Abstract

This paper aims to explore how conflicts are managed, also through negotiations, during the succession phase in family businesses. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology and develops case studies of two companies, based on the interviews of the family business members belonging to multiple generations. The findings are interpreted with the dual concern model for the conflict management styles and the 2-class model for the prototype of negotiators. The results of the study show an evolutionary path regarding the conflict management style adopted by the incumbent generation, which is influenced by the role taken in the company and the historical moment. The favourite negotiator’s prototype of the incumbent generations is the emotional one. The study, although exploratory, investigates a topic that is under researched both in terms of family business literature and conflict management literature. Moreover, the study offers an interesting and important bridge of the two bodies of literature, which could benefit from cross-fertilisation.