Building and maintaining the family business-private equity relationship

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-63
Author(s):  
Vincent Molly ◽  
Diane Arijs ◽  
Johan Lambrecht

Purpose Adopting an integrated agency and stewardship perspective, the purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between family businesses (FBs) and private equity (PE) investors at three stages: entry, cooperation, and exit. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study combines the perspectives of 11 FB owners and/or managers, seven PE investors, and four intermediaries. The in-depth interviews of this purposive sample are analysed at the intra- and inter-case level using a template analysis approach up to reaching theoretical saturation. Findings Building and maintaining an effective relationship between the FB and the PE investor requires both a stewardship perspective (i.e. reciprocal principal-steward behaviour) and a necessary but insufficient agency perspective (i.e. principal-principal behaviour). Research limitations/implications More large-scale studies with an integrated agency-stewardship perspective on FBs using PE can increase the external validity of the insights from this research to build and maintain an effective relationship between both parties. Practical implications Providing insights into the relationship building process and best practices, this study helps reduce the knowledge and empathy gap that exists between FBs and PE. Originality/value The results clarify the need to reconcile an agency and stewardship perspective to thoroughly understand the relationship and behaviour of FBs and PE investors, and to help the parties understand and benefit from each other’s added value.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Lučić ◽  
Marija Uzelac ◽  
Andrea Previšić

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of values of materialism on cognitive and affective impulsiveness and responsible financial behavior among young adults. Design/methodology/approach A large-scale study (n = 483) was conducted on a sample of young adults 18 to 25 years of age in Croatia. Findings The research found that materialism has no direct effect on responsible financial behaviour (RFB), however, cognitive impulsiveness fully mediates the relationship of all three there three elements of materialism, centrality, success and happiness and RFB. Affective impulsiveness has no effect on the relationship. Furthermore, only materialism as centrality strongly and positively influences cognitive and affective impulsiveness. Practical implications Presented conclusions could be used by policymakers as guidelines for developing educational plans and curriculum to build financial capability and consumer protection among young adults and could be helpful for brand management activities targeting young people purchase decisions. Originality/value This paper’s ultimate purpose is to uncover the mechanism and the power of materialism on impulsiveness and responsible financial behavior. The paper’s originality is established by the focus on the investigation of materialism as an antecedent factor of impulsiveness and by questioning the nature of the relationship between materialism and responsible financial behavior through the mediating effect of impulsiveness.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Ungaro ◽  
Laura Di Pietro ◽  
Maria Francesca Renzi ◽  
Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion ◽  
Maria Giovina Pasca

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the consumer's perspective regarding the relationship between services and well-being, contributing to the knowledge base in transformative service research (TSR). More specifically the aim was to understand consumers' perceptions of the relationship between services and well-being and their views about how companies can contribute (directly and/or indirectly) to achieve the well-being.Design/methodology/approachTo reach the research aim, the study adopts an explorative inductive design, carried out through a qualitative approach and grounded in 30 in-depth interviews with consumers.FindingsService sustainability represents the fundamental characteristic that determines the service ability to be transformative, requiring the implementation of the triple bottom line dimensions: social, environmental and economic. It emerged that, in the consumer's mind, the service categories that present a stronger relationship between service and well-being are as follows: healthcare, financial and transport.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a conceptual framework to describe the consumer perspective of the services' transformative role in promoting well-being, providing a theoretical lens for conducting future research and continuing to expand transformative service research (TSR).


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Bonacina Roldan ◽  
Peter Bent Hansen ◽  
Domingo Garcia-Perez-de-Lema

PurposeInnovation is today considered a competitive differential for improving the performance of companies, and technology parks are seen as environments with favorable conditions for such innovation. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for analyzing favorable conditions for innovation in technology parks, the innovations produced and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, the authors conducted bibliographic research and in-depth interviews with managers of companies based at the Tecnopuc Science and Technology Park, and managers of the park itself, to establish practical support for previous theoretical findings.FindingsAs a result, a framework was developed to link the favorable conditions for innovation, and organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis model proposed here synthesizes the contributions made by several scholars on the theme, allowing for a more detailed and integrated interpretation of the phenomenon, namely, the ways through which the effective development of innovation takes place in companies residing in technology parks and the contribution of innovation to the specific performance of companies.Practical implicationsThe use of the proposed framework can help direct park managers’ action towards those relationships or activities that prove to be ineffective in achieving desired goals.Originality/valueThe use of the proposed model in empirical surveys will allow for better understanding of the phenomenon involving the features of technology parks and their effects on innovation and the performance of companies installed there, considering that such parks allow them to access resources with lower transaction costs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1097-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bang-Ning Hwang ◽  
Mu-Yen Hsu

Purpose For most manufacturing firms, technological innovations are usually the key strategies to gain their competitive advantages. However, competing strategically through service provision is becoming an important strategy for most industries. A growing demand for packaged product and service delivery is blurring the traditional boundaries between manufacturing and service firms. This trend is called “servitization.” Prior research had different perspectives on the relationship between technological innovations and servitization. Some argued that as servitization exerts the innovative convergence of products and services, the possession of appropriate readiness and absorption capacity through technological innovations for a manufacturing firm is critical to the success of servitization. In contrast, some argued that the knowledge gained from developing technological innovations cannot be applied to the creation of services due to the fundamental difference between technology and service. These contradicting arguments motivated the authors to study the relationship between technological innovations and servitization a step further. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To address the research gap, the authors conducted an empirical study based on the large-scale samples from the second Taiwan Community Innovation Survey (Taiwan CIS). A multivariate logistic regression model was applied in the research. Findings The authors found that different types of technological innovations, namely product innovation and process innovation, have different impacts on servitization. The innovativeness level of the technological innovation moderates the relationship between technological innovation and servitization. Based on the above findings, this research specifically explains the causes of the contradictory results of the prior research. Originality/value The values of this research are twofold. Its academic contribution rests on bridging the literature of innovation and servitization, and on providing a model to clarify the relationships among technological innovation type, level of innovativeness and servitization. Its practical contribution lies in its establishment of a guideline that illuminates manufacturing firms reinforcing service delivery through their existing technological innovation trajectory.


Author(s):  
Dayashankar Maurya ◽  
Amit Kumar Srivastava

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the variation in the relationship between governance mechanisms and the effect of the relationship on contract performance, especially in controlling partner opportunism. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts a comparative case analysis of contract governance of “National Health Insurance Program” in India. The data are collected using field research through in-depth interviews and direct observation across three states in India. Findings The authors find that the governance mechanisms continue to complement and substitute, both in a dynamic manner, but until aligned with the nature of transaction, they are ineffective to mitigate opportunism, a critical dimension of contract performance. Inappropriate governance mechanisms inflate the gaps in incomplete contracts, resulting in partner opportunism. Research limitations/implications The study draws findings from healthcare context and service-based contracting; therefore, the applicability of this study may vary in other contexts. Practical implications The paper highlights the need for building flexibility in the governance structure while designing contracts. Further, managers need to combine both governance mechanisms dynamically to align with the nature of the transaction to control partner opportunism. Originality/value The authors contribute to the existing debate on the conundrum of the relationship between governance mechanisms and provide a new explanation. The authors propose that it is not the specific governance mechanisms but the alignment of the governance mix with the nature of the transaction that determines the contract performance, especially control of partner opportunism.


Author(s):  
Mustafa Doğan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the ecomuseum and solidarity tourism and to measure their impact on community development. Design/methodology/approach The study presented here adopts two methods for collecting qualitative data: in-depth interviews and observations. The total number of village households was 42 and the number of households that hosted tourists in their home was 20. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, qualitative methods were employed in the form of lengthy interviews with 13 residents. Findings The findings indicate that tourism for the Bogatepe Village ecomuseum has focused on a solidarity perspective which has provided significant benefits to the community ensuring local sustainable development. The ecomuseum as a concept and a destination has helped to control tourism and strengthened the impact of solidarity tourism on the local community. Research limitations/implications The research presented here must be seen as exploratory. More generally, further research is needed to look at the possibility of developing this type of tourism in other rural areas and similar regions of Turkey (covering both small and large areas) with an important cultural heritage. Originality/value The combination of the ecomuseum and solidarity tourism can provide a sustainable solution for tourism in rural areas and provide a model in the development of tourism to other villages in Turkey. The question is whether it could also be used in larger rural areas. The study underlines that Bogatepe is certainly worthy of future study.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-688
Author(s):  
Cosimo Magazzino ◽  
Francesco Felici ◽  
Vanja Bozic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information content of the variables that can help detecting external and internal imbalances in an early stage. The starting point is the Scoreboard, where nine indicators are chosen in order to increase macroeconomic surveillance of all member states. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an overview of the variables that could be informative for imbalances by focusing on EU-27 countries over the period 1960-2010. The number of chosen variables is 28, and they are aggregated in six macro-areas. Therefore, once an imbalance is observed in any of those areas, it is possible to detect in a simple way which specific variable is determining such outcome. Findings – In general, this approach provides reliable signal to the policy-makers about the indicators that can drive imbalances within the area, shedding light on the relationship among the variables included in the analysis, too. Research limitations/implications – In fact, the empirical results underline some well-known critical issue for several countries, and is largely in line with results obtained in a variety of EC and OECD studies. Originality/value – The main added value of the approach adopted in this paper is the introduction of more variables than those initially proposed by the European Commission in the construction of the Scoreboard. This provides more information about the macroeconomic situation in each country, preserving, however, the simplicity of the analysis as the variables are aggregated by homogeneous areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omneya A. Marzouk

Purpose The study aims to investigate the differences among urban and rural consumers in terms of their energy and water sustainable consumption behaviour levels and drivers and also empirically blueprint conceptual frameworks highlighting urban and rural consumer drivers to consume sustainably. Design/methodology/approach This research follows an exploratory design using a qualitative approach; 14 in-depth interviews followed by one focus group were conducted with urban consumers; on the other hand, 18 in-depth interviews followed by one focus group were conducted with rural consumers. Findings The findings show that no differences exist among urban and rural consumers in terms of both their sustainable consumption levels and their drivers to consume sustainably; such findings were encapsulated in the form of one conceptual framework pertinent to both urban and rural consumers; it has the following relevant factors: consumers’ attitudes toward conservation, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, self-preference, public media influence, perceived economic value and perceived moral obligation to be relevant antecedents of conservation behaviour, which – in turn – drives sustainable purchase behaviours with the moderating effect of socio-demographic variables. Originality/value This paper contributes to extant literature as it provides evidence for the drivers of sustainable consumption behaviours of urban versus rural consumers in emerging countries; it also tentatively answers the question of whether the socio-demographic variables infer a difference in consumers’ sustainable consumption; finally, it studies sustainable consumption from a novel perspective with a focus on the relationship between its two pillars.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66
Author(s):  
Ivana Monnard ◽  
Krishnamurthy Sriramesh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to link public relations to peacebuilding. Although scholarship has discussed public relations as relationship management, the nexus between public relations and peace building has been understudied. To address this deficiency, this research studies the negotiations between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP separatist group that lead to the landmark peace treaty between the two entities that had fought for over five decades with thousands of deaths. Three research questions addressed the communication factors that contributed to the two sworn enemies – FARC-EP and the Colombian Government – finally sealing a peace agreement; the specific public relations strategies and techniques that led to relationship building between the two sides leading to the landmark peace agreement; and the use of the indicators of relationship building proposed by scholarship in the negotiations between the Colombian Government and FARC-EP. Design/methodology/approach The case study method was used and a purposive sample of news reports from three national newspapers at specific key dates yielding a final sample consisted of 504 articles was analysed. A codebook with deductive and inductive categories was developed specially to study the existing communication factors (RQ1), public relations strategies and techniques (RQ2), as well as contributions by relationship indicators (RQ3). Given the sensitivity of the issues, only secondary data could be relied upon for this study. Findings The results of RQ1 fall within the scope of Grunig’s (2001), Sriramesh’s (1992) and Hung’s (2001) notion of the personal influence model where the leveraging of individuals’ network is important to facilitate communication. Indeed, the relations already existing and established with third parties are revealed to be fundamental to the success of the negotiation process. As for RQ2, findings demonstrate that the Colombian Government used third-party mediation, principled and distributive strategies, while FARC-EP mainly used contending strategies. But results showed that both used compromising during the whole process, and that both transitioned from one-way asymmetrical strategies, such as principled or contending towards compromising along the peace talks. Finally, findings demonstrate evidence of the four indicators of the relationship and their link with public relations techniques. The most evidenced indicators of the relationship were trust, commitment and control mutuality. Trust was the indicator of the relationship the most evidenced in the Colombian case. The dimension was built during the whole process and evolved continually. Distrust was the total between the two enemies at the beginning of the pre-negotiation. However, as parties entered into a relationship, confidence and trust increased. Research limitations/implications The inability to obtain primary data is the major limitation of this study. It was caused by the sensitivity of the topic. Practical implications This study links public relations to a very practical case that is also vastly understudied/underreported – peacemaking/peacebuilding – while also addressing communication by governments and civil society in Latin America – an area that is largely understudied. Originality/value This is the first study that links public relations with peacebuilding.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matej Grošelj ◽  
Matej Černe ◽  
Sandra Penger ◽  
Barbara Grah

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the moderating role of psychological empowerment on the relationships between authentic leadership and innovative work behaviour, as well as transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour.Design/methodology/approachWe have applied the mixed-method research on the selected case study. The quantitative field study was conducted on a sample of 126 employees in a multinational technological company. A series of paired sample t-tests were followed by a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The qualitative study consists of a content analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with four leaders.FindingsThe research provides further confirmation of the positive relationship between leadership and innovative work behaviour. Specifically, the results showed that psychological empowerment moderates the relationship between leadership (authentic as well as transformational leadership) and innovative work behaviour.Originality/valueThis paper contributed to leadership and innovation literature and provided insights in studying the boundary conditions on the relationship between authentic leadership, as well as transformational leadership, in stimulating innovative work behaviour through the moderating role of psychological empowerment. The added value is expanded by introducing the comparison of the two leadership theories.


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