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Challenge versus Advantage in Family Business
... Any misconduct by the firm is then attributed to the controlling family since family member involvement indicates family authorization. Detection may greatly damage the image of the family as being trustworthy and hurt their relationships with existing and potential stakeholders, including investors, debtholders, customers, suppliers, and regulators (Martin et al., 2016;Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003;Zellweger et al., 2013). ...
... On the one hand, any accrual-based earnings management in one period must reverse in another period (Dechow et al., 2012), so earnings management can be detrimental to firms' long-term performance (Wang, 2006). On the other hand, the detection of earnings management can endanger existing stakeholders' perception of the controlling family as trustworthy (Martin et al., 2016;Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), and this reputation damage will spill over to any other business of the family (Deephouse & Jaskiewicz, 2013;Zellweger et al., 2013). ...
We examine the effect of nonfamily leadership in family firms, whereby family members do not act as either a board chair or a CEO, on corporate earnings management. We find that firms with nonfamily leadership conduct significantly more earnings management than firms with family leadership, although this effect can be alleviated by more effective internal control and a stronger reputation concern. Additional analyses show that the increased related-party transactions can be one mechanism through which the nonfamily leadership increases earnings management. We further find that nonfamily leaders in family firms are on average weaker but receive higher (excess) payment than their peers in nonfamily firms, all consistent with the role of the nonfamily member as a marionette for the family’s misbehaviors. Moreover, earnings management increases with the degree of family noninvolvement and is mainly driven by nonfamily chairs rather than the CEOs. Overall, our paper suggests that not having a family leader aggravates incentives for the controlling family to manage earnings to realize private benefits.
... Issues related to family businesses are also important because research on their role in the economy shows that they account for 75-95% of all businesses and account for around 65% of world GDP. Nevertheless, most of them are small businesses, accounting for half of U.S. GDP and wages paid, and their role in employment is 80% (Miller et al., 2003;Winter et al., 2004;Miller et al., 2006;Casson et al., 2009). According to research in the European Union, the share of family businesses is 70-80%, while their share of employment is 40-50%. ...
... They are characterized by commitment, long-term thinking, ownershipmanagerial role in decision-making, striving to stay in business, keeping distance from external managers, the risk-averse nature of 122 members, the constant role of conflict in business, the blurring of business and family responsibilities, paternalism and inadequate communication (Leach, 2009;Davies -Ma, 2003;Aronoff, 2004;Miller -Le Breton -Miller, 2003;Astrachan, 2010;Koiranen, 2002;Phan -Butler, 2008;Cole, 2000;Brenes et al., 2006). However, it is important to point out that the listed features appear in all areas of family businesses, in some cases as advantages and in others as disadvantages. ...
Cieľom príspevku je návrh nových spôsobov merania výkonnosti podniku, ktoré môžu byť východiskom tvorby inovačných zámerov a zohľadňujú špecifická rodinného podnikania. Objektom skúmania je rodinný podnik drevospracujúceho priemyslu, v ktorom sú aplikované metódy merania výkonnosti zamerané na analýzu konkurencie (benchmarking) a metódy, pomocou ktorých je možné hodnotiť zlepšovanie v čase (náklady na kvalitu, BSC). V príspevku sú využité nasledovné metódy: analýza, syntéza, indukcia, dedukcia, komparácia, opytovacia metóda a matematicko-štatistické metódy. Prínosom príspevku je posúdenie významu týchto metód pre tvorbu inovačných zámerov v budúcnosti.
... 18. 'You are angels': understanding the entanglement of family and enterprise in an early-stage family-run coworking space INTRODUCTION Academic research on family enterprises reflects the idea that running a successful enterprise, and adhering to family roles, are at odds with one another. The literature warns, for example, that family-owned enterprises must be careful not to be absorbed by family dynamics (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003) or have the business-ownership scattered over too many family members (Lubatkin, Schulze, & Dino, 2003). The literature also states that family enterprises have a strong tendency towards altruistic behaviour, which can also result in actions that damage the enterprise, specifically when such altruistic behaviour focuses on the benefit of other family members instead of the long-term success of the enterprise (Siebels & Knyphausen-Aufseß, 2012). ...
... The literature also states that family enterprises have a strong tendency towards altruistic behaviour, which can also result in actions that damage the enterprise, specifically when such altruistic behaviour focuses on the benefit of other family members instead of the long-term success of the enterprise (Siebels & Knyphausen-Aufseß, 2012). Although there are conflicting ideas (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003) about the advantages and disadvantages of family-owned enterprises (which make up between 65 and 90 percent of all businesses in the world; Salvato, Chirico, Melin, & Seidl, 2019), the common denominator is that there is a separation or boundary between the realm of the family and the realm of the enterprise. Family and enterprise are understood as separate entities or domains, each with their own aims and rules. ...
In this chapter, we investigate a mother and daughter running a coworking space together. By adopting the Andreas Reckwitz’ definition of practices as inherently affective, we are able to look at actions as carrying cultural meaning beyond and apart from agents’ intentions.
By doing so, we are able to focus on the affective nature of social practices, in order to show the entanglement of the ‘doing’ of entrepreneurship, and the ‘doing’ of family.
... For instance, if a given entrepreneur has access to or has the amount of capital necessary to start and sustainably manage a company, this resource can translate into an assetor a challenge if the opposite conditions exist. The same result is true for the quality of that entrepreneur's management skills (Miller and Breton Miller, 2003). ...
... Entrepreneurship is a complex set of actions that involves multiple conditions that can facilitate start-ups or translate into real challenges. Some examples of these advantages or disadvantages are the availability and quantity of financial or equity resources (Caliendo et al., 2020), access to the necessary capital and entrepreneurs' training and skills (Miller and Breton Miller, 2003). In the case of neo-rural entrepreneurship, regional factors must also be considered as they significantly affect new businesses' survival (Fritsch et al., 2006). ...
Purpose
This study sought to fill a gap in the literature by examining the dynamics of neo-rural small entrepreneurs’ business activities as little research has been done on these individuals. The research was conducted in three of Portugal’s low density territories (i.e. Miranda do Douro, Penamacor and Aljezur), focusing on understanding these outsider entrepreneurs’ main motivations and challenges after they decide to leave the city to settle in rural areas and become small business owners.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected in semi-structured interviews with 26 neo-rural entrepreneurs. The multiple-case study method was applied to assess the differences and similarities between the interviewees and their respective contexts. NVivo 11.0 software was used to conduct content analysis.
Findings
The results reveal that rural environments appear to attract these new entrepreneurs for various reasons, such as taking advantage of business opportunities, searching for a better quality of life and responding to family needs. The multiple motives contributing to the need for change and entrepreneurship fit well within social cognitive theory. However, these individuals subsequently experience difficulties related mainly to a lack of infrastructure, little preexisting knowledge, a need for financial capital and the absence of the right workforce.
Originality/value
The findings on the experiences, difficulties and challenges of neo-rural entrepreneurs constitute new contributions because few existing studies have concentrated on migration and/or immigration entrepreneurship in rural contexts. The results can serve as a starting point for other similar studies.
... Still another challenges of Family business is lack of capital since most family's capital are been offset by family issues which grow geometrically while that of business grow arithmetically [17]. The authors also highlighted factors such as fear, sickness, and death of family members especially the leader, lack of professional management. ...
Recent studies have studied many aspects of business organization, the area of family business and succession planning have been virtually neglected in Nigeria. The present study aims at examining the intricacies of family business and succession planning based on conceptual consideration. Based on our review, the paper established that family business are characterized with informal structures, management sentiment and poor transition process. However, our study highlighted that the poor transition in business succession is limited when there is management succession planning, leadership succession planning and ownership succession planning. Thus, founders of family businesses need to provide formal ground for better succession planning and decision making.
... Aynı zamanda aileye, büyük ölçüde ailenin sosyo-duygusal zenginliğin faydalarına dayanan ailenin ihtiyaçları ve tercihleri ile uyumlu kararlar alma özerkliği verir (Debicki vd. 2020, 4 Breton-Miller (2003) Bir ailenin yönetim kurulu yapısını belirleyecek mülkiyete sahip olduğu, üst yönetici ve en az bir diğer yöneticinin aile üyesi olarak yer aldığı ve işletmenin yeni nesile devrinin amaçlandığı yapılardır. (s.127) Barth, Gulbrandsen, ve Schønea (2005) Aile işletmesi, kurucu aile veya kurucu olan bir aile üyesi tarafından yönetilen bir işletmelerdir. ...
In this research, the active role of the awareness regarding beliefs and values that are effective when family businesses -which carry great importance in the Turkish and glocal economy- are adopting a sustainable business approach, and the concept of socioemotional wealth (SEW), which is perceived as the non-economical values attained by the family due to its controlling position in the business, was examined. At the same time, the research has focused on heterogeneity in family businesses, dwelling on the concepts of competitive advantage and sustainable life, which are especially effective in shaping the situation of family businesses are an important source of entrepreneurship. Based on the results of literature research regarding the subject, in this research, the conceptual characteristics, innovation capabilities, competitive advantages and sustainable lives of family businesses operating in İstanbul in varying sizes from small enterprises to medium-sized enterprises and even large global enterprises were examined; 193 questionnaires were evaluated in line with the data received from İstanbul Chamber Of Industry as the target audience. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS. As a result of the analysis, it has been seen that while SEW has a positive and meaningful effect on competitive advantage and sustainable business life, innovation capability has a partial mediation role. In this framework, it has been argued that SEW is a helpful construct for understanding the behavior of the family business; and as the family-related goals as reflected by SEW become more important for the business, family businesses have been shown to gain a competitive advantage with sustainable business longevity.
... Orientation toward key non-family stakeholders was measured using three items proposed for this research. According to the literature, a relational identity orientation of FFs considers their involvement in the local community, greater respect for and positive treatment of employees, and a long-term strategic focus founded on the ideals of superior products or services (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2003). Therefore, key non-family stakeholders with whom FFs are expected to develop dyadic concern and trust are primarily three: employees, consumers, and communities (Bingham et al., 2011). ...
Based on literature on stakeholder management and family firm dynamics, this research analyses the relationship between three constructs: the identification of business families with their family firms (FFs), FFs' orientation toward key non-family stakeholders (NFSs), and the achievement of better economic performance. Data analyses from 374 family and non-family members of 173 Spanish FFs show that a high level of family identification with their firms affects the orientation of FFs toward key non-family stakeholders in setting corporate goals and that this orientation will lead to higher economic performance only when it is built on family identification with the firm. Our results also show that the significance of both relationships change with the degree of family involvement in the management of the FF.
... Family Business can be defined as a business in which the operating authority of this business is the family and its members and they have great involvement in the administration or management of the business [16]. The family businesses have consistency [17] and long term survival because the family business aims to stay longer in the market. They sustain their business for the next generations despite using the all profits by them [18]. ...
This conceptual paper reviews the related literature for describing an entrepreneurial family phenomenon. The study of sustainability in the family business becomes relatively attractive because it contributes to the development of the country towards GDP, innovation, and job creations. By using a strategic entrepreneurship approach, this study trying to develop the conceptual framework for describing of sustainability of family business phenomenon. The strategic entrepreneurship approach is undeveloped to explain of business sustainability phenomenon instead of other related approaches such as economics and management theories. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically review how the elements of strategic entrepreneurship towards business sustainability which is overlooked by the previous scholars. The entrepreneurs who are an implement of strategic entrepreneurship have a significant focus not only on sustaining the competitive advantage but also on the growth and success of the ventures. In this century, financial and global crises highlight some questions towards a sustainable business model. In response to these issues, more research is required for developing a sustainable model for business. Despite a lot of work in the family business, the strategic entrepreneurship model with the sustainability of the family business is unexplored. The strategic entrepreneurship is immature to describe business sustainability in previous studies.
... Specifically, family businesses are able to differentiate their brand from that of their competitors by mindfully leveraging their history (Suddaby, Foster, & Trank, 2010;Labaki, Bernhard, & Cailluet, 2019), their "familiness" and entrepreneurial heritage (Miller, Steier, & Le Breton-Miller., 2016), as well as their family values (Blombäck and Botero, 2013). On one hand, the strategic mobilisation of these elements facilitates family businesses in gaining "acceptance by broader communities, building a reputation of continuity, and inspiring innovation through tradition" (Ge et al., 2022, p. 225); on the other hand, it helps to obtain strategic advantages by being associated with trust of and commitment to external stakeholders (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003). To thoroughly investigate FBB identity, recent studies (Astrachan et al., 2018;Casprini et al., 2020) mobilised Urde and Greyser's (2016) seminal brand identity framework and adapted it to the family business context with the aim to investigate the unique elements and dynamics of the FBB identity (Casprini et al., 2020). ...
Drawing upon the thriving brand co-creation perspective, our study explores the co-creation of family business brand (FBB) meanings with external stakeholders. Through a mixed method analysis that combines structural topic modelling and interpretative grounded theorizing, we analyse 12,039 newspaper articles, covering a period of 30 years, to show how journalists co-created intended and unintended family business brand meanings. Our findings reveal seven unique FBB discourses, and a set of five discursive strategies (echoing, educating, narrativizing, unveiling and reframing) embedded in two discursive mechanisms (FBB meanings consolidation and FBB meanings unravelling) that journalists actuate in their press coverage of family businesses. Thus, our paper contributes to the family business and brand co-creation literatures theorizing and contextualizing the role of an overlooked actor in the FBB ecosystem, promotes a way to methodologically apply big-data-friendly analysis in the family business field, and offers managerial implications.
... vállalkozások döntő többsége családi vállalkozásként működik, Magyarországon sem korábban, sem jelenleg nem zajlik olyan átfogó és rendszeres hivatalos statisztikai adatgyűjtés, amely megbízható eredményekkel szolgálna a családi cégek arányáról (Miller et al., 2003;Winter et al., 2004;Miller et al., 2006;Casson, 2009;Mandl, 2008). A 2000-es évek elejétől a magyar családi vállalkozások öntudata egyre erősödött, ennek egyértelmű jele volt, hogy két, napjainkban is aktív családi vállalkozásokat tömörítő civil, elsősorban egymás közötti tudásmegosztásra és érdekképviseletre koncentráló szervezet is megalakult. ...
Annak ellenére, hogy a családi vállalkozásokat a világ számos gazdaságában kiemelt fontosságú szereplőnek tekintik, Magyarországon sokáig hiányzott az ezen cégekre irányuló kiemelt figyelem. Jelen tanulmány összefoglalja a családi vállalkozás kutatás magyarországi előzményeit, beleértve a témához kapcsolódó tudományos publikációk számának alakulását, módszertani megközelítését és tematikai fókuszát. A szerzők áttekintik továbbá a Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetemen az elmúlt években zajló, családi vállalkozásokat vizsgáló kutatásokat, valamint bemutatják a Családi Vállalkozás Kutatási Program céljait és legfontosabb tudományos és tudományhasznosítás területén elért eredményeit.
... More specifically, as technological innovation drives entrepreneurship we examine how the perceived technological opportunities present in the family firm environment affect firm entrepreneurship (Craig & Salvato, 2012). The importance of anti-patting, embracing and encouraging change in entrepreneurial thinking is reflected in our consideration of family members' willingness to change (Miller, 2003). In addition, Miller argues that researchers need to distinguish different types of firms when examining entrepreneurial activities, including the involvement of generations of family firms. ...
Purpose: In the growth of family companies, corporate entrepreneurship is very important for the sustainability of family companies that are managed across generations. Sustainability of family companies is more successful in implementing corporate entrepreneurship than other companies. Therefore, researchers study the influence of families on corporate entrepreneurship. This study examines why some families are better at encouraging corporate entrepreneurship in their companies than others. Design/methodology/approach: The method used in this study uses a qualitative method using a study library. A search was conducted on the Scopus database of 33 articles in publications 2005-2021 published in scientific journals included in the inclusion criteria. Findings: The results of this Systematic Mapping study can provide an overview of opportunities to explore new topics on mapping corporate entrepreneurship in family businesses. The most discussed topics are HR, strategy and organizational culture in the general industry and manufacturing sectors. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to using only one Scopus database. Practical implications: The implications of the research from a practical point of view are how this research data can be better managed in the future by researchers and professionals engaged in entrepreneurship and family businesses. Originality/value: This paper provides a clear description of the role of corporate entrepreneurship in family businesses. This brings together and maps for the first time in an integrated manner several topics related to corporate entrepreneurship in family businesses. This leads to the conclusion that topics related to corporate entrepreneurship in successful family businesses refer to the relationship between human resource management and organizational culture Paper type: Literature review
... Thus, our study confirms and emphasizes only the positive aspects of family firm identity. However, this does not allow us to determine the negative aspects mentioned in the human resource literature as a risk that human management decisions could be biased by nepotism or a low level of professionalization of the firm (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003;Tabor et al., 2018). By combining family firm theory and human resource practices, a particular downside of family firm preferences may lead job applicants to have negative feelings about family firms, which can be disruptive to the professionalization of the firm. ...
Attracting business college graduates is a major challenge for the growth and transgenerational success of family firms. Moreover, the institutional context of countries is critical in explaining family firms’ potential advantages and/or disadvantages in attracting nonfamily talent. This study aims to elucidate how communicating firm ownership (family vs. nonfamily), firm size (large vs. small), and type of job offered (professional vs. nonprofessional) influences the perceptions and attitudes of Latin American business graduates toward working in such firms. In an experimental study that uses job advertisement stimuli, we found that communicating family ownership positively influences career development’s perceptions of firm prestige. Large (vs. small) firm size also has a positive influence on job seekers’ perceptions of firms. Importantly, both firm prestige and career development positively influence the attraction of working in family firms. In this paper, we discuss the differences in the results among countries and professional versus nonprofessional job positions advertised. The results have several implications for family firm owners and managers.
... Also, businesses have to realise that some technological innovations require them to quickly adapt and rethink their organisation and management style. For instance, in family-controlled businesses, it is highly argued that they are less prone to adopt a transformational leadership and prefer a conservative one which could undermine their innovation potential (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2003;Loukil and Yousfi, 2022a). ...
Purpose: The main aim of this paper is to analyse the association between management and technological innovations. Specifically, we determine whether organisational innovations influence technological ones or vice versa.
Design/approach: This study is drawn from a sample of listed firms on the SBF120¹ index and French Community Innovation Surveys (CIS) carried out between 2004 and 2016.
Findings: Our study provides the following: First, we show that the introduction of new technological innovations could stimulate organisational changes in a firm’s structure. Second, the adoption of new management practices is likely to increase the introduction of new processes, however, it is not sufficient to favour the development of new or significantly improved products.
Research limitations/implications: We studied different types of innovations, but we have ignored other forms of non-technological innovation, such as marketing innovations. It would be interesting to analyse the interaction between marketing and technological innovations.
Practical implications: From a business perspective, we emphasise that firms should introduce new organisational methods in the firm’s business practices, workplace organisation, or external relations, and adopt managerial transformations to boost their innovation potential.
Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that looks at the dynamic character between organisational and technological innovations, especially through a longitudinal study.
¹The SBF120 index consists of the largest 120 capitalizations listed on the French stock Exchange market (SBF: Société des Bourses Françaises).
... For example, Kammerlander (2021) recently argued that even firms with low levels of family control might exhibit important family-firm characteristics and might, hence, also be somewhat oriented toward the four Cs. Yet, given the long tradition of family business research showing the salience of the four C dimensions in the family system (e.g., Barrett & Moores, 2012;Craig & Newbert, 2020;Le Breton-Miller & Miller, 2021) as well as the fact that the cognitive orientations we aimed to measure through language are, to some extent, a priori related to the structures operationalized in the manifest measure (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), we would have expected a higher and significant correlation. ...
We use data on U.S. retailers’ responses to the advent of electronic commerce to empirically examine central elements of König, Kammerlander, and Enders’ (KKE 2013) framework on how family influence affects firms’ adoption of discontinuous technologies. We operationalize family influence using: (1) a manifest dichotomous measure of (non-)family firms; (2) a manifest multi-item measure of the “four Cs”; and (3) a language-based measure of the degree to which top managers’ cognition is oriented towards the four Cs. We find that the manifest dichotomous measure is unrelated to adoption speed, but negatively linked to adoption aggressiveness. The manifest multi-item measure is associated with faster and less aggressive adoption. Finally, the language-based measure is linked to slower but more aggressive adoption. These seemingly equivocal results offer empirical reference points for reflecting on KKE’s framework, including the implications of the ability and willingness in family firms for discontinuous technology adoption. We also address the intricacies of testing conceptual research on family influence.
... From the viewpoint of potential job-seekers, the culture of a family firm is perceived as being more compassionate and benevolent than its non-family firm counterparts (Kahlert, Botero, & Prügl, 2017); this is particularly the case where the values and the vision of the owning family are embedded in the firm (Barnett, Long, & Marler, 2012;Bernhard & O'Driscoll, 2011). Most recently, Arijs et al. (2018) have shown that job seekers from the USA and Belgium perceived family firms as rather positive when it comes to trustworthiness which refutes the proposition that family firm governance elicits negative associations in the employment context (Barnett & Kellermanns, 2006;Botero, 2014;Ibrahim, Angelidis, & Parsa, 2008;Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003). ...
This study takes a fresh look at the credibility of corporate communication in family firms, as compared to corporate communication in non-family firms, in voluntary sustainability reporting. In his pioneering work Hsueh (2018) discovered that family firms suffer from a credibility disadvantage in terms of their sustainability reporting efforts, from the point of view of external stakeholders. This is called the ‘credibility gap’. This finding however is in stark contrast to the superior trust attribution of external stakeholders towards family firms in the general family firm literature. Our replication study shows that indeed, family firms do not suffer from a credibility gap compared to their non-family firm counterparts. In fact, in our experimental extension we can show that family firms, when perceived as such, are considered to be benevolent, which in turn increases the credibility of their sustainability reporting from an external perspective. Thus, contrary to the original study by Hsueh (2018), we suggest that family firms have a credibility advantage over non-family firms when it comes to their sustainability reporting. Furthermore, our results suggest that this credibility advantage remains, even when tested with specific stakeholder roles (customers, job-seekers), and that it ultimately influences their interactions with the firm positively.
... Family Business can be defined as a business in which the operating authority of this business is the family and its members and they have great involvement in the administration or management of the business [16]. The family businesses have consistency [17] and long term survival because the family business aims to stay longer in the market. They sustain their business for the next generations despite using the all profits by them [18]. ...
... A FB is defined mainly by the fact of being owned and managed by family members [21]. That means the possibility of a partnership between spouses or siblings and, importantly, across generations [22]. In this vein, Berrone et al. and Miller et al. [23,24] maintain that FBs are characterized by visible and active owners, a long-term orientation, a collective identity, and a desire for the firm to persist across generations. ...
In a challenging work environment, entrepreneurship orientation (hereafter, EO) can be an important asset for university students. In this study, we investigated the EO and concerns about the future of B.A. students, focusing on the role of mindfulness levels. A total of 204 students, including those coming from family businesses (hereafter, FB), were asked about their intention of creating their own business and future concerns with an ad hoc questionnaire, and about their mindfulness levels with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. The results showed no differences in concerns about the future between those students coming from a family business and those who did not. However, in that group of students who were uncertain about starting a business career, a negative association between mindfulness and future concerns was found. This paper sheds light on the relationship between mindfulness and concerns about the future in Business Administration (hereafter, B.A.) students, concluding that, in the face of uncertainty, higher levels of mindfulness help to reduce concerns about the future. Finally, we indicate the relevance of this study for entrepreneurs, family business members, policymakers and B.A. Faculties and Business schools.
... Family firms have long been known to develop relationships with customers and suppliers that are deeper and more enduring than those developed by non-FFs (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2005;Miller et al., 2008). Family business owners seek to maintain the long-term soundness of their business and build social capital for later generations; thus, they are found to move from a transactional link with suppliers and customers toward strong and lasting relationships (Arregle et al., 2007;Huybrechts et al., 2011;James, 2006;Lyman, 1991;Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2003). Empirical research shows that FFs are likely to have relationships with customers and suppliers that are stronger than those of non-FFs (Miller et al., 2008(Miller et al., , 2009. ...
External knowledge has been found to be vital in generating innovation. However, little is known about the conditions under which firms can benefit from utilizing specific external knowledge sources. Using the knowledge-based view as our theoretical underpinning, we empirically examine how the usage of knowledge gained from market- and science-based sources influences innovation performance differently between family and non-family firms. An analysis using panel data drawn from Belgian firms supports our hypothesis that the relationship between the use of knowledge gained from suppliers and customers and innovation outcomes is weaker for family firms than for non-family firms, while the relationship between the use of knowledge gained from universities and research institutes and innovation outcomes is stronger for family firms. This study extends the literature by revealing the role firm type (i.e., family versus non-family) plays in moderating the relationship between the use of knowledge obtained from distinct external sources and innovation performance.
... Some characteristics of family firms may negatively impact their processes to deal with a crisis (Faghfouri et al., 2015) and may even spur an organization's decline (Chirico et al., 2018). Moreover, particular causes for crisis emerge from the interconnectedness between the family and the firm, such as conflicts over succession and sibling rivalries (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2003;Kellermanns et al., 2012;Groβmann and Von Schlippe, 2015) as well as illnesses or divorces (Miller et al., 2015;Mayr and Lixl, 2019). On the other hand, however, the particularities of family firms may also foster measures and actions to turn the company around (Sirmon and Hitt, 2003;Cater and Schwab, 2008;Casillas et al., 2019). ...
Purpose
Family firms strive for transgenerational survivability. Thus, bankruptcy is a daunting event. Whether family firms fail for other causes than non-family firms has been scarcely researched and is investigated in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on a sample of 459 Austrian bankruptcy cases to examine the effects of the distinct characteristics of family firms on failure causes.
Findings
Our results indicate that family firm characteristics impact their failure, as bankruptcy causes differ from non-family firms. While family firms fail less often than non-family firms due to unqualified management and poor business-economic competencies, external bankruptcy causes, in particular bad debt and economic slowdown, are more widespread.
Practical implications
As our findings suggest that the close social bonds of family firms may become a burden in crisis situations and make them especially prone to external bankruptcy causes, owner-managers should pay more attention to the dependencies, deficiencies and risks that come with their binding social ties. Moreover, they should rely on external advice and appropriate management tools to better recognize and fend off the resulting risks.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that quantitatively examines differences in bankruptcy causes between family and non-family firms.
... Extending this rationale to the marketing field, several studies have shown that protecting the "family brand name" and leveraging a family-based brand identity help family firms develop social capital, positively influencing external stakeholder perceptions and even persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions based on the values, beliefs, and norms they attribute to family-owned businesses (Craig et al., 2008;Dyer, 2006). This, however, depends on the extent to which the family is able to personify the business (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), such that positive attributes associated with the family are similarly attributed to the business, and vice-versa. As a result, family-firm identity overlap may alter the relationship between the importance that external stakeholders attribute to the family firm brand and firm performance, meaning that some family firms are able to benefit more from their familiar nature than others. ...
This study explores the role of external audiences in determining the importance of family firm brands and the relationship with firm performance. Drawing on text mining and social network analysis techniques, and considering the brand prevalence, diversity, and connectivity dimensions, we use the semantic brand score to measure the importance the media give to family firm brands. The analysis of a sample of 52,555 news articles published in 2017 about 63 Italian entrepreneurial families reveals that brand importance is positively associated with family firm revenues, and this relationship is stronger when there is identity match between the family and the firm. This study advances current literature by offering a rich and multifaceted perspective on how external audiences perceptions of the brand shape family firm performance.
... Extending this rationale to the marketing field, several studies have shown that protecting the "family brand name" and leveraging a family-based brand identity help family firms develop social capital, positively influencing external stakeholder perceptions and even persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions based on the values, beliefs, and norms they attribute to family-owned businesses (Craig et al., 2008;Dyer, 2006). This, however, depends on the extent to which the family is able to personify the business (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), such that positive attributes associated with the family Table 1 Definition of brand importance and its components. ...
This study explores the role of external audiences in determining the importance of family firm brands and the relationship with firm performance. Drawing on text mining and social network analysis techniques, and considering the brand prevalence, diversity, and connectivity dimensions, we use the semantic brand score to measure the importance the media give to family firm brands. The analysis of a sample of 52,555 news articles published in 2017 about 63 Italian entrepreneurial families reveals that brand importance is positively associated with family firm revenues, and this relationship is stronger when there is identity match between the family and the firm. This study advances current literature by offering a rich and multifaceted perspective on how external audiences perceptions of the brand shape family firm performance.
... Consequently, the study of family firms is connected to the particularities that affect them, differing from the circumstances of non-family firms. Barnes and Hershon (1976) X X X Leach (1993) X X X X X Tagiuri and Davis (1996) X X X Ward and Dolan (1998) X X X Chua, Chrismas and Sharma (1999) X X X X Miller and Le Breton-Miller (2003) X X X X X Vélez, Holguín, De la Hoz, Durán and Gutiérrez (2008) X ...
The Latin American region is one of the territories in the world that has historically been affected by the phenomenon of social and economic inequality. The impact of this problem seriously affects organizations, considering that they are in a constant struggle to be competitive, innovative and profitable in the environment where they operate. The objective of this article is to analyze the inequality generated in social and economic terms in family businesses in Latin America, addressing the emergence of their study. Among the main findings detected is the profile of family firms, as well as the dynamics implemented in terms of policies and programs, implemented by the
governments of the nations of Latin America to confront.
Keywords: Family Firms, Social Inequalities, Economic Inequalities, Latin America.
... Extending this rationale to the marketing field, several studies have shown that protecting the "family brand name" and leveraging a family-based brand identity help family firms develop social capital, positively influencing external stakeholder perceptions and even persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions based on the values, beliefs, and norms they attribute to family-owned businesses (Craig et al., 2008;Dyer, 2006). This, however, depends on the extent to which the family is able to personify the business (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), such that positive attributes associated with the family Table 1 Definition of brand importance and its components. ...
... Extending this rationale to the marketing field, several studies have shown that protecting the "family brand name" and leveraging a family-based brand identity help family firms develop social capital, positively influencing external stakeholder perceptions and even persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions based on the values, beliefs, and norms they attribute to family-owned businesses (Craig et al., 2008;Dyer, 2006). This, however, depends on the extent to which the family is able to personify the business (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), such that positive attributes associated with the family Table 1 Definition of brand importance and its components. ...
... Extending this rationale to the marketing field, several studies have shown that protecting the "family brand name" and leveraging a family-based brand identity help family firms develop social capital, positively influencing external stakeholder perceptions and even persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions based on the values, beliefs, and norms they attribute to family-owned businesses (Craig et al., 2008;Dyer, 2006). This, however, depends on the extent to which the family is able to personify the business (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003), such that positive attributes associated with the family Table 1 Definition of brand importance and its components. ...
... There appears to be no clear consensus on the definition of a family company (Prencipe et al., 2014). A review of the family business literature surfaces three distinguishing characteristics of family businesses, which are considered in defining family business in the present study: company ownership and control; the family's active role in decisionmaking and day-to-day management; and the nurturing of family succession (Carney, 2005;Chua et al., 1999;Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2003). ...
This paper examines how dynamic capabilities evolve in relation to familiness resources in order to facilitate family business growth and the way the context underpins dynamic capabilities in the family business. Drawing on an abductive research logic, it explores through a longitudinal in-depth case study and document analysis the way that dynamic capabilities and familiness resources have been deployed by a Greek-owned international shipping company over a twenty-five-year period. The findings highlight the influences exerted by the controlling family on the searching, seizing, and reconfiguring processes within management accounting to enable the reconfiguration of familiness resources in the firm across the dimensions of product strategy, governance, networking and staffing, and financing. These reconfigurations are essential in facilitating company development throughout critical growth junctures. We provide theoretical extensions to the resource-based view (RBV) through an integration of the concept of familiness and dynamic capability view, contextualized theorization, and temporal theorization.
Knowledge transfer is essential to managing a family firm's succession. Given the importance of knowledge in family firms, this chapter identifies, through an empirical approach, which are the main organizational strategies used for sharing, disseminating, and using the knowledge available as fundamental elements for survival and the development of companies in the phase of generational succession. The authors investigate the phenomenon and verify the evidence in some private health organizations interested in the generational change located in South Italy, given the lack of previous case studies. This chapter deepens the phenomenon and its recognizability by examining with a qualitative analysis of the problems existing in those who are currently living or have experienced this particular moment of business life.
This paper looks at the socioemotional wealth (SEW) priorities to reveal how family involvement in the firms affects their use of heritage as a marketing signal, thereby leading to a corporate heritage identity. Built considering the distinction between extended and restricted family’s SEW framework, we find a direct relationship between the presence of a family CEO and the use of heritage, that is moderated by the family involvement in the board and by the generational stage. Our empirical analysis employs a quantitative approach applied to a sample of medium- and large-sized firms examined over the period from 2000 to 2016.
The main aim of this paper is to highlight if there is an interest of the younger generation towards starting a family business with members in the first or second generation. The data were collected by applying an online questionnaire in 2023 on 201 students and graduates of University of Craiova in Romania. The structure of the survey was established within the INTERGEN international project and follows the intentions of youngsters in time, by applying the survey each year. The results show that even if there is an interest in starting a business, the respondents would prefer to be independent and not be too linked with their families. The findings are useful for academic management in orienting the curricula towards the interests exhibited by young generations, but also for adjusting national strategies meant to support small businesses.
Family businesses, owing to their unique blend of family dynamics and business operations, often face distinctive hurdles that can significantly impact their sustainability and growth. This qualitative study delves into the multifaceted challenges that confront family business leaders, as seen through the eyes of family business owners, which is a missing aspect in the extant literature database. Through in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, this study aims to shed light on the key challenges family business leaders encounter. The findings of the study reveal that the family business leaders have challenges related to the succession planning, financial management, conflict resolution, communication breakdown, governance, HRM, and the evolving business environment in the day-to-day business operation. These findings further echoed the need for a personalized approach and support systems to face the challenges and to be successful in the long run. These results not only contribute to the existing literature related to the management of family business, but also provide a very practical use to the practitioners in increasing the strength of both the family and business while operating within the context with such complexity.
This research analyses how Strategic Planning impacts the organizational resilience in Family Firm. Several contributions show that succession planning in FF has become a particularly sensitive topic over time, where the actors involved had to redefine roles and relations, especially during their generational succession like the moment of the greatest crisis in a firm's life. Theorists and researchers agree that the continuity of businesses from one generation to the next depends highly on succession planning. To achieve this aim, the significance and impact of resilience during this phase is analyzed and discussed in this chapter to offer new insight and perspective to the studies of resilience in FFs.
This book highlights the latest research on responsible business and its pratical implications for the economy, society, academia, and politics. It presents selected contributions from respected scholars and experts who have conducted international research on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ethics, corporate governance, finance, and responsible investing.
Mandatory approach to board simply means that a board is a product of regulation and voluntary approach to board just provides general principles to be considered when forming a board. But so far, the existing literature has not yet clearly established the approach for determining the ideal size of a board. This study tries to fill this gap by discussing the core capital approach to the board using small banks in Indonesia known as People’s Credit Banks (PCBs) as a case study. The aims of this study are to analyze the significant contributions of the core capital approach as a theoretical framework toward PCBs’ board and, practically, to evaluate the level of PCBs’ compliance with their board structures based on their core capital and to identify the barriers that prevent PCBs from complying with the required board structures. Applying a mixture of legal doctrinal research and in-depth interviews with key participants from Indonesian Financial Services Authority (IFSA) and the chairperson of National PCBs Associations, this research revealed that theoretically, the core capital approach provides a useful framework as well as a strategic model that significantly contributes to the establishment of a PCBs’ board. However, practically, this research also indicated that PCBs are not yet in compliance with their board structures due to several fundamental barriers. This study also sought to provide some recommendations to overcome the barriers.KeywordsPeople’s Credit BanksCore capitalBoardStructureCompliance
2022 októberében a Budapesti Gazdasági Egyetem, Pénzügyi és Számviteli Karán Településmarketing kutatócsoport alakult Reicher Regina Zsuzsánna51F vezetésével. A kutatócsoport célja – többek között – a helymarketing izgalmas területén primer kutatásokat végezni úgy, hogy lehetőség szerint ebbe a folyamatba a Hallgatókat is bevonjuk – mind a TDK (Tudományos Diákköri Konferencia), mind a kutatásmódszertani ismeretek erősítésének szándékával. Ennek érdekében először feltérképezzük a településmarketing témakörében eddig megjelent szakirodalmakat és kutatási irányokat, valamint a publikációs lehetőségeket. Ebben a cikkben kifejezetten a hazai publikációkra irányult a figyelmünk, melyek az Magyar Tudományos Akadémia IX. osztályán belül ezzel a – regionális gazdaságtan és a gazdaságtudományok (azon belül elsősorban a marketing) határterületén fekvő – témával foglalkoznak. A cikk célja az eddig megjelent hazai publikációk feltérképezése fellelhetőség, időbeli alakulás és relevancia szempontjából. Eredményeink egyértelműen jelzik, hogy az elmúlt 3 évtizedben a településmarketing kutatása elmélyült és kiszélesedett: sokféleképpen közelítették meg a témát, kialakultak egyértelmű viszonyítási pontok, hivatkozási alapok.
Purpose-This paper aims to shed light on the relationship between long-term orientation (LTO) and the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in family firms while adopting a stewardship perspective. Design/methodology/approach-A survey of the top managers of family firms in Iran's science and technology parks was conducted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the collected data. Findings-The research results showed that LTO has a positive effect on innovativeness and proactiveness and a negative effect on riskiness. Therefore, family firms' LTO pays off by enhancing their EO. Practical implications-In today's competitive world, EO is gradually becoming an inevitable necessity in many industries. Executives who want their firms to have a high level of performance should pay special attention to entrepreneurial behaviors. The present research informs the family firms' managers and practitioners to be long-term oriented to embrace more innovativeness and proactiveness, and less riskiness. Originality/value-So far, the relationship between the LTO and entrepreneurial characteristics of family firms has remained ambiguous; this research is one of the first studies investigating this relationship.
Nonfamily employees’ identification with the family firm is of importance as higher levels of identification are related to organizationally desired outcomes. However, nonfamily employees may display lower levels of identification when they perceive greater distance to the business and to the family or become demotivated by preferential treatment of family members. In this study, factors related to nonfamily employees’ organizational identification were investigated, thereby taking a leader-centered perspective. Drawing upon social identity theory, we assume that nonfamily leaders are more influential regarding nonfamily employees’ identification with the business and the family via strengthening identification with the team. We test our predictions across a two-wave study of 325 nonfamily employees of different family businesses. Interestingly, we find support that nonfamily leaders affect nonfamily employees’ identification with the family business and the owning family even more strongly than family leaders do. This effect, however, only occurs for nonfamily leaders operating within a high stewardship climate. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Purpose
This paper aims to shed light on the relationship between long-term orientation (LTO) and the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in family firms while adopting a stewardship perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of the top managers of family firms in Iran's science and technology parks was conducted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the collected data.
Findings
The research results showed that LTO has a positive effect on innovativeness and proactiveness and a negative effect on riskiness. Therefore, family firms' LTO pays off by enhancing their EO.
Practical implications
In today's competitive world, EO is gradually becoming an inevitable necessity in many industries. Executives who want their firms to have a high level of performance should pay special attention to entrepreneurial behaviors. The present research informs the family firms' managers and practitioners to be long-term oriented to embrace more innovativeness and proactiveness, and less riskiness.
Originality/value
So far, the relationship between the LTO and entrepreneurial characteristics of family firms has remained ambiguous; this research is one of the first studies investigating this relationship.
Purpose
The current paper studies how CEO attributes could influence corporate risk-taking. The authors examine the effects of CEO demographic attributes and CEO position's attributes on financial and strategic risk-taking.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is drawn on non-financial firms listed on the SBF120 index, between 2001 and 2013.
Findings
First, long-tenured CEOs are prone to decrease the total risk and the leverage ratio. Second, despite the many CEOs have political connections; they are not prone to engage in risky decisions not serving the business' interests. Third, old CEOs are likely to rely on debt to fund internal growth. Moreover, business and science-educated CEOs behave differently in terms of risk-taking. Finally, the authors show that CEOs' attributes have less influential effects in family firms than in non-family firms. Also, they seem to have more significant associations with risk-taking during and after the financial subprime crisis.
Originality/value
This paper examines how cognitive traits could shape investments decisions, in terms of risk preferences.
This study analyzes the extent to which family firms adopt distinct restructuring strategies (employee downsizing, management dismissals, asset retrenchment, dividend cuts) in response to declining performance. We hypothesize that family firms select different restructuring strategies than non-family firms because of the mixed gamble between economic benefits and socioemotional wealth (SEW), and that this difference diminishes as the severity of decline increases. The hypotheses were tested with a sample of 357 decline incidences in 283 German firms between 2005 and 2018 and are largely confirmed; at low decline severity, family firms downsize and retrench less, but this tendency is reversed as the severity increases. They tend to cut dividends more strongly and are less willing to dismiss managers, irrespective of their decline severity.
Family-run businesses are key players in the hotel industry and provide accommodations in many tourism regions such as the Austrian Alps. To date, research has failed to see the family firm status as a source of competitive advantage for the hospitality industry, despite often being used in practice to attract customers. Through the theoretical lens of signaling theory, this study therefore conducted experiments using fictitious hotel websites with participants from a German online panel (Austria’s largest incoming market) to investigate the effectiveness of family firm brand signals. The results confirm positive effects of communicating the family firm image on consumer response such as word-of-mouth, willingness to pay a price premium, and booking intention. We highlight that this effect is explained by perceived hospitableness. As such, we demonstrate that hotels can capitalize on their unique status by communicating their family firm image.
Purpose
The field of scientific research on small and medium-sized family businesses has been growing exponentially and the aim of this paper is to systematize the body of knowledge to develop an agenda for the future.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting comparative bibliometric analyses on 155 articles (from 1989 until 2018) the authors provide a systematic assessment of the scientific research about small family firms, unveiling the structure and evolution of the field. Bibliographic coupling, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis are adopted to identify the most influential studies and themes.
Findings
Four clusters of research are reviewed: succession in family SMEs, performances of family SMEs, internationalization of family SMEs and organizational culture of family SMEs.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the field of family SMEs by providing a systematic analysis of the scientific knowledge. Reviewing those clusters allows to providing avenues and reflections for future research and further practice.
The coronavirus is crippling the global economy. However, the economic impacts of the pandemic vary significantly across sectors of the economy. This outbreak and related lockdowns are putting the tourism industry under unprecedented pressure. Within months, world tourism went from over-tourism to non-tourism. Therefore, the overall objective of this chapter is to introduce the latest trends in tourism, with emphasis on family businesses. More precisely, the chapter encompasses (1) the theoretical background, which defines family business, highlights their characteristics, and summarizes the importance of leadership succession; (2) the role of family business resilience and their behaviour in times of crisis; (3) a review of relevant European Commission policy publications regarding EU tourism and statistical analyses of selected key tourism indicators; and (4) an analysis of family businesses environment in time of crisis. Hence, this chapter has documented the crucial role that family businesses tourism has within the European Union and on the front line of the current crises.
ABSTRACT
his qualitative, exploratory study investigates women’s
strategic role in micro business, its impact on perceived value
towards sustainable entrepreneurship and reduction in
maternal mortality rate through basic Groups based training & skills
development in 85 percent rural perspective. The model comprises
women skills development, access to micro finance self-employment,
entrepreneurial ventures and sustainability in general and specific to
rural communities. A purposive sampling approach has been adopted
to investigate 160 selected respondents, both who have established
new micro-entrepreneurship ventures and those mature micro
businesses owners. All the constructs in the constituted model have
been tested using a five point likert scale developed by the researcher
subject to preliminary and post interviews followed by pilot testing.
The data was subjected to descriptive statistics, regression and
correlation. The characteristic of bootstrapping barriers and the
discrimination exercised by the family, patriarchal society where,
banks and VC’s attitude towards women’s cadre is discussed. The
financial resources and challenges are the hallmark of the research,
particularly in the developing countries. The factors that motivate
women correlated to entrepreneurial cognition are also discussed. The
characteristics of bootstrapping and the allied problems of the women
cadre in startup are the focus of the paper. The paper also reviews the
problems faced by fresh graduates in medicine, management as
aspiring entrepreneurs and their likely role in rural health care.
Keywords: Entrepreneurs, Cognition levels, Bootstrapping, Self-employment skills, microfinance. Venture Capitalists
This article examines the current Indonesian Financial Service Authority (IFSA) regulations on corporate governance that deal with the relevance, concept, and application of the stakeholder model in the Indonesian banking sector. This study shows that the current IFSA regulations on corporate governance in the Indonesian banking sector encourage the application of the stakeholder model. However, they contain a vague definition of a stakeholder, fail to properly identify the legitimate stakeholders of the Indonesian banking sector, and provide no principles that can be used to align bank stakeholders’ interests. IFSA should revise these regulations so that they are more compatible with the theoretical basis and international best practices. This can be done through providing a concise definition of the concept of a stakeholder and offering normative and practical principles to be used when identifying the Indonesian banking sector legitimate stakeholders and aligning stakeholders’ interests.
In this chapter, the authors propose to widen the perspective of human resource management within family businesses by considering the organization as not only one venture but a set of ventures. The authors select case studies to illustrate the process for maintaining trust between CEO of family businesses and partners. The cases showed that regardless of the family firms' ownership and size, the personal relationship was more important to keep the relationship than agreements sanctioned by formalized operation and contracts. The story of the three cases allows the authors to identify a human resource management process of trust maintenance between three inter-family firm relationships.
This paper analyzes the survival of organizations in which decision agents do not bear a major share of the wealth effects of their decisions. This is what the literature on large corporations calls separation of 'ownership' and 'control.' Such separation of decision and risk bearing functions is also common to organizations like large professional partnerships, financial mutuals and nonprofits. We contend that separation of decision and risk bearing functions survives in these organizations in part because of the benefits of specialization of management and risk bearing but also because of an effective common approach to controlling the implied agency problems. In particular, the contract structures of all these organizations separate the ratification and monitoring of decisions from the initiation and implementation of the decisions.
The Resource-Based View (RBV) of competitive advantage provides a theoretical framework from the field of strategic management for assessing the competitive advantages of family firms. The RBV isolates idiosyncratic resources that are complex, intangible, and dynamic within a particular firm. The bundle of resources that are distinctive to a firm as a result of family involvement are identified as the “familiness” of the firm. This approach provides a research and practice method for assessing the specific behavioral and social phenomena within a firm that provide an advantage. Using a familiness model for assessing competitive advantage overcomes many of the problems associated with the generic claim that family companies have an advantage over nonfamily companies. It also provides a unified systems perspective of family firm performance.
The dynamic capabilities framework analyzes the sources and methods of wealth creation and capture by private enterprise firms operating in environments of rapid technological change. The competitive advantage of firms is seen as resting on distinctive processes (ways of coordinating and combining), shaped by the firm's (specific) asset positions (such as the firm's portfolio of difftcult-to- trade knowledge assets and complementary assets), and the evolution path(s) it has aflopted or inherited. The importance of path dependencies is amplified where conditions of increasing retums exist. Whether and how a firm's competitive advantage is eroded depends on the stability of market demand, and the ease of replicability (expanding intemally) and imitatability (replication by competitors). If correct, the framework suggests that private wealth creation in regimes of rapid technological change depends in large measure on honing intemal technological, organizational, and managerial processes inside the firm. In short, identifying new opportunities and organizing effectively and efficiently to embrace them are generally more fundamental to private wealth creation than is strategizing, if by strategizing one means engaging in business conduct that keeps competitors off balance, raises rival's costs, and excludes new entrants. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An agency theory framework is used to test the effects of founding family control on firm performance, capital structure, and value. Both the finance and management literatures regarding the relationship between firm control and firm value are explored. Controlling for size, industry, and managerial ownership, the results suggest that firms controlled by the founding family have greater value, are operated more efficiently, and carry less debt than other firms.
This article uses a study of industrial firms in the Scottish burgh of Kirkcaldy to demonstrate high and rising survival rates among family firms during the first half of the twentieth century. Survival rates, however, were not constant and trends are linked to the evolving relationship between family and firm. In particular, it is argued that the adoption of limited liability increased the chances of firm survival, but also altered the character of family-owned firms. Finally, the article considers the reasons for a rise in exits in the 1950s and 1960s.
In many family businesses, intergenerational succession is predetermined by personal factors. The question becomes not who will be the best CEO, but how to identify and address problems with the succession. This exploratory inductive study looks into those problems in failing successions. It finds at their core an inappropriate relationship between an organization's past and present. There is hidebound attachment to the past, wholesale rejection of it, or an incongruous blending of past and present. We call these common patterns conservative, rebellious, and wavering; each characterized by distinctive tendencies in strategy, organization, and governance. We discuss the nature, potential causes, and possible performance implications of these patterns.
An agency theory framework is used to test the effects of founding family control on firm efficiency, capital structure and value. Both the finance literature and the management literature regarding the relationship between firm control and firm value are explored. Controlling for size, industry, and managerial ownership, the results suggest that founding family controlled firms have greater value, are operated more efficiently, and carry less debt than non-founding family controlled firms. Introduction While it has generally been accepted that family-controlled businesses differ from professionally managed firms, there is little empirical research to support and advance our understanding of this premise (Daily and Dollinger 1991). What research there is does suggest that there are key differences. Jensen and Meckling (1976) propose that family controlled businesses should be more efficient than professionally-run firms because the costs of monitoring are less in a family controlled ...
This paper analyzes the survival of organizations in which decision agents do not bear a major share of the wealth effects of their decisions. This is what the literature on large corporations calls separation of "ownership" and "control." Such separation of decision and risk bearing functions is also common to organizations like large professional partnerships, financial mutuals and nonprofits. We contend that separation of decision and risk bearing functions survives in these organizations in part because of the benefits of specialization of management and risk bearing but also because of an effective common approach to controlling the implied agency problems. In particular, the contract structures of all these organizations separate the ratification and monitoring of decisions from the initiation and implementation of the decisions. Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. XXVI, June 1983. Separation of Ownership and Control * Eugene F. Fama and Michael C. Jensen Journal of...
Generation to Generation
- K Gersick
- J Davis
- M Mccollom
- I Lansberg
Gersick, K., Davis, J., McCollom, M. and Lansberg, I. (1997) Generation to Generation. Boston,
MA: Harvard University Press.
The Impact of Ownership Type on Organizational Performance', doctoral dissertation
- D Kang
Kang, D. (1996) 'The Impact of Ownership Type on Organizational Performance', doctoral dissertation, Harvard University.
The Neurotic Organization
- M Kets De Vries
- D Miller
Kets de Vries, M. and Miller, D. (1984) The Neurotic Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Succeeding Generations
- I Lansberg
Lansberg, I. (1999) Succeeding Generations. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Guide to the Family Business
- P Leach
- B Ball
- G Duncan
Leach, P., Ball, B. and Duncan, G. (2001) Guide to the Family Business. London: Carswell.
Competing Ambidextrously: Organization, Resources and Capabilities in Thriving Family Enterprises', Working Paper
- D Miller
- Le Breton-Miller
- I Hec
- Montreal
Miller, D. and Le Breton-Miller, I. (2002) 'Competing Ambidextrously: Organization, Resources
and Capabilities in Thriving Family Enterprises', Working Paper, HEC Montreal.
Her research interests are in successions in family business, human capital, and competitive advantage in family enterprise. Her recent writings include 'Lost in Time: The Problem of Succession in Family Business
- Isabelle Le Breton
Isabelle Le Breton-Miller is a Research Associate in the Center for Entrepreneurship and
Family Enterprise, at the University of Alberta and President of Organizational Effectiveness
Research, in Montreal, a consultancy in human resources and family enterprise. Her research
interests are in successions in family business, human capital, and competitive advantage in
family enterprise. Her recent writings include 'Lost in Time: The Problem of Succession
in Family Business' with Danny Miller and Lloyd Steier (Journal of Business Venturing, in press)
and 'Towards an Integrative Model of Effective Succession in FOBs' with Danny Miller and
Lloyd Steier (working paper). Address: Organizational Effectiveness Research (OER), Inc., 4642
Competing Ambidextrously: Organization, Resources and Capabilities in Thriving Family Enterprises
- D Miller
- Le Breton-Miller
Miller, D. and Le Breton-Miller, I. (2002) 'Competing Ambidextrously: Organization, Resources
and Capabilities in Thriving Family Enterprises', Working Paper, HEC Montreal.