Female Entrepreneurs and Intergenerational Transfer: New Insights into the Succession Process

This study focuses on the intergenerational transfer from female entrepreneurs to offspring, analysing two Italian cases of succession from mother to son or daughter. The aim is to understand how the succession unfolds when the incumbent is a woman, and whether specific characteristics of women’s style of leadership and management may facilitate the planning and management of the intergenerational transfer. Findings show that the female approach to the succession process is characterised by attention to relationships, cooperation, involvement, communication and sharing in the decision-making process. Moreover, the female approach appears to be more orientated towards a positive perspective of succession. Women entrepreneurs seem to live through the intergenerational transfer much less traumatically, adopting an idea of the physiological continuity of the business and natural turnover between the generations. These characteristics take on particular relevance to its successful outcome and may facilitate the succession process.