The “Most Wanted”: The Role of Family Strategic Resources and Family Involvement in CEO Succession Intention

Abstract

Stemming from familiness and the notion of nonimitable strategic resources, we investigate, in the presuccession phase, the role of acquisition and accumulation of family strategic resources, along with the way family involvement in the top management team affects resource mobilization and deployment, in determining the intention to choose either a family or a nonfamily member as the next CEO. Data from a cross-country double-respondent family business data set (Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices project) reveal that human capital is a significant family strategic resource reducing the intention to select a family CEO, although leveraging this resource by a top management team dominated by family members enhances this intention.