Knowledge Management in Family Business Succession : Current trends and future directions

Ge, Bingbing and Campopiano, Giovanna (2022) Knowledge Management in Family Business Succession : Current trends and future directions. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26 (2). pp. 326-349. ISSN 1367-3270

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Abstract

Purpose – This article aims at reviewing the literature on knowledge management in family business, addressing the research question: “How is knowledge managed across generations in family business?”. We synthesize the literature, highlighting the role of multiple stakeholders who affect knowledge management along the phases of the succession process. Stemming from these findings and embracing a practice-based view, we offer research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in family business. The purpose of this article is not only to conclude the previous research but also to provide insights for future research directions and to provide practical implications. Methodology – Through a systematic integrative literature review, we collect, map, and analytically examine 63 published peer-reviewed articles related to knowledge management in family business from 39 academic journals. We apply a rigorous approach in order to identify the sample of articles, map descriptive information of the reviewed literature, and map theoretical contributions according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework. Findings – The sampled articles are analyzed according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework inspired by Daspit et al. (2016). We identify critical gaps emerging from our analysis, thus opening the way to future research directions. In particular, we prompt scholars to advance our understanding of family-related knowledge and to clarify the assumptions on knowledge in their research. Research Implications – We contribute to the debate on knowledge management in family business, by systematizing the current literature. In addition, we embrace a ‘knowledge from practice perspective’, and offer research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in family business succession and potential areas to further management research investigating the role of family-related knowledge. Practical implications are also provided to benefit family businesses, consultants, and policymakers. Originality/value – This article provides a systematic integrative literature review of the articles published on knowledge management in family business according to a multistakeholder and multi-stage framework. Moreover, it draws an agenda for future research advancing a ‘knowledge from a practice perspective’ in the family business literature.