Abstract

Continuity of existence is crucial for every family business that is why the most important thing is a properly planned succession process. Unfortunately, only a few of those businesses succeed in completing this step. One of the ways to avoid the problem is by creating cooperation between the advisor and successor. However, family businesses are usually skeptical when it comes to using advisors’ knowledge. The main goal of the article is to highlight the successors’ needs towards the advisor. The material presents expectations, benefits, and barriers the successor may have towards the advisor. Outcomes given in this article are based on the empirical data gathered from the interviews with Polish family business successors. The research involved eight successors who meet important criteria of choice: each successor is before the succession process, wants to be a successor, and none of them has previously cooperated with the advisor. The major obstacles encountered during the interview process are the reluctance of some successors to reveal information related to the family business. However, it was possible to identify the full range of successors’ needs in terms of cooperation with the advisor.

Keywords