Passing the baton - The importance of sequence, timing, technique and communication in executive succession

The extensive literature on executive succession gives only scant attention to the actual process of succession. To better understand the dynamics of the succession process, the analogy of a relay race is suggested, where suc cess is influenced by four factors: sequence, timing, baton-passing techniq ue, and communication. These four factors are used as a framework for a lon gitudinal examination of a failed executive succession in a small, family-o wned manufacturing firm. In-depth examination of the attempted succession s howed that the four themes are helpful in working toward the development of a general theory of executive succession. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. A ll rights reserved.