The impact of family structure on issue selling by successor generation members in family firms

Input from members of the successor generation to the incumbent leader of the business is important to family firms that desire to grow into multi-generational entities. Although researchers have examined upward influence behavior in general, there is a dearth of studies discussing this phenomenon as it relates to family firms. In this paper, we seek to fill this gap by focusing on issue selling behavior—one of the fundamental ways the successor generation pursues upward influence. Issue selling is defined as a discretionary behavior used to direct top managers’ attention toward important issues. Specifically, by integrating the extant issue selling literature with research on the impact of family structure on family decision-making, we help explain the strength of successor generation members’ intentions to sell issues and their choice of selling strategies.