Shaping Tomorrow: The Younger Generation’s Role in Embedding Sustainability in Family Firms

Sammanfattning

Background:Family businesses, with their legacy-driven values and long-term outlook, are well placed to advance sustainability but often struggle to balance tradition with innovation. Younger generations bring new perspectives and alignment with global sustainability goals, positioning them as key drivers of change. It is still unclear how they put sustainability into practice while working across generations. This thesis responds to this gap by examining how younger generations influence the implementation of sustainability within a Norwegian family-owned shipping company. Purpose:This study examines how next-generation members leverage evolving SEW priorities to embed sustainability into strategy and operations, while navigating intergenerational tensions and succession challenges. By doing so, it highlights the balance between legacy preservation and sustainability innovation, offering insights into the real opportunities and obstacles shaping family firms’ contributions to long-term sustainability. Method:This study uses a qualitative, exploratory case study design to investigate how younger generations contribute to sustainability in a Norwegian family-owned shipping company. Guided by a relativist ontology and social constructionist epistemology, the research adopts an abductive approach, allowing movement between emerging insights and existing concepts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, informal observations, and company sustainability reports. Analysis followed the Gioia methodology, progressing from first-order codes in participants’ own words to higher-level themes and dimensions. Research quality was ensured through triangulation, member validation, and an audit trail, enhancing credibility, transparency, and transferability of the findings. Conclusion:This study shows how younger generations in family firms drive sustainability by combining pragmatic reasoning with value-based commitments, using pathways such as collaboration, compliance, and innovation. The findings extend socioemotional wealth theory by demonstrating how legacy is reinterpreted as both continuity and transformation. While limited to a single case, the study highlights the practical importance of intergenerational dialogue, institutional support, and external partnerships for embedding sustainability in family firms.