Ramona K. Z. Heck

The Prevalence of Family Business from a Household Sample

This paper presents U.S. prevalence figures and their relationship to various family business definitions offered in literature to date. The percentage of households that own at least one family business where its owner or manager resides in the residential familyqhousehold was 13.8%. Results yielded a 10.0% prevalence rate for households having a business that qualified for this 1997 National Family Business Survey. The level of prevalence was shown to be associated with gender, ownershipqmanagement, involvement of family members, and generation of owner. These findings are useful for refining family business definitions. This paper also offers implications for future research, teaching, and practice relative to family businesses.

Revisiting the Study of Family Businesses: Methodological Challenges, Dilemmas, and Alternative Approaches

Family businesses are vital but understudied economic and social units. Previous family business research is limited relative to its definitions, sampling, and resulting empirical evidence. This paper presents an alternative methodological approach to the study of family businesses with the potential for allowing multiperspective and detailed analyses of the nature and internal dynamics of both the family and the business and the interaction between the two.

Managing work and family in home-based employment

Two 10-item scales, one describing the management of the home-based work and the other, the management of the family work, were administered to a sample of household managers who are also the home-based worker. Scale items are designed to assess dimensions of input, planning, implementing, and output.T-tests are used to compare the means of the individual items and the scale means. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to assess whether the factoring of the scale items support the theoretical framework. Scores are higher for the management of the home-based work than for the management of family work. Although both scales are highly reliable, the items in the home-based work scale factor clearly into the dimensions of standard setting and controlling. One interpretation may be that, given a choice, the dual-manager may choose to consciously organize the paid work instead of the family work.

Time-management strategies used by households with home-based work

A sample of 899 households in which at least one member is engaged in home-based work is used to analyze two time-management strategies used to respond to the demands of home-based work. Analyses reveal that, first, personal time is reallocated more than additional help is obtained for either the home-based work or household production and, second, that different strategies are used depending on whether the household manager is also the home-based worker. Respondents holding both roles report reallocating personal time more often than respondents who are not home-based workers; the reverse holds for obtaining additional help. The results suggest that households generating higher incomes in which home-based work is a full-time occupation are more likely to use time-management strategies than those in which incomes are lower and the home-based work is part-time.

Family-Owned Home Businesses: Their Employees and Unpaid Helpers

Family-owned home-based businesses traditionally utilize a workforce of paid workers, contracting workers, and unpaid helpers. Each type of worker may be categorized as family, related, or unrelated. The research reported here shows that not all worker types increase business outputs. Family workers, family helpers, and unrelated workers contribute in positive ways to business outputs. In contrast, unpaid related helpers decrease net income, and contracting related workers increase the work hours of the business owner.

The importance of household management for the business-owning family

The household managerial behavior of 673 business-owning families from the 1997 National Family Business Survey was examined using a scale adapted from Heck, Winter, and Stafford (1992). The scale was reliable and used to compare the managerial behavior of solo- and dual-role holders in the sample. Although t-tests revealed few significant differences between solo- and dual-role holders, factor analyses showed that the two groups differed noticeably in management style. The differences were not in the frequency of use of managerial activities but in which activities were viewed as related by the two groups.

Employment location choices: Factors associated with the likelihood of homebased employment

The purpose of this research analysis is to investigate the factors that are associated with the likelihood of a worker choosing homebased employment. Using a sample of 6,744 employed men and women from the 1984 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a logit estimation procedure is employed. Factors which decrease the likelihood of being a homebased worker include minority status, higher levels of total family labor income, a high school education or less, and longer working hours. Older workers, workers without children, workers with young children under age six, the self-employed, and farmers are all more likely to be involved in homebased employment.

The effects of children on the major dimensions of home-based employment

Using an ordinary least squares regression procedure and data from the NE-167 sample of home-based employment households, the effects of children on seven major home-based work dimensions, respectively, are estimated along with remaining work dimensions and a series of control variables. The findings show that having a child equal to or under 18 years of age reduces home-based work hours by 407 hours per year, which equates to 1 work day per week. The separate effect of a child under 6 years of age reduces work hours by 296 hours per year or about three-quarters of a work day per week. Being a male home-based worker offsets these children effects considerably compared with being a female home-based worker. Children in general are negatively related to large-scale businesses that hire employees or services. Younger children negatively affect the likelihood of being a home-based business owner and being involved in seasonal home-based employment.

The utilization of child care by households engaged in home-based employment

A logit procedure is used to examine the factors associated with the likelihood of using child care services among a sample of households with both a home-based worker and a child designated as needing care. Being a single-parent, having high family income, and the presence of a two-year old child are positively associated with the likelihood of using child care. Being an older worker, having a child who is one year or less or children who are 11 to 12 years, and having a less professional occupation decreases the likelihood of using child care. Self-employment decreases the likelihood of usage; owning a business that hires employees or services increases the likelihood of usage. The major conclusion is that home-based work may be a coping strategy for some child care needs, but home-based working households often need and use child care.