Chiefdoms and Family Firm Regimes: Variations on the Same Anthropological Themes

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Rogers ◽  
Alan L. Carsrud ◽  
Norris F. Krueger
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Anthropological Perspective ◽  
Modern Family ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
Succession Processes

Family owned and managed firms exhibit remarkable parallels to pre-industrial chiefdoms because the typical economic environment in which they exist limits them to a size and scale equivalent to that of a chiefdom. Using anthropological research this study inventories all known procedures of accommodating multiple heirs to the paramountcy of pre-industrial chiefdoms. It uses this exhaustive inventory to characterize the succession process in modern family owned and managed firms. The major theoretical concept adopted from anthropology is that of polity, defined as an autonomous system of institutional finance and organizational support (resource control and governance). Using terms such as polity helps us to recognize the universality of succession processes. Succession processes in family firms are less idiosyncratic than we once thought. Thus, we can fruitfully explore structural similarities between pre-industrial organizations and modern family firms using the considerable body of field research literature on chiefdoms (Goody, 1958; Barrett, 1965) which finds that every scheme to accommodate multiple successors falls into one of two categories: (a) personnel strategies and (b) asset strategies. A second critical concept is that while it is possible to inventory all possible outcomes (here, succession strategies) in any dynamic system, no single outcome can be accurately predicted in advance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an exhaustive inventory of possible outcomes of the succession process, rather than trying to predict the strategy chosen in a given case. The anthropological perspective provides a much-needed, empirically based, comprehensive model of succession processes in family firms and permits a more nomothetic approach to family firm research.

Heurigen 2.0

2021 ◽  
pp. 154-177
Author(s):  
Lara Soleder
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Transition Processes ◽  
Wine Making ◽  
Small Family ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
Succession Processes ◽  
Customer Demands

Traditional Heurigen and Buschenschenken have been an important part of Austrian culture for centuries and are mostly run as small family firms. In those businesses, succession is inevitable. Several factors are key for the success of transition processes within a family. Traditional concepts are confronted with digitalization, new technologies, new demand, and social changes. For the chapter at hand, incumbents and heirs of four wine making and Heurigen businesses in the Northern Burgenland were interviewed. Its aim is to investigate the perception of the succession process itself as well as the risk of implementing innovations into traditional concepts. This study shows that innovations are directed by natural circumstances rather than customer demands. The owners rely on traditional concepts with incremental changes to keep customers attracted. Thanks to trust, open communication, and succession processes that spread over long periods of time, neither generation thinks of the handover as problematic.

The willing successor: an exploration of grit and situational cues in family firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele N. Medina-Craven ◽  
Emily Garrigues Marett ◽  
Sara E. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Situational Cues ◽  
The Family ◽  
Succession Process

PurposeThis conceptual paper explores how the activation of the individual-level trait grit can explain variance in successor willingness to take over leadership of the family firm.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from trait activation and situation strength theories, the authors develop a framework to examine the interactions of the two dimensions of grit (passion and perseverance) on the successor's willingness to take control of the family firm.FindingsThe authors identify how the grit dimensions would interact with the situational cues present during the succession process to predict the successor's willingness to take control of the family firm and offer testable propositions to guide future empirical work.Originality/valueThe authors help to address the growing need for additional microfoundational family firm research by drawing insights from organizational behavior theories and personality research and apply them to the family firm succession process.

scholarly journals Sibling Rivalry vs. Brothers in Arms: The Contingency Effects of Involvement of Multiple Offsprings on Risk Taking in Family Firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Wang ◽  
Wang ◽  
Luo
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Sibling Rivalry ◽  
The Family ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Generational Succession

Succession process is a significant matter that is vital to the sustainability of a family firm. Families are generous in involving the offspring(s) into the family business so as to fulfill inter-generational succession. In this paper, we concentrate on the issue on the results of the involvement of multiple offsprings in family firms. By using data collected from China listed family firms between 2009 and 2015, we reveal that there exist contingency effects of the involvement of multiple offsprings on risk taking in different phrases. The involvement of new offspring(s) that leads the sibling rivalry to happen would increase risk taking of the family firm in a short-term. While for those family firms in which offsprings serve together as brothers in arms, risk taking is even lower than that of family firms with no more than one offspring. Our findings have managerial implications for dealing with succession process and maintaining sustainability of family businesses.

A Study of Succession in a Family Firm

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.B. Ibrahim ◽  
K. Soufani ◽  
J. Lam
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Case History ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Members ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Succession Process

For many founders of family firms, the decision to retire and relinquish control of the business to their offspring is difficult. Pierre Peladeau founded Quebecor Inc., a family business and a communications leader in the new economy. The present research describes the reluctance of the founder to let go of the business to his offspring and the succession process after the death of the founder. The methodology employed is a combination of case history and study of public documents. The study underscores the need to manage conflict between family members and to plan for succession for the next generation effectively.

The way toward a new entrepreneurial balance in business succession processes

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Poeschl ◽  
Joerg Freiling
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
Research Propositions ◽  
Business Succession ◽  
Succession Processes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the under-researched family-external business succession process. It makes use of entrepreneurship theory in order to conceptualize this temporal process. This allows for an operationalization of entrepreneurial functions and tracking them during the two main phases of such processes. This study provides a starting point for further endeavors into researching family-external succession processes. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on an explorative, quasi-longitudinal, qualitative and multiple case-study approach. It became possible to create trust with stakeholders in three family firms and to conduct face-to-face interviews with a total of 12 interviewees, generating over 300 transcript pages. The case interviews were validated through two expert interviews. A priori research propositions were tested and modified, if deemed necessary. Findings Entrepreneurial functions during the two main phases of the process seem to be carried out and aligned depending on several influencing factors: delegation of responsibilities from owner-managers to qualified employees; incumbent owner-managers being heavily involved in the succession’s facilitation and neglecting some entrepreneurial functions; and as a result new owner-managers being forced to prioritize certain functions in the second phase. Originality/value This paper benefits from a rather unique access to three family firms undergoing succession in the DACH-region. Therefore, it became possible to study the family-external succession process by including various stakeholders involved. Such an inclusion of perspectives has been suggested by family business scholars for a long time.

scholarly journals The Analysis of Barriers in Succession Processes of Family Business with the Use of Grey Incidence Analysis (Polish Perspective)

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Ewa Więcek-Janka ◽  
Rafał Mierzwiak ◽  
Joanna Kijewska
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Grey Systems Theory ◽  
Succession Process ◽  
Incidence Analysis ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Succession Processes ◽  
Empirical Material

Abstract The article presents results of research on the identification and evaluation of barriers faced by successors in family businesses during the first process of succession. The analysis of empirical material used grey systems theory, which was considered as an equivalent for the analysis of small samples and qualitative research. While conducting the literature review and empirical study, the authors concentrated on (a) the identification of barriers in the development of family firms and (b) eliciting the perspective of the new generation of owners in family firms entering the succession process through an empirical analysis of the assessed level of risk in relationships with family and business.

scholarly journals Investors’ Reactions to CSR News in Family Versus Nonfamily Firms: A Study on Signal (In)credibility

2021 ◽  
pp. 104225872110104
Author(s):  
Naciye Sekerci ◽  
Jamil Jaballah ◽  
Marc van Essen ◽  
Nadine Kammerlander
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Event Study ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Signaling Theory ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Stock Market Index ◽  
Important Condition ◽  
Post Hoc Analysis ◽  
Market Index ◽  
Post Hoc

We study family firm status as an important condition in signaling theory; specifically, we propose that the market reacts more positively to positive, and more negatively to negative, CSR news (i.e., signals) from family firms than to similar news from nonfamily firms. Moreover, we propose that during recessions, the direction of these relationships reverses. Based on an event study of 1247 positive and negative changes in the CSR ratings for all firms listed on the French SFB120 stock market index (2003-2013), we find support for our hypotheses. Moreover, a post hoc analysis reveals that the relationships are contingent on whether a family CEO leads the firm.

“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.

Developing Tools for New Technology Studies: An Anthropological Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
María Santos ◽  
María Márquez
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Anthropological Perspective ◽  
Technological Style ◽  
Technological Artifacts ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Symbolic Processes ◽  
Technological Experience

Anthropology seeks the meanings of standard or repeated behaviors, social processes, or human creations. This is why anthropologists have explored alien and/or distant social settings. What happens when we try to answer the same questions in our own contexts? In other words, how can we use anthropological theories and tools to discover the meaning of the development and adoption of technological artifacts and processes within our own cultural groups? In this article, we suggest that this can be partly achieved through the generation and exchange of theoretical tools. To this end, we propose the concepts of "technical-symbolic trajectories" and "technological style." These have been drawn from our field research and include influences from disciplines other than anthropology. They are then used to generate mid-range explanations to understand: (1) the symbolic processes that, in conjunction with other social, political, and economic forces, shape a specific and identifiable trajectory of technological development and (2) the technical resources, behaviors, and discourses that actors use to achieve the cultural objectives incorporated into any technological experience.

Birth mode of family firms, family entering time and R&D investment: evidence from China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zulfiqar ◽  
Shihua Chen ◽  
Muhammad Usman Yousaf
Keyword(s):  
Agency Theory ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Research Database ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Birth ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
D Investment ◽  
Moderating Role

PurposeOn the basis of behavioural agency theory and resource-based view, this study investigates the influence of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established), family entering time on R&D investment and the moderating role of the family entering time on the relationship between birth mode and R&D investment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 2,990 firm-year observations from family firms listed on A-share in China from 2008 to 2016 in the China Stock Market and Accounting Research database. They used pooled regression for data analysis and Tobit regression for robustness checks.FindingsIndirect-established family firms show more inclined behaviour towards R&D investment than direct-established counterparts. Family entering time positively affects the R&D investment of family firms. Moreover, family entering time plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and R&D investment.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a pioneering study that introduced the concept of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and family entering time. This work is novel because it differentiated family firms according to their birth modes, an approach which is a contribution to the existing literature of family firms. Moreover, the investigation of the moderating role of family entering time has also produced notable results that help understand the impact of family entering time on different types of family firms. The interpretation of outcomes according to behavioural agency theory also produced useful insights for future researchers as well as for policymakers.

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