Reflexes of the unemployment on micro and small enterprises succession

This article deals with succession in small family companies. Its basic objective is the investigation of the successors' profile and the reasons that lead them wrapping up in succession process. The base of this study was a research accomplished in the beginning of September 2004 in Sao Jose dos Campos - Sao Paulo, where data gathering was made among successors of companies with monthly revenues close to R$ 10.000,00 (ten thousand reais), and also that had gone through a succession process in the previous five years. It was verified that national economical environment, with high unemployment indexes, has been greatly contributing to the formation of the successors' profile in these companies.