Purpose

Given the limited understanding of the process of transgenerational entrepreneurship and that knowledge is a fundamental antecedent of entrepreneurial endeavors, this study aims to shed light on how entrepreneurial families (EFs) nurture entrepreneurship across generations, which knowledge is required within the EF to spur new entrepreneurial activities, and how is this knowledge acquired.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering the paucity of empirical evidence on the topic under investigation and the related exploratory nature of this study, the authors adopted a qualitative approach by conducting a case study on an Italian wine-making family business.

Findings

The case analysis reveals that EF members are required to acquire different types of knowledge at different generational stages to spur new entrepreneurial activities, specifically technical knowledge in the second generation and business knowledge in the third generation. Moreover, the data analysis shows two mechanisms, namely, trust among generations and role separation, that, during both generational transitions, enabled and empowered the younger generations to exploit their knowledge to explore entrepreneurial opportunities and engage in new entrepreneurial activities.

Originality/value

This study provides novel insights into the role of knowledge in transgenerational entrepreneurship, particularly looking at knowledge acquired by EF members across generations. Accordingly, this research contributes to the literature streams of transgenerational entrepreneurship, knowledge management in family businesses and broader knowledge management research.

中文翻译：

---

基于知识的跨代创业视角：揭示家族企业跨代知识动态

目的

鉴于对跨代创业过程的了解有限，并且知识是创业努力的基本前提，本研究旨在阐明创业家庭（EF）如何培育跨代创业精神，以及EF内部需要哪些知识来刺激新的创业精神。活动，以及如何获得这些知识。

设计/方法论/途径

考虑到所调查主题的经验证据的缺乏以及本研究的相关探索性，作者采用了定性方法，对一家意大利酿酒家族企业进行了案例研究。

发现

案例分析表明，EF成员在不同代际阶段需要获取不同类型的知识来激发新的创业活动，特别是第二代的技术知识和第三代的商业知识。此外，数据分析显示了两种机制，即代际信任和角色分离，在两次代际过渡期间，使年轻一代能够利用他们的知识探索创业机会并参与新的创业活动。

原创性/价值

这项研究为知识在跨代创业中的作用提供了新颖的见解，特别是考察了 EF 成员跨代获得的知识。因此，这项研究有助于跨代创业、家族企业知识管理和更广泛的知识管理研究的文献流。