Allan Discua Cruz

Intrafamily Entrepreneurship: The Formation and Membership of Family Entrepreneurial Teams

Family entrepreneurial teams are groups of related individuals who engage in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial teams studies emphasize the resources that members bring to the team. Family business studies suggest that relationships and social theories are important. Social capital explains the formation and composition of family entrepreneurial teams (FETs). Analysis is of case studies of FETs based in Honduras. A shared commitment to entrepreneurial stewardship of the familys assets underpins formation of FETs. Trust and shared values were important for membership. This study highlights that families are not internally consistent, and family ties are not equally strong.

Interstanding the industrial district: contrasting conceptual images as a road to insight

In this paper we offer an approach to learning about the unique features of industrial districts as a socio-economic phenomenon that is based on differences. Instead of searching for one generic theory that may explain the unique construction of an industrial district or one universal way of getting under the skin of its subjects we propose ‘interstanding’ as a road to insight. The title alludes to different relationships: between theoretical frameworks and empirical approaches, between writing and reflecting on the one hand, creating conversations, talking and listening on the other, between teacher and student, between the academic and business communities. In the paper this ‘interstanding’ perspective of knowledging is demonstrated in the context of an annual international doctoral course on SMEs in economic and regional development. The participating doctoral students are organized into research teams, each furnished with a specific theoretical perspective on localized economic development, and subsequently jointly brought to the industrial district of Gnosjö in Sweden in order to meet with owner-managers and further local stakeholders. The student groups report on their field experiences, thereby creating maps as diverse as the different theoretical frameworks being used. These contrasting images of the districts generic features and sustainability are used as an input to a conclusive polylogue seminar that offers an ‘interstanding’ that, on the one hand, reminds the participants that any, including scientifically investigated, reality is socially constructed, and, on the other, communicates that tensions between alternative conceptual constructs, especially if substantiated in empirical research, offer an inspiring road to knowledge.

How does an old firm learn new tricks? A material account of entrepreneurial opportunity

Opportunity has become the central concept in entrepreneurship. Discovery-focused accounts assume opportunity to be objective and to exist independently of the entrepreneur. Process-focused studies critique such notions. We contribute to process-based conceptions of entrepreneurship with an account of opportunity as historically specific and materially embedded. Drawing on Latour we argue that opportunities are constituted through dense material networks. We argue that opportunity and entrepreneurship are mutually constitutive, and emphasise that the entrepreneur shares agency with a heterogeneous array of ‘actants’ in the network of opportunity. We make use of this framework in a historical analysis of a large family agribusiness in Honduras, illustrating the historically dependent nature of entrepreneurial process and the role that the material plays in it.

Entrepreneurship in family businesses

There is growing recognition of the prevalence of family businesses and their importance to economies throughout the world. It is estimated that, in most countries, family businesses represent two thirds or more of all businesses (Howorth, Rose and Hamilton, 2006). People are sometimes surprised to learn that some of the largest corporations are family-owned businesses, firms such as IKEA, WalMart or Haribo. Other companies are more well-known for being family businesses because they stress their family roots and use them as a marketing tool; UK readers will be familiar with the Warburton family who make a virtue of their familiness in promoting their products. For many though, family business is associated with SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) and if you look around any town, you will discover a proliferation of family-owned SMEs. The reality is that entrepreneurship is much less about the heroic individual seeking out opportunities that others cannot see (Ogbor, 2000) and more often about entrepreneurs founding and developing their enterprises along with other family members. A high percentage of entrepreneurs found their businesses in the form of family firms, and, for many more, families are an important source of resources, especially human capital (Aldrich and Cliff, 2003). Many smaller firms find it difficult to disentangle the firm from the family and there is an intertwining of family and business motivations, resources and dreams (Hamilton, 2006). Families can be crucial breeding grounds for enterprise and new businesses, very much the “oxygen that feeds the fire of entrepreneurship” (Rogoff & Heck, 2003). Indeed, any study of small enterprises that ignores the influence of family can only ever be a partial representation of reality: family firms are so prevalent throughout the world.

Transgenerational professionalization of family firms: the role of next generation leaders

This study deals with transgenerational professionalization. This concept revolves around the professionalization of family firms during their life cycle and particularly in the transfer of leadership from one generation to the next. It offers an emerging research framework based on the study of an Italian family firm that has diversified and thrived through the professionalization of family members. The findings prove relevant for the continuity of innovative and entrepreneurial family firms. This study highlights that in family firm generational succession, professionalization and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.

Understanding Entrepreneurship and International Business Knowledge Transfer by Diaspora Knowledge Networks: The Case of Honduras Global

To date there is limited insight on how successful members of a diaspora can contribute to their countries of origin in terms of knowledge transfer. We argue that understanding Diaspora Knowledge Networks (DKN) may provide important insights into knowledge transfer for international business and entrepreneurial practices. This chapter focuses on the case study of Honduras Global, a DKN that brings together scientists, artists, business owners and organization executives of the Honduran diaspora. Based on human and social capital theories and the knowledge based view this chapter delves into knowledge transfer dynamics engaged by Honduras Global. Findings suggest that a DKN can be understood as a vehicle for knowledge transfer through three interrelated dimensions. An inclusive membership base, relationship development, and internal coordination facilitate a comprehensive and holistic knowledge transfer. Opportunities and challenges for further research are presented.

SME Managers’ Perceptions of Competitive Pressure and the Adoption of Environmental Practices in Fragmented Industries: A Multi-Country Study in the Wine Industry

This study explains how managers’ perceptions of pressure from competitors and industry associations to adopt environmental practices are associated with the adoption of such practices, and firm performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in fragmented industries. First, we hypothesize, in fragmented industries, perceived weaker competitive pressure focuses SME managers’ attention on opportunities associated with the adoption of environmental practices, resulting in further adoption of such practices. We also hypothesize that perceived stronger competitive pressure focuses managers’ attention on competitive threats and efforts to maximize value creation from adopted practices, thus, positively moderating the relationship between adopted environmental practices and financial performance. We test our hypotheses with survey data from wineries and vineyards in Italy, France, Denmark, and the United States, and find support for both hypotheses. These findings deepen our understanding of how SMEs in fragmented industries respond to perceived competitive pressure to adopt environmental practices.

Family Perspective on Entrepreneurship

Discua Cruz and Basco provide from a holistic perspective a nuanced understanding of the effect of the family on the entrepreneurial dynamics that lead to the creation of new firms and the development of existing firms. The authors highlight three schools of thought: entrepreneurship by families, embedded family entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship across generations, which brings forward the complex interaction among family, entrepreneurship, and established family businesses. The authors employ these schools of thought to explore and map current knowledge on the effect of family on entrepreneurship through three different levels: individual, group, and firm levels. By considering the inextricable connection of family and family business literature with entrepreneurship, the authors highlight previous and novel studies, interpret existing findings, and suggest a future research road map.

Crowdfunding and Museums : A Field Trip Exemplar in the United Kingdom

This article sketches a project designed for an undergraduate course dealing with social contexts of entrepreneurship. The learning activity asks students to devise a reward-based crowdfunding campaign for a museum. The project relies on a field trip to a museum where students gather a better understanding of fiscal and brand visibility challenges currently unsettling these types of organizations. The project draws on intra and extra classroom activities that integrate innovative trends in entrepreneurship teaching, bridging theory, and real-life applications. The exercise motivates students to design solutions, develop collaborations, and cocreate value processes with the organization and diverse actors. The activities span over a 4-week period with tasks prior, during, and after the museum field trip, culminating with a presentation of a crowdfunding campaign. The pedagogical value of this exercise relates to students cocreating entrepreneurial action with a client/entrepreneurial organization within a resource-constrained environment, which motivates the design of innovative crowdfunding campaigns and empathizes with the entrepreneurial demands placed on cultural organizations. Cultural, social, and creative problem-solving competencies for working in international and multidisciplinary teams around crowdfunding can be expected as outcomes. This exercise can be advantageous for courses dealing with the multifaceted dynamics of social contexts of entrepreneurship.This article sketches a project designed for an undergraduate course dealing with social contexts of entrepreneurship. The learning activity asks students to devise a reward-based crowdfunding campaign for a museum. The project relies on a field trip to a museum where students gather a better understanding of fiscal and brand visibility challenges currently unsettling these types of organizations. The project draws on intra and extra classroom activities that integrate innovative trends in entrepreneurship teaching, bridging theory, and real-life applications. The exercise motivates students to design solutions, develop collaborations, and cocreate value processes with the organization and diverse actors. The activities span over a 4-week period with tasks prior, during, and after the museum field trip, culminating with a presentation of a crowdfunding campaign. The pedagogical value of this exercise relates to students cocreating entrepreneurial action with a client/entrepreneurial organization within a resource-constrained environment, which motivates the design of innovative crowdfunding campaigns and empathizes with the entrepreneurial demands placed on cultural organizations. Cultural, social, and creative problem-solving competencies for working in international and multidisciplinary teams around crowdfunding can be expected as outcomes. This exercise can be advantageous for courses dealing with the multifaceted dynamics of social contexts of entrepreneurship.

Daring to be different:a case study of entrepreneurial stewardship in a Guatemalan family’s coffee farm

This chapter explores a entrepreneurial stewardship perspective in a dynamic environment. The coffee industry in a developing country is examined highlighting how diverse contextual pressures may affect a family in business. This qualitative study focuses in Guatemala, Central America, with a single case study. Findings reveal that contextual crisis can ignite a differentiation approach which align with an entrepreneurial stewardship perspective. Such approach emphasizes a shared vision to look after the family coffee farm, the application of traditional and specialised knowledge to bring out the best features of a product and the development of diverse relationships to serve the business over time.