Purpose – The strategic management literature emphasizes the importance of organizational knowledge, especially in terms of maintaining competitive advantage. To pay attention on organizational knowledge is over time a critical issue, especially in the phase of generational change, where the replacement of the entrepreneur can cause a leakage of knowledge that could invalidate the process of value creation. It’s necessary to avoid the leak of knowledge across the organization’s boundaries (Brown and Duguid, 2000, Coles et al., 2006). The paper aims to identify the ways used by some entrepreneurs to manage knowledge leakage in family businesses, during the process of generational change. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the explorative nature of this study, the paper follows a qualitative research design using different organization cases. Some local important firms involved in the generational change are interested. The purpose of each interview was to determine how each organization manages and controls knowledge leakage in the generational change. Originality/value – The paper contributes to improve understanding of the impact and ways in which entrepreneurs in family businesses manage knowledge leakage. We think also that this methodology could put in evidence some interesting elements that can contribute to reducing the leakage of knowledge in the complex process of generational succession in SMEs. Practical implications – The outcome of this study provide implications for future research on the role and the impact of knowledge leakage in the growth of family firms specifically linked to the stage of generational change; in addition, it’s possible to suggest and test the empirical tools that can be used in organizations, in order to avoid or manage knowledge leakage.