Strategy for succession in family owned small businesses as a wicked problem to be tamed

What is it about?

This paper presents a framework to explore the idea of wicked problems, its relevance to succession planning in family businesses and its implications for practice and policy.

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Why is it important?

Contemporary strategic-planning processes don’t help family businesses cope with some of the big problems they face. Owner managers admit that they are confronted with issues, such as those associated with succession and inter-generational transfer that cannot be resolved merely by gathering additional data, defining issues more clearly, or breaking them down into small problems. Preparing for succession is often put off or ignored, many planning techniques don’t generate fresh ideas and implementing solutions is often fraught with political peril.

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