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Journal of Family B

jou r nal h o mep ag e: w ww .eIntroduction

Wives of family business owners have been described as ChiefEmotional Ofcers (Poza & Messer, 2001) and sons are commonlyperceived as heirs apparent. The literature is relatively silent,however, about the role and function of daughters in the familybusiness. The dearth of daughters at the helm of U.S. family rms(Vera & Dean, 2005) as well as research suggesting the importanceof family unity in the success of family businesses (Poza, Hanlon, &Kishida, 2004), speak persuasively for a better understanding of therelatively unexplored roles of daughters in these organizations.

In 1994, only two percent of CEOs in family businesses werefemale including women who replaced their husbands due todeath or illness and women who started their own businesses.While the number of daughters that head family businessesincreased in the last decade, reaching 9.5% in 2005 (Vera & Dean,2005), it remains surprisingly low. Daughters, it has been argued,are underutilized resources that may add to a business competi-tive advantage (Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992). Increasingly,organizations are discovering the value of diversity in leadership

ranks. Including daughters in upper management positions mayimprove the notoriously low survival rate (Gersick, 1997) offamily businesses from generation to generation. Additionally,the paucity of daughter successors may indicate a lack offulllment for daughters who are not realizing occupationalgrowth and the advantages of working in the family business.Blondel (2011) also notes that the exclusion of daughters fromleadership roles may produce tensions within the family.

Much of the limited research on daughters and familybusinesses examines the unique challenges of daughters whohave achieved successor or leadership status, but it sheds littlelight on the many daughters who are unutilized or under-utilizedin their family rms. To further explore the roles of daughters infamily organizations, we examined how successor daughters, ordaughters who are included in the upper management of theirfamily rms, compare with non-successor daughters and successorsons in their understandings of their roles and their framing ofsuccession outcomes.

Our inquiry was informed by Corrells (2001) use of supply anddemand dynamics to examine the gender wage gap in the generalU.S. population. While lack of demand for women in higher payingoccupations provides one explanation for the wage gap, a supplyside decit resulting from biased self-assessments providesanother. In this study, we consider to what extent implicit bias on the part of both daughters and fathers might contribute tothe limited number of daughters succeeding their fathers in thefamily rm. Our goal was to examine how implicit and explicit

Succession

Gender

Women in family business

Daughters in family business

event motivates them to do so. Additionally, parental support and mentoring for leadership are seen to

facilitate daughter succession.

2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 216 346 2092/+1 216 292 3939 (home);

fax: +1 216 765 8057.

E-mail addresses: Overkess@aol.com, kathyann.overbeke@case.edu

(K.K. Overbeke), diana.bilimoria@case.edu (D. Bilimoria), sheriperelli@comcast.net

(S. Perelli).

1877-8585/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2013.07.002The dearth of daughter successors in faGendered norms, blindness to possibili

Kathyann Kessler Overbeke a,*, Diana Bilimoria b, SaCase Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management, 10900 EuclidbCase Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management, Department

44106-7235, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 5 December 2011

Received in revised form 4 July 2013

Accepted 8 July 2013

Keywords:

Family business

Entrepreneurship

A B S T R A C T

Statistics reveal a dearth o

empirical studies on the su

fathers, we examined fact

reveal that daughters own

activated gender norms,

executive positions with d

daughters who did, indicily businesses:, and invisibility

ri Perelli a

nue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7235, USA

rganizational Behavior, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH

aughters among successors of family business owners. In one of very few

ct of daughters who do not follow in the footsteps of their entrepreneurial

hat may contribute to daughters self-assessments of succession. Findings

ndness to the possibility of succession, often resulting from automatically

edes their ascendancy. Interviews with daughters who did not pursue

ion making responsibilities in their family rms, as well as both sons and

that daughters may not deliberately consider succession until a critical

usiness Strategy

l sev ier . co m / loc ate / j fb s

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212202factors such as gendered cognitions, contextual factors, anddaughters deliberative thought processes contribute to theirdecisions to seek family rm succession. We draw on the Theory ofPlanned Behavior and Gender Theory to study daughterssuccession decisions. Semi-structured interviews with successorand non-successor daughters of family business owners as wellas successor sons shed light not only on reasons for malefemaledisparity in succession outcomes, but the unique effects of gendernorms in the context of family businesses-norms that impact allmembers of both the family and the business.

Our approach to the study of daughters and succession in familybusinesses also responds to Dumas call (2011) for moreunderstanding of why egalitarianism is not fully realized in thepractice of U.S. family businesses. Noting that gender norms shapedaughters realities differently than those of sons, resulting invariant self-perceptions and cognitions relating to the familybusiness, Dumas advocates research based on gender as a sociallyconstructed phenomenon (Dumas, 2011). Our research focus andsample allowed us to explore this aspect of gender dynamics. Thepaper proceeds as follows. First, we review literature on daughtersuccession, then we present the theoretical framework andmethodology used in our study. Thereafter, we report ndings,discuss their implications and summarize the contributions andlimitations of our work.

1. Extant literature on daughter succession

In an overview of research on women in family rms, Jimenez(2009) describes the sparse research as narrowly focused onobstacles and positive aspects of female succession. Obstaclescenter on invisibility and primogeniture. Women often contributeto the family business but may not be recognized with title orsalary. Instead, their efforts may be considered minimal extensionsof their roles and responsibilities in the home where they are incharge of domestic, emotional, and social issues. Women are,rarely considered serious candidates to succeed to leadership(Jimenez, 2009, p. 56) because of an implicit adherence to thepractice of primogeniture, where the rstborn male child isexpected to be the successor. The work of women in familybusinesses is also often invisible to customers, suppliers, and avariety of other business associates who may undervalue theircontributions.

Jimenez (2009) also notes that literature on the positiveaspects of women working in the family business is focused onthree issues: (1) the satisfaction women derive from developingtheir own career potential and fortifying their familys efforts;(2) advantages the family business offers including job securityand a more exible schedule that accommodates child care; and(3) leadership styles of female family business executives. Thesestudies principally reect experiences of women who havesurpassed gender barriers within their family rms or havestarted their own rms. Women who have overcome genderbarriers have usually replaced male family members who wereill, uninterested, or lacked competence. However, women arenot always subjected to the glass ceiling (Songini & Gnan,2009). A study conducted by Cole (1997) revealed theexperiences of women for whom gender had not been a barrierto succession in family rms and had very positive views of theircareers. Studies of women successors reporting positive aspectsof succession, including Coles (1997), reveal that womenexperience fulllment as leaders of family businesses anddemonstrate successful leadership in them. With respect togender differences in leadership styles, female family businessleaders are noted for their ability to multitask, overcomecontradictions, and be sensitive to the needs of employees(Jimenez, 2009).Research suggests that women who achieve successor statusoften undergo a conversion that results in family members andbusiness associates previously familiar with them as invisiblepartners (Jimenez, 2009) or daddys little girl (Dumas, 1989),subsequently viewing them as capable managers (Curimbaba,2002). The insights of psychologists and therapists who haveworked with family businesses (e.g., Hollander & Burkowitz, 1990;Salganicoff, 1990) and empirical studies that examine theexperience of daughters actively working in their familys business(Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992; Curimbaba, 2002; Cole, 1997; Vera &Dean, 2005; Haberman & Danes, 2007; Barrett & Moores, 2009)have addressed the conversion process. These studies referencefamily culture and structure that prevent daughters inclusion(Barnes, 1988; Curimbaba, 2002; Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992;Hollander & Burkowitz, 1990), discriminatory attitudes of rmstakeholders including customers and business associates (Cole,1997; Vera & Dean, 2005), conicts balancing motherhood andcareer (Cole, 1997; Vera & Dean, 2005), and daughters perceptionsof their opposing roles in the family and business (Barnes, 1988;Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992). As described below, these studiesexplain contextual and psycho-social factors associated withdaughter succession, but do not clarify why so few daughtersself-nominate as successor candidates.

Contextual factors inuencing demand and supply dynamics of

daughter succession. Family culture and structure are frequentlycited as contextual factors impacting daughter succession. Familyculture consists of roles and rules embedded in family behaviorpatterns (Dumas, 1989, 1992; Hollander & Burkowitz, 1990) andstructure refers to the distribution of power (Barnes, 1988;Hollander & Burkowitz, 1990; Dumas, Dupuis, Richer, & St.-Cyr,1995); and gender composition of the family (Barrett & Moores,2009; Curimbaba, 2002). Principally, these factors inuence thedemand and supply of daughter successors. When family cultureand structure reect traditional gender roles, it functions against thedemand for daughter successors and reduces the supply of preparedand proactive daughter successor candidates. For example, whendaughters are expected to be cooperative, subordinate, and needingprotection (Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992), they are seen not as viablesuccessors but as lacking the competitive, authoritative, and toughdemeanor of a business executive. Such daughters are viewed ascaretakers bound to uphold their fathers authority and not tochallenge family roles. There is little demand for these daughters tolead the family business.

Traditional family structures mitigate demand for daughtersuccessors because daughters typically rank lowest in power(Barnes, 1988; Haberman & Danes, 2007; Hollander & Burkowitz,1990) and male family members are considered preferable tofemales as family rm successors. Powerlessness is often tied toperceptions of daughters business acumen such that daughterslow rankings are seen as indicators of their inability to compete inchallenging business environments (Barnes, 1988; Haberman &Danes, 2007). Daughters attempting succession may need toestablish new powerful identities that are perceived congruentlyin both family and workplace environments, else tensions mayemerge from what Barnes (1988) labels incongruent hierarchies.

Daughters from families with few males are more likely tobecome successors (Barrett & Moores, 2009; Curimbaba, 2002;Haberman & Danes, 2007). However, even under such circum-stances, demand for daughter successors is ambiguous. Althoughinitially welcomed into the business, over time, a daughtersauthority may be threatened by the appearance of a male familymember such as a new brother-in-law who wishes to take control(Curimbaba, 2002).

Families with more egalitarian cultures and structures are morelikely to display a demand for daughter successors. A studyconducted by Haberman and Danes (2007) demonstrated that

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212 203families with more inclusive attitudes toward women successfullyintegrated them in the upper echelons of the business. However,Barrett and Moores (2009) found that demand for daughters inhigh ofces did not promise demand for daughters as CEOs. Thus,current literature recognizes an equivocal demand for daughtersuccessors even as family culture becomes more egalitarian.

Current literature largely focuses on the demand for daughtersuccessors, explaining how successor daughters have managedgender barriers (e.g., Songini & Gnan, 2009). Researchers havementioned the small supply of qualied daughter successors andhave advocated for daughters to take more initiative indeveloping skills for leading the family business, but this hasnot been the major focus of their work. Thus, a limitation ofextant literature is that it does not examine supply side factors orthe inuence of cognitions about the role of women in careerchoices. Furthermore, current literature examines solely theexperiences of daughters who achieved positions of authority infamily businesses. Absent consideration of supply side factors,including the experiences of daughters who did not attemptsuccession, the literature fails to fully explain the dearth ofdaughter successors, how this phenomenon may be improved, orthe general role and function of family business daughters.

2. Theoretical support

To understand supply-side dynamics in daughter succession,we sought to reveal implicit and explicit factors that may explaindaughters perceptions about their role and function in the familybusiness. We drew on two bodies of literature, the Theory ofPlanned Behavior and Gender Role Theory, to operationalize thestudy of these factors.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). TPB (Ajzen, 1985, 1991)provides a decision making model that is based on the assumptionthat behaviors are results of rational judgments and attitudestoward specic behaviors. It posits that intentions are the directantecedents to behavior and that intentions are informed bysalient psychological and sociological beliefs. Ajzen postulated thatsalient beliefs about consequences from specic behaviors providethe psychological underpinnings of attitude and salient beliefsabout social pressures regarding these behaviors lead to evalua-tions of social inuences, or the subjective norm. TPB also proposesthat behavioral intentions are a function of control beliefs, or thepresence or absence of requisite resources and opportunities,(Ajzen & Driver, 1991, p. 188). Thus, TPB provides a blueprint toinvestigate beliefs, attitudes, and norms that encourage ordiscourage daughters intentions to become family businesssuccessors. The three major components of TPB behavior beliefs,subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control informed ourunderstanding of a deliberative decision making process andguided the design of an interview protocol.

Behavior beliefs refer to an individuals perceptions ofconsequences that might result from certain actions. Howindividuals evaluate perceived consequences may impact theirattitudes and intentions to execute a behavior or action (Ajzen,1991). Beliefs are construed from direct observation or informationreceived from outside sources or by way of various inferenceprocesses (Ajzen, 1991). For example, daughters of family businessowners may evaluate succession based on its potential to affecttheir assigned gender roles, such as the cooperative daughter orcaretaker of the family (Dumas, 1989). Gender roles may alsoinuence daughters beliefs if they perceive that becoming asuccessor may be unattractive to men (Hollander & Burkowitz,1990). Contrastingly, daughters may believe that becoming asuccessor will allow them to make important and rewardingcontributions to family business sustainability (Cole, 1997; Vera &Dean, 2005).Subjective norm refers to an individuals perception of theopinions of important social referent groups about a givenbehavior and the extent to which those opinions are valued(Ajzen, 1985, 1991; Ajzen & Driver, 1991; Armitage & Christian,2003; Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005). For instance, daughters maysubscribe to norms shaped by important referent groups such asparents, relatives and friends that signal the proper role fordaughters and succession in family businesses. When normsreect gender egalitarian ideals, and daughters accept thesenorms, they are more likely to pursue succession.

Perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 2002); refers to anindividuals beliefs about his/her ability to successfully engagein a particular behavior. Performance may be constrained by non-motivational factors such as opportunity and the cooperation ofothers (Ajzen & Driver, 1991, p. 182). This is of particularimportance in family businesses since parents are gatekeepersto succession. Parents perceptions of a daughters abilities orsuitability to lead their family business may be affected by gendernorms that distance daughters from succession. Daughters maytherefore believe that the opportunity to become a successor is notavailable to them and that they do not have the power to persuadetheir parents differently. Conversely, daughters who perceivefavorable opportunities within the family business and thelikelihood of support from parentgatekeepers, are more likelyto decide to become successors.

Gender role theory. In combination with TPB, gender role theorymay be used to understand both the deliberative and implicitfactors that inuence daughters decisions and behaviors. Theenduring paucity of daughter successors clearly indicates theexistence of a gendered system. The disproportionate number ofsuccessor sons suggests a bias toward males in the selection and/orself-selection of successors. Therefore gender role theory is used inthis study to contextualize daughters decisions and identifypsycho-social factors that impact beliefs about gender and theireffect on behaviors and/or decisions.

Widely held socially constructed beliefs about gender (genderbeliefs) powerfully affect individuals cognitions and treatment ofmen and women (Correll, 2001; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004; Judge &Livingston, 2008; Ely, Insead, & Kolb, 2011; Ridgeway, 2011).Gender beliefs are inculcated in childhood when childrendifferentiate themselves on the basis of sex and learn to attachattributes and values to each sex (Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2002;Correll, 2001). For example, at an early age, children recognizephysical features such as hair and clothes that identify boys andgirls and may categorize activities and toys according to what isperceived to be appropriate for each sex (e.g., dolls are for girls,trucks are for boys).

Two aspects of gender as a socially constructed concept arecentral to our discussion: the assessment of men and womenscompetencies (e.g., Correll, 2001; Ely et al., 2011; Ridgeway, 2011)and hegemonic beliefs that rank men as more powerful thanwomen (e.g., Ridgeway & Correll, 2004; Ridgeway, 2011). Sociallyconstructed gender beliefs are embodied in stereotypes of men andwomen that ascribe different characteristics and abilities to eachsex (Correll, 2001; Ely et al., 2011). Generally, stereotypes castwomen as communal, or nurturing, caring, and cooperative andmen are seen as agentic, or task oriented, competitive and decisive(e.g., Eagly & Steffen, 1984). These stereotypic gender beliefs affecthow individuals assess themselves in certain contexts and howthey perceive others assessments of them. Evaluation of onescompetencies is a deciding factor in choosing career interests sincepeople tend to choose career paths in which they feel condent oftheir skills (Ridgeway & Correll, 2004; Martin et al., 2002; Judge &Livingston, 2008; Hackett & Betz, 1981). Gender beliefs maytherefore inuence daughters choices regarding family businesssuccession as their assessments of their skills are potentially

Only family businesses led by fathers were included in thesample. Mother/daughter succession implies different dynamics(Vera & Dean, 2005) and may distort the inuence of gender. Thelandscape is changing but father-led family businesses prevail andbias against daughter leadership persists. We argue that sustain-able change can only be achieved if we understand the nature ofexisting father/daughter dynamics.

Since no data or membership lists exist that identify daughtersof family business owners, it was necessary to use a conveniencesample (c.f., Maxwell, 2005). We relied on snowball sampling(Babbie, 2007) to identify potential interview subjects. According-ly, each person interviewed was asked to suggest other interviewcandidates. Eight daughters who did not become successors andseven daughters and six sons who did, were interviewed.Respondents were geographically distributed across the UnitedStates and worked in a wide variety of industries. Table 1 providesdemographic data about the sample.

Respondents ranged in age from 43 to 79. The average age offemales was 53 and the average age of males was 59. Allinterviewees were college graduates and seven held postgraduatedegrees. A wide variety of businesses were operated by subjectsfamilies, with industrial or commercial distribution andmanufacturing most frequently cited. Few retail and/or servicefamily businesses were represented. Most participants were theyoungest in their families and the number of siblings ranged from 1to 6. Two male successors in the study were brothers. Most femalenon-successors in the study were homemakers and mothers,working part-time in traditional female careers. Two nevermarried. Among the successor daughters, most were the CEO orpresident of their familys rm. One was taking a leave of absence

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212204inuenced by others gendered biases as well as their owninternalization of gender beliefs. Daughters may eschew interest insuccession because perceptions that others view them as under-qualied bias their own judgments and behaviors (Dumas, 1990).Socially derived beliefs about competencies are made even moreinuential by their unconscious nature. Gender acts as abackground identity guiding behavior and judgments in variousways without an individuals awareness of its inuence (Ridgeway& Correll, 2004; Ridgeway, 2011). That is, daughters may notrealize that their behaviors and judgments about becoming asuccessor are implicitly triggered by gender biases.

Additionally, gender beliefs produce biases beyond perceptionsof competencies. The gendered system also assigns cultural rulesand roles to each gender category and these roles carry hegemonicbeliefs that grant more power to men than women (Ridgeway &Correll, 2004; Eagly, Rose, Riger, & McHugh, 2012). Daughters maynot contest conventional gender role stereotypes held by theirfathers who are often the gatekeepers to succession. Daughtersperceptions of a differential power structure and expectations ofgender role behavior may preclude them from even imaginingthemselves as successors. Based on these implications of genderrole theory as well as those of TPB discussed earlier, we examinehow gendered cognitions, contextual factors, and daughtersdeliberative thought processes implicitly and explicitly contributeto their decisions to seek family rm succession.

3. Research methods

We used an inductive qualitative approach to examine themain research question: What factors explain daughter succes-sion in family businesses? We dene succession as occupyingupper level management positions. To answer our researchquestion and shed light on why so few daughters succeed theirfathers at the helm of family rms we conducted comparativeanalyses using samples of daughter successors, non-successordaughters, and successor sons.

4. Sample

Principles of theoretical sampling (Glaser & Strauss, 1967)determined the parameters of the population to be examined.Three appropriate groups were identied to provide contrastingpoints of view (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). These groups includeddaughters who did not become successors in their familysbusinesses, daughters who became successors, and sons whobecame successors. Daughters constituted the core theoreticalgroup and represented a larger proportion of the sample than didsons. Sons, however, were critical to the study, to permitdistinctions that might be attributable to gender. All eight non-successor daughters had previously worked in the family business,but usually on a short term basis, such as a summer or schoolvacation, and in a clerical capacity. Since we were interested in thedynamics leading up to the thought processes to lead or not to leadthe family business, the fact that some daughters had not workedin the family business for an extended period of time wasimmaterial.

A successor was dened as a daughter or son who entered thefamily business for the purpose of pursuing a long term career pathleading to an executive position with decision making responsi-bilities. For this study we required that the successor should beover the age of 30 because this allows sufcient time for them tohave established a specic direction in their careers. These criteriafor participant selection distinguish family members who enteredthe business as a stop-gap measure or in a clerical or supportiveposition absent an intention to assume sustained executiveresponsibilities.to care for an ill family member and one had recently sold thecompany. Four of the successor sons were CEO or co-president oftheir familys company and two had recently sold their businessesand started another. The names and locations of the participantshave been changed to ensure condentiality.

Table 1Sample demographics.

Female non

successors

Female

successors

Male

successors

Age

40s 3 2 2

50s 2 5 2

60s 3 1

70s 1

Type of business

Retail 0 1 1

Service 1 0 1

Industrial distribution 2 2 3

Industrial manufacturing 2 1 0

Consumer manufacturing 1 2 0

Consumer wholesale 1 1 1

Real estate 1 0 1

Highest level of education

High school diploma

Undergrad degree 6 6 3

Graduate degree 1 1 2

Professional degree 1 0 1

Honorary doctorate 1

Position among siblings

Oldest 3 1 1

Youngest 3 5 3

Middle 2 1 1

Number of siblings

0

1 2 4 3

2 2 1 2

3 3

4 or more 1 2

4.1. Data collection and analysis

Data were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews.Prior to each interview participants were mailed a condentiali-ty conrmation, a summary of the research topic, and onequestion to consider prior to the interview (What are yourearliest memories of your familys business?). Interviews weresemi-structured and lasted between 60 and 120 min, conductedin the participants home or ofce, tape recorded and transcribedby a professional rm. An interview protocol informed by thestudys theoretical foundations was used to guide each inter-view. Questions were designed to elicit rich narrativeshighlighting inuential factors driving the interviewees deci-sion to enter or not enter his/her familys business. The specicquestions used in the interview protocol are available uponrequest from the rst author.

Data were analyzed using the constant comparative methodintroduced by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and elements of thematicanalysis recommended by Boyatzis (1998). These methods areuseful in the generation of theory that is grounded in qualitativeresearch data. Transcribed interviews, memos, and theoreticalliterature were reviewed in an attempt to nd patterns andexplanations in over 800 pages of interview transcripts. Coding

5. Findings

Table 2 lists the nal themes in the data, and identiessimilarities and differences among subsample groups on eachtheme, as described below.

1 Condence in business skills. Successor sons and daughtersexpressed more condence in their business skills than non-successor daughters. A successor son stated, I remember in myjunior year of college I started writing down what I thoughtmy future would look like and it was very entrepreneuriallydriven. A successor daughter said, Ive always found myselfquite comfortable working in typical mens environments. Incontrast, a non-successor daughter who had been a successfulstudent in high school and college described her attempt to useequipment needed in the business. She stated, It would beimpressive if I could do it, but I cant. Ive been trying to learnthis, and my [post-college] professor has been helping, but hethinks Im a total moron.

2 Invited into the business. Successor sons were either explicitlyinvited to become a successor or were given non-verbal, butclear, clues that they were expected to follow in their fathersfootsteps. One successor son explained, I was the oldest and I

ent

s.

and

nd

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212 205was conducted following a rigorous iterative process. First, opencoding was conducted to identify codable moments (Boyatzis,1998)fragments of text with potential meaning. These werethen sorted and categorized with similar text from othertranscripts to form descriptive categories, resulting in 360 initialcodes. Relationships between these categories were next exploredin a second phase of coding, reducing the codes which were thendened using Boyatzis (1998, p. 98) analytic guidelines ofarticulating (1) a label, (2) a denition, (3) a description of howto know when a theme occurs, (4) a description of qualiers orexclusions, and (5) examples. In two or more iterations, relation-ships between codes were evaluated, compared to the literature,and grouped together accordingly. In this way, the list was furthercondensed and the codes rened. Transcripts were reviewed toquantify the number of incidences of each code according to sub-sample group. Two independent coders veried the reliability ofthe nal codes with a 79% agreement between raters (whichexceeds the 70% threshold of acceptability according to Boyatzis,1998).

Table 2Distribution of codes across sub-samples.

Code/theme

1 Condence in business skills

2 Invited into the business

3 Mother stayed home

4 Marriage is career goal

5 Father is breadwinner and head of house

6 Gender beliefs are similar to parents (traditional) beliefs

7 Financially rewarding opportunity for self

8 Did not want to work in family business at some point in developm

9 When young, self-image included role of future successor

10 Succession expected or accepted by family

11 Early exposure to family business

12 Dismisses sister as likely successora

13 Dismisses brother as likely successorb

14 Fathers attitude toward participants succession (+,) 15 Being a man is helpful in a business environmentc

16 Unusual event precipitates change and leads to succession

17 Received mentoring to be an effective leader

Notes: SS = successor sons, NSD = non-successor daughters, SD = successor daughtera Includes female cousins whose parents are also owners of the family business,b Includes male cousins whose parents are part owners of the family business, ac Not all participants commented on this. Responses are shown as a ratio.was the maleand it was assumed that I was coming into thebusiness and my sister wasnt. Successor daughters were alsoinvited into the business by either their mother or father, butunlike sons, daughters were invited at a later stage of life. Onesuccessor daughter explained, A key manager in my fatherscompany retired and my father called me and asked if I wouldreturn and help. In contrast, none of the non-successordaughters were invited into the business. Several daughtersnoted, It just never came up.

3 Mother stayed home. In all three sample groups, most mothersdid not work outside the home, suggesting a role modelreecting traditional gender norms. For example, one successorson observed, My mother was a golfer, an entertainer, a cooka socially condent person, but not a businesswoman by anystretch of the imagination.

4 Marriage is a career goal. No successor sons and only threesuccessor daughters viewed marriage as a career goal; yet,almost all non-successor daughters voiced this perception. Onesuch daughter declared, I wanted to be a mother when I grew

SS (n = 6) NSD (n = 8) SD (n = 7)

6 1 5

6 0 7

5 7 5

0 7 3

4 8 7

6 2 5

6 0 4

years 6 7 6

5 0 0

6 0 4

6 7 6

3/3 4/5 3/3

1/4 1/7 2/5

+ = 6 = 8 + = 4; = 33/3 agree 5/5 disagree 1/4 agree; 3/4 disagree

1 0 6

5 0 4

is shown as a ratio since some participants do not have a sister or female cousin.

is shown as a ratio since some participants do not have brothers or male cousins.

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212206up. I mean, I really didnt think of anything else. A son,however, described his aspirations saying,

Id sit on the sidewalk outside the company eating lunch andtalk about what we were going to do with the businesssomeday. You know, these are 14 year-old kids on the streetfantasizing about how many trucks and how big it could beand the buildings that we could acquire in the neighborhoodto add to it and make it bigger and put the competitors intheir place.

5 Father is primary breadwinner and head of house. Non-successordaughters and most successor sons assigned the role of primarybreadwinner and head of the family nances to fathers. Severalrespondents indicated that this role includes protecting femalefamily members from the harsh realities of nances. Forexample, a non-successor daughter explained, In my family[being female] is more about being taken care of. My brotherswatch out for me. They say, Dont worry-youll be okay. But, Idont know any of the specics. A successor son stated, I thinkbeing a provider is more typically the mans role especiallyafter growing up where your mother was socially active but notworking outside the home.

Successor daughters also reported growing up in homeswhere fathers were the primary breadwinner; however, somedaughters were encouraged to work toward nancial indepen-dence. One successor daughter relayed a story about herfathers teachings:

My father always told me, Dont wait for someone to comeby and pick you up. If you fall down in the snow and ice, youpick yourself up. He stated this several times and I nallybegan to understandhis intention was, you need some-thing xed; dont look for people to run to your aid, youll bedisappointed. You x it.

She explained that this outlook applied to nances as well aseveryday experiences and that while she did not understandthis concept in her youth, she grasped it post-college. Anothersuccessor daughter responded that she used to view herhusband as the primary breadwinner just as her father was thebreadwinner in her family of origin; her perceptions changedhowever when she divorced.

6 Gender beliefs are similar to parents beliefs. Non-successordaughters differed from successor sons and daughters withrespect to the maintenance of parental attitudes toward gender.Most non-successor daughters reported a shift in attitudestoward gender norms. Initially, their attitudes were consistentwith their parents but changed as they grew older. For example,one non-successor daughter explained, My ideas were similar[to my parents] when I was younger, but they are not similarnow . . .. Its kind of interesting when I was in college, BettyFriedan came to speak on campus and I could have cared less.Ten years later when I went back for my Masters, I became awomens history major!

In contrast, several successor daughters voiced genderattitudes similar to their parents. However, these successordaughters parents had more egalitarian views of gender. Onesuccessor daughter stated that when she announced she waschanging her college major to business her father responded,Thats a good choice. She explained, One thing my fatherstressed to me and my brother was that you need to be able tosupport yourself.

Shared attitudes toward gender were strongest amongsuccessor sons and their parents. All sons expressed traditionalgender attitudes and indicated their parents had similar beliefs.One son explained, I think the role of the father is to giveguidance (and) provide support. . .nancially (and) emotionally.I rely on my wife to do a lot of the rearing, bringing the kids up andthat has turned out really well. This son also described growingup in a family where the division of labor was consistent withtraditional gender roles.

7 Financially rewarding opportunity for self. All successor sonsunderstood and were motivated by the remunerative benetsof becoming a successor. One successor son explained, Well, Ididnt have very good luck getting a job. When I got back home Ifell into working here and I never considered leaving again.Another son stated, My degree was in education but you dontget paid a lot which was ultimately the compelling reason forjoining the company. Several, but not all, successor daughtersrecognized the nancial advantages of succession. Onesuccessor daughter said, I like the fact that you could callyour own shots, that you could set your own pace, you couldreap the rewards of how hard you work. Other successordaughters were mobilized by a desire to help the familybusiness and salary was of secondary importance. Non-successor daughters were not mindful of the privileges ofbeing a successor. When one non-successor daughter wasasked why she did not major in business she responded, It wastedious and boring. I didnt know it was a way of makingmoney.

8 Did not want to work in family business at some point indevelopment years. Table 2 shows a near consensus among allsample groups citing a lack of interest in working in the familybusiness at some point during their development years.Describing himself one successor son said, Youre talkingabout somebody who up until they were in their 30s said, Illnever work for the family business. A successor daughter said,I worked in the business during the summer and decided that Ididnt want to work in the business once I graduated college.Similarly, a non-successor daughter said, The kind of businessthey did was not appealing to me at all. While all samplegroups raised similar objections to working in the familybusiness, all but non-successor daughters became successors,suggesting that lack of interest alone does not predictsuccession outcome and that intervening factors fostered achange in interest among successor sons and daughters.

9 When young, self-image included role of future successor. Table 2indicates that almost all successor sons imagined themselves tobe potential future successors during their youth while alldaughters did not. Importantly, a few daughters expressedinterest in succession, but they did not perceive it as theirfuture role. For example, one daughter said that when she was 6or 7 years old she wanted to work in the business but neverspoke of it to anyone for fear of being rebuked or teased for suchaspirations. Typically, daughters responded, When I wasyoung? I just never even thought about it. I just wanted toget married. Contrastingly, sons perceptions were evidencedby comments such as, By high school it was a done deal that Iwas coming into the business.

10 Succession expected or accepted by family. This theme highlightsdifferences between non-successor daughters and successors,both male and female. Sons were unanimously accepted assuccessors and many were expected to assume this role. Most,but not all, daughters were accepted once they acquired therole. Non-successor daughters were not expected to besuccessors and few attempted the role. One daughter lamented,My brothers were drawn back home after college because ofopportunities in the business. I didnt have anything like thatkeeping me here. Another daughter explained, I dont thinkmy parents ever wanted me to go into the family business.Additionally, a daughter declared, My father founded thebusiness so everyone had a place to work. But not the girls.Women were supposed to stay home and take care of children.

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212 20711 Early exposure to family business. Table 2 indicates that mostparticipants worked in the family business during their youth,although jobs differed among sample subsets. All daughterssaid they worked in the ofce and only one successor daughterentered the sales force during her teens. In contrast, almost allsons were assigned to various jobs in order to obtain acomprehensive view of the business. This suggests that allparticipants had some knowledge of the business, but sons mayhave been better prepared for leadership.

12 Dismisses women as likely successor. Across all sub-groups,respondents did not believe sisters or female cousins werelikely candidates for succession. A successor son illustrated thistheme saying, I had an older cousin who worked there [thefamily business] more or less. She was in a sort of high-levelclerical position. She was married to a doctor and nobody sawher as being in the business full-time and long-term. Asuccessor daughter suggested that her sister was interested inowning the business, but not leading the business. She stated, Ithink my sister wanted the business, but she wanted it for herhusband and, in the future, for her son. Another successordaughter quickly dispatched the idea of her sisters becomingsuccessors saying, My sisters were never interested in thebusiness.

13 Brother is likely successor. Few respondents believed that theirbrothers or male cousins were unsuitable successors. This is instark contrast to participants appraisals of sisters potential.One sister commented, That was something the boys wereexpected to do. Another daughter said, I always thought he[my brother] would head the business. Similarly, a successorson said, I tried very hard to recruit my brother to come intothe business. I really wanted him to.

14 Fathers attitude toward participants succession. All sonsperceived acceptance by their fathers. Nearly 60% of successordaughters also perceived acceptance, but some struggled fortheir fathers approval. A successor daughter explained thatwhile working in the family business in a clerical position sheexperienced the tragic loss of a child and a subsequent divorce.She asked her father for a promotion, emphasizing herknowledge of the business and her achievements. Her fatherignored her and expressed hope that her brother would helpmanage the business. The brother decided to work elsewhereand when the father became too ill to work the daughter tookhis place and successfully expanded the business. Similarly, adaughter working in the family business was forced out by herfather but returned years later and brought the business backfrom near collapse.

All non-successor daughters perceived that their fatherswould disapprove if they attempted succession and alldaughters who did not perceive support from their fathersconsistently described their fathers as having traditionalattitudes toward women. Conversely, daughters who perceivedacceptance from their fathers described their fathers asmentors who signaled condence in their skills and encouragedthem when challenged. Daughters who perceived acceptanceadapted more easily to the business and produced positiveresults more quickly.

15 Being male is helpful in business environment. All sons noted thatthere was an advantage to being male in their family business.For instance, one son stated, Its a very chauvinistic industry.As a matter of fact, in the foreign markets they have bureauswhere women arent even allowed. It has improved, but thereare still restrictions. Among non-successor daughters, all whocommented on this topic agreed with the belief that being malewas an advantage in their family business. Only one successordaughter reported an advantage to being female, explainingthat the company could gain more business by appealing topurchasing departments with diversity requirements. Othersuccessor daughters noted the disadvantages of being femaleand several said they were often mistaken for secretaries ortreated with condescension.

16 Unusual event precipitates change leading to a successionopportunity. Sons recognized succession opportunities earlyin life but vacillated between pursuing these opportunities andpursuing careers elsewhere. One son explained, My fatheralways felt strongly about the benets of family business andhow family business could keep the family together. When Iwas four years old he made me climb a tall ladder because hewanted me to understand the business. But, when I was ateenager I was a very good basketball player and I felt thatworking in the business would interfere with my basketballcareer.

Sons eventual decisions to become successors oftenfollowed a critical event such as the retirement of seniorfamily executives. One son reported, My father and unclesbasically said, Weve reached a point where we think we mightlike to sell the company, but if you or other members of thesecond well, third generation are going to come into thefamily business, were not going to sell it, but we need to knowwhat youre going to do. And if you want to come in thebusiness, this is the time.

Contrastingly, the vast majority of successor daughtersinitial recognition of succession opportunities occurred later inlife and in response to critical events such as the illness of thefather, loss of job, or the company urgently needing her help.For example, one successor daughter who had never thoughtabout succession stated, About the time that the company Iwas working for closed, my father needed a salesman. He said tocome work for him. I said no. But he was persistent and I endedup working for him. Non-successor daughters and their familybusinesses also experienced critical events but daughters werenot called upon for help, nor did they seek jobs for themselves.Rather, in some cases daughters husbands were brought intothe business.

The difference between sons and daughters consciousnessof succession opportunities demonstrates the inuence ofgender on decision processes. Sons were aware of opportunitiesat a young age and made explicit decisions about becomingsuccessors. Even when sons awareness of opportunities werenot a result of parental guidance, they knew instinctively theyhad access to executive positions in the family business. Oneson said, There was a lot of parental pressure on me to be alawyer. But, I was interested in business and in spite of anyefforts there might have been to point me toward being alawyer I still came back to the fact that I liked the familybusiness.

TPB theory suggests that beliefs are construed from directobservation or information received from outside sources or byway of various inference processes (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).Gender theory asserts that beliefs about gender roles beginwith sex categories (malefemale) which carry implicationsabout ourselves in relation to others. Sex categorization occursduring childhood and is one of the primal means of categorizingourselves in comparison to others and discovering likenesseswithin certain categories (Ridgeway & Correll, 2004). Thus, sonsobserved their fathers working in the family business andlearned from their family and society that men are expected tobe breadwinners. This provides sons with a comparative pointfor a deliberate decision about working in the family business.Knowing that their future roles include being breadwinners,sons could consciously decide if they wanted to follow in theirfathers footsteps or change directions. Importantly, all sons in

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212208our sample mentioned their fathers inuence in their careerdecisions and did not discuss patterning their behaviors aftertheir mothers, signaling an awareness of fundamental distinc-tions between the roles of men and women. Therefore, sonsmade explicit decisions about becoming successors by basingtheir evaluations of consequences, the subjective norm, andbehavior control on comparisons with their fathers andunderstanding their gendered roles in their families and insociety.

As discussed earlier in codes 2, 7, and 8, daughters expressedlack of awareness of succession opportunities and benets,citing lack of interest and roles that were inconsistent withbeing primary wage earners or leaders of their familybusinesses. Their responses indicated an unconscious adher-ence to gender roles and expectations. Since sex categorizationis one of the earliest organizing principles of social relations,beliefs associated with gender implicitly shape judgments andbehaviors (Martin et al., 2002; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004).Successor daughters changed when a critical incident elicitedan invitation into the business, confronting them with adeliberate decision. With one exception, non-successor daugh-ters beliefs were not confronted with an alternative viewpointabout succession and they were not urged to make decisionsabout succession. The exception again illustrates the impact ofgender beliefs on decision processes. In this instance, thedaughter sought a position in the family business but her fatherdenied access, saying, If you go into that business, the boys willeat you alive. Her decision not to pursue this position reectsTPB as her fathers comments, which revealed a gender biasedattitude, inuenced her beliefs about consequences, thesubjective norm, and behavior control.

17 Received mentoring to be an effective leader. Almost all sonsbelieved that a mentor was essential to their executivedevelopment. One son described his experience saying, Iwas entrusted to a production manager who had been with thecompany since the early 40s. My father said to him, take himunder your wing. Ill tell you straight out, if he hadnt beenthere, there were many times when I was totally frustrated andI would have left. While most successor daughters were notmentored, those who were encouraged to join the businessfound their fathers to be strong and sometimes exemplarymentors. One daughter expounded, He [father] did thesuccession plan, believed in me, and once I was here, he madesure it worked. He could have placed me here, not given mesupport, or decided that it was too tough. So he had threecomponents that really contributed to our successa successionplan, support, and believing in me. Another successor daughterexplained that she entered the business having no training andher father provided her with private tutoring and other forms ofsupport.

Not all successor daughters were mentored, however. Onesuccessor daughter reported that she was largely ignored by herfather when she entered the business. She was given menial tasksbut no training or encouragement to learn more, despite herattempts to demonstrate interest and ability in the business.Another successor daughter had a similar experience. A thirdsuccessor daughter who was not mentored was praised for hersurplus efforts, but did not receive further encouragement ortraining until a second critical incident occurred.

6. Overall insights

The themes reported above generate several overall insightsabout daughter succession. A major insight emerging from thisstudy is that daughters decisions about succession prior to criticalevents are automatic, not deliberative. The comparison betweensons and daughters thought processes leading to succession ornon-succession revealed stark differences. All sons reportedmaking a series of decisions about working in the family business.Many started to evaluate this objective when they were young andreassessed their beliefs and attitudes as they grew up. Sonsindicated that they were aware of expectations or possibilities ofbecoming successors from an early age. Successor daughters alsoengaged in rational decisions about becoming successors, but notuntil they were prompted by a critical event. Prior to thesecatalysts, in almost all cases, successor daughters, like non-successor daughters, did not consciously evaluate beliefs, con-sequences, or control over becoming a successor. Instead mostdaughters career choices were consistent with implicit genderstereotypes, with daughters valuing marriage as their primarygoal. Some daughters considered the helping professions such asteaching or nursing as secondary career goals if necessary ordesired, but thoughts about becoming successors were brief, if evercontemplated.

Some daughters reported receiving cues about their rolesrelative to the business from family members, teachers, friends,and other associates when they were young. For instance,daughters who suggested working in the business were quicklydiscouraged with promises of intimidation from male relatives orbusiness associates, unpleasant environments, or difcult work.Daughters also noticed that brothers or other male relatives wereexpected to lead the business and were educated accordingly.Additionally, all non-successor daughters and most successordaughters perceived messages from family and society thatmarriage and children were preferable to working in the familybusiness.

Daughters and sons comments suggest the activation ofgender schemas (Valian, 1998, 2005; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004).Schemas are unconscious cognitive structures that consist of anetwork of associations. Schemas help organize information byattaching new information to pre-existing knowledge. Genderschemas internalize cultural beliefs about gender (Bem, 1993).These unconscious perceptions that send messages about appro-priate roles for men and women deect daughters attention fromsuccession in the family business and avert the need for adeliberate decision. In other words, daughters internalized andautomatic beliefs about gender often preclude conscious decisionmaking until a critical event occurs. For example, instead ofexamining behavior control (i.e., having the resources and powerto act) as part of a deliberative decision making process asdescribed in TPB, automatically activated hegemonic genderbeliefs (c.f., Ridgeway & Correll, 2004) silently signal daughtersthat they may encounter strong resistance from fathers, brothers,or male business associates. The automatic recognition ofdaughters lack of control in becoming a successor precludesdeliberative thought processes that encompass the behaviorcontrol component of the TPB model; only a critical event forcesthis decision process for daughters.

The themes also suggest that daughters are often blinded totheir own possibilities of succession in their family businessbecause of the automatic processes prescribed by gender roles.Most daughters career paths reected role congruity theory(Eagly, Wood, & Diekman, 2000) which posits that people aremotivated to align with gender roles which, in turn, predictgender stereotypic career interests. With two exceptions, none ofthe daughters in our sample considered the possibility ofbecoming successors while growing up and into early adulthood.Many of these daughters did not recognize the inuence ofgender norms on their self-image and career goals and someinsisted that these norms were irrelevant, attributing their lackof involvement in their family business to lack of interest or

ability. Their career paths, however, were consistent with genderstereotypic careers, providing evidence of implicit cognitionsthat motivate behavior.

The career paths of daughters who followed non-traditionalinterests while in college provide further evidence of blindness topossibilities in the family business. A few daughters in our samplestudied disciplines such as accounting, architecture, and man-agement, non-traditional subjects that related to their familybusiness. Yet, these daughters did not aspire to succession andupon graduation worked outside the family business with nointention of returning to the family business. While describingtheir career path during our interviews, these daughters did notlink their college acquired skills to leadership in the familybusiness, indicating an automatic exclusion of possibilities ofsuccession.

The contradiction in these daughters thinking processesilluminates the overlap of the family and business systems infamily businesses. Whereas daughters found it acceptable to

The data themes also indicate that daughter succession usuallyfollows a critical event. All daughters in our sample ascendedbecause of a critical event. During childhood and young adulthooddaughters did not imagine themselves to be future successors.Critical events acted as catalysts, providing a stimulus forawakening to the possibility of succession. Critical incidentsincluded losing a job, a spouse or partner losing a job, a fathersillness, a crisis in the company requiring the daughters help, orrecognition by the company that female ownership provided acompetitive advantage. In our sample, the family business servedas a safety net to several daughters after they or their spouse/partners lost a job. Other successor daughters wakened topossibilities of succession when their help was explicitly neededduring stressful times. These daughters discovered a deep interestand competency that had not been previously recognized.Importantly, in all but one case, successor daughters were invitedby a mother or father to join the rm.

Finally, the themes highlight the role of mentoring and daughter

to Po

eratiPro

n/n

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212 209achieve higher education and pursue nontraditional professionalgoals outside the family business, they did not see a role forthemselves inside it. That is, daughters simultaneously chal-lenged restrictive gender roles in domains external to the familybut accepted restrictive gender roles relative to the familybusiness. This suggests that the effects of gender norms may bemagnied in family businesses, possibly because the actors in thetwo systems (family and business) are the same, while they maybe contested and minimized in non-family business domains(where the actors are different).

Another insight derived from the themes is that beliefs andattitudes, as determined from the TPB model, differentiatesuccessor daughters from non-successor daughters. Table 2suggests that successor daughters differ from non-successordaughters in that successor daughters are condent of theirbusiness skills and opportunities for nancial reward within thefamily business and many perceive acceptance and support fromother family members, whereas non-successor daughters do not.Over time beliefs and attitudes shared between successordaughters and non-successor daughters may shift and successordaughters beliefs and attitudes may become more similar to thoseof successor sons. The studys data showed that both successor andnon-successor daughters early self-images did not include futuresuccession. However successor daughters and successor sonsbelieved that succession was accepted by their families and offereda nancially rewarding opportunity, and they were condent oftheir business skills. In other words, similarities in successor andnon-successor daughters beliefs about succession as childrendiverged later in life.

Gender Norms Blindness

Deli bDec ision

Fig. 1. Daughters paths to successiosuccession. A fathers ultimate invitation to join the family businesswas not always enthusiastically received. In almost all cases,daughters reported needing strong support and encouragement totake up the reins and persevere. For example, a successor daughterexplained that she entered the business having no training and herfather provided her with exemplary support. Persistent mentoringhelped daughters learn technical skills and provided emotionalsupport for their ultimate succession. In cases where mentoring wasnot initially offered, daughters revealed difculty in acquiringinformation to positively impact the business.

7. Discussion

The purpose of this study was to expand extant understandingabout the supply side dynamics associated with the dearth ofdaughter successors in family businesses. The effects of beliefs,norms, and attitudes were examined for their collective impact ondeliberative decision making and gender roles were studied todetermine their implicit inuence on the decision process.Findings reveal that daughters do not engage in deliberativedecision making about succession but are guided instead by genderbeliefs and norms that activate automatic behaviors and goalsprecluding succession. Daughters in our sample did not initiallyidentify as successors and were blind to the possibilities ofsuccession. Critical events provided a compelling impetus for somedaughters to consider succession later in life and mentoringbecame salient in preparing daughters for effective succession.These ndings are expressed in the model of daughter successionin Fig. 1. Fig. 1 suggests that blindness to possibilities and

ss ibilies

ve cess

Non -Success ion

Mentoring

Disrupve Event

Success ion

on-succession in family businesses.

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212210disinterest in succession result from traditional gender norms thatlimit daughter participation in family businesses. However,external inuences such as a critical event and mentoring maycounteract or modify the effects of these norms to positivelyinuence daughter succession.

Our study expands current knowledge of family and businessentanglements in family rms (Astrachan, 2009; Chrisman, Chua,& Steier, 2005; Dyer, 2006; Pieper & Klein, 2007), illuminates howgender bias inuences the supply and demand of female familybusiness executives (Correll, 2001; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004;Ridgeway, 2011), and identies the unique inuences of genderbias in family rms (Dumas, 1989, 1992, 2011; Halkias, Thurman,Smith, & Nason, 2011). The ndings amplify extant theories thataddress daughter succession.

Our study demonstrates that gender norms are antecedents todaughters own blindness to possibilities for succession. Thecomparison between daughters and sons elucidates cognitionsthat inuence motivation. These cognitions are largely informed bycontextual factors including family and societal cultures andstructures, including hierarchy and division of labor, which areinternalized and automatically activated. Gender beliefs prescrib-ing roles and behaviors for the different sexes interfere withdaughters actively pursuing succession when the role of daughtersand executive leadership are perceived as incongruent. Counteringthese beliefs usually requires an external impetus followed by afocused intention to change.

Our ndings delineate a deterministic process that demon-strates supply side explanations for the dearth of daughtersuccession in family businesses. The daughters in our samplewere substantially inuenced by traditional gender norms and didnot develop the drive to pursue succession in part because theywere not aware of the impediments created by these norms.Daughters cognitions about who they are, what they expect fromthemselves and what important social referents expect of them aredeeply norm embedded. These norms are implicit and blur careeroptions that might otherwise appeal to daughters. Only asignicant event in their lives or in their family business spurreda conscious rearrangement of their belief structures that, whencoupled with mentoring from their fathers or senior businessassociates, motivated them toward succession. It is possible that asgender norms evolve, daughters may perceive different optionsregarding succession. Less gendered leadership visions may helpcombat family or social gender barriers that impact daughterspaths to succession. Currently, however, our ndings indicate thattraditional gender norms are surprisingly strong, blinding, and adeterrent to daughters proactive behaviors toward succession.

Lambrecht and Lievens (2008) have proposed that businessgrowth increases after thinning the family shareholder tree, (p.299). Their qualitative study examines how and why some familiesreduce the number of family members who own, govern, and/ormanage their businesses, suggesting that after generationaltransition, simplicity in management and ownership leads tosustainability primarily because of a streamlined decision makingprocess. We advise care in the application of the pruningapproach, however, because our study points to the strongoperation of gendered social norms that limit the likelihood ofdaughter succession. As our ndings indicate, daughters may bedoubly disadvantaged as they do not see succession possibilitiesfor themselves and are simultaneously invisible to others ascontenders for succession (Barrett & Moores, 2009; Correll, 2001;Dumas, 1989, 1990, 1992; Hollander & Burkowitz, 1990; Salganic-off, 1990) Furthermore, daughters may not consider the implica-tions of succession on their future nancial security as they andtheir families do not see daughters as future primary breadwin-ners. Consequently, daughters may not be appropriately educatedor prepared, may not assert an interest in succession, and may missa potentially fullling and well remunerating opportunity.Pruning without regard to possible gender biases may alsoresult in unintended consequences as the successor selectionprocess may be awed. For example, gender biases may preventthe most competent family member from leading the rm.Consider the following individual data case from our study:

Carol Thayers family owns a small textile manufacturingcompany. She earned a degree in business, worked for a bank,married, and had children. Her husband worked with her fatherand seemed to be the appointed successor. As Carols husbandassumed more responsibility, the company began to lose moneyand a crisis emerged. Carol stepped in part-time to help withclerical work, but soon detected that money was being misman-aged. She conveyed this to her father and husband whodisregarded her input. The business continued to deteriorate, asdid her marriage. Finally, Carol sought a divorce from her husband,but upon announcing the divorce to her father, he booted her outof the business and retained her husband. The business continuedits downward spiral until, two years later when the business wason the brink of bankruptcy, Carol found some partners and boughtthe business from her father and ex-husband. She revived thebusiness and it continues to ourish. Her father admitted that hemade a poor decision based on his perceptions of mens andwomens roles, and apologized to his daughter.

Carols father selected a successor based on predispositionstoward men and women, ignoring objective evidence that his son-in-law was a poor choice. Carols family might have avoided severalyears of nancial loss and uncertainty and emotional upheaval hadher father not been inuenced by strong gender biases. Pruningthe family tree may result in similar misjudgments. If traditionalgender norms guide the pruning process, more objective criteriamay be ignored. Daughters leadership qualities, skills, and abilitiesmay be overlooked in favor of cultural expectations that promotemale leadership.

Simply choosing a qualied daughter to lead the family rmmay not result in desired outcomes, however. An understanding ofthe articiality of these norms must extend through the family asindicated by the following example from our sample (names havebeen changed).

Cheryl Gabaldons family owns a farm machinery manufactur-ing company. When Cheryl lost her job at a retail establishmenther father invited her to work for him. He strongly encouraged herto learn the business and provided mentors and learningopportunities. Cheryl proved herself to be very competent andher father eventually named her as his successor. Cherylsbrothers reacted contentiously, believing that as sons, it wastheir role to succeed their father. The mother supported thebrothers and upon their fathers death, the brothers opened theirown company in competition with their sister. Customers andsuppliers were caught in the middle and many left bothcompanies. After a few years the brothers company failed andthe daughters company is currently struggling to avoid bank-ruptcy.

In this case, the father tried to override gender norms. Heprovided his daughter with an opportunity to lead the companyafter sufcient mentoring. However, the brothers and mother werenot prepared for a reversal of these norms and considered thedaughters leadership an intrusion on cultural rights. The familymay have been better served had they been more aware of thesupercial boundaries gender biases impose.

Pruning requires a careful analysis of the role of gendernorms and expectations within a family. Daughters abilities maybe undeveloped due to these norms causing daughters to berendered invisible to others and blind to their own possibilities.Heads of family businesses attitudes toward these roles may bebarriers to merit-based decisions. Finally, if family members

K.K. Overbeke et al. / Journal of Family Business Strategy 4 (2013) 201212 211attitudes toward gender roles are not aligned, and adhere totraditional values, they may provoke reckless activity, such asbrothers trying to undermine their sisters leadership, if adaughter is chosen to lead the company instead of a son. Thesenegative consequences may be avoided if families are cognizantof gender norms and how they may mitigate chances for asustainable business.

In sum, unconscious gender biases may undermine interests ofall stakeholders in a family business. Daughters may suffer from adiscriminatory distribution of the familys assets and leadershipopportunities; sons may believe they are entitled to leadershippositions and resent challenges to this norm; and the business maysuffer because of limitations resulting from beliefs and attitudesunderlying the selection of successors or reactions to this selection.Conversely, awareness of gendered norms regarding successionmay benet family businesses by providing a wider pool of talentwithin the family and diverse perspectives among leaders.

7.1. Theoretical contributions of the study

Our study contributes to the theoretical literature byproviding insights about the integration of the Theory of PlannedBehavior and Gender Theory. Unlike the deliberative decisionmaking about succession forecasted by TPB, our study indicatedthat daughters were guided instead by traditional gender beliefsand norms that activated automatic behaviors and goals whichprecluded succession. Our study thus provides preliminaryevidence of some of the boundary conditions under whichsuccession behavior may be planned and enacted by daughtersof family businesses. It appears that a critical event likelyprecipitates the deliberative decision processes about successionnecessary for daughters to ascend to leadership in familybusinesses; otherwise, traditional gender beliefs and normsactivate daughters own behaviors (and those of other familymembers) that likely suppress their chances of succession. Insupport of this theoretical advancement in the eld of familybusiness studies, recent research has found that gender beliefsand norms held by daughters directly and indirectly impact theirsuccession outcomes (Overbeke, 2010). In this dyadic study of 50daughters of family business owners and their fathers, genderexpectations and sexism acted as deterrents to daughtersforming a vision for the future of the family business, a factorthat positively mediated the relationship between daughters andsuccession (Overbeke, 2010).

7.2. Implications for future research

Future research should test the generalizability of the ndingsusing a larger sample, and additionally explore the impact ofculture and race/ethnicity on blindness to succession possibilities.Also, a comparison between daughters currently in their twentiesand early thirties (both successor and non-successor) anddaughters in their forties and fties may reveal factors that arehelping daughters increase their numbers as successors. Newerfamily business constructs such as socioemotional wealth(Gomez-Mejia, Haynes, Nunez-Nickel, Jacobson, & Moyano-Fuentes, 2007), which refers to the nonnancial (family control)concerns that inuence organizational risk taking, may help tofurther illuminate inuences on choices, and shifts in thesechoices, about daughter succession. Additionally, future researchmay be directed toward how to educate parents, teachers, andother community leaders about daughters hidden potential asfamily business successors. Finally, our model might also betested by expanding the sample to include non-successor sons sothat comparisons between all potential subsample groups may beconducted.8. Study limitations

Several limitations must be considered when evaluating resultsfrom this study. The sample offered a rich, diverse representationof different subgroups within a family business but the sample sizewas small, drawn from a relatively homogeneous socio-economicand cultural group, and subsamples varied in size with a relativelysmall representation from successor sons. Although theoreticalsaturation was achieved and strong themes emerged from the data,caution is recommended regarding the generalizability of thesendings. Additionally, data included recollections of past experi-ences which may have introduced bias due to the effects of timeand emotion. Probing questions were used to validate facts andstories and explanations were sought to clarify descriptions ofexperiences and practices in an attempt to mitigate these potentialbiases.

Another limitation of the study is that the generally older age ofthe sample (average of 53 years) may have inuenced the ndings.New social mores may place more emphasis on career goals forwomen and encourage a younger sample of daughters todeliberately consider succession prior to a critical event. However,second generation forms of gender bias, dened as the powerfulyet often invisible barriers to womens advancement that arisefrom cultural beliefs about gender, as well as workplace structures,practices, and patterns of interactions that inadvertently favormen (Ely et al., 2011, p. 475), persist as barriers to womensparticipation in the workforce and may continue to circumscribedaughters visibility to others and awareness of opportunities inthe family business.

Other factors such as birth-order, gender composition of thefamily, size and type of business may also contribute to successionoutcome. Most participants in our study were younger members oftheir families but the impact of birth order is inconclusive. Gendercomposition of the family may also impact succession, but again,our sample did not supply conclusive evidence. Additionally, mostindustries represented in this sample are traditionally maledominated, which may affect results. The low percentage ofdaughter successors (Vera & Dean, 2005) suggests that the keyvariable predicting succession is gender. Thus, this study waslimited to understanding the role and function of daughters andhow gender expectations dene their roles. Future studies maydiscover how other variables interact with gender expectations.Finally, two of the researchers are daughters of family businessowners and may have carried certain biases to the study. Inter-rater reliability evaluations and collaboration with other research-ers helped to offset this bias.

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The dearth of daughter successors in family businesses: Gendered norms, blindness to possibility, and invisibilityIntroductionExtant literature on daughter successionTheoretical supportResearch methodsSampleData collection and analysis

FindingsOverall insightsDiscussionTheoretical contributions of the studyImplications for future research

Study limitationsReferences