The making of family entrepreneurs: How heirs become entrepreneurs and take over a family business
Résumé
This chapter is to understand how heirs turn into entrepreneurs and take over the reins of a family business. The difficulty of exploring all possible alternatives, given the large number of cousins in the fourth generation, led to this unusual but effective selection process. The Gravels University has now become the institution through which the family values are passed on. It combines technical training in management with seminars on the meaning of belonging to a family business designed to elicit a greater commitment from participants. The owner-manager chose one successor among his children, leaving the others aside. As a result, there are branches of the family tree that have lost all connection with the family firm. Commitment first corresponds to being part of a social group which the individual identifies with in terms of values and attitudes. It also corresponds to behaviour patterns and deeds that are considered important, this time because of the efforts put into them.