VERN's students and their parents participated in the scientific research, whom the colleague took this opportunity to thank.
Senior lecturer at VERN' University, Dr. Iva Senegović, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic " Scenario analysis in the function of predicting generational transition in family businesses" .
She defended her dissertation at the postgraduate interuniversity interdisciplinary doctoral study program Entrepreneurship and Innovation , at the Faculty of Economics, JJ Strossmayer University in Osijek.
Lecturer Senegović was thus promoted to the academic degree of Doctor of Science in the scientific field of social sciences, economics.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all VERN' students and their parents, who are entrepreneurs, who participated in the research and enabled important conclusions to be drawn for the future of generational transition in family businesses , " she said.
Congratulations to Dr. Iva Senegović!
ABSTRACT
The transition of ownership and management is one of the biggest challenges faced by family entrepreneurs, and it is accompanied by great dilemmas, unknowns and uncertainties. In Croatia, most entrepreneurs are going through the experience of generational transition for the first time. Due to the socio-economic importance of family businesses, the mortality of family businesses during the transition, and the historically most intensive period in which generational transition is carried out in Croatia, the main goal of this research was defined – to increase the knowledge base and understanding of the generational transition process in family businesses (in the future) using the scenario-building method.
Generational transition takes place in a very specific, changing and uncertain context shaped by internal and external factors, their interaction and stakeholders whose (in)activity influences the success of the transition. In order to recognize the different perspectives and roles of stakeholders related to generational transition, gain deeper insights into the generational transition process and examine the interactions of internal and external environmental factors, a combination of futurological research techniques was used within the scenario development method, such as: intuitive logic technique, impact and uncertainty matrix, impact analysis, 360° Stakeholder Feedback, questionnaire, focus groups, etc.
The research has shown that family businesses naturally create their own micro-entrepreneurial ecosystems within which their internal processes, such as the process of generational transition, take place. Since businesses do not operate in isolation from their environment, such an approach exposes the family business to risks and missed opportunities that can jeopardize the successful implementation of generational transition. If entrepreneurs want to continue the family-entrepreneurial tradition, it is in their interest to participate in the creation of a supportive ecosystem that will provide the necessary resources and support in the process of generational transition. It is the responsibility of external (institutional) and internal (individual) stakeholders to continuously improve the ecosystem that will ensure the development and sustainability of family businesses across generations.
The recommendation of this research is to build such ecosystems in local communities, by establishing collaborative development models of family businesses with a network of other organizations, businesses and individuals, in the form of interest clusters. Such models would make it easier to overcome the challenges of generational transition and have a positive impact on the development of local communities. Therefore, it is recommended for further research to explore the possibilities of such collaborations in order to create an open and stimulating environment for individuals and society as a whole.
