Corporate governance in family businesses across generations: Exploring intergenerational issues

As it has grown and developed over the years, family business research has increasingly focused on a variety of issues. However, succession has remained a dominant theme. A key area of interest within succession studies is represented by intergenerational relationships, that is, working relationships between family business owner-managers and their successors. This is a crucial topic because intergenerational relationships are important for leadership continuity and long-term success of the family firm. In previous studis not much attention has been paid to intergenerational issues within governance structures, as studies of corporate governance in family firms have tended to concentrate more on resources, processes, and structures, as is detailed in this chapter.