This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, on the condition that users give exact credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if they made any changes. Succession Planning and Survival of Selected Family Businesses in Benue State, Nigeria Terwase Richard Agwa  Department of Business Administration, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi-Nigeria Abstract: The study investigated the effect of succession planning on the survival of selected family businesses in Benue State, Nigeria. The study examined the extent to which successor selection has effect on survival of family businesses and the extent to which successor training affects the survival of family businesses. The study adopted a survey research design and primary data were collected using self- administered questionnaire. The population of the study consists of 82 selected family-owned businesses in Benue State. The study used a census sampling approach and the entire population was considered as the sample size. Data collected from the participants were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation and multiple regression) with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 23). The study found that successor selection has a positive significant effect on the survival of family businesses in Benue State (β= 0.544; p<0.05). The study also revealed that successor training has a positive significant effect on the survival of family businesses in Benue State (β= 0.208; p<0.05). The study recommended amongst others that family business owners in Benue State should have a business policy that will guide in the successor selection process to enable succession planning to be successful in their businesses. Keywords: succession planning, family business, successor selection, successor training. Introduction The survival of a business organisation in a dynamic and competitive environment is influenced by the ability of the organisation to learn how to adapt to the environment and take full advantage of its resources (Akani, 2015). Family-owned businesses around the world play a significant role in emerging and developed economies through their contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment generation and wealth creation (Okoh, Worlu, Oyewunmi & Falola, 2021). Family owned businesses strive to not only remain successful through profit maximization, market position and other determinants of business success but they also strive in the continuity of transitioning management and ownership from one generation to the next. Long-term survival is therefore one of the most critical concerns for family businesses, and this hinges on how leaders manage the succession planning process (Judd, 2017). Family businesses are firms that are run by the founder, are owned and managed by at least one family member, and are expected to be passed down to the next generation (LeCounte, 2022). Membership of family business could include sons, daughters, wives, husbands, grandchildren, Suggested Citation Suggested Citation: Agwa, T.R. (2023). Succession Planning and Survival of Selected Family Businesses in Benue State, Nigeria. European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, 1(4), 315-324. DOI: 10.59324/ejtas.2023.1(4).30