Emmanuel E. Okoh, Rowland E. Worlu, Olabode A. Oyewunmi and Hezekiah O. Falola
Family-owned schools have been grappling with several challenges, including their ability to survive over a long period and achieve their set objectives. The poor rate of survival of these schools is a continuing source of concern considering the dominant roles played by these family businesses in most developing economies like Nigeria. Hence, the study investigated the moderating effect of succession planning on inheritance culture and business survival of selected family-owned schools in South-West, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey design method, and it was descriptive. A quantitative approach of data collection was also adopted for this study and 357 out of 500 copies of the questionnaire, representing a 71.4% response rate, were analysed using Smart PLS 3.0. The study revealed that succession planning moderates the relationship between inheritance culture and family business survival at (β= 0.374, t-statistics=4.359>1.96, P-value =0.000 <0.05). Specifically, the findings indicated that competence identification contributed more to succession planning that fosters the relationship between inheritance culture and family business survival. The study recommended that founders of family businesses should give greater attention to competence identification in selecting a family business successor.