The ethnic factor in intergenerational succession in business among the small and medium enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
Succession is an inevitable event in the life of a family business. The mode and the strategies
employed to facilitate the trans-generational transition of ownership and control of the business
have been observed to have a significant influence on the survival and performance of the
business. A number of factors influence this succession. Key among them is the context.
Specific contexts include culture, the business and the family. Against the background of
minimal research on family business succession in Kenya, and rich entrepreneurship, this study
aimed at determining the relationship between succession strategy and the ethnicity of the
entrepreneurs. This study surveyed 249 SMEs in Nairobi. Chi square test of independence
established that there were significant differences in terms of the businesses carried out, with
Asians being more in manufacturing than African. Africans were generally underrepresented in
manufacturing sector. In addition, the Asians operated slightly older businesses than the
Africans. There was however no significant differences in specific succession practices of
having written succession plans and formalized successor identification. This was equally
supported by the correlation analysis which indicated weak correlations. The study found minor
differences in the relationship between ethnicity and succession in family businesses. This has
implications for the understanding of family business succession practices in Kenya. The
obvious implication is that differences in ethnic representation in business ownership do not
necessarily mean differences in managerial practices.
Citation
Maalu, Jackson K. "THE ETHNIC FACTOR IN INTERGENERATIONAL SUCCESSION IN BUSINESS AMONG THE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN NAIROBI, KENYA."Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
The following license files are associated with this item: