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A battle of hearts and minds: social construction of founder identity in family business exit through a family drama

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Title: A battle of hearts and minds: social construction of founder identity in family business exit through a family drama
Authors: Dinh Trang
Contributors: Entrepreneurship, Management and Organisation, Helsinki, Management and Organisation, Helsinki
Source: Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. 37:983-1003
Publisher Information: Informa UK Limited, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: 1 - Self archived, 2 - Hybrid open access publication channel, fiction, business succession, 1- Publicerad utomlands, 0- Ingen affiliation med ett företag, 0- Ingen av författarna har en utländsk affiliation, KOTA2025?, legacy, founder identity, relationality, PREM0000, 512 Business and Management, 1 - Publication available open access by the publisher, family business exit
Description: This paper analyzes the South Korean family drama ´What Happens to My Family´ to develop a relational perspective on founder identity and its role in family business exit. Drawing on a social constructivist lens, we explore how power dynamics, emotions, and the temporal context of the founder’s illness interact to shape the family’s construction of founder identity and influence decision-making during the founder’s exit. Our analysis reveals that the co-construction of founder identity enables the family to transcend financial and status-driven concerns. Under a sense of urgency and emotional intensity, the family engages deeply with affective dimensions, where love, fear, legacy, grief, and dormant passions emerge as transformative forces. We also identify a reversal narrative: the impending closure of the business becomes a crucible for collective identity negotiation and, ultimately, family reintegration. This narrative contrasts with traditional models, which often position the family as a source of integration for the business. Through engagement with the drama, we demonstrate how fiction can broaden entrepreneurship and family business research by challenging conventional assumptions and approaches.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1464-5114
0898-5626
DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2025.2459224
Access URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/596664
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....e2c48bd09f8c2b86706f068746ac586a
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:This paper analyzes the South Korean family drama ´What Happens to My Family´ to develop a relational perspective on founder identity and its role in family business exit. Drawing on a social constructivist lens, we explore how power dynamics, emotions, and the temporal context of the founder’s illness interact to shape the family’s construction of founder identity and influence decision-making during the founder’s exit. Our analysis reveals that the co-construction of founder identity enables the family to transcend financial and status-driven concerns. Under a sense of urgency and emotional intensity, the family engages deeply with affective dimensions, where love, fear, legacy, grief, and dormant passions emerge as transformative forces. We also identify a reversal narrative: the impending closure of the business becomes a crucible for collective identity negotiation and, ultimately, family reintegration. This narrative contrasts with traditional models, which often position the family as a source of integration for the business. Through engagement with the drama, we demonstrate how fiction can broaden entrepreneurship and family business research by challenging conventional assumptions and approaches.
ISSN:14645114
08985626
DOI:10.1080/08985626.2025.2459224