Family business decision-making factors and influences on choosing a successor

This paper investigates factors leading a family business to name a management successor for the business, as the succession process often begins with naming a successor. We further separate family businesses into farm and non-farm businesses to compare and contrast the results. The factors used in the probit regression are clustered into three groups: business factors, family factors, and individual factors. Identifying the barriers that family businesses face when naming a successor will help Extension and other small and family business consulting agencies and organizations to formulate a guide to assist families when working through this process. Different results were found for farm businesses to non-farm businesses, with more variables influencing the naming of a successor in farm businesses