Familjeägda företag : Undersökning gällande familjeföretag & successionsprocessen med särskild inriktning på styrelsen

Sammanfattning: Background: Family-owned companies characterize both the Swedish and many of the world's corporate markets. The family circle is the core of the family business on which the family business depends. A successful generational change is thus a fundamental component for preserving the continuity of the family-owned company. Despite this, there is research that shows that generational shifts are not always feasible and research on why family members leave their empire is limited. This is where the master thesis takes over. Purpose: The purpose of the master thesis is to understand reasons that may be the basis for a family member's distancing from the family-owned company with a special focus on the board's functions. Method: Deductive research approach has been used where existing theory about the board's functions and factors that can affect the family-owned companies' succession process has built up the master thesis' theoretical model. The study has been carried out through a quantitative research method and more specifically a questionnaire survey where the collected data forms the basis for the empirical analysis and results that are presented. Conclusion: The study has, with some caution, been able to show that there is distancing in family businesses of family members and that this is often due to natural causes such as retirement and death. We have been able to confirm previous research regarding the companies' vision of a continuity and a long-term corporate governance perspective, but also that the need for the board’s control function will become a more central part when the company is faced with difficult financial times.