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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