Family businesses favour sibling succession

Ed Richardson
There has been a major shift from the traditional succession of family businesses from founding father to first born son. Today businesses are increasingly being passed from the founder to a next generation team of siblings. Shelly van Eeden and Dr Elmarie Venter of the Department of Business Management at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University have identified this new trend in family business ownership. As there is very little data available regarding this phenomenon, they are conducting research into identifying the elements of a successful sibling partnership. These elements will be used to develop a model of the most effective methods of managing the family business through sibling partnerships. Family businesses form a cornerstone of the South African economy, and it is important to increase their success rate, according to the researchers. Research to date has shown that the relationship between the siblings themselves, and the relationships between the siblings and other family members, are two of the most important factors contributing to a successful sibling partnership.