Family Firms And Institutional Contexts

"Family firms represent over 90 per cent of businesses globally, and play a significant role in the economies of many nations. This innovative book takes an interdisciplinary, cross-national approach to the study of family firms as institutions as well as the relationship between family firms and external institutions. In doing so, it demonstrates the impact of these interactions both on the firms and institutions themselves and on the wider economic context. Featuring in-depth analysis of original research, chapters take both theoretical and empirical approaches to explore the family firm as an organization, and include several key case studies. At a micro level, the social and cultural unit of the family and its behaviour is investigated, and at a macro level, external institutional contexts are examined to explain and theorise firms' behaviours and strategies, covering areas such as innovation, competitiveness and reputation. The book provides important conceptual insights and critical empirical research, as well as ideas for future research agendas. Family Firms and Institutional Contexts will be a critical read for scholars and doctoral students in business and management, particularly those with an interest in family firms. Policymakers and practitioners in these areas will also find its insights of practical relevance"--

Just as much entrepreneurial activity is embedded within families, many families are embedded in business enterprising. And both are embedded in broader economic, institutional and cultural environments that shape their experience and development. <

Family Firms (FFs) form the majority of all firms around the world and they account for an enormous percentage of the employment, the revenue, and the GDP of most capitalist countries. While MNCs have long been thought of as the main contributors to international business, it is now recognised that a substantial number of family firms are active in the international arena. This handbook focuses on the features which make family firm internationalization unique. Chapters provide FF specific theories and cover the process of FF internationalization. It examines the role of network ties and provides an insight into the development of family firms that have grown into big multinationals. Importantly this Handbook equips you with a better understanding of specific features of family firms as they internationalize from or to Asian or emerging markets. Family firms offer a fruitful context to study internationalization through a process perspective, therefore this Handbook is an invaluable source of knowledge for students, scholars and policy makers in the areas of family business, entrepreneurship and internationalization.

In this new textbook, Andrea Colli gives a historical and comparative perspective on family business, examining through time the different relationships within family businesses and among family enterprises, inside different political and institutional contexts. He compares the performance of family businesses with that of other economic organizations, and looks at how these enterprises have contributed to the evolution of contemporary industrial capitalism. Central to his discussion are the reasons for both the decline and persistence of family business, how it evolved historically, the different forms it has taken over time, and how it has contributed to the growth of single economies. The book summarises previous research into family business, and situates many aspects of family business - such as their strategies, contribution, failure and decline - in an economic, social, political and institutional context. It will be of key interest to students of economic history and business studies.

The expert contributors to this insightful book explore the latest research on women’s emancipation through entrepreneurship, specifically in relation to families and family businesses.

Family firms account for a large proportion of firms in most countries. In industrialised countries of North America and Western Europe, they generally account for a large share of small and medium sized enterprises. In emerging market economies such as India, they also account for the majority of the large firms. Their importance for factors such as employment creation notwithstanding, relative to the widely held Anglo-Saxon firms, which are ubiquitous in the economics, finance and management literatures, family firms have historically received much less attention from scholars of these disciplines. However, in part owing to increased focus on emerging markets, there is a growing literature on family firms. In How Family Firms Differ, the authors explore important aspects of family firms, drawing on the existing literature and their own research on these firms.

This book addresses the increasing prominence of family-owned business groups and their potential to influence growth and development in the global economy. Family businesses are not necessarily converging towards unitary models of corporate governance or organizational designs, but remain heterogeneous in a global economy. Empirical evidence on the developmental effects of family-owned business groups is fragmented and inconclusive: are there tangible differences between family-owned business groups in emerging economies and developed countries? Are there important variations across and between industries? How have geopolitical circumstances shaped their activities? In this book, the author seeks alternative, pluralistic, and cross-disciplinary approaches through economic, management, and organizational perspectives. This book provides readers with a core understanding of how both corporate governance and business strategy are shaped by the institutional frameworks of markets, as well as knowledge into how institutional context shapes the governance and strategies of family business groups. It is an invaluable reference tool for scholars and students in the social sciences, as well as professionals involved in strategic management issues within a knowledge management context.

Academic Paper from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,3, University of Applied Sciences Aalen, language: English, abstract: This paper examines the risk willingness respectively aversion of family businesses in the context of various economic theories and models, in particular on the basis of New Institutional Economics. The results and evidence of other scientific studies are compiled and condensed by means of a systematic literature review. Especially the topic of risk aversion is very interesting when talking about family firms. It could be assumed that family firms were more risk averse than non-family firms because of the accumulation of the families ́ wealth in the firm. This was in line with agency theory. This assumption, while generally understandable, is highly questioned due to recent research. Risk aversion may be situational and depending on the circumstances of the family firm.

This book pursues an interdisciplinary approach to studying family firms as a particular type of business strongly embedded in the territories in which they are located. Featuring an in-depth analysis of original research, the book employs both theoretical and empirical approaches to explore family firms and their relationships with their home territories. The book shows that family firms have unique bonds with their local areas, and these bonds profoundly shape their decision-making and outcomes. The book addresses two research questions, namely, how the connections between family firms and their home territories originate and develop, and how they influence firms’ economic performance and their corporate social responsibility initiatives. Uniquely, it seeks to develop an integrated framework that brings together family firms, local contexts, and places while also presenting new empirical evidence of relevance to scholars, managers, and policymakers alike. In addition, the book responds to the need for a greater understanding of what anchors entrepreneurial families to their home territories and the conditioning effect of local roots on such firms’ behavior.

The intertwining of family relationships with business imperatives provides a fascinating but complex arena for study. This Encyclopedia is a valuable resource because family business studies are necessarily multi-disciplinary and wide-ranging, drawing on entrepreneurship, management, governance, economics, ethics, business history, as well as family studies.