It's about keeping it in the family
The local research will be part of a national survey by Praxity, the global alliance of independent accountancy and business advice firms, and the International Centre for Families in Business.
Richard Frost, managing partner at Sheffield-based chartered accountants Hawsons, a UK member of Praxity, said: "We know from previous surveys that transition to the next generation is a major issue for family businesses. "The research will discover how they are structuring their ownership and management succession plans and explore just how the family business community is tackling this very difficult subject."
The research will be based on case studies and the results will be published later this year.
Mr Frost added: "The family business model is still the most prevalent model of business in the UK."