This article addresses the problem of succession in family farms in a context of generational change. Family businesses are characterized by their long-term orientation and by having a positive effect through environmental goals that remain in place generation after generation. The general increase in average age among farmers is seen as a barrier to more sustainable land use, and the survival of family farming therefore depends on the availability of a successor in the family. Socioemotional wealth (hereafter, SEW) is understood as the affective endowment of family members. This study adopts the SEW dimensions conceptually validated to analyse the effects of psychological and socioeconomic factors on potential successors’ intentions. The results of a survey administered to students attending agricultural schools in Catalonia show that intentions to assume the management and ownership of the family farm increase in line with individuals’ interest in creating their own business, their ability to take over the farm, and their emotional inclination to continue the family legacy. In addition, SEW was measured in relation to the potential successor and not the incumbent, as has typically been the case in previous work, bringing this important research subject as a principal actor. Finally, an empirical validation of a short FIBER scale, i.e., REI scale, was obtained that relates individuals’ intentions to succeed the family farm to the socioemotional wealth of business families, testing suitability of the REI scale as a measure of intention to succeed.

This study examines the effects of different intrinsic and extrinsic-to-potential successors’ factors on the willingness of potential successors of family farms to continue training in the future. Building on socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory and a knowledge-based view, we consider the potential successors’ (yet students in agricultural schools) perspectives, and conceptually and empirically examine whether they believe intrinsic factors, namely, their own personal interest and willingness to create a new business, as well as extrinsic factors, namely, confidence in farm viability and the fact that they have been instituted as successors, influence their willingness to continue training in the future. Our unique data on 156 students enrolled in agricultural schools in Catalonia (Spain) reveal that while intrinsic factors increase potential successors’ tendency toward continuous training, extrinsic ones, contrary to our expectations, do not. These findings address an important practical issue in terms of family farm successors’ perceptions, offering contributions to agriculture, family business in general, and family firm succession literature in particular.

In a challenging work environment, entrepreneurship orientation (hereafter, EO) can be an important asset for university students. In this study, we investigated the EO and concerns about the future of B.A. students, focusing on the role of mindfulness levels. A total of 204 students, including those coming from family businesses (hereafter, FB), were asked about their intention of creating their own business and future concerns with an ad hoc questionnaire, and about their mindfulness levels with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. The results showed no differences in concerns about the future between those students coming from a family business and those who did not. However, in that group of students who were uncertain about starting a business career, a negative association between mindfulness and future concerns was found. This paper sheds light on the relationship between mindfulness and concerns about the future in Business Administration (hereafter, B.A.) students, concluding that, in the face of uncertainty, higher levels of mindfulness help to reduce concerns about the future. Finally, we indicate the relevance of this study for entrepreneurs, family business members, policymakers and B.A. Faculties and Business schools.

A significant part of the world economy is devoted to agriculture. The sector accounts for 27% of global employment and 4% of global GDP. Approximately 28.5 million farms are located in Europe and Latin America. In this sector, many uncertainties negatively impact farmers’ mental and emotional well-being. Many factors contribute to increased stress and a worsening of farmers’ mental health, including health problems resulting from the conducting their profession, economic uncertainty, the effects of climate change, and technological changes in the agricultural sector. Despite the existence of literature review studies related to mental health in agriculture, no bibliometric review study has been conducted. This article presents the first in-depth bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on mental health in agriculture and operates based on Scopus and Web of Science databases. The results are presented as tables and explanatory diagrams describing the findings. The findings show the exponential increase in research in the last ten years and the evolution towards more social and health-related topics across the previous five years. The most common keywords are “suicide”, “stress”, and “depression”. No topic has been found where the current scientific production was significantly larger than the rest, indicating the wide variety of research sub-topics in this field.

Las cooperativas agrarias de Catalunya se caracterizan por tener una extraordinaria longevidad, siendo más de una cuarta parte de las mismas las que han alcanzado el siglo de supervivencia y funcionamiento (Anuari Socioeconòmic de la Federació de Cooperatives Agràries de Catalunya, FCAC, 2022, 2021 y 2020). A pesar de esta perdurabilidad, estas organizaciones se han visto obligadas a afrontar importantes cambios (evolución del sector agrario, cambios de los gustos de los consumidores, exigencias gubernamentales, mecanización y modernización del sector agrario), así como dar respuesta a dificultades estructurales como la dimensión, el envejecimiento y la renovación generacional, entre otros.Como una estructura fundamental de la Economía Social, las cooperativas desarrollan su actividad bajo las premisas de los valores y principios cooperativos, convirtiéndose en actores esenciales en el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) (Villaescusa, 2019) aprobados en el marco de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas en septiembre de 2015. Refiriéndose a las cooperativas agroalimentarias, Mozas y Bernal (2020) las destacan como aquellas entidades que constituyen la columna vertebral de la Economía Social, representando uno de los instrumentos básicos del desarrollo rural (Gallego, 2007).La propuesta que realizamos en este trabajo es la siguiente: el cooperativismo agrario muestra una longevidad que requiere de un análisis pormenorizado a fin de determinar los elementos que contribuyen a la misma y que, de una forma tácita contribuye al cumplimiento de algunos de los ODS (4, 9, 12, 16 y 17). Para conseguir estos objetivos de investigación, utilizamos la Teoría del Capital de Bourdieu (1986).

Family businesses are considered complex organizations where emotional and management challenges need to be faced. This is even more difficult when time of succession arrives and the new members are expected to engage with the business. In this study, a total of 204 university students were asked about their present and future situation regarding the family business. Mindfulness levels were also evaluated using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. There were no significant mindfulness level differences between students who pertained to a family business and those who did not. In the first group, however, those students who were sure about their future in the family business, and had more motivation about it, obtained higher scores on the mindfulness scale as well as being more satisfied with their social relationships. It could be concluded that certainty and motivation about their future in a family business of young family business members correlates with higher mindfulness levels and social well-being.