Ivan Lansberg

The Succession Conspiracy

The lack of succession planning has been identified as one of the most important reasons why many first-generation family firms do not survive their founders. This paper explores some of the factors that interfere with succession planning and suggests ways in which these barriers can be constructively managed.

Stages and Transitions: Managing Change in the Family Business

The Three-Circle Model and Transitions For the past decade and a half, the three-circle model has been the primary conceptual model of family business. This model views family enterprise as a complex system comprised of three overlapping subsystems: ownership, business, and family. The three-circle model is an excellent tool for understanding the dynamics at work in any family company at a particular point in time. In our more recent work, we found it useful to transform this three-circle concept into a developmental model in which each of the three subsystems moves through a sequence of stages over time (Gersick, Davis, Hampton, & Lansberg, 1997). For example, in our developmental theory, family business ownership moves from a Controlling Owner (CO) stage to Sibling Partnership (SP), and then to Cousin Consortium (CC), or the company itself changes from a Start-Up and passes through other stages to Maturity. Many of our colleagues have offered similar elaborations. In fact, the most recent World Conference of the Family Business Network was organized around three stages in the development of family business ownership. There is no doubt that specifying the stages of family, ownership, and business development enhances our understanding of any family business. Although we continue to learn more about the special nature of each stage, we are now particularly interested in the periods of change between stages: the transitions. Every stage theory must describe some mechanism that takes a system from one stage to the next. The transition periods are the most critical and challenging moments in the development of family enterprises. Transitions are often periods of uncertainty when the decision makers feel most anxious and vulnerable. Such feelings are understandable, given that transition periods are when an organization makes fundamental choices that will profoundly shape its future. By calling attention to the transitions, we do not mean to imply that periods of stability within each stage should be taken for granted. The transitions are opportunities for reassessment of the course the business is following and for fundamental change; the periods in the middle of a stage, when the firm is committed to a particular ownership structure or organizational design, present the major opportunity for focus and growth. Both change (transition) and growth (stability) are essential for success and continuity, although they require different kinds of work. The tasks of transition periods are exploratory and strategic; the tasks during periods of stability are operational and tactical in nature. Put another way, during transitions we may consider all options and decide which mountain to climb—often while the army cools its heels in the valley and waits. Then, during the stable Stages and Transitions: Managing Change in the Family Business

Understanding and Working with Leading Family Businesses in Latin America

Most Latin American economies are dominated by large cosmopolitan family businesses referred to as grupos. This article examines how the unique economic, political, and sociocultural characteristics of Latin America affect the ownership, management, and family dynamics of these organizations.

Social Categorization, Entitlement, and Justice in Organizations: Contextual Determinants and Cognitive Underpinnings

This paper builds on previous behavioral science research and theorizing as well as on classicalphilosophical examinations of entitlement andjustice, andproposes a newframeworkfor understanding these issues in the context of work organizations. This paperfocuses on how individuals in organizations develop perceptions of what they are entitled to receive in exchange for their membership and contributions. It proposes that there are two fundamental conditions that must be simultaneously satisfied for an individual to perceive his or her overall relationship to an organization as just: (1) that the individualperceive that he or she is being treated equally vis-a-vis others in the group category (e.g., seniorfaculty, juniorfaculty, student, or clerical) to which the individual belongs in the organization (referent similar) and (2) that the person perceive that he or she is being treated in accordance with legitimate criteria (such as seniority, education, and performance record) vis-a-vis those in groups to which the person does not belong (referent dissimilars). The paper examines how contextualfactors (such as the organizations structure and its size) influence the social comparisons and contrasts leading to perceptions of entitlement. A three step model depicting the cognitive process underlying the development ofperceptions of entitlement and justice is proposed. The paper also puts forth a number of testable hypotheses and explores the implications of this framework for understanding distributional conflicts in organizations.

On Retirement: A Conversation with Daniel Levinson

Daniel Levinson discusses developmental dilemmas facing men and women in late adulthood and explores their implications for retirement and leadership succession in family firms.