Research Article Published 5 January 2025

Succession Planning for Organisational Survival: Challenges and Recommendations

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Muhamad Azmi, M. ‘Abdin S., Ibrahim, M. A. A., Mohd Shukor, M. S. H., Abdul Rahim, A. A. I., Puteh, F., & Ahmad Kamal, A. N. (2025). Succession Planning for Organisational Survival: Challenges and Recommendations. Journal of Business Management and Accounting, 15(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.32890/jbma2025.15.1.1
Muhamad ‘Abdin Syakirin Muhamad Azmi
Faculty of Administrative Science and Public Policy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
Muhammad Alif Asyraf Ibrahim
Faculty of Administrative Science and Public Policy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
Muhammad Shukry Hakimi Mohd Shukor
Faculty of Administrative Science and Public Policy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
Abdul Amir Ikhwan Abdul Rahim
Faculty of Administrative Science and Public Policy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
Fadilah Puteh
Faculty of Administrative Science and Public Policy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
Alia Nadhirah Ahmad Kamal
Faculty of Language Studies and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kelantan, Malaysia
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Abstract

Succession planning is an important component of organisational strategy because it assures leadership continuity and preserves institutional knowledge. In an era of fast change and unpredictability, an organisation's capacity to plan for and manage leadership changes is critical to its long-term survival and success. This study discusses the issues of succession planning and provides advice for
overcoming them to ensure organisational resilience. This paper employs a scoping review conducted to investigate the existing literature on challenges and recommendations in succession planning for organisational survival in the era of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) so that organisations can prepare to deal with human capital in the VUCA world effectively. The process of gathering data for this scoping review involves looking up articles on Google Scholar, web of science and Scopus through which 15 articles have been identified to be relevant. The challenges of succession planning are then explored in detail, including the talent development and retention, cultural and generational differences and resistance to change and institutionalisation. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities associated with succession planning, along with practical recommendations for organisations’ effective succession strategies which promote their strategic goals and enhance their resilience in the face of change.

Keywords
Generation gap organisational survival succession planning talent management

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DOI · 10.32890/jbma2025.15.1.1
OpenAlex · W6889932698

References

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