Andreas Hack

Impact of Family Control/Influence on Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Benevolence

This article proposes a model explaining how family control/influence in an organization affects individual stakeholders’ perceptions of benevolence. The model suggests two effects. First, based on socioemotional wealth research, we propose that family control/influence positively affects stakeholders’ perceptions of benevolence through the benevolent behavior that the organization shows toward its stakeholders. However, this effect can be negatively influenced if the family’s socioemotional wealth goals in terms of “Family control and influence” and/or “Renewal of family bonds to the firm through dynastic succession” are at risk. Second, we argue that family control/influence, to the extent that it is perceivable to the stakeholder, influences stakeholders’ perceptions of benevolence through categorization processes. However, the impact of perceivable family control/influence on stakeholders’ perceptions of benevolence is not straightforward but instead hinges on a set of individual-level contingency factors of the stakeholder, such as stakeholders’ family business in-group membership, stakeholders’ secondhand category information, and stakeholders’ firsthand category information.

Attracting New Talent to Family Firms: Who is Attracted and Under What Conditions?

In making a decision to enter into a long–term employment relationship with a firm, job seekers often compare their needs and values with the perceived organizational characteristics of the firm. In the case of family firms, the communication of family influence can be a unique factor in shaping beliefs about firm attributes. Family influence is often associated with trustworthiness, security, and stability. However, family influence is also associated with inflexibility and resistance to change. Using the idea of person–organization fit, we hypothesize that although family influence attracts job seekers in general, applicants who value conservation or self–transcendence are particularly attracted, while applicants who emphasize openness to change or self–enhancement are less attracted. Furthermore, we propose that the attractive effects of family influence are more pronounced in more hostile economic environments. We find evidence for our hypotheses using a conjoint experiment and 5,600 assessments of family influence nested within 175 job seekers.

The relationship between top management team innovation orientation and firm growth: The mediating role of firm innovativeness

Upper echelon theory and research on innovation have considered top management teams and their behaviour and characteristics as important factors that positively influence innovativeness and organizational outcomes. Yet, innovation research has mostly focused on individual new product projects, and their performance and impact on firm performance. Recent research has started to apply a more holistic view in terms of innovation, by considering firm-wide innovation instead of single new products. Upper echelon research has concentrated on direct relationships between top management team characteristics and organizational outcomes. But recent research calls for mediating effects of the relationship between top management team characteristics and organizational outcomes. Hence, this study introduces firm innovativeness as a mediator between top management team innovation orientation and firm growth. Focusing on small and medium-sized firms, which often represent highly innovative firms, results show that firm innovativeness fully mediates the relationship between top management team innovation orientation and firm growth. Implications and future research are discussed.

Management von Familienunternehmen

Das Lehrbuch bietet einen schnellen, gut strukturierten Einstieg in das komplexe Themengebiet der Familienunternehmen. Die Besonderheiten dieser Unternehmensart werden umfassend dargestellt. Die didaktische Aufbereitung (Lernziele, Lernfragen und weiterfuhrende Literatur sowie Fallstudien und Praxisbeispiele) erleichtert die Anwendung des theoretischen Wissens. Das Buch bietet Studierenden und Dozierenden ebenso wie Angehorigen von Unternehmerfamilien, Mitarbeitern in Familienunternehmen sowie Steuerberatern, Wirtschaftsprufern und Rechtsanwalten einen kompakten Uberblick uber das Thema. Fur die zweite Auflage wurde das Buch fundamental uberarbeitet, neue Themengebiete wie z. B. ein ausfuhrlicher Abschnitt zu Nachfolgeprozessen wurden hinzugefugt, Ausfuhrungen zu Konflikten in Familienunternehmen vertieft sowie neue Erkenntnisse zur Family Business Governance integriert.

Is it All About Money? – Affective Commitment and the Difference between Family and Non‐Family Sellers in Buyouts

In this paper we investigate private equity firm perceptions of sellers’ affective deal commitment in buyout transactions. Using a sample of 174 buyouts, we test trust, goal congruence and private equity reputation as potential antecedents of perceived deal commitment. We also examine whether and how different types of sellers, family versus non‐family firms, moderate sources of perceived affective deal commitment. In sum, we find evidence that non‐financial factors play a role in buyouts, particularly for family firm sellers.

Storytelling and cultural family value Transmission : value perception of stories in family firms

This study analyses the transmission of cultural family values in family firms through storytelling. Specifically, we investigate whether cultural family values that are intended to be imparted by a story and its teller are also perceived accurately by listeners (i.e. the intended imparted value and the perceived value are congruent). We use a mixed-methods design including a qualitative phase, which identifies stories told in three German family firms, and a quantitative phase, which analyses the value perception (i.e. subjective cognition) of 226 individuals from outside the firm for a selected number of six stories. Results indicate that the intended values of the selected stories are perceived accurately by the individuals. Hence, stories might describe a useful means for transmitting cultural family values in family firms.

Family Firm Brands, Perceptions of Doing Good, and Consumer Happiness:

This research examines how and why family firm brands (compared to nonfamily firm brands) affect consumers. We argue that a brand’s family firm status acts as a signal to consumers who share category-based beliefs about family firms doing good due to preserving their socioemotional wealth. This perception in turn is a fair and positive appraisal in the mind of consumers (in the sense of indirectly benefiting others with their spent financial resources) that elicits happiness. In an experimental study, we show that family firms are being perceived by consumers as acting more supportive towards internal and external stakeholders and that these perceptions in turn result in higher consumer happiness. In other words, our results indicate that communicating a brand’s family firm status might have a positive indirect influence on consumer happiness through the perception of doing good. On the other hand, our results suspect that a brands family firm status might also trigger beliefs (not part of our study) with more negative indirect effects on consumer happiness.

Applying Person-Environment Fit Theory to Identify Personality Differences between Prospective Social and Commercial Entrepreneurs: An Explorative Study

Research has started to investigate personality traits of social entrepreneurs because such traits in commercial entrepreneurs have been found to affect new venture creation/success. In this exploratory study, we apply the person‐environment fit theory and analyze specific social entrepreneurial personality dimensions (i.e., altruism, empathic concern, personal distress, compassion), and classical entrepreneurial personality dimensions (i.e., need for achievement (nAch), entrepreneurial self‐efficacy (ESE), general self‐efficacy, risk‐taking propensity) to identify differences between prospective social and commercial entrepreneurs. Using a sample of 85 prospective entrepreneurs, results show that prospective social entrepreneurs differ from prospective commercial entrepreneurs in the personality dimensions of personal distress, nAch, ESE, and risk‐taking propensity.

Operatives Management von Familienunternehmen

Wahrend sich die strategische Fuhrung auf die Ziele des Unternehmens, der Familie und die erforderlichen Ressourcen und Rahmenbedingungen zu deren Umsetzung fokussiert, konzentriert sich das operative Management darauf, die an den Werten und Zielen ausgerichteten Kernaktivitaten des Unternehmens (also Produktions- und Dienstleistungsprozesse) und die sie erganzenden Prozesse (also z. B. Verwaltungs- und Finanzierungsprozesse) operativ zu planen, auszufuhren, zu steuern und zu kontrollieren.

Leistungsdifferenzen zwischen Familien- und Nicht-Familienunternehmen

Sind Familienunternehmen erfolgreicher als Nicht-Familienunternehmen oder stellen sie einen gegenuber „professionellen“ Gesellschaften per se unterlegenen Typus von Wirtschaftsorganisation dar? Konnen Familienunternehmen mit Publikumsgesellschaften mithalten oder sie sogar uberflugeln? Diese grundlegende Fragestellung wird in der Familienunternehmensforschung seit rund zehn Jahren intensiv diskutiert. Galten Familienunternehmen zuvor als ein unmodernes und veraltetes Modell, so zeigen jungste Analysen, dass ihre Performance dauerhaft uber von Nicht-Familienunternehmen liegen kann.