Introduction
Welcome to the INBETS Business Transfer course! The course is divided into 3 sections:
- Introduction
- Possible models
- Who can help?
Strategy/plan
Family firms represent relatively stable systems so long as the founding entrepreneur is in place. They subsequently become destabilized as a function of such "triggering events" as the decision to bring a family member into a senior position, the founder's decision to disengage or decision about firms' selling (Morris, Williams, Nel, 1996). Successful adaptation to the new situation is influenced by the conditions within the firm (e.g. state of maturity, economic health) and family dynamics (e.g. closeness of family, interdependencies among family members, sibling rivalries, financial condition of family members) (Beckhard, Dyer 1983), as well as the situation in the firm's environment.
Such critical changes in the firm, eventually leading to the ownership and authority transfer, need to be overthought and planned in details (Family Business Survey, 2016).
The process of planning the business transfer should be preceded by answering the following questions:- Are there any family member who wants and can (has the knowledge and skills) takeover the firm?
- What skills does the new generation need to succeed?
- How will generation change of firm’s ownership/authority influence the relationship between family members?
- What are the different models of business transfer, besides next generation’s succession? What are the pros and cons of each of them?
- Is the firm prepared for the changes? Is it structured and functioning with a high level of professionalism? (That is fundamental for transferring the authority, know-how and values)
- What is the time horizon? What is the deadline the founding entrepreneur wants to complete the process of business transfer? What are his/her plans afterwards?
- Are there any partners that could support the process?
The strategy of business transfer consists of the following elements: Analysis, Aims, Action plan
- Introduction