Lorna Collins

Editorial: The evolving field of family business

Purpose This editorial provides an outline and reasoning for the launch of the new Journal of Family Business Management. The paper explains how the family business subject area has developed in previous years and highlights the authors’ views on where the subject needs to focus in future. Design/methodology/approach This article is an editorial with commentary on family business subject area. It provides discussion about what is a family business; discussed the growth in family business studies; highlights the need for family businesses to focus on competitive advantage. Findings Family Business has evolved significantly over the past decade and today it is a well accepted and respected field of inquiry. In gaining academic acceptance, it has retained its practitioner roots. The paper argues that it is time for a re-think because the focus of previous family business research has become somewhat convoluted with SME research (at least in the UK) and with particular parts of the family business rather than the entire family business sytem. why? . is it mixed up with SME research?? Research limitations/implications (if applicable) The paper argues for that it is still the case that the proportion of family business related journals in relation to all business journals is small. Family Businesses constitute the majority of global businesses and their contribution to global economy is significantly greater than non-family owned businesses. However, academic research on family businesses is still a new field less than 30 years old with many subjects and topics yet to be explored. This paper describes the approach the Journal of Family Business Management will adopt to address this imbalance and how it will focus on research that takes an inclusive, cross-disciplinary approach to the study of family business management. whatever we want the new journal to do such as a more inclusive approach to family business management etc Practical implications (if applicable) To continue its impressive upward trajectory, family business management and research needs to embrace new theoretical perspectives and approaches, particularly those which come from disciplines like psychology that at the moment have tenuous links to family business studies. It also needs to embrace learning that can be gained from practitioners and develop a useful discourse between stakeholder groups in the family business community. Social implications (if applicable) Originality/value This article highlights the contribution that this new journal brings to the family business subject area and defines the gap that it aims to fill. It will be useful for academics, researchers and family business practitioners, policy makers and professional business advisors. Keywords: Family business, advisors, practitioners.

The Modern Family Business

Family business research is dominated by a small number of scholars from a relatively small number of academic institutions (Debecki et at. 2009). This concentration of scholars is focused in the US and Canada with 17 of the 25 top schools being located in these countries (Debecki et al. 2009). Five years ago in the UK, Family Business was relatively unheard of in management studies circles. While academics in the US have been investigating and studying the phenomenon for years, interest in the subject has only just begun to filter into the UK management academic’s psyche and vernacular. UK academics have begun to recognise the unique qualities and managerial challenges that family businesses face and are beginning to give more time to investigating these challenges and characteristics. While the US has taught family business courses for many years, and it has an active network of family business advisors and a national recognition that family business is important to the US economy, the UK and Europe have lagged behind. This book is a response to this situation and also hopefully a contribution to the discussions about management issues facing the modern family business.

Editorial: research futures: a UK perspective

Purpose – This editorial aims to provide an overview of the current state of research in the UK and proposes some future directions for research for family business scholars.Design/methodology/approach – This article is an editorial with commentary about recent developments in understanding research gaps in the field of family business research.Findings – The paper discusses the areas where future research in family business is required focusing on three levels: the organization; the individual; and the community.Research implications – The paper suggests that there are many unanswered questions which merit further and future research.Practical implications – The future of family business research is not in question. The paper posits that there are areas of study in family business which may particularly benefit from taking a cross‐disciplinary approach and suggests that family business researchers might consider exploring theory in the entrepreneurship, small business, sociology, economics and industrial...

Socioemotional Approach: Exploring Women’s Guilt in an All-Female Egyptian Family Business

The role of women in family businesses is still an under-researched area, with existing research focusing on issues such as women’s roles, work-life balance and equality in terms of pay or careers. This paper seeks to understand the close interpersonal relationships of a small family business. It uses a case study approach to examine the dynamics and emotions at play within the firm and then develops a thought-provoking model of guilt to explain these dynamics. The case study examines an all-female family business in Egypt (Sharm-el-Sheikh). It is a small women’s wear business started and managed by the mother with both daughters employed. Using narrative inquiry, the research explores this family at a crucial turning point, following the business through near bankruptcy to ‘seeing light at the end of the tunnel’ before finally closing. The business achieved its recovery by professionalizing and changing ownership structures, aided by open communication and the recognition of roles and responsibilities. The research, conducted over a 2-year period starting in 2010 and ending in 2012, provides initial insights into the process through which family businesses are bound by guilt and love—emotions which exist simultaneously and which are reflected in the indviduals, the businesses and the family members’ lives. Suggestions for future research are also given. These include replication of the study in developed countries and other cultural contexts as well as development of a deeper understanding of the emotions of love and guilt in the context of working within and entering into family firms.

The Future of Family Business Education in UK Business Schools.

Purpose – This practitioner paper aims to question basic assumptions about management education and to argue that a new paradigm is needed for UK business schools which embraces an oft neglected, yet economically vital, stakeholder group, namely family businesses. It seeks to pose the question of why we have forgotten to teach about family business management in the management portfolio.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a stakeholder approach, building on nominal stakeholder theory to justify a change to the teaching paradigm in business schools. It builds on discussions in the extant literature about failures of business schools to address modern needs.Findings – The authors find that business schools in the UK need to begin to engage with family businesses through embracing the next generation from families in business. Policy needs to be developed that will support the next generation in a positive way by teaching about the family in business.Originality/value – The paper aims to stimulate...

Brothers in Business: The Pakistani Family Business in the UK

This chapter discusses the findings from a pilot study which is part of a larger ongoing study that is considering the nature of family dynamics in ethnic-minority-owned family businesses based in the UK. Ethnic minority entrepreneurs including those of Asian and Caribbean descent are making significant contributions to UK economic development. Previous studies (Barrett, Jones and Mcevoy (2001); Waldinger, Ward, Aldrich and Stanfield (1990) have shown that in the UK the number of ethnic minority start-ups is comparatively high compared to other groups of start-up entrepreneurs. However, the contribution of migrant entrepreneurs has largely been neglected by researchers (Williams et al., 2004; Keeble, 1989) and also appears to have been overlooked by family business researchers. This chapter explains the cultural theoretical framework for the study and highlights the cultural aspects of the Pakistani family business discovered and explored in the pilot study.

Brothers in Arms: The Story of Thorntons – A Study into the Relationships between Brothers Working in Senior Management in a Large UK Chocolate Manufacturer

The case study chosen for this chapter is a well-known UK family business – Thorntons Plc., a chocolate manufacturer and retailer founded in 1921. Thorntons is the largest independent chocolate and confectionery company in the UK and operates in a challenging retail environment selling a ‘luxury good’. This means it is very vulnerable to economic circumstances and the ‘feel good’ factor among customers. An analysis of the financial foundations on which the company is built shows sound business practice (David, 2010). Behind this business success is a story of three generations of male family members who established and grew the family business from 1911 to 1987. The aim of this chapter is to explore male sibling relationships between brothers and cousins by drawing on a systemic analysis of this family business. We build on existing literature that examines how family relationships have impacted on the success of a family business (Yarborough and Lowe, 2007; Ainsworth and Wolfram-Cox, 2003; Gersick, Davis, Hampton and Lansburg, 1997).

Fathers and Daughters

Family businesses are important to the economy of all countries. Family businesses comprise up to 65 per cent or 3 million of the total 4.6 million private sector enterprises in the UK economy (IFB, 2008). However, family business has not been widely studied relative to other types of business and the role of women, especially the leadership development of daughters of owners, inside the family business has received little attention (Jimenez, 2009).