Organizational reforms in businesses successions

Case studies on business successions of small and medium family enterprises

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate ten cases of Japanese small and medium family enterprises with long business histories, which illustrate business innovation after business successions.These case studiesmake two following contributions. First, successors carried out reforms such as organizational changes more focused and updated company visions or managementpolicies or reforms of decision-making and communication processes .Second, successors exercise different types of leadership fromthose of founder's top-down type to accomplish organizational reforms despite their justified business successions and authorities. The characteristics of the leadership peculiar to successors are “open” management and encouraging employees voluntarily involvement.