Andrea Calabrò

The Internationalization of Family Firms A Critical Review and Integrative Model

This article systematically reviews and critically examines 72 journal articles published (from 1980 to 2012) on the internationalization of family firms. Stemming from existing literature, core aspects and main gaps are identified. We aim to overcome the inconclusiveness of findings of previous research by offering an integrative theoretical model integrating the concept of socioemotional wealth with the revised Uppsala model. Our framework helps understand behaviors of internationalizing family firms by focusing on when and how they internationalize, especially related to risk attitudes, the role of knowledge and networks. Ultimately, we provide future research themes flowing from our suggested model.

Public–Private Partnerships in the Health Care Sector: A systematic review of the literature

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become popular worldwide as a way of improving health care service delivery. In order to enhance our knowledge of PPPs in the health care sector, we conduct a systematic review of forty-six articles published in peer-reviewed journals for the period of 1990–2011. Six lines of research in the PPP domain are identified: effectiveness, benefits, public interest, country overview, efficiency and partners. The main findings suggest that although PPPs are used to address internationally emerging public health issues, questions as to their actual effectiveness, efficiency and convenience, still remain unanswered. We propose viable recommendations and ideas for future research.

Board of Directors’ Diversity, Creativity, and Cognitive Conflict

Abstract In this study, we examine the relationship between board diversity in terms of member background and personality (deep-level diversity) and board creativity and cognitive conflict, controlled for the mediating role of board members’ interactions. Using a sample of 385 Norwegian companies, the results provide strong support for the notion that the higher the level of board diversity with respect to the board members’ backgrounds and personalities, the higher the degree of board creativity and cognitive conflict during the decision-making process. Moreover, our empirical evidence supports the mediating role of interactions among board members. The study supports the increasing importance of going beyond “surface level diversity” (e.g., diversity in term of gender) and investigating characteristics that are less visible and that are labelled “deep-level” diversity attributes.

Innovation In Family Firms — Examining The Inventory And Mapping The Path

Over the past decade, research on innovation in family firms has received growing attention by scholars and practitioners around the globe with a wide range of aspects explored within the current body of literature. Despite the constantly growing number of scientific publications, research lacks a comprehensive and critical review of past and present research achievements. First, conducting a bibliometric analysis with a focus on innovation in family firms, we identify five topical clusters that help to understand the foundations of recent findings: namely ownership and governance, structural settings, organizational culture and behaviour, resources, and innovation and strategy. Second, based on a thorough literature review the major research avenues are reflected. The comparison of the results of both analyses showed the following areas for future research on family firm innovation: members‘ individual human capital and their leadership behaviour, openness to externals, cross-country comparisons, and finally the family‘s functional integrity on innovation performance.

Internationalisation of family and non-family firms: a conjoint experiment among CEOs

The aim of this article is to shed light on the individual decision-making process of decision-makers in family and non-family firms in internationalisation activities, which depends on the intertwining of both economic and socioemotional reference points. Our analysis with the help of a choice-based conjoint analysis suggests that the perception of risk and success differs among three types of CEOs: family CEOs, non-family CEOs, and CEOs from non-family firms. We identify significant differences regarding indicators that pertain to geographic, psychological, and cultural distance. CEOs in non-family firms are not sensitive to geographic distance and perceive internationalisation to more distant countries as having the least amount of risk compared to the other CEO types. For family CEOs, psychological distances in language and religion negatively influence internationalisation decisions because these distances are perceived as more risky. For choosing the most successful strategies, reactions to psychological distance are not significantly different among the management types, while reactions to cultural differences are negligible.

Principal-principal conflicts and family firm growth: The moderating role of business family identity

Purpose Drawing on the principal-principal conflict and identity literatures, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the Agency Problem Type II-bis in the context of family business. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that the size of the family owner group is related to firm growth and that this relationship is moderated by the extent to which the family identifies with the firm. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 265 medium and large German family firms (FFs) via moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The main findings suggest that business family identity moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship between the size of the family owner group and firm growth in such a way that FFs with medium-sized family owner groups and high levels of business family identity reach higher firm growth. Practical implications In the context of FFs fully owned by one family, family owners might have different strategic preferences, goals, and identities, thus potentially making them subject to the conflict that could arise among the different family owners in relation to growth expectations. Recognizing this problem could help family owners find potential solutions to ensure the well-being of both the family and the business. Originality/value The combination of family ownership structure and family ownership dynamics affects firm growth. Challenging the homogeneity of the family owner group, the authors highlight the role of Agency Problem Type II-bis in hindering growth of FFs. A finer-grained view of principal-principal conflicts in FFs is thus discussed.

Who should sit there? Effects of family-oriented objectives on board composition

The aim of this article is to shed new light on the antecedent of board composition in family firms. By integrating socioemotional wealth and stewardship theory, we hypothesise that family-oriented objectives not only affect the traditional dichotomous classification (family vs. non-family board members) but also the inner composition among family board members (e.g., family board members working in the firm vs. family board members not working in the firm). Our main findings suggest that the stronger the importance of family-oriented objectives, the greater the presence of family members on boards of directors. Furthermore, for high levels of family-oriented objectives, where steward-oriented behaviours prevail, the sub-group of family board members on the board will be mainly composed of family board members working in the firm.

Board of directors and financial transparency and disclosure. Evidence from Italy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between board of directors’ composition (independent directors’ ratio, board size, CEO-duality) and financial transparency and disclosure (T&D).,The paper analyzes board composition and financial T&D of Italian listed companies using multiple linear regression analysis.,The results of this paper show a significant link between board composition and the level of financial T&D. In particular, the authors found a positive and significant relationship between the independent directors’ ratio and the level of financial T&D and a negative relationship between board size and the level of financial T&D.,While this paper focuses on a sample of 100 Italian listed companies, the authors acknowledge the importance of extending the results to other national context and to other type of firms (e.g. non-listed firms or SMEs). Moreover, while this paper concerns the amount of information disclosed by firms, it does not look at the quality or accuracy of disclosure.,This paper reveals the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms (such as board composition) in enhancing the level of financial T&D. Indeed, the authors provide some indications to firms to improve their internal governance mechanisms (e.g. the importance of high proportion of independent directors and of small- and medium-sized boards of directors).,This paper provides interesting insights to firms which are under pressure to improve the level of information to stakeholders. Moreover, has the level of information that is not legally required vary among companies and countries, the authors shed light on a context characterized by high level of ownership concentration, where firms can experience different types of conflict of interests.

Co-Production: An Alternative to the Partial Privatization Processes in Italy and Norway

Market reforms such as privatization are often put in place with the aim of improving economic efficiency, reducing the role of the state and increasing the degree of private sector competition. These reforms are expected to have a positive effect on the local economy (Megginson and Jeffry, 2001). However, the measure of the success of privatization is often very narrow (Kikeri and Nellis, 2001). In fact, concerns have been raised in many cases about the privatization process in terms of the effective provision/production of services and accountability to citizens. Moreover, in many countries (e.g., Italy and Norway), public service providers are still controlled by the state, and there is therefore a situation that we could call partial privatization. We can talk of partial privatization when two characteristics are satisfied: restructuring actions are undertaken by the state; in order to create joint stock companies that are supposed to produce and/or provide public services more efficiently; after formal privatization has taken place (the restructuring of the public sector apparatus according to business-style guidelines), there is no substantial market competition, meaning that the situation is effectively a state monopoly. This chapter emphasizes the attributes and limits of the privatization process and examines the debates surrounding it. It suggests that co-production may be a reasonable alternative to the privatization of public goods and services.

Governance Structures and Mechanisms in Public Service Organizations

This book addresses the nexus of issues exploring governance structures and mechanisms in public service organizations, thus contributing to the development of disciplines that focus on public management. It goes beyond the state of the art by addressing a number of specific issues in a more systematic fashion. The book’s interdisciplinary focus is a particularly valuable asset, as its topic is situated at the crossroads of a number of fields, including public management, business administration, corporate governance, policy studies, political science, sociology, and third sector studies, all of which offer important perspectives and are important for the development of public management and public services. The book covers more than Italy and Norway and focuses specifically on public service organizations, addressing more aspects of their governance structures and mechanisms than any other book available today.