consultant will be viewed positively or negatively depends on how

carefully the family members choose the consultant. For instance, if the consultant

were the same age as my father (the one handing over the business, the senior

family member), it could be that I would feel misunderstood and not taken serious-

ly by both of them. My suggestion would be to hire two external consultants, one

woman and one man, one of whom would be similar in age to the female succes-

sor. This could help ensure that she will be respected, treated professionally, and

understood. In addition, hiring a coach to mediate the succession process and en-

gage the two different generations would encourage them to talk openly and share

their individual thoughts, beliefs, fears, visions, dreams, and desires. Of course,

being unbiased as a coach is key, and this trait is also required by all other exter-

nal supporters. Indeed, both parties, the senior family member and the successor,

have to be on good terms. Moreover, for the daughter, it could be valuable to build

up a network with peers, by either participating in peer group meetings or com-

municating via social media platforms, for example. Fostering relationships with

other female successors who are or have been in the same situation is beneficial:

the daughter can thus acquire first-hand experiences of how people in the same

position have experienced the succession process and can ask for advice or gain

ideas about what may work in her personal circumstances. I would definitely seek

to personally participate in a peer group meeting on a regular basis, in which I

would hope to gain valuable suggestions for my succession process.

Conclusion

140

5.3.2 Road Map

Another point I would like to mention is the importance of having a clear road map

for succession that leaves room for improvement in case of unpredictable factors.

Indeed, the road map should be elaborated before the succession process has

started; this planning process can also be supported by an external professional.

Every family member involved in the succession should be included in the exami-

nation of the road map to ensure everyone knows exactly what happens at each

stage – for example, when the successor will become the sole leader of the com-

pany and when the senior family member will have stepped back completely from

business operations. Moreover, everyone should have clearly defined roles and

responsibilities. Further, it can be beneficial for all the family members involved in

the succession sit round a table to talk about their personal feelings and concerns

related to the succession process: this means no one feels neglected and, even if

someone does feel neglected, sharing and speaking about their personal concerns

can diminish any potential conflicts that may arise because of jealousy. Moreover,

the road map has to build in room for improvement and allow for flexibility depend-

ing on the present reality – something unpredictable can happen when you least

expect it. Therefore, the road map should not be set in stone from the beginning,

but adapted with time. Also, I have to say that having a road map understood and

agreed on by everyone involved can be very valuable for the overall success of

the succession process. Furthermore, it is indispensable to incorporate some room

for improvement, because no one knows what may happen next.

5.3.3 Focus on the Employees

From my perspective, employees may not be directly involved in decisions con-

cerning the succession process, despite the fact that they are the driving force of

the family business. They have to be involved in the succession process as well,

because they have to live with and adapt to all the changes that may take place

due to the succession and the new leader of the family business. In order to help

and support the employees to adapt more efficiently to the changes, and to de-

crease their personal resistance towards changes, several aspects have to be

considered. Open and transparent communication about the succession is key,

Conclusion

141

including what it means for every individual employee on a personal level. Moreo-

ver, the employees have to be convinced that the succession is something positive

and that future success and sustainability depends on the succession. The au-

thenticity of the future leaders thus plays an important and influential role. This

leads me to the second aspect, being a role model for the employees. Indeed, act-

ing and behaving as a role model is necessary for the female successor to get the

people on the right track for the future and also shows that the successor herself

has the ability to be a strong future leader. Leading by example is a good mantra

here. The third point I would like to mention is that conducting workshops uniquely

designed to communicate changes to employees can help them to adapt. The

change workshops can also be held by external professionals who may have a

greater impact on the employees themselves. Indeed, involving and taking care of

every individual in such a crucial situation is important and can help to decrease

the employees’ personal level of resistance towards changes and the succession

itself.

5.3.4 Leader Self-Development

One last point I would like to emphasise to female successors is personal devel-

opment: experiencing what being a leader means for you as an individual can

have an enormous impact on the successfulness of each and every one of you.

Indeed, daughters in family businesses have to figure out for themselves what is

right for them, how they want to live their lives, how they want to measure their

lives, whether or not they truly want to be the next generational leader and step

into the position of head of the family business, and so on. These questions are

addressed to other daughters in order to encourage them think about their lives

and what they really want from it – what do you personally want to achieve in your

life? The daughter aspiring to lead her family’s company must be one 100 % sure

that her life’s vision is compatible with the vision of the family business, otherwise

she may be unhappy and dissatisfied as long as she remains in said position.

Moreover, as I myself have experienced, the ability to lead others is rooted in the

ability to lead oneself. Therefore, the female successor has to be able to lead her-

self before she can lead others and become the leader she truly wants to be. It is

Conclusion

142

important to always be aware of the fact that a good leader is not born overnight;

becoming a leader is a lifelong journey, involving all the decisive events shaping

the daughter’s character. The last thing I would like to mention is that all the wom-

en in the world have the potential to become leaders – how that leadership will be

perceived depends on each individual. Finally, I think that we women have to use

the powerful, unique, and fascinating weapons of womanhood in the right way in

order to be able create great things in the world.

5.4 Beyond the Conclusion: The Author´s Perspective

The last chapter of the master thesis is to be seen as a personal account of the

author´s perspective towards the individual reflection of the studied and re-

searched topic.

As I have stated in the very beginning of the thesis, one of the reasons for choos-

ing the topic was, because within the next ten years I will find myself in the position

of a female successor. Writing the thesis was for me the first interaction I have

extensively had with the topic, I knew that I would love to continue the business

with my siblings but I have not intentionally thought about what possible challeng-

es a female successor might face. Indeed, the master thesis is for me personally

the `foreword´ of my road map – a book for the succession process. Additionally, I

do feel prepared for the succession, and have figured out for myself a way I would

like to go.

Moreover, while conducting all the enormously interesting interviews, I had the

chance to exchange dreams, wishes and anxieties with people who have experi-

enced the situation of being a female successor, which I will face in the future.

Creating a network with those people is exciting on the one hand, but on the other

hand I know that whenever I have a question concerning our succession I can ask

for advice.

Furthermore, within the process of gathering empirical data, despite the fact that I

have interviewed several other experts, I also interviewed my father. For both of us

it was the first official conversation we had about the succession of our family

Conclusion

143

business. I can only speak for myself, but the conversation was a relief and en-

couraging for myself because I felt that for my father, talking about the sensitive

topic was liberating, too. Additionally, before writing my master thesis I often ques-

tioned myself – ‘do I really want to be in the position of the successor?’ and ‘am I

good enough to lead the company?’ The talk was an eye opening experience for

me and I found the answer of the outlined questions: I do want to be the successor

and I am not afraid of proving myself or afraid of failing, and I will always try to be

the best I can. I am very proud to say that I know that I have the unconditional

support of my family and my siblings to become the successor I truly want to be.

Having this in mind, it allowed me to put every negative concerns I have had aside

and be open to an unpredictable future – as a female successor.

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144

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Annex

Annex 1 [Interview Guide German] ................................................................. 162 Annex 2 [Interview Guide English] ................................................................... 167 Annex 3 [Evaluation Question 1] ..................................................................... 172 Annex 4 [Evaluation Question 1 A] .................................................................. 173 Annex 5 [Evaluation Question 6 and 7] ........................................................... 177 Annex 6 [Paraphrased Answers] ..................................................................... 179 Annex 7 [Open Codes Question 2 A and Concepts] ....................................... 185 Annex 8 [Open Codes Question 2 B and Concepts] ....................................... 191 Annex 9 [Open Codes Question 2 C and Concepts] ....................................... 194 Annex 10 [Open Codes Question 2 D and Concepts] ....................................... 197 Annex 11 [Open Codes Question 3 and Concepts| ........................................... 200 Annex 12 [Open Codes Question 4 and Concepts| ........................................... 203 Annex 13 [Open Codes Question 5 and Concepts] ........................................... 206 Annex 14 [Axial Coding for Question 2C and 2D] .............................................. 211 Annex 15 [Axial Coding for Question 3] ............................................................. 212 Annex 16 [Axial Coding for Question 5] ............................................................. 213 Annex 17 [Selective Coding Table] ................................................................... 215 Annex 18 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 1] ............................................. 216 Annex 19 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 2] ............................................. 226 Annex 20 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 3] ............................................. 252 Annex 21 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 4] ............................................. 264 Annex 22 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 5] ............................................. 275 Annex 23 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 6] ............................................. 285 Annex 24 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 7] ............................................. 293 Annex 25 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 8] ............................................. 300

ANNEX

162

Annex 1 [Interview Guide German]

ANNEX

163

Fragen�zu�den�Herausforderungen�einer�Nachfolge:��

2) Was�waren/�sind�Ihre�größten�Herausforderungen�in�dem�Nachfolgeprozess?��

a. In�Bezug�auf�die�folgenden�drei�Faktoren:�Unternehmens�Aspekt�/�Familien�Aspekt�/�persönlicher�Aspekt-�können�Sie�bitte�für�jeden�Aspekt�3-4�Haupt�Herausforderungen�nennen�die�Sie�persönlich�am�schwierigsten�empfunden�haben/�empfinden?��

��

b. Wenn�Sie�die�eine�große�Herausforderungen´�nennen�müssten�mit�der�Sie�zu�kämpfen�hatten,�was�wäre�diese?��

��

c. Wie�haben�Sie�die�Schwierigkeit(en)�überwunden?��

d. Welche�Vorkehrungen�hätten�im�Voraus�getroffen�werden�können,�um�die�Herausforderungen�zu�minimieren?��

��

ANNEX

164

��

3) Betrachtet�man�die�Generation�Y,�auch�Millenials�oder�Digital-Natives�genannt,�genauer-�Wo�würden�Sie�deren�Herausforderungen�sehen?��Millenials�werden�oft�Charakterisiert�als:�ehrgeizig,�sehr�gebildet,�Verfechter�einer�ausgeglichene�Work-Life�Balance,�wollen�ihr�eigener�Boss�sein,�Entrepreneurial�Spirit,�sind�gewillt�Verantwortung�zu�übernehmen,�unabhängig,�lieben�offene�und�ehrliche�Kommunikation,�tragen�aktiv�zum�Geschehen�bei,�Team-player.�

��

4) Hat�Ihrer�Meinung�nach�ein�weiblicher�Nachfolger�unterschiedliche�Herausforderungen�als�ein�männlicher�Nachfolger?��

��

ANNEX

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Strukturelle�und/oder�Strategische�Bedingungen:��

5) Sollten�strukturelle�und/oder�strategische�Bedingungen�im�Prozess�der�weiblichen�Unternehmensübergabe�beachtet�werden;�welche�wären�diese?�

�(Beispiele:�Änderungen�in�der�Hierarchieebene,�Senior�ist�nicht�mehr�involviert�in�das�Daily�Business,�Rechtliche�Aspekte,�Änderungen�an�der�gesamten�Unternehmensstrategie,�umfangreiche�strategische�Planung�zur�Vorbereitung�der�Mitarbeiter�auf�den�Nachfolgeprozess)��

a. Strukturelle?��

b. Strategische?��

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Schluss:��

6) Haben�Sie�einen�persönlichen�Tipp�oder�Rat�den�Sie�gerne�einer�weiblichen�Nachfolgerin�mit�auf�den�Weg�geben�würden?��

��

7) Haben�Sie�noch�einen�abschließenden�Gedanken?��VIELEN�HERZLICHEN�DANK�FÜR�IHRE�HILFE�!!!:)��

ANNEX

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Annex 2 [Interview Guide English]

ANNEX

168

Questions�focuses�on�the�Challenges:��

2) What�were/are�the�major�challenges�for�you�in�the�succession�process?��

a. Regarding�the�three�following�factors:�Business�aspects�/�family�aspects/�personal�aspect�–�can�you�please�name�3-4�major�challenges�you�have�considered�as�most�important?��

��

b. What�was/is�your�personal�“core”�challenge�you�had/have�to�deal�with?��

c. How�did�you�overcome�the�challenges?��

d. What�could�have�been�done�in�advance�to�minimize�the�challenges?��

ANNEX

169

�3) Having�a�closer�look�at�the�Millennial�Generation�(also�known�as�Gen�Y�and�Digital�

natives)�characterized�as�ambitious,�very�well�educated,�team-players,�fair�work-life�balance,�career�focused,�want�to�be�their�own�boss,�entrepreneurial�spirit,�willing�to�take�responsibility,�independent,�aiming�for�transparency�and�actively�contribute.��Where�do�you�see�their�challenges?��

��

4) Would�you�say�a�female�successor�has�different�challenges�then�a�man?�Describe�your�point�of�view.�

��

ANNEX

170

Structural�and/or�strategical�requirements:��

5) Are�there�any�structural�and/�or�strategical�requirements�necessary�to�be�considered�by�a�female�successor�within�the�overtaking�process?�Could�you�name�them�please?��(for�example:�hierarchy�changing�requirements,�dad�is�not�involved�any�more�in�decisions�of�the�daily�business,�change�overall�strategy�of�the�organization�–�mission-�vision-purpose�of�the�company,�legal�aspects,�employees�need�to�be�properly�prepared�etc.)��

a. Structural?��

b. Strategical?��

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Ending:��

6) Do�you�have�an�advice�for�any�female�successor?��

7) Is�there�anything�you�would�like�to�add?��THANK�YOU�VERY�MUCH�INDEED�!!!:)��

ANNEX

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Annex 3 [Evaluation Question 1]

ANNEX

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Annex 4 [Evaluation Question 1 A]

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Annex 5 [Evaluation Question 6 and 7]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Annex 6 [Paraphrased Answers]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

181

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Annex 7 [Open Codes Question 2 A and Concepts]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

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ANNEX

189

Business aspect – Open Code

Family Aspect Open Code

Personal Aspect Open Code

gain, earn the employees respect

difficult to separate be-tween family and business

find role between daugh-ter, sister, CEO

keep a face of the head of the company that is known by the public

difficult to separate be-tween mum, father and daughter, and co-worker

don´t get to emotionally involved

conversion and change due to succession pro-cess within the company

call your parents with the first name in front of an employee

to make crucial decisions

make sure in advance that the company is hando-ver-capable

taken seriously by the senior and not handled with kid gloves

to make a cancelation and have critique discussions with the employees

succession where more than one sibling is in-volved

discuss crucial issues first internally

to figure out for oneself how much do I want to be involved in the company

feasibility of the genera-tional change

open communication among the generations

to figure out for oneself how much time do I want to invest in the firm

Employees, stakeholders and seniors acceptance or agreement of the re-newals and new impuls-es of the successor

support of all family mem-bers, does someone feel neglected which may cause conflicts

is the successor self-confident enough and believes in her personal growth due to the suc-cession

change the company cul-ture based on the new way of leading, will it be accepted

integrate the daughter´s own new family into the family business

figure out for oneself if the succession is my deepest wish

get the specific knowledge about the market, the industry, the branch, the company itself

new relationship with the father

combine being a mother and the leader of the company

be respected and appreciated by the em-ployees

time and space for the family

will the culture that comes with the new leader accepted by the employees

to leave your personal marks

to find the time for togeth-erness with your partner

find the own receipt of leading

what does the succession process mean, no one feels neglected

don´t lose yourself as a person

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Colour Concept or Subcategory 1 New relationships and roles between the daughter and the family(s) 2 To find the time for togetherness with your loved ones 3 By a succession with more than one sibling, no one feels neglected 4 Earn the respect, trust, and appreciation by the employees and the

senior 5 Acceptance of the cultural change, and new impulses that derives

with the new way of leading 6 Make critical decisions – discussed first internally 7 figure out, is the succession my deepest wish and do I want to live

for that 8 Is the company handover-capable 9 Find our own memorisable way of leading 10 Don´t lose yourself 11 Open communication among generations 12 Get market, industry, branch, company specific knowledge 13 Keep the face of the head of the company known to the public 14 Self-confidence of the successor, believing in oneself 15 Keep emotional distance

16 Difficult to separate between family and business

ANNEX

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Annex 8 [Open Codes Question 2 B and Concepts]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

193

Number of concept the code be-longs to

Open codes

11 not being seen as a child anymore 1 let yourself make a mistake and accept failure 2 to know how to work with, handle and communicate with people

correctly 2 communicate clear messages 4 succession where more than one sibling is involved 3 earn the respect and trust of the employees 11 to hand over the reins 10 decide when does the company belongs to the senior and when to

the daughter 9 to adapt the family relation 5 to stand by yourself, and to believe in yourself and follow your

heart 5 rely on your gut feeling and make gut decisions 8 hiring someone to support or help is not always positive 3 earn the respect and trust of all the stakeholders 7 become the new face of the company and being seen as the new

leader 6 being able to go her own way

Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 let yourself make a mistake and accept failure 2 Working with people and clearly communicate messages 3 Earn the respect and trust of the employees and stakeholders 4 succession where more than one sibling is involved 5 Rely on your gut feeling, stand by yourself, believe in yourself and fol-

low your heart 6 being able to go her own way 7 become the new face of the company and being seen as the new leader 8 hiring someone to support or help is not always positive 9 To adapt the family relation 10 decide when does the company belongs to the senior and when to the

daughter 11 Hand over the reins and not being seen as the child anymore

ANNEX

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Annex 9 [Open Codes Question 2 C and Concepts]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Open codes

1 communication 8 to educate yourself about the problems 8 learning by doing 7 solidarity and coherence among the family, leading sisters 2 networking with peers 6 design a family constitution 1 communication between the generations 2 support from an external coach 1 reflecting on the own and the others behaviour in the succession

process to understand each other better 2 external professional support 11 new ground rules of a value system 4 figure out in advance what needs to be done in order to make the

company handover-capable 3 having a road map is good but there need to be space for im-

provements, flexibility towards the reality and other unpredicted influenced

10 cancel the contract with those people who cause conflicts 5 the successor has to make her own experiences externally before

the succession and also won her own successes 9 the successor has to have relatively fast her own areas of respon-

sibility

Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 Communication and reflect on the others behaviour in order to under-

stand them 2 External professional support, networking with peers 3 Having a road map for the succession, with space for improvements 4 Make the company handover-capable 5 Successor hast to make her own experiences externally first 6 Design family constitution 7 solidarity and coherence among the family, leading sisters 8 Learning by doing, educate yourself 9 Successor has to get her own responsibility areas 10 Cancel contracts with people that cause conflicts 11 Set new ground rules of a value system

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Annex 10 [Open Codes Question 2 D and Concepts]

ANNEX

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Open Codes

3 build up a network with peers

6 education that fits the business 7 advantage to be thrown into the deep end 1 keep your private lives´ stories 1 keep the distance with employees 6 to be diverse in your knowledge 4 design a family constitution 2 to have a road map for the succession, which leaves room for

adaptions and is flexible towards the reality 2 agreed road map by the senior, will help him to hand over the reins 2 clear structured and external moderated hand-over process 5 know the person you are hiring inside and outside 2 succession process planning in advance with all the involved peo-

ple, share their opinion 2 everyone involved state how they would elaborate the succession

process

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Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 Keep your private life and distance with the employees 2 Having a plan for the succession in advance, leaves room for adaption

and flexibility, include all the opinions of everyone involved – moderat-ed succession process will be easier (easier to hand over the reins)

3 build up a network with peers 4 design a family constitution 5 know the person you are hiring inside and outside 6 Have an education that fits the purpose of the business but be diverse

as possible in the knowledge 7 advantage to be thrown into the deep end

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Annex 11 [Open Codes Question 3 and Concepts|

ANNEX

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ANNEX

202


Open Codes

6 less hard working then previous generations 9 want to contribute 6 aiming for high living standard, preferably with less effort 1 afraid of failure 2 want to know the purpose - why doing that 1 cannot relax 1 accept and allow to not be perfect 10 to be diverse in your knowledge 4 adapt communication style to various circumstances 3 to be a team player 6 to not only focus on work-life balance, diligence and presence is still

key 2 everything has to make sense for them 8 different in their way of working and leading 5 find a common ground for the different generations 5 find acceptance among the different ideologies of the generations 7 the willingness to take responsibility decrease - don´ want to take

responsibility and be their own boss 6 less career focused and oriented then others 8 company culture will change because millennials are less perfor-

mance oriented and are not defining themselves over their work 3 lose social competencies, empathy, compassion, soft skills that are

necessary for a leader 4 communicating with other people

Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 to accept not being perfect and allow failures and relax 2 Want to knot the purpose and the sense of their work 3 lose social competencies, empathy, compassion, soft skills that are

necessary for a leader and a team player 4 Adapt communication according to various people and circumstances 5 find acceptance among and common ground of the different ideologies

of the generations

6 Less career focused, put less effort and diligence and presence is not in the focus, rather focus more on work-life balance

7 the willingness to take responsibility decrease - don´ want to take re-sponsibility and be their own boss

8 Different in their way of leading, company culture will change because of their behaviour

9 want to contribute 10 to be diverse in your knowledge

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Annex 12 [Open Codes Question 4 and Concepts|

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Open Codes

4 depend on the handing over generations attitude 5 abilities of a successor are the essential aspect for choosing a suc-

cessor 1 family planning easier for a man 3 women have to do and prove themselves more to be respected 4 older generation prefers men 1 how to handle children as a woman 1 combine being a mother and the leader of the company 6 have to believe more in themselves 2 still existing stereotypes of female leaders 1 combine being a mother and the head of the company 1 are burdened due to their various roles 6 underestimated female leader, can come up with something com-

pletely new 4 is will make a difference whether the senior is a man or a woman or

whether the successor is a man or a woman, and also it is different in the various industries

6 society has to believe more in and trust more women, and also they have to be more confident and believe in themselves

3 woman has to perform better, has to be more competent and know-how, and be more authentic then a man before she will be accept-ed by a male person

2 woman has to be aware of the prejudices and also has to learn how to deal with that

Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 Combining being a mother and the leader of the company is difficult,

women are burdened due to their various roles 2 Women has to learn how to deal with stereotypes and be aware preju-

dices 3 woman has to perform better, has to be more competent and know-

how, and be more authentic then a man before she will respected 4 make a difference whether the senior is a man or a woman or whether

the successor is a man or a woman, and on the handing over genera-tions´ attitude

5 abilities of a successor are the essential aspect for choosing a succes-sor not the gender

6 society has to believe more in and trust more women, and also they have to be more confident and believe in themselves, they will come up with something considerable

ANNEX

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Annex 13 [Open Codes Question 5 and Concepts]

ANNEX

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ANNEX

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Open Codes

8 gender neutrality towards structural or strategic requirements 7 hierarchy structure changes 1 senior is not involved in the daily business anymore; he has its

projects 5 structure and strategy is well working, no need for change

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9 legal requirements have to be adapted to the situation 1 senior has to pull back step by step from operative business 2 adapt the structure publicly announce the new leaders of the firm 2 adapt to structures to new roles and responsibilities 11 strategically worked out 5 year succession plan 12 figure out how to combine being a mother and a leader 3 position of the successor in the company, sole-leader 11 family constitution provides a structure of the succession 4 female successor or siblings has/have to figure out how she/they

want to lead the company 15 senior and successor develop the company strategy together fur-

ther 7 change in hierarchy structures due to the leadership style of the

successor 6 out-dated structures and strategies need to be renewed 5 those companies who have been up to date and innovative in the

past with their structures and strategies, don´t have necessarily have to change

6 bring a fresh perspective to the company, innovation backlog, room for improvements

6 the succession process is a chance for the company to renew the strategies and structures and make them future oriented and sus-tainable

7 different way of leading has to be accepted by the employees 7 company culture changes slowly 1 hand over the main tasks step by step 11 clear understanding of the succession processe how it will be

elaborated (senior and daughter) 13 earn the respect and trust from the employees via a small project 15 the female successor has to be involved from the beginning on in

the process and she can share her own vision where she want to go

16 no strategic breaks, strategies need to be continuously adapted 14 make sure that the company is handover-capable, do everything in

advance that is necessary

Number Concepts / Subcategories 1 Senior has to pull back step by step from business operations and hand

over the tasks, in the future he will have its projects 2 Adapt the structure towards the new roles and responsibilities 3 position of the successor in the company, sole-leader 4 female successor or siblings has/have to figure out how she/they want

to lead the company 5 those companies who have been up to date and innovative in the past

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210

with their structures and strategies, don´t have necessarily have to change

6 The chance for out-dated structures and strategies is due to the suc-cession, to be renewed, be improved, make them future-oriented and sustainable, decrease innovation backlog

7 Hierarchy structure changes, and company culture changes slowly due to a different style of leading from the daughter and it hast to be ac-cepted by the employees

8 gender neutrality towards structural or strategic requirements 9 legal requirements have to be adapted to the situation 10 publicly announce the new leaders of the firm 11 strategically worked out 5 year succession plan and/or family constitu-

tion so everyone has a clear understanding how it will be elaborated 12 figure out how to combine being a mother and a leader 13 earn the respect and trust from the employees via a small project 14 make sure that the company is handover-capable, do everything in ad-

vance that is necessary 15 the female successor has to be involved from the beginning on in the

process and she can share her own vision where she wants to go, and develop the strategy further with the senior

16 no strategic breaks, strategies need to be continuously adapted

ANNEX

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Annex 14 [Axial Coding for Question 2C and 2D]


1 External Support

o External professional support, networking with peers (Q 2C, 2)

o Build up a network with peers (Q 2D, 3) 2 Road map

for the suc-

cession, what need to

be done in advance

o Having a road map for the succession, with space for improvements (Q 2C, 3)

o Make the company handover-capable (Q 2C, 4)

o Design a family constitution (Q 2C, 6); (Q 2D, 4)

o Solidarity and coherence among the family, leading sisters (Q 2C, 7)

o Successor has to get her own responsibility ar-eas (Q 2C, 9)

o Cancel contracts with people that that causes conflicts (Q 2C, 10)

o Set new ground rules of a value system (Q 2C, 11)

o Having a plan for the succession in advance, leaves room for adaption and flexibility, include all the opinions of everyone involved – moder-ated succession process will be easier (easier to hand over the rains) (Q 2D, 2)

o Know the person you are hiring inside and out-side (Q 2D, 5)

3 Education o Successor has to make her own experiences externally first (Q 2C, 5)

o Learning by doing, educate yourself (Q 2C, 8) o Have an education that fits the purpose of the

business but be diverse as possible in the knowledge (Q 2D, 6)

o Advantage to be thrown into the deep end (Q 2D, 7)

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Annex 15 [Axial Coding for Question 3]


1 (Social) Competencies

o Lose social competencies, empathy, compas-sion, soft skills that are necessary for a leader and a team player (Q 3, 3)

o Adapt communication according to various people and circumstances (Q 3, 4)

o To be diverse in your knowledge (Q 3, 10) 2 Leading Be-

haviour

o Different in their way of leading, company cul-ture will change because of their behaviour (Q 3, 8)

o The willingness to take responsibility de-creases – don’t want to takes responsibility and be their own boss (Q 3, 7)

o Want to contribute a lot (Q 3, 9) 3 Generational

conflict

o Find acceptance among and common ground for the different ideologies of the generation (Q 3, 5)

o Less career focused, put less effort and dili-gence or presences is not in the focus, rather focus more on work-life balance (Q 3, 6)

4 Limits and

characteristics of millennials

o To accept not being perfect and allow failures and relax (Q 3, 1)

o Want to know he purpose and sense of their work (Q 3, 1)

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Annex 16 [Axial Coding for Question 5]


1 Out-dated structures

and strate-

gies renewed

o The chance for out-dated structures and strat-egies is due to the succession, to be renewed, be improved, make them future-oriented and sustainable, decrease innovation backlog (Q 5, 6)

o Legal requirements have to be adapted to the situation (Q 5, 9)

2 No strategic and structur-

al renewals due to con-

stant adap-tions

o those companies who have been up to date and innovative in the past with their structures and strategies, don´t have necessarily have to change (Q 5, 5)

o no strategic breaks, strategies need to be con-tinuously adapted (Q 5, 16)

3 Plan succes-

sion process

in advance

o strategically worked out 5 year succession plan and/or family constitution so everyone has a clear understanding how it will be elabo-rated (Q 5, 11)

o figure out how to combine being a mother and a leader (Q 5, 12)

o earn the respect and trust from the employees via a small project (Q 5, 13)

o make sure that the company is handover-capable, do everything in advance that is nec-essary (Q 5, 14)

4 New roles and respon-

sibility defini-

tions

o Senior has to pull back step by step from busi-ness operations and hand over the tasks, in the future he will have its projects (Q 5, 1)

o adapt the structures towards the new roles and responsibilities (Q 5, 2)

o position of the successor in the company, sole-leader (Q 5, 3)

o publicly announce the new leaders of the firm (Q 5, 10)

5 Adaption to-

wards new

o female successor or siblings has/have to fig-ure out how she/they want to lead the compa-ny (Q 5, 4)

o Hierarchy structure changes, and company

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female leader culture changes slowly due to a different style of leading from the daughter and it hast to be accepted by the employees (Q 5, 7)

o the female successor has to be involved from the beginning on in the process and she can share her own vision where she wants to go, and develop the strategy further with the sen-ior (Q 5, 15)

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Annex 17 [Selective Coding Table]

Number Core category overall topic it be-longs to

Category it consists of

1 Road map and planning in ad-vance

Challenges and


requirements

- Planning succession in advance (Q2A, B, 4, no. 4)

- External support (Q2C, D, no.1)

- Road map for succes-sion planned in advance (Q2C, D, no.2)

- Planning succession in advance (Q5, no. 3).

2 Adapting strate-gic/structural re-quirements to cir-cumstances

Strategic/structural

requirements

- Out-dated structures and strategies renewed (Q5, no.1).

- No strategic and struc-tural renewals due to constant adaptions (Q5, no.2).

- Adapting to a new fe-male leader (Q5, no.5).

3 Implications of succession

Challenges and


requirements

- Earning respect and trust (Q2A, B, 4, no.2)

- Adapting relationships and roles (Q2A, B, 4, no.3)

- Defining new roles and responsibilities (Q5, no.4)

- Generational conflict (Q3, no.3)

4 The daughter framework

Challenges - Clear communication (Q2A, B, no.1)

- Daughter´s limitations, abilities, carefulness (Q2A, B, no.5)

- Education (Q2C, D, no.3) - (Social) Competencies

(Q3, no.1) - Leading Behaviour (Q3,

no.2) - Limits characterising mil-

lennials (Q3, no.4)

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Annex 18 [Transcribed Interview – Interviewee 1]

Theresa = Interviewer

Laura = Interviewee

T: Thank you very much for having this interview with me.

L: You are very welcome.

QUESTION 1:

T: I would like to ask you some question regarding my master’s thesis, the topic is

“Challenges for female successors of a family business”. So we …. So I would like

to start with some personal questions, if that is ok for you, which position do you

have in a succession process?

L: OK, I just start by describing our company, if you don’t mind, it’s a family busi-

ness since more than 20 years, my parents start working … opening the cinema in

1970 so a long time ago. I was born in ´86, and we grew up in the cinema actually.

So we were always part of the company, - as a child always. So now in the suc-

cession process we still in the middle of it. Three years ago – well I started here

nine years ago just as a normal employee, and then I got more and more work,

more things, more involved and it was an individual enterprise (einzelunteren-

hmen) so I wasn´t able to join the company so we changed it and to a GmbH and

co Kg.

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T: so you changed the legal form.

L: yeah, we changed the legal form, so since now three years I am CEO together

with my father.

T: So, together with your father.

L: yes not alone.

T: Not yet, or?

L: Not yet. Well I don’t know – we will see someday. We don’t have a date for that.

QUESTION 1 A

T: and how have you personally experienced the succession process?

L: It was actually quite smooth. We had our problems obviously everyone has that.

But it works now. Well we didn’t need a coach or anything.

T: so it was quite fine.

L: yes it was quite fine. We had our difficulties and fights we had everything. And I

have never intended to work at the company. So that just happened. Now it is fine,

I cannot image doing anything else.

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218

T: so You are happy with the situation right now.

L: yeah, I am happy.

QUESTION 2A:

T: it is very good. OK. Coming now to the question which focuses especially on the

challenges you had or maybe you may have during the succession process. So

what were / are your major challenges for you in the succession process? I divided

the challenges in business aspect, family aspect and personal aspects and maybe

you can name 3 to 4 for each aspect?

L: Ah ok,.

T: I mean if you have more or less, everything is fine.

L: ok, ok. Regarding the business aspect. I think the most difficult thing was to gain

the respect from our employees, who worked at the company for more than 20, 30

year and who knew me as a child - as the childe – I was playing in the office with

my sister, it was like a huge playground the cinema for us and our friends, and so

after I started to work here, first as a normal employee, that was fine, but than get-

ting more and more responsibilities and more to say. I had to tell them how to do

things, that could be difficult sometimes. And … But it is very familiar business and

long term employees, so it worked out and it is fine now. So for me it was like the

biggest challenge regarding business aspects. Regarding family aspect, it is of

course difficult sometimes to separate between family and work and ;mum and

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father and not really boss but like fellow collea gue. And it is also hard some times

for my parents to accept that I am still learning , that I don’t have the experience

they have obviously and but it works. Yeah, I have my work and my father gives

me some special responsibilities /tasks and then I do them and if I have questions

I can ask him. And I intend to not call them mum and father, in front of the employ-

ees I call them not mum and father. But when I talk about them its always Claudia

or Wolfram, not my mother or my father. So it is not so personal in front of the em-

ployee, of course they know, but I try to separate it.

T: yeah, that is very good. And would you say that you have a clearly defined role

in the enterpriese?

L: Yes.

T: ok.

L: Yes I have, but in many things you know its like a … (Guesture with the hand

which shoes mixing) we cannot separate like this, this and this (…) it is a mixture

sometimes. Yeah, and personal aspects, yeah to find the role between daughter

and CEO and sister, because I have a sister but she is not here she lives in Mexi-

co.

T: ah ok, and she does not want to (In thoughts: overtake the business)

L: No. its fine. And it is a personal thing is to not get emotionally involved in busi-

ness aspects. So that you can clearly divide family and business. Which is not al-

ways possible of course and the company is always there you always talk about

the company. And you have to know I am always traveling with my parents - and

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my family and my sister a lot, so its always there. It is ok I grew up like this and so

for me it is normal.

QUESTION 2B:

T: Yeah that is true. So your major challenge, could you describe it in one sen-

tence. Or was that the business aspect?

L: No. I thing its not really being seen as a child anymore. And growing up here,

not always learning and not always knowing, having to ask sometimes employees,

who have difficulties accepting you. But on the other hand they know more about

the company as I did because they work here longer and I can not read minds un-

fortunately.

QUESTION 2C:

T: And how did you overcome the challenge, what were your approach or what

have you done?

L: yeah, I sorted it out with myself a lot, I read some books about succession of a

family business, I talked a lot to my parents of course – well I guess talking and

communication is really essential.

QUESTION 2D:

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221

T: yeah this is true, and what could you have been done in advance to minimize

the challenges?

L: Nothing, in my case at least. I thing if you take over a company, that is not the

family business, or if you say ok at some point I would like to take it; but as it was

a process and I didn’t intend to do It – it just happened, It was nothing I could have

done. I Think if you know ok in 2020 I am going to take over the company, then

you can prepare for it. But I couldn’t, but ok well I read some books and I talked – I

have friends who are in the same situation, and it didn’t worked so good.

T: ok, but at least it worked for you. Would you say it was a threat or disadvantage

for you that you haven’t had one point so it was more like a smooth process?

L: No I thing that was good. I don’t want to not being able to ask my parents

T: so you like it actually that you can work together with your parents and learn

from them?

L: yeah, definitely. As they have founded the company – it is their baby. It is like

their third child. And they cannot stop working today, not yet, someday maybe but

not right now.

T: yeah, but not right now.

L: no not right now.

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222

QUESTION 3:

T: OK, so having a closer look at the Millenial Generation, also known as Gen Y

and Digital natives characterised by the following: they are very ambitious, very

well educated, team-players, fair work-life balance they would like to have, they

are very career focused and they want to be their own boss, they have very entre-

preneurial spirit and they are willing to take responsibilities, further they are very

independent and aiming for transparency and wanna actively contribute in their

surrounding . Where do you see their challenges?

L: Well, its my generation, so I have the feeling that they sometimes, that they are

not so hard working as our parents were. We have a friend, she is 31 as I am, and

she is always like ughh so much work and she wants to reduce from 40 to 36

hours a week and bla bla. And I am like ok I am working up to 50 hours, depend-

ing. But yeah still, they want to have their certain living standards they are used to

and to there is no balance between. There is an expectation of a high living stand-

ards, but not wanting to work so much. On the other hand what I have noticed

here in our company is that people want to contribute a lot and they ... it is much

easier form them because of the internet they can have information so easily, I

don’t know if you are an employee and you want to know your rights you just

google them and then you write letter, it is just so easy. However, according to

studies that is what I hear, that people don’t want to found businesses anymore,

because they are afraid of failing, well it is at least not very well accepted in the

Germany society, I think. Which I think is a mistake, because you can’t know any-

thing. Yeah that is what I think. Ehm challenges, yeah well, for me as like a CEO

or a boss its you have to more informed you have to talk more to the people – I

think there is more need in communication. You cant always have the typical hier-

archy “I say – You Do”, because they say `why should I do it and for what do I do

it´. So they really want to knot the purpose of the work, maybe not as a student

when you sell popcorn and coke at the concession bar but as full time employee

they want to have a meaning behind their work. I think that is a challenge.

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QUESTION 4:

T: so yeah it is quite interesting, yes. And would you say that a female successor

has different challenges then a man does? If you have any ideas.

L: well I don’t know. I am not a man. I don’t know any male successor – so I don’t

know. But I read a book and in the book it said that still many owners who are like

between 60-75 still prefer male successor, because I think it is still a generation

thing. So I think it is probably easier, not in our company –because my father

doesn’t care for him counts the abilities you have so if I am good or not good and if

I am not good he tells me. And then I can work on myself and change it but I think

in general it is easier for men. Additionally with family planning etc.

T: sure that may be a little bit difficult for women.

L: yeah but I don’t think, ehm, in politics they are discussing the women quote and

I think it is stupid because – well honestly why should I employee a woman instead

of a man if the man knows more than the woman. Just because I have two higher

woman, that’s stupid –sorry. I think the qualification does not depend on the sex

but on the qualifications.

QUESTION 5:

T: yeah, that is good. Concerning the structural and strategic requirements what

may be necessary for a succession process. I would like to ask you the following

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224

question: Are there any structural or strategic requirements necessary to be con-

sidered by a female successor within the takeover process?

L: well I think this question is independent of the sex, so it doesn’t matter if you are

male or female, the only thing maybe regarding structural issue that as woman do

have children not me, maybe that a woman succeeds (in succession) in a compa-

ny she is more willingly to found like a kindergarden or someone where they can

take care of the children. Even for employees who work there, that is one point, I

don’t know – we don’t have it here. Not yet. But of course hierarchy changes, be-

cause now in my case there are two people, or three because my mum is also

there, she is not officially CEO but its just on paper and in real life its different. My

father is involved not really in the daily business anymore, he does.. he likes to

have its porjects; renovating things, new technology whatever – so he is also very

modern. And, but, I am not trying to change the structure of the company or the

strategic because it is working and it is very well working. And in cinema it chang-

es quite fast, with all the threats from outside like netfilx, like having to pay I don’t

now 13 to watch a movie and on Netflix you watch it on your TV for 10€ a month.

But still I think at cinema you have to … you shouldn’t loose … I don’t know how to

say it … well you always have to keep track with the modern technology and al-

ways have to renew things and have to over thing things, so it is a process that is

always there. Of course legal aspects have to be changed, in our case; if you are

already a GmbH & co Kg. which is really German I think then you just can buy

yourself in but if you are like a individual enterprise you cant do this you have to

change all the legal things. And yeah that is it I thing.

QUESTION 6:

T: yeah very good. Thank you very much. OK, so now we are at the very end of

our interview guide. Do you have any advice for any female successor?

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225

L: Well I think the most important thing, as I said before is to talk to each other and

you clearly say what you are thinking, what you are expecting even sharing your

fears and the parents should do the same thing, or the owner if its not the parents.

Ehm, and also the expectations form the owner he should communicate them. Be-

cause if not there may be difficulties.

QUESTION 7

T: yeah, that is true, and do you have anything left to say?

L: No.

T: No?

L: NO -

T: ok, so then thank you very much for this interview.

L: you are very welcome.

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226


Interviewer = Theresa

Interviewees = Catalina (2A) & Lisana (2B)

QUESTION 1:

T: Vielen Dank dass Ihr euch Zeit nehmt für diesen Fragebogen und zwar geht es

um meine Masterarbeit und das Thema meiner Masterarbeit sind ebene die „chal-

langes of a female successor of a family business“ und ich würde euch dazu ein-

fach ein paar Fragen stellen. Der Fragebogen besteht aus 5 Hauptfragen und

genau, dann legen wir einfach mal los. Erste einmal geht es um die individuellen

Fragen also welche Position habt ihr denn in dem Nachfolge Prozess.

2A: wir haben jetzt einmalstichpunkte gemacht, also unsere Position ist gerade

Geschäftsleitung, noch nicht sie Geschäftsleitung, also da sind wir immer noch in

diesen Nachfolgeprozess drinnen. Geschäftsführung ist immer noch unser Vater.

2B: also die Geschäftsleitung ist circa seit einem Jahr ungefähr.

2A: die Geschäftsleitung ist so ein Mittel ding, sie muss nicht im Handelsregister

eingetragen werden aber wir haben einfach die Außenwirkung dass wir zur Ges-

chäftsführung mit dazu gehören. Genau dass wir einfach auch die Anerkennung

von den Mitarbeitern haben, dass die wissen jetzt wird es ernst.

T:Und ihr beide teilt es dann, ihr beide teilt es euch sozusagen.

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2B: ja genau, meine Schwester ist eher für die Werksleitung und alles was hier so

im Haus passiert zuständig und ich bin für die Außenwirkung zuständig, Marketing

und Vertrieb, usw.

2A: ja genau da haben wir uns dass dann so ganz gut Aufgeteilt – Vertrieb / Mar-

keting – ich mach Werk, also Produktion, Lager und halt Buchhaltung und Person-

al.

2B: da kommen wir uns dann nicht in die quere.

T: das ist ja dann super.

2A: ja das hat sich dann einfach so gefunden, wir haben beide in der Produktion

angefangen standen am Band und haben Senfgläser abgefüllt um einfach mal hier

in die Firma reinzukommen und das hat sich dann einfach so entwickelt jeder hat

seine Position gefunden. Es war nicht geplant würd ich sagen.

2B: es war auch wichtig, weil jeder seine Stärken quasi – das entwickelt sich ja

dann in was jeder gut ist. Genau da hat sich jeder dann so gefunden. Ja das ist

unsere Position so Momentan.

QUESTION 1A:

T: sehr gut dankeschön, und wie habt Ihr den Nachfolgeprozess bis jetzt so

erlebt?

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228

2B: eher chaotisch.

2A: ja.

2B: also es ist jetzt nichts großartig geplant fatherurch dass mein Vater bisschen

so ein Einzelkämpfer ist, also er hat, seit schon immer war er Selbstständig. Seit

dem er 19 ist ist er selbstständig und hat immer irgendwie etwas gemacht, er hatte

eine jeansladen, der hatte ein Tonstudio, der hat Häuser gebaut und der war im-

mer alleine. Und dann jetzt auch die Firma, seit 5-6 jahren da waren es dann noch

4 Leute ... vor 8 Jahren glaub ich waren es noch 4 Leute und dann ist es immer

stück für stück (wachsende Handbewegung), und dann vor 5 Jahren ist es dann

so explodiert, dann sind wir dazugekommen, da ist zum ersten mal Marketing und

Vertrieb dazugekommen. Weil wir nicht unter der eigenen Marke verkauft haben,

sondern wir hatten einen Handelspartner und deswegen brauchten wir kein Mar-

keting und Vertrieb. Und es ist einfach gewachsen und mein Vater hat eigentlich

die ganze Firma in seinem Kopf, Bestellungen, Preise was auch immer und der ist

da jemand der ganz schwer loslassen kann oder das ganz schwer auch weiter

kommunizieren kann. Und da hängen wir natürlich die ganze Zeit an seinen Lip-

pen und schauen das wir irgendwie Informationen rauskriegen. Und der hat einen

Rechtsberater mit dem er diese Nachfolgeprozzesse durchgeht, wir sind da nicht

so involviert.

2A: es ist allgemein einfach immer schwierig innerhalb einer Familie. Weil es ist

gleich immer emotional, man ist nicht so ... man versucht gemeinsam eine Firma

zu leiten aber wenn man Familie streitet, oder sonst was, dann ist es nicht so

sachlich sondern dann wird es ganz schnell emotional und dann schreit man sich

auch gleich mal an. Weil das macht man ja in der Familie und dann ist es einfach

schwieriger sag ich.

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2B: einerseits schwieriger andererseits hat es auch dann wieder Vorteile weil man

ja mal eher was sagen kann wenn einem etwas stört.

2A: ja deswegen ist dieser Nachfolgeprozess, glaub ich auch so ein bisschen cha-

otisch. Und unstrukturiert. Fließender Übergang könnte man auch sagen. Ja, es

passiert.

QUESTION 2 A:

T: ehm, gut Dankeschön für eure Informationen es ist sehr interessant. Zu den

Fragen basierend auf den Herausforderungen eines jeden Nachfolgers oder wie

ihr einfach den Nachfolgeprozess erlebt habt, ich habe Herausforderungen einfach

mal in 3 Faktoren unterteilt, in Unternehmens Aspekte, Familien Aspekte und

Persönliche Aspekte. Und ich würde euch bitten dass ihr einfach 3-4 Aspekte die

euch eingefallen sind dazu nennt.

2A: also wir haben jetzt aufgeschrieben, ehm, eine große Herausforderung ist

auch nicht nur als kleines Mädchen und Tochter gesehen zu werden, das ist

wahnsinnig schwierig.

2B: ja das ist unser Haupt Aspekt.

2A: in der Arbeitswelt sind einfach viele Männer und man muss sich einfach

irgendwie bewiesen und wenn man dann nur 1,55 meter groß ist dann wird es

noch ein bisschen schwieriger.

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230

2B: und dann sieht man einfach immer sehr jung aus, und dann meinen die Leute

immer, dass man nicht ernst genommen werden kann. Und das ist einfach wirklich

ein Problem, es kann auch von Vorteil sein unterschätzt zu werden. Nur dass

ist/sind einfach die Herausforderungen, auch in der Familie, weil man ja immer

noch die Tochter ist.

2A: Ja, man ist einfach immer noch das kleine Baby... das kleine Mädchen.

2B: und Mann muss auch immer schauen dass für die kleinen Mädchen immer

alles in Ordnung ist und alles geregelt ist.

2A: uns es ist dann einfach schwierig vom eigenen Vater ernstgenommen zu

werden, dass er auch einem dann Aufgaben übergibt weil er dann sieht die schafft

das und sie kann das und nicht sagt, och, mein Mädchen die muss ich ja bes-

chützen und auch gleichzeitig vor den Mitarbeiter, das ist jetzt nicht nur einfach die

Tochter und ein kleines Mädchen sondern das ist meine Vorgesetzte und das ist

wirklich auch zukünftig meine Chefin die ich respektieren muss, ja, das ist ganz

ganz schwer. Das ist einfach eine große Herausforderung. Auch schwere

Entscheidungen treffen zu müssen, gerade für mich im Personal da war ich letztes

Jahr das erste mal an der Reihe die Kündigungen zu machen. Und dann vor den

Menschen zu sitzen und zu sagen, ich hab hier eine Kündigung für dich, das war

es. Und entweder tatsächlich dich schreit einer an du wirst von dem Man komplett

angeschrien weil er es nicht fassen kann, weil er nicht gekündigt werden will, oder

die sind fix und fertig und weinen ... damit musst du zurecht kommen. Weil das

gehört dann zu deinen Aufgaben.

2B: Die Kündigung ist jetzt noch das extreme dann kommt da noch davor diese

Kritik Gespräche, es ist halt einfach ... man muss es machen, es ist einfach

unangenehm aber wenn man dann jemanden versucht zu sagen so und so geht

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es nicht und die flippen dann Komplet aus und Kritik vertragen wenige. Und dann

auch wirklich selber gelassen zu bleiben und wirklich sachlich zu bleiben, selbst

wenn einer ... wenn man angeschrien wird oder wenn man jemand dann einfach

sauer ist und persönlich wird und man dann selber in so eine és tut mir so leid, es

tut mir so leid´ aber eigentlich kann es die selber nicht leid tun weil derjenige hat

einfach selber was falsch gemacht, was heißt falsch gemacht er hat sich einfach

daneben benommen und dann muss man das auch einfach sagen können. Und

da wirklich so die Haltung zu haben und sagen zu können, ne der hat was falsch

gemacht und das sage ich dem jetzt und so.

2A: nur so kann er auch was verändern daran. Wenn wir sagen du das passt

nicht, das musst du an deinem Arbeitsprozess etwas ändern, dass muss ich ja

ansprechen sonst kann ich nicht erwarten, dass er einen gute Job macht. Immer

den Mut aufzubringen uns die vor die hinzustellen und in die Augen zu schauen

und zu sagen `du das passt mir nicht an deiner Arbeit, da müssen wir was verän-

dern´, dass ist wahnsinnig schwierig.

2B: und da ist einfach wichtig, dass wir uns gegenseitig den Rücken stärken. Und

dass die Sachen in der Familie intern besprochen werden bzw. in der Füh-

rungsebene besprochen wird und da nichts nach außen tritt. Oder vor Mit-

tarbeitern Diskutiert wird, da muss man einfach wirklich schauen, dass ... da muss

man sich zurückziehen und

2A: ich glaube du greift in dem Thema vor.

2B: achso ja ich greife vor.

QUESTION 2B:

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232

T: achso ja das ist gar kein Problem. Seid ihr jetzt schon bei dem `was wäre eure

größte Herausforderung´?

2B: ja die größte ist eigentlich die Kündigungen.

2A: die größten Herausforderungen sind einfach Mitarbeiter Gespräche. Das ist

das aller schwierigste was ich jetzt hier erlebt habe, nicht wie buche ich die Rech-

nungen richtig oder wie mach ich einen Zahllauf bei Datef oder keine Ahnung.

2B: selbst wenn man selber einen Fehler macht, dass ist sehr unangenehm, aber

sich wirklich mit jemanden da hinzusetzen und ein Gespräch zu führen ist echt

hart.

2A: das schwierigste ist eben Arbeit mit Menschen. Wie gehe ich richtig mit ihnen

um, wie sage ich auch richtig etwas wie drücke ich mich verständlich aus.

2B: und dann ist es so, sind wir die Töchter von unserem Vater, wir haben es ein

Leben lang mitgekriegt dieses Einzelkämpfer ... wir nehmen die Arbeit auch dann

gerne einfach selber in die Hand... wir machen das dann schnell. Und da muss

man dann einfach aufpassen und Aufgaben delegieren find ich auch eine sehr ...

find ich eine der größten Herausforderungen zu sagen Arbeit abgeben und zu

sagen mach bitte `das´ und dann auch dran bleiben und kontrollieren wird das

wirklich gemacht.

2A: weil man kann ja sagen kümmer dich in Zukunft bitte darum und dann passiert

Garnichts. Additionally man muss immer dran bleiben, man muss immer kontrol-

lieren, nicht mit der Peitsche dahinter stehen, aber eben immer kontrollieren und

fragen `bist du im Plan, wie weit bist du denn´.

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2B: da ist allein die Formulierung schon schwierig. Ich bin dann auch jemand der

sich fast entschuldigt weil jemand was für mich machen muss. Das ist mir einfach

unangenehm, wenn man dann schon sag `könntest du bitte...únd dann anfängt

sic zu erklären, und warum und wieso – ne man muss einfach eine klare Ansage

machen und diese klare Ansage kann freundlich sein aber die muss klar sein,

`kümmer dich bitte´, `mach das bitte´, nicht `könntest du bitte´, `würdes du viel-

leicht´,`wenn du Zeit hast könntest du schauen ob du das schaffst´, Nein, kümmer

dich bitte, da fällt man total schnell rein.

T: Ja das kann ich total verstehen.

2A: ja der Umgang mit Mitarbeitern ist wirklich die größte Herausforderung.

QUESTION 2C:

T: jap genau, wie habt ihr das überwunden, wie seit ihr dementgegen gewirkt?

2B: ja das ist witzig, weil unser erster Punkt heißt Augen zu und durch.

2A: Man muss ja einfach irgendwie das überwinden, also dass muss einem ein-

fach mal klar sein, dass man das einfach auch durchziehen muss. Wir haben jetzt

auch geschrieben, natürlich zusammenhalt zwischen uns als Schwester, dass wir

uns einig sind, dass wir uns gegenseitig den Rücken stärken. Und wenn eben eine

schwierige Situation ist auch erstmal eine Nacht drüber schlafen, drüber reden –

wie würdest du reagieren, ich hab ein Problem. Dass man sich austauscht un-

tereinander oder einfach auch mal Hilfe von außen wahrnimmt.

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2B: ja das ist ganz wichtig. Leuten denen man vertraut, dass muss jetzt auch nicht

unbedingt mit der Firma jetzt etwas zu tun haben aber einfach auch ...

2A: diese zick Unternehmensberater die einfach einen Haufen Kohle koste sind

und nur schwafeln, dass ist nicht unbedingt das Beste. Da hatten wir ein paar.

2B: ja da hatten wir einige und das sind oft, es tut mir leid wenn ich das sage, alte

Männer die dann meinen kleines Mädchen ich zeig dir mal wie das funktioniert.

Und dann wird es anstrengend. Irgendwann dreht sich das, das war bis jetzt im-

mer so, irgendwann dreht sich das und dann werden die sauer weil wir dann

sagen, stopp so nicht wir wollen das anders machen und dann ist es immer ganz

blöd irgendwie auseinander gegangen.

2A: Trotzdem Hilfe von außen, weil es ist immer gut von außen ... wenn jemand

nicht hier im Unternehmen mitdrinhängt sondern einfach das von außen ganz neu-

tral beurteilen kann.

2B: ja genau, jemand der nicht erwartet, dass man die Ratschläge eins zu eins

umsetzt oder mit im Unternehmen rum fuhrwerkt sondern – kann auch Seminare

oder andere Hersteller, wir sind zum Beispiel im AÖL im ökologischen Lebensmit-

telverband, oder ökologischen Lebensmittelherstellerverband bei den jungen Un-

ternehemnsnachfolgern dabei, das sind die ganze Bio-Pioniers Kinder mit dabei

und die sitzen alle da mit am Tisch und sagen Vater ist auch Pionier und das ist

wie so eine Selbsthilfegruppe, dass ist immer ganz witzig. ìch habe auch einen

Vater´. Aber diese Gespräche waren mit eine unter den wichtigsten.

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2A: Weil sie sehr hilfreich waren, ja das selbe erlebt haben oder unterschiedliche

damit umgehen und sich damit Ideen holen das ist echt super.

T: ja das klingt super gut.

2B: Mitstreiter suchen und von außen Rat holen.

QUESTION 2D:

T: ehm, super, und welche Vorkehrungen hätten im voraus getroffen werden kön-

nen um die Herausforderungen zu minimieren?

2A: also, in unserem Fall tatsächlich eine bessere Vorbildung, mir war lange klar,

dass ich hier arbeiten möchte und das übernehmen möchte – ich glaub ich war 12

wo mir das klar war, aber ich habe trotzdem einen anderen Berufsweg einges-

chlagen, ich bin Kinderpflegerin und Schreiner, das hilft mir eher nicht so weiter,

also ich kann unseren Messestand bauchen, dass habe ich auch schon gemacht

da spart man viel Geld, aber ...

2B: was Mitarbeiterführung angeht finde ich den Sozialpädagogischen Aspekt gar

nicht so schlecht.

2A: Ja weil Lisane ist Erzieherin, wäre vielleicht doch nicht so schlecht gewesen

sowas wie Betriebswirtschaft zu studieren. Und ich glaube es wär hilfreich

gewesen, es muss jetzt nicht, ich glaube ich bekomme es auch so hin, ich habe

mir vieles selber beigebracht und mit dem Steuerberater telefoniert und vieles im

Internet nachgelesen und sonst wo, oder eben Fortbildungen.

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2B: bei mir ist es so, ich glaube nicht, dass man es in dem Sinne studiert muss ich

bin nie ein Schulmensch gewesen.

2A: muss man nicht wär aber hilfreich gewesen.

2B: ich glaube einfach dieses ins kalte Wasser geworfen zu werden, hat auch

manchmal seine Vorteile, ich glaube ich habe wie in den letzten 5 Jahren noch nie

so viel gelernt, das ist Wahnsinn, es ist nur so, ich glaube das Fortbildungen oder

Seminare oder so würde einfach völlig ausreichen, dass man einfach ein Gefühl

oder so dafür bekommst wie führe ich ein Mittarbeiter Gespräch und solche Sa-

chen, da gibt es wirklich tolle Angebote. Das Problem ist natürlich immer, dass sie

sehr knackig teuer sind, wenn man jetzt kein riesen Unternehmen ist die tausende

von Euros haben die man da reinstecken kann ist das was anderes, aber Fortbild-

ung denke ich ist was ganz wichtiges. Und dann gibt es ein paar YouTube Kanäle

die mir vorher ganz gut getan hätten.

2A: da gibt es im Netz natürlich sehr viele Leute die sich da hinsetzen und Tipps

geben, auch in Zeitschriften wie diese Impulse.

2B: ja genau.

2A: impulse ist eine ganz tolle Unternehmer Zeitschrift. Da haben mir auch die

Artikel schon ganz viel weitergeholfen, das im Vorhinein zu wissen, dass es das

gibt, wäre gut gewesen.

2B: Dann im Vorhinein wirklich zu wissen... wir haben sehr eng mit den Mi-

tarbeiter... Additionally wir kennen sie ja schon von klein auf und gut die wissen

sehr viel von uns.

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2A: was hilfreich gewesen wäre wenn unsere Eltern nicht so viel von uns erzählt

hätten, so Kindheitsgeschichten und solche Sachen. Das man natürlich ... wir

Duzen uns hier alle auch jeder der hier anfängt zu Arbeiten, gleich am ersten Tag

àch übrigens du kannst hier alle duzen auch wir werden geduzt´. Unser Vater ...

das ist hier alles ganz und gebe und da wird an natürlich sehr schnell persönlich

und dann die ganzen Kindheitsgeschichten das ist zwar nett aber bei vielen Ges-

chichten denke ich mir, hättet ihr jetzt nicht sagen sollen.

2B: aber man erzählt auch selber zu viel, finde ich. Additionally ich habe am An-

fang, ich finde das hat sich auch jetzt geändert, da hat man gemerkt, dass es bei

manchen Mitarbeitern komisch angekommen ist, dass man vorher so eng war und

wir so jetzt so zurück ziehen. Da ist es sehr wichtig, dass man von Anfang an so...

man muss ja nicht distanziert sein oder kühl oder irgendwas aber, dass man nicht

zu viel ... und zum Beispiel Mitarbeiter die man zusammen auf den Geburtstag

einlädt, oder mal am Wochenende wandern geht oder so, aber die wissen dann zu

viel von einem ...

2A: oder es wird einfach zu persönlich oder zu freundschaftlich und dann kritisiere

so jemanden einmal oder entlasse ihn oder warum auch immer. Wenn du mit Ih-

nen auch Konzerten warst, Wandern warst und alles, du tust dir selber damit

keinen Gefallen, weil es wird für dich einfach immer schwieriger Arbeit einzufor-

dern oder auch kritische Gespräche zu führen.

2B: oder zurückrudern, dass ist ...

2A: jetzt greifen wir schon wieder vorne weg.

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QUESTION 3:

T: ehm, gut dann fangen wir mit der dritten Frage an, betrachte man die Genera-

tion Y mal genauer, die werden auch als Millenials oder Digital Natives genannt,

wo würdet ihr deren Herausforderungen sehen?. Soll ich sie vorher nochmal

schnell charakterisieren?

2B: wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe, dann ist ja ... dann geht es im Endeffekt

darum dass man sozusagen die super Maschine ist oder wird. Mann muss dass

ein, und dass ein und erfolgreich und überhaupt und viele Freunde und am besten

noch ein super Instagram Kanal oder was auch immer. Additionally die

Erwartungen an unsere Gesellschaft ...

2A: sie sind sehr ehrgeizig und auch gewillt Verantwortung zu übernehmen also

da sagen wir, die Herausforderung ist auch ...

2B: auch einmal die un-perfektion zuzulassen.

2A: und auch mal Fehler machen.

2B: ja man darf Fehler machen.

2A: jeder Mensch macht Fehler.

2B: und man darf auch mal deprimiert sein und nicht aus dem Bett kommen wollen

und auch mal nicht aufsetehen können oder wie auch immer. Additionally man

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239

muss nicht immer diese Super Frau sein die alles kann. Und das macht einen auf

Dauer nur noch fertig. Man muss auch seine Kanäle haben wie Freunde oder so,

wo man das auch mal lassen kann. Additionally wenn man jetzt hier in der Firma,

und so, nicht mit seine Schwächen umeinander haut – dass man auch mal bei

Freunden und Familie mal locker lassen kann.

T: und abschalten kann.

2B: Ja abschalten, ist ganz wichtig.

QUESTION 4:

T: eurer Meinung nach hat ein weiblicher Nachfolger unterschiedliche

Herausforderungen als ein männlicher Nachfolger?

2A: Ja definitiv.

2B: ja, ich glaube die Nachfolge ist in beiden Fällen schwierig. Additionally das ist

klar. Bei Frauen ist es halt einfach – dass was wir gesagt haben mit der Männer

geprägten Arbeitswelt – es ist einfach so, grad bei den älteren – in unserer Gener-

ation geht es eigentlich- wir haben viele ältere Männer gerade auch im Vertrieb

und auch andere Firmen mit denen man zusammenarbeitet, und wenn man dann

... man wird immer als kleines Mädchen gesehen.

2A: also ich glaube, dass man sich definitiv mehr beweisen muss als Männliche

Nachfolger. Ja das glaube ich schon. Mann muss einfach sich den Respekt erst

einmal erarbeiten.

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240

T: den Männer schon von vorn heraus haben in Anführungsstrichen.

2B: ja es ist einfach halt einfach irgendwie immer noch so.

T: Dankeschön.

QUESTION 5:

T: dann kommen wir jetzt zu den strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen,

sollten eurer Meinung nach strategische oder strukturelle Bedingungen im Prozess

der weiblichen Unternehmensübergabe beachtet werden? Welche wären diese?

Zu den strukturellen, also müssen irgendwelche Vorkehrungen damit der Un-

ternehmensnachfolge Prozess leichter ist.

2B: ja das, in unserem Fall der Vater, oder der Geschäftsführer sich Stück für

Stück aus dem operativen Geschäft rausnimmt. ja das ist ganz wichtig. Und da

eben die Entscheidungen zulässt und wenn da etwas besprochen wird, und er das

anders sieht, dass das dann intern besprochen wird und wir beide dann an die

Mitarbeiter die Info weitertragen. Das die Leute wirklich sehen, OK da hat sich was

verändert, da ist die Struktur jetzt so....

2A: ... das wir jetzt auch was zu sagen haben und die Entscheidungen zwar von

unserem Vater auch getragen werden aber nicht an die Mitarbeiter getragen

werden. Ich hab den Faden verloren. Dass eben von uns auch was kommt, und

die Mitarbeiter eben immer weiter in den Prozess kommen, hej die Töchter haben

etwas zu sagen, die treffen Entscheidungen – auch wenn wir diese mit unserem

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Vater davor abgesprochen haben, dass muss ja keiner Wissen, dass ist ja dann

Intern – aber huch die haben da was zu Sagen, die tragen da was nach außen.

2B: wir haben dazu auch ein Gespräch gehabt, eine Mittarbeiter Versammlung im

Endeffekt und haben das verkündet, und haben ein neues Organigramm

aufgehängt wo wir dann auch ganz klar die Geschäftsleitung sind. Unterschriften,

Prokura und das alles sind dann die ganzen internen strukturellen Geschichten

und eben nach außen an paar Geschäftspartner haben wir dass dann Kommuniz-

iert. Das wir jetzt eben in der Geschäftsleitung sind, und dieser Prozess gestartet

wurde (Nachfolgeprozess).

2A: spätesten seit wir auf dem wir seit einem halben Jahr auf dem Firmenflyer

drauf sind wissen es die Leute.

T: ja das ist ja auch wichtig.

2A: ja da war sonst immer nur unser Vater drauf, im Senffeld und jetzt sind wir mit

in dem Senffeld.

T: aber das ist doch gut finde ich.

2B: ja das ist sehr wichtig.

T: dass die Öffentlichkeit sozusagen ein Bild von euch hat und wer hinter dieser

Firma steht.

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2B: es ist auch ganz spannend wie viel Presse darauf angesprungen ist. Auch

gard im Bezug auf Frauen in der Nachfolge. Additionally da haben wir auch ganz

viele Anfragen bekommen sei es einen Vortrag halten oder ein Bericht in der Im-

pulse, das war ein riesen Teil.

2A: es war auf jeden Fall echt viel. Es ging auch um diese Firma aber es ging

auch um diese Nachfolge.

2B: und die Problematiken und so weiter, und was eben auch war, dass irgend-

welche Fortbilder uns anrufen und fragen ob wir Vorträge halten wollen. Was wir

zum Beispiel noch erstmal noch nicht machen, weil wir nicht diesen perfekten

Prozess hatten. Wir müssen uns das jetzt erstmal anschauen auch Momentan -

wie geht es weiter. Bei uns ist Momentan viel zu tun und wir sind sehr eing-

espannt. Intern passiert auch wahnsinnig viel. Und dann können wir uns Mo-

mentan auf solche Sachen nicht vorbereiten.

2A: ehm ja tatsächlich, jetzt wird es langsam echt ernst. Additionally wir kommen

immer mehr in ... Additionally ich würde mal sagen früher oder vor einem Jahr ha-

ben wir einfach unseren Job gemacht, wir haben mitgearbeitet aber jetzt geht es

immer mehr in diese Richtung diese Firma zu führen. Und da kommen so viele

neue Aufgaben, auch wenns nur ein Termin bei der Bank ist oder solche Sachen,

da musste man sich nie Kümmern, das hat ja der Papa gemacht. Aber jetzt mit

Banken zu telefonieren oder solche Sachen oder irre große Entscheidungen zu

treffen Maschinen zu kaufen – es passiert jetzt so viel. Das ist echt momentan viel

Arbeit, und das ist vor allem auch neu und da brauchen viele Sachen einfach

länger, und das wird echt immer mehr. Aber der Papa ist ja jetzt auch 66 viel Zeit

ist da auch nicht mehr.

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2B: also so die nächsten zwei Jahre, hast du gemeint (Catalina) wird das auch

übergeben sein. Er wird immer dabei sein, dass ist einfach aus sein Naturell, er

könnte einfach nie nichts machen.

2A: und außerdem ist er einfach immer noch das Gesicht der Firma.

2B: und er wird auch zum Beispiel am Viktualienmarktstand sein und mit den Leu-

ten reden, und in dem Werksverkauf unten auf Festen Seminare und Vorträge hal-

ten und solche Geschichten. Da denke ich wird er uns einfach noch bleiben.

T: also nie komplett zurückziehen.

2B: ne das glaube ich nicht.

2A: er sollte sich dann komplett aus dem operativen Geschäft raushalten. Was er

zum Beispiel gerne macht sind Werksführungen oder so was, das macht er toll

dann kann er eh die Firmengeschichte erzählen und geht dann durch die Produk-

tion und alles, dass sind dann so Aufgaben, die machen Ihm dann auch Spaß und

da würd ich sagen, dass soll er machen solange er Lust dazu hat.

2B: ich würde auch gerne in Zukunft Senfseminare anbieten, wo man dann wirk-

lich die Räumlichkeiten Nutzen kann und in Puch gibt es zum Beispiel auf eine

Kochschule wo er dann quasi die Leute über den Senf, und was man damit alles

machen kann. Wirklich er redet sehr gerne und er kann die Leute sehr gut be-

geistern und das sind dann so Aufgaben die er dann übernimmt.

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T: ja voll super dass Ihr euch das schon überlegt habt so ein bisschen. Ja gut,

habt Ihr noch einen Punkt zu den strategischen Bedingungen oder ...

2B: ja also wir haben jetzt einmal aufgeschrieben, dass man im Idealfall so einen

5-Jahres plan hat. Dass man sich wirklich strategisch überlegt, wie mache ich eine

Nachfolge? Die sollen sich das erste Jahr einarbeiten, oder nach drei Jahren Ges-

chäftsführung oder... Additionally das sollte eigentlich strategisch Festgehalten

werden. Das gab es jetzt bei uns nicht aber das hätten wir uns gewünscht. Das

sind halt so... auch rechtliche Absicherungen. Zum Beispiel, dass man sagt nach 3

Jahren gibt es Prokura und nach 4 Jahren erst die Geschäftsführung oder sowas

dass das einfach für jeden klar ist.

2A: wir haben da jetzt fatherurch dass wir mit vielen Jungunternehmern gesproch-

en haben und mit vielen Leuten, die eben in unserer ähnlichen Situation waren

oder sind, da gibt es die unterschiedlichsten Modelle, und das was uns am besten

gefallen hat, war eben dieser 5 Jahres plan. Manche gehen auch zwischenzeitlich,

3 Jahre in eine andere Firma arbeiten. Aber dass ist auch alles schon so geplant,

der ist im Studium, dann wird noch 3 Jahre irgendwo anders gearbeitet und dann

kommt er in die Firma aber er bekommt erst nach, ich weiß jetzt nicht vielen vielen

Jahren die Geschäftsführung, aber es ist wirklich alles schon Vorgeplant und dann

ist es auch ...

2B: es muss jetzt auch nicht alles bis ins kleinste Detail vorgeplant sein aber wenn

man einfach so einen Fahrplan hat und weis da und da muss ich hin ist das gut.

Ja und das wäre eigentlich einen ganz gute Sache. Wir wursteln uns so durch.

2A: ja wie gesagt wir haben in der Abfüllabteilung angefangen und in der Produk-

tion ...

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2B: ich meine wir kennen es von Klein auf und sind damit aufgewachsen, das war

in der Garage früher und wir wissen es funktioniert, wir kennen die Maschinen

nicht bis ins kleinste Detail aber wir wissen wie es passiert und wir haben den

Vorteil, dass wir uns fatherurch so ein bisschen auskennen und fatherurch dass es

schon immer Zuhause war.

2A:.... es war noch nicht klar von Anfang seitdem ich hier angefangen habe, wel-

che Position ich hier übernehme. Klar ich hatte jetzt nicht ... Schreiner ... es war

jetzt nicht so du studiert das und das und hast diese eine Aufgabe ... Wir haben

einfach unsere Aufgabe gefunden. Ich weis es noch, damals im Personal hat die

Dame gekündigt und dann hat der Papa zu mir gesagt, ach du könntest doch Per-

sonal machen. Dann meinte ich ja ok, und er hat gesagt: hier hast du ein PC mach

du das. Keine Ahnung von Personal gehabt, einfach mim Steuerberater durch-

gewurstelt, also das war echt... und dann hieß es dann irgendwann, ach du kannst

ja die Buchhaltung von der Firma machen. Und ich meinte dann so puh ja ok, also

du bekommst auch eine 450 € Kraft und die lernt dir das dann schon (meinte der

Vater). Ja ok mach ich. Ich hab wirklich wahnsinnig viel gelernt, weil du musst es

ja dann einfach machen. Für mich im Nachhinein alles in Ordnung und alles richtig

gelaufen, aber bisschen ein Plan vorher gibt mehr Sicherheit.

QUESTION 6:

T: ja danke auf jeden Fall, dann wären wir auch schon beim Ende unseres

Gespräches, habt Ihr noch einen Tipp oder einen persönlichen Rat den Ihr gerne

einen Weiblichen Nachfolger mit auf den Weg geben würdet?

2A: also wir haben jetzt auch einfach mal aufgeschrieben, dass man auch mal auf

sein Bauchgefühl hören sollte. Weil wenn einem mal etwas komisch vorkommt,

einfach mal beobachten und zurücklehnen und wirklich auch sein Bauchgefühl

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246

hören. Egal eigentlich in welchen Entscheidungen, ob es personell ist oder

irgendwelche strategischen Sachen.

2B: was heißt personell, gerade auch wenn von außen jemand kam, gerade so

Berater. Additionally ich hatte immer ein schlechtes Gefühl davor, also man merkt

schon immer mit den Leuten, wenn man mit Ihnen spricht eine Zeit lang, hat man

ja auch immer ein Gefühl und genau auf das sollte man dann auch hören. Weil da

sind wir als Frauen... Additionally wir achten da mehr auf das Zwischenmenschli-

che was da passiert und das ist eine Stärke, die sollten wir da auch Nutzen.

2A: also auch das was wir vorhin schon gesagt haben, keine privaten

Freundschaften, also man kann sich auch mit Kollegen wirklich gut verstehen,

aber dass man nach der Arbeit so viel unternimmt sollte man eigentlich von An-

fang an ...

2B: .. kann man schon mal machen, so ist es nicht, aber ....

2A: ... man kann mal mit ein paar Leuten was trinken gehen, dass ist jetzt nicht so

das Problem, aber ...

2B:.. aber anders gesagt, sollte man auch Freunde nicht in das Unternehmen

hohlen, auch Familie ist schwierig, auch Tanten oder Onkel oder so was, aber ist

halt immer schwierig wenn jemand kommt und sagt ich brauche Arbeit weil.., da

dann zu einem Freund zu sagen `ne du geht nicht´ ist schwierig, man muss sich

dass echt gut überlegen, weil es kann echt auch nach hinten los gehen und dann

ist es immer unangenehm.

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247

2A: auch allein wenn du trotzdem wenn er einen guten Job macht und alles super

gut läuft – du bevorzugst Ihn unterbewusst. Weil dann geht man zusammen mit

Ihm in die Mittagspause und du dann sagt auch komm haben wir noch 5 Minuten

überziehen wir ein bisschen, weil das Essen später kam oder so, dann mach man

halt mal 5 Minute länger Pause eben aber mit dem Freund und nicht mit anderen

Mitarbeitern, also das ist ganz schwierig ...

2B: also dann hat ja derjenige einen ganz schwierigen Stand bei den anderen Mi-

tarbeitern ...

2A: ... und dann tut man denjenigen auch keinen Gefallen, außer man macht das

... man muss sich dessen vorher ganz Bewusst sein, also wir waren uns dessen

vorher nicht ganz Bewusst und wir haben hier eine Freundin miteingestellt, und im

Endeffekt ist es einfach hier wahnsinnig schwierig.

2B: jetzt ist es einfach sehr schwierig wieder zurückzurudern und die Distanz wie-

dereinzuführen. Weil man dann auch merkt, dass andere Kollegen einfach einen

ganz schwierigen Stand dazwischen haben. Ja und dann halt einfach auch, dass

es akzeptiert wird, dass man eben sich zurückzieht, und nicht jede Mittagspause

zusammen ... oder wie auch immer.

2A: man hätte sich einfach von Anfang an Gedanken machen müssen, wie hätte

ich es Handhaben wollen, das ist so ein Tipp, es muss einfach jeder für sich

entscheiden wie will ich es mit Freundschaften handhaben, weil es wird einfach

komplizierter.

2B: und einfach auch wie man miteinander redet, also wenn wir jetzt miteinander

reden als Familie vor den Mitarbeitern, dann muss man einfach echt schauen was

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248

man sagt. Man darf sich gegenseitig nicht Kritisieren oder wie auch immer oder

über die Schwächen reden von dem anderen, das mach man schnell mal und das

sind dann einfach nur so Sätze, dass meint man dann gar nicht so. Aber teilweise

wird das echt aufgenommen ...

2A: und einfach auch in der Familie das ist einfach ... , wie vorgestern, da war die

Mama unten und war in meinem Büro- und ich hab schon so lange keine Sachen

mehr sortiert, weil ich nicht dazu gekommen bin und vor den Mitarbeiter hat sie

gesagt ìch war bei dir unten du musst deine Sachen aufräumen´ und ich so `na

toll, wie zuhause im Kinderzimmer´ und jetzt wissen meine Leute wo ich mir den

Respekt erarbeitet habe, dass ich meine Sachen nicht aufräume. Das sind so Sa-

chen die macht man in der Familie einfach schnell, aber ich hab mir einfach nur

gedacht oh mein gott mama warum?? Und dann auch noch, `Mensch die Line

kann dir doch dabei helfen´ und ich dachte mir dann so oh nein noch schlimmer.

Und die Line schaut mich dann nur so an und sagt Ja ich kann dir schon helfen.

Solche Sachen, da muss man dann einfach in der Familie total aufpassen, dass

solche Situationen einfach nicht so entstehen.

2B: bei uns jetzt noch mal ein ganz spezieller Fall, also der Geschäftspartner von

unserem Vater, der ist aus der Partnerschaft rausgegangen, damit wir sozusagen

seinen Anteil übernehmen können, seine Kinder wollte nicht weitermachen, und

den kenn ich seit dem ich auf der Welt bin, der hatte ein Tonstudio früher im Haus

mit drinnen, und die haben schon immer zusammen gearbeitet, und da war ich bei

Ihm auf dem Schoß gesessen und hab mit den Reglern gespielt und so weiter,

das ist eine ganz andere Beziehung, der behandelt mich auch wie ein Kind und

auch vor den Mitarbeitern, und dann sagt er immer àch das war ja schon immer

so beider, die hat ja früher schon nicht den Müll rausgebracht oder so´ und dann

denkst du dir so oh mein Gott. Das ist ganz ganz wichtig, eben die Leute nicht zu

nah ranlassen und zu viel persönliches erzählen. Auch nicht wie es mit dem

Freund läuft oder so, dass sind Sachen die haben da absolut nichts zu suchen.

Weil es einfach unangenehm wird.

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2A: achso ja, keine Entschuldigungen oder Rechtfertigungen, also da müssen wir

einfach immer aufpassen dass wir da ... Additionally wenn wir eine Entscheidung

treffen, dann müssen mir dazu einfach stehen, wir können es Ihnen gerne erklären

warum habe ich mich da entschieden, aber nicht zu viel erklären und rechtfertigen

...

2B: das ist einfach genau das was wir am Anfang schon gesagt haben, dass es

einfach schwierig ist die Aufgaben weiter zu delegieren, weil man den anderen ja

jetzt nicht ein riesen Berg an Arbeit machen will, aber ist halt einfach sein Job.

Und dann nicht zu sagen, dass müsen mir machen weil hier und da und zu sagen

könntest du das bitte und dann wieder eine Rechtfertigung mitreinzubekommen

das darf man einfach nicht, weil der (Mitarbeiter) dreht dass einfach dann so

schnell wieder um, und am Ende stehst du wieder selber da und machst das. Da

muss man echt aufpassen, und schauen, dass man eine klare Formulierung findet

und dann einfach sagt so und so ist es.

2A: und der Mitarbeiter genau weiß, was habe ich zu tun was wird von mir

erwartet. Weil wenn du dann anfängst, ich hab mir da überlegt wir könnten da eine

Liste erstellen weil ich hab mir gedacht ... und er sitzt dann da und denkst sich,

was will die denn jetzt eigentlich von mir. Einfach sagen, wir haben da ein Problem

und wir bauchen jetzt eine Tabelle, mach das Bitte. Und dann aber auch hingehen

nach einer Woche und Fragen, wie weit bist du mit deiner Tabelle, hast du

Probleme, wo hängst du, wie ist der Stand der Dinge. Und dann nach zwei

Wochen wieder, dieses regelmäßige dran bleiben ist auch schwierig und zu

kontrollieren. Weil die lassen es gerne schleifen, und wenn du nicht dran bleibst

und es kontrollierst bist du auch unglaubwürdig irgendwann.

2B: genau und man darf sich selber nicht klein machen, das ist ganz ganz wichtig.

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2A: ja genau, Fehler darf man zugeben. Das ist wichtig keine Frage. Und wenn

man als Chefin Fehler gemacht hat, und dann zugibt oh Mist das ist mein Fehler

da habe ich nicht dran gedacht.

2B: oder wenn man sagt ah das kann ich jetzt nicht das weiß ich jetzt nicht, natür-

lich kann man nicht alles wissen, wie oft ich sage das weiß ich jetzt nicht aber

dann muss man eher sagen dass schaue ich mir an und bespreche es mit Catali-

na zum Beispiel und ich gebe dir bescheid. Additionally garnicht so in dieses so

selber so klein machen.

2A: klar wir Frauen sind kritisch – gerade so mit uns selbst.

QUESTION 7:

T: habt ihr noch einen letzten Gedanken, wenn ihr gerne loswerden möchtet?

2A: eigentlich nicht wir haben ganz schön viel gequatscht, wir kommen doch nach

unserem Vater.

2B: es ist ... im Endeffekt ist keiner perfekt und man kriegt das dann schon hin.

2B: man muss es halt ganz klar abgesehen von der Familie Gedanken machen

will ich das wirklich. Will man wirklich eine Geschäftsführung machen. Dass muss

wirklich jeder für sich selber überlegen, macht mich das glücklich. Man muss

Entscheidungen treffen und man muss diese Entscheidungen auch tragen. Egal

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ob sie finanziell sind oder strategisch, egal was man muss diese Verantwortung

einfach aushalten können. Man nimmt es mit nach Hause, man ist kein Arbeit-

nehmer der nach Hause geht und denkt ich bin frei leckt mich alle am Arsch, nein

du schläfst mit einem Gedanken, machst dir sorgen und wachst mit dem Gedank-

en wieder auf. Dass muss man für sich entscheiden, aber dass kann auch wirklich

Spaß machen, weil du bist der Boss und kannst auch mal früher gehen wenn du

einen Friseurtermin hast oder ... du must keinen Urlaubsantrag ausfüllen, du

kannst einfach sagen, da gehe ich heute 1-2 Stunden früher, weil ich hab da noch

einen Termin. Das sind auch Vorteile. Aber wir müssen auch am Wochenende

arbeiten, wenn jemand absagt auf der Messe, dann stehen mir auch der Messe.

Man muss sich wirklich ganz klar überlegen, ob man das wirklich ganz klar will.

Gerade auch als Frau wie in unserem Fall weil man einfach gerne eine Familie

gründen mag. Wir wollen Kinder wir wollen eine Familie und wie kann man das

dann einfach regeln, muss man dann doch einen Geschäftsführer einstellen oder

kann man die Geschäftsführung auch Halbtags machen, also dass sind dann so

Fragen, wie mich ehrlich dann noch so beschäftigen, also ich bin jetzt 26, du bist

jetzt noch schlimmer dran du bist jetzt schon 30 (Lisana), das sind dann so ab-

schließende Sachen die mich einfach noch beschäftigen und noch nicht geklärt

sind.

2A: und weiterführend, wo will man hin, was sind die Ziele der Firma, wo wollen

wir hin, was wollen wir, also dass wir uns da klar sind. Additionally wenn ich jetzt

sage ich möchte gerne im kleinen bleiben mit der Manufaktur und Catalina sagt,

sie möchte jetzt aber die Welt beherrschen mit Senf, dann muss man sich schon

einig werden und sagen wo will man überhaupt hin, was wolle wir. Wie wollen wir

mit den Mitarbeiter umgehen, diese ganzen Ethikrichtlinien das man die im Vorhi-

nein einfach klar für sich hat und man eben in die gleiche Richtung geht. Und das

klar kommuniziert, also das denke ich ist eben auch ganz wichtig.

T: dann danke ich euch sehr für das Gespräch mir hat es wirklich sehr gut gefall-

en. DANKE.

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252


Interviewer: Theresa

Interviewe: Michael

QUESTION 1:

T: Vielen lieben Dank, dass du dir Zeitnimmst für meine Fragen, und zwar geht es

in meiner Masterarbeit um die Challanges of a female successor of a family busi-

ness. Der Fragebogen ist unterteilt in 4 Teilbereiche und 5 Hauptfragen. Erst ein-

mal zu den individuellen Fragen, welche Position, hast du denn in den Nachfol-

geprozess?

M: Grundsätzlich bin ich einmal der Vater, und derjenige der die Firma leitet in den

meisten Teilen noch, sozusagen. (Michel wird das Unternehmen an seine 3 Töch-

ter weitergeben)

QUESTION 1A:

T: gut dankeschön, wie hast du denn den Nachfolgeprozess erlebt?

M: Wenn ich jetzt einmal an meine eigene Nachfolge denke, dann habe ich zuerst

ein Studium gemacht, dann ein Praktikum, dann in einer fremden Firma gearbeitet

und dann in der eigenen Firma angefangen, das war ein relativ sukzessives

Entwickeln. Wir hatten dahmals keinen genauen Plan aber es hat sich ganz gut

Entwickelt. Zuerst habe ich die Technischen Abläufe eines Steinbruches kennen

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253

gelernt, dann bin ich mehr in die Verwaltung und in den Vertrieb, und irgendwann

haben wir eine neue EDV eingeführt. Eine Sache, die meine Kinder auch mit-

bekommen werden, ist die Grundeistellung die Philosophie der Firma kennen zu

lernen. Dass man weiß wie ticken die und wie arbeitet sie. Und die habe ich dah-

mals mit meinem Vater neu erarbeitet und auch dann wieder neu zusammenge-

fasst. Der Prozess der Unternehmensnachfolge läuft bei uns schon sehr lange

aber da kommen wir später nochmal drauf zurück.

QUESTION 2A:

T: nun kommen wir zu den Herausforderungen einer jenen Nachfolge. Was

glaubst du wären oder sind die größten Herausforderungen in einem Nachfol-

geprozess. Ich habe die Herausforderungen in drei Aspekte geteilt, in Unterneh-

mens Aspekte, Familien Aspekte und Persönliche Aspekte. Wo siehst du denn die

Herausforderungen bei den jeweiligen drei Faktoren.

M: schwer zu beantworten, Ziel ist es ja wenn die Kinder in das Unternehmen

eintreten wollen den Fortbestand des Unternehmens zusichern. Um sich weiter-

zuentwickeln weil stehen bleiben, darf man ja heute überhaupt nicht mehr. Fami-

lienunternehmen sind meiner Ansicht nach sehr gut aufgestellt, gewinnbringen

und wettbewerbstauglich um gegen die großen Konzerne anzukommen. Weil es

gibt ein Gesicht vom Inhaber, das ist für die Kunden wahnsinnig wichtig nach wie

vor. Und auch die Mitarbeiter brauchen ein Gesicht, und das ist irgendwie anders

wenn es ein Geschäftsführer ist, als eine Familie. Ein Familienunternehmen zeigt

vielleicht mehr Verantwortung den Mitarbeitern gegenüber als ein Konzern. Fa-

therurch sind die Mitarbeiter mehr motiviert und zeigen eine höhere Loyalität zu

Firma in meinen Augen. Da tun wir uns auch viel einfacher, um neue Mitarbeiter

zu finden, weil das Bekannt ist irgendwo auch und das ist dann auch irgendwo ein

Vorteil.

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Eine Herausforderung bei uns ist sicher der Wandel der Firma. Bis jetzt sind wir

ein Inhaber geführtes Unternehmen, das bin ich, aber ich bin mit ziemlich sicher,

dass meine Kinder das nicht so machen wollen, und daher der Wandel zu einer

Fremdgeschäftsführerin. Wir haben eine Holding oben drüber und drunter haben

wir verschiedene Firmen. Und die verschiedene Firmen sollten eher durch einen

Fremdgeschäftsführer geführt werden aber die Holding immer noch in der Familie

bleiben. Und den Übergang zu finden ist nicht sehr einfach und dauert auch relativ

lang sozusagen. Weil man muss alles ja erst einmal aufbauen und dann die Rolle

der Kinder zu finden ist sehr schwierig. Und dann zu schauen was können die

Kinder am besten machen und dann auch übergreifende Aufgaben zu haben. Die

in den verschiedene Firmen auch gebraucht werden, und dann ist es machbar.

Das ist der wesentliche teil von meiner Sicht her, und dann sollte geklärt werde in

wie weit die Kinder sich in das Unternehmen einbringen wollen, können, sollten.

Denn wenn Sie das nicht tun verkaufe ich meinen Laden, weil dann macht es so

keine Sinn. Denn wir sind ein Familienunternehmen, da gehört aktiv eine Familie

dazu, nicht in jedem Unternehmen operativ aber trotzdem der Kern oben muss

eine Familie sein die das betreibt. Das ist sicherlich eine der größten

Herausforderungen wie tut man drei Töchter in eine Familie mithineinnehmen. Das

ist nicht so einfach. Die Kinder müssen natürlich auch eine Qualifikation oder

Fortbildung machen, sonst geht das nicht, dass kann bzw. soll auch extern pas-

sieren. Man sollte schon wo anders zuerst einmal gearbeitet aber, bevor man

dann in die Firma reinkommt. Ein ständiger Fortbildungsprozess ist einfach ganz

ganz wichtig. Damit sie mal mit der Zeit lernen, einen genauen Überblick zu ha-

ben. Und das ist auch wo sich viele Jugendliche immer schwer tun auch. Das war

immer die größte Herausforderungen wie bring man drei Kinder auf die gleiche

Linie. Und wir haben schon vor 4-5 Jahren damit Angefangen, da waren die Kind-

er weder beteiligt noch hatten irgendeine Ahnung von dieser Firm. Wir haben dann

mir externe Beratern, damit Angefangen, eine Familienverfassong aufzustellen,

um gewisse Ziele und Bedingungen festzulegen. Oder auf ein gemeinsames

Werde System festzulegen oder auch ganz einfache Fragen zu beantworten, wie

wer darf erben, darf z.B. ein Adoptivkind erben?, das sind so viele kleine Fragen,

die ganz wichtig sind. Gut dass ist auch ein permanenter Prozess, der läuft weiter,

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jetzt haben wir erst mal ein paar Jahre ruhe sozusagen aber der fängt dann wieder

an, wir überarbeiten weil sich Gegebenheiten geändert haben, weil eine Tochter

ist ja z.B. schon bei mir in der Firma mit drinnen. Wichtig ist auch eine Art Kon-

fliktmanagement wie geht man bei Konflikten um.

Der Persönliche Aspekt hat damit zu tun, wie viel Zeit will jeder einzelne aufbring-

en und in die Firma investieren. Jeder der 3 Kidz, will auch mal Kinder haben, das

ist zumindest Ihr Ziel. Wie weit sind sie dann noch sich einzubringen, dass kann

man nicht alles vorhersehen, ich denke vieles entwickelt sich dann einfach, aber

man sollte zumindest eine grobe Vorstellung haben. Das sind so wesentliche

Punkte.

T: finde ich gut.

QUESTION 2B:

T: wenn du jetzt eine große Herausforderung nennen müsstest, was wäre denn

die größte?

M: Ich weiß zwei, das eine ist drei Töchter in eine Firma. Das andere, ist das Ver-

trauen der Mitarbeiter zu gewinnen. Unsere Mitarbeiter haben oft gefragt, wann

kommt ein Nachfolger, kommt überhaupt ein Nachfolger, das ist für die ganz

wichtig, und die waren jetzt sehr dankbar, dass eine Tochter jetzt schon mal drin-

nen ist, unabhängig davon, dass die Banken auch immer fragen. Aber es ist auch

ein großer Druck damit verbunden, weil man ja auch wie, dass es nicht nur gute

Zeiten gibt, sondern auch schlechte Zeiten.

T: ja das glaube ich auch.

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256

QUESTION 2C:

T: wie hast du denn die Schwierigkeiten überwunden?

M: Ich denke, der wesentliche Punkt ist die Familienverfassong, ja. Wir haben

auch einen gewissen Zeitstrahl, bis wo hin ich Alleinherrscher bin sozusagen, aber

ich hab auch meinen Kindern schon jeweils 10 % gegeben, nach Abschluss des

ersten Komplexes, hat jeder 10 % bekommen. Damit sie nicht nur das theo-

retische bekommen sondern auch schon einfach mal drinnen sind. Die müssen ja

dann auch eine Bilanz lesen können, oder wie machen wir bestimmte Prozesse

überhaupt. Das ist der Beginn des ganzen einfach, aber es war sehr erstaunlich,

dass dann alle 3 gesagt haben, dass sie sich es doch vorstellen könnten hier bei

mir zu arbeiten. Und das ist ein fortlaufender Prozess, und ca. 2023 werde ich

weitere Anteile abgeben. Um die Verantwortung auch irgendwo weiter zu verteilen

aber auch. Dann hätten wir so 4 gleiche teile so jeder 25%. Ob das dann alles so

kommt muss man kurzfristig sehen, wie entwickeln sich Kinder wie entwickelt sich

das Unternehmen aber so haben die Kinder zumindest mal ein Ziel so kann es

langgehen. Und wenn ich dann weiter ausscheide, könnte man z.B. einen Beirat

oder so etwas installieren. Einen Externen Beirat der einem immer dann noch so

ein bisschen helfen kann, oder man hat externe Berater, dass muss man dann

sehen wie man das so aufbaucht, weil ich kann ja gegen einen Baum fahren und

dann ....

QUESTION 2D:

T: welche Vorkehrungen hätten denn im Voraus getroffen werden können um die

Herausforderungen zu minimieren?

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257

M: Also vom Prinzip her eine Familienverfassong, einen langjährigen Prozess,

möglichst mit Externen. Das kann ich nur Empfehlen, man kann es selber nicht –

theoretischer weise schon aber man hat nicht diese Erfahrungen so einen Prozess

zu strukturieren. Und bei 3 Töchter, kommt man zu Entscheidungen sehr viel

schwieriger. Und wir hatten auch immer 2 Berater eine Frau und einen Mann, war

eine Junge Frau dabei die uns auch heute weiterberät. Die dann Kauderwelsche

den ich und der männliche Berater an Fachausdrücken losgelassen haben, dann

einfach übersetzt hat für die Kinder. So hat jeder ungefähr verstanden, was wir

dann da gemacht haben. Und was wir auch gemacht haben ist, dass wir die Fami-

lienverfassong in einen Gesellschaftervertrag umgewandelt haben. Was wir hätten

noch mehr machen können, ist die Kinder noch ein bisschen früher Heranführen

an das alles. Und die Kinder noch mehr aufzufordern breiter zu Denken. Die Kind-

er kommen von einer spezifischen Studienfachrichtung aber eigentlich müsste

man sich über ganz viele verschiedene Themen auskennen, sich ganz breit

Aufstellen damit man von überall ein bisschen was mitbekommt. Ich les z.B.

gerade ein Buch über Digitalisierung, man muss einfach sehen, dass man da ein-

fach mehr kukt oder einfach mal Zeitung liest.

QUESTION 3:

T: Betrachtet man die Generation Y, auch Millennials genannt oder Digital Natives

einmal genauer, wo würden sie denn deren Herausforderungen sehen? Millennials

sind ja wir sozusagen, und sie werden häufig charakterisiert als sehr ehrgeizig

sehr gebildet, wollen gerne Ihr eigener Boss sein, verfechten eine ausgeglichene

Work-Life Banalce, haben einen entrepreneurial spirit, sind gewillt Verantwortung

zu übernehmen und so weiter. Wo würdest du Ihre Herausforderungen sehen?

M: Also erst einmal glaube ich, dass es nicht viel anders ist als das was wir auch

gewollt haben. Das sag ich mal so. Sicherlich ist das eine junge Generation, die

hat neue Sachen, aber vom Prinzip was da drinnen steht, das wollten wir damals

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auch alles. Jeder von uns wollte auch ein Boss sein oder Verantwortung

übernehmen, sonst würde man so etwas ja auch nicht machen wollen. So extrem

Unterschiedlich ist das jetzt auch wieder nicht, in unterschiedlicher Ausprägung

natürlich sicherlich ein bisschen anders, ja. Die Herausforderung ist breit Aufstel-

len, also das ist zumindest, wenn man ein Unternehmen lenken will, sehr wichtig

auch. Oder man muss Spezialist für irgendetwas sein finde ich. Ich glaube die

Herausforderung für viele junge Leute ist die Anpassong der Kommunikation. Das

was da an Millennials genannt ist ist in meinen Augen nur eine sehr dünne Schicht

der Bevölkerung. Wir haben nur ganz wenige junge Leute in unserem Unterneh-

men, die wenigsten sind auch sehr gut. Aber die müssen Ihre Kommunikation

anpassen, weil es gibt eben nicht nur Millennials, sondern es gibt eben auch Kun-

de, oder einen Bauern der bei uns etwas kauft, oder auch ein Konzern der etwas

kauft. Mitarbeiter haben hier so unterschiedliche Ausprägungen, von Studierten

bis ganz einfachste Mitarbeiter. Man muss einfach mit allen kommunizieren kön-

nen, das ist einfach die Herausforderung. Nicht nur mit Intellektuellen sondern mit

allen Mitarbeitern. Das wird ganz wichtig sein. Und im Team zu arbeiten ist auch

ganz extrem wichtig. Aber in einem Team darf sich auch keiner verstecken. Zum

Schluss muss das Team auch geführt werden, und wie entscheidet man sich

dabei, dass kann jeder mal einzeln machen, aber es muss immer wieder neu

zusammen gefasst werden oder neu Aufbereitet werden. Und das bedarf auch

Erfahrung. Und zum Schluss ein gewisser Fleiß gehört dazu und einfach An-

wesenheit zeigen, kann man sagen was man will aber es ist einfach zum Schluss

wichtig. Work-Life Balance ist immer so ein schöner Begriff, das kann man sicher

besser machen, als wir das damals gemacht haben, aber zum Schluss ohne Fleiß

und Anwesenheit geht es auch nicht. Man kann Sachen heute sicherlich einfach

viel mehr steuern, allein wenn eine Frau ein Kind hat oder so, gibt es durch die

EDV viele Möglichkeiten, das ist sehr viel praktischer und man kann auch mehr

von daheim aus arbeiten. Oder dann auch zu Zeiten wenn die Kinder schlafen.

Und was mir immer in vielen Konzernen auffällt, dass man einfach nicht vergessen

sollte immer im Ziel des Unternehmens zu handeln. Ich habe oft das Gefühl, das

viele Junge Leute immer öfter an sich denken und an Ihre Karriere. Das hilft Un-

ternehmen nur sehr bedingt weiter, dass sind sicher immer gute Leute dies da gibt

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259

irgendwo, aber mal an das Unternehmen denken und an sein Fortbestand ist

sicherlich nicht verkehrt.

T: ok sehr gut.

QUESTION 4:

T: und hat deiner Meinung nach ein weiblicher Nachfolger andere Herausforder-

ungen als ein männlicher Nachfolger in dem Unternehmensnachfolgeprozess?

M: Das einzige, wo ich ein Unterschied sehe sind Kinder. Das ist in meinen Augen

der einzige Unterschied, weil ich finde das Frauen heutzutage eher einen enormen

Vorteil haben. Selbst bei großen Konzernen mit gleicher Qualifikation, stellen sie

heute eher eine Frau ein als einen Mann. Weil es einfach noch zu wenig Frauen

gibt, die oft Qualifiziert genug sind. Da wird eure Generation einfach anders sein,

ihr seit ja inzwischen alle immer sehr Qualifiziert. Und die Herausforderung ist,

was wir gemacht haben, dass man eben ein bisschen herausen ist aus dem Ges-

chäft eben durch Kinder, viele Frauen trauen sich dann nichts mehr zu. Wir haben

oft Frauen einstellen wollen, die in unseren Augen sehr sehr gut waren, wir haben

unser Ziel ihnen vorgestellt, aber das wollten sie nicht auch wenn wir gesagt ha-

ben, ihr könne von daheim aus arbeiten oder Halbtags oder Ihr habt 2-3 Jahre Zeit

euch da reinzuarbeite, Ihr müsst das nicht von heute auf morgen können oder so

aber viele haben dann Angst bekommen ganz erstaunlich. Aber die einzige

Herausforderung in meinen Augen ist, wie bekommt man Kinder und Firma

zusammen. Weil wenn man Kinder haben will, will man sich vielleicht auch ein

bisschen um sie kümmern, und nicht nur in die Krippe geben und den ganzen Tag

nicht sehen. Ist heute lösbar, aber sicherlich aufwendiger für eine Frau als, für

einen Mann. Gute es gibt inzwischen auch Männer die kümmern sich um die

Kinder. Sonst sehe ich eigentlich keinen großen Unterschied.

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QUESTION 5:

T: gut dann kommen wir zu strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen. Glaubst

du sollten strukturelle oder strategische Bedingungen im Prozess der weiblichen

Unternehmensnachfolge beachtet werden und welche wären diese? Glaubst du

z.B. das Änderungen in der Hierachiestruktur vorgesehen werden müssen oder ...

M: eigentlich nicht, ich sehe keinen Unterschied zwischen männlichen und weibli-

chen Unternehmensnachfolgern ehrlich gesagt. Jetzt komme ich wieder auf die

Kinder, aber ich denke einfach dass Frauen die Kinder haben wollen, das dieser

Wunsch dabei berücksichtigt werden muss. Das ist in meinen Augen das einzige

Problem, weil wo soll denn ein unterschied sei. Man muss die Aufgaben abarbeit-

en, man hat die gleichen Rechte und Pflichten. Insofern, das ist ein Thema wo

man sich einfach unterhalten muss. Es ist auch die Frage, welche Stellung wollen

die Kinder einnehmen, egal ob männlich oder weiblich. Wollen sie voll Arbeiten

oder die Firma als einzelne auch führen, oder stellt man sich Breiter auf, das ist

auch eine Frage der Größe des Firmenbetriebes. Wir gehen mal gerade davon

aus, dass kein Kind eine operative Gesellschaft führt sondern in der Holding sind

aber in der Firma arbeiten können. Additionally meine mittlere Tochter macht den

ganzen außen Bereich, also PR nach außen und so weiter. (...) wir versuchen,

dass immer die Kernbereiche unsere Firmen zumindest irgendwo integriert sind

und auch überlappen. (...) und dann müssen auch die Kinder mal sagen, was wol-

len Sie eigentlich. Aber dass kann man steuern oder auch in ruhe entwickeln. Gut

wenn man sagt man möchte der alleinige Nachfolger sein, dann braucht man auch

seine Zeit. Ich glaube nicht dass man da allein gleich mal eine Hierachiebene än-

dert. Es hilft sicherlich auch eine Familienverfassong auch, ich habe zumindest

eine Struktur wie wir klar voran kommen können und die Kinder auch Anteil an

dem Unternehmen erhalten, oder mehr Anteile bekommt, oder dass auch mal so

grob festgelegt ist, wann scheidet ein Vater aus dem Operativen Geschäft aus,

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261

das steht auch alle in der Familienverfassong mit drinnen. Das man sich einmal so

gewisse Meilensteine auch erarbeitet, die man dann zeitlich auch einfach mal

anpassen kann. Insofern Änderungen der Hierachieebene wird sich nicht so viel

geben eigentlich. Auch die Unternehmensstrategie ändert sich auch nicht nur, nur

weil ein Nachfolger hinein kommt. Der Nachfolger muss erst einmal das Un-

ternehmen kennen lernen, und dann kann man erst mit dem Vater oder anderen

Führungskräften das Unternehmen neu entwickeln. Und wieder weiter Entwickeln

man muss ja ständig angepasst sein irgendwo auch, aber das ist ein laufender

und andauernder Prozess. Ja wie bereitet man seine Kidz vor, es gibt eine

gewisse Strategie, wir habe eine Plan gehabt, wie meine mittlere Tochter zu uns

kam, und erst einmal ist die den ganzen Betrieb durchlaufen, damit sie einfach

weiß, was ein Steinbruch ist und wie dies Sachen da ablaufen. Man kann es zum

Schluss aber nicht ganz genau planen, weil jeder sich ja unterschiedlich entwick-

elt. Aber zumindest einen groben Plan sollte man schon haben, auch für den Na-

chfolger, damit du ca weißt, Papa hat bis hier, und weis das er ab dann nicht mehr

der alleinige Herrscher ist sondern dann auf noch eine Tochter mit dabei ist.

Strukturell eben Familienverfassong mit dem Übergang in einen Gesellschaftsver-

trag und der Anteiligen Übertragung, das gehört dann einfach auch mit dazu. Und

strategisch, sicher wie man eine Firma weiterentwickelt wie arbeitet man

miteinander, welche Ziele hat man miteinander, kann ja auch etwas Neues kom-

men, neuer Zweig auch mit dazu. Welche Wert hat man. Auch dein Vater mit dir.

Das man so grob irgendwie weiß ok wir ticken ähnlich oder wenn es einen Konflikt

gibt, wie gehen wir damit um, es wird immer Konflikte geben. Das ist normal und

auch wichtig, das bringt einen vorwärts, wenn man damit auch richtig umgeht,

wenn alle hinterher Beleidigt sind, dann hat man da was falsch gemacht. Und dass

man diesen Zeitplan hat das ist auch einfach sehr wichtig. Mehr weiß ich nicht

dazu.

QUESTION 6:

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T: So jetzt sind wir auch schon am Schluss unseres Fragebogens angekommen,

hast du noch einen persönlichen Tipp oder Rat den du gerne einem weiblichen

Nachfolger mit auf den Weg geben würdest?

M: ob weiblich oder männlich finde ich wurscht, da gibt es keinen Unterschied,

auch vielleicht weil ich 3 Töchter habe. Eine vernünftige Ausbildung zu haben ist

sicher sehr wichtig als Basis, zumindest auch einmal irgendwo anders gearbeitet

haben, und dann auch möglichst in einem größeren Laden. Man kann von

Größeren lernen, man muss es nicht so machen wie die aber man kann neue

Dinge dazu lernen, das ist sicherlich ein Vorteil. Persönlich, dass man lernt lang-

fristig zu Denken. Und sich Breit aufstellen und einfach links und rechts kuken.

Zumindest als Firmenlenker dann auch. (...) das Fehlt in meinen Augen sehr

vielen Leuten, an den Kunden denken, und den Kunden nicht vergessen. Und zu

Schluss wollen Kunden auch bei einen Familienunternehmen einfach mal

persönlich Angesprochen werden. Sei es der Inhaber aber auch Angestellte. Dass

Sie Leute haben, mit denen Sie reden können. Offen sein, wenn man Lust hat,

dann findet man immer irgendwas denke ich.

QUESTION 7:

T: super, hast du noch irgendeinen abschließenden Gedanken den du gerne

loswerden möchtest?

M: eigentlich nicht. Es ist auch für den Vater ein spannende Prozedere Kinder an

die Firma ranzubringen, wo man auch ständig neu nachdenken muss, wo es auch

gut ist, wenn man ab und zu mal einen externen Berater bei sich hat, den auch die

Kinder irgendwo akzeptieren. Und dass man auch gemeinsam über Probleme re-

den kann oder wie man sich weiterentwickeln kann. Die bringen einfach neue

Gedanken rein vor allem sehr strukturierte Gedanken, das ist auch eben warum

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wir so eine Familienverfassong oder Gesellschaftsvertrag oder Anteilsweitergabe

gemacht haben. Und abschließend, es macht einfach Spaß mit den Kindern zu

arbeiten.

T: ok, dann vielen lieben Dank für das Gespräch.

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Interviewee: Daniela

QUESTION 1:

T: also ich Bedanke mich erstmal sehr bei Ihnen, dass Sie sich für meinen

Fragebogen Zeit nehmen. Genau und zwar geht es in meiner Masterarbeit um die

Challanges of a female successor of a family business. Und mein Fragebogen ist

unterteilt in 4 Hauptteile und 5 Hauptfragen. Nur damit Sie sich so ein bisschen

orientieren können. Zu den Individuellen Fragen, welche Position haben Sie denn

in einem Nachfolgeprozess?

D: ich weiß jetzt nicht so ganz genau, weil ich dachte, Sie fragen mich als Experte,

weil in dem Nachfolgeprozess wäre ich dann der Coach.

T: ja genau, Sie sind sozusagen dann der Berater für Töchter die gerne ein Fami-

lienunternehmen übernehmen wollen.

D: ja genau also ich bin dann sozusagen, die dritte im Bunde. Ich bin sozusagen

die Experten Distanz, entweder als rolle von einem Coach oder Berater, dass ist ja

unterschiedlich, im Prinzip den Prozess begleitet und moderiert. Im Schwerpunkt

sind natürlich die Töchter.

QUESTION 1A:

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T: ok, und wie haben Sie denn die Prozesse der Nachfolge bis jetzt so erlebt? Al-

so würden Sie eher so sagen, dass alles glimpflich abgelaufen ist oder eher

schwierig.

D: sehr unterschiedlich, also es ist so was mir bei den Frauen sehr auffällt, dass

Sie sehr frühzeitig und umsichtig mit dem Thema der Nachfolge umgehen. Das

Heißt, ich habe viele Fälle im coaching die einfach sehr gut Begleitet sind, das

heißt dass sich sehr frühzeitig Gedanken gemacht werden und sich auch externe

Hilfe dazu geholt wird, und so weiter, und auch dass da Vater und Tochter ganz

gut miteinander kommunizieren können und arbeiten können. Das heißt, ich habe

wenig glimpfliche Fälle, wenn sie doch nicht so glimpflich sind dann eher weil der

Vater noch nicht bereit ist loszulassen und dann doch eher die Tochter diese Posi-

tion nimmt ohne dass man ihr das offiziell angetragen hat und dass dann einfach

verzögert wird oder doch nicht klappt oder dann Schwierigkeiten gibt, ja.

T: ok dankeschön.

QUESTION 2A:

T: dann würden wir auch schon zu unserem nächsten Hauptteil kommen und zwar

zu den Fragen basierend auf den Herausforderungen eines Nachfolgers. Was sind

denn Ihrer Meinung nach die größten Herausforderungen eines Nachfol-

geprozesses? Ich habe die Herausforderungen in drei Aspekte unterteilt, einmal in

die Unternehmens Aspekte, in die Familien Aspekte und in die Persönlichen

Aspekte eines jeden Nachfolgers, wo würden Sie denn hier jeweils die größten

Herausforderungen sehen?

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D: ok dann fange ich mir dem Unternehmen an, im Unternehmen finde ich die

größte Herausforderung, dass man diesen Generationswandel auch umsetzen

kann, das heißt, dass auch Innovationen etabliert werden können. Das ist ja sehr

wichtig, weil Familienunternehmen sehr von Traditionen leben. Und da ist ja die

Nachfolge eine sehr wichtige Gelegenheit, also so eine Schnittstelle wo auch im-

mer wieder Neuimpulse reinkommen, Neues wissen, neue Mitarbeiter, eine an-

dere Strategie das ist natürlich der kritischste Punkt so, kann das gelingen, ziehen

alle mit, ist die Nachfolgerin überhaupt in der Lage dazu so neue Strukturen zu

etablieren, kann der Vater es akzeptieren oder die Unternehmerfamilie. Kann das

Unternehmen sozusagen auf das Zukunftsgleis gebracht werden? Finde ich eine

sehr kritischen, was heißt sehr kritischen, dass ist einfach die größte Aufgabe. Im

Bereich der Familie, ist es einfach ganz oft diese Kommunikation an sich, kann ich

mit allen reden, sind die anderen bereit – wenn es mehr Geschwister gibt, auch da

zurückzustecken wenn da ein Kind die Nachfolge antreten wird. Additionally sind

da alle wohlwollend unterstützend oder gibt es da Familienmitglieder die sich

ausgeschlossen fühlen, und dann auf dieser Grundlage Unruhe stiften wollen oder

nicht mitziehen an diesen Strang der da Nachfolge heißt. Gelingt es dann auch da

die eigene werdende Familie zu integrieren in dieses Unternehmer Konstrukt, ich

gründe ja auch oft als Nachfolger eine Familie ich hab Kinder und ich hab einen

Man, passen die da gut dazu, wird der Ehemann aufgenommen, findet er dann da

auch eine Rolle und einen Platz und so weiter. Und bei persönlichen Faktor ist es

immer bei den Frauen die ich coache das Thema Wachstum, Selbstbewusstsein

so ankommen in dieser Rolle Unternehmerin, wohlweißlich das es in der Genera-

tion davor ganz wenig Beispiele gab dafür, wie mache ich es als Frau. Das heißt

Familie und Unternehmen vereinbaren, und auch als weibliche Chefin was ent-

steht da für eine Kultur, und so weiter und so weiter. Da müssen die schon ganz

schön kreativ sein, also einfach sehr bei sich sein und in sich sein um zu spüren

wie will ich das alles machen, was habe ich für eine Art und Weise damit

umzugehen, und das erfordert schon auch so eine Entwicklungsaufgabe.

T: sehr gut, dass klingt alles wirklich super interessant.

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QUESTION 2B:

T: und wenn Sie jetzt die eine größte Herausforderung nennen müssten, mit der

jede Nachfolgerin zu kämpfen hat, wie würde diese aussehen oder könnten Sie

diese charakterisieren.

D: also hm ja, ich erspüre eigentlich immer dieses Thema so loszulassen, also

dieses Ringen wie viel ist es noch deins lieber Papa und wann ist es meins, und

was passiert dazwischen – das ist immer im choaching ein rießen Thema und ein

ganz filigraner Prozess, weil es doch auch den Vätern schwerer fällt zu gehen,

und die haben dann noch ein bisschen was und ein kleines Büro oder lassen ein-

fach überhaupt nicht los und mischen sich einfach überall mit ein, das finde ich

schon auf der Menschlichen ebene so eine Kleine Gradwanderung das so hin-

zukriegen, dass es kein rausschmiss ist, dass die Familienbeziehungen da nicht

leide, und dass die Tochter da gut wachsen kann in diesem Unternehmen, und

dass dann nicht immer noch einer da ist und da drückt und irgendwie den Platz

wegnimmt.

QUESTION 2C:

T: ja genau das ist sehr gut, und wie können diese Schwierigkeiten denn über-

wunden werden, also die Herausforderungen, was könnten gemacht werden?

D: Also von meiner Seite sage ich immer reden reden reden reden, also ich habe

oft so – eigentlich jedes mal so AHA –Erlebnisse, dass dann Töchter erst einmal in

meinem Coaching oder in meinen Workshops erst einmal so reflektieren und

darüber nachdenken und dann schon neue Ideen bekommen, oder dann eine an-

dere Sichtweise, die Streiten dann da mit dem Papa und sind dann tot unglücklich

und lernen dann eher doch einmal die Seite des Vaters zu verstehen, und sagen

dann auch Mensch der hat das ja dann gar nicht böse gemeint, weil für die ist das

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ja auch schwierig oder so. Additionally sprechen und sich alleine in diese Reflek-

tion begeben und dann natürlich auch mit dem Vater, oft sitzen natürlich Familien

an dem Tisch und arbeiten dann miteinander, und sagen dann ach Mensch das

haben wir noch nie so gesehen oder das hat die noch nie so gesagt oder gut dass

wir da jetzt mal drüber geredet haben, und die Kommunikation kommt natürlich zu

kurz, aber trotzdem komischer weise obwohl Familienunternehmen so nahe sind,

die sprechen über alles mögliche aber nicht über diese Sensiblen Themen so wie

man das dann so schön nennt. Und Unterstützung suchen, natürlich kommt es

dann immer Merkwürdig wenn ein Coach so sagt sucht euch coachings das ist

ganz wichtig – dass kommt dann so rüber, wie wenn ich meinen Arbeitsplatz

sichern will – aber es ist dann tatsächlich so dass es ein sehr großer Erfolgsfaktor

ist, es gibt im übrigen auch Studien, dass es ein Erfolgskriterium ist von Erfolgrei-

cher Nachfolge, dass man auch in diesen weichen Faktoren oder in diesen psy-

chosozialen Faktoren Unterstützung hat. Das ist wahnsinnig wichtig.

T: ja das glaube ich auch.

QUESTION 2D:

T: und ehm welche Vorkehrungen hätten den im Voraus getroffen werden können

um die Herausforderungen zu minimieren? Also wäre es sinnvollgewesen eine

geregelte Nachfolgeplanung auszuarbeiten bevor die Tochter überhaupt in das

Unternehmen kommt, oder ob ja ...

D: ja das ist ja natürlich immer Wünschenswert so einen Fahrplan, ja das ist auch

immer Teil eines coachings, es ist auf jeden Fall immer der erste Schritt der ge-

macht werden muss, dass die Tochter sich so einen Plan macht einfach um ein

Ziel im Kopf zu haben, so eine Vision zu haben wie mache ich meine Nachfolge,

über was reden wir über 10 Jahre 5 Jahre oder 2 Jahre, das ist gut auf jeden Fall

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da kann sie auch anders an die Eltern oder an den Vater heran treten und argu-

mentieren und stärker in ihrer Rolle, das ist wichtig. Es ist auch wichtig oder

wünschenswert, dass sich Vater und Tochter mal gemeinsam über ein paar

Punkte so geeinigt haben und die auch mal verschriftlich haben, weil das fördert –

sagen wir so – das loslassen, wenn sich der Vater einmal schriftlich commited hat

so machen wir es in 3 Jahren oder 5 Jahren oder in 10 so, dann kann er in 7 Jah-

ren nicht so leicht sagen och ich will doch nicht, weil man hat ja was in der Hand.

Meiner Erfahrung nach, sind solche Pläne auch dafür da, dass man sie sicherlich

hin und wieder mal wieder anpassen muss. Ja man muss da einfach sehr flexible

sein, weil da kommt die Realität einfach oft sehr dazwischen. Ich habe mit jetzt

einen 5 Jahresplan zurecht gelegt, aber nach 3 Jahren wenn der Aufstieg in die

Geschäftsleitung dran wäre bin ich erst einmal schwanger oder so. nur so als

Beispiel, es ist super gut so einen Plan zu haben, und es sollten alle in den Plan

eingeweiht seinen und sagen ja so ist es gut, aber der Plan sollte nicht also so

starres Konstrukt gesehen werden, sondern was macht es mit mir wie entwickelt

es sich in der Praxis, was macht es mit dem Unternehmen. Immer mal wieder hin

und wieder die Realität sehen.

T: ok ja, das ist sehr gut dankeschön.

QUESTION 3:

T: Nun betrachtet man die mal die Generation Y oder auch als Digital Natives oder

Millenials genannt mal etwas genauer, wo würden Sie denn deren Herausforder-

ungen sehen in der Nachfolge.

D: Wir haben da gerade eben eine große Studie dazu gemacht.

T: ja super, dürfen sie dann da schon drüber sprechen oder eher nicht.

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D: ja genau ich muss einfach immer so ein bisschen denken, ich halt mich da mal

ein bisschen raus und kann so nennen, was uns so als Feedback immer so

entgegen kommt. Wir haben tatsächlich rausgefunden, dass die von der work life

balance oder wie die auch oder von dem Anspruch wie die Unternehmen führen,

ist diese Y Generation einfach ein bisschen anders. Additionally die kuken schon

auch oft, alles muss Sinnhaft sein, was sie da machen, die würden jetzt nicht

jedes Familienunternehmen da übernehmen, die kuken jetzt auch dass sie in ih-

rem Leben noch mehr Rollen und Themen haben als jetzt diese typische Kriegs

und Patriarchen Generation, die nur das Unternehmen kennen und den Rotariclub

und das und dann Schluss, also die Yner kuken schon auch andere Netzwerke

und Beteiligungen. Ich hatte jetzt so einen Kongress wo ganz viele so in Gründer-

sachen investieren werden, und so Start-up Geschichten in Berlin und machen

halt ganz Bunte Sachen. Und das überragt dann aber so die Generation davor, die

sagen dann wer macht denn dann die Arbeit haben die dann Leute die die Arbeit

machen, das geht ja gar nicht wen die immer so früh Feierabend machen und an-

dere Themen haben, das ist so der Streitpunkt zwischen den Generationen. Aber

ich würde insgesamt sagen, dass das unnötig ist. Das ist einfach ein Haltungssa-

che die bekommen die anderen dann trotzdem auch hin. Und es ist ja auch na-

chgewiesen man kann auch in 6 Stunden wenn man fokussiert und konzentriert

Arbeitet genauso viel schaffen als wie andere in 15 die müder sind oder so, es gibt

ja da wirklich ganz viele Studien. Aber ich verstehe natürlich diese Diskussion

wenn der Vater natürlich immer seine 14 Stunden gemacht hat und nun kommt

der Sohn und sagt ich mache 8 und dann gehe ich was ich was tun, dass die dann

sagen, das schaffst du nicht das geht so nicht. Und natürlich die Vater rolle, die

sind natürlich ganz anders in ihre Familien integriert als Mütter und Väter, also

jetzt die Unternehmer und Nachfolger, also die machen es einfach ein bisschen

anders, aber eine gute Anmerkung aus der Plänung ist ja immer, dass haben wir

auch so gemacht, ne die in den 60er Jahren geboren, die wollten auch immer alles

anders machen, und die waren auch immer die Revoluzzer und dann werden die

erwachsen und dann werden die älter und machen doch dann einfach vieles wie

ihre Eltern. Additionally das ist einfach auch so ein bisschen das Recht der Ju-

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gend, also so ein bisschen Revolution reinzubringen und so schlimm ist es aber

dann am Ende garnicht.

T: ahja, also ich finde, dass das so super interessant klingt wenn sie da so drüber

sprechen.

QUESTION 4:

T: kommen wir nun zu nächsten Frage, hat Ihrer Meinung nach ein weiblicher Na-

chfolger unterschiedliche Herausforderungen als ein männlicher Nachfolger?

D: ja auf jedenfall, und zwar in zwei Bereichen, zum einen das was unsere Gesell-

schaft denkt, wie Frauen im Beruf zu seien haben und sind also diese typischen

Stereotypen, die auch Gesellschaftlich und kulturell so geprägt sind, also diese

Frauen oder Nachfolgerinnen studieren viel weniger diese Technischen Berufe,

sind also dann eher im Marketing zu finden und im Personal und solche Sachen

halt, das auf jeden Fall. Und dann das große Thema Familie, ja wir Frauen

bekommen Kinder und wenn ich eine Unternehmenslenkerin bin und habe Kinder

und es ist immer noch in Deutschland so, eher sehr Rückschrittlich, dass 65% der

Hausarbeit und der Familienarbeit an Frauen hängt, also es ist nicht automatisch

so ich bin die Nachfolgerin und habe ein Unternehmen und teile mir diese ganze

Haus- und Familienarbeit, sondern da hängt auch noch zum Großteil bei den

Frauen und quasi da haben die Väter Rollenbilder oder wie auch immer, und

daher sind die Frauen natürlich viel belasteter dann immer die Frauen, da haben

sie Kinder und den Haushalt und das Unternehmen und versuchen das alles dann

unter einen Hut zu bringen. Und das ist bei Nachfolgern nicht so, die haben dann

in der Regel jemanden an Ihrer Seite, auch eine Frau natürlich, der ihm dann viel

mehr den Rücken frei hält, das ist auch ein großer Unterschied natürlich und das

hängt auch viel an diesen Bildern in Deutschland wie wir die Mutterrolle sehen,

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wie wir die Frauenrolle sehen, wie wir es schaffen Frauen in den Beruf zu integri-

eren, auch wie wir es schaffen in die höheren Etagen, dass ist ja noch ganz und

überhaupt nicht gut fortgeschritten, da gibt es viele schwierigkeiten.

T: ja das stimmt, vielen dank – dankeschön.

QUESTION 5:

T: gut, dann kommen wir zu unserem dritten großen Punkt – zu den strategischen

und strukturellen Bedingungen. Sollten strukturelle und strategischen Bedingung-

en im Prozess der weiblichen Unternehmensübernahme beachtet werden und

welche wären diese? Fällt Ihnen da was ein zu den strukturellen z.b. ..

D: woran denken Sie da?

T: Ich habe gedacht, dass es zum Beispiel sinnvoll wäre die Unternehmenshier-

achiestruktur zu ändern, also dass ein weiblicher Nachfolger lieber eine flachere

Hierachiestruktur hätte also die Generation davor oder dass sich der Senior aus

den operativen und daily business zurückzieht, oder ob irgendwelche Rechtlichen

Aspekte geändert werden müssen, oder die Unternehmensstrategie im allge-

meinen weil sie nicht mehr so an Innovationen denkt und einfach nicht mehr

wettbewerbstauglich ist.

D: also das kann alles ein im Prinzip muss aber nicht, also ich kenne viele Un-

ternehmen, da haben sie schon immer viel Wert gelegt auf solche Themen. Haben

Ihre Strategien und ihre Strukturen regelmäßigst überprüft, weil viele Familienun-

ternehmen sind sozusagen auch Weltmarktführer und sind ja die Nummer Ein in

ihren Produkten die Sie haben und das ist natürlich ein Lebenseleksier für die im-

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mer weiter eines zu sein. Und diese Position nicht zu verlieren, also die in-

vestieren wahnsinnig viel in Innnovationen und Entwicklung also in F&E und so

und dann wenn ein Nachfolger kommt kann es natürlich sein, dass er das einfach

nur so brav weiter führen muss, diese Art und Weise mit dem Thema Innovation

so umzugehen und jetzt garnicht so viele Neuerungen machen muss. Und wenn

das jetzt so Unternehmen sind die einfach das so Geschlafen haben und sich auf

einem Produkt ausgeruht haben was jetzt nicht mehr lange so funktionieren wird,

dann muss man das natürlich alles so umkrempeln, die Strategie und sich neue

Märkte erkämpfen und so weiter. Was natürlich auf jeden fall ist, dass Frauen

meistens immer die Strukturen ändern müssen des Unternehmens, weil die oft

einmal aus der Historie kommen oder Kultur, wo einer entschieden hat und geführt

und so, dass der Vater früher alles immer gelenkt hat und alles so über seinen

Schreibtisch vielleicht ging, und eben zum anderen der Vereinbarkeit von Familie

und Beruf, neigen die Frauen dann dazu den Strukturentyp der Management

strukturen breiter aufzustellen. Die haben dann für die ganzen Bereiche auch

Geschäftsführer oder auch Manager die dass dann auch eigenverantwortlich auch

machen können und es ist jetzt nicht mehr Notwendig das die Frauen Tag und

Nacht da sind. Ich glaube dass ist jetzt auch so ein bisschen der Trend der sowie-

so entsteht, das hat jetzt nicht unbedingt nur etwas mit Frauen zu tun. Additionally

so eine Nadelöhrführung ist ja sowieso nicht mehr so machbar in der heutigen

Welt, auch so mit Digitalisierung, da wird ja alles viel Komplexer und dann muss

man sowieso kuken, dass man das immer auf mehreren Schulter verteilt, und das

man sozusagen immer die besten Experten und Spezialisten dafür findet.

T: ok ja sehr gut, das langt mir so glaube ich.

QUESTION 6:

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T: Dann sind wir auch am Schluss unseres Fragebogens angekommen, haben die

noch einen Tipp oder Rat den sie gerne einer weiblichen Nachfolgerin mit auf den

Weg geben würden?

D: das wichtigste ist echt dieses Vernetzen, oft sitzen sie einfach alleine in Ihrem

Kämmerchen und denke sie müssen diese ganzen Herausforderungen und

Gedanken und Themen so alleine bewältigen und kommen sich so vor dass nur

Sie diejenigen sind die diese Themen und Fragen haben. Was totaler quatsch ist

und es werden immer immer mehr. Und eben durch Generation Töchter durch

viele Initativen die wir gestartet haben, haben wir es geschafft ganz viele Plattfor-

men zu installieren, ob das ein coaching ist oder wir haben so Peergroups, wo die

sich austauschen können oder einfach Workshops und Seminare wo die

miteinander reden können oder einfach ein Telefongespräch, Bücher sind

geschrieben, Studien sind gemacht. Das ist meine Empfehlung einfach mal auf die

Suche zu gehen und zu kuken an welches Netzwerk kann ich da ganz gut an-

docken und liegt mir da und da ehm, sich Unterstützung da zu suchen, nicht ok da

hilft mir jemand, sondern und auch ein Austausch, weil in diesem Austausch

wächst man viel viel leichter und man bekommt Ideen und wird viel stärker auch

als dass man für sich alleine ist. Das ist mein Tipp.

T: ja das ist ja super. Und haben sie noch einen abschließenden Gedanken den

sie gerne loswerden möchten.

D: nö, dass ich Ihnen viel Glück wünsche für die Arbeit.

T: dankeschön.

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Interviewee: Frau von Dewitz

Question 1:

T: Genau und zwar geht es in meiner Masterarbeit um die Challanges of a female

successor of a family business. Mein Fragebogen ist unterteilt in 4 Hauptteile und

5 Hauptfragen. Und ich würde einfach gleich mal vorhinweg mit den individuellen

Fragen beginnen. Welche Position haben Sie denn in dem Nachfolgeprozess?

D: geschäftsführerin. Tochter.

T: ja genau, und Sie haben sozusagen das Unternehmen von Ihrem Papa über-

nommen?

D: mhm.

Question 1A:

T: ok, und wie haben Sie den Nachfolgeprozess erlebt?

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D: puh, sehr langwierig, wir haben es ja viele Jahre gemacht, mit Prozessman-

agemet aufbauen, Mitarbeiter und Führungskräfte schulen, und Organisation

Umgestaltung, einfach viel viel viel und langwierig. Bei vielen Emotionen begleitet.

T: ok, also viele Emotionen haben Sie dabei begleitet?

QUESTION 2A:

T: sehr gut, dann kommen wir gleich zu den Herausforderungen eines jeden Na-

chfolgers. Was waren denn Ihre größten Herausforderungen in dem Nachfol-

geprozess? Ich habe die Herausforderungen in drei Faktoren unterteilt und zwar

die Unternehmens Aspekte, die Familien Aspekte und die Persönlichen Aspekte.

Vielleicht könnten Sie zu jedem Aspekt eine Herausforderung nennen die Ihnen

spontan einfällt?

D: also Sie sind immer wieder unterbrochen hören Sie mich eigentlich richtig?

T: also ja ich höre Sie super.

D: ehm also aus Unternehmen Sicht die Größten Herausforderungen waren die

Kulturumstellung, von der patriarchalen Struktur und Kultur – die da weder blieben

sollte noch wollte- auf eine Unternehmenskultur die auf meinen Führungsstil passt.

Additionally das ist eine große Herausforderung. Und Familiär sicher die größte

Herausforderung war die neu-Beziehung mit meinem Vater zu gestalten, sie hat

sich einfach durch die Unternehmensnachfolge verändert. Weil es eben kein

reines Tochter-Vater Verhältnis ist sondern eben auch ein Übergeber-Nachfolger

Verhältnis. Und was war die dritte Kategorie?

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T: Ihre persönlichen Aspekt.

D: aha mhm, der persönliche Aspekt... vielleicht auf der mit dem Führungsstil –

sich selbst zu entdecken, ihn persönlich zu gestalten, wo liegen denn überhaupt

meine Stärken, also einfach das eigene Rezept zu finden.

QUESTION 2B:

T: und wenn sie jetzt eine größte Herausforderung nennen müssten, mal

abgesehen von den drei Aspekten welche wäre denn diese?

D: die größte Herausforderung?

T: Ja.

D: das familiäre Verhältnis.

QUESTION 2C:

T: und wie haben Sie denn diese Schwierigkeit überwunden?

D: die größte jetzt oder wie?

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T: ja, oder im Allgemeinen wie Sie einfach mit den Herausforderungen umge-

gangen sind.

D: ehm, fatherurch dass ich im Vorhinein das Team der Geschäftsleitung

aufgestellt habe, das meiste im Team auf besprochen haben, also das Team war

eines der wichtigsten Sachen – eben auch einen ausgewogenen und balancierten

Weg zu finden. Und eine ganz starke Wertebasierung und eben damit die konse-

quente Ausrichtung aller Fragen auf diese geführten und konsequenten Werte so-

zusagen. Das war auch wichtig. Und teilweise auch Professionelle Begleitung.

T: ok, haben Sie da externe Begleitung gehabt.

D: ehm ja zu späteren Zeitpunkt zur Organisationsentwicklung.

T: wie lange hat den der Nachfolgeprozess bei Ihnen allgemein gedauert?

D:2005 bis 2009 war ich im Unternehmen, und hab da eigentlich gewusst, dass

ich es übernehmen werde und habe dann da begonnen viele Elemente dah-

ingegen auszurichten, dass das Unternehmen eben übergabefähig ist auf mich.

QUESTION 2D:

T: was für Vorkehrungen hätten denn im Vorhinein getroffen werden können, dam-

it die Herausforderungen minimiert werden?

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D: ich denke so ein moderierter Übergang von meinem Vater auf mich wäre sicher

sinnvoll gewesen. Weil sich einfach Rollen ändern fatherurch und das hätte man

gut begleiten können. Additionally das war eine Idealvorstellung ich glaube nicht,

dass mein Vater das mitgemacht hätte.

T: also das hätten Sie sich einfach gewünscht?

D: ehm, naja ich glaube im Nachhinein wäre das sicher Sinnvoll gewesen.

QUESTION 3:

T: sehr gut dann kommen wir auch schon zu meiner nächsten Frage, betrachtet

man mal die Generation Y, auch Millennials oder Digital Native genannt mal

genauer, wo würden Sie denn deren Herausforderungen sehen? Soll ich die Gen-

eration noch einmal definieren, oder...?

D: ich habe nichts verstanden.

T: ok, es geht um die Generation Y auch Millenials genannt oder Digital Natives

wo würden Sie denn deren Herausforderungen sehen?

D: deren Herausforderungen in was sehen?

T: ehm, im Unternehmensnachfolgeprozess, weil Sie ja schon als sehr ehrgeizig,

sehr gebildet charakterisiert werden und sie wollen eigentlich immer eine faire

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work and life balance haben und wollen gerne Ihr eigener Boss sein, glauben Sie

dass die andere Herausforderungen haben, als Sie damals gehabt haben?

D: ehm nein eigentlich nicht, also Wertemäßig unterscheidet sich das glaub ich

sehr wenig von der Generation Y also was jetzt Wahrnehmbar ist glaube ich, dass

die Bereitschaft Verantwortung zu übernehmen zurück geht. Additionally es ma-

chen sich nicht mehr so viele Selbstständig, alles nur in einem sehr kleinen über-

schaubaren Rahmen. Das könnte eine Herausforderung sein sich mit Haut und

Haaren einer Aufgabe zu verschreiben.

QUESTION 4:

T: ok dankeschön, und hat Ihrer Meinung nach ein weiblicher Nachfolger unter-

schiedliche Herausforderungen als ein männlicher Nachfolger?

D: ja ich denke schon. Additionally nicht defakto sozusagen sondern qua der Um-

welt – da es einfach noch sehr wenig weibliche Unternehmerinnen gibt. Und mein

schreibt einfach ein Blatt neu. Und hat natürlich den Vorteil, dass man zwar vielen

Vorurteilen begegnet sozusagen –das ist ein Nachteil, aber dass man auch häufig

einfach auch unterschätzt wird. Und keiner so wirklich weis was er erwarten kann.

Weil es ist einfach ein unbeschriebenes Blatt.

QUESTION 5:

T: sehr gut dann kommen wir schon zu unserem dritten Teil unseres Fragebogens

und zwar geht es da um die strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen. Sollten

strukturelle oder strategische Bedingungen im Prozess der weiblichen Unterneh-

mensübernahme beachtet werden und welche wären diese?

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D: strukturelle und ..?

T: strategische.

D: die Frage verstehe ich nicht.

T: ok. Additionally zum Beispiel ist es ja so dass bei einer Unternehmensnach-

flolge Hierachiestrukturen geändert werden sollten, oder die Unternehmenstrate-

gie von Grund auf überarbeitet werden muss weil sie einfach nicht dem Nachfolger

entspricht oder dass sich der Senior aus dem daily business zurückziehen muss,

oder irgendwelche Rechtlichen Aspekte gewünscht sind bei einer Nachfolge oder

sie zu ändern?

D: und das ist die Frage nach den Herausforderungen nochmal?

T: nein ob Sie glauben, ob es überhaupt welche gibt.

D: achso, puh ja klar also eigentlich genau das alles was Sie genannt haben. Ad-

ditionally die Strategieänderung finde ich einfach eine sehr große Change und

eben das alles auf den Prüfstand zu stellen, ist die Strategie noch zukunftsorien-

tiert oder zukunftsfähig. Ist die Struktur zuknuftsfähig, passt das zum modernen

Führungsstil. Additionally wir haben im folge dieses Führungsprozesses einfach

ganz viel Anpassen müssen, weil es garnicht auf meine Person und meiner Art

des Führens gepasst hat. Letztendlich bin ich auch nur ein Abbild der modernen

Generation und damit eben auch von den Bedürfnissen der modernen Generation.

Und deshalb ist der Übergabeprozess eine frischzellen kur für das Unternehmen,

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oder kann es zumindest sein. Häufig ist es ja auch so dass es einen Innova-

tionsstau gibt wenn ein Unternehmer in die Jahre kommt, und eben nicht mehr auf

dem neuesten, oder rechtliche Stand wie sie vorhin gesagt haben, oder was auch

immer ist. Das erlebe ich schon in vielen Unternehmen dass dann so eine ja

Frischzellen Kur kommt, und alles wird kritisch Hinterfragt und Mitarbeiter nutzen

die Gelegenheit um zu sagen was noch geändert werden könnte oder ange-

fangen. Additionally wir haben schon eine sehr große Veränderung auf allen

Ebenen und in allen Bereichen durchgemacht jetzt in den letzten Jahren.

T: aber es hat für Sie gut hingehauen, oder?

D: ehm ja auf jeden Fall es hat uns und unserem Unternehmen auf jeden Fall gut

getan, haben auch einige Fehler gemacht und viele über board geworfen was voll

Sinnvoll ist und es dann wieder in der zweiten Runde mühsam wieder anzueignen

und einzuführen sozusagen, beispielsweise wir waren sehr pragmatisch, sehr

Hemdsärmlich, und Ideen wurden sofort umgesetzt Früher, manchmal auch auf

Kosten der Qualität weil es einfach nicht mehr ganz durchdacht war oder so und

haben dann Angefangen uns sehr stark auf Qualitäts- und Prozesswesen auszur-

ichten und dann festzustellen, oh je, jetzt haben wir ein Stückweit unsere Innova-

tions- und Ideen-Kraft verloren. Additionally die Mischung macht es, also solche

Lernkurven haben wir auch schon hinter uns.

T: ok, ja sehr gut das Klingt auf alle Fälle total spannend. Und ja aus seinen Feh-

lern lernt man immer gell, die man gemacht hat.

QUESTION 6:

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T: Ok ja dann sind wir schon am Ende unseres Fragebogens. Zum Schluss würde

ich Sie einfach gerne Fragen: hätten Sie einen persöhnlichen Tipp oder Rat den

Sie gerne einem weiblichen Nachfolger mit auf den Weg geben würden?

D: ehm einfach als Tipp sich ganz sicher zu sein, dass man das wirklich möchte.

Und es muss schon eine tiefe Leidenschaft sein, und dass man sich vorher ein-

fach gut orientiert und so und seinen eigenen Herzenswunsch erkennt, weil dann

kann man all seine Kraft daraus ausrichten. Und dann an seine eigenen Werte

und Überzeugungen, dass man wirklich sehr viel Reflektiert hat darüber was

einem wichtig ist und das Leben selbst. Und die Kraft auch hat und den Mut nimmt

das Konsequent einfach umzusetzen. Und nicht zu orientieren an irgendwelchen

Männlichen Vorbildern. Man muss einfach Versuchen und den Mut haben seinen

eigenen Weg zu gehen. Weil dass einfach schon auch die Grundlage sein kann

um seinen eigenständigen Erfolg zu erlangen. Weil es gibt einfach noch nicht so

viele weibliche Unternehmer/Unternehmen und Positionierungen, und das ist auf

jeden Fall dann schon mal ein Stück eigenständiger. Und es passt auch auf jeden

Fall gut in die Zeit.

QUESTION 7:

T: ja das Stimmt das finde ich auch, haben Sie noch einen abschließenden

Gedanken, den Sie gerne loswerden möchten.

D: ehm, nein. Momentan nicht.

T: also Falls Sie nochmal einen haben, dürfen Sie mir auch gerne noch einmal

schreiben. Ja dass war es dann schon von meinem Fragebogen ehrlich gesagt.

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D: ok, dann wünsche ich Ihnen ganz viel Erfolg mit der Arbeit.

T: ich danke Ihnen sehr, dass Sie sich Zeitgenommen haben für mich.

D: gerne.

T: Schönen Abend noch, Tschau.

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Interviewe: Cordula

QUESTION 1:

T: Es geht um meinen Fragebogen zu meiner Masterarbeit, ich schreibe meine

Masterarbeit über die challenges of a female succesor of a familys business und

mein Fragebogen ist unterteilt in vier Hauptteile und besteht aus fünf Hauptfragen

und ich würde gleich einfach mal anfangen mit den individuellen Fragen. Welche

Position haben Sie in dem Nachfolgeprozess?

C: Also bei mir ist die Nachfolge abgeschlossen und ich bin das einzige Kind.

QUESTION 1 A:

T: Wie haben Sie den Nachfolge Prozess erlebt?

C: Bei uns war der Nachfolgeprozess nicht geplant, das heißt ich habe Aufgaben

im Unternehmen angenommen die für das Unternehmen wichtig waren und somit

bin ich in das Unternehmen reingekommen. Aber das Nachfolge Thema kam sehr

kurzfristig für mich.

T: War das ein anstrengender und schwieriger Prozess oder eher ein leichter

Prozess?

C: Schon ein sehr anstrengender Prozess, weil es immer Konflikte gibt zwischen

Jung und Alt und zwischen eingefahrenen Strukturen und auch Strukturen die ge-

macht werden die viel Zeit brauchen.

QUESTION 2A:

T: Jetzt kommen wir zu den Fragen basieren auf den Herausforderungen eines

jeden Nachfolgers. Was waren denn Ihre größten Herausforderungen in dem Na-

chfolgeprozess. Die Herausforderungen sind in drei Aspekte unterteilt, Un-

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ternehmerische Aspekte, Familien Aspekte und persönliche Aspekte. Könnten Sie

zu jedem Punkt bitte nennen was Ihnen einfällt.

C: Unternehmerisch: die richtigen Entscheidungen zu treffen, weil wenn man als

Unternehmerin Entscheidungen trifft, hat es Auswirkungen und Konsequenzen.

Und man ist in der Entscheidung komplett alleine, dann hat man keine Sicherheit

mehr und keine Puffer mehr wenn eine Entscheidung getroffen ist.

Familiär: Ich habe ein Kind und das mit dem Unternehmen zu vereinbaren ist

schwierig.

Persönlich: Man verliert sich als Person, man kann nicht mehr das machen was

man gerne macht, man kann nicht mehr in Urlaub, die Freiheiten die man als Ju-

gendlicher Student hatte, hat man nicht mehr. Wenn man Unternehmerin ist, dient

man der Firma, den Mitarbeitern und den Kindern. Obwohl es nach außen immer

so dargestellt wird, die hat ja alles und die kann ja alles und überhaupt aber man

steckt zurück und das heißt man dient den Menschen. Gerade wenn es ein Un-

ternehmen ist was im Umbruch ist, was neue Strukturen braucht und viel verän-

dert wird. Jetzt ganz speziell wir sind ein Unternehmen, dass von einem Handwerk

Betrieb in einen Industrie Betrieb gegangen ist. Am Anfang hatten wir mal 30 Mi-

tarbeiter jetzt haben wir 120 Mitarbeiter. Gerade in solchen Phasen ist es sehr an-

strengend und man macht sich selbst verrückt, man frägt sich nicht was man

lieber machen möchte, sondern nur wie viel Zeit habe ich und wie bringe ich alles

unter einen Hut. Man will vielen Menschen gerecht werden und um sozusagen das

Schiff am Laufen zu halten und die Bälle in der Luft zu halten und alles auszubal-

ancieren. Wir sind ein Mittelstand mit zwei Werken. Ich hatte die Herausforderung

die Firma von einem Handwerk in einen Industriebetrieb zu führen.

QUESTION 2B:

T: Wenn Sie eine größte Herausforderung nennen müssten, welche wäre diese

denn?

C: Die größte Herausforderung persönlich ist zu sich selbst zu stehen und sich

selbst Vertrauen und seinem Herzen zu folgen. Das Heißt quasi Management und

Unternehmertum müsste auf vielen Fakten aufgebaut und weniger auf Verstand.

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Ich durfte die Erfahrung machen, dass Verstand wichtig und wertvoll ist aber

Bauch und Herzensentscheidungen sind in dem Unternehmertum sehr wichtig.

Und oft sehr richtig, dass hören sie von anderen Unternehmer(innen) auch immer

wieder. Additionally die wahren Unternehmer quasi, die haben viele Bau-

chentscheidungen getroffen, die von dem Verstand oft mals nicht nachvollziehbar

waren. Und das ist so persönlich für mich die größte Herausforderung. Und zwei

Werke zu führen, wobei das eine so weit weg ist, dass ich dort nicht so oft präsent

sein kann, und dann dieses loslassen und Vertrauen, und das alles so läuft wie es

zu laufen hat. Additionally so dieser Konflikt, Kontrolle und Vertrauen, das ist so

eine große Herausforderung.

QUESTION 2C:

T: und wie haben denn Sie diese Schwierigkeit überwunden?

C: die Phase überwinden tut man nicht, dass ist ein sehr ständiger Prozess, finde

ich man wird reifer, und souveräner und man lern alles so zu akzeptieren wie es

gerade ist. Ich durfte die Erfahrung machen, was auch viele Manager machen,

man hat einen Plan, eine Strategie und man hat ein Ziel, und man verfolgt dieses

Ziel sehr verbissen. Und dann macht man die Erfahrung, das egal was man macht

man doch nicht das erreicht was man gerne hätte. Und ich mach diese Erfahrung

mit meinem Team zusammen Sachen und Themen so anzunehmen wie sie sind

und aus dem Moment heraus zu erkennen, was ist es jetzt was man braucht, was

ist die richtige Vorgehensweise. Additionally weg von diesen starren Ziele, Strate-

gie ja man braucht so einen Fahrplan oder eine Map wo man gerne hin möchte,

aber der Weg dahin der kann ja dann ganz anders sein. Beispiel Rom, wie komme

ich dort hin – welche Städte werde ich durchfahren, werde ich links oder rechts

rum fahren, welche Route möchte ich nehmen. Damit kann man das dann ganz

gut Vergleichen. Und wir oder ich habe ganz genau gewusst, nach A kommt B und

so weiter und gehe diesen Weg ganz stringent und das durfte ich lernen man soll

seinen Plan haben aber auch offen und bereit sein zu erkennen sein Plan nicht

relevant ist und angepasst werden muss, und was ist jetzt stimmiger – was

brauchen wir jetzt.

QUESTION 2D:

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T: und welche Vorkehrungen hätten denn im Zuge des Nachfolgeprozesses get-

roffen werden können, damit Herausforderungen minimiert gewesen wären?

C: Keine, sonst nichts, keine.

QUESTION 3:

T: ja gut, betrachtet man mal die Generation Y genauer, auch Millennials oder Dig-

ital Natives genannt mal genauer wo würden Sie denn deren Herausforderungen

sehen?

C: ich bin ein bisschen älter geworden, und ich kenn diese Begriffe nicht, vielleicht

würden sie es nochmal kurz erklären.

T: ok, also digital natives, wird die Generation bezeichnen, die geboren ist

zwischen 1980 und 2000 und sie sind sehr stark mit digitalen Medien aufgewach-

sen mit der ständigen connevtivität auch und sie werden charakterisiert als, sehr

ehrgeizig, sehr gebildet, verfechten eine ausgeglichene work and life balance, sind

auch gerne ihr eigener Boss, und ja sind gewillt auch viel Verantwortung zu

übernehmen. Glauben sie, dass sie jetzt andere Herausforderungen haben als sie

jetzt hatten?

C: ich denke diese Generation die sie hier beschreiben, hat ein ganz großes The-

ma und wird immer ein ganz großes Thema haben, es geht immer um den

Menschen, und je mehr man sich in das digitale Zeitalter verliert mit Handy, Face-

book und so weiter und auch immer diese Medienüberflutung, und immer mehr

vereinsamen die Menschen in sich. Und wenn man ein Unternehmen führ baucht

man die Menschen und die Menschen brauchen einen. Und das ist bei uns ein

ganz großer Fokus und auch meiner, es geht immer um den Menschen und die

menschliche Persönlichkeit die können sie nicht über Medien oder Zahlen oder

sonst etwas steuern. Und ich denke so wie ich die Generationen heute beo-

bachten darf, wenn ich mal in der Stadt bin oder auch ein Kind in diesem Zeitalter

habe, die Kinder verlieren sich, sie verlieren den Kontakt zu sich und zu den

Menschen um sie herum und die Soziale Kompetenz geht verloren. Und das wird

die größte Herausforderung sein für diese Kinder oder diese Generation, und es

nicht alles einfach, die Soziale Kompetenz Empathie Mitgefühl das sind und

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bleiben Werte, die ein Unternehmen braucht und nur dann kann man ein Un-

ternehmen Erfolgreich führen meiner Meinung nach. Und wenn man da abdriftet

und mehr in Zahlen Daten Fakten geht und Digitalisierung, der Mensch nicht mehr

als Mensch gesehen wird, dann glaube ich schon dass das eine sehr große

Herausforderung sein wird. Das ist die innerliche Vereinsamung des jeden

einzelnen und die Fähigkeit in einem Team zu sein, aufeinander zuzugehen,

zurückzustecken und Kompromisse einzugehen, einfühlend zu sein, und so, das

alles sind soft Faktoren die sehr sehr wichtig sind und die auch ein Unternehmer

haben muss.

T: sehr gut dankeschön, da stimme ich ihnen sehr zu.

QUESTION 4:

T: hat Ihrer Meinung nach ein weiblicher Nachfolger Unterschiedliche

Herausforderungen als ein Männlicher Nachfolger?

C: meine persönliche Erfahrung, und ich bin jetzt seit 14 Jahren in dem business

drinnen, ich arbeite in einer Druckerei und das ist sehr handwerklich und Männer

lastig, wirkliche Männer mit Bier und ich bin hier der King, also sehr Alphamänn-

chen mäßig sind sie unterwegs, also auch die Kunden und die Lieferanten. Addi-

tionally zu 98% habe ich nur mit Männern zu tun und Ja eine Frau wird nicht ernst

genommen, sobald ein Mann neben dran sitzt, obwohl sie die Geschäftsführerin

sind und sie haben einen Einkaufsachbearbeiter neben sich sitzen wird immer zu

diesem Mann geredet. Männer brauchen sich gegenseitig und Männer können

eine Frau nicht akzeptieren. Und das ist meine Erfahrung, die habe ich auch

gestern wieder von anderen Männern selber gehört. Das Männer wirklich

Probleme haben mir Frauen in Führungspositionen und das die sobald sie ein

bisschen ausbüxen können ausbüxen. Und die Erfahrung die ich selber gemacht

habe wurde mir auch schon des Öfteren bestätigt oder sehr ähnlich bestätigt. So-

bald ein Mann neben mir sitzt, egal wer das ist, wenn ich Frage bekommt die Ant-

wort der Mann. Additionally damit muss man leben und umgehen können und

sagen, dass hat nichts mit mir zu tun – ich habe mein Ziel und wenn ich das mit

dem Kunden und Lieferanten erreiche, dann bin ich Glücklich. Sie akzeptieren

dann schon aber sie als Frau müssen wesentlich mehr leisten und wesentlich

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mehr Kompetenz haben und wesentlich authentischer sein wie ein Mann bis sie

akzeptiert und Respektiert werden. Das ist meine Erfahrung in dem Männer busi-

ness aber wie andere Frauen das empfinden weis ich nicht oder ob sie das gleich

sehen.

T: ok das sehr interessant, viel dank.

QUESTION 5:

T: ok nun kommen wir auch schon zu unserem vorletzten Teil und zwar geht es

um die strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen. Sollten strukturelle oder

strategische Bedingungen im Zusammenhang mit der weiblichen Unternehe-

mensnachfolge beachtet werden und welche wären diese? Also um es nochmal

genauer zu erklären, also ich habe mir gedacht dass die Unternehmensstrukture

in dem Nachfolgeprozess geändert werden und auf die Frau angepasst ...

C: ne, das würde auch garnicht gehen. Aus meiner Erfahrung kann ich sagen,

dass ich komplett anders Führe als ein Mann. Und das haben mir auch andere

Mitarbeiter bestätigt, die auch andere Chefs hatten und so weiter und das ist so

aber die Veränderung kommt dann mit der Führung und die kommt langsam und

die kommt Schritt für Schritt, und zur Erläuterung was bei uns noch so ist, wir sind

120 Mitarbeiter und wir haben über 10 Nationen, also wir haben Iraner, wir haben

Türken, wir haben Kurden – Kurden und Türken arbeiten bei uns gemeinsam

zusammen, wir haben Iraker, wir haben Tzechen, wir haben Polen, wir haben

auch was weiß denn ich was alles –Franzosen, Vietnamese und so weiter, und

wenn ich ihnen hier die Kulturen und die Nationen aufzähle dann wissen sie ja

durch die Presse und durch die Medien, was das für ein Menschenschlag ist. Und

dann ist es schon eine Herausforderung akzeptieren mich dir Türken, und es sind

gestandene Türken die einen Erdogan favouretisieren und auch sehr Traditionelle

Türken, die Veränderung kommt erst durch die Führung – so bin ich so ist das Un-

ternehmen und so kann ich das Unternehmen führen. Und dann kommt aber auch

die Veränderung, wo die Menschen mitgehen können. Aber es ist ein schleichen-

der Prozess. Aber es kann nicht geplant werden aus meiner Sicht, und alles was

geplant wird ist sehr oft zum Scheitern verurteilt. Weil sie müssen die Menschen

mitnehmen, und eine Kultur können sie nicht von heute auf morgen ändern, das

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braucht Jahre. Wissen sie mein Vater ist sehr patriarchisch ist ein alter Un-

ternehmer – also so auf gut deutsch die aus dem nichts etwas aufgebaut haben,

sehr viel selber gemacht haben und alles haben sie selber kontrolliert und haben

da alles im Griff gehabt. Und ich bin die dezentrale Führung, also ich gebe sehr

viel ab, ich Vertraue und gebe Verantwortung ab. Additionally wie sie sehen, bin

ich eigentlich genau das Gegenteil von Ihm. Und dass umzustellen von einer Pa-

triarchischen Führung auf mich war schon eine sehr große Herausforderung. Addi-

tionally das kommt schleichend das kommt mit den Aufgaben.

T: ok ja super Dankeschön, perfekt.

QUESTION 6:

T: Gut, dann sind wir schon am Schluss meines Fragebogens angekommen, ha-

ben Sie noch einen Tipp oder Rat den sie gerne einem Weiblichen Nachfolger mit

auf dem Weg geben möchten?

C: Es gibt dieses Buch Generation Töchter wo zwei Damen analysiert haben, wie

die Nachfolge Tochter abläuft, dieses Buch kann man auch kaufen. Was ich ihnen

weiterleiten würde wäre mein Portrait, wenn sie mögen. Dort wurde mir so eine

Frage auch gestellt. Damals wie heute würde ich sagen: von Nachfolgerin zu Na-

chfolgerin, aufrichtig und Mutig sein, Konsequent sein und den eigenen Weg

gehen, an sich selbst glauben und seine eigene Fähigkeit. Weil wissen Sie, sie

stehen ganz alleine am Schluss und sie haben tausend Berater und tausend

Meinungen und jeder weiß es besser und jeder hat dies und jenes und sie folgen

weil sie am Anfang ja noch sehr unbedarft und unsicher sind. Als ich die Firma

übernommen habe war ich 37 und hatte ein kleines Kind, und dann kommen so

schöne erfahrene ältere Herren und sie hören zu und denken, ja genau so geht es

und so mach ich es und dann fallen sie auf die Nase. Was ich gelernt habe, ist an

sich selbst zu glauben und aus dem Herzen heraus zu entscheiden, auch wenn

die Welt um dich herum Kopf steht. Ich habe auch viele Entscheidungen getroffen

die viele nicht nachvollziehen konnten und am Schluss richtig waren. Auch zu mir

hat mal ein Mitarbeiter gesagt Mensch Cordula du hast schon so viele komische

Entscheidungen getroffen aber am Ende waren diese immer richtig. Meine

Empfehlung ist nach dem Herzen zu hören, was fühlt sich für mich richtig und

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stimmig an im Gesamtblick von dem Unternehmen und was ist jetzt das richtige

für das gesamte Unternehmen, zum Wohle ALLER.

QUESTION 7:

T: sehr gut, und haben sie noch einen abschließenden Gedanken, den Sie gerne

loswerden möchten?

C: nein, das passt.

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Interviewe: Nicole

QUESTION 1:

T: Es geht um meinen Fragebogen zu meiner Masterarbeit, ich schreibe meine

Masterarbeit über die challenges of a female succesor of a familys business und

mein Fragebogen ist unterteilt in vier Hauptteile und besteht aus fünf Hauptfragen

und ich würde gleich einfach mal anfangen mit den individuellen Fragen. Welche

Position haben Sie in dem Nachfolgeprozess?

N: Übergabe in die 2. Generation NUR eine Tochter -auch kein weiterer Sohn.

Mein Vater hatte das Ziel ein „Familienimperium“ aufzubauen und dessen größte

Motivation war es auch das Unternehmen weiterzugeben.

QUESTION 1A:

T: Wie haben Sie denn den Nachfolgeprozess erlebt?

N: Es war im Großen und ganzen OK. Natürlich hat so ein Prozess viele HOCHS

und TIEFS. Man braucht Nerven wie Drahtseile und echtes Herzblut. Vor allem

auch Offenheit zwischen den Generationen.

T: ja dankeschön, das glaube ich auch.

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QUESTION 2A:

T: Jetzt kommen wir zu den Fragen basieren auf den Herausforderungen eines

jeden Nachfolgers. Was waren denn Ihre größten Herausforderungen in dem Na-

chfolgeprozess. Die Herausforderungen sind in drei Aspekte unterteilt, Un-

ternehmerische Aspekte, Familien Aspekte und persönliche Aspekte. Könnten Sie

zu jedem Punkt bitte nennen was Ihnen einfällt.

N: Zu dem Unternehmensaspekt, eine der größten Herausforderungen für mich ist

es oder war es die Anerkennung des Teams zu finden, eigene Spuren hinterlas-

sen – was mir schließlich ein Stück weit gelungen durch die Digitalisierung und

unserer Mitarbeiter APP, und die Aufrechterhaltung der hohen Qualität, Qualität ist

uns ganz wichtig, wir haben zum Beispiel den Gewinn Ludwig Erhard Preis 3 x

bekommen, und den European Quality Award, das Unternehmen ganz oben zu

halten ist nicht einfach. Und wir haben vor 1,5 Jahren einen Betriebsleiter

eingestellt, der mich entlasten sollte – das war aber der größte Flop.

Familienaspekt: Kind und Unternehmen unter einen Hut zu bekommen, ich habe 3

Wochen nach der Geburt Vollzeit gearbeitet und eine Babysitterin eingestellt –

nach einem Jahr KITA und Babysittern, da hatte ich schon ein sehr schlechtes

Gewissen, inzwischen hole ich das Kind immer Do und Fr nach der Schule ab und

gehe schon um 15.30 Uhr aus dem Unternehmen – dafür arbeite ich Mo bis Mi

zwischen 13 und 17 Stunden am Tag; und Zeit und Raum für Familie zu schaffen.

Dafür habe ich eine Hütte gebaut in der fränkischen Schweiz – in der wir immer Sa

und So sind – mit dem Namen „LA MAISON DU TEMPS RETROUVÉ“. Zweisam-

keit zu finden, ist für mich auch eine große Herausforderung. Seit 7 Jahren fällt es

uns sehr schwer Zeit zu finden, das haben wir inzwischen gelöst indem mein

Mann und ich nach Möglichkeit immer Mittwoch Mittag gemeinsam Essen gehen

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Persönlicher Aspekt: Zeit für mich, ich habe mir angewöhnt sie mir Nachts zu

nehmen und schlafe unter der Woche nur 2-3 Stunden, eine weitere persönliche

Herausforderung ist mit Stress umgehen, dazu habe ich ein MBSR Training ge-

macht – was mir sehr geholfen hat und was ich inzwischen auch unseren Mi-

tarbeitern innerhalb der Schindlerhof Akademie anbiete. Eine meiner Persönlichen

Aspekte ist auch, dass ich „das ganze Leben“ will nicht nur Geschäft– ich brauche

auch was, was mich inspiriert – deswegen mache ich jedes Jahr irgendwas kom-

plett neues – dieses Jahr mache ich wahrscheinlich meinen Jagdtschein. Ich war

auch schon im Kirchenvorstand - und bin es immer noch-und vieles mehr.

T: oh, das mit dem Jagdtschein klingt ja super interessant und die Idee immer

wieder etwas neues auszuprobieren finde ich super.

QUESTION 2B:

T: Wenn Sie eine größte Herausforderung nennen müssten, welche wäre diese

denn?

N: die größte Herausforderung für mich war als wir, einen Betriebsleiter eingestellt

haben, welcher mich eigentlich entlasten sollte. Aber, er hat versucht unsere

Familie zu entzweien und hat uns viel Kraft und Nerven gekostet statt uns zu ent-

lasten

T: oh, das tut mir sehr leid.

QUESTION 2C:

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T: und wie haben denn Sie diese Schwierigkeit überwunden?

N: Wir haben ihm schließlich die Kündigung ausgesprochen am 23.12.2015 –

mein Weihnachtsgeschenk.

T: oh das kann ich nur zu gut verstehen, aber war ja ein super Weihnachtsges-

chenk für Sie dann.

QUESTION 2D:

T: und welche Vorkehrungen hätten denn im Zuge des Nachfolgeprozesses get-

roffen werden können, damit Herausforderungen minimiert gewesen wären?

N: Eine genauere Analyse der Person wäre bestimmt sinnvoll gewesen. Die Fami-

lien kannten sich – daher wurde nicht so genau von uns geprüft im vorhinein.

QUESTION 3:

T: ja gut, betrachtet man mal die Generation Y genauer, auch Millennials oder Dig-

ital Natives genannt mal genauer wo würden Sie denn deren Herausforderungen

sehen? Als digital natives, wird die Generation bezeichnen, die geboren ist

zwischen 1980 und 2000 und sie sind sehr stark mit digitalen Medien aufgewach-

sen mit der ständigen connectivität auch und sie werden charakterisiert als, sehr

ehrgeizig, sehr gebildet, verfechten eine ausgeglichene work and life balance, sind

auch gerne ihr eigener Boss, und ja sind gewillt auch viel Verantwortung zu

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übernehmen. Glauben sie, dass sie jetzt andere Herausforderungen haben als sie

jetzt hatten?

N: Wir kommen gut mit ihnen zurecht. Wir haben eine eigene Mitarbeiter APP

entwickelt – sie kommen so jederzeit auf alle Informationen – sie können chatten –

Ihre Ideen abgeben und vieles mehr.

Sie sind oftmals nicht ganz so karriereorientiert – das ist für mich immer noch ab

und an schwer zu verstehen. In jungen Jahren gab es für mich nur Lernen und

Karriere und besser werden – und nicht Treffen mit Freunden und Sport und pri-

vate Dinge. Das hat sich sehr geändert. Es hat alles Vor- und Nachteile... aber es

ist wie es ist...

T: hmm, ja da haben sie recht.

QUESTION 4:

T: T: hat Ihrer Meinung nach ein weiblicher Nachfolger Unterschiedliche

Herausforderungen als ein Männlicher Nachfolger?

N: Nein.

QUESTION 5:

T: ok nun kommen wir auch schon zu unserem vorletzten Teil und zwar geht es

um die strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen. Sollten strukturelle oder

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strategische Bedingungen im Zusammenhang mit der weiblichen Unternehe-

mensnachfolge beachtet werden und welche wären diese?

N: Die Übergabe der Hauptaufgabenliste der Eltern an das Kind, Schritt für Schritt

ist besonders wichtig, so konnte ich auch erst einmal Vertraut mit dem ganzen

Unternehmen werden und mich langsam einarbeiten. Zudem sollte vorab be-

sprochen werden wie der Prozess der Nachfolge genau aussieht und in welchen

Schritten er abläuft – ab wann gehört und wie viel... wir wollen ja nicht ewig wie

„Prince Charles“ neben her laufen.... In meinem Fall wurde ich in das Unterneh-

men einbezogen, durch die Einführung eines kleinen Projektes, mit dem man nicht

direkt mit anderen Mitarbeitern verglichen werden kann. Das hat mir sehr viel

Spaß gemacht und war auch sehr Sinnvoll.

T: ja super dankeschön.

QUESTION 6:

T: Gut, dann sind wir schon am Schluss meines Fragebogens angekommen, ha-

ben Sie noch einen Tipp oder Rat den sie gerne einem Weiblichen Nachfolger mit

auf dem Weg geben möchten?

N: Mir hat es sehr geholfen einen persönlichen Glaubenssatz zu haben, den man

sich immer wieder sagt und der einem Kraft gibt wie zum Beispiel „Ich schaffe al-

les, was ich mir vornehme“. Das war meiner.

T: oh ja das kling sehr interessant.

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299

QUESTION 7:

T: sehr gut, und haben sie noch einen abschließenden Gedanken, den Sie gerne

loswerden möchten?

N: Tagebuchführen hilft... zumindest half es mir. Fatherurch hat man wie einen

„externen Beobachter“ der aber doch intern ist und man kann sich selbst gut beo-

bachten und ´fine tunen`.

T: vielen lieben Dank, sehr gut, perfekt.

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Interviewee: Gerhard

QUESTION 1:

T: Danke, dass du dir für meinen Fragebogen Zeit nimmst, und zwar geht es in

meiner Masterarbeit um folgende Thema “challenges of a female successor of a

family business”. Der Fragebogen ist unterteilt in 4 Teile und besteht aus 5

Hauptfragen. Kommen wir nun zu den individuellen Fragen, welche Position hast

du in dem Nachfolgeprozess?

G: Ich bin sozusagen der Übergeber, der Senior der die Firma übergeben will.

QUESTION 1A:

T: wie glaubst du wird der Nachfolgeprozess ablaufen?

G: ich glaube dass der ganz geordnet ablaufen wird über einen längeren Zeitraum.

Aber ich glaube eher ganz geordnet und für beide Seiten auch sehr schön.

QUESTION 2A:

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T: ok gut dann kommen wir zu den Herausforderungen eines jeden Nachfolger.

Was glaubst du sind denn die größten Herausforderungen in den Nachfol-

geprozess? Ich habe die Herausforderungen in drei Aspekte unterteilt, den Un-

ternehmens Aspekt, den Familien Aspekt und den Persönlichen Aspekt, was

glaubst du wäre denn eine Herausforderung zu den jeweiligen Aspekten?

G: Wenn man jetzt die Unternehmensaspekte mal nimmt, dann ist eine

Herausforderung auf jeden fall die spezifischen Marktkenntnisse die eine Nachfol-

gerin auf jeden fall braucht. Und eben auch das spezielle und fundierte Wissen

über die Branche und über dir Firma. Das ist bei den Unternehmensaspekten ei-

gentlich für mich das wichtigste. Bei den Familienaspekten, das einem klar ist was

da passiert, vor allem wie bei uns mehrere Kinder da sind, dass alle auch ein-

verstanden sind und keiner sich zurückgesetzt fühlt. Und sich nicht irgendwie

denkst, mensch warum hat er mich nicht gefragt oder warum haben wir da nie

darüber geredet. Persönliche Aspekte es ist bestimmt etwas sehr wichtiges für die

die übernimmt, dass sie sich im klaren ist, was sie sich da auch auflädt. Und was

sie auch für eine Verantwortung hat. Und wie gesagt Unternehmer sein ist nicht

bloß immer Sonnenschein.

T: ok dankeschön.

QUESTION 2B:

T: ok wenn du jetzt eine größte Herausforderung nennen müsstest welche wäre

diese?

(...)

G: In dem, dass er diese ganzen Kundenbeziehungen und alles auch übernimmt.

Und auch wieder als der Unternehmer der Firma wieder wahrgenommen wird oder

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auch angesehen wird. Weil ja doch ich als Senior das 30 Jahre eine Reputation

aufgebaut habe, die natürlich da ist, aber für den der Nachfolgt schon auch natür-

lich ein Schuh den er sich anziehen muss oder auch reinwachsen muss, und da

muss er aber auch seinen ganz eigenen Weg gehen. Und ich muss ihm den

gehen lassen.

T: also glaubst du könntest du das? Und ihm sozusagen die Freiheit lässt einen

neuen Weg zu gehen?

G: Ja. Ich kann mir heute nicht vorstellen, dass es mir schwerfallen wird. Es

kommt aber auch immer darauf an wie man sich versteht. Wenn man sich gut ver-

steht, und auch schon immer gut verstanden hat, dann glaube ich nicht dass das

noch zu irgendwelchen Schwierigkeiten führen wird. Dass kann ich mir ehrlichge-

sagt überhaupt nicht vorstellen.

T: ja ich mir auch nicht.

QUESTION 2C:

T: wie glaubst du könnten denn diese Schwierigkeiten überwunden werden?

G: das erste ist das, dass die Übernehmerin schon auch eigene Erfahrungen

gesammelt hat und auch schon eigene Erfolge für sich erarbeitet hat. Auch

Außerhalb des Unternehmens, und dann kommt diejenige, ich finde es aber sehr

wichtig, dass es eine längere Vorbereitungsphase dann auch gibt, wo man mal

probieren kann sich spezielle Fachkenntnissen anzueignen von der speziellen

Branche oder Metier wo man reingeht. Und dann ist es eben so dieser begleitende

Prozess.

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T: ok sehr gut, also du würdest dann sozusagen den Nachfolger noch Mit-

begleiten?

G: ja auf jeden Fall, also ich würde ihnen alles zeigen was ich gemacht habe, und

wo ich glaube das wichtig sind. Aber dann würde ich versuchen relativ schnell für

den Nachfolger eigene Bereiche zu schaffen, wo er schon mal völlig selbstständig

auch Arbeiten kann.

QUESTION 2D:

T: ok gut, und welche Vorkehrungen hätten denn im Voraus getroffen werden

könne um die Herausforderungen zu minimieren?

G: Ja dass man sich immer wieder über einen längeren Zeitraum wieder aus-

tauscht und auch konkret einmal Herausforderungen und Probleme auch so be-

spricht und wie sich jeder Vorstellt das sowas ablauft. Weil jeder hat Vorstellungen

der Übergeber und die Übernehmerin auch Wünsche und auch Träume oder Vi-

sionen und die muss man auch erst einmal abgleichen, ob das auch passt, aber

dann mit der Gegenüber zumindest einmal weiß um was es geht.

T: jap, finde ich gut.

QUESTION 3:

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304

T: ok, Betrachtet man mal die Generation Y, oder auch Millennials genannt oder

Digital Natives mal genauer, wo siehst du denn deren Herausforderungen?

G: Ich glaube, dass für diese Generation die Work-life balance eine ganz schön

große Bedeutung hat, auch die Sinnhaftigkeit von dem was sie tun und dass das

eben auch ein Unternehmen ist das Sinnstiftend ist und wo sie auch eine Erfüllung

sehen von dem was die da Produzieren oder was die machen oder an

Dienstleistung anbieten. Wenn das nicht gegeben ist oder die Millennials das in

einem Unternehmen nicht finden, werden sie sich auch mit dem nicht beschäfti-

gen. Und das ablehnen, und das andere ist das meine Generation noch anders

geprägt ist. Extrem Leistungsbezogen geprägt und da wird sicherlich auch ein

gewisser Kultur Wandel stattfinden der gut ist. Wir haben eigentlich die Arbeit über

sehr vieles gestellt, und uns auch sehr viel darüber definiert. Und die Millennials

nicht und daher wird das sicherlich auch die Kultur von dem Unternehmen verän-

dern.

QUESTION 4:

T: ok sehr gut, und hat deiner Meinung nach ein weiblicher Nachfolger unterschie-

dliche Herausforderungen als ein männlicher Nachfolger.

G: also prinzipiell glaube ich, dass da eher wenig Unterschiede sind. Ehm ich

glaube auch eher dass das Auswirklungen hat ob der Übergeber ein Mann ist oder

eine Frau, und ob der Übernehmer eine Frau oder ein Mann ist. Und ich glaube,

dass es auch bestimmt immer auf dir Branche drauf heran kommt. Ich denke im-

mer das in einem Handwerksbetrieb oder in tradierten Geschäften dass das dann

oftmals auch schwieriger ist für eine Frau, das zu übernehmen. Aber auf der an-

deren Seite denke ich, dass auch in der Wirtschaft es sehr herangereift ist, dass

eine Frau ein unwahrscheinliches Potential hat auch für das Unternehmertum, und

ihr euch das einfach nur zutrauen solltet, und wir euch das auch zutrauen solltet.

Und es gibt ja genügen Beispiele für ganz erfolgreiche Frauen. Ihr führt anders

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vielleicht, ihr Denkt anders, gut. Und dass muss mal irgendwo auch mal akzep-

tieren und zulassen. Und dann muss man da mal schauen was dabei rauskommt.

T: sehr gut.

QUESTION 5:

T: Kommen wir nun zu den strukturellen und strategischen Bedingungen. Sollten

strukturelle oder strategische Bedingungen beachtet werden in der weiblichen Un-

ternehmensnachfolge und welche wären diese? Glaubst du, das durch einen Na-

chfolgeprozess die Hierachieebenen geändert werden müssen, oder irgendwelche

rechtlichen Aspekte geändert werden oder die Unternehmensstrategie nochmal

neu ausgerichtet werden?

G: Also in dem Prozess der Unternehensnachfolge, sitzt ja schon die überneh-

mende weibliche Person mit am Tisch. Und dadurch glaube ich auch nicht das es

irgendwelche Strategische Brüche gibt. Wenn mans richtig macht, ja schon

zusammen die Vision in Worte fasst wo man hin will. Und es ist ja sowieso heute

nichts mehr strategisch in Stein gemeißelt. Früher hat man 10 Jahres Pläne ge-

macht an die man sich akribisch galten hat, und heute versucht man eine strate-

gische Vision einer Geschichte nieder zur schreiben. Und dann muss man sich auf

die unwirkbarkeit der Märkte einlassen und auch auf die Brüche und da wird es

auch in dieser Zeit da Veränderungen geben. (...) rechtliche Änderungen in einem

Nachfolgeprozess, wird es bei mir sicherlich nicht geben, weil wenn ich mir einen

Übernehmer suche egal ob extern oder intern, dann wird es einen Prozess geben

der ganz lange vorher schon beginnt, wo ich mir Überlege was das Unternehmen

habe muss um Übergabefähig zu sein. Also das geht mindesten über 3-5 Jahre

wo ich mich und mein Unternehmen daraufhin vorbereite, dass ich jemanden

suche, dann stimmen Strukturen, dann stimmt der rechtliche Hintergrund, dann

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habe ich das gemacht, weil ich werde keinen Scherbenhaufen übergeben. Ich

gebe das gerne aus der Hand und gerne über, wenn ich weiß dass ich das beste

gegeben habe. Das Unternehmen muss Übergabefähig sein weil sonst macht es

ja überhaupt keinen Sinn.

T: ok ja das passt gut.

QUESTION 6:

T: dann sind wir auch schon am Ende unseres Fragebogens angekommen, hast

du noch einen persönlichen Tipp oder Rat dem du gerne einen weiblichen Na-

chfolger mit auf den Weg geben würdest?

G: ja eigentlich nur einen, dass die Töchter versuchen sollte, ihre Weiblichkeit zu

leben und ihre Waffen die sie haben geschickt einsetzen. Die habt ihr, aber die

muss man einfach nur zum Ausdruck bringen. Und das sich die Tochter oder die

weibliche Nachfolgerin bloß nicht überlegt, dass sie ihrem Vater oder der Mutter

der sie nachfolgt nicht das Wasser reichen kann. Einfach den Mut haben den ganz

eigenen Weg da zu gehen. Und stolz zu sein auf das was man schon gemacht hat

und dann wird das auch wieder.

QUESTION 7:

T: ja gut hast du noch einen abschließenden Gedanken den du gerne loswerden

möchtest?

ANNEX

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G: Ich würde mich freuen, wenn meine Tochter einfach mal zu mir in das Un-

ternehmen kommt.

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