The initial succession away from the founder in maturing firms has received moderate research attention, particularly in the family business literature. However, most studies have focused on individual factors and their effects on various outcome measures without developing comprehensive, conceptual underpinning. This article attempts to improve our understanding of this key milestone in the life of the organization by developing a basic contingency model to help conceptualize the Interplay between the evolving organization and the unique characteristics of the particular founder.
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