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Study finds Indian family businesses struggle with succession
A study looked at 474 family-run businesses in India.
It found that many older family leaders do not fully hand over control to their children or other successors.
In about half of the companies with leaders over 60, a successor had joined but still lacked real authority.
In another quarter, no family successor could be identified.
Some businesses also did not have a professional chief executive ready to take over if the family leader became unable to work.
Even when a new leader received the official job title, the older leader often continued making important decisions.
The study said this can leave successors unprepared.
Only 3% of the companies had what researchers called a clean handover.
Executive Access analyzed 474 large and mid-sized Indian family-run companies across several sectors.
Among 294 companies with family heads older than 60, about half had successors without full operational control.
A quarter of those 294 companies had no identifiable successor from the promoter family.
Only 3% of all analyzed companies had completed a clean handover of power.
Researchers said patriarchs retaining decision-making authority and limited next-generation interest create continuity risks.
- Who
- Executive Access researchers, family business leaders, and potential successors in India.
- What
- A study found widespread weaknesses in succession planning and control transfers at family-run companies.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The companies were analyzed over a one-year period; the article also cites a 2025 comment by Uday Kotak.
- Why
- Older family leaders often retain decision-making power, while some members of the next generation are not interested in running the businesses.
Key facts
- Companies analyzed
- 474 listed and unlisted large and mid-sized companies
- Family heads over 60
- 294 companies
- Successors lacking full control
- About half of the 294 companies with family heads over 60
- No identifiable family successor
- About one-quarter of those 294 companies
- Clean handovers
- 3% of all companies analyzed
- Sectors covered
- Textiles, agricultural products, sugar, consumer goods, chemicals, metals, pharma and other sectors
- Research organization
- Executive Access
Quotes
Srinath Sridharan
Advisor to Executive Access
“Many of India’s family business heirs will be closer to retirement than to the start of their careers by the time they actually get to lead.”
livemint.com
“A patriarch in the chair can be a source of strength. A patriarch who still takes every decision from the chair becomes the bottleneck.”
livemint.com
Sources
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