Abstract:

The study examined the relationship between sustainability of family-owned businesses and organizational performance in Anambra State, Nigeria. The study focused on three dimensions of sustainability practices in family-owned businesses viz; succession planning, decision making pattern and leadership, in relation to organizational performance of family-owned businesses in the major commercial cities in Anambra state viz; Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha. Three hypotheses were formulated in line with the specific objectives of the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted and covered a sample of 388 respondents who were selected through the stratified random sampling technique. A self-developed questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The data was analyzed descriptively using frequency counts, mean scores and standard deviation; while the study hypotheses were tested with the multiple regression statistics. The findings of the study revealed that the three dimensions of sustainability in family businesses examined have a significant positive influence on organizational performance in Anambra state. It was therefore recommended among others that the entrepreneurs in family businesses must act proactively by crafting a succession plan early enough and ensuring that all the management and employees become aware of the succession plan against the future.