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.