Leadership and succession planning family-owned businesses in the south Durban basin of KwaZulu-Natal

The study aimed to ascertain whether there are effective leadership and succession planning mechanisms in place to sustain effective business acumen and survival in small to mediumsized family-owned enterprises in the South Durban Basin of KwaZulu-Natal. The study adopted an empirical, quantitative design. The population, which was targeted by the study was family-owned businesses in the South Durban Basin of KwaZulu-Natal. A target sample of 236 family-owned enterprises were selected from the eThekwini Database with a population of 2750 on the basis that they were in operation for at least 5 years; were situated within the Kwa Zulu -Natal region and were family-owned enterprises. A non-probability simple random sampling strategy as well as purposive sampling was used to get the sample size. In total, 236 questionnaires were despatched and 221 were returned which gave a 96% response rate. To analyse the data, which was collected, SPSS was used. Several descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were utilised to analyse the data. The main findings of the study are that: family businesses in the main do not have succession plans, have poor governance structures and that family conflict and sibling rivalry is common. It also found out that succession planning was predicted by task leadership style, performance, and governance.The study therefore recommends that family businesses should prepare a thorough succession plan after consultation with senior staff and family members. These plans should have constructive policies that clearly outline the roles, responsibilities, and procedures for undertaking duties diligently. This will help empower employees and family members for enhanced governance and business operations. While the study was confined to one locality, further research can be done in other areas where results can be compared.