Do Spanish Family SMEs Make Appropriate Use of Their Organizational Websites?

2021 ◽  
pp. 172-191
Author(s):  
Rubén Martínez-Alonso ◽  
María J. Martínez-Romero ◽  
Daniel Rodríguez-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Smes ◽  
Adequate Quality ◽  
The One ◽  
Privately Owned

The aim of this chapter is to analyse how family SMEs use digital media, particularly organizational websites, to disseminate information about their products, services, history, etc. To this end, the authors perform a descriptive analysis of 32 organizational websites from privately owned family SMEs located in the region of Andalusia (Southern Spain), emphasizing two differentiating strategies: promotion of the family firm brand and website quality level. On the one hand, the findings show that family firms are to some degree reluctant to promote their family firm brand on their organizational websites, with the indicator of being a family firm as the most communicated. On the other hand, the findings reveal that family firms tend to develop organizational websites with an adequate quality level; however, the inclusion of components, such as FAQ or help sections or a bilingual option, need to be considered in the future.

“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.

W. Cameron Forbes in the Philippines: A Study in Proconsular Power

1966 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Ralph Waldo Emerson ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Family ◽  
The One

On his mother's side, W. Cameron Forbes was the grandson of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and on his father's, the grandson of John Murray Forbes, who made his fortune in the China clipper trade. He carried in his heredity the shrewd business ability of the one and the liberalism of the other. In Hofstadter's turn of phrase, he was the patrician as liberal. His wealth, his education — the best available (Milton Academy, Hopkinson School, Harvard) — would have entitled him to admittance to the innermost recesses of post-Civil War Republicanism. Yet he remained at best only affiliated with that party, and at heart an outspoken Independent. In 1892, on graduation from Harvard, he joined Stone and Webster, later gained experience in business as officer and director of several Boston banks, and then, just before the turn of the century, joined the family firm of J. M. Forbes and Co., Merchants.

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.

A Configurational Approach to Family Firm Innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Kosmidou ◽  
Manju K. Ahuja
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Firm Innovation ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Configurational Approach ◽  
The Family ◽  
Innovation Model ◽  
Privately Owned

This article develops an integrated framework for the examination of innovation drivers in small and privately owned family firms. Drawing from the family-driven innovation model, we study how factors at the family, the firm, and the environment level combine into distinct configurations that spur innovation. Analyzing 277 family firms using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, we find six configurations leading to high innovation and show that none of the antecedents is necessary for it. Building inductively on our configurations, we also derive propositions about the combinations of factors leading to high innovation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Differences between family and non-family SMEs: A comparative study of Australia and Belgium

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Smith
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Business Relationship ◽  
Detailed Understanding ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Smes ◽  
Australian Experience ◽  
Cross National

AbstractThis study attempts to further the development of family business theory by providing a more detailed understanding of the differences between family and non-family firms' profitability, growth, exporting and networking behaviour. Utilising data from 2190 Australian SMEs, the study compares the Australian experience of differences between family and non-family firms with those found among Belgium firms. The Australian results are consistent with the growth and some of the networking behaviour found among Belgium firms, but not with their profitability and exporting behaviour. The study's findings support the contentions that the differences between family and non-family firms may be less than many earlier studies have indicated and that industry differences and cross-national differences in corporate governance environments may lead to variances in these differences. It also demonstrates that the underlying theoretical rationale for a number of predicted differences between family and non-family firms appears flawed. These findings indicate that new empirical studies that control for context are urgently needed to ensure the scholarly literature on family businesses is not being built on false assumptions. They also indicate that studies designed to explain differences in the family/non-family business relationship between industries and nations may lead to advances in family business theory.

scholarly journals Family Involvement in the Firm and Exports in the Family SME: Is the Manager’s International Orientation Influential?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Basly
Keyword(s):  
Family Involvement ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
International Orientation ◽  
The Family ◽  
Sample Data ◽  
Family Smes ◽  
Family Involvement In Management ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractDoes the family involvement affect exports in the family firm? The literature seems to support this view even if the direction and magnitude of this impact remains controversial. Drawing on the perspectives of agency [Chrisman et al. 2004; Schulze et al. 2001] and stewardship as applied to family firms [Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson 1997] and also on socio-emotional wealth perspective [Gómez-Mejía et al. 2007], this study seeks to contribute to this debate by studying the influence of family involvement on the SME exports intensity. To reconcile the divergent views, our research attempts to assess the role of the manager’s international orientation as a variable moderating the relationship between family involvement and exports in SMEs. Based on a hypothetical-deductive approach, the study uses a sample data of 125 family SMEs obtained through a questionnaire. The results show that even if the positive influence of the manager’s international orientation is corroborated, its moderating role seems to be limited to only one facet of the construct of family involvement i.e. involvement in management. Moreover, owning-family involvement in management seems to negatively influence exports while some results argue for a positive effect of the family involvement in ownership on exports.

Fair Process: Striving for Justice in Family Business

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludo Van der Heyden ◽  
Christine Blondel ◽  
Randel S. Carlock
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Fair Process ◽  
Business System ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

The social science and business literatures on procedural justice or fair process attest that improvements in procedural fairness can be expected to improve both a firm's performance and the commitment and trust of the individuals involved with it. This article examines the relevance of procedural justice for family business. When a family is an influential component of a particular business system, the application of justice is typically rendered more complex than might be the case for nonfamily firms. Different criteria (need, merit, and equality) guide the application of distributive justice among families, firms, and shareholders. This divergence in criterion also lies at the heart of many conflicts inside the family business. In this article, we argue that the application of procedural justice reduces occurrences of conflict and, in some cases, may eliminate conflict altogether. We propose a definition of fair process that extends and enriches the one existing in the literature. We offer five fundamental criteria essential to the effectiveness of fair process in family firms. We conclude with a series of case studies that illustrate typical questions faced inside family businesses. We show that a lack of fairness in the decision and managerial processes governing these businesses and their associated families is a source of conflict. We describe how increasing fair process practices improves the performance of these businesses while also increasing the satisfaction of those associated with them.

Research on Women in Family Firms

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocio Martinez Jimenez
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Questions

Based on a review of 48 articles and other research works published since 1985, the current work examines both obstacles to and positive aspects of women's involvement in family firms. The most important findings of this work concern the important role that wives play for the continuity and growth of the family firm and the factors that can help or hinder daughters to progress professionally and achieve leadership positions in this type of firm. Research questions and methods and implications for future research and practice are also presented.

Must Love Kill the Family Firm? Some Exploratory Evidence

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1121-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Mehrotra ◽  
Randall Morck ◽  
Jungwook Shim ◽  
Yupana Wiwattanakantang
Keyword(s):  
Family Firms ◽  
Mean Reversion ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Arranged Marriage ◽  
Arranged Marriages ◽  
The Family

Family firms depend on a succession of capable heirs to stay afloat. If talent and IQ are inherited, this problem is mitigated. If, however, progeny talent and IQ display mean reversion (or worse), family firms are eventually doomed. Since family firms persist, solutions to this succession problem must exist. We submit that marriage can transfuse outside talent and reinvigorate family firms. This implies that changes to the institution of marriage—notably, a decline in arranged marriages in favor of marriages for “love”—bode ill for the survival of family firms. Consistent with this, the predominance of family firms correlates strongly across countries with plausible proxies for arranged marriage norms.

The auditor as consigliere in family firm

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven-Olof Yrjö Collin ◽  
Jenny Ahlberg ◽  
Karin Berg ◽  
Pernilla Broberg ◽  
Amelie Karlsson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Professional Independence ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a concept of auditor as consigliere in family firms, that captures additional functions to monitoring, those of advice, mediating, and conveying. Design/methodology/approach The concept is tested through a survey conducted on 309 Swedish auditors. Findings The data indicate that the consigliere role is generally not emphasized, indicating that auditors primarily perform the monitoring role of the audit. However, the authors do find indications of the auditor performing the consigliere role, through performing the advisory and mediating functions and, to a smaller degree, the conveying function. Research limitations/implications The survey is limited in response rate and in separating governance situations from consigliere functions. Practical implications With reservation for professional independence, the auditor as consigliere could be part of the governance of the family firm, but should be trained for this activity. Social implications Regulators should pay attention to the consigliere role when, for example, stipulating compulsory rotation of auditors. Originality/value The paper shows that the auditor is more than a monitor in family firms. The consigliere role, even if not at all dominating, has to be considered, at least in family firms.

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