TY - JOUR

T1 - Generational brokerage

T2 - An intersubjective perspective on managing temporal orientations in family firm succession

AU - Magrelli, Vittoria

AU - Rondi, Emanuela

AU - De Massis, Alfredo

AU - Kotlar, Josip

PY - 2022/2/1

Y1 - 2022/2/1

N2 - Interactions between family members of different generations often unleash powerful tensions in family firms. Intergenerational tensions can be particularly prominent during intra-family succession as a result of the different temporal orientations of senior and junior generation family members. However, scant systematic attention has thus far been paid to understanding the temporality of intergenerational tensions in family firms. Through an embedded case study, we explore the mediation process that helps family firms manage intergenerational tensions by way of temporal work. Our investigation of an advisory firm and its clients led us to identify generational brokerage as the intersubjective process through which temporal work enables generations toward the joint understanding of temporal orientations. Our theoretical insights have significant implications for developing a temporal view of succession and add novel important knowledge to research on mediation and time. Indeed, we show that generational brokerage is a dialectic construct with organizing properties able to blend disparate research streams by going beyond a unidirectional forward-flowing logic of time in examining organizational processes.

AB - Interactions between family members of different generations often unleash powerful tensions in family firms. Intergenerational tensions can be particularly prominent during intra-family succession as a result of the different temporal orientations of senior and junior generation family members. However, scant systematic attention has thus far been paid to understanding the temporality of intergenerational tensions in family firms. Through an embedded case study, we explore the mediation process that helps family firms manage intergenerational tensions by way of temporal work. Our investigation of an advisory firm and its clients led us to identify generational brokerage as the intersubjective process through which temporal work enables generations toward the joint understanding of temporal orientations. Our theoretical insights have significant implications for developing a temporal view of succession and add novel important knowledge to research on mediation and time. Indeed, we show that generational brokerage is a dialectic construct with organizing properties able to blend disparate research streams by going beyond a unidirectional forward-flowing logic of time in examining organizational processes.

KW - advisors

KW - family business

KW - intergenerational

KW - succession

KW - temporal work

U2 - 10.1177/1476127020976972

DO - 10.1177/1476127020976972

M3 - Journal article

VL - 20

SP - 164

EP - 199

JO - Strategic Organization

JF - Strategic Organization

SN - 1476-1270

IS - 1

ER -