Kathryn Stafford

The impact of the family and the business on family business sustainability

Identifies strategies that would help familiesincrease both business and family success. Data from the 1997 National FamilyBusiness Survey were used to gather a nationally representative sample offamily businesses. Using this sample, three types of interviews were conducted:a screen interview to establish eligibility, a household manager interview, anda business manager interview. Findings indicate that, contrary to business theory assumptions, the effectof the family on business ventures is large. The most important finding is thatthe success of the business depended on family processes and how the familyresponded to disruptions rather than simply how the owner managed the businessalone. Key factors that lead to increased revenue include: reducing familytension, hiring temporary help during hectic periods, reallocating sleep timerather than family time to the business, and living in a two- orthree-generation family. This study is one of the first empirical studies to utilize the sustainablefamily business (SFB) model as its guide—a brief review of previous research onthe SFB model is also presented.(SFL)

A research model of sustainable family businesses

This paper proposes a research model that outlines the determinants of functional families and profitable businesses—requisites for family business sustainability. Two features distinguish the model from previous models: inclusion of the family in the same detail as the business and emphasis on the key features of family and business. Delineation of the interface between the family and the business permits the use of research methods that allow for variable degrees of overlap of family and business rather than assuming that family businesses constitute either a single system or two separate systems. The research model is also compatible with a variety of theoretical perspectives.

Family Capital of Family Firms: Bridging Human, Social, and Financial Capital

The purpose was to present a family capital typology based on Sustainable Family Business Theory II and to document its relative contribution to short-term firm achievements and long-term sustainability using National Family Business Survey panel data. Family capital was defined as total owning-family resources composed of human, social, and financial capital. Family capital significantly contributed to firm achievements and sustainability. In the short term, all family capital types explained 13.5% of gross revenue variance and 4% of owner’s success perception variance. In the long term, all family capital types explained 26.7% of gross revenue variance and 11.6% of owner’s success perception variance.

THE EFFECTS OF ETHNICITY, FAMILIES AND CULTURE ON ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE: AN EXTENSION OF SUSTAINABLE FAMILY BUSINESS THEORY

Entrepreneurs have been traditionally epitomized as rugged individuals garnering creative forces of innovation and technology. Applying this traditional, limited, and narrow view of entrepreneurship to ethnic firm creation and growth is to ignore or discount core cultural values of the ethnic contexts in which these firms operate. It is no longer possible to depend solely on human capital theory and household characteristic descriptions to understand the complex and interdependent relationships between the ethnic-owning family, its firm, and the community context in which the firm operates. This paper addresses the complex dynamic of ethnic firms with three purposes: (a) to provide a cultural context for the three ethnic groups composing the National Minority Business Owner Study; (b) to extend the Sustainable Family Business Theory, a dynamic, behaviorally-based, multi-dimensional family firm theory, by clarifying how it accommodates ethnic firm complexities within their cultural context, and (c) to derive implications for research, education and consulting with worldwide applications.

Business Planning Practices of Family-Owned Firms within a Quality Framework

Study purpose is to investigate the contribution of an integrated, interfunctional approach to quality management, inclusive of family/business interface management, to the success of 572 small family firms, using multiple measures of success (congruity and business revenues). A positive customer reputation was the most important business goal for 44.6 percent of firms. Interface and business management significantly explained business revenue and congruity between business and family while controlling for owner and business characteristics. Family/business interface management explained 9.7 percent of congruity variance and 8.2 percent of gross revenue variance, whereas business management explained 3.3 percent of congruity variance and 2.2 percent of gross revenue variance.

DETERMINANTS OF FAMILY BUSINESS RESILIENCE AFTER A NATURAL DISASTER BY GENDER OF BUSINESS OWNER

Using National Family Business Panel data combined with national natural disaster and federal disaster assistance data, the purpose of the study was to investigate relative contributions of human, social and financial capital; natural disaster exposure; and federal disaster assistance to business-owning family resilience over time for male and female family business owners. With a theoretical foundation of Sustainable Family Business and Conservation of Resources theories, the study examined 311 small family firms from the National Family Business Panel. Federal disaster assistance explained a significant amount of variance in firm-owning resilience. Higher levels of federal disaster assistance were associated with lower family firm resilience for male-owned businesses and higher family firm resilience for female-owned businesses. This study advances knowledge of firm sustainability after natural disasters by adding to the conceptualization and measurement of family firm resilience; by having baseline firm financial data prior to disaster exposure; by utilizing a national, representative, longitudinal family firm sample; by including a range of natural disasters and federal disaster assistance; and by including family resilience over time.

The Contribution of Home-Based Business Income to Rural and Urban Economies

During the past decade, many rural and urban residents have turned to home-based self-employment as a means of providing for themselves and their families. Home-based work can be considered a form of community development for its potential as an alternative or supplemental income source for residents and for its economic multiplier effect on a community and region. This article reports results from a nine-state study on home-based employment—who does it and what they do—and estimates its economic impact on communities. Suggestions for building a supportive environment for home-based and microenterprises are discussed.

Does Fun Pay? The Impact of Workplace Fun on Employee Turnover and Performance

This research demonstrated that fun in the workplace has both beneficial and potentially negative effects on employees in the hospitality industry. This research focused on the impact of fun activities and manager support for fun on employee performance and turnover. Fun activities include such endeavors as productivity contests, social events, teambuilding activities, and public celebrations of work achievements and personal milestones. In turn, manager support for fun reflects whether managers in general allow and encourage employees to have fun on the job. With a sample of 195 servers from a national restaurant chain, we found that fun activities had a favorable impact on performance and manager support for fun had a favorable impact in reducing turnover. Interestingly, manager support for fun had an adverse impact on performance. Thus, whether fun ultimately is beneficial depends on the type of fun and the desired human resource outcome.

What matters most? The perceived importance of ability and personality for hiring decisions.

This study examined the emphasis hiring managers placed on general mental ability (GMA) and personality—agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and extraversion—when evaluating applicant profiles for servers for a national restaurant chain. GMA was framed as either “intelligence” or the “ability to learn and solve problems.” Under both conditions, GMA was valued, but less than agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability, even though GMA has been demonstrated to be the strongest predictor of employee performance. Framed as the “ability to learn and solve problems,” GMA was more highly valued, but still less than personality.

Studying at-home income generation: Issues and methods

Methods used to locate and study 899 home-based workers and their households in nine states are described in detail, with emphasis on the rationale behind the decisions about the definition of home-based work, sampling, the development of the interview schedule, data collection procedures, and data preparation. More than 10% of all households in the nine states include someone who is engaged in home-based work; 7% of the households have a member who has been engaged in the activity for more than 1 year and who spends at least 312 hours annually in the activity. The respondents have a mean age of 42.5 years, and have completed a mean of 13.8 years of education. More than half live in communities of 2,500 or over, and have lived there for more than 10 years. More than 40% of the sample consist of individuals who are married and have children living in the home. The average household income in 1988 was just over