Management of Change in Tourism - The Problem of Family Internal Succession in Family Tourism SMEs

“World-wide, the family business constitutes the most prevalent form of business or-ganization” (Poutziouris et al. 2004, p. 7). Alpine tourism is also dominated by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), among which family firms represent the majority (Astrachan and Shanker 2003). Family firms are urged to perform business, strategic, and succession planning for their survival (Knight 1993). Planning for the integration of the younger generation into the family firm is an issue of strategic importance. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a qualitative study among owners of family businesses, interest groups and consultants in order to explore ways in which family internal succession in family businesses can be accomplished successfully.