Where does succession collide?

The gradual, directional change in the species that make up a biological community over time, especially the recovery that follows a disturbance such as a fire, flood, or clearing: bare or damaged ground is first taken by hardy pioneer species, which are then replaced in a fairly predictable order until a relatively stable climax community forms. Connell and Slatyer's 1977 Mechanisms of succession in natural communities and their role in community stability and organization set out three models, facilitation, tolerance, and inhibition, for how one set of species gives way to the next. Here the referent is the turnover of living species on a patch of ground, not the passing of an estate to heirs, the handover of a political office, or the grooming of a company's next leaders.[1]

Unit

One community's species turnover on a patch, from pioneers toward a climax

Recovery means

Central to the meaning: after a disturbance the community reassembles step by step toward a climax state

Measured by

Tracked by sampling species composition and abundance in permanent plots or along a chronosequence over years

The passing of a dead person's property, rights, and obligations to those who survive them, governed by the rules of wills where there is a valid testament and by the rules of intestacy where there is not. The law fixes who inherits, in what shares, and how the estate is transferred and administered. Reid, de Waal, and Zimmermann's 2011 Comparative Succession Law examines how different legal systems handle this transmission, from the formalities of making a will to the protection of close family. Here the referent is the legal transfer of a deceased individual's estate, not the turnover of species in a habitat, the handover of a political office, or a firm's plan for its next executives.[2]

Unit

One estate passing to heirs under a will or the rules of intestacy

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Established through probate: the will, the inventory of the estate, and the distribution recorded by a court or registry

The process and rules by which control of a political office or leadership passes from one holder to the next, whether by election, hereditary line, appointment, or seizure. Settled systems have accepted procedures for the handover, while others face succession crises when no agreed rule exists. Brownlee's 2007 Hereditary succession in modern autocracies studies when and why rulers pass power to relatives and how the chosen method affects a regime's durability. Here the referent is the transfer of public authority between leaders, examined without endorsing any party or system, not the change of species in a community, the passing of a private estate, or a company's leadership pipeline.[3]

Unit

One handover of a political office from one holder to the next

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Studied through the rules of transfer, the timing and manner of handovers, and their effect on regime stability

The organizational process of identifying and developing people who can fill an organization's key roles, above all the chief executive, so that leadership can pass smoothly when a post falls vacant. It covers both the planned pipeline of candidates and the actual event of replacing a senior leader. Kesner and Sebora's 1994 review Executive succession: Past, present and future drew together decades of research on how firms manage the departure and replacement of top managers and what follows for performance. Here the referent is a firm's deliberate management of its future leaders, not the natural turnover of species, the legal transfer of an estate, or the passing of a political office.[4]

Unit

One firm's pipeline and handover for a key leadership role

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed by the presence of succession plans, whether the successor is drawn from inside or outside, and post-succession firm performance