The willing successor: an exploration of grit and situational cues in family firms

Abstract

PurposeThis conceptual paper explores how the activation of the individual-level trait grit can explain variance in successor willingness to take over leadership of the family firm.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from trait activation and situation strength theories, the authors develop a framework to examine the interactions of the two dimensions of grit (passion and perseverance) on the successor's willingness to take control of the family firm.FindingsThe authors identify how the grit dimensions would interact with the situational cues present during the succession process to predict the successor's willingness to take control of the family firm and offer testable propositions to guide future empirical work.Originality/valueThe authors help to address the growing need for additional microfoundational family firm research by drawing insights from organizational behavior theories and personality research and apply them to the family firm succession process.