Are family firms reluctant to report impairment losses? Evidence from private firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Haugland Sundkvist ◽  
Tonny Stenheim
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Socioemotional Wealth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
Reporting Practices

PurposeThis study examines the reporting of impairment losses in family and non-family private firms. The socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory suggests that the reporting practices in family firms may differ from non-family firms and may vary among family firms.Design/methodology/approachThe research question is examined using a large-scale archival study. The authors use unique register data on family relationships for Norwegian private firms provided by the CCGR database at BI Norwegian Business School.FindingsDrawing on the socioemotional wealth theory, the authors predict and find that private family firms are more reluctant to report impairment losses compared to private non-family firms. The results also suggest that both the likelihood to report impairment losses and the impairment amounts increase with board independence in private family firms. The authors also find some evidence suggesting that private family firms with a family CEO report lower impairment losses than private family firms without a family CEO, but this result is less robust and should be interpreted with caution.Research limitations/implicationsThe true economic impairment is unobservable. The authors use proxies based on prior research to control for whether impairment losses are faithfully reported or not.Practical implicationsThe results suggest a higher risk of impairment losses being managed in private family firms than in private non-family firms and that independent board members mitigate this tendency somewhat in private family firms. Awareness of this risk should have practical value for stakeholders such as non-family owners and creditors, external auditors, supervisory and monitoring bodies, and regulators.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the accounting literature by examining the reporting of a specific accrual (impairment losses) in the setting of private family firms. Prior research in this area is scarce.

Publishing quantitative careers research: challenges and recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Schreurs ◽  
Angus Duff ◽  
Pascale M. Le Blanc ◽  
Thomas H. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Editorial Team ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose This article aims to provide prospective authors guidelines that will hopefully enable them to submit more competitive manuscripts to journals publishing careers research.Design/methodology/approach Based on their experience as an author, reviewer and editorial team member, the authors identify the main criteria that a quantitative study must meet to be considered for publication in international peer-reviewed journals covering career-related topics. They emphasize the importance of contributing to the careers literature and of designing the study in accordance with the research question.Findings Manuscripts are rejected because they are insufficiently innovative, and/or because sample, instruments and design are not appropriate to answer the research question at hand. Cross-sectional designs cannot be used to answer questions of mediation but should not be discarded automatically since they can be used to address other types of questions, including questions about nesting, clustering of individuals into subgroups, and to some extent, even causality.Originality/value The manuscript provides an insight into the decision-making process of reviewers and editorial board members and includes recommendations on the use of cross-sectional data.

Socioemotional wealth and human resource policies: effects on family firm performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan David Peláez-León ◽  
Gregorio Sánchez-Marín
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Socioemotional Wealth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Financial Performance ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study analyses whether human resource management (HRM), through the use of four sets of high-performance work policies (HPWPs) (i.e. selection, training, motivation and opportunity policies), mediates the relationship between socioemotional wealth (SEW)—defined as a unique set of nonfinancial family goals—and firm financial performance when family firms face a high-risk context.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were statistically tested using a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology with a cross-sectional sample of 196 medium-sized and private family firms in a high-risk context in Spain.FindingsThe results indicate that the relationship between SEW and financial performance in family firms is fully mediated by the use of HPWPs, especially by training and motivation HR policies. The importance given to preserving SEW influences the use of four sets of HPWPs when family firms show clear evidence of being confronted by a financial decline (i.e. a high-risk context). However, to improve their financial results to avoid the firm's failure and thus the loss of their SEW, only those HR policies that focus on training and motivation made a significant and positive contribution to the firm financial performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on family firms and HRM by adopting an alternative theoretical framework to understand how the importance of nonfinancial family goals may affect employee structures and management policies, thereby improving financial performance in family firms.

Family directors, independent directors, remuneration committee and executive remuneration in Malaysian listed family firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-47
Author(s):  
Ling Jong ◽  
Poh-Ling Ho
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Minority Shareholders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Agency Conflict ◽  
Executive Remuneration ◽  
Significant Positive Influence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of family directors and independent directors on executive remuneration of listed family firms in Malaysia, and their involvement in remuneration committee on executive remuneration. Design/methodology/approach Fixed effect estimation is employed to examine 1,395 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2014. Findings Family and independent directors do not have statistically significant influence on executive remuneration. Rather, family ownership exerts a significant positive influence on executive remuneration. This study also reveals that the interaction of family CEOs with the family directors on remuneration committee exerts a significant positive influence on executive remuneration. Research limitations/implications The measurement of executive remuneration excludes the share options due to the non-disclosure of this information in the annual reports. Practical implications The findings would be useful to the policy-makers and regulators in appraising the governance measures of remuneration arrangement. Originality/value This study premises on the Type II agency conflict between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. Independent directors could not mitigate the Type II agency conflict via the governance of executive remuneration. They are not the effective governance mechanism that the minority shareholders can rely on. The additional analyses provide theoretical implication that the pervasive Type II agency conflict is ameliorated when the CEOs do not have family relationships with the controlling family shareholders.

Does CEO power moderate the relationship between board leadership and strategy involvement in private firms? Evidence from Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 906-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Kiplagat Tuwey ◽  
Daniel Kipkirong Tarus
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Ceo Power ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Leadership Efficacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Motivation ◽  
Board Leadership ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine how board leadership affects the board strategic involvement in private firms in Kenya and how CEO power moderates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a Kenyan data set to investigate what makes boards in private firms get involved in strategy. Survey data derived from a sample of 186 CEOs of private firms were used, and the hypotheses were tested using moderated regression analysis. Findings The results indicate that board members’ knowledge, board chairman’s leadership efficacy, board members’ personal motivation and board members’ background all have a positive and significant effect on board strategy involvement. The authors also found that CEO power moderates the relationship between board leadership and strategy involvement. The study concludes that when the CEO wields immense power, the board tends to become passive and to submit to the direction of the CEO. Originality/value The study adds value to the understanding of the effect of the board leadership on strategic involvement in private firms and how CEO power influences this relationship, particularly in a developing country like Kenya.

scholarly journals Contested takeovers of family firms and socioemotional wealth: a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Campbell ◽  
Magdalena Jerzemowska
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Supervisory Board ◽  
Socioemotional Wealth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Warsaw Stock Exchange ◽  
Gains And Losses ◽  
Takeover Bids

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the importance of socioemotional wealth (SEW) to family firms in Poland viewed through the lens of the events surrounding the first hostile takeover bid of the post-communist era on the Warsaw Stock Exchange when the clothing company Vistula & Wólczanka (V&W) made an unsolicited, leveraged bid for the family-controlled jewelry company W. Kruk. Design/methodology/approach The 2008 takeover and its aftermath are described in the context of the corporate governance and legal environment in Poland. The case study events demonstrate the connection between firm behavior and SEW theory. Findings After the acquisition of W. Kruk by V&W, the Kruk family purchased stock in the newly named Vistula Group and gained influence over the supervisory board in concert with a business ally, eventually wresting back control of the company in the style of a Pac-Man “defense.” The case study illustrates the importance of SEW in family firm takeovers. Research limitations/implications The case study design has limitations for generalizability. Nevertheless the research highlights the important role of SEW preservation in understanding the market for corporate control of listed family firms in Poland. Practical implications Understanding the reaction by family firms to takeover bids requires recognition that there is a tradeoff between financial and SEW considerations, not just financial gains and losses. Originality/value The case study demonstrates the importance of SEW to family firms and suggests that the balance of power in takeovers on the Polish stock market rests with incumbent management.

Another hybrid? Family businesses as venture capitalists

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Ljungkvist ◽  
Börje Boers
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Family Ownership ◽  
Venture Capitalists ◽  
Ethical Awareness ◽  
Minority Shareholders ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper addresses the phenomenon of venture capital firms which are also family businesses (VCFBs). The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the phenomenon of VCFB by answering the following questions: What are the features of professionalization in VCFBs? And, how do professionalization and types of family businesses explain the strategies and governance of VCFBs? Design/methodology/approach As an explorative case study, it maps the Swedish venture capital (VC) industry and compares two VCFBs and their business investments with regard to strategy and governance. Findings By suggesting two major configurations, the study explains how family business development and levels of professionalization relate to differences in VCFBs’ strategies, which in turn, affect their governance. The personal VCFB features active owners who personally take responsibility roles and strongly focus on customers and relationships. The administrative VCFB strongly focuses on predetermined financial metrics, high ethical awareness among board members, and ongoing interplay between the active family board members and minority shareholders. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in Sweden and concerns Swedish VCFBs. The paper contributes to the literature by combining the two currently separate research streams, i.e. family business and VC, highlighting the importance and consequences of family ownership in VC businesses. Practical implications The present study provides stock market investors and stock analysts with a deeper understanding of VCFBs’ strategy incentives. By identifying the kind of VCFB and its relation to strategy, more reasonable assessments and analyses of the VCFBs’ actions will be possible. Family firms willing to accept VC-finance should consider the type of VC and the potential consequences of family ownership. Originality/value This study is the first to classify VC firms as family businesses. Moreover, it shows the features of professionalization in VCFBs by suggesting a set of configurations.

Students’ and staff perceptions of vocational education institution heads’ virtues

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Manuel Joaquín Fernández González ◽  
Tamāra Pīgozne ◽  
Svetlana Surikova ◽  
Ļubova Vasečko
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moral Virtues ◽  
Civic Virtues ◽  
Perceptions Of Leaders

Purpose The relevance of institution leaders’ personal qualities for providing quality education is widely recognized. The purpose of this paper is to explore vocational education and training (VET) institution leaders’ character features. The research question was twofold: What are the features of the character of the pedagogical leaders of three Latvian VET institutions according to students, teachers and institution board members? What are the differences between respondents’ groups regarding their perceptions of leaders’ virtues? Design/methodology/approach Six members of the institution board, five teachers and six students participated in structured qualitative interviews collected in 2013 in three high-quality VET institutions from different fields (tourism, sports and maritime education). Secondary analysis of latent content was used to explore respondents’ perceptions of leaders’ virtues, using software AQUAD 7 for qualitative data analysis. Findings The results revealed significant differences between students’ and staff (teachers’ and institution board members’) perceptions: the staff members appreciated particularly leaders’ performance virtues (“teamwork orientation”) and intellectual virtues (“critical thinking”), whereas, for students, heads’ moral virtues were more relevant, especially “magnanimity”. Respondents also showed concern about VET institution leaders’ civic virtues (“neighborliness,” “community awareness,” and “communicability”). Practical implications The results suggest that different perspectives, and in particular students’ voices, should be integrated in VET leaders’ assessment process and that their continuing professional development should also address their intellectual, moral and civic virtues. Originality/value This study represents an innovative methodological trial for investigating educational institution heads’ leadership from the lens of virtue ethics.

Political uncertainty and the choice of external audit: international evidence from private firms

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Farooq ◽  
Harit Satt ◽  
Basma El Fadel
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Political Uncertainty ◽  
External Audit ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis paper documents the impact of political uncertainty on the decision of private firms to use external auditors to verify their financial statements.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the data from 141 countries and the pooled logistic regression to test our arguments. The data is provided by the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys and is collected during the period between 2006 and 2019.FindingsThe results show that firms with high exposure to political uncertainty are more likely to use external auditors to verify their financial statements. The results are robust across various sub-samples and hold when we use alternate proxy for political uncertainty. The results are also robust after controlling for potential endogeneity concerns. The authors also find that the effect of political uncertainty on the choice of external audit is more pronounced for firms that are headquartered in countries with weak institutional environment. The authors document significant role of democracy, rule of law and accountability in determining the relationship between political uncertainty and the choice of external audit.Originality/valueThe authors believe that theirs is one of the initial attempts (if not the first) to investigate the effect of political uncertainty on the choice of external audit among the private firms in developing countries.

Family firm versus non-family firm: the role of resource orchestration in fast-growing high-tech SMEs

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Ljungkvist ◽  
Börje Boers ◽  
Jim Andersén
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Orchestration ◽  
Paradoxical Growth

PurposeThis paper strives to understand the role of resource orchestration (RO) in the rapid growth of high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachBased on a comparative case study, RO is compared between a high-tech family firm and a high-tech non-family firm. To capture the complexity of RO, this study applies a longitudinal approach using a large volume of archival and interview data gathered over ten years.FindingsThe configuration of family-firm paradoxical growth-oriented RO emphasizes RO based on collectivism and responsibility, although relying on large-scale conforming normative control. In contrast, the configuration of non-family-firm growth-oriented RO emphasizes administrative-based delegation and management-supported value creation.Originality/valueBy suggesting ownership-based RO configurations, this study provides insights into how ownership types, i.e. family firms and non-family firms, affect RO in firms operating in complex and dynamic environments. These configurations explain how and why RO is arranged in a growth context.

Exploring the double-edged sword of familiness from a knowledge-based perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-96
Author(s):  
Omar Belkhodja ◽  
Abdelkader Daghfous
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based

PurposeFor family businesses, familiness constitutes a unique bundle of resources and capabilities resulting from family relationships and influences. The extant literature has shown that familiness impacts organizational outcomes such as performance and innovation. This paper investigates the role of familiness in relation to absorptive capacity (ACAP). It also explores the specificities of nonfamily members’ social capital when different knowledge management (KM) approaches are adopted.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory comparative case study design is adopted. Data from three family firms based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provide the empirical setting for this study. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, available documents, observations and company websites.FindingsOur results reveal that the role of familiness in relation to ACAP varies according to the adopted KM approach. Familiness targets the potential ACAP when an explicit KM approach is adopted, the realized ACAP when a tacit KM approach is adopted, and both potential and realized ACAPs when a strategic KM approach is adopted. Our results also show that family firms invest in KM processes that support knowledge exploration and/or exploitation.Originality/valueThis paper provides further evidence for the role of familiness. It moves beyond the study of familiness from a resource-based view and adopts a knowledge-based perspective to develop a better understanding of the role of familiness in relation to ACAP. It also improves our understanding of nonfamily members’ social capital in family firms.

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