full title:  Generational brokerage: an intersubjective perspective on temporal orientations in family firms

Abstract: 

Generational turnover is thesocio-biological pillar of organizations; however, little attention has beendevoted to understanding how different generations interact with each other andhow they overcome tensions. Through an ethnographic case study, we exploreintergenerational dynamics and the role of mediation in business-owningfamilies. Our investigation of a consultancy firm led us to introduce thegenerational brokerage approach –an intersubjective-level process involving amethod intended to drive generations into each other’s temporal and socialperspectives. Our theoretical insights have significant implications, not onlyfor understanding generational turnover as a broader intergenerational dynamic,but also for research on organizational history as it shows that generationalbrokerage is an historical dialectical construct with organizing propertiesable to blend disparate research streams that go beyond a forward-flowing viewof organizational processes.