CONSTRUCTION OF SECOND GENERATION LEADERSHIP READINESS IN RETAIL SECTOR FAMILY BUSINESS IN MAKASSAR CITY: SOCIOEMOTIONAL WEALTH PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Family business succession involves not only the transfer of managerial responsibilities but also the negotiation of socioemotional relationships between founders and successors. This study explores how second-generation members of retail family businesses in Makassar City construct their leadership readiness through lived experiences and how socioemotional values shape this process. A qualitative approach with descriptive phenomenology was employed, involving three second-generation informants purposively selected from family-owned retail businesses operating in office stationery, building materials, and commercial equipment. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and documentation, and analyzed using descriptive phenomenological procedures. The findings reveal that leadership readiness is not primarily developed through formal succession planning but emerges gradually through four interconnected experiences: early involvement driven by family or business needs, learning through direct experience, intergenerational relationship dynamics, and the understanding of readiness as a continuous process. These experiences are synthesized into the TRUST framework, comprising Tenacity in the Process, Respect, Upholding Responsibility, Self-Proving, and Trust Building. From a Socioemotional Wealth perspective, the findings demonstrate that leadership readiness is closely connected to family identity, responsibility, relational bonds, and trust, rather than being determined solely by managerial competence or economic considerations. This study contributes to family business succession literature by conceptualizing second-generation leadership readiness as a lived, relational, and continuously constructed process. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of gradual involvement, experiential learning, trust building, and intergenerational communication in preparing successors within family-owned retail SMEs.