Large-sized Families Research Articles

Role of family factors in provision and perception of social support for older people in Iran: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundIran has experienced a very fast fertility transition. The process of demographic transition, coupled with modernization, has had considerable consequences for the structure and function of families. There is rising concern in Iran about a potential decline in family care and support for older people as a result of these changes. The main aim of this study was to provide a benchmark by examining current associations between family factors and older people’s social support, both perceived and received.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 644 people aged 60 + years resident in Tehran was conducted using stratified cluster random sampling method in 2015. Outcome variables were perceived social support, as measured by Social Provision Scale, and received instrumental social support. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine the hypotheses.ResultsThe analyses showed that most of the family factors measured, including family size (p = 0.01), living arrangements (p = 0.05), and amount of contact with family members (p = 0.001) were associated with older people’s receipt of instrumental social support. Living arrangements and quality of relationships with family members were associated with older people’s perceptions of social support (p < 0.001). Also, a significant gender interaction was found in associations between family size and SPS (p = 0.03). Having a large size family was positively associated with higher SPS for women (Coef. = 3.9, p = 0.009) but not for men (Coef. = -0.4, p = 0.7).Conclusionfindings of this study support the premise that most of family factors play an important role in provision and perception of social support for Iranian older people. Further policies should mostly be selective of those at higher risk of low support such as widowed, childless, those living alone, having poor relationship with their relatives and those with worse health status. The results of this study may be utilized to target older populations who are at higher risk of low support with innovative programs that focus on building social networks and enhancing social support.

Nutritional status of children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Baghdad: a case-control study.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major life-long non-communicable illness correlated with obesity and chronic undernutrition. It is particularly important to monitor the nutritional status of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), as they are still growing and may be affected by the disease or associated conditions like celiac disease. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of children and adolescents with T1DM in Baghdad city and identify possible risk factors for undernutrition. A single-center, case-control study was conducted in Central Child's Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, over 9 months from November 2021 to July 2022. The study included patients with T1DM and healthy controls. Detailed history, clinical examination, and anthropometric measures were performed for all participants in the study. The mean age of the sample was 10.0 ±3.73 years and 8.68±3.1 years in diabetic patients and controls, respectively. Anthropometric measures in patients with type 1 diabetes were significantly lower than those of controls (P<0.001). All patients within the undernourished group were from large-size families compared with 75.76% of the normally nourished group, with a significant difference. The mean age of disease onset in the normal nourished group was 6.61 ± 2.78 years which was significantly earlier than that of the undernourished group (8.83 ± 2.89). Weight-for-age and BMI z-score had a significant negative correlation with HbA1c (r=-0.312, p=0.004, and r=-0.295, p=0.006, respectively). Patients with T1DM had significantly lower anthropometric measures than the normal population. Older children, female gender, large family size, and disease duration are independent predictors of undernutrition in T1DM. BMI and weight-for-age have a significant negative correlation with metabolic control of diabetes represented by HbA1c.

Role of Rural Women Entrepreneurship in Household Food Security: The Case of Boloso Sore Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

This study attempts to assess the current status of women entrepreneurship in the study area, analyse the contribution of Entrepreneurship to Household food security and find constraints affecting rural women Entrepreneurship in Boloso Sore woreda, Wolaita Zone. Data were collected from 120 sample rural women entrepreneurs in three Kebele Administrations using random sampling techniques. Primary data were collected by conducting a rural women entrepreneur survey. In addition, key informant interviews were used. Secondary data were collected from various sources. Finally, the data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, and frequency distribution. Moreover, the chi-square test was used to describe the relation of rural women-owned businesses type with an education background. Food security was measured by the expenditure method. All the study sample rural women entrepreneurs were married and had large size family. With the increasing family size, cultivating land size is highly decreasing proportionally. Hence, an annually harvested product from farmland cannot feed for more than two months; the above facts push factors into entrepreneurship activities. Types of businesses owned by the sample population were retail, manufacturing, service render and others which most educated entrepreneurs operating from retail businesses: fruit, used cloths and mini-shop retail and from service render businesses: rural cafeteria, rural alcohol grocery and rural restaurant services, while illiterate entrepreneurs operating from retail businesses: flour, grain, vegetables and coffee and all manufacturing businesses (Brewing borde, baking enjera, brew kinoto, baking bread) and others such as Vegetative plant trade and Livestock Trade. The majority of entrepreneurs started operating mentioned businesses ten years. The Source of the initial capital of the study sample was self-saving and household deposit. While household food expenses in a week mean 195 Birr, businesses contribute 63% of the household total food expenditure in a week. According to food security status, most study sample populations are highly food secure. With look upon problems, lack of market and lack of credit facilities are dominating problems. Because of daily food expenses, working financial capital is not increasing. However, Rural Women Entrepreneurship is profitable and dramatically contributes to household food security.

Stewardship theory of corporate governance and succession planning in family businesses of UAE: views of the owners

PurposeThis paper aims to explore corporate governance (CG) and succession planning in family-owned businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews are conducted with 16 owners and heirs of UAE family businesses. The interviews – face-to-face and asynchronous electronic – are conducted instead of a questionnaire to get an in-depth analysis of the topic in the context of both medium- and large-sized family businesses.FindingsThe responses are mixed with regard to governance challenges (duality, gender, internal control, transparency, etc.). The majority of the interviewees indicate that succession planning remains one of the biggest challenges for family businesses in the UAE. Fifteen of the sixteen interviewees document that a sound succession strategy must be in place to ensure the continuity of the business and prevent future disputes among potential successors. Similarly, the respondents also emphasise the importance of transparency and accountability for the sustainability of family businesses. The sustainability of family businesses relies on many aspects, such as national regulations, corporate systems and the succession process. Finally, most of the respondents from medium-sized companies opined that incorporating CG is a time-consuming and expensive process.Practical implicationsThe interviewees supported stewardship theory in case family members are occupying positions on the board as they have more long-term commitment and a greater sense of belonging to the business (socio-emotional wealth) compared to non-family members. The interviewees acknowledge that the lack of professionalism and conflicts of interest among family members can be offset by recruiting non-family members.Originality/valueFamily businesses are particularly significant in the Arab world as they account for over 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) and use above 80% of the workforce which make them interesting research subject. In addition, this paper explores the CG challenges faced by both large- and medium-sized family businesses in the UAE within the theoretical framework of stewardship theory.

The Challenges, Effectiveness and Attitude Towards e-Learning Among Medical Undergraduates in a Private University in Malaysia

With the onset of the pandemic and the concurrent orders to stay home, many students were forced onto e-learning. This resulted in numerous challenges. While some adapted easily, concerns about the effectiveness of e-learning remain. We carried out a study amongst medical students with the aim to identify the challenges they faced, their perceived effectiveness of e-learning as well as their attitude towards it. A cross-sectional study was conducted using Google Forms. The sample size was 260 based on 95% confidence interval, margin of error 5%, and response distribution 50% on 800 undergraduate medical students. Data was analysed descriptively for demography, challenges and attitudes. The effectiveness of e-learning was scored based on a 5-point Likert scale and analysed. Analysis was by SPSS IBM Statistical Package 25. Overall, mostly Chinese students and females perceived e-learning to be more effective. Challenges were not having a personal study space, a non-conducive environment, large-sized family, technical difficulties and other distractions at home. A major challenge was the technical issues faced by lecturers that often led to extension of class sessions. In terms of attitude, traditional face-to-face classes are still their preferred choice. They are more motivated to study and are more engaged in face-to-face classes. Medical students in this private university prefer traditional face-to-face learning even though most find e-learning just as effective. However, they do face many challenges in e-learning.

Does family size matter to investors? Evidence from mutual fund flow in Saudi Arabia

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of fund family size on the money flow of Saudi Arabian open-end equity mutual funds. The author also investigates whether the relationship between fund flow and past return varies based on the fund's family size.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses 256 equity funds that operated in Saudi Arabia from 2006 until 2017. Pooled and fixed-effect regression models are used to test the relationship between mutual fund flow and family size.FindingsThe results indicate that fund flow is higher for large size family funds. The results also show that the relationship between mutual fund flow and past performance is more pronounced for large size families, which supports the concept that investors pay extra attention to funds' return and size.Research limitations/implicationsThe author provides evidence of the significant effect of family size of mutual funds on future money flow, which helps fund managers to understand investors' motivations for allocating their cash.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by examining the impact of family size level on the interaction between fund flow and past performance. This study is believed to be the first to investigate the family size factor in Saudi Arabia using a comprehensive data set.

Determinants Of Forage And Fodder Production Practices To Cope With Climate Change Adaptation Strategy By Farmers In Terai Region Of Nepal

Consequences generated by climate change disasters in the vulnerable agricultural system of Nepal could increase in coming days in the absence of effective adaptation strategies in the both agriculture and livestock sector. There is growing evidence that forage and fodder production activity can be a potential adaptation strategy, but adopted in a limited scale. The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of forage and fodder production activity by livestock farmers in the Terai region of Nepal. Primary data collected through household survey of 600 households, 100 from each district in Morang, Sarlahi, Bara, Chitwan, Rupandehi and Banke were analyzed using logistic regression technique. Results showed that western Terai dummy and family size were negatively affecting the adoption of forage and fodder production. Whereas access to credit, size of livestock holding and training were positively and significantly affecting the adoption of the forage and fodder production activity. The magnitude of effect of these significant variables are western Terai dummy (25.2%), family size (92.60%), access to credit dummy (74.21%), size of livestock holding (10.8%) and training dummy (188.80%). Findings of the study suggested that provided opportunity to dairy farmers for participation in training on livestock production management practices and increased access to credit for making investment in dairy enterprises. Rearing livestock at commercial scale also motivates dairy farmers to produce forage and fodder in their own farm land. It is also recommended to provide lease- in land system for dairy farmers with large size family to grow forage and fodder crops aside from promotional activities are needed in western Terai region of the country in particular.

Attitude of Panchayat Leaders towards Panchayati Raj Institutions as Influenced by their Socio Personal Characteristics

Attitude is “a mental and neural state of readiness, organised through experience, and exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related”. While attitudes are basically learned over the years, some inherited characteristics do affect such attitudes. Our personal experiences with people and situations develop our attitude towards such persons and situations. During the implementation of the panchayati raj system Chhattisgarh has faced several opportunities and difficulties. The institutionalising panchayati raj. What, then, are the circumstances under which panchayat can improve the work effectiveness of their members through influences on individual choices about the level of effort and about strategy? The interview schedule was used as a tool for collecting the raw information from the panchayat leaders. In all 263 respondents from 9 janpads were interviewed personally to obtain the requisite data. It was found that majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders (58.73%) had moderately favourable attitude towards panchayati raj institutions. Majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders were middle-aged, belonged to other backward classes, most of them were educated up to higher secondary, they belonged to large size families with more than five members each and most of them had membership in one or more social organizations signifying high social participation.

The effects of birth order and family size on academic achievement, divergent thinking, and problem finding among gifted students

The current study explored the influence of birth order and family size on academic achievement, divergent thinking (DT), and problem finding (PF) with a sample of 156 gifted male and female Arab students (M= 12.21 years, SD= 1.75). Regarding academic achievement, it was found that first-borns possessed higher grade point averages (GPAs) than did other-born children. Family size was also related to academic achievement-participants from smaller-sized families had significantly higher GPAs compared with gifted students from middle- and large-sized families. As for the influence of birth order and family size on both DT and PF, a multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences for birth order and the interaction between birth order and family size in the originality dimension of PF. Non-significant differences were found concerning family size. The follow-up analyses of variance showed that later-born gifted students scored higher than first-, second-, third-, and fourth-born children in PF originality. Later-born gifted students who scored higher on originality were from smaller families. No significant influences for birth order and family size were found concerning fluency for both DT and PF as well as DT originality. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The factors of family business successor readiness and how their impact on the business transition from successors’ perspectives

Family businesses contribute more than 50% of Gross Domestic Product in global economy, though, only 13 percent of family businesses survive through third generation. Family business succession is a key to reduce the failure rate and leads to sustainable business. Recent literatures have identified many factors that lead to successful succession in family business. Nevertheless, there were few researches that focused on the successors’ perspectives. This paper aimed to 1) study the factors of family business successor readiness and 2) investigate the obstacles that are mostly found during the succession process and factors that lead to successful succession in family business from successors’ perspectives. Based on qualitative research, the study was undertaken in Thailand among eight family business successors who ran medium to large-size family businesses. They already had a successful transition in their family businesses. The participants were selected by purposive sampling technique; including family business successors from pharmaceutical industry, tea industry, packaging industry, energy industry, food processing industry, and shoe industry. The findings revealed that there were nine factors that contribute to the successor’s readiness: 1) working experience in family company, 2) working experience in other company, 3) industry specific knowledge, 4) reward or cash compensation, 5) personal interests or needs, 6) commitment to the company, 7) relationship among family members, 8) family harmony, and 9) trust in successor's ability. By addressing these nine factors appropriately from both the predecessors and successors, the family business will ensure its continuity into the future.

Impact of Socioeconomic Profile on Nutritional Status of School Children

Objectives: To study the effect of socioeconomic factors such as birth order, family size, family type, parent’s education level and family income on nutritional status of school children.&#x0D; Methods: It was a cross sectional survey conducted at Madurai district, Tamil Nadu to assess the effect of socioeconomic factors on nutritional status of school going children age of 5-6 years belonging to different socio economic classes of the society. Systematic random sampling technique was applied to collect the sample. The interview schedule was used to collect the background information regarding caste, type of family, family size, number of children and educational status of parents, occupation and income. Body Mass Index in relation to WHO reference child growth standard was used for assessing nutritional status.&#x0D; Results: Out of 60 children 30.00, 53.33 and 5.00 per cent children had mild, moderate and severe malnutrition respectively. Majority of malnourished children belonged to 3rd (51.66%) and 4th (30%) order of birth. The mild (28.33%) and moderate malnutrition (51.67%) children belonged to medium size family. The severely malnourished belonged to medium and large size family are 3.33 and 1.67 per cent respectively. Majority of the Mild (8.33%) moderate (23.33%) and severe (3.33%) malnutrition children belonged to mothers who were illiterate. Five per cent of children were severely malnourished and 18.33 per cent of children were moderately malnourished from the income range of ₹ 6000 to 7000.&#x0D; Conclusion: The present study shows that the prevalence of malnutrition was significantly higher in school children age of 5-6 years. Poverty, low literacy rate, large families, women’s education appears to be the important underlying factors responsible for poor nutritional status of children (p&lt;0.05).The malnutrition is higher in children of illiterate mothers because of lack of knowledge on importance of healthy diet.

Determinants of Tax Compliance: A Case of Nekemte Town Category ‘C’ Business Profit Tax Payers

This study is designed to investigate the determinants of tax compliance in a case of category “C” business profit taxpayers in Nekemte town. To achieve the designed objectives the study employed a quantitative approach. Necessary data for the study were gathered via questionnaire and reviewing necessary documents. To do this the researcher took out 346 samples from the total 2580 population size of category “c” taxpayers and analyzed the returned 240 questions. The sample size of the study was determined by using simple random sampling technique. Responses of respondents were presented by using the data presentation tools and analyzed via STATA 10 software application and descriptive analytical methods using tables and charts. The study found that, family size and length of tax payment period has a significant negative influence on tax compliance. On the other hand, tax knowledge and awareness and tax penalty and fines has a significant positive influence over the level of tax compliance. The assessed amount of tax, probability of auditing and attitudes towards equity and fairness are insignificant factors in determining the compliance behavior of taxpayer. Finally the researcher recommended that different job opportunities and incentives should be provided by the authorized body to increase earning of large size family members. ERCA should be follow up taxpayers and control their activities to easily prevent evasion by taxpayers; and sufficient and adequate training, awareness creation and education should be offered to taxpayers to enhance their knowledge regarding to tax. Besides ERCA should take measures and penalties on those taxpayers who are not willing to pay their tax liability within a specified time period for the purpose of generating more revenues.

Failure To Thrive In Children Under Two Years Of Age And Associated Factors, A Hospital- Based Study

Background: Failure to thrive is a common problem in infancy and children result from inadequate nutrition or chronic illnesses. Objective: To assess the severity and risk factors associated with failure to thrive. Patients and Methods: In this cross-section study, 50 children under 2 years of age with FTT admitted to Jalawla general hospital, Diyala province, Iraq during the period 1st of Jan. to 1st of July 2018 were studied. The parameters used to assess the growth of involved children included weight, height and head circumference for ages, using Z-score (Standard deviation score) and the mean had been taken from Tanner growth chart. Other child variables included socioeconomic status and hemoglobin level also studied. Results: The male: female ratio was 1.5:1 and 38 children (76%) were below one year of age, 25 of them (50%) were of low socioeconomic state and the majority from overcrowded families. Maternal illiteracy was recorded in 26 (52%). Twenty-three children (46%) were exclusively bottle-fed. Twenty-two children (44%) their weights for age were < -3SD below the mean, twelve children (14%) their heights for age were <-3SD, seven children (14%), had head circumference <-3SD which indicate very severe malnutrition. Most of children in this study were from large size families with low socioeconomic status. Conclusion: Failure to thrive is a common problem in our locality. Those below one year of age constitutes 76%, and 50% were from low socioeconomic families. DOI:https://doi.org/10.26505/DJM.17024770703

Assessment of barriers to public rental housing exits: Evidence from tenants in Beijing, China

Public rental housing (PRH) exits exert a profound influence on turnover rates, which further impact the public housing principles of fairness and efficiency. However, very few studies have attempted to investigate the tenant's barriers to exit PRH units in Chinese studies. In this paper, using data drawn from a randomly sampled survey of tenants in Beijing during the March 2017, we employ structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the factors influencing tenant's barriers to exit. We find that housing availability is the most influential factor in determining the tenant's barriers to leave PRH, and residential satisfaction is also considered as a motivation against PRH exits. In addition, residential satisfaction transfers the impact of tenant's perceptions of housing and neighborhood to exit barriers. Especially, the effects of housing availability on exit barriers are higher in some groups, such as elderly, high income households, large-sized families and respondents with long spell of residence. Any program aimed at getting tenants to leave public housing sector needs to reduce their barriers to access to the private rental market and take into consideration the various characteristics of the tenants.

Analysis and forecasting of municipal solid waste in Nankana City using geo-spatial techniques.

The objective of this study was to analyze and forecast municipal solid waste (MSW) in Nankana City (NC), District Nankana, Province of Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based on primary data acquired through a questionnaire, Global Positioning System (GPS), and direct waste sampling and analysis. Inverse distance weighting (IDW) technique was applied to geo-visualize the spatial trend of MSW generation. Analysis revealed that the total MSW generated was 12,419,636kg/annum (12,419.64t) or 34,026.4kg/day (34.03t), or 0.46kg/capita/day (kg/cap/day). The average wastes generated per day by studied households, clinics, hospitals, and hotels were 3, 7.5, 20, and 15kg, respectively. The residential sector was the top producer with 95.5% (32,511kg/day) followed by commercial sector 1.9% (665kg/day). On average, high-income and low-income households were generating waste of 4.2kg/household/day (kg/hh/day) and 1.7kg/hh/day, respectively. Similarly, large-size families were generating more (4.4kg/hh/day) waste than small-size families (1.8kg/hh/day). The physical constituents of MSW generated in the study area with a population of about 70,000 included paper (7%); compostable matter (61%); plastics (9%); fine earth, ashes, ceramics, and stones (20.4%); and others (2.6%).The spatial trend of MSW generation varies; city center has a high rate of generation and towards periphery generation lowers. Based on the current population growth and MSW generation rate, NC is expected to generate 2.8 times more waste by the year 2050.This is imperative to develop a proper solid waste management plan to reduce the risk of environmental degradation and protect human health. This study provides insights into MSW generation rate, physical composition, and forecasting which are vital in its management strategies.

Folding Membrane Proteins by Contacts Inferred from Non-Membrane Proteins and Near-Atomic Level Refinement

Computational prediction of membrane protein structure is very challenging due to lack of sufficient solved structures as templates or training data. Recently direct evolutionary coupling (EC) analysis has shed some light on protein contact prediction and accordingly contact-assisted folding. Limited by information within a single protein family, EC analysis is effective only on some very large-sized families. We have developed a deep transfer learning method to predict contacts for membrane proteins not in a large family, by making use of information in thousands of non-membrane protein families. Deep learning can learn complex patterns from large datasets and has recently revolutionized object and speech recognition and the GO game. Our deep learning method learns contact patterns and the complex relationship between contacts and protein features (amino acid property, residue conservation level and residue co-evolution strength) from non-membrane proteins, but can predict membrane protein contacts very well. Tested on 398 non-redundant membrane proteins, the average top L/10 long-range contact prediction accuracy of our method is 0.78, much better than the representative EC method CCMpred (0.52), the CASP11 winner MetaPSICOV (0.61) and the methods trained by only membrane proteins (0.60). When some membrane proteins are added into the training data, we can further improve accuracy by ∼4%. Using only our predicted contacts, we can correctly fold 160 test membrane proteins with RMSD <8A while homology modeling, CCMpred and MetaPSICOV contacts can fold only 10, 60 and 87 proteins, respectively. We further refine the 3D models built from predicted contacts using Upside, a near-atom-level and ultra-fast molecular dynamics method. In addition to membrane-, residue-specific and depth-dependent energy potential, Upside improves model quality by also refining non-membrane portions and refolding loop regions. Initial results indicate that Upside can indeed improve our contact-assisted models.

A study of child physical abuse

Background Child abuse − a form of family violence − is one of the major public health issues with far-reaching effects and costs and have many implications on health policy and prevention strategies. Objective The aim of the study was to assess risk factors of child physical abuse among school-aged children in the child’s background and family characteristics and to estimate its psychiatric sequelae. Patients and methods The study was conducted in Maternity and Children Hospital, Al Medina (Al Monawara), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on school-aged children referred from the committee protection program from September 2012 to April 2015 using such some psychometric tests as the Child Maltreatment Questionnaire, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents (for major depressive episodes), Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, and Copper Smith Self-Esteem Inventory. Results Out of 186 students (age range between 12 and 16 years) 49.4% were the youngest children, mainly boys (58%), 94% had good health, 70% were from large-sized families, and 51% of whose mothers and 54% of fathers were illiterate, and all these variables showed a significant difference in both mild/moderate and severe child abuse. There were significant associations between physical abuse and low self-esteem, major depressive episode, conduct disorder, anxiety withdrawal, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and socialized aggression, mainly with severe physical abuse. Conclusion Physical abuse is found in a significant proportion of children, mostly living in large-sized families, of illiterate unemployed parents. Furthermore, physical abuse is commonly associated with low self-esteem, major depression episodes, conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and socialized aggression.

Demographic Characteristics and Constraints Faced by Farmers in West Khasi Hills district

A study on demographic characteristics and constraints faced by farmers in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was undertaken during 2016–17. One hundred and twenty respondents were selected by adopting simple random sampling. Results revealed that 37.50 per cent of the farmers belonged to the age group (31-40yr), 35.83 percent studied up to primary school and 50 percent having large size family. Majority of the farmers (45.0%) had marginal land holding, 82.50 per cent of them had low level of annual income with majority of the farmers (58.3%) had no extension contact. Majority of the farmers (87.5%) had medium economic motivation and 54.2 per cent of them had high risk orientation with 41.7 percent of them had livestock possession of both poultry + piggery and 65.0 percent of the farmers had low training. The various constraints were non availability of inputs in time (83.33%), lack of credit on marginal interest (83.33%), fluctuations in market price (83.33%) followed by lack of skill for seed and soil treatment (95.0%) in technical and general problems were uncertainty of rainfall (86.2%) and labour shortage (56.66%).

Family firms and performance empirical analysis from Spain

This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact of family-controlled firms on corporate performance, using financial information of 47590 family firms from 2010 to 2014. From the overall sample, approximately two-third of family firms have concentrated ownership, meanwhile, the remaining one-third have dispersed and unknown ownership. With respect to generation, 76% of the family firms were in the first generation, 21% for the second generation and approximately 3% for the third generation. The main findings are that ownership structure of family firms have a positive impact on their performance. Specifically, family firms with concentrated ownership outperformed family firms with dispersed ownership; however, family firms in the 1ª generation outperform family business in the 2ª and 3ª generation. Also, aggressive incentive policy negatively affects the performance of family business for the 1ª generation and has no impact on performance for 2ª and 3ª generational firms. Unlisted family firms have lower performance than listed family firms. Lastly, medium size family businesses outperform than small and large size family businesses.

The impact of finance and governance on the internationalisation modes of family firms

By drawing on the resource-based view, this study explores the influence of a firm's finance and governance structure on its internationalisation mode using a sample of Austrian and German medium- and large-sized family firms. While medium equity levels, sophisticated financial management and external ownership foster higher levels of international activity and foreign direct investment, they do not affect a family firm's decision to export. This finding suggests that the influential power of finance and governance variables depends on the mode of internationalisation and the capital needs and other resource requirements related to it. Moreover, our results imply that certain finance and governance factors mitigate the risks associated with internationalisation, particularly higher internationalisation modes, and can therefore spur these international activities. In contrast to previous research, however, the empirical analyses do not show any influence of non-family managers.