Who gets what? Justice Principles in Family Business Succession

When confronted with the decision of how to pass on ownership and management, incumbent family business owners can choose between two different justice principles: Equality and equity. While equality typically represents the justice principle that prevails in the family sphere, equity is the prevalent justice principle in the business sphere. Our paper investigates which justice principle incumbents intend to choose when passing on the business within the family, and how the related preferences alter depending family influence in ownership and management. Based on survey responses of 1’258 owner-managers, we found that ownership and management are passed on according to different justice principles. Surprisingly, an increased family influence in ownership leads to a preference for the equity principle in management and ownership succession. With our study, we contribute to the literatures of family business succession, justice and governance.