Succession and Family Structure: Untangling Legacies Through Genogram Research

Abstract

The family business Töpfer & Schumacher is a transport company that has existed for three generations. With the sudden death of a managing director, the company is faced with managing the succession into the fourth generation earlier than expected. As family structure influences succession within business families like Töpfer & Schumacher, it presents specific challenges for the succession. This includes, among other things, issues such as integrating generations into operational management or solving the principle of equal rights within the ownership structure. By following a genogram analysis approach, the Töpfer & Schumacher case examines how the business influences family decisions and how family structure relates to the business.