Family Business Leaders’ Metaphors and Firm Performance: Exploring the “Roots” and “Shoots” of Symbolic Meanings

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-151
Author(s):  
Alessandra Tognazzo ◽  
Donald O. Neubaum
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Italian Family ◽  
Interview Technique ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
And Performance

To investigate the complex dynamics when family members with differing perceptions and interpretations of reality jointly lead their family business, this research adopts an epistemic-operative interview technique using Morgan’s images of organization. We explore how family leaders’ root metaphors, which are symbolic frames that help understand individuals’ attitudes and behaviors, are linked to family businesses’ behavior and performance. Analyzing six Italian family hotels, we derive four structures of family symbolic meanings and explain how and why relationships and innovation are mechanisms through which firm performance is related and connected to the offshoots of the meanings of family leaders’ root metaphors.

FOUNDER CENTRALITY, MANAGEMENT TEAM CONGRUENCE AND PERFORMANCE IN FAMILY FIRMS: A KENYAN CONTEXT

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (04) ◽  
pp. 383-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
LOUISE KELLY ◽  
PETER M. LEWA ◽  
KINYUA KAMARIA
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Applying social network theory to family business, founder centrality has been generally shown to positively affect top-management-team congruence and, as a consequence, firm performance. This study applies social network and strategic leadership theory to an examination of founder centrality in family businesses. It focuses on family businesses in Kenya, and examines the impact of the founder's influence on management team congruence in the three strategic areas of culture, vision, and goals. The discussion considers the research findings in Kenya of a negative influence of founder centrality on management team congruence and firm performance. The study concludes with a presentation of some possible reasons for this dynamic in developing countries like Kenya, where family business is prevalent, and in which the founder plays a central role.

scholarly journals Impact of Gender, Age and Management Style on the Success of Family Business in Kosovo

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Rifat Hoxha ◽  
Hamdi Hoti
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Doctoral Dissertation ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
And Performance

Family business is the most contributing category in the economic development of all countries. Both Developed and Developing Countries and Less Developed Family Business plays an important role in reducing unemployment and is a catalyst for developing creative ideas and innovations in all business activities. In this paper we will address some of the characteristics of managers of this business category, such as their gender, age, and style of management, and their impact on the development and growth of these businesses' performance. The paper is part of the survey conducted by the survey of over 300 family businesses in Kosovo and was used by the author for the preparation of doctoral dissertation. This paper is fulfill from the survey which is realized with professors of Economic field in University of Prizren “Ukshin HOTI” in Prizren. From those finding results of research we give some modest recommendations and it’s more raising awareness especially business management from female gender as an opportunity to duplicate the potential for a development and performance of those business. This is based on the fact that the more thought we have, the more ideas come about how we can manage a family business with contemporary style, without a gender or age complex, which can guarantee success not only in our country , but to become competitive and penetrate the markets of the most developed countries.Keywords: Family business, Gender, Age, Management style

Does family involvement matter post IPO? Adding value through advertising in family firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atanas Nik Nikolov ◽  
Yuan Wen
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Involvement ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Family

PurposeThis paper brings together research on advertising, family business, and the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm to examine performance differences between publicly traded US family vs non-family firms. The purpose of this paper is to understand the heterogeneity of family vs non-family firm advertising after such firms become publicly traded.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on the RBV of the firm, as well as on extensive empirical literature in family business and advertising research to empirically examine the differences between family and non-family firms in terms of performance.FindingsUsing panel data from over 2,000 companies across ten years, this research demonstrates that family businesses have higher advertising intensity than competitors, and achieve higher performance returns on their advertising investments, relative to non-family competitors. The results suggest that the “familiness” of public family firms is an intangible resource that, when combined with their advertising investments, affords family businesses a relative advantage compared to non-family businesses.Research limitations/implicationsFamily involvement in publicly traded firms may contribute toward a richer resource endowment and result in creating synergistic effects between firm “familiness” and the public status of the firm. The paper contributes toward the RBV of the firm and the advertising literature. Limitations include the lack of qualitative data to ground the findings and potential moderating effects.Practical implicationsUnderstanding how family firms’ advertising spending influences their consequent performance provides new information to family firms’ owners and management, as well as investors. The authors suggest that the “familiness” of public family firms may provide a significant advantage over their non-family-owned competitors.Social implicationsThe implications for society include that the family firm as an organizational form does not need to be relegated to a second-class citizen status in the business world: indeed, combining family firms’ characteristics within a publicly traded platform may provide firm performance benefits which benefit the founding family and other stakeholders.Originality/valueThis study contributes by highlighting the important influence of family involvement on advertising investment in the public family firm, a topic which has received limited attention. Second, it also integrates public ownership in family firms with the family involvement–advertising–firm performance relationship. As such, it uncovers a new pathway through which the family effect is leveraged to increase firm performance. Third, this study also contributes to the advertising and resource building literatures by identifying advertising as an additional resource which magnifies the impact of the bundle of resources available to the public family firm. Fourth, the use of an extensive panel data set allows for a more complex empirical investigation of the inherently dynamic relationships in the data and thus provides a contribution to the empirical stream of research in family business.

Successful family business succession: Utilizing peer groups for critical leadership skills development

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenell Lynn-Senter Wittmer ◽  
Clinton Oliver Longenecker ◽  
Angie Jones
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Peer Groups ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Leadership ◽  
Business Succession

Purpose The current study explores the necessary leadership skills required for leadership succession in family businesses as well as best development activities for each skill. The current study provides suggestions for best practices in developing and utilizing peer groups as a leadership development method. Design/methodology/approach A needs assessment was conducted by surveying 150 family-business leaders. Leaders were asked, “What are your most pressing leadership development needs for your organization as you move toward succession? A follow-up question was then asked: “For each of these skills, what method would best help develop this skill for family business leaders?” The responses were content analyzed, placed into themes, and rank ordered. Findings High agreement amongst business leaders was found as eight leadership skills were cited by high percentages of family-business leaders. Leaders overwhelmingly reported peer developmental activities as being the best method for developing these skills. Originality/value Succession planning in family-businesses is critical as many family business fail to make it past the first or second generation. However, little research explores what specific leadership skills are necessary for optimal succession. As well, many leaders in public organizations seek individual methods of development, such as executive coaching, whereas family business leaders seek group activities to learn with/through their peers.

Do Female Directors on Corporate Boards Make a Difference in Family Owned Businesses?

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Sveva Magnanelli ◽  
Luigi Nasta ◽  
Elisa Raoli
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Gender Quota

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how the presence of female directors on corporate boards impacts the performance of family firms. This study enriches the literature on gender diversity on corporate boards and its effects on firm performance by focusing on a country in which family businesses are dominant. The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of 165 Italian-listed firms from 2011 to 2016, representing the period during which the mandatory gender quota law was introduced and implemented in Italy. The results show a positive relationship between the presence of women on corporate boards and firm performance, specifically in family owned businesses. These findings lead to the conclusion that female directors do not have a negative impact on firm performance. And, given the domination of family businesses and a mandatory gender quota law in Italy, this study makes a regulatory and performance assessment not previously examined in the literature. JEL Classifications: M1; M12; M48; M21.

scholarly journals Recomendaciones de Liderazgo para los Dueños de Pymes Familiares Exportadoras y no Exportadoras en Nuevo León

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Eloisa Treviño Ayala ◽  
Paula Villalpando Cadena ◽  
David Fernando Lozano Treviño ◽  
José Nicolás Barragán Codina
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
The State ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Nuevo Leon ◽  
Nuevo León ◽  
Key Word ◽  
Family Smes

Key Word: Family business; leaders, owners or managers, profits, SME’s business; SME’s exportingAbstract: The main purpose of this document is to state the importance that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting and non-exporting have, as well as family businesses in Mexico´s economy and specifically in the state of Nuevo Leon. It establishes certain family SMEs, exporting and non-exporting, characteristics to take into consideration by Nuevo Leon leaders that seek success under the determinant of profits. It also locates qualities, from our stand point, classic and contemporaries, recommended for managers and administrators of this type of companies.Palabras Clave: Dueños o administradores, ganancias, líderes, negocios familiares; Pymes, Pymes exportadorasResumen: El presente documento tiene como finalidad plasmar la importancia que tienen las pequeñas y medianas empresas (Pymes) familiares, exportadoras y no exportadoras en la economía de México y específicamente en el estado de Nuevo León. Se establecen ciertas características a considerar de las Pymes familiares exportadoras por los líderes nuevoleoneses que buscan el éxito bajo la determinante del aumento de las ganancias. Igualmente se ubican cualidades, a nuestro juicio, clásicas y contemporáneas, recomendadas para directivos y administradores de este tipo de compañías.

scholarly journals Over the Weberian Wall: Chinese Family Businesses in Singapore

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 99-125
Author(s):  
Barry Wilkinson ◽  
Siew Tong Fock
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Chinese Family ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Overseas Chinese ◽  
Doing Business

Abstract Overseas Chinese businesses have been characterized as possessing unique cultural attributes or being embedded in specific institutional environments that constrict their growth and lead to them taking on limited economic roles. Familism, particularism, nepotism and the lack of state support (among other cultural and institutional features) it is argued, stand in the way of the emergence of large, successful and enduring firms, and problems of inter-generation transition frequently lead to their demise. This paper argues that such a fatalistic prognosis is misplaced, and uses case studies of successful Chinese family businesses in Singapore to demonstrate how business leaders, as agents, can incorporate, defy, or re-combine elements from the socio-cultural environment in ways that enable continuity and growth. Additionally, this paper highlights the role of a proactive state at play in promoting a specific Chinese mode of doing business based on notions of so-called Confucian capitalism, which despite its culturalist associations, is based on capitalist practices. Keywords: Chinese family business, inter-generation transition, Chinese culture, entrepreneurial agency.

The Daughter's Career in Family Firms

2019 ◽  
pp. 156-176
Author(s):  
Filippo Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Gender Studies ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Considerable Importance ◽  
Italian Family ◽  
Educational Career ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Theoretical Limitation

In spite of the considerable importance of career issues in the field of family business gender studies, current literature shows a lack of attention to careers in family businesses. Due to this theoretical limitation, this chapter aims to investigate quantitatively the second generation's career in a sample of Italian family firms (N=297). Findings suggest that the careers of females and males show different characteristics. This chapter contributes to the limited research on daughter succession. Moreover, it provides a contribution to understanding the daughters' organizational and educational career in small and medium-sized family firms specifically, filling a gap in the current literature. Finally, this chapter prompts a reflection on the cultural/contextual aspects that impact upon entry into the company.

Intergenerational Transition in a Small Family Business

2014 ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Mari ◽  
Olimpia Meglio
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Italian Family ◽  
Small Family ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Intergenerational Transition ◽  
Prevailing View

Family businesses constitute the key infrastructure of wealth creation across the globe. One of the most important human-resource challenges they face is intergenerational transition, an issue that has received considerable attention from scholars in various countries. Despite this great interest, academics are still attempting to understand the phenomenon and provide effective managerial guidance on how family businesses can make it to the second generation. This chapter seeks to contribute to family business research by offering a more nuanced understanding of intergenerational transition that builds on a conceptualization of the phenomenon as a process rather than the prevailing view of it as an instantaneous event. In order to capture the processual nature of intergenerational transition, evidence is presented from a field study carried out in a small Italian family business that was the arena of three different intergenerational transitions taking place at different time periods. The evidence gathered suggests that the process is shaped by interaction of the different parties involved, who renegotiate their roles as it unfolds, with various factors playing a part.

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