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Seeds in rocky soil: the interactive role of entrepreneurial legacy and bridging in family firms’ organizational ambidexterity

Author

Listed:
  • Rolf Wilmes

    (Chair of Family Business)

  • Leif Brändle

    (Entrepreneurship Research Group)

  • Andreas Kuckertz

    (Entrepreneurship Research Group)

Abstract

Existing research on family firms emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurship across generations but leaves the role of entrepreneurial transmissions between predecessors and successors relatively unexplore . Building on the concept of entrepreneurial legacy, we ask how interactions of entrepreneurial mindsets and resources influence organizational ambidexterity in family firms. The study’s central argument (and metaphor) is that organizational ambidexterity thrives in multigenerational family firms if successors’ awareness of the family’s entrepreneurial legacy (the right seed) interacts with predecessors’ provision of entrepreneurial resources during succession (the fertile soil), also known as entrepreneurial bridging. We analyze a unique sample of successors from 296 multigenerational family firms in the agricultural sector. Our results point to the relevance of entrepreneurial resources in predecessor-successor collaborations to unlock the family firm’s ability to balance entrepreneurial exploration and exploitation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rolf Wilmes & Leif Brändle & Andreas Kuckertz, 2024. "Seeds in rocky soil: the interactive role of entrepreneurial legacy and bridging in family firms’ organizational ambidexterity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1041-1064, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:63:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-023-00852-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-023-00852-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Family firm; Entrepreneurial legacy; Succession; Transgenerational entrepreneurship; Organizational ambidexterity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services

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