Torn between individual aspirations and the family legacy – individual career development in family firms

Achtenhagen L., Haag K., Hultén K., Lundgren J.

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We explore individual career management by family members in the context of their family firms with particular attention toward choice, planning, goals and development of family members' careers in their family business.

Little is known about individual career management of family members in a family business context, as research on careers in family firms has so far focused mainly on transgenerational succession. We explore how in family firms, the trend towards self-directed, individual career planning is in tension with a commitment to the family business and its legacy.

We find that career management in the family business setting focuses on fulfilling the family business goals rather than the personal goals of family members. Career management is rather reactive and less self-directed than current literature on career development recommends. Based on the results, we develop a process model for individual career management in the family business context.


Reference

  • Achtenhagen, L., Haag, K., Hultén, K. and Lundgren, J. (2022), Torn between individual aspirations and the family legacy – individual career development in family firms, Career Development International, 27(2), 201-221. 
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-06-2020-0156


2022-06-14