| Because of the unique relationship a founder has with the organization, succession implies profound change for the family business and therefore is likely to upset prevailing norms and expectations for the employees within the family business. This can then generate deep resistance in people, making it difficult, if not impossible, to implement organizational improvements which can ensure the long-term continuity, or survival, of the family business.; This exploratory research is the first to investigate employee perceptions and their relationship to organizational commitment in the transition of power from the first generation, or founder, to the second generation, or successor, in family-owned businesses. Of the four factors considered--successor credibility, founder credibility, differences in leadership practices, and successor competency--successor credibility had the strongest positive correlation to employee organizational commitment. Employee perceptions regarding founder credibility had a significant positive correlation with organizational commitment, as did employee perceptions regarding successor competency. While the statistics did indicate a significant difference in the leadership practices of the founder and those of the successor, the inverse relationship to organizational commitment was not found to be significant.; Organizational commitment was measured using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). Leadership practices and credibility of the founder and the successor was measured using the Leadership Practices Inventory-Other (LPI-O). Competence was measured using criteria set forth in previous family business research.; The research context chosen was the population of family businesses in which the founder was living/healthy (as opposed to an unexpected death/illness forcing succession) and the second generation successor had been the CEO/leader for approximately two years. The target population of employees were those who had a minimum of three years working with the founder and approximately two years working with the successor. Demographics about respondents included position in the company, gender, and the number of years with the company.; Recommendations for practical application and future research are provided. |
