Benchmark: Sources of Conflict in Family Businesses

Three graphs that display the hottest issues of contention between generations in long-term family businesses.

By Donna Fenn |  @donnafenn   | 
 

No wonder so few family businesses make it to the third generation. A recent survey of 1,002 family-business owners revealed that the potential for conflict increases significantly as family businesses age.

The hottest issues of contention for first-, second-, and third-generation businesses were as follows:

First generation Second generation Third generation
Long-term vision 19% 27% 40%
Management roles 21% 27% 36%
Money 22% 22% 34%
Ownership or control 10% 19% 27%

Source: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. telephone survey, Springfield, Mass., 1994.

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    • Donna Fenn

    Inc. contributing editor Donna Fenn is the author of Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit From Their Success (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Both this blog and the book examine the ways in which GenY is changing the entrepreneurial landscape with new approaches to starting, growing, and managing their companies. Learn more at http://www.upstartsrock.com/.


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