Negotiating your way to the top: Conflict management by women leaders in family businesses

Abstract

Family businesses are a fertile ground for women to take up different leader roles. The way up as well as functioning at the nexus of the business family and family business offer unique negotiation challenges. Women leaders play a central role in preserving family harmony while safeguarding business performance, acting as mediators in cases of intra-family conflict and developing their career as leaders. Traditionally oriented succession dynamics, inequality, and lack of legitimacy as business leaders and family leaders require specific and highlevel negotiation competencies. This review explores the structural and cultural challenges that women face in their family businesses as family members as well as the negotiating and conflict management competencies needed in both family and business.