Temporal focus and the art of passing the family biz baton

The process of passing a family-run business from one generation to the next is frequently fraught with challenges. This is a universal phenomenon, and is not irrelevant to China.

The process of passing the baton in a family business can be tangibly affected by a CEO's "temporal focus" (that is, the extent to which the CEO focuses on the past, present and future concerns of the company) when engaged in succession planning.

In China, most members of the first generation of family businesses are now approaching retirement age. Recent estimates suggest that around 75 percent of family businesses in China will undergo succession within the next five to 10 years.