Cultural features of family business transfers in Senegal
This article explores the family business transfer process in Africa, focusing on Senegalese practices. We use the process developed by Cadieux (2004) to analyse nine cases of business legacy. Based on this theoretical framework, our results are based on the coexistence of the formal and informal sectors in particular the lack of preparation for the transfer (lack of a relief plan) and different attitudes towards the process itself, in terms of initiation (selection of the successor by filiation, heredity or merit), of integration (empirical, Koranic or academic entry strategies for the successor) and of the exit conditions at different stages in the transition and exit conditions (withdrawal of the predecessor at the time of his/her own death). The features we reveal are such that they call for a contextualised analysis of the process. Thus, my theoretical contribution lies in our proposal for a succession process linked to Senegalese cultural influences.