The transfer of small and medium-sized Japanese family businesses to the younger generation: narratives by student-successors

摘要

Traditionally, Japanese SMEs are transferred to the children by a succession process. This article deals with how the family business prepares for this succession. It is based on an analysis of the life narratives of four successors studying at the Kansai University in the Faculty of Safety Science. The findings show the importance of tradition and filial duty in the choice of the successor; the importance of the extended family; the respect of each person's role; and also the predominance of a strategy aiming to integrate the successor within the family business progressively.