He or she? On board of the family business: An examination of family business board successions across gender lines.
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2022-07-04
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en
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Abstract
Although gender discrimination has been recognized in family business succession processes, less is known about the gender role of the incumbent. This study investigates the relationship between the incumbent’s gender and the successor’s gender in family business board successions. Moreover, the moderating role of the gender ratio within a board and the gender dominance within a sector is examined. This is tested quantitatively via 177 observations of listed family firms in Europe. This study found that there is a significant relationship between the incumbent’s gender and the successor’s gender. More specifically, a female successor is more likely to be appointed when the incumbent is a female than when the incumbent is a male. In contrast, a male successor is more likely to be appointed when the incumbent is a male than when the incumbent is a female. In addition, it has been found that the relationship of male-male successions is stronger than the relationship of female-female successions. The likelihood that a male incumbent selects a male successor is bigger than the likelihood that a female incumbent selects a female successor. This study found no significant moderating effects of gender ratio and gender dominance. However, a main effect of gender ratio on the successor’s gender is identified. A higher number of women on the board of a family business increases the likelihood of a female successor to be selected. Whereas a higher number of men on the board increases the likelihood of a male successor to be selected.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen