Just like a Marriage? Success Factors in the Relationship between the Non-Family CEO and the Owner Family

Master’s Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, Joenkoeping International Business School, language: English, abstract: The relationship to non-family CEOs has become increasingly important for family businesses since many of them will face a change in leadership over the near future. Since oftentimes no suitable successor is present in the family, hiring a non-family CEO is a possible way of continuing the family business. The most important condition for a successful appointment of a non-family CEO thereby is the relationship towards the owner family. This study identifies and elaborates success factors in the relationship between a non-family CEO and the owner family using an inductive research approach. The authors present five key success factors that contribute to the relationship and expand the understanding of academic literature by regarding the sub-relationships between the non-family CEO, the old and the new owner generation. In addition to the existing literature, the authors were able to show the importance of the new generation in the relationship with the non-family CEO. Concluding, this study provides starting points for further research as well as hands-on recommendations for both owner family and non-family CEO.