Analysis of the Perception of Belonging and the Commitment to the Generational Transition: Empirical Essay of a Mexican Consortium of Companies Dedic

Introduction

Family businesses are very important in the Mexican country because of the income they earn and the jobs they generate. Derived from the foregoing, it is fundamental to carry out the succession of the leader of said companies in a correct manner, since the continuity of the same depends on that. More importantly, when you are the leader of a group of companies. The process of succession in the leader of the companies must be studied and prepared several years in advance. The preparation includes since the successor has the knowledge and experience required, until the leader who is going to delegate their duties and position, is prepared to really leave in other hands what for many years came with good results.

Another important part of the succession process that must be studied is the fusion of two generations, since, if not done correctly, it can generate important conflicts between the people involved. The ideal is to include as part of the processes, procedures, policies and values of the company the best, the experience of the first generation and innovation and new theories of the second.

This study focuses on a consortium of Mexican companies engaged in foreign trade with more than 30 years in the middle. The main objective is to describe the perception that shareholders, senior managers and employees in general have about their sense of belonging and commitment at a time of generational change in senior management in a Mexican consortium of companies dedicated to foreign trade.

The specific objectives of this study are:

• 1.

  Identify the perception of the staff in relation to the managerial positions and the doubts that may be had when leaving the management of the group in the hands of younger generations;

• 2.

  Describe the perception of executives and employees in middle management around an improvement in both the productivity of the company and the safety of processes at a time of generational change in senior management.

Based on the result of the objectives, it will be possible to identify if the succession process is successful or not, which will depend on the subsistence of the organization in the generational transfer. To favor the result, the Lewin model is used, which allows identifying the main elements for a programmed change. This model shows how the company is currently and the change that is made, through three stages.

Background Of The Problem

It is a mistake to think that the management of a system that operates under a family business is the sole responsibility of the family members, contrary to this, the administration and direction of the company, is part of the assets of the family, is to say, is the very property of each of its elements. In the world close to 50% and 80% of companies are family. In Mexico this percentage is higher and oscillates in 90% of the total of the companies in the country (La Salle, 2014). And thanks to their centralization in decision-making, they do not require an operational and planning structure (Durán and San Martín, 2013).

The good perception of the commitment and responsibility of the shareholders and of all those involved in the succession process is extremely important, since it is the result of success in the generational change of top management (Sharma and Irving, 2005). Added to this, Oviedo (2004) considers perception as the fundamental process of mental activity, and assumes that other psychological activities, such as learning, memory, thinking, among others, depend on the proper functioning of the process of perceptual organization, that is, behavioral. In a study carried out by Zapata (2017), there is very little difference between the decision-making made in an analytical manner with respect to decision-making based on behavior.