Generations In Family Business: A Multi-Field Review And Future Research Agenda

The concept of generations has become increasingly important in the social sciences to explain diverse phenomena affecting organizations as succession, identity construction, mobility and technological change. While valuable, research on generations suffers from a lack of theoretical integration, and there is still a limited understanding of what constitutes generations and of the dynamics and consequences of their involvement in the family business. We review prior studies by building connections among multiple research fields within the social sciences, identifying important knowledge gaps, and developing an integrative framework based on a process perspective that will serve as a springboard for future research.