In the Sous region of central Morocco, a group of family-led businesses have established a prominent position within the fabric of the national economy. However, these enterprises suffer from the acute problem of possible disintegration and failure as they transition from purely family-led into a bureaucratically organized productive enterprise. The main question that guided this research, and leaned on leadership theory, involves the sociological characteristics of leadership in these enterprises and the challenges they face in moving from family to institutional leadership, that is, from the founding family leader to the director of the institution, and the implications for leadership culture, practices and prospects in the Moroccan economic sphere.