Being heir

Currently, there are concerns about succession within family businesses, heirs' competences, and consequently, with the expectations of their preservation. These concerns justify the realization of this work considering the following concern: would these heirs be heard? In this book we try to understand how being heir of an ancestor who built a business legacy influences the subject's life and, specifically, to identify in which way this heir's life is influenced, based on their perceptions about this process. To achieve these objectives a qualitative research was carried out, with instrumental and collective case study design based on the Systemic Approach to the family, and on the Tridimensional Model of Family Business Development, which seeks to differentiate family relationships from the business context. The understanding of being an heir was also treated under the focus of the Intergenerational Approach, regarding the aspects of what is bequeathed and what is delegated.