Pub Date : 2023-02-21DOI: 10.1177/08944865231154835
Kajsa Haag, Leona Achtenhagen, Julia Grimm
Longevity is at the core of what makes family businesses special. Unlike most attempts to explain longevity that have focused primarily on the factors within a family business that lead to longevity or the factors outside of an organization’s environment, we adopt a business-history perspective that enables us to show how the interplay between the organization and its environment can help to explain family business longevity. Building on the category literature, we trace the interaction of a small Swedish fourth-generation high-quality furniture manufacturer with its category over a period of more than 120 years. We identify the internal mechanisms driving family business longevity, the external mechanisms driving category development as well as the mechanisms underlying their interaction. Specifically, we provide new insights into how agency exercised by the family business contributes to the shaping of the category they are a member of, thereby nurturing their business longevity.
{"title":"Engaging With the Category: Exploring Family Business Longevity From a Historical Perspective","authors":"Kajsa Haag, Leona Achtenhagen, Julia Grimm","doi":"10.1177/08944865231154835","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865231154835","url":null,"abstract":"Longevity is at the core of what makes family businesses special. Unlike most attempts to explain longevity that have focused primarily on the factors within a family business that lead to longevity or the factors outside of an organization’s environment, we adopt a business-history perspective that enables us to show how the interplay between the organization and its environment can help to explain family business longevity. Building on the category literature, we trace the interaction of a small Swedish fourth-generation high-quality furniture manufacturer with its category over a period of more than 120 years. We identify the internal mechanisms driving family business longevity, the external mechanisms driving category development as well as the mechanisms underlying their interaction. Specifically, we provide new insights into how agency exercised by the family business contributes to the shaping of the category they are a member of, thereby nurturing their business longevity.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"84 - 118"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43252298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-21DOI: 10.1177/08944865231157040
M. McAdam, Eric Clinton, E. Hamilton, W. Gartner
We use concepts from rhetorical history and mnemonic communities to expand on the notion of “intermarriage” in a family business as the merger of shared histories among family members, nonfamily members, and individuals from other families and suggest that a common mnemonic narrative defines the parameters of the family business rather than the structural properties of the firm or the genetic relationships among family members. Our analysis reveals how fundamental family business practices can be changed when confronted with the intimate knowledge of the rhetorical history of the failure of others.
{"title":"Learning in a Family Business Through Intermarriage: A Rhetorical History Perspective","authors":"M. McAdam, Eric Clinton, E. Hamilton, W. Gartner","doi":"10.1177/08944865231157040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865231157040","url":null,"abstract":"We use concepts from rhetorical history and mnemonic communities to expand on the notion of “intermarriage” in a family business as the merger of shared histories among family members, nonfamily members, and individuals from other families and suggest that a common mnemonic narrative defines the parameters of the family business rather than the structural properties of the firm or the genetic relationships among family members. Our analysis reveals how fundamental family business practices can be changed when confronted with the intimate knowledge of the rhetorical history of the failure of others.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"63 - 83"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43294149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-17DOI: 10.1177/08944865231157195
Luca Manelli, Vittoria Magrelli, J. Kotlar, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, F. Frattini
Scholars have recently paid growing attention to the transfer of family legacies across generations, but existing work has been mainly focused on an inward-oriented, intra-family, perspective. In this article, we seek to understand how family firms engage in rhetorical history to transfer their social family legacy to external stakeholders, what we call “outward-oriented social legacy.” By carrying out a 12-months field study in three Italian family business foundations, our findings unveil three distinctive narrative practices—founder foreshadowing, emplacing the legacy within the broader community, and weaving family history with macro—history—that contribute to transferring outward-oriented social legacies.
{"title":"Building an Outward-Oriented Social Family Legacy: Rhetorical History in Family Business Foundations","authors":"Luca Manelli, Vittoria Magrelli, J. Kotlar, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli, F. Frattini","doi":"10.1177/08944865231157195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865231157195","url":null,"abstract":"Scholars have recently paid growing attention to the transfer of family legacies across generations, but existing work has been mainly focused on an inward-oriented, intra-family, perspective. In this article, we seek to understand how family firms engage in rhetorical history to transfer their social family legacy to external stakeholders, what we call “outward-oriented social legacy.” By carrying out a 12-months field study in three Italian family business foundations, our findings unveil three distinctive narrative practices—founder foreshadowing, emplacing the legacy within the broader community, and weaving family history with macro—history—that contribute to transferring outward-oriented social legacies.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"143 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45961567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-01DOI: 10.1177/08944865231152283
C. Lubinski, W. Gartner
The concept of “generation” in family business scholarship is primarily used genealogically to reflect family lineage. This approach fails to account for complementary perspectives that are more established in history: “generation” as a category of societal belonging and a form of rhetorical history. Using a constitutive history approach, we identify four usages of “generation” by which these narratives can establish continuity or change in how families talk about themselves and foreground either family dynamics or embeddedness in societal developments. The form of historical narratives and how they mark time, we argue, is core to understanding rhetorical history processes.
{"title":"Talking About (My) Generation: The Use of Generation as Rhetorical History in Family Business","authors":"C. Lubinski, W. Gartner","doi":"10.1177/08944865231152283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865231152283","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of “generation” in family business scholarship is primarily used genealogically to reflect family lineage. This approach fails to account for complementary perspectives that are more established in history: “generation” as a category of societal belonging and a form of rhetorical history. Using a constitutive history approach, we identify four usages of “generation” by which these narratives can establish continuity or change in how families talk about themselves and foreground either family dynamics or embeddedness in societal developments. The form of historical narratives and how they mark time, we argue, is core to understanding rhetorical history processes.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"119 - 142"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49365674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-20DOI: 10.1177/08944865221146350
J. Hsueh, Alfredo De Massis, L. Gómez‐Mejía
Family firms purportedly use different socioemotional wealth (SEW) reference points in choosing strategies, yet empirical research continues to use family involvement as a proxy for SEW. This study uses a configurational approach to examine how the multidimensionality of SEW may be used to explain the firm’s chosen strategy. We use psychometric measures of the various SEW dimensions proposed by Berrone et al. to explain the formalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy as an example. We identify various SEW configurations to understand why family firms exhibit a preference for more formal or informal CSR strategies.
{"title":"Examining Heterogeneous Configurations of Socioemotional Wealth in Family Firms Through the Formalization of Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy","authors":"J. Hsueh, Alfredo De Massis, L. Gómez‐Mejía","doi":"10.1177/08944865221146350","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221146350","url":null,"abstract":"Family firms purportedly use different socioemotional wealth (SEW) reference points in choosing strategies, yet empirical research continues to use family involvement as a proxy for SEW. This study uses a configurational approach to examine how the multidimensionality of SEW may be used to explain the firm’s chosen strategy. We use psychometric measures of the various SEW dimensions proposed by Berrone et al. to explain the formalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy as an example. We identify various SEW configurations to understand why family firms exhibit a preference for more formal or informal CSR strategies.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"172 - 198"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48485759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-20DOI: 10.1177/08944865221147955
Michael Gusenbauer, Nina Schweiger, Kurt Matzler, Julia Hautz
Innovation literature increasingly considers the importance of the temporal dimension of knowledge search. In particular, several qualitative studies demonstrate how family firms successfully search for and recombine mature knowledge into innovations. This paper extends this line of research by quantitatively examining knowledge search in family versus non-family firms in a unique dataset in global wine technology between 1956 and 2013. Our data show that family firms use mature knowledge in their innovation processes to a greater extent than non-family firms. Furthermore, family firms seem to draw higher value from mature knowledge than non-family firms.
{"title":"Innovation Through Tradition: The Role of Past Knowledge for Successful Innovations in Family and Non-family Firms","authors":"Michael Gusenbauer, Nina Schweiger, Kurt Matzler, Julia Hautz","doi":"10.1177/08944865221147955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221147955","url":null,"abstract":"Innovation literature increasingly considers the importance of the temporal dimension of knowledge search. In particular, several qualitative studies demonstrate how family firms successfully search for and recombine mature knowledge into innovations. This paper extends this line of research by quantitatively examining knowledge search in family versus non-family firms in a unique dataset in global wine technology between 1956 and 2013. Our data show that family firms use mature knowledge in their innovation processes to a greater extent than non-family firms. Furthermore, family firms seem to draw higher value from mature knowledge than non-family firms.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"17 - 36"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41380465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-23DOI: 10.1177/08944865221140647
Xuan He, Yingyu Zhang, Weicheng Xiao
Wealth concentration is a common problem worldwide, and research reveals that wealth is most concentrated in family firm holdings. We examined the influence of local political structure on the concentration of family firm wealth and found that (a) changes in de jure political power (provincial party secretary turnover) temporarily inhibit family firm wealth concentration, (b) local de facto power offers strong countervailing protection against this effect, and (c) there is a U-shaped relationship between the tenure of the provincial party secretary and wealth concentration. This investigation deepens our understanding of the relationship between family firm political connections and wealth concentration.
{"title":"Structure of Local Political Power and Family Firms’ Concentration of Wealth","authors":"Xuan He, Yingyu Zhang, Weicheng Xiao","doi":"10.1177/08944865221140647","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221140647","url":null,"abstract":"Wealth concentration is a common problem worldwide, and research reveals that wealth is most concentrated in family firm holdings. We examined the influence of local political structure on the concentration of family firm wealth and found that (a) changes in de jure political power (provincial party secretary turnover) temporarily inhibit family firm wealth concentration, (b) local de facto power offers strong countervailing protection against this effect, and (c) there is a U-shaped relationship between the tenure of the provincial party secretary and wealth concentration. This investigation deepens our understanding of the relationship between family firm political connections and wealth concentration.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"36 1","pages":"199 - 222"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2022-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45419493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-29DOI: 10.1177/08944865221125542
K. Hussinger, Wunnam Issah
Family firms are known for their reluctance to invest in R&D. We show that strengthened trade secret protection is associated with higher R&D investment by family firms. More specifically, we show that the association between the strength of trade secret protection through the U.S. Uniform Trade Secrets Act and R&D investment is positively moderated by family control. Our results further show that the positive moderation of family control on the association between the strength of trade secret protection and R&D investment varies with the industry context, being stronger in high-tech industries and weaker in discrete product industries.
{"title":"Trade Secret Protection and R&D Investment of Family Firms","authors":"K. Hussinger, Wunnam Issah","doi":"10.1177/08944865221125542","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221125542","url":null,"abstract":"Family firms are known for their reluctance to invest in R&D. We show that strengthened trade secret protection is associated with higher R&D investment by family firms. More specifically, we show that the association between the strength of trade secret protection through the U.S. Uniform Trade Secrets Act and R&D investment is positively moderated by family control. Our results further show that the positive moderation of family control on the association between the strength of trade secret protection and R&D investment varies with the industry context, being stronger in high-tech industries and weaker in discrete product industries.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"361 - 382"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65302210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-29DOI: 10.1177/08944865221125520
Michele Stasa, O. Machek
Using a systematic literature review, we address the topic of social capital in family firms. Based on 69 studies, we analyze the main findings, sampling and methodologies, theoretical approaches, definitions, and measurements of social capital in family firms. We also present how social capital is used as a model variable and present a conceptual framework of social capital in family firms. Subsequently, we identify the research gaps and develop research questions for further research.
{"title":"Social Capital in the Family Business Literature: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda","authors":"Michele Stasa, O. Machek","doi":"10.1177/08944865221125520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221125520","url":null,"abstract":"Using a systematic literature review, we address the topic of social capital in family firms. Based on 69 studies, we analyze the main findings, sampling and methodologies, theoretical approaches, definitions, and measurements of social capital in family firms. We also present how social capital is used as a model variable and present a conceptual framework of social capital in family firms. Subsequently, we identify the research gaps and develop research questions for further research.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"415 - 441"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46453445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-17DOI: 10.1177/08944865221124356
S. Quarchioni, Roberta Ciccola, Maria Serena Chiucchi
The purpose of this article is to explore strategy advisors’ actions and interactions with family actors and nonfamily managers for strategy work in family businesses. By combining the strategy-as-practice perspective with the concept of emotional engagement practices, we interpret the case of a family firm collaborating with an external advisor over a 15-year period. We add to prior studies by showing how advisors work to build trustful and emotional connections that shape relational dynamics within evolving spaces of strategic discussion. We highlight the implications for strategy work, which change as relational dynamics develop over time.
{"title":"Advising in Family Firms: Shaping Relational Dynamics and Trustful Connections in Strategy Work","authors":"S. Quarchioni, Roberta Ciccola, Maria Serena Chiucchi","doi":"10.1177/08944865221124356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865221124356","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to explore strategy advisors’ actions and interactions with family actors and nonfamily managers for strategy work in family businesses. By combining the strategy-as-practice perspective with the concept of emotional engagement practices, we interpret the case of a family firm collaborating with an external advisor over a 15-year period. We add to prior studies by showing how advisors work to build trustful and emotional connections that shape relational dynamics within evolving spaces of strategic discussion. We highlight the implications for strategy work, which change as relational dynamics develop over time.","PeriodicalId":51365,"journal":{"name":"Family Business Review","volume":"35 1","pages":"338 - 360"},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43872239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}