Theoretical Perspectives On Family Businesses

Family business has become an increasingly studied field over the last decade and forms one of the fastest growing research areas today. The uniqueness of family business is the interaction between two systems: the family and the firm, leading to speci

'This is a very business-like book in its approach. It has an impressive global reach in its authorship, focal areas and use of evidence; it hits all the major practical challenges of family firms in a spirit that is fresh and current; and it deals with the cutting-edge themes and issues that are uppermost in the minds of owners, executives, advisors and researchers in the field.' – Nigel Nicholson, London Business School, author, Managing the Human Animal, Family Wars and The 'I' of Leadership Acclaim for the first edition: 'The authors have taken a lot of pain in putting this handbook together. As the name indicates, this is an excellent handbook for researchers.' – Global Business Review 'The Handbook of Research on Family Business has collected and synthesized a broad variety of topics by notable researchers who share a common dedication to family business research. This Handbook provides a comprehensive treatment that advances the frontiers of knowledge in family business, provoking valuable thoughts and discussion. The Handbook will serve as both an authoritative and comprehensive reference work for researchers investigating family enterprises.' – A. Bakr Ibrahim, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 'Although family business research is a young discipline it is both necessary and important. For the wellbeing and future development of our society the survival of prosperous and passionate family business entrepreneurs is indispensable. In order to help the families in business to better understand how to succeed with their enterprises we need qualified and updated research. This book is the answer!' – Hans-Jacob Bonnier, Bonnier Business Press Group, Sweden and 6th Generation Chairman of the Family Business Network – International 'This Handbook is a unique compilation of the most important and the best recent family business research. The field has grown so rapidly that this effort will be a mark for the research to follow. The Handbook of Research on Family Business will be the reference for scholars in family business for many years to come. It will also stimulate new ideas in research.' – John L. Ward, IMD, Switzerland and Northwestern University, US During the previous decade, the multi-disciplinary field of family business has advanced significantly in terms of advances in theory, development of sophisticated empirical instruments, systematic measurement of family business activity, use of alternative research methodologies and deployment of robust tools of analysis. This second edition of the Handbook of Research on Family Business presents important research and conceptual developments across a broad range of topics. The contributors – notable researchers in the field – explore the frontiers of knowledge in family business entrepreneurship and stimulate critical thinking, enriching the repository of theoretical frameworks and methodologies. The Handbook takes a systematic and rigorous approach by providing in-depth insights into the dynamics of family business, its context and the significant role of stakeholders. Ultimately, this scholarly compendium of extant family business papers is an invaluable resource for researchers, educators, family business consultants, family business owner-managers and students.

The SAGE Handbook of Family Business captures the conceptual map and state-of-the-art thinking on family business - an area experiencing rapid global growth in research and education since the last three decades. Edited by the leading figures in family business studies, with contributions and editorial board support from the most prominent scholars in the field, this Handbook reflects on the development and current status of family enterprise research in terms of applied theories, methods, topics investigated, and perspectives on the field′s future. The SAGE Handbook of Family Business is divided into following six sections, allowing for ease of navigation while gaining a multi-dimensional perspective and understanding of the field. Part I: Theoretical perspectives in family business studies Part II: Major issues in family business studies Part III: Entrepreneurial and managerial aspects in family business studies Part IV: Behavioral and organizational aspects in family business studies Part V: Methods in use in family business studies Part VI: The future of the field of family business studies By including critical reflections and presenting possible alternative perspectives and theories, this Handbook contributes to the framing of future research on family enterprises around the world. It is an invaluable resource for current and future scholars interested in understanding the unique dynamics of family enterprises under the rubric of entrepreneurship, strategic management, organization theory, accounting, marketing or other related areas.

This book is the first of its kind to highlight the importance of family businesses to economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the managerial, behavioral, and strategic issues facing these companies and offers conclusive statements about their performance and influence on the region. Family businesses have been found to outperform non-family businesses in advanced industrialized economies, yet no such information exists on the importance of these companies which dominate the economic landscape of sub-Saharan Africa. Through empirical evidence and cross-country data, a team of expert contributors explore matters related to the management of family-owned businesses, such as how they evaluate employee productivity and performance, manage human resources, view governance practices and the role of women, and other sensitive issues. This is a seminal text for students and researchers in family business, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and family business owners looking to improve and advance their companies for the greater good of sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the continent.

Businesses owned and operated by families constitute the vast majority of firms around the world. These firms are found in all industrial segments, from retail and service establishments to heavy manufacturers. Their sizes and revenues range from the smallest venture of a husband and wife roadside food stall in rural India to the largest multinational, highly diversified corporations in the United States and Europe. Many challenges, such as competition, regulation, environmental concerns, access to capital, and macroeconomic factors confront family and nonfamily firms alike. In addition, family and closely-held firms grapple with such issues of succession, continuity, conflict resolution, identity and organizational roles, estate and financial planning that are idiosyncratic to them; when psychological, social, and emotional factors are in play, constantly changing familial relationships influence the strategic and financial choices they make. Yet, there has been comparatively little theoretical or empirical research undertaken on family firms, relative to entrepreneurship and strategic management. This book addresses gaps in the literature by presenting a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to the study and practice of family business that draws from such fields as psychology, anthropology, sociology, strategy, family therapy, family studies, wealth management, and international business. An international array of experts addresses both macro issues (including the role of family businesses in new business creation and economic development, influences of culture on family business, public policies that can encourage or threaten family business) and firm management (strategic and financial decision making, governance, entering and exiting). Featuring case studies from firms in a variety of industries, Understanding Family Businesses not only offers provocative new insights on family business dynamics, but outlines an agenda for future research.

The Organizational Form of Family Business attempts to develop an evolutionary family business theory, positioning family businesses as a distinct organizational form (based on conjectures from organizational ecology). An open and uninhibited playing field - achieved through utilizing a grounded theory methodology - heightens chances for observing precisely how family businesses behave. An introductory chapter is followed by a literature review, beginning with a review of family business research. This is followed by a discussion of family business definitional issues, and accompanied by some data to show the economic importance of family business. There follows a review of the research literature on grounded theory, its developments, and its epistemological and ontological assumptions in the light of contemporary philosophy of science. A literature review and historical outline of organizational ecology including the theoretical achievements is provided. Also, the comparison with the other main organizational theories, justifying the theory selection, is offered.

Margarete Rosina investigates whether it makes sense for family firms to communicate their family firm status to consumers. To do so, she conducts two experimental studies using a sample of 349 consumers. Using a branding perspective, the first study looks at whether consumers perceive family firm brands as more authentic and why and how this influences their buying behavior. The second study applies a consumer happiness perspective and investigates whether family firms signal prosocial behaviors related to “doing good”, namely being a good employer and socially responsible, and whether this, in turn, leads to higher levels of consumer happiness when buying from family firms. Both studies indicate that the family firm status can be of strategic value for family firms.

Until the early 1980s, serious academic research on family businesses was sparse, to say the least. The scholarship that did exist was primarily based on anecdotal evidence, and mostly biased toward the negative effects of family involvement, particularly in terms of nepotism and family feuds undermining a firm’s performance and familial relationships. Considered at best an example for how notto manage a business, family business was deemed not worthy of scientific attention. This has changed dramatically over the past three decades and this new Routledge Major Works collection provides users with background knowledge about the foundations of family-business theory and research, as well as a sense of its theoretical and empirical variety. Edited and with a new introduction by a team of leading scholars, the four volumes assemble the very best and most influential works in family business to provide an authoritative research resource.