TITLE:
Succession Planning Strategies for Inclusive Leadership and Market Competitiveness
AUTHORS:
Cara L. Miller, Kim A. Critchlow
KEYWORDS:
Succession Planning, Leadership Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Pipelines, Organizational Competitiveness
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.4,
July
7,
2026
ABSTRACT: Ineffective leadership development and succession planning pose significant risks to an organization’s stability by weakening daily operations, limiting long-term growth, and increasing financial instability. Business leaders who endeavor and fail to improve leadership development and succession planning may find their businesses facing instability as a result. Grounded in succession planning theory, this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project sought to identify and explore effective succession-planning strategies used by business leaders to ensure a diverse leadership team and maintain market competitiveness. The participants were 10 business leaders who implemented effective succession planning strategies. Data was collected through semistructured interviews and secondary data from publicly available sources. Using thematic analysis, four themes were identified: 1) strategic leadership development and mentorship, 2) intentional diversity and inclusion in leadership pipelines, 3) organizational alignment and governance support, and 4) measurement and continuous improvement of succession planning. A key recommendation is for business leaders to include leadership development in succession planning to sustain the leadership pipeline, and diversity and inclusivity to strengthen organizational decision-making, enhance innovation, and improve the organization’s ability to respond to changing market conditions. The implications for positive social change include the potential for business leaders to develop leadership talent from underrepresented groups and contribute to economic stability within communities by maintaining organizational sustainability and reducing disruptions.