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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A FAMILY BUSINESS: A CASE STUDY Rudolph B. van Buuren (Ph.D.

) Associate Professor Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences University of the Free State School of Management P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, South Africa, 9300 Telephone: +27-51-401 2460 Fax: +27-51-444 5345 E-mail: vbuurenrb.ekw@mail.ufs.ac.za

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to isolate a number of pitfalls, failures and successes of Kloppers, a medium size family business in South Africa, within the context of the life-cycle of the firm. The discussions follow this family business through its 40 years of existence as it progressed through the various stages in transition from a pure family business, to a family-owned business, to selling of the business and ultimately the re-invention of the original family business. The family is currently entering its 3rd generation and from a contextual perspective this paper focuses predominantly on succession, ownership and management of the family businesses as driving forces for success throughout the stages in their lifecycle. The findings form an integrated understanding of critical components of decision making criteria that either support or inhibit sustainable success in family businesses. These decisions had a profound impact on the business and managerial situation facing the 2nd generation of children, and will impact on the way in which the 3rd generation of children is introduced into the Kloppers business. The main objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the history of the firm since inception to date with the view to understand the critical aspects that the owners had to deal with during their transitional phases between the first and second generation of children. The study concludes with an overview of critical areas that require attention from a family business perspective in relation to succession management and strategic business management to ensure sustainability and success.

1. INTRODUCTION Traditional views on the sustainability of family businesses have focused the attention to the important interrelationship between ownership, succession and management. The success of family businesses rests upon the successful integration of these three elements (Gersick, et al., 1997; Fletcher 2000). This paper analyses the case of Kloppers, a South African family business through its 40 years of existence. What is particularly important about this case study, is that the business evolved through the entire life-cycle (Gersick et al.,1999) from start-up to being sold to a corporate group, and then was revived again by the second generation of children. In this context a number of key areas form the basis for the discussions in this paper. The first is to understand the impact of the different stages of the life-cycle on the sustainability of family businesses. The second is to understand how decisions are made in regard to succession and ownership to support the management of the business. Finally specific managerial business issues and how these were dealt with over the life-cycle are discussed. 2. THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY BUSINESSES Family businesses world-wide are contributing increasingly to the economic activity in their perspective countries. Table 1 provides an overview of the economic contributions and proportions of family businesses to total businesses, world-wide. As is indicated in Table 1, about 96% of businesses in the USA are family businesses, while in that country these businesses contribute as much as 40% to the GNP (Timmons and Spinelli, 2007). In South Africa it is estimated that more than 80% of all businesses have family ownership involvement, and more than 60% of all listed companies in South Africa comprises family involvement at least during its start-up phase (Dickinson, 2000; Venter, 2002). However, a large proportion of family businesses in South Africa are small to medium size enterprises, with nearly 50% employing less than 20 people per business (Maas, 1999).

Table 1: Worldwide highlights of family businesses (Timmons and Spinelli, 2007)

Country Brazil Chile USA Belgium Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Poland Portugal Spain UK Australia India

% of FBs 90% 75% 96% 70% 80% >60% 60% 93% 74% 80% 70% 79% 70% 75%

GNP 63% 50-70% 40% 55% 40-50% >60% 55%

54% 35% 60%

50% 65%

3. CONTEXTUAL APPROACHES TO BUSINESS LIFE-CYCLES Knowledge of the life-cycle and the specific stage that the business occupies at various stages of its life can provide a view of the critical decisions and issues facing family businesses. According to Hanks (1990), a life-cycle can provide a time-table for structuring the organisation, formalising procedures and systems and revising priorities in the business. A body of empirical research exists that explain the concept of life-cycles as an approach to analysing transitions in organisations (Lester and Parnell, 2004; Solymossy and Penna, 2001; Sderling, 1998; Gersick et al, 1997 and 1999; Ward, 1991; Hanks, 1990; Tagiuri and Davis, 1982).

Lester and Parnell (2004), with specific reference to family businesses, suggested a five-stage life-cycle model to analyse transitions in family businesses. At the initial phase (existence phase) they suggested that the focus of the family business is on viability. In that stage the entire management of the business is in the hands of one person (the founder) who is responsible for the entire business. At the second phase (survival) the business focuses on growth and generating sufficient revenue to sustain the business. Management and power is often shared in this phase as more members of the family (or non-family members) enter the business. The third phase (success) is characterized by formalization of the business and its processes and control through beaurocracy becomes the norm. During this phase the family business grows and diversifies using specific growth strategies. Phase four (renewal) is defined as the period where the business desires to return to leaner times, as the business strive for growth and revival. The final phase (decline) is characterized by the members becoming more concerned with personal goals than the goals of the business. Solymossy and Penna (2001) have offered a factorial approach to analysing transitions in small, medium and micro enterprises, grounded on existing literature and their own research. These factors can be viewed as conceptual phases of organisational transition starting with the establishment of written documentation such as job analysis, procedures and policies relating to formalisation and standardisation as two dimensions of initial organisational structure, through phases where the entrepreneur performs multiple functions, including strategy formation. As the enterprise grows, the need arises for the introduction of multiple levels of management as the entrepreneurs capability to manage alone in such growth areas started to become problematic. Once this occurs, the cognitive processes of the entrepreneur undergo change as managerial tasks change and as managerial capabilities are developed. During this phase the changes in the thought processes of the entrepreneur is reflected in behavior that directly relate to organisational structure and strategy. According to the view of Sderling (1998), organisational development can be described on the basis of three interrelated phases, namely formative growth, normative growth and integrative growth. Growth is normally of short duration and highly conceptual during the formative phase. It is in this phase that the rules are

established for growth. During the next phase (normative growth), growth can be sustained over a number of years. The rules established in the previous phase become the norm by which the enterprise is managed. The cycle is dynamic and increased complexity will be realised as growth approaches the integrative phase. It is rarely the case that an enterprise can make a smooth transition from the normative into the integrative phase. More often than not, an enterprise's energy will be drawn towards doing more of the same things better. The old rules will have been superseded without the new rules becoming clear. The transition period from normative to integrative growth will be evident when, no matter how many resources are employed within the old paradigm, performance improvements remain stagnant. A new paradigm is required to make any significant advancement (Sderling, 1998). Ward (1991) used an approach to evaluate the evolution of family business from the perspectives of ownership and management. Tagiuri and Davis (1982) developed a model that presents the various interactions that occur in family businesses consisting of three interrelated concepts, namely business, ownership and family as three subsystems that integrate over time, which they called the Three-Circle model. This model was transformed by Gersick et al. (1999) to formulate their Developmental Model that combines the elements of the Three-Circle model with the various stages of development in family businesses proposed by them (Gersick et al. 1997). This model (see Figure 1) provides a comprehensive and integrated framework to evaluate the interaction between the life-cycle of the family business, the family itself, and ownership aspects. The model consists of three dimensions: family development, ownership development and business development. Family development comprises various stages of development ranging from the initial stage of the young family to the next generation starting to enter the business (where the two generations are working together) to eventually a phase where the founder family member hands the business over completely. The ownership development dimension stages starts where the owner is in total control of the business and takes all decisions unilaterally (controlling owner). It then evolves to a phase where siblings enter the business and shares decision making with the founder, (sibling partnership). The final phase is one where extended family members and/or private individuals are introduced to the management of the firm, and decision making effectively becomes a shared phenomenon between family and non direct family members (cousin consortium).

The business development dimension also comprise of three stages namely, start-up, expansion and maturity, which includes elements of a decline phase. Figure 1: Developmental Model (Gersick et al., 1999).

Business Development
Maturity

Expansion

Family Development

Start-up

Young Business Family Controlling Owner Sibling Partnership Cousin Consortium

Entering The Business

Working Together

Passing The Baton

Ownership Development

As the Developmental Model of Gersick et al. (1999) combines the elements of most of the models discussed above, and it contains a comprehensive view of the intrinsic issues and decision requirements facing family businesses over its life-cycle, we used that as basis for discussion of the results from the case study research conducted in this project. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Case study research can be defined as an empirical inquiry into a contemporary reallife situation in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1984). A number of types of case studies are reported in the literature. Jensen and Rodgers (2001) provided a case study typology defining case studies in a number of ways. Snapshot case studies are defined as a detailed study of one research entity at one point in time. Longitudinal case studies are a study of a single entity at multiple time points. Prepost case studies are a number of case studies written on a single business with

comparative analysis of each case study over time. Patchwork case studies are a set of multiple case studies of the same entity using either snapshot, longitudinal or pre-post methodologies. Comparative case studies are a set of multiple case studies of multiple businesses in order to analyse similar situations across various businesses for comparative reasons. The family business that is the subject of this paper is analysed over its entire life of 40 years and therefore a longitudinal cast study method was applied. A qualitative research approach was used in order to understand the impact of historical decisions in the family business on the current and future sustainability of the firm. Qualitative research seeks to provide a deeper understanding of social phenomena (Silverman, 2001). While quantitative research methods are more useful in hypothesis testing, qualitative research is used successfully in the description of organisations (Welman and Kruger, 1999). The kinds of data with which qualitative researchers are concerned are derived from open-ended interviews that facilitate understanding, detail and in particular the meanings which human beings attach to what they do. This project seeks to form an in-depth understanding of the decision making processes involved in managing the family business over its life-cycle. It is the socio-organisational phenomena that guide family businesses in their decision making that become important in this study. For that reason a qualitative approach was deemed more appropriate for this project. The approach was to initially understand the context from a secondary research perspective. Multiple sources of evidence were used, including documents and reports from the business, printed media reports, and personal interviews. An open ended questionnaire was constructed and personal interviews with the owners (family members) were initiated. (An interview with the founder was unfortunately not possible due to the fact that he had passed away several years ago). The analysis of the research data was performed using content analysis. Content analysis is a systematic observation of open-ended questions and unstructured interviews used to report on the essence of such interviews (Welman and Kruger, 1999).

5. KLOPPERS CASE STUDY FINDINGS 5.1 Overview of the business Kloppers is a discount retail family business in Bloemfontein, a city in the central district of South Africa. The business was started in 1967 by Mr. Willem Klopper and today sells a diverse range of products predominantly focusing on electrical appliances, but also including sports apparel, clothing and hardware in their product ranges. In many ways this family business is the antithesis of the archetype independent retailer: six brothers working together in evident harmony towards a common goal; customers lending massive support to an obviously successful business; and even distributors and suppliers (often the harshest of judges of retailers) are unanimous in their praise, admiration and expressions of loyalty. Quite a few suppliers confidently admitted that Kloppers is their single biggest customer (including chain stores). The founder had six children (all male) who are all involved in the business. What is remarkable about the children is that they all studied in different areas after finishing school- yet all of them joined the family business eventually. The eldest son is an accountant and practiced for a few years before joining the family business. The second son became a lawyer, also practiced for some time, and then joined the family business. The third son became a social worker before he joined the business. The next son studied agriculture and farmed for a few years before he joined, and the fifth son became a medical doctor and also practiced for a few years before he joined the business. The youngest son also became a chartered accountant and worked internationally before he joined the business. A brief discussion of the main issues and lessons learnt through its life-cycle using the Developmental Model of Gersick et al. (1999), are as follows. 5.2 Start-up At this stage Kloppers was a young family business where the owner was the only member (controlling owner). At the start-up in 1967 suppliers were very resistant to the idea of the business selling their brands at a discount. This was at a time that discount retailing was a new concept in South Africa. Suppliers effectively refused to

supply the business if they continue to pursue the discount retaining concept. As a result procurement had to be done via wholesalers which exerted pressure on the profit margins and sustainability of the business model of discounting for cash. However, as the business grew, customers started to support the concept and the business was soon so successful that suppliers decided to lift the sanctions. As a direct result of this issue, the owner later formed a buying co-operative for independent retailers. This provided him with a substantial amount of buying power. At this stage the business was just started and was controlled and managed by the founder and his wife. Decisions focused more on the positioning and management of the business than on issues concerning succession and family development. It was critical for the owner to establish a plausible market position early in the life of this family business. The core focus was to establish effective trade and distribution channels as soon as possible. 5.3 Expansion The founders eldest son joined the business in the late 1970s and by 1985 three of the six sons were involved in the business. During these early stages of the family business, decision making criteria started to revolve around balancing between family development and business development. The major family developmental issues at this phase of the business were based on aspects such as how to involve his sons (he had no daughters) and eventually their wives into the business. The founder decided that none of his sons will enter the business at senior levels. They were forced to start at the very bottom, driving delivery trucks, merchandising shelves, etc. The pecking order was based on the age of the sibling (the eldest is the most senior in the business). A decision was also made that none of the wives of his sons will be allowed to become involved in the business. The decision was based on the fact that, other than their wives, his sons all grew up with him and in a specific cultural domain that made the management of his business easier. In early 1980 the discount retailer chain store concept started to grow in South Africa, and a number of national chain stores opened following the same principles of high volumes at low prices on a cash basis. Kloppers was now facing fierce competition from these larger chain stores. In order to ensure continued sustainability the owner 9

decided to diversify geographically with the view to grow, opening a number of smaller stores in the city. However, with the geographical diversity came substantial problems of control over all the stores as non-family members had to be appointed in the management of some of the stores. The owner had difficulty in controlling the entire business, and also experienced some fraudulent behavior by some of the nonfamily managers. This lack of control by the owner forced him to make a decision to reintegrate all of his stores into a single, but bigger store. He eventually started to investigate a number of potential sites in the city, and eventually took bought a very large department store called Greatermans in the central business district of the city which was for sale at the time. The purchasing agreement, however, forced Klopper to take over the existing staff and the existing supplier agreements of the Greatermans business. Now the business was operating on a single site, but diversified into a mix of both discount and non-discount, related and unrelated, products under the same roof. During this phase of the life-cycle of the business, the context changed from being a pure family business (owned and controlled solely by the family) to a familyowned business where managerial decisions were diversified between both family and non-family members. The management of the business was now the responsibility of a diverse team including the owner, three of his sons, and some of the members of the original management team of the Greatermans business. Control became a major business issue and eventually the take-over of the Greatermans store was instrumental in the family business eventual downfall. 5.4 Maturity Towards the end of the 1980s the founder was approaching retirement and he started to ponder over the future of the business. At the time he also started a small unrelated business in the city selling motorcycles, where his eldest son became involved in. This business became an instrumental part of the eventual exit strategy of the business in later years. At the time the family owned business experienced problems with control as well as fraudulent behavior by some non-family members of their management team. These and other issues started to exert an enormous amount of pressure on the owner, and he eventually started to internalise various options of how to deal with the future of the business. At that time an offer was received from one of

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the largest diversified corporate retail groups in South Africa, the PepCor group (which also started in the late 1950s as a family business) who was seeking appropriate expansion options in the city, to purchase the Kloppers store as a running concern. This meant that Kloppers would become part of the Pepcor group. After deliberating with his sons, the owner decided to accept the offer, and sold the family business. This decision effectively ended an era of one of South Africas most successful family businesses. Although the trade name of Kloppers remained, the business was now a privately-owned company with no involvement in the business by any of the Kloppers family members. The negotiation of the sales agreement included the following: 1) Kloppers would be sold to the PepCor group as a going concern. 2) All the current staff members of Kloppers would be transferred on a guaranteed continuation of employment principle. 3) The founder (Willem Klopper) and his sons would not be part of the management of the new Kloppers. 4) Kloppers would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PepCor group of companies. 5) The founder had to sign a restraint of trade agreement, restraining him from trading in opposition to Kloppers (in PepCor) for a period of at least ten years, and within a radius of a significant amount of square kilometers from the existing store.

5.5 Restarting the cycle the second wave After the sale of the family business to the PepCor group, some of the Kloppers sons who had at that stage been involved in the business reverted back to their professions, while others continued to operate the small unrelated motorcycle store that they started a few years earlier. The founder, in the mean time, retired from business to a coastal town in South Africa. However, after a year the sons decided to start a new discount retail store, which they called Juniors. This store was run on exactly the same principles as Kloppers. As a result a fierce battle evolved between the PepCor Group and the Kloppers brothers

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who operated as Juniors. Initially the battle was ensued in court, citing the restraint of trade agreement, but was lost by PepCor on a technical aspect (the restraint of trade was an agreement between PepCor and the initial founder (Mr. Willem Klopper) specifically and excluded his children). Following the unsuccessful lawsuit, the PepCor group decided to initiate a fierce marketing battle in order to oust the Klopper brothers from the market, based on an expensive marketing campaign. The PepCor group eventually lost this marketing battle due to the substantial customer loyalty that existed towards the Klopper brothers. The loyalty of the customers that was built over time therefore resulted in a substantial erosion of business away from the PepCor group store towards the Juniors store. Eventually in 1991, this pressure resulted in the PepCor group offering the original Kloppers store for sale back to the Klopper brothers at a negligible price. The Klopper brother purchased the original family business back from the Pepcor group, and introducing many of the lessons learnt by the family business over the years, managed the business back to its original level of success. After buying Kloppers back from the PepCor group the Klopper brothers, who at the time was still trading under the name Juniors bought a building in the main street of the city which was occupied by a grocery retailer. They subsequently closed all the branches of Juniors, and started to do business under the original trade name of Kloppers again. Four years later, Kloppers took over a large competitor in the city who sold hardware and paint, which was incorporated into Kloppers. They then traded on the two sites (the original building in the CBD, and at the newly acquired property). In 2000, Kloppers decided to expand their operations further and opened an additional store in the city in an area situated on the boundaries of the central business district. During 2002, a new shopping mall concept was built in the city and at the time Kloppers had to make a decision whether to expand their operations and move into this shopping mall. The shop space available to them at the new site was in excess of 7500 m, which made it possible for the business to close all their branches in the city and to operate their entire business under one roof.

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Today Kloppers again is a pure family business which are owned and managed solely by the six Klopper brothers. The store has more than three times the number of departments that they had in 1984 and is deemed to be one of the most successful family businesses in South Africa. The success of Kloppers as a family business is built around a number of key success factors. The principles of the managing hierarchy are simply based on age. The pecking order is based on the age of the brothers and the business is operated on the principles of their family values, in an ethical and trustworthy manner. The basic principles that was the foundation of the family business since its inception over 40 years ago, are still guiding the decision making criteria of the business today. Currently the business is approaching the second maturity phase and a number of issues are facing the 2nd generation. The most common of these revolve around planning the business for the future, and developing methodologies to accommodate the 3rd generation of children. The current methodology is to treat the 3rd generation of children in exactly the same manner as how the current owners (the 2nd generation) was treated when they entered the business. Again children will start in junior positions, learning the business before they will be allowed into managerial positions. However, it is clear that not all of the children will enter the family business, and this are creating a substantial challenge for the family. It is evident that eventually the business will have to reconsider the current format of their management model and start to investigate various options of expansion with the resultant potential introduction of non-family members in managerial positions. 6. CONCLUSIONS This study has attempted to isolate the issues that a family business encounters during the many phases of its life-cycle. Against the background of the objectives of this study, attention has been given to evaluate the history of the firm since inception to date with the view to understand the critical aspects that the owners had to deal with during their transitional phases between the first and second generation of children. The following is an overview of a number of specific aspects that was concluded from this study that may assist family business owners and their siblings in managing their

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transition over the life-cycle, with specific reference to family and business related aspects. 6.1 Family related conclusions 6.1.1 Succession Succession can be defined as the process through which the leadership of the business is transferred from the outgoing generation to the successor generation, which can either be a family member or a non-family member (Nieman, 2006). Family business owners need to ensure that they include the succession aspects into their early business modeling of the family business. Early identification of succession is an important element of sustaining the family business over time. Related to this is the critical decision of timing. When should the next generation be introduced into the business, and when should the founder family members retire, are critical questions that need to be planned for early in the life-cycle of the family business. The Kloppers case explains that seniority is only based on the age of the sibling. Although this approach worked well for them to date, it may become a fatal flaw that potentially can harm the sustainability of this business if continued into the era of the 3rd generation. The issue is that then the business will be dealing with all of the children of the second generation siblings, and age can therefore not be the criteria for succession. The question arises as to what to decide in the case where the sibling of the youngest of the current generation is older than the sibling of the eldest (current managing director). In the case of this business, it is clear that if age is to be the only criteria for seniority, the business can expect a vast amount of third generation sibling rivalry. Skills and ability should therefore replace the policy of age as the only criteria for seniority in the business. 6.1.2 Business skills Knowledge and experience in business management aspects are critical components of sustainability of family businesses. In this regard, family members should act as mentors to siblings in order to create a practical understanding of business management concepts. This is over and above any potential formal training that the sibling may have undergone. A specific area that is important is the establishment of

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financial prudence early in the experience curve of the sibling as well as to instill strong cultural values in making business decisions. 6.1.3 Experience It is important that siblings who may have potential for positions within the family business are identified early. Apart from ensuring that the correct type of skills are obtained from a formal training perspective, family businesses also need to ensure that these siblings obtain early operational experience in the business to shape their decision making abilities in a related manner once they do enter. 6.1.4 Dealing with uncertainty As siblings develop there may be a time when they may view entry into the family business as a risky encounter. Specific attention need to be given in dealing with uncertainty in succession management. Family businesses need to ensure that an open and transparent process is in place to make siblings aware of the core elements of the business and its associated risks at an early time. This should create some higher level of understanding of the real impact of risk on the future of the business, and may contribute to alleviate any potential feelings of uncertainty amongst siblings. 6.2 Strategic related conclusions 6.2.1 Understanding the impact of the business environment One strategic aspect that family businesses need to deal with early in their existence is to understand the impact of the environment on their sustainability. These businesses need to establish a plausible market position early and then pursue a successful pathway to sustain that position. The Kloppers business was very successful after the decision to move the entire business away from the Central Business District to the area on the perimeters of the city. They realised in time that the Central Business District of the city is facing changes that could result in the erosion of customers and business alike. Realising this, they decided in time to move their business in line with future market expectations. 6.2.2 Building networks of support Decisions that were made early in the life of the Kloppers family business have proved to be important drivers of the longer-term success of the business. Referring to 15

the retail industry specifically, it was important for the owner to build good supplier relationships early and to maintain these relationships over the life of the business. Relationships with related retailing organizations eventually lead to the establishment of a purchasing group that is currently growing extensively. The benefits include better control over their input costs (something that is especially crucial for the sustainability of their business model of selling on a cash basis at a discount). 6.2.3 Diversification during growth As the family business starts to grow the need arise to diversify the business, either geographically or through their product offerings. This aspect need to be managed very sensitively and sensibly. Being bigger does not always mean to be more successful, and as was found in this study, can lead to substantial problems with control and management of the business. The results from this project indicate that the business started to grow successfully only after they decided to close all the different stores that were operated, and combine the entire family business in a single store. 7. RECOMMENDATIONS The main recommendations from this case study are the following: 7.1 From a succession and family perspective 1) It is not always feasible for all of the children to be involved in the management of the business. The fact that they are siblings does not automatically make them good future managers. Identify the children who will participate in the future business early, and ensure that they are properly trained and receive proper skills development. 2) In the event that suitable qualified off-springs are not available in time, family businesses could develop and implement a seat-warmer succession strategy where the family appoints one of the family members in a specific position with the view to develop the offspring for the future in that specific position. 3) A thorough understanding of the entire business environment facing the family business is required by siblings who wish to enter the business. Do not

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promote them into senior levels until such knowledge of the business is gained. 4) Investment is needed in the continuous development of the people and skills of the enterprise in order to effectively deal with current global business issues. 7.2 From a business perspective 1) Family businesses need to establish a plausible market position early, and should build effective trading and distribution channels right from the start. 2) Build effective trading and distribution channels as soon after the start-up as possible. 3) Geographical diversification decisions should be managed with extreme caution as such expansion creates control and management problems. 4) Develop an adaptive stance and a preparedness to react to unexpected and unanticipated events. 5) Guard against diversifying too quickly with a view to grow the business. Bigger does not necessarily mean more success for family businesses. 6) Stick to the business model that worked early in the life of the business, but tweak the model in the face of important environmental changes. 7) Map out the cause and effects of early decisions and learn how these will affected the future of the business. 8. FUTURE RESEARCH An important aspect that may require further research is to focus on the management dilemma facing family businesses that cease to exist. In this context, exit management strategies need to be developed to effectively enhance the pathways for family members to pursue their futures without the support of the family business.

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