Overcoming the Inertia of Multiplexity : Evidence from Family Firm Successions

Actors connected via multiplex ties often have particularly stable relationships, but that also suggests that multiplex ties may be difficult to change. Yet, while prior research has highlighted how multiplex ties may improve tie strength and benefit information exchange, research has not adequately examined how organizations overcome the inertia of multiplexity to effect network change. I address this gap by examining intergenerational leadership successions in Chinese family firms. This setting is particularly appropriate because the inertial effects of multiplex ties are particularly salient: the familial relationship between the incumbent and the successor often strongly resist against the renegotiation of professional roles and responsibilities between these two individuals during the succession process. I find that the mother often plays a crucial role in overcoming the inertia of multiplexity during successions by acting as the “boundary-keeper” between the family and firm domains. In cases of successful successions, key decision-makers at the firm undertook strategic actions to ensure the maximal effectiveness of the mother in the boundary-keeper role. By elucidating how organizations manage the boundary between domains of multiplex ties, this paper contributes to our understanding of how organizations may strategically manage and utilize multiplexity to their advantage. More theoretically, this paper advances the view of multiplexity as something that can be bounded, summoned, and switched on and off rather than a purely antecedent variable to organizational behavior