PurposeThis study explores how and when intuitive forms of planning can be used in a family firm's succession process.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an extended focus group meeting, consisting of individual, group and subgroup discussions with seven highly experienced external family business advisors in the Netherlands to gain a holistic understanding of the succession process and its underlying logic. The study also employs pre- and post-group questionnaires.FindingsThis study reveals that advisors perceive intuitive forms of planning as an integral part of the succession process, with the latter containing both intuitive and formal logic and activities. Both logics are used situationally and flexibly to deal with the uniqueness and unpredictability of the succession process and to build strong relations and manage relational dynamics in business families to address tasks, dilemmas and contingencies.Originality/valueThe succession process is an important part of business families' achievement of transgenerational intent. Creating commitment among potential successors begins when they are children, and understanding the role of the more intuitive forms of planning during the succession process will provide us with a more holistic perspective on its dynamics.
Deze publicatie over de vroege fase van bedrijfsopvolging in familiebedrijven laat zien dat de intentie van een volgende generatie om al dan niet het bedrijf over te nemen zich al op jonge leeftijd ontwikkelt. Ouders oefenen invloed uit op de ontwikkeling van hun kinderen door (on)bewust gebruik te maken van sociale mechanismen, waardoor de emotionele betrokkenheid van het kind in meer of mindere mate kan worden gestimuleerd. Daarbij worden er verschillende vormen van planning gebruikt voor het bedrijfsopvolgingsproces; zowel formele als intuïtieve planning. Voor ouders blijft het een dilemma om een evenwicht te vinden in het stimuleren van de individuele belangen en behoeften van hun kinderen, de belangen van het gezin en de belangen van het bedrijf. Met deze publicatie hopen wij ondernemende families handvatten te geven om op een nieuwe, andere manier naar de opvolging te kijken.
Significant factors in the success or failure of energy transition arise from the spatial potential of places and their communities. Scenario planning appears to be an appropriate design instrument to enable architects to unveil, conceptualise, imagine, test and communicate this potential to stakeholders. This paper critically refelcts on the scenario as an architectural design instrument. Inscribed with political intentions, scenario planning may be a far from neutral design instrument. Instead of triggering communities to explore local energy potential, a scenario may have a normative effect on a community's imagination. The paper aims to define guidelines for the deployment of scenarios in an open, participatory planning process. To mediate in a local participatory planning process, we argue, scenarios should be situational, dynamic and open-ended, allowing or even triggering communities to (re)define the issues relevant to a place during the ongoing process of energy-transition. How, when and where should scenarios be deployed in order to enable communities to understand and develop their local energy potential?
