Growing Up Between Family and Business: Transmission of Values in the Socialization Process of Children in Business Families

Abstract

Values serve as a compass that guide our attitude and behaviour. The values that we are taught as children shape our identity and early career development. In business families, the descendants‘ socialization process is additionally influenced by the presence of the family business. This thesis discusses how the combination of the emotion-driven family logic and the business-driven company logic affect the transmission of values to the children. The line of argument is based on a qualitative literature analysis and a qualitative evaluation of nine narrative interviews. It can be concluded that particularly the corporate assets and the omnipresent expectation of company succession have a dominant influence on the values that are transmitted to descendants in business families. The dual responsibility for family and business lead to the following core values: freedom to shape one’s life, family cohesion and modesty. In business families, the values passed on to the children therefore form the framework for their attitude towards the family business and thus determine the transgenerational preservation of the company.

Keywords: business family; family business; socialization; succession; values