Breaking the Mold: Traits That Shape Succession Success in Small Family Businesses

Zeshan Ahmad; Hina Iftikhar; Tahira Iram; Norizah Mohd Mustamil

doi:10.24310/ejfb.15.2.2025.21259

Authors

Zeshan Ahmad Department of Business Administration, South Star Management Institute, Duy Tan University, Viet Nam https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7877-3893
Hina Iftikhar Universiti Technology Mara, Malaysia
Tahira Iram LaRGE Research Center, University of Strasbourg, France https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3571-7987
Norizah Mohd Mustamil Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfb.15.2.2025.21259

Keywords:

Perceived succession success, Personality traits, Willingness to lead, Daughter successor, Trait activation theory, Small family business

Abstract

This study examined how entrepreneurial personality traits influence perceived succession success, considering the daughter successor's willingness to lead as a mediating factor. This study targeted the daughter successors designated as chairwomen or managing directors in the small-family business (S-FB) retail sector. A purposive sampling technique was used, and the sample size was 236. Using trait activation theory, we induced two filter questions to determine the unbiased relationship of exogenous, endogenous, and mediating variables. The daughter successor’s innovativeness traits have a positive significance, while internal locus of control and autonomy traits have non-significant associations with perceived succession success. Daughters with traits of innovativeness and a strong internal locus of control show a positive significance, whereas autonomy does not significantly relate to their willingness to take on leadership roles. Furthermore, the daughter successor’s readiness to lead partially mediates the relationship between innovativeness and perceived succession success, fully mediates the connection between an internal locus of control and succession success, and shows no mediation between autonomy traits and perceived succession success in S-FB. The successor’s unwillingness to lead results in succession failure and the closing down of family businesses. Through the support of trait activation theory, this study revealed that the allocation of job responsibilities and the provision of values, traditions, and cultural cues congruent with the successor’s personality traits not only increase her interest in leading but also enhance the likelihood of succession success for her family business.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Publication Facts

This article

Author statements

Data availability

N/A

16%

External funding

N/A

32%

Competing interests

N/A

11%

This journal

Other journals

Articles accepted

55%

33%

Days to publication

306

145

Indexed in

—

Editor & editorial board: profiles
Academic society: N/A
Publisher: Uma Editorial, University of Malaga (Spain)

References

Abdul Hamid, N. F. (2013). Family Business Culture, Entrepreneurial Orientation and The New Economic Policy on Family Business Survival: A Study Between The Malays and Chinese of Micro-and Small-Sized Family Businesses in Malaysia University of York]. USA. oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:4300

Aboelmaged, M., Ahmad, I., Hashem, G., & Alhashmi, S. M. (2024). Unleashing the Power of Knowledge in Family Business: Exploring New Horizons and Untapped Potential for Research and Practice. Sage Open, 14(3), 673–710. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241253894

Afsar, B., Maqsoom, A., Shahjehan, A., Afridi, S. A., Nawaz, A., & Fazliani, H. (2020). Responsible leadership and employee's proenvironmental behavior: The role of organizational commitment, green shared vision, and internal environmental locus of control. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(1), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1806

Ahmad, Aziz, A., Piprani, A. Z., & Iram, T. (2022). Does Entrepreneur's Self-Compassion Improve the Family-Owned Small Business's Performance? SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 19(4), 76–87.

Ahmad, & Yaseen, M. R. (2018). Moderating role of education on succession process in small family businesses in Pakistan. Journal of Family Business Management, 8(3), 293–305. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-12-2017-0041

Ahmad, Z. (2025). Unlocking AI capabilities: exploring strategic fit, innovation ambidexterity and digital entrepreneurial intent in driving digital transformation. Journal of Management Development, 44(2), 194–218. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd-05-2024-0171

Ahmad, Z., AlWadi, B. M., Kumar, H., Ng, B.-K., & Nguyen, D. N. (2024). Digital transformation of family-owned small businesses: a nexus of internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy, artificial intelligence usage and strategic agility. Kybernetes, 16(3), 231–256. https://doi.org/10.1108/k-10-2023-2205

Ahmad, Z., Chan, W. M., & Oon, E. Y. N. (2023). Does congruence between a descendant entrepreneur’s personality traits and family business values matter for succession? [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(6), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1043270

Ahmad, Z., Najam, U., & Mustamil, N. (2024). Uncovering the research trends of family-owned business succession: past, present and the future. Journal of Family Business Management, 15(5), 87–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-04-2024-0084

Ahmad, Z., & Oon, E. Y. N. (2025). Agile mindset and digital innovation: creative centrality, fintech usage, financial literacy, and the “not-invented-here” syndrome. Management Decision, 12(4), 675–704. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-01-2024-0135

Ahmad, Z., Sharif, S., Alrashid, M. A., & Nadeem, M. (2022). Personality trait imprints across generations: small family business context. Revista de Gestão, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-08-2021-0155

Ahmed, S., Abd Aziz, N., Haque, R., Bin S.Senathirajah, A. R., & Qazi, S. Z. (2024). Digital transformation in Malaysian manufacturing: a study of change sensing and seizing capabilities. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 324–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2392046

Ali. (2019). Personality traits, individual innovativeness and satisfaction with life. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2017.11.002

Bağış, M., Kryeziu, L., Kurutkan, M. N., & Ramadani, V. (2022). Women entrepreneurship in family business: dominant topics and future research trends. Journal of Family Business Management, 13(3), 687–713. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfbm-03-2022-0040

Baltazar, J. R., Fernandes, C. I., Ramadani, V., & Hughes, M. (2023). Family business succession and innovation: a systematic literature review. Review of Managerial Science, 17(8), 2897–2920. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-022-00607-8

Becerra, M., Cruz, C., & Graves, C. (2020). Innovation in Family Firms: The Relative Effects of Wealth Concentration Versus Family-Centered Goals. Family Business Review, 33(4), 372–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486520953700

Bergner, S. (2020). Being Smart Is Not Enough: Personality Traits and Vocational Interests Incrementally Predict Intention, Status and Success of Leaders and Entrepreneurs Beyond Cognitive Ability. Front Psychol, 11(7), 204–229. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00204

Bornhausen, A. M., & Wulf, T. (2024). Digital innovation in family firms: The roles of non-family managers and transgenerational control intentions. Small Business Economics, 62(4), 1429–1448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00823-w

Brundin, E., McClatchey, I. S., & Melin, L. (2023). Leaving the family business: The dynamics of psychological ownership. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 14(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2023.100555

Burcharth, A., Præst Knudsen, M., & Søndergaard, H. A. (2017). The role of employee autonomy for open innovation performance. Business Process Management Journal, 23(6), 1245–1269. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-10-2016-0209

Cabrera-Suárez, M. K., & Martín-Santana, J. D. (2012). Successor's commitment and succession success: dimensions and antecedents in the small Spanish family firm. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(13), 2736–2762. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.676458

Calabrò, A., Frank, H., Minichilli, A., & Suess-Reyes, J. (2021). Business families in times of crises: The backbone of family firm resilience and continuity. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12(2), 112–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2021.100442

Cesaroni, F., Chamochumbi Diaz, G., & Sentuti, A. (2021). Family Firms and Innovation from Founder to Successor. Administrative Sciences, 11(5), 54–69. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11020054

Chan, F., Jalandoni, D., Sayarot, C., Uy, M., Daradar, D., & Aure, P. (2020). A Family Affair: A Quantitative Analysis of Third-Generation Successors’ Intentions to Continue the Family Business. Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 11(5), 462–481. https://doi.org/10.15388/omee.2020.11.43

Chen, J.-C., & Silverthorne, C. (2008). The impact of locus of control on job stress, job performance and job satisfaction in Taiwan. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 29(7), 572–582. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730810906326

Chen, Y., Huang, W., Fang, H. C., & Chen, L. (2025). Keep Family Business Innovating: Revisit the Relationship Between Succession and Innovation From Ownership Succession. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 18(4), 67–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12803

Chua, J. H., Chrisman, J. J., & Sharma, P. (1999). Defining the family business by behavior. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(4), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879902300402

Cirillo, A., Maggi, B., Sciascia, S., Lazzarotti, V., & Visconti, F. (2022). Exploring family millennials’ involvement in family business internationalization: Who should be their leader? Journal of Family Business Strategy, 13(3), 455–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2021.100455

Cobb-Clark, D. (2015). Locus of control and the labor market. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 4(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40172-014-0017-x

Cuesta, M., Suárez-Álvarez, J., Lozano, L. M., García-Cueto, E., & Muñiz, J. (2018). Assessment of Eight Entrepreneurial Personality Dimensions: Validity Evidence of the BEPE Battery. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 (5), 34–76. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02352

De Clercq, D., & Brieger, S. A. (2022). When Discrimination is Worse, Autonomy is Key: How Women Entrepreneurs Leverage Job Autonomy Resources to Find Work–Life Balance. Journal of Business Ethics, 177(3), 665–682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04735-1

De Massis, A., Audretsch, D., Uhlaner, L., & Kammerlander, N. (2018). Innovation with Limited Resources: Management Lessons from the German Mittelstand. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 35(1), 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12373

Debellis, F., De Massis, A., Messeni Petruzzelli, A., Frattini, F., & Del Giudice, M. (2021). Strategic agility and international joint ventures: The willingness-ability paradox of family firms. Journal of International Management, 27(1), 739–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2020.100739

Ejiobi-Okeke, B., & Samuel, N. (2021). Achievement Motivation And Locus Of Control As Predictors Of Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement In Chemistry In Enugu State,Nigeria. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 11(4), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-1104052734

Evermann, J., & Tate, M. (2016). Assessing the predictive performance of structural equation model estimators. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4565–4582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.050

Faccio, M., Marchica, M.-T., & Mura, R. (2016). CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39(8), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.02.008

Finn, A. (2011). Jungian analytical theory. In Counseling and psychotherapy, 5th ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 77–94). American Counseling Association.

Finn, A., & Wang, L. (2014). Formative vs. reflective measures: Facets of variation. Journal of Business Research, 67(1), 2821–2826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.08.001

Franco, M., Nagilla, M., & Rodrigues, M. (2023). The presence of women in family SMEs' succession process: a conceptual framework guided by gender perspective. Journal of Family Business Management, 13(3), 579–606. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfbm-01-2022-0008

Gagné, M., Marwick, C., Brun de Pontet, S., & Wrosch, C. (2021). Family Business Succession: What’s Motivation Got to Do With It? Family Business Review, 34(2), 154–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486519894759

Galvin, B. M., Randel, A. E., Collins, B. J., & Johnson, R. E. (2018). Changing the focus of locus (of control): A targeted review of the locus of control literature and agenda for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(7), 820–833. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2275

Games, D., & Sari, D. K. (2023). Role of Female Successors in Family Business Innovation: Some Insights From the Largest Matrilineal Muslim Society. SAGE Open, 13(4), 434–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210501

Gao, A., & Jiang, J. (2019). Perceived Empowering Leadership, Harmonious Passion, and Employee Voice: The Moderating Role of Job Autonomy [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(7), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01484

Ge, B., & Campopiano, G. (2021). Knowledge management in family business succession: current trends and future directions. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(2), 326–349. https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-09-2020-0701

Georgiou, T., Papasolomou, I., Vrontis, D., & Thrassou, A. (2023). Market-oriented succession effectiveness in family business – Case-based evidence from Cyprus family-owned wine business. Journal of Business Research, 165(9), 114–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114050

Hamzah, M. I., & Othman, A. K. (2023). How do locus of control influence business and personal success? The mediating effects of entrepreneurial competency [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 13 (5), 436–478. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.958911

Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/imds-09-2015-0382

Hernández-Linares, R., López-Fernández, M. C., Eddleston, K. A., & Kellermanns, F. (2023). Learning to be entrepreneurial: Do family firms gain more from female leadership than nonfamily firms? Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 17(4), 971–1001. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1482

Hong, J., Hou, B., Zhu, K., & Marinova, D. (2018). Exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation and employee creativity. Chinese Management Studies, 12(2), 268–286. https://doi.org/10.1108/CMS-11-2016-0228

Hsiao, C., Lee, Y.-H., & Chen, H.-H. (2016). The effects of internal locus of control on entrepreneurship: the mediating mechanisms of social capital and human capital. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(11), 1158–1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1060511

Hytti, U., Alsos, G. A., Heinonen, J., & Ljunggren, E. (2017). Navigating the family business: A gendered analysis of identity construction of daughters. International Small Business Journal, 35(6), 665–686. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242616675924

Isaga, N., Masurel, E., & Van Montfort, K. (2015). Owner-manager motives and the growth of SMEs in developing countries: Evidence from the furniture industry in Tanzania. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 7(3), 190–211. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeee-11-2014-0043

Jayawickreme, E., Zachry, C. E., & Fleeson, W. (2019). Whole Trait Theory: An integrative approach to examining personality structure and process. Personality and Individual Differences, 136(4), 2–11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.06.045

Judge, T. A., & Zapata, C. P. (2015). The person-situation debate revisited: Effect of situation strength and trait activation on the validity of the big five personality traits in predicting job performance. Academy of Management journal, 58(4), 1149–1170. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0837

Kagendo, G. M. (2018). Effectiveness of Transformational Leadership on Team Performance among Kenyan Multinational Corporations University of Nairobi]. Kenya. http://hdl.handle.net/11295/105865

Khaw, K. W., Sadaa, A. M., Alnoor, A., Zaidan, A. S., Ganesan, Y., & Chew, X. (2023). Spurring sustainability commitment strategy of family-owned SMEs: A multi-analytical SEM & ANFIS perspective. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 34(1), 453–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2023.100453

Koentjoro, S., & Gunawan, S. (2020). Managing Knowledge, Dynamic Capabilities, Innovative Performance, and Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Family Companies: A Case Study of a Family Company in Indonesia. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(3), 90–116. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc6030090

Kotsch, W. E. (2000). Jung's mediatory science as a psychology beyond objectivism. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 45(2), 217–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/1465-5922.00153

Kraus, S., Pohjola, M., & Koponen, A. (2012). Innovation in family firms: an empirical analysis linking organizational and managerial innovation to corporate success. Review of Managerial Science, 6(3), 265–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-011-0065-6

Kubota, K., & Takehara, H. (2019). Firm-level innovation by Japanese family firms: Empirical analysis using multidimensional innovation measures. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 57(23), 101–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2018.05.012

Lambrecht, J., & Lievens, J. (2008). Pruning the Family Tree: An Unexplored Path to Family Business Continuity and Family Harmony. Family Business Review, 21(4), 295–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865080210040103

LeCounte, J. F. (2022). Founder-CEOs: Succession planning for the success, growth, and legacy of family firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 60(3), 616–633. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2020.1725814

Li, J., Sun, J. Y., Wang, L., & Ke, J. (2020). Second-Generation Women Entrepreneurs in Chinese Family-Owned Businesses: Motivations, Challenges, and Opportunities. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 22(2), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422320907043

Lim, C. H., & Teoh, K. B. (2021). Factors influencing the SME business success in Malaysia. Annals of Human Resource Management Research, 1(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.35912/ahrmr.v1i1.380

Liu, J. H., & Xie, T. (2023). China's collectivist cosmopolitanism: Harmony and conflict with Western conceptualizations of cosmopolitanism rooted in individualistic notions of human rights. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 17(6), 564–598. https://doi.org/10.1177/18344909231194854

López-Pérez, M., Islas-Moreno, A., Arce-Cervantes, O., & Flores-Chávez, B. (2025). Succession intentions and expectations: compatibility and determinants in agricultural family businesses. Journal of Family Business Management, 15(4), 949–977. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfbm-01-2025-0019

Lorenzo, D., Núñez-Cacho, P., Akhter, N., & Chirico, F. (2022). Why are some family firms not innovative?: Innovation Barriers and Path Dependence in Family Firms. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 38(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2021.101182

Lyons, R., Ahmed, F. U., Clinton, E., O’Gorman, C., & Gillanders, R. (2024). The impact of parental emotional support on the succession intentions of next-generation family business members. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 36(3-4), 516–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2023.2233460

Maier, C., Laumer, S., Wirth, J., & Weitzel, T. (2019). Technostress and the hierarchical levels of personality: a two-wave study with multiple data samples. European Journal of Information Systems, 28(5), 496–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2019.1614739

Marques, P., Bikfalvi, A., & Busquet, F. (2022). A Family Imprinting Approach to Nurturing Willing Successors: Evidence From Centennial Family Firms. Family Business Review, 35(3), 246–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221098316

Maseda, A., Iturralde, T., Cooper, S., & Aparicio, G. (2022). Mapping women's involvement in family firms: A review based on bibliographic coupling analysis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24(2), 279–305. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12278

McElheran, K. (2015). Do Market Leaders Lead in Business Process Innovation? The Case(s) of E-business Adoption. Management Science, 61(6), 1197–1216. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2020

Mhwise, F. J., Ahmad, I., Al-Shaher, M. A., Momin, M. I., & Ahmad, Z. (2025). AI-driven Digital Innovation in Family-owned Businesses: Resource Orchestration, Fintech Usage and Technology Turbulence Effects. Global Business Review, 9(4), 436–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509251385707

Mueller, S. L., & Thomas, A. S. (2001). Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(1), 51–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00039-7

Mussolino, D., Cicellin, M., Pezzillo Iacono, M., Consiglio, S., & Martinez, M. (2019). Daughters’ self-positioning in family business succession: A narrative inquiry. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 10(2), 72–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2019.01.003

O'Reilly, C. A. (1977). Personality—job fit: Implications for individual attitudes and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 18(1), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(77)90017-4

Parada, M. J., Samara, G., Dawson, A., & Bonet, E. (2019). Prosperity over time and across generations: the role of values and virtues in family businesses. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(4), 639–654. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-11-2018-0341

Prasanna, R., Jayasundara, J., Naradda Gamage, S. K., Ekanayake, E., Rajapakshe, P., & Abeyrathne, G. (2019). Sustainability of SMEs in the Competition: A Systemic Review on Technological Challenges and SME Performance. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 5(4), 100–124. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc5040100

Presenza, A., & Messeni Petruzzelli, A. (2019). Investigating business model innovation in Haute Cuisine. Role and behavior of chef-entrepreneurs. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 82(12), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.03.027

Qalbia, F., & Santoso, S. (2025). Family versus Nonfamily CEOs in Family Firms: A Multidisciplinary Review of Strategic Choices and Organizational Outcomes. Studia Ekonomika, 23(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.70142/studiaekonomika.v23i1.272

Qurrahtulain, K., Bashir, T., Hussain, I., Ahmed, S., & Nisar, A. (2022). Impact of inclusive leadership on adaptive performance with the mediation of vigor at work and moderation of internal locus of control. Journal of Public Affairs, 22(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2380

Ramon, J. F. C. (2021). Succession in the family business: the great challenge for the family. European Journal of Family Business, 11(1), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v11i1.12770

Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Let's put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners' personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16(4), 353–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320701595438

Rautamäki, H., & Römer-Paakkanen, T. (2016). The next generation's commitment and willingness to continue the family business: reflecting on potential successors' experiences and pondering. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 27(1), 52–70. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijesb.2016.073356

Ravenelle, A. J. (2019). “We’re not uber:” control, autonomy, and entrepreneurship in the gig economy. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(4), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-06-2018-0256

Richards, M., Kammerlander, N., & Zellweger, T. (2019). Listening to the Heart or the Head? Exploring the “Willingness Versus Ability” Succession Dilemma. Family Business Review, 32(4), 330–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486519833511

Ringo, D. S., & Kibambila, V. K. (2025). Transcending the past into the future: the effects of succession planning and incumbents’ willingness to step aside on the sustainability of family businesses. Journal of Trade Science, 13(2), 110–127. https://doi.org/10.1108/jts-03-2024-0013

Roberts, B., Wood, D., & Smith, J. (2005). Evaluating Five Factor Theory and social investment perspectives on personality trait development. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(1), 166–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2004.08.002

Rodríguez-Cifuentes, F., Segura-Camacho, A., García-Ael, C., & Topa, G. (2020). The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital between Motivational Orientations and Their Organizational Consequences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 48–67. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134864

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.68

Şahin, F., Karadağ, H., & Tuncer, B. (2019). Big five personality traits, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 25(6), 1188–1211. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-07-2018-0466

Salhieh, S. E. M., & Al-Abdallat, Y. (2022). Technopreneurial Intentions: The Effect of Innate Innovativeness and Academic Self-Efficacy. Sustainability, 14(1), 238–262. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010238

Santiago-Torner, C., Corral-Marfil, J.-A., Jiménez-Pérez, Y., & Tarrats-Pons, E. (2025). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Autonomy and Self-Efficacy in Virtual Work Environments: The Disintegrating Effect of an Egoistic Climate. Behavioral Sciences, 15(1), 95–134. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15010095

Santos-Jaén, J. M., Iglesias-Sánchez, P. P., & Jambrino-Maldonado, C. (2022). The role of gender and connections between entrepreneurship and employability in higher education. The International Journal of Management Education, 20(3), 708–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100708

Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Handbook of market research (pp. 587–632). Springer.

Seeber, I., Waizenegger, L., Seidel, S., Morana, S., Benbasat, I., & Lowry, P. B. (2020). Collaborating with technology-based autonomous agents. Internet Research, 30(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-12-2019-0503

Sharma, P., Chrisman, J. J., Pablo, A. L., & Chua, J. H. (2001). Determinants of Initial Satisfaction with the Succession Process in Family Firms: A Conceptual Model. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 25(3), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225870102500302

Sharma, P. N., Liengaard, B. D., Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2023). Predictive model assessment and selection in composite-based modeling using PLS-SEM: extensions and guidelines for using CVPAT. European Journal of Marketing, 57(6), 1662–1677. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2020-0636

Sherlock, C., Dibrell, C., & Memili, E. (2022). The impact of family commitment on firm innovativeness: The mediating role of resource stocks. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5(4), 100–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2022.100523

Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J.-H., Ting, H., Vaithilingam, S., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11), 2322–2347. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0189

Soares, G. G., Lélio da Silva Braga, V., Susana da Encarnação Marques, C., & Ratten, V. (2021). Corporate entrepreneurship education’s impact on family business sustainability: A case study in Brazil. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(1), 424–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100424

Soost, C., & Moog, P. (2021). Gender and organizational performance in business succession. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 33(1), 93–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2019.1692765

Sørlie, H. O., Hetland, J., Bakker, A. B., Espevik, R., & Olsen, O. K. (2022). Daily autonomy and job performance: Does person-organization fit act as a key resource? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 133(9), 103–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103691

Sreih, J. F., Lussier, R. N., & Sonfield, M. C. (2019). Differences in management styles, levels of profitability, and performance across generations, and the development of the Family Business Success Model. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 32(1), 32–50. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-01-2018-0030

Tan, J. D., Supratikno, H., Pramono, R., Purba, J. T., & Bernarto, I. (2019). Nurturing transgenerational entrepreneurship in ethnic Chinese family SMEs: exploring Indonesia. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 13(2), 294–325. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-04-2018-0132

Tang, J. K. K., & Hussin, W. S. (2020). Next-generation leadership development: a management succession perspective. Journal of Family Business Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-04-2019-0024

Tett, R., & Burnett, D. (2003). A personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance. Journal of applied psychology, 88(3), 500–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.500

Tett, R. P., Toich, M. J., & Ozkum, S. B. (2021). Trait activation theory: A review of the literature and applications to five lines of personality dynamics research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 8(1), 199–233. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-062228

Tibbe, T. D., & Montoya, A. K. (2022). Correcting the Bias Correction for the Bootstrap Confidence Interval in Mediation Analysis [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(7), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810258

Tseng, T. H., Wang, Y.-M., Lin, H.-H., Lin, S.-j., Wang, Y.-S., & Tsai, T.-H. (2022). Relationships between locus of control, theory of planned behavior, and cyber entrepreneurial intention: The moderating role of cyber entrepreneurship education. The International Journal of Management Education, 20(3), 682–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100682

Venter, E., Boshoff, C., & Maas, G. (2005). The Influence of Successor-Related Factors on the Succession Process in Small and Medium-Sized Family Businesses. Family Business Review, 18(4), 283–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2005.00049.x

Vodă, A. I., & Florea, N. (2019). Impact of Personality Traits and Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business and Engineering Students. Sustainability, 11(4), 11–32. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041192

Wang, Y.-Z., Lo, F.-Y., & Weng, S.-M. (2019). Family businesses successors knowledge and willingness on sustainable innovation: The moderating role of leader's approval. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(3), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2019.05.001

Wijayati, D. T., Fazlurrahman, H., Hadi, H. K., & Arifah, I. D. C. (2021). The effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention through planned behavioural control, subjective norm, and entrepreneurial attitude. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 11(1), 505–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40497-021-00298-7

Zarrouk, H., Sherif, M., Galloway, L., & El Ghak, T. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation, access to financial resources and SMEs’ business performance: The case of the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(12), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2020.VOL7.NO12.465