Founding or succeeding? Exploring how family embeddedness shapes the entrepreneurial intentions of the next generation

In this study, we explore how a unique social institution, the family business, contributes to the transition from latent to emergent entrepreneurship by shaping the entrepreneurial intentions of the next generation. In line with the family embeddedness perspective, we argue that the enterprising family and the family enterprise, as two intertwined units of analysis pertaining to the family business context, influence the intention to found a new venture or succeed in the family business. Using an international sample of 40,508 students with a family business background, our findings reveal which specific factors related to either the family or the business explain next generation’s preferences for succeeding over founding. The results extend our understanding of the role played by institutions in knowledge spillover theory and contribute to family business research on the succession process and its determinants.