- Deric Zanera, PhD
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22289545
- GAS Journal of Economics and Business Management (GASJEBM)
Leadership succession
remains one of the most significant challenges confronting family-owned
businesses (FOBs), particularly in developing economies where ownership,
management, family identity and interpersonal relationships frequently overlap.
Contemporary research suggests that succession difficulties are not caused
solely by the absence of qualified successors but can also arise from
incumbents’ reluctance to relinquish authority, weak formalisation of
succession arrangements and the socioemotional attachment of owners to their
businesses (Khosa, 2024; Khosa & Baadjie, 2025; Ringo & Kibambila,
2025). African evidence further indicates that succession occurs within
distinctive cultural, institutional and family systems that can affect the
willingness of business founders to transfer authority to subsequent
generations (Kupangwa et al., 2023; Okeke, 2025).
This study examines whether
an incumbent’s willingness to relinquish managerial control influences
leadership succession planning in family-owned businesses in Malawi. The study
is primarily grounded in stewardship theory and the socioemotional wealth
perspective, which together help explain why incumbents may simultaneously
desire business continuity while experiencing difficulty surrendering personal control
(Löhde et al., 2021; Motylska-Kuzma et al., 2023; Calabrò et al., 2024).
A quantitative
cross-sectional design is proposed, covering family-owned businesses operating
in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu. Data was collected from 120
family-owned businesses to demonstrate the proposed statistical analysis. The
results reveal a strong positive relationship between incumbent willingness to
let go and leadership succession planning (r = .621, p < .001). Multiple
regression results further indicate that incumbent willingness significantly
predicts succession planning (β = .548, p < .001) after controlling for
incumbent age, business age, business size and generation of ownership.
The model explains 43.8% of
the variance in succession planning. The results suggest that succession
readiness cannot be understood solely in terms of identifying and preparing a
successor; incumbents must themselves become psychologically and managerially
prepared to transfer authority (Khosa, 2024; Ringo & Kibambila, 2025). The study
contributes to the emerging literature on family-business succession in Malawi
and sub-Saharan Africa by conceptualising incumbent willingness to relinquish
control as an important dimension of succession readiness.
Keywords: family-owned
businesses, incumbent, leadership succession, succession planning, willingness
to let go, Malawi, stewardship theory, socioemotional wealth.
