Abstract

More than half of the non-oil economy of the United Arab Emirates is based on family-owned enterprises. However, less than a third of them have successfully transitioned to the second generation of founders. The question this thesis poses is how and why, and it is this combination of an interrogative and an analytic approach that makes this thesis novel. With the help of a unique eight-lens analytical framework that integrates Agency, Stewardship, Socio-emotional Wealth, dynamic capabilities, and Business-Systems approaches, the thesis runs three hypotheses:

1. The existence of a documented and formal succession plan indicates higher compound annual growth and life.

2. Three impediments comprise governance complexity: the resistance of founders and institutionalized cultural expectations to effective planning.

3. The preference for gender-biased successors and the use of indirect communication approaches have a material impact on the choice of leaders.

The study employs a methodologically critical realist approach and features a small-N, multicase design. Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews with next-generation members, principals, and external advisers were coded using the Gioia coding process and Yin's pattern-matching approach and triangulated with archival data. Cross-case replication reveals that companies with clear authority matrices, mixed family and professional boards, and mentorship programs in phases perform better than those without such structures. On the other hand, ambiguity in voting rights, patriarchal need to exercise authority, and emphasis on male descendants result in decision-making bottlenecks, which inhibit the flexibility of investment and destroy confidence.

The thesis makes three novel scholarly contributions: (i) it applies the Sustainable Family Business Model to an institutional setting of a Centralised Tribe, (ii) it re-frames governance clarity and founder stance in the context of dynamic capabilities, which mediate the relationship between growth and succession and (iii) it refines the theory of Socio-emotional Wealth by showing that emotive attachments are both protective and paralyzing. In practice, it offers a context-dependent path: formalize family charters and succession councils well in advance, bring non-family skills onto boards, introduce gender-blind merit standards, and use state programs, including the UAE Family Business Centre, to professionalize governance.

Generally, the results provide original evidence that shows cultural continuity and commercial renewal are compatible. By institutionalizing transparent rules and rewarding relational capital, such businesses can extend beyond the lifetime of the founders and, in doing so, strengthen economic resilience in their countries.