Eric Clinton

Retrenchment Strategies and Family Involvement: The Role of Survival Risk:

This article analyzes retrenchment strategies that family businesses adopt during periods of crisis. From a socioemotional wealth perspective, we propose that the influence of family board members and family CEOs on retrenchment depends on survival risk. We collected empirical data from companies on the Spanish Stock Exchange (2008-2012). Our findings reveal that family involvement intensifies retrenchment when performance is declining, and that retrenchment intensifies when survival is at risk. We also demonstrate that family firms are able to implement retrenchment measures when required to improve their performance.

Big boots to fill—the next generation continuing differently:

This case history describes the challenge facing Carlos García, the third-generation successor of a Spanish family business, as he takes over the reins of Hispalis and prepares to continue the business ‘differently’. In two generations, Hispalis has morphed into a global conglomerate, with a portfolio of business ventures in multiple industries and countries. The case history facilitates discussion of business and family issues and is appropriate for beginning-level undergraduate students in the areas of entrepreneurial leadership, family business, strategic management and corporate governance.

Teeling Whiskey Company: A tradition of family entrepreneurship and whiskey distilling

This case study explores the origins of a new high-growth family start-up competing in a traditional industry. Teeling Whiskey Company Ltd (TWC) is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jack Teeling. This new venture stems from another high-profile, family-based business named Cooley Distillery. Jack was Managing Director of Cooley Distillery, the business his father founded in 1987. At Cooley Distillery, he acquired a wealth of professional experience in whiskey distilling and selling. When the distillery was sold to a large US spirits company in 2012, Jack pursued his own entrepreneurial venture in Irish whiskey. A year after the business was founded, Jack was joined by his brother Stephen Teeling, and together they have shaped their idea for a boutique, premium whiskey distiller producing innovative offerings into a fast growing, internationalized business. Jack and Stephen need to build a niche for TWC, as many new distilleries are due to enter the market.

Resource Acquisition in Family Firms: The Role of Family-Influenced Human and Social Capital

Abstract Does family-influenced human capital (FIHC) facilitate or hamper resource acquisition Previous literature is scant and offers a negative portrayal of the family business context in this respect. We question this negative view of the phenomenon by arguing that FIHC may be beneficial to resource acquisition when family members are characterized by high bridging social capital. More specifically, we argue that family-influenced bridging social capital positively moderates the relationship between FIHC and resource acquisition, as bridging social capital reduces the disadvantages of FIHC allowing for the advantages to come to the fore. Our hypothesis is tested and confirmed on a data set of 241 family firms based in the Republic of Ireland.

Defining Family Business: A Closer Look at Definitional Heterogeneity

Researchers have used a myriad of different definitions in seeking to explain the heterogeneity of family firms and their unique behavior; however, no widely accepted definition exists today. Definitional clarity in any field is essential to provide (1) the basis for the analysis of performance both spatially and temporally and (2) the foundation upon which theories, frameworks, and models are developed. We provide a comprehensive analysis of prior research and identify and classify 82 definitions of family business. We then review and evaluate five key theoretical perspectives in family business to identify how these have shaped and informed the definitions employed in the field and duly explain family firm heterogeneity. Finally, we provide a conceptual diagram to inform the choice of definition in different research settings.

Innovation Motives in Family Firms: A Transgenerational View

Drawing on the transgenerational entrepreneurship perspective, we employ a multiple case study approach to investigate why multigenerational family firms innovate. The data collection process drew upon five in-depth cases comprising 42 semistructured interviews, 25 participant observations, and several thousand pages of historical data dating from 1916 to 2017. We find patterns on how the firms’ long-term view—embracing both the past and the future—influences the innovation motives of these firms. Specifically, we identify three innovation patterns: conserving, persisting and legacy-building. We introduce a set of propositions and a framework linking long-term orientation dimensions to innovation motives and innovation outcomes. Our research thus contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of innovation behavior in family firms.

Governance, Pride, and Multi-Generational Involvement on Innovativeness: A Family Firm Study

This study investigates how innovativeness within multi-generational family firms is affected by business family governance, and how this relationship is moderated by different generational involve...

Transnational Migrant Entrepreneurial Journeys within Family Business Context:A Gendered Analysis

Despite increased academic attention paid to the influx of migrants from Eastern Europe to the UK, the gendered nature of migrant entrepreneurial journeys within the family business context remains...

Glennon Brothers: Old Dogs Need to Learn New Tricks

This case study presents the story of Glennon Brothers, a third–generation family–owned sawmilling business in Ireland. As the firm evolved through the organizational life cycle and the complexity of firm operations increased, a different style of management was required to navigate the family business to the next stage. The brothers needed to move from being managers to managing managers. This case study highlights how coleaders can become comfortable with each other and unintentionally overlook the need to change their managerial priorities in line with the businesss evolution.