We hypothesize that the succession intentions are positively associated with family business exposure and that this relationship is mediated by affective commitment. We further argue that the family business exposure-affective commitment relationship is enhanced by being son and first born. To test our hypotheses we draw from the 2013 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students Survey (GUESSS), a survey of university students from 33 countries. We focus on a sample of 16,576 students with family business background. Our findings indicate that family business exposure has a negative direct effect on succession intentions, but also a positive indirect effect through affective commitment. Additionally, being a female offspring weakens the positive relationship between family business exposure and affective commitment. In essence, we find that intergenerational relationships are critically important in offspring succession intentions, and that there are gender effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.