The Impact of Personal Characteristics of Successors in Chinese Family Firms on Succession Based on Thematic Content Analysis

Family businesses are an ancient form of business organization. As a unique organizational form in which the dual systems of family and business coexist, family businesses exist worldwide and occupy a pivotal market position in creating employment opportunities and promoting economic growth. Family business succession has been paid attention to by academic circles since the 1950s and has become one of the most persistent focuses of Western family business research. Succession is a significant turning point for the family business. Whether the succession is successful or not will affect the operation of an enterprise. This paper explores which characteristics of successors affect the succession of family businesses. Through thematic content analysis of in-depth interviews with family business owners, this paper concludes that inclusiveness, sociability with good communication skills, and a sense of family mission will impact succession. Based on this, we can enable family businesses that are in the process of succession or are about to do so to focus on and develop the above personal attributes in their successors.