Martínez-Sanchis, PaulaAragón Amonarriz, CristinaIturrioz Landart, Cristina2025-10-292025-10-292020-12Martínez-Sanchis, P., Aragón-Amonarriz, C., & Iturrioz-Landart, C. (2020). How the Pygmalion Effect operates in intra-family succession: shared expectations in family SMEs. European Management Journal, 38(6), 914-926. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EMJ.2020.04.0050263-237310.1016/J.EMJ.2020.04.005https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14454/4133The Pygmalion Effect is a case of the self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby the expectations of leaders influence the performance of followers (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009; Rosenthal, 1993). Intra-family succession processes, which are hardly ever formalised in small- and medium-sized family enterprises, provide a natural context to explore the perceptions that predecessors have about their successors and where the Pygmalion Effect is expected to occur. However, little is known about how a predecessor's expectations can affect intra-family firm succession processes. Based on qualitative interviews with key family and non-family members, expectations were analysed in four in-depth case studies of intra-family SME succession processes. The findings show that the Pygmalion Effect operates over time and embraces incumbent, successor, and key stakeholders’ expectations, which support the new leader when facing succession-related challenges.eng© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reservedExpectationsFamily firmsIntra-family successionPygmalion effectjournal article2025-10-29