„My children do not want the firm“ – Private Equity as a succession option in family businesses. A Review and Future Directions

Family firms are of particular significance for the global economy. Prior research acknowledges that family firms are considerably different from non-family firms and the source of distinction clearly is the "family". Management Buyouts which usually involve private equity (PE) firms are another option. In general, a buyout is when PE firms together with the incumbent and/or external management take over the business. The chapter provides an overview of the literature on PE and family firms. It analyzes of the prior literature along six distinct categories. The chapter discusses gaps in the existing literature and future research opportunities focusing on methods and theories used in studies on PE in family firms, gaps within the categories, as well as possible new categories. A clear methodology is required to conduct a literature review. The "systematic" literature review procedure was broken down into five steps which are identification of search terms, selection criteria, selection of databases, literature identification, and analysis strategy