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The dearth of daughter successors in family businesses: Gendered norms, blindness to possibility, and invisibility

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  • Overbeke, Kathyann Kessler
  • Bilimoria, Diana
  • Perelli, Sheri

Abstract

Statistics reveal a dearth of daughters among successors of family business owners. In one of very few empirical studies on the subject of daughters who do not follow in the footsteps of their entrepreneurial fathers, we examined factors that may contribute to daughters’ self-assessments of succession. Findings reveal that daughters’ own blindness to the possibility of succession, often resulting from automatically activated gender norms, impedes their ascendancy. Interviews with daughters who did not pursue executive positions with decision making responsibilities in their family firms, as well as both sons and daughters who did, indicate that daughters may not deliberately consider succession until a critical event motivates them to do so. Additionally, parental support and mentoring for leadership are seen to facilitate daughter succession.

Suggested Citation

  • Overbeke, Kathyann Kessler & Bilimoria, Diana & Perelli, Sheri, 2013. "The dearth of daughter successors in family businesses: Gendered norms, blindness to possibility, and invisibility," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 201-212.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:4:y:2013:i:3:p:201-212
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2013.07.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mussolino, Donata & Cicellin, Mariavittoria & Pezzillo Iacono, Mario & Consiglio, Stefano & Martinez, Marcello, 2019. "Daughters’ self-positioning in family business succession: A narrative inquiry," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 72-86.
    3. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang, 2021. "Gender issues in family business research: A bibliometric scoping review," OSF Preprints vb7rz, Center for Open Science.
    4. Hamilton, Eleanor & Discua Cruz, Allan & Jack, Sarah, 2017. "Re-framing the status of narrative in family business research: Towards an understanding of families in business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 3-12.
    5. Akhmedova, Anna & Cavallotti, Rita & Marimon, Frederic & Campopiano, Giovanna, 2020. "Daughters’ careers in family business: Motivation types and family-specific barriers," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    6. Angel L. Meroño-Cerdán, 2023. "Unexpected Successor in Family Firms: Opportunity or Trap for Women?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 313-324, June.
    7. Aldrich, Howard E. & Brumana, Mara & Campopiano, Giovanna & Minola, Tommaso, 2021. "Embedded but not asleep: Entrepreneurship and family business research in the 21st century," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1).
    8. Campopiano, Giovanna & De Massis, Alfredo & Rinaldi, Francesca Romana & Sciascia, Salvatore, 2017. "Women’s involvement in family firms: Progress and challenges for future research," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 200-212.
    9. Fries, Alexander & Kammerlander, Nadine & Leitterstorf, Max, 2021. "Leadership Styles and Leadership Behaviors in Family Firms: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1).
    10. Paula Rodríguez-Modroño & Lina Gálvez-Muñoz & Astrid Agenjo-Calderón, 2015. "The hidden role of women in family firms," Working Papers 15.01, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics, Quantitative Methods and Economic History, revised Dec 2015.
    11. Gorji, Yasaman & Carney, Michael & Prakash, Rajshree, 2020. "Indirect nepotism: Network sponsorship, social capital and career performance in show business families," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    12. Melanie Richards, 2023. "When do Non-financial Goals Benefit Stakeholders? Theorizing on Care and Power in Family Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(2), pages 333-351, May.
    13. Sohrab Soleimanof & Kulraj Singh & Daniel T. Holt, 2019. "Micro-Foundations of Corporate Entrepreneurship in Family Firms: An Institution-Based Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 274-281, March.
    14. Shikha Bhardwaj & Sumedha Chauhan & Parul Gupta, 2023. "CEO Succession in Family Firm: An Integrated Framework and Future Research Insights," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(3), pages 667-699, November.
    15. Hashim, Sumaya & Naldi, Lucia & Markowska, Magdalena, 2021. "“The royal award goes to…”: Legitimacy processes for female-led family ventures," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3).
    16. Jorge Duran-Encalada & Katarzyna Werner-Masters & Alberto Paucar-Caceres, 2021. "Factors Affecting Women’s Intention to Lead Family Businesses in Mexico," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, July.
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    19. Manuel Feldmann & Martin Lukes & Lorraine Uhlaner, 2022. "Disentangling succession and entrepreneurship gender gaps: gender norms, culture, and family," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 997-1013, February.

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