A study on succession planning and family constitution in family bussinesses: The case of Eskişehir

While family businesses constitute a significant portion of the economy in Turkey, a similar situation is observed worldwide. It is known that family bussinesses' intergenerational transfer relies on instutionalization, corporate governance, family constitution, succession planning and similar policies Therefore, it is important to address succession planning and the concept of a family constitution together in family businesses and to explore the practices in this regard. In this study, some factors believed to influence the perception of succession planning and the importance given to a family constitution were examined. These factors include individuals' level of education, which generation manages the business, the sectors in which the businesses operate, and the perception gap between professional managers and family members in the businesses. The study conducted a survey with 48 participants, gathering responses from 37 businesses located in the Eskişehir Organized Industrial Zone. The size of the study sample pool has been reported to be parallel to the studies conducted in the literature. According to the research findings, the importance of a family constitution and the perception of future planning are generally highly recognized in the businesses. However, no significant differentiation was found in terms of education level, the distribution of business management among generations, and the perception of succesion planning or importance given to a family constitution between professional and family managers. Nevertheless, a significant differentiation was observed in terms of perception among participants from businesses operating in the sectors of textile-print-packaging and mining, as well as textile-print-packaging and construction.