Stepping down and stepping out: A qualitative study of family business CEOs who have turned over management of the business to their families.

摘要

This was an exploratory study of the life transition process of ten family business CEOs who said they had stepped down and turned over management of the business to family members. The CEOs said they had stepped down in the last one to five years. Their businesses had 300 or fewer employees. The businesses were located in mid-western states.; A loosely structured interview process was used to question the CEOs, their spouses and family members in the business. Thirty-six persons were interviewed. The stepped-down CEOs were interviewed a second time after the spouse and family interviews.; The seven interview questions followed the CEOs personal experience from the time they first thought about stepping down to advice offered to others thinking about embarking on the journey they had just completed. Case studies were written for each CEO.; Using the life transition cycle-of-change theory developed by Frederic Hudson, each CEO was assessed to determine the type of transition and their three most important values and changes in the eight human systems. The Haid Transitionscope was created for analysis. A graphic illustrates the complexities of stepping down.; In the course of this study, I found that although all ten CEOs said they had stepped down, two still had significant involvement with their businesses. The ten CEOs' interpretations of stepping down varied. Three had personal renewal experiences. Nine identified significant influencing events in their lives, such as the death of a loved one or friend, or health problems. Several had stepped down and found new roles in community activities. Nine became more active as grandparents. Seversl CEOs commented on how much they learned from their being interviewed. It is speculated that the interviews triggered a personal life review. This may be helpful for other CEOs who are considering stepping down.