Succession Planning Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises: A Thematic Literature Review
Keywords:
succession planning, small and medium enterprises, business continuity, leadership transition, SME sustainability, successor developmentAbstract
This thematic literature review synthesizes studies on succession planning in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on publications from 2015 to 2025. The review aims to identify common succession planning practices, examine their impact on business continuity, and reveal research gaps. A thematic review approach, supported by selected systematic procedures, was used to review literature on succession, leadership transition, successor development, business continuity, SME sustainability, governance, and family business succession. Findings show that SMEs often use successor identification, mentoring, coaching, leadership development, talent management, training, knowledge transfer, communication, governance mechanisms, and early involvement of successors. In family-owned SMEs, succession planning is shaped by trust, family ties, informal mentoring, apprenticeship, and gradual exposure to business tasks. Across studies, succession planning helps maintain leadership stability, preserve institutional knowledge, reduce transition disruption, sustain employee confidence, and strengthen long-term sustainability. However, gaps remain in informal succession practices, longitudinal and mixed-method studies, SME-specific models, and Philippine-based research. The study concludes that succession planning should be treated as a strategic mechanism for continuity and recommends developing formal, practical, and context-sensitive frameworks for SMEs, especially in developing and Philippine contexts.
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