Family Lives in Motion: Toward a Life Course Process Theory of Ownership Transfer in Business-Owning Families

Abstract

Despite the importance of family ownership in family business, limited attention has been given to the interplay between evolving family contexts, unpredictable life courses, and ownership transfer choices. Based on a study of ownership transfer narratives of 27 members of business families, we investigate how shifts in family life precipitate different types of intrafamily ownership transfers. Drawing on life course theory, we find that changing family lives and events precipitate three types of ownership transfers: symbolic, protectionist, and rebalancing. We advance a theoretical framework which contributes more nuanced insights into processual and temporal aspects of ownership transfer embedded in family dynamics.