Fears and hopes of future family business leaders in France: role transition representations and perceived entrepreneurial preparedness

What are the dynamics driving the evolution of family entrepreneurship in France? According to Lansberg (1988), the stability and development of family enterprises lie in dealing directly with the emotional ambivalence of the next generation of family business leaders. This paper contributes to the understanding of the next generation's experience at the pre-business stage of the succession process through emphasizing the role transition representations and perceived entrepreneurial preparedness of family business successors. We conducted exploratory qualitative research with participant observation and semi-directed interviews to identify the main aspects of the projected leadership role of a group of 14 men and female selected among the next generation members of French family businesses. Our results indicate that the participants share intense and sometimes extreme positive and negative emotions, such as hopes and fears related to their future status and responsibilities. We use role transition theory to discuss the concept of family business projected role transition from an extended identity perspective