Why is farm succession different?
A narrative exploration of generational transitions in agricultural family farms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2026.09.02Keywords:
family firms, family farms, generational renewal, succession, socio-emotional wealth, narrative interviewsAbstract
Generational succession in agricultural family farms follows a distinctive logic that differs in several respects from classical industrial models. This study aims to identify these specific characteristics and to understand how succession intentions are constructed in agricultural family farms. The analysis is based on 27 narrative interviews examining the role of childhood experiences, land-based identity, and the integration of work and family life. The findings suggest that succession motivation begins to form in a pre-socialization phase, shaping the direction and intensity of later involvement in the farm. The study identifies three characteristic succession pathways (agnatic, cognatic, and sibling co-leadership), which structure succession decisions. The conditional legitimacy of female succession can also be interpreted through the normative framework of the agricultural way of life. The paper proposes a theoretical framework for understanding generational transitions in agricultural family farms and contributes to the sector-specific extension of socioemotional wealth (SEW) interpretations.
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