The Impact of the Mother During Family Business Succession : Examples from the Asian Business Community

This paper examines the role of maternal involvement in British Asian family businesses as mediator between generations during the unstable period of business succession. Previous research on dynamics in family business has focused mainly on power struggles between the founder (usually the father) and the heir (typically the son). This study focuses on the involvement and subsequent impact of the mother of the successor (also the wife of the founder), in ethnic SMEs.It is argued that family and business are a single entity that cannot be separated.The research is based on nine case studies of East African Asian family firms in the United Kingdom experiencing business succession.Two religious groups were identified: Vanik Hindus and Ismaili Muslims. The mother's role is as a critical buffer between the generations, smoothing relations between two typically antagonistic family members - a role not generally recognized or acknowledged.The mother's involvement is critical in the business, and how her involvement is perceived by key family business members is even more important.This determines whether she can assert herself as an equal party or must use other means to balance family relations. (TNM)