Developing Committed Next Generation Members in Family Firms: The Role of Socialization Processes

Although researchers have highlighted the importance of next generation commitment for the continuity of a family firm, we have a limited understanding of what family businesses and business families can do to facilitate this commitment. This paper discusses the role of socialization in this process. Building on previous work on organizational socialization, this project presents a conceptual model of how different aspects of the socialization process (i.e., who delivers the socialization, what is done in the socialization, how socialization is executed, and when socialization occurs) affect the development of affective commitment in next generation members of family firms. Preliminary support for the model presented is provided based on interviews with family and non-family members from 11 family-owned companies. Implications and contributions of the model are discussed.