Orientation Of Family Businesses Research Articles

CSR in Small and Medium Companies and Stakeholder’s Relationships

Through the stakeholder theory perspective, this paper goes in depth in understanding the important role of family intentions in building relationships with multiple kinds of stakeholders. In literature, the different approach of family and non-family businesses towards social and environmental issues has been extensively discussed without reaching a commonly accepted conclusion. A family business context is more favourable for proactive stakeholder engagement because the owner can take decisions without worrying too much about the economic outcome. Moreover, the long-term orientation of family businesses is an element that can reinforce the role of corporate social responsibility and its link with local stakeholders, without need for formal and structured processes, above all in SMEs.

Conditional mediation of competitive strategy and environment in international entrepreneurial orientation of family businesses

This paper analyzes the effect of conditional mediation of environment-competitive strategy in business orientation of family businesses. In order to study the results we propose a method based on a second generation structural equation (PLS-SEM) where software SmartPLS 3.2.6 is applied to measure data of 174 Spanish family businesses. This paper presents a relevant contribution both to the academic field and the performance of family firms, helping to understand the process of transforming international entrepreneurial orientation into a better international performance through competitive strategy while family businesses invest their efforts in aligning international entrepreneurial orientation and competitive strategy with international results, bearing in mind the positive moderator effect of environment.

Time to recalibrate? Exploring entrepreneurial orientation of family businesses before, during, and after an environmental jolt

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has become a construct of considerable interest in the family business literature. Despite such attention, scholars have yet to examine if and how EO in family businesses changes over time. This study explores this gap by investigating both continuous and discontinuous changes in EO in a sample of S&P 500 family businesses between 2001 and 2012. We find that EO changes before, during, and after an environmental jolt, which is defined as a major unforeseen and discontinuous environmental change. More specifically, we find that EO gradually increases at a linear rate prior to the occurrence of a jolt, discontinuously decreases during the initial stage of the jolt, then resumes a gradual linear growth trend following this period. We further explore the relationship between time and EO by examining change in EO across different industries, finding significant changes between family firms in different industries.

Strategic innovation and new product development in family firms

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between the presence of the family variable within a business enterprise and the managerial factors affecting the success of new product development (NPD). This can be structured into three research questions: What is the relationship between the presence of the family variable within a business enterprise and the managerial factors affecting the success of NPD activities? How the managerial factors affecting the NPD process are faced in family firms? Which are the main differences (e.g. strengths and/or weaknesses) in dealing with the managerial factors affecting the NPD process between family and non‐family firms?Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a grounded‐theory and case‐study approach to investigate the relationship between the presence of the family variable within a business enterprise and the managerial factors affecting the success of NPD. The starting point is an in‐depth literature review on the managerial factors differentiating family from non‐family firms, and the managerial factors affecting NPD success. Then, a multiple case‐study on five Italian family firms and five Italian non‐family enterprises is conducted. The case‐studies lead to the development of an empirically grounded theoretical framework that outlines how the distinctive characteristics of family businesses are related to the managerial factors affecting NPD success.FindingsFamily firms clearly emerge as more long‐term oriented than non‐family enterprises. The long‐term orientation of family businesses vs non‐family companies seems to play a pivotal role in originating NPD projects with long‐term thrust. If a company is long‐term oriented it is reasonable to expect that it will put its long‐term vision in NPD programs, thus reaching a NPD long‐term thrust.Research limitations/ implicationsThe study advances research on strategic innovation and NPD in family vs non‐family firms. It develops new theory at the important intersection of family business and innovation/NPD research, filling a gap in the literature and providing justification and guidance for the design of more comprehensive studies. Future research could investigate and test the theoretical framework on a wider empirical base, using either qualitative or quantitative methods.Originality/ valueThe paper addresses the failure of innovation management research to recognize, embrace, and deliberately incorporate family firms. It therefore fills a gap in the literature and extends prior research by introducing specific propositions that are supported by the case data and originally integrating them in the general research stream on NPD and family‐firm characteristics. The originality of the study lies also in the fact that it appears to be the first comparative analysis on this specific topic involving both family and non‐family enterprises.

Owner orientations and strategies and their impact on family business

Family firms seem to be different from non-family firms. They might be less entrepreneurial and more family-oriented or have an own family-specific strategy. The question in this context is why we can observe this phenomenon. In this explorative study, we explain that the individual orientation of previous, current and future owners of a family business might be the key to those differences. To find evidence for this assumption, we researched six family businesses and all family members involved. The 16 interviews show that the owners as individuals and their orientations drive the differentiated strategy and orientation of family businesses.

Owner orientations and strategies and their impact on family business

Family firms seem to be different from non-family firms. They might be less entrepreneurial and more family-oriented or have an own family-specific strategy. The question in this context is why we can observe this phenomenon. In this explorative study, we explain that the individual orientation of previous, current and future owners of a family business might be the key to those differences. To find evidence for this assumption, we researched six family businesses and all family members involved. The 16 interviews show that the owners as individuals and their orientations drive the differentiated strategy and orientation of family businesses.