The longevity of family businesses in the transport industry. Lessons from Zimbabwe

Family-owned businesses contribute to the economy globally but the extent to which family businesses contribute to the global economy continues to be difficult to quantify accurately. This is because of the private nature of family-owned businesses that most of the information is not available readily. Though family businesses contribute to the economy significantly they are fraught with challenges. There are many family businesses in Zimbabwe and there are the major contributors of wealth and employment creation in the economy but the major challenge is that many family businesses in Zimbabwe do not survive beyond the demise of the founder, their survival has been fraught with challenges since time immemorial, even in the Rhodesian era the family businesses that flourished which did not survive to the second and third-generation includes: Bulawayo‟s Happy Valley Hotel, Pelandaba Road Services, Mboma Super Buses of Highfields, M and A Special Bus Service, Farai Uzumba Buses and stores, after independence in the transport industry include Shoe Shine Bus Service, Musasiwa Bus Service, Kuwirirana Bus Service, Mhunga Bus Service, Chikozho Bus Service, Rutsvara Bus Service, the list goes on. Many of these businesses collapsed upon the death of the founder. Therefore this study seeks to analyze factors that affect the longevity of family businesses in Zimbabwe and lessons that can be learned from their demise.