The successor in agricultural family companies, factors that influence their choice

El sucesor en empresas familiares agrícolas, factores que influyen en su elección

The objective of this research is to determine the characteristics that the managerial successor must have in family businesses in the agricultural sector in the coastal zone of Ecuador. The study had a qualitative approach with a descriptive approach; in addition an inductive and field method is applied. The variable that is studied in the investigation is the successor characterization. To collect the required information, surveys were conducted for managers of family-owned enterprises active in the agricultural sector. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine which factors are considered as priorities for managerial succession. Among the main results, the predecessors consider that their successor should be responsible, have a university degree in Agricultural Engineering or Management, have between 4 to 7 years of experience in the company and be innovative.