The analysis of successors’ competencies in family enterprises with the use of grey system theory

• Published in: Grey systems Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 302 - 312
• Main Authors: Mierzwiak, Rafal, Więcek-Janka, Ewa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bingley Emerald Group Publishing Limited 02.11.2015
• Subjects: Cultural factors; Education; Empirical analysis; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Family owned businesses; Generations; Grey systems; Information & knowledge management; Information systems; Innovations; Personality traits; Process management; Qualitative analysis; Research methodology; Researchers; System theory; Systems theory; Tsunamis; Poland; Practical applications of grey models; Grey incidence analysis
• ISSN: 2043-9377; 2043-9385
• DOI: 10.1108/GS-03-2015-0007

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyse the relationships between the competency structure of the successors of family enterprises in Poland and dimensions like gender, self-awareness of development, taking their ideas into consideration in shaping the strategy of the firm and the size of the firm. Design/methodology/approach – Grey relational analysis was employed to analyse the empirical material in the paper. The results of the analysis served a more thorough qualitative analysis of the subject of the family enterprise successors’ competencies by comparing them to theoretical assumptions and other research within this scope. Findings – In the paper, the relation was shown between the structure of family firm successors’ competencies and the variables such as gender, development self-awareness, taking their ideas into consideration in shaping the strategy of the firm and the size of the firm. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted in Poland and therefore its generalisation has limited scope resulting from the cultural and historical conditioning. Practical implications – The results of the research may serve the creation of tools and methods of succession process management in a family enterprise. Originality/value – The paper presents the possibilities of employing grey system theory in the research remaining within the scope of the subject of succession in family enterprises, as a tool complementing qualitative analysis.