Function, governance, and trust in successor leadership groups in family firms

•Instances of leadership by a group of successors is becoming more common in family firms.•A pattern of cooperation among the group members and the development of trust will enhance group effectiveness.•A pattern of excessive competition among successor group members will hinder successor leadership group effectiveness.•The use of multiple successors can be an indicator of trust on the part of the incumbent family firm leader.

We examine the function and governance of successor leadership groups in family firms. In a qualitative study of nine family firms, in-depth interviews indicated that excessive competition among successor group members will hinder group effectiveness, while a pattern of cooperation, unified implementation of decisions, mutual agreement to share power and authority, and the development of trust will enhance successor leadership group effectiveness. The findings are encapsulated by seven propositions, and a model proposing how successor groups function, govern and develop trust is advanced. The results lead us to conclude that the use of multiple successors can be an indicator of trust on the part of the incumbent family firm leader as well as a catalyst for building mutual trust among members of successor groups.