Andreas Kallmuenzer

The divergent transmission of entrepreneurial orientation in family business research

In order to understand entrepreneurial attitudes in the context of family firms and their influence on performance, a literature review on the transmission of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and its dimensions in family business is conducted. As a result of systematically reviewing scholarly journal articles (via ABI/inform, Business Source Premier and EconLit/EBSCO Host Databases), this state of the art research contributes to a better comprehension of successful practices of entrepreneurship in family firms and beyond. It reveals inconsistencies and ambiguities about the respective EO dimensions and their effects on performance. Also, a growing diversity of performance perceptions can be observed. Research recommendations suggest shedding more light on the subject by applying organisational theories to clarify the divergence of the dimensions and their effects on performance.

Exploring drivers of innovation in hospitality family firms

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore which actors in the hospitality industry drive innovation in hospitality family firms and particularly aims at understanding how these drivers contribute to create and sustain competitive advantage. The peculiar role of family dynamics in these efforts is considered. Design/methodology/approach Narrative interviews in 22 hospitality family firms in Western Austria were conducted. Data were analyzed using the qualitative text analysis software GABEK©. Findings Results show that the entrepreneurial family and employees are key drivers for innovation as actors internal to the firm, but also the guests and regional competitors as external drivers provide comprehensive innovation input. These innovation efforts are perceived to stimulate growth and business development. Research limitations/implications Future research might want to test and further concretize the propositions from this study in quantitative surveys. Additionally, the entrepreneurial family formed the central focus of this study; thus it would be interesting to investigate the other actors identified as key drivers of innovation in hospitality family firms. Practical implications Recommendations to entrepreneurs and regional politics are to capitalize on the identified actors as important drivers of innovation. Originality/value Research widely agrees that in hospitality collaboration, innovation is necessary, for many actors jointly offer complex products and services to tourists. However, it remains unclear which actors are mainly driving innovation in hospitality and how they do this, particularly when considering that the majority of firms in this industry are family firms and therefore family dynamics need to be considered for analysis.

Exploring entrepreneurial orientation in family firms: the relevance of social embeddedness in competition

This article investigates the peculiarity of entrepreneurial attitudes in family firms and how they are perceived to impact performance by qualitatively analysing 25 narrative in-depth interviews with family owner-managers in the state of Tyrol, Austria. Contributing to the transmission of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct in family firms, this study adds a thicker description of entrepreneurial attitudes in the family firm context. Findings indicate that aggressive competition contradicts the social embeddedness of family firms and has negative consequences for the family and the firm. The interviewees emphasise non-financial performance goals as drivers of their EO, their social responsibility as a family firm, the embeddedness in regional communities and the importance to be respected by the society.

Assessing long-term orientation among founder- and descendant-led firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how family firms in general, and founder- and descendant-led firms in particular, espouse long-term oriented goals of continuity, perseverance and futurity in their narratives. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data from 11 founder-led and 13 descendant-led family firms from Austria was collected in a narrative setting for a better understanding of their long-term orientation (LTO). Content analysis via the help of Atlas.ti was employed. Findings – Findings suggest that family firms anchor decision making with a constant awareness of their past, incorporate anticipation in decision making and exhibit patience for investment. However, even though family firms jointly emphasize a LTO, they approach it differently. Founder-led family firms put the founder and its family central to business decisions, emphasize idea development and admit their own mulishness. Descendant-led family firms attempt to maintain the business over generations, believe in the impo...

Hospitality entrepreneurs managing quality of life and business growth

The hospitality industry is dominated by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).They are often led by entrepreneurs who face the challenge of simultaneously managing business decisions and their own wellbeing. The competitiveness of tourism destinations often depends on these entrepreneurs and therefore understanding their motivations and work patterns is critical. Research on individual wellbeing increasingly builds on the concept of quality of life (QoL). Hospitality and tourism literature so far predominantly focused on investigating QoL for tourists and residents, rather than for entrepreneurs’ QoL, even though being key stakeholders in the hospitality industry. Therefore, this study explores the factors influencing hospitality entrepreneurs’ quality of life (“HE-QoL”) and how these relate to business growth. Results of a 380 hospitality entrepreneurs’ survey identify six distinct factors of HE-QoL. Two groups of HE-QoL are identified with significant differences in fitness level activity, entrepreneurial competencies and business growth. Findings lead to recommendations to reduce stress to improve HE-QoL, and to develop entrepreneurial competencies, which help to cope with entrepreneurial challenges. Tourism destinations and politics can support hospitality entrepreneurs in these actions by creating conditions that foster social exchange in regional communities and trust in political and economic stability.

Trade-offs between dimensions of sustainability: exploratory evidence from family firms in rural tourism regions

ABSTRACT Family firms often pursue social and environmental sustainability, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts that go beyond regulations. This is particularly true in nature-based industries. This study draws on socio-emotional wealth (SEW) and tourism literatures, as well as random utility theory, to disentangle the drivers of sustainability in rural tourism family firms (RTFFs). Informed by interviews, this study applied a novel choice-method survey, that brings understanding to the CSR payoffs and trade-offs between ecological, social and economic attributes in RTFFs. The results from 152 family firms in Western Austria show that after satisfying financial requirements, RTFFs are predominantly motivated by ecological and social considerations. The findings indicate that RTFFs obtain greater utility from positive ecological and social outcomes than additional financial profits, which the authors hypothesise is because of family-related SEW dynamics that enhances CSR. The findings from this study offer theoretical and practical insight into the motivations for proactive sustainability strategies among RTFFs.

TTRA Europe Conference on “Service Innovation and Experiences in Tourism”

The MCI Tourism in Innsbruck (Austria) hosted this year’s TTRA Europe conference from 22–24 April 2015. For this conference, TTRA Europe board member Mike Peters and his team at the MCI Tourism had the pleasure to welcome over 60 researchers from 25 different countries. Conference submissions were double-blind peer reviewed with a particular focus on the quality of work, methodological rigour and fitness of a research with the conference theme on “Service Innovation and Experiences in Tourism”. Thirty-five papers were invited to present at the conference. The event brought together researchers working on consumer behaviour, management and entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality. A majority of the presentations focused on innovation management, its measurement and diffusion, with a special emphasis on service innovation, social innovation, destination management, hospitality management and hotel management. Further presentations covered research on the attitudes and behaviours of entrepreneurs, such as factors for quality of life, business growth and development or the social exchange of entrepreneurs in destinations. In contrast, the behaviours of consumers (perception of customization, customer experience and decision-making) and employees (identifying high potentials, and influence of tourism development) were foci of further submissions. As Innsbruck (“Heart of the Alps”) is located in the Austrian Alps and the Tyrol, attracting more than 10 million visitors per year, several other papers dealt with relevant contexts such as climate change and skiing experiences in mountainous regions. Further sessions were composed by papers dealing with marketing and the use of technology in tourism. The closing session highlighted papers with explicit practical relevance and covered the issues of crowdfunding, attraction experiences or technical innovations in hotels. These scientific contributions were framed by seven keynote speeches. The local Tyrolean innovations were presented by the CEO of the Tirol Tourism Board, Josef Margreiter and the Director of the Tyrol’s Cinetirol Film Commission, Johannes Koeck. These two speakers highlighted the strength of the Tyrol as Alpine tourism destination, and as a driver of mountain tourism innovations worldwide. Josef Margreiter stressed historical and economic developments of the past to explain today’s highly competitive situation of Tirol. In particular, he pointed out two important factors for this situation: First, Tyrol has always been the home of pioneering entrepreneurs, taking the risk to further develop tourism in a rough mountain environment. Second, Tyrol has managed to keep its authenticity. The tourism strategy of Tyrol would not be possible without keeping a strong bondage to the local people and their traditions. In Margreiter’s opinion, the authentic “Lebensraum” is one of the keys to success of

Agency theory and the family business

The conceptual domain of agency theory is one of the dominant organisational theory perspectives applied in current family business research (Chrisman et al., 2010). According to agency theory (Jen ...

Agency Costs in Family Firms and their Influence on the EO-Performance Relationship

Growing conceptual and empirical attention is given to the peculiarity of entrepreneurial attitudes in family firms. In particular, research increasingly focuses on the transmission of the Entrepre...