Investigating the actual career decisions of the next generation: The impact of family business involvement

•Investigates the actual career behavior of twelve Irish next-generation family members.•Family business involvement through the activity of helping influences and alters the careers of the next generation.•The tradition of helping in the family business is a unique resource for family businesses.•The family business is an arena for the career exploration of the next generation in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.•Comprehensive data are presented to support the key findings of this study.

While the current family business literature has deeply informed our understanding of the career intentions of adolescents with a family background in business, a salient gap emerges regarding the ways in which family business involvement impacts the careers of the next generation. This article reports the empirical results of an interpretive qualitative study of the phenomenon of the careers of next-generation family members. The findings suggest that the family business involvement of the next generation not only influences but also alters the careers of the next generation. Helping is proposed as a key means of family business involvement for the next generation and a unique resource for family businesses. Through the activity of helping, the next generation explores the arena of the family business, which has significant consequences on career decision making.