Understanding the impact of leadership change on the organisational culture of family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises

In the past few decades organisational culture and leadership have been widely studied in the business environment. Culture influences the way companies operate and conduct their business and the role of leadership in creating, maintaining and changing the organisational culture is widely recognised in the academic world. In this dissertation the main theories regarding the impact of leadership on organisational culture are exposed and analysed. More specifically the study aims to describe, analyse and understand the impact of changes in the leadership of family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the organizations' culture. The changes in the leadership of family SMEs analysed in this work are of two kinds: the generational succession of entrepreneurs and the inclusion of non-family managers. The study is based on the main literature on organisational culture and leadership, with the main pillars represented by the work of Edgar Schein, Geert Hofstede et al. The different theories are analysed and compared in order to deeply understand the impact of leadership change on organisational culture. The research shows that changes in the leadership can have different impacts on culture depending on how ¿strong¿ the former is, and on the nature of the leadership change. In conclusion, this dissertation aims to offer guidelines and suggestions for entrepreneurs and managers of family SMEs that are undertaking a leadership change and are committed to the creation, maintenance or change of the organisational culture.