Social Capital (SC) is a valuable intangible resource and can help generating a competitive advantage. Yet, it remains unclear how SC is transferred in family firms during succession events, especially to non-family successors. This study addresses this void and investigates the handover of SC in German family firms from the predecessor to intra-family and non-family successors. Applying an inductive qualitative approach, we analyze data from 19 semi-structured interviews, and develop a framework on the handover of SC along five phases from before the entrance of the successor until the management of SC. We assign the different phases of the handover of SC to the stages before, during, and after succession, and highlight differences and similarities in the handover between intra-family and non-family successions. Our findings extend understanding the handover of SC beyond intra-family successors, and provide first insights into the mechanisms of the transfer of SC in non-family successions.
