How Family Businesses Withstand The Test of Time
Multi-generation small business owners in rural Canada discuss their key success factors and concerns for the future
In this paper for The Monieson Centre, the authors interview representatives of small family-based businesses in Lethbridge, Alberta, and eastern Ontario to identify characteristics that contribute to their success beyond the tenure of the founding entrepreneur.
Participants discuss the challenges of transitioning a family business to a younger generation, recruiting and retaining employees, dealing with an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, succession planning, diversification, community roles, and adapting to emerging business trends such as e-commerce and the arrival of large competitors in rural areas.
The paper was prepared by Wren Montgomery, doctoral student at Queen’s School of Business, and M. Gordon Hunter, professor in the Faculty of Management at University of Lethbridge.
