Deconstruction of founder myths and succession in family businesses

Abstract

Functional myths promote business and interpersonal relationship structure, however, they become dysfunctional when they hinder the succession process. This research's objective was to identify the factors that contribute to the deconstruction of a myth in a family business that goes through the process of succession from the founder, and analyze how the myth relates to the development of systemic organization. The research method used was the case study. Data analysis revealed that the factors that contributed to the deconstruction of the myth were: a refusal to address issues related to family conflicts; centralization and authoritarian behavior about the myth; and not transmitting a sense of entrepreneurship to the successive generation. In the property dimension, the Group is in the initial stage and controlled by the owner, but the desire to replace the founding-myth has led to a transition to a state of society among siblings; in the family dimension, the Group is in the process of passing the baton, despite resistance from the founding-myth; and, finally, the corporate dimension is a state of expansion/formalization, despite the existence of underlying conflicts between family members.

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