Entrepreneurial aspirations among family business owners

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 12-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuradha Basu
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Professional Managers ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Entrepreneurs

This paper contributes to our understanding of the intersection between entrepreneurship and family businesses by examining the business aspirations of immigrant entrepreneurs from five different ethnic minority communities in the UK. It explores differences in the entrepreneurs' antecedents that might explain differences in their aspirations and examines the interaction between aspirations and business behaviour and outcomes. It finds that despite the importance of the family in their businesses, ethnic minority entrepreneurs have diverse aspirations. It is possible to distinguish between those with business‐first, family‐first, money‐first and lifestyle‐first aspirations. Their educational and family background affects entrepreneurs' aspirations, as does their stage on the family life cycle. Differences in aspirations are related to the nature of business, the way in which it is managed, the recruitment of professional managers and entrepreneurial performance. Our findings highlight the diversity in aspirations among family business owners and the complexity of the interaction between ethnicity, culture, class and entrepreneurship.

“We are a family firm”

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Binz Astrachan ◽  
Isabel C. Botero
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Associations

Purpose Evidence suggests that some stakeholders perceive family firms as more trustworthy, responsible, and customer-oriented than public companies. To capitalize on these positive perceptions, owning families can use references about their family nature in their organizational branding and marketing efforts. However, not all family firms actively communicate their family business brand. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to investigate why family firms decide to promote their “family business brand” in their communication efforts toward different stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected using an in-depth interview approach from 11 Swiss and German family business owners. Interviews were transcribed and coded to identify different themes that help explain the different motives and constraints that drive their decisions to promote the “family business brand.” Findings The analyses indicate that promoting family associations in branding efforts is driven by both identity-related (i.e. pride, identification) and outcome-related (e.g. reputational advantages) motives. However, there are several constraints that may negatively affect the promotion of the family business brand in corporate communication efforts. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to explore why family businesses decide to communicate their “family business brand.” Building on the findings, the authors present a conceptual framework identifying the antecedents and possible consequences of promoting a family firm brand. This framework can help researchers and practitioners better understand how the family business nature of the brand can influence decisions about the company’s branding and marketing practices.

Strong governance: a result of evolutionary and revolutionary processes

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Collins ◽  
Ken McCracken ◽  
Barbara Murray ◽  
Martin Stepek
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper is the first in a regular series of articles in JFBM that will share “a conversation with” thought leaders who are active in the family business space. The world of family business is, like many other arenas, constantly evolving and as the authors learn more about how and why families “do business” the approaches and tools for working with them also evolve. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate further new research in areas that practically affect family businesses and to “open the door” to practical insights that will excite researchers and provide impetus for new and exciting study. The specific purpose of this paper is to explore “what is strong governance.” There has been much interest in governance lately yet there is a tendency to treat governance in a formulaic way such that, at the moment, the notion that every family business must have a family council or a formal structure in order to be considered “effective” and “successful” predominates. The authors’ panel challenges and discusses this notion drawing on the experience and knowledge as family business advisors, consultants and owners. Design/methodology/approach – The impetus for this particular conversation is a result of a brainstorming conversation that Lorna Collins and Barbara Murray held in February 2014 where they focussed on “how JFBM can encourage and stimulate researchers to engage in aspects of research that makes a difference to the family business in a practical way.” This paper reports a conversation between Barbara Murray (Barbara), Ken McCracken (Ken) and Martin Stepek (Martin), three leading lights in the UK family business advising space, all of whom have been involved in running or advising family businesses for more than three decades, held in August 2015. The conversation was held via telephone and lasted just over 60 minutes. Lorna Collins acted as moderator. Findings – Strong governance is not just about instituting a “family council” or embedding formal governance mechanisms in a family business. Evolutionary adaption by family members usually prevails such that any mechanism is changed and adapted over time to suit and fit the needs of the family business. Many successful family businesses do not have recognized “formal” governance mechanisms but, it is contended, they are still highly successful and effective. Future areas of research in governance are also suggested. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the family business discourse because the debate it reports challenges the basic assumptions upon which much consulting and advisory practice is conducted. It also challenges the notion of “best practice” and what is “new best practice” and how is it that any “best practice” is determined to be “best.” Furthermore, the panel provides insights in to the “impact of family dynamics on governance” and “the impact of family dynamics on advisors.” The paper content is original in that it provides an authentic and timely narrative between active family business practitioners who are also scholars and owners.

Managing non-family talent: Evidence from German-speaking regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Harsch ◽  
Marion Festing
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Business Culture ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
The Family ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Context Specific

Family businesses dominate the corporate world but there is much we don’t know about them. Managing non-family talent is one under-researched area which we explore here, using a context-specific analysis on multiple levels, including qualitative data from interviews with family business owners and non-family talents in strategic family business positions in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. Based on stewardship theory and our empirical results, we suggest a framework that explains the particular facets of talent management in this context, characterised by the emotional attachment of the family and involvement in the business. Our findings show that primarily the values and attitudes of families shape the specific family business talent management approach, which is embedded in the particularities of the family business culture at the meso level and in region-specific macro-level factors.

scholarly journals Investigating value-laden leadership styles among family business owners

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Venter ◽  
S. M. Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Participative Leadership ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Family

Given the need for a different approach to leadership, as well as the need for further investigation on leadership among family businesses, this study investigates several value-laden leadership styles among family businesses. More specifically the primary objective is to establish the levels of Servant, Ethical, Authentic, and Participative leadership displayed by family business owners and the influence thereof on the Perceived business performance of the family business. A survey was undertaken and 266 usable questionnaires were returned from 133 family business owners and 133 from family business employees. The data analysis involved calculating descriptive statistics and undertaking t-tests. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) was done to test the hypothesised relationships. Although the MRA analysis revealed no statistically significant relationships between the leadership styles investigated and Perceived business performance, the vast majority of respondents agreed that the styles investigated were displayed by the family business owners. For both sample groups Ethical leadership returned the highest mean score, followed by Servant and Participative leadership. The importance of these value-laden leadership styles to family businesses is thus highlighted, contradicting the literature that family businesses owners are often autocratic in their leadership style. In addition, increased clarity on the effectiveness of these value-laden leadership styles within the context of family business is provided.

In the Founder's Shadow: Conflict in the Family Firm

1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Davis ◽  
Paula D. Harveston
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Telephone Survey ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
The Family ◽  
Nonlinear Trends ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Two Independent Variables

This paper examines the extent to which conflict across generations of family firms is due to the effects of two independent variables—generation and generational shadow. The presence of a generational shadow was indicated by whether either or both of the parents continued to influence the company once the next generation assumed control. Hypotheses predicted nonlinear trends in conflict and interactions between generation and generational shadow. Using data from a national telephone survey of over 1,000 family business owners, the results of an ANOVA test confirmed that the presence of generational shadow, in particular, that of the founder, increases organizational conflict.

The Early Entrepreneurial Stage in Finnish Family and Nonfamily Firms

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannu Littunen ◽  
Kimmo Hyrsky
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Family ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations

This study examined factors influencing the survival and success of 200 Finnish family and nonfamily firms in the metal-based manufacturing industry and business services over the first three years of their operation. The features that this study reviewed include owner-manager personality attributes, entrepreneurial competence, and motives for the start-up. Strategic choices of the firms were also examined. The study found that family firms were better equipped to survive beyond the early entrepreneurial stage than were nonfamily businesses. The entrepreneurial abilities and resources of the family business owners enabled them to operate relatively successfully in the nearby market, often with one unique product. The family firms were more conscious of survival and family well-being than profitability or market position. A higher mortality rate was discovered among the nonfamily firms. Failed firms were often established with unrealistic expectations, and their performance deteriorated rapidly after their early success.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial marketing in online businesses

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Naveed Anwar ◽  
Elizabeth Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Marketing ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Entrepreneurs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing of online businesses operated by ethnic minority entrepreneurs. The authors apply an entrepreneurial marketing lens to explore how such entrepreneurs draw on the resources to market their businesses. They also consider whether online businesses offer such entrepreneurs the opportunity to break out of the highly competitive sectors with which they are traditionally associated. Design/methodology/approach Key informant interviews are undertaken with 22 entrepreneurs operating online businesses in the UK and augmented by complementary sources of data such as their websites and press coverage. Findings Use of an entrepreneurial marketing perspective demonstrates that marketing in such businesses is not haphazard or chaotic. Rather it reflects the emergent and flexible use of resources. The affordances of online businesses appear to offer opportunities for break out, but the reliance on incremental experimentation and copying others results in highly homogeneous approaches to marketing. The authors also provide empirical evidence of the link between visa status and entrepreneurial choices. Originality/value Despite the popularity of online businesses, previous studies have not explored them as an opportunity for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. This study moves the consideration of break out from market-entry to the ongoing marketing activities that sustain a business. It also demonstrates how the domains of ethnic minority entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial marketing can be brought together via a focus on resources. Finally, it enriches entrepreneurial marketing by evidencing connections with notions of effectuation and entrepreneur-venture fit.

The business of recovery: embedding health in economies after COVID-19

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Bryan McIntosh ◽  
Bruce Sheppy ◽  
Francesco Moscone ◽  
Andreia Areal
Keyword(s):  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
The Uk

As the UK rebuilds and recovers after the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling socioeconomic inequalities will become increasingly pertinent. The link between health and wealth has been long established, with those at the highest risk of illness also being less likely to access healthcare. The pandemic has highlighted these disparities, with higher morbidity and mortality rates seen in deprived areas, as well as among ethnic minority communities. Leaders and clinicians across the NHS and social care have called for a ‘reset’ in the way healthcare is planned, commissioned and delivered in the UK. There is a growing need for a holistic approach to disease prevention, and it is crucial that government agencies take a strong role in addressing the wider determinants of health.

Wellness in the Family Business

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Stier
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Insurance Costs ◽  
Worker Satisfaction ◽  
The Family ◽  
Economic Well Being

This article addresses the unique opportunity that family business owners have to create worksite environments that promote wellness in employees while increasing productivity. By giving physical and psychological well-being the same importance as economic well-being, the company benefits through healthier employees, reduction of absenteeism, lower insurance costs, and increased productivity and worker satisfaction.

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