Managing Family-Related Conflicts in Family Businesses: A Review and Research Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Qiu ◽  
Mark Freel
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Third Party Intervention ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Conflict Research

This review examines how family businesses manage family-related conflicts that occur at three interfaces: family-business, family-ownership, and family-business-ownership. We find that work-family conflicts, conflicts of interest, and relationship conflicts are prevalent family-related conflicts. Four conflict management strategies are frequently used to deal with these conflicts: vacillation, domination, separation, and third-party intervention. The popularity of these strategies is influenced by some unique characteristics of family businesses, such as high emotional attachment among family members. By integrating insights from the broader conflict research, paradox and dialectic studies, we develop a research agenda targeted at better connecting family-related conflicts to conflict management strategies.

scholarly journals Conflict Management in Illicit Drug Cryptomarkets

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Morselli ◽  
David Décary-Hétu ◽  
Masarah Paquet-Clouston ◽  
Judith Aldridge
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Third Party Intervention ◽  
Illegal Market

Illegal drug markets have been described as “stateless” systems. Drug dealers, moreover, are commonly considered to have a predilection toward the use of violence to resolve disputes arising from dealing activities. While some studies have undermined this popular perception, new trends surrounding the distribution of illegal drugs via online channels (drug cryptomarkets) have shifted the transactional setting from the physical to virtual realm, thus decreasing the likelihood of violent resolution outcomes even further. This article examines conflict management strategies within cryptomarkets by coding discussion forums between vendors and buyers. Violence, as expected, is absent. Strategies more likely reflect alternatives that have been recognized in conflict management research within and beyond illegal market settings: tolerance, avoidance, ostracism, third-party intervention, negotiation, and threats. The overall setting from which such resolutions emerge is clearly not subject to formal regulations, but our analyses illustrate the multitude of informal social control mechanisms that are consistently at play and which underlie the self-regulatory and communal processes that are firmly in place.

scholarly journals Conflict management strategies in family business

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Tanja Gavrić
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Crucial Information

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to determine, theoretically and empirically, which strategies are most commonly used to manage conflict situations and to what extent conflict management strategies have an effect on knowledge transfer between owners and successors in family businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This research empirically establishes a link between conflict management strategies and knowledge transfer. Methodology: In addition to theoretical conceptualization, the paper presents quantitative empirical research confirming the validity of the proposed hypothesis. Results: The results of the research show that owners who tend to use the integrating, obliging and compromising conflict management strategies, attach more importance to succession planning and transfer of knowledge and experience to successors. In contrast, dominant leaders are less willing to plan for succession, as they would prefer to retain all the crucial information and decision-making authority and are therefore reluctant to share their knowledge and power. Conclusion: Relevant conflict management strategies can be implemented to help maintain family relationships and ensure business continuity. Learning effective conflict management techniques is important for anyone involved in a family business. Thus, managing conflict is important for the success and longevity of family businesses.

scholarly journals Conflict management in family businesses

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Caputo ◽  
Giacomo Marzi ◽  
Massimiliano Matteo Pellegrini ◽  
Riccardo Rialti
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Family Conflicts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Work Family

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of the field of conflict management and the field of family business to the investigation of conflicts in family firms, with the aim of contributing to the further integration of knowledge between the two fields.Design/methodology/approachFamily conflicts and work–family balance issues also received a lot of attention, yet studies in conflict management still seem to overlook a thorough investigation of conflict in family businesses. Conflict is a major aspect of family businesses, which differs highly from non-family businesses, and offers an important research avenue for conflict management scholars to contribute to the investigation of major characteristics of organisations that constitute a large part of the value created in the world.FindingsThe results of a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review show that studies concerning conflict in family business aggregate around three clusters: organisational conflicts; firm growth and conflicts; and family control, performance and conflicts. An interpretative framework is also developed to interpret how antecedents, conflicts and growth dynamics in family business influence performances. Findings show how family conflicts and work–family balance issues received a lot of attention, yet studies in conflict management still seem to miss a thorough investigation of conflict in family businesses.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the field of conflict management and family business by providing a systematic analysis of knowledge and family firms. This paper can be a starting point for researchers interested in understanding how conflicts affect family businesses.

Mental Health in the Family Business: A Conceptual Model and a Research Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Miller ◽  
Johan Wiklund ◽  
Wei Yu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Family Coping ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
The Family ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Abcx Model

Mental health issues are affecting not only families worldwide but also numerous family businesses. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the uniqueness of the family business may be a double-edged sword generating both benefits and drawbacks for business families dealing with mental disorders. Building on the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective of family business, the ABCX model of family coping, and work–family interface literature, we develop a theoretical model to suggest how MDs interact with family and family business resources to influence the dynamics between families and their firms, and the outcomes from those dynamics. A research agenda is then proposed.

Enhancing Work—Family Balance Research in Family Businesses

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Stafford ◽  
Michael J. Tews
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Family Research ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Integrate Research

Rothausen thoroughly reviews the literature on work—family balance in traditional workplaces and provides a useful framework for determining a healthy balance between work and family in a family business context. This article addresses Rothausen’s contributions to enhancing work—family research in family businesses, and it specifies areas for further research using a fit model. Work family scholars have the potential to integrate research in economics, sociology, and psychology and so help form interdisciplinary teams to conduct research on family businesses.

How Democracies Keep the Peace: Contextual Factors That Influence Conflict Management Strategies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glynn Ellis ◽  
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell ◽  
Brandon C Prins
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Binding Forms ◽  
Bilateral Negotiations ◽  
Militarized Conflict ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Power Preponderance

Some studies find that democratic states are more amenable to third party forms of conflict management, while other studies indicate that democracies are able to resolve contentious issues on their own through bilateral negotiations. Using data from the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Project, the authors investigate peaceful and militarized conflict management strategies that democratic states employ to resolve contentious issues. Theoretically, the authors focus on how militarized conflict history, relative capabilities, and issue salience influence the tools of conflict management that democratic states employ. Empirical analyses suggest that democratic dyads employ bilateral negotiations more often to resolve contentious issues when the issue has been militarized previously, when the issue is more salient, and when they are facing an equal adversary. Democratic dyads seek out non-binding third party settlement more frequently in situations of power preponderance than non-democratic dyads, although binding forms of third party settlement occur most often in relatively equal democratic dyads. Pairs of democracies are more likely to employ militarized conflict management strategies when they have resorted to force over the issue previously, when the issue is highly salient, and when they are evenly matched.

Conflict Management

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Elgoibar ◽  
Martin Euwema ◽  
Lourdes Munduate
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Constructive Controversy ◽  
Constructive Conflict ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Constructive Conflict Management ◽  
Contingency Approach

Conflicts are part of nature and certainly part of human relations, between individuals, as well as within and between groups. Conflicts occur in every domain of life: family, work, and society, local and global. Conflict management, therefore, is an essential competency for each person. People differ largely in their emotional and behavioral responses to conflict and need to learn how to behave effectively in different conflict situations. This requires a contingency approach, first assessing the conflict situation, and then choosing a strategy, matching the goals of the party. In most situations, fostering cooperative relations will be most beneficial; however, this is also most challenging. Therefore, constructive conflict management strategies, including trust building and methods of constructive controversy, are emphasized. Conflict management, however, is broader than the interaction of the conflicting parties. Third-party interventions are an essential element of constructive conflict management, particularly the assessment of which parties are intervening in what ways at what escalation stage.

Conflict Management Strategies Used in Successful Family Businesses

1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritch L. Sorenson
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Family Outcomes ◽  
Avoidance Strategies ◽  
Conflict Strategies

This paper analyzes a survey of 59 family businesses. Findings indicate that in comparison to non-family businesses, family businesses have a more complex set of issues to consider when managing conflict. The integrative conflict strategies of collaboration, accommodation, and compromise produce relatively better outcomes for both family and business. Competitive and avoidance strategies can result in relatively negative outcomes for both business and family. High levels of collaboration contribute to positive outcomes for both family and business, and high levels of compromise and accommodation contribute to positive family outcomes. Based on a comparison of means, this paper identifies conflict management profiles for achieving positive outcomes for both business and family.

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