Succession management and corporate sustainability in Ghana: a leadership succession paradox

Purpose A core responsibility of organizational leaders in a world of increasing competition for best talents is positioning right persons and plans for sustainable growth and progress of their respective organizations. However, attracting top talents for key positions is meaningless if it is not backed by winning retention or succession strategies. This paper aims to assess succession management techniques in the Nzema East District (NED) of Ghana to determine incumbent reliability on its own succession knowledge, practice and sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Through a cross-organizational investigation, this study used qualitative approaches to explore succession knowledge and practice as they relate to effective management and sustainability of selected NED organizations. In all, 60 purposively selected participants were involved in the study. Findings This study revealed not only that most NED organizational leaders have no succession plans but also that some senior management officials of these organizations, much as their subordinates, lack knowledge and practice of the concept altogether. It also emerged that a leadership succession paradox, where management expressed profound interest in succession planning (SP) learning and practice, adopting SP as a strategic tool and in using SP as insurance for sustainability of NED firms, but presides over the contrary, characterized much of NED management activity. Research limitations/implications As a case study, this research is limited in terms of generalizability, but its implications are quite limitless. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in an emerging leadership succession paradox where business executives advocate what, in practice and theory, they are themselves opposed to. Contrary to the logic that we practice what we learn, succession management in NED organizations is not only unethical but also paradoxical. This study has not been published and is not being considered for publication anywhere else.