Family Business Founders’ Influence on Future Survival of Family Businesses

Abstract

Small and medium sized businesses are the engines that drive economic development and contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of most countries. The roots of such businesses are the families that form their foundations. To succeed, family business founders must establish strong foundations, structures and succession plans. This paper examined the role of African and Indian business founders in determining the future of their businesses across generations. The study targeted 52 business founders (owners) and managers operating Mombasa City (Kenya) and used stratified random sampling method to identify the respondents. A questionnaire was used as the primary data collection instrument while a documentary analysis was performed to attain secondary data. The paper found that family businesses are predominant among all respondents. It was also found that most Indian families involve family members in business during strategic development and planning. In terms of longevity, Indians businesses lasted longer while African businesses were only a few years old and rarely succeeded across two or three generations. Some the reasons given for successful family businesses include close family ties, trust and strong relationship among members. The study concluded that family businesses remain fundamental to economic development and the role of business founders and how they prepared their businesses for succession across generations is critical.