You can't choose your family but how do you choose your career path? Connecting family capital and career paths of next generation family members. A family business study. (R-3506)

In the family business literature, the concept of family capital has been used to explain why some family businesses outperform and how family businesses strategically create and sustain value over time. Career intentions and decisions/choices of next generation family members, both inside and outside of the family business, have received limited attention in family business research. To date, the reasons why successors Special Research Fund - Call for tender Doctoral grants in the framework of the Bilateral Programme enter the business have been studied, as well as intentions of next generation family members. However, few studies have focused on the actual behaviour of next generation family members with regard to career decisions and choices. Family capital accumulated by all family members, and for the purpose of this study incorporating both human and social elements, has been examined at an organisational level. However, if family capital, like social capital is a resource available to actors, how do family members utilise family capital in their careers? Lin (2000) proposes that analysis of social capital (an element of family capital) can be conducted at both macro (group, organisation, community) and micro (individual) level. For the purpose of this study, the researcher is interested in the individual family member as an actor of family capital. Continuity of family businesses has been recognised as one of the major obstacles for family businesses. If the career paths of successors only are researched, the experience of other family members, who undergo similar socialisation processes but embark on different career paths are ignored. However, the accumulation and utilisation of family capital by family members may impact career choice of all family members, both successors and those who "flee the flock". This study will draw on the social capital literature, the human capital literature, career theory and the family business literature. A collective case study research strategy will be adopted, utilising Critical Incident Technique to analyse the data. Eight case studies will be written up, each case study representing a concentrated inquiry into a single case. The researcher hopes to make a significant contribution to the family business field by extending the applicability of the family capital lens. She also hopes to contribute to the existing career theory literature, but in the context of the career of family members with a family business background.

Keywords:Family capital, Family firms

Disciplines:Economics and business