Next-Generation Succession Intention in Family Businesses: The Roles of Passion, Self-Efficacy, And Affective Commitment

Abstract

Family businesses significantly contribute to economic growth, yet ensuring intergenerational survival remains a prominent challenge. This study investigates the psychological mechanisms driving next-generation succession intention in family businesses, specifically examining the parallel mediating roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and affective commitment in the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and succession intention. Employing a quantitative explanatory design, data were collected through an online survey from 203 university students with family business backgrounds across Indonesia, selected via purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4. The empirical results demonstrate that entrepreneurial passion positively and significantly enhances next-generation succession intention. Furthermore, the findings confirm that both entrepreneurial self-efficacy (the cognitive pathway) and affective commitment (the emotional pathway) successfully act as parallel mediators in this relationship. Because the direct effect of entrepreneurial passion on succession intention remains significant when both mediators are included, the model constitutes partial rather than full mediation. This study contributes to the family business literature by integrating Social Cognitive Theory and Socioemotional Wealth perspectives, highlighting that incumbent generations must actively cultivate successors’ internal passion, practical confidence, and emotional attachment rather than relying on forced obligations.