Rodrigo Basco

“Where do you want to take your family firm?” A theoretical and empirical exploratory study of family business goals

Family business scholars assume that family business goals represent the nature of the firms decision making and are driving forces (i.e., antecedents) of family firm behavior, performance, continuity, competitiveness, and sustainability. Without measuring family business goals, family business research—specifically, the family business theorizing process—is floating in the midst of assumptions used to justify observational descriptive data, such as differences between family and non-family firms and differences among various types of family firms. There remains a lack of clarity surrounding the theoretical definition of family business goals and an absence of methodological approaches to make the concept operative. In order to address this gap, this research applies an exploratory step-by-step methodology that combines both a theoretical and an empirical approach. First, following an inductive literature review, I theorize family business goals as a multidimensional concept combining two scales: economic versus non-economic orientation and family versus business orientation. Second, by using a unique Spanish database of family business, I use the partial least squares structural equation modeling method to confirm and extend the proposed theoretical multidimensional concept of family business goals.

Principal-principal conflicts and family firm growth: The moderating role of business family identity

Purpose Drawing on the principal-principal conflict and identity literatures, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the Agency Problem Type II-bis in the context of family business. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that the size of the family owner group is related to firm growth and that this relationship is moderated by the extent to which the family identifies with the firm. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 265 medium and large German family firms (FFs) via moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The main findings suggest that business family identity moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship between the size of the family owner group and firm growth in such a way that FFs with medium-sized family owner groups and high levels of business family identity reach higher firm growth. Practical implications In the context of FFs fully owned by one family, family owners might have different strategic preferences, goals, and identities, thus potentially making them subject to the conflict that could arise among the different family owners in relation to growth expectations. Recognizing this problem could help family owners find potential solutions to ensure the well-being of both the family and the business. Originality/value The combination of family ownership structure and family ownership dynamics affects firm growth. Challenging the homogeneity of the family owner group, the authors highlight the role of Agency Problem Type II-bis in hindering growth of FFs. A finer-grained view of principal-principal conflicts in FFs is thus discussed.

Who should sit there? Effects of family-oriented objectives on board composition

The aim of this article is to shed new light on the antecedent of board composition in family firms. By integrating socioemotional wealth and stewardship theory, we hypothesise that family-oriented objectives not only affect the traditional dichotomous classification (family vs. non-family board members) but also the inner composition among family board members (e.g., family board members working in the firm vs. family board members not working in the firm). Our main findings suggest that the stronger the importance of family-oriented objectives, the greater the presence of family members on boards of directors. Furthermore, for high levels of family-oriented objectives, where steward-oriented behaviours prevail, the sub-group of family board members on the board will be mainly composed of family board members working in the firm.

Open innovation search strategies in family and non-family SMEs: Evidence from a natural resource-based cluster in Chile

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what types of open innovation search strategies are associated with internal innovation activities in family and non-family SMEs within natural resource-based clusters.,This study is based on an empirical analysis of a sample of 245 Chilean firms.,Results suggest that while family and non-family SMEs do not significantly differ in terms of internal innovation activities, important differences exist in terms of open innovation search strategies. In particular, family SMEs search for new ideas and knowledge within their closest network of relationships (e.g. customers, suppliers and competitors), whereas non-family SMEs mainly focus on broader network relationships (e.g. universities, public institutions and fair trade organizations).,This study shows that within a natural resource cluster, the types of firm do matter. In fact, family and non-family SMEs use different open innovation search strategies to innovate; hence, this research may help and assist policy makers in tailoring innovation policies aimed at expanding the potential benefits of clusters for regional growth and development.,This research addresses the call to further investigate the link between family SMEs and innovation in developing countries, given that SMEs may also act as a lively player for regional development.,El objetivo de este articulo es investigar las estrategias de busqueda de innovacion abierta de las pequenas y medianas empresas familiares y no familiares en un cluster basado en los recursos naturales.,Este estudio esta basado en un analisis empirico con una muestra de 245 empresas Chilenas.,Los resultados muestran que no hay diferencias significativas en las actividades internas de innovacion entre las pequenas y medianas empresas familiares y no-familiares de la muestra. Sin embargo, se han encontrado diferencias en las estrategias de busqueda de innovacion abierta que utilizan de las empresas. Las empresas familiares buscan nuevas ideas y conocimiento para innovar entre sus contactos mas cercanos (por ejemplo: clientes, proveedores y competidores). Las empresas no-familiares se enfocan en contactos mas amplios (por ejemplo: tales como universidades, instituciones publicas y ferias internacionales).,Este estudio muestra que distinguir entre empresas familiares y no familiares dentro de los cluster basados en los recursos naturales es importante. Las pequenas y medianas empresas familiares y no familiares usan diferentes estrategias de busqueda de innovacion abierta. Por lo tanto, nuestros resultados pueden ayudar al diseno de politicas publicas de innovacion diferenciando empresas familiares y no familiares con el objetivo de potenciar los beneficios de los cluster para el crecimiento y desarrollo regional.,Este articulo intenta avanzar en la investigacion relacionando innovacion y pequenas y medianas empresas familiares en paises en desarrollo.

Is there any room for family business into European Union 2020 Strategy? Family business and regional public policy:

The role of family firms within economic growth and development has been neglected, and family business dimensions have been overlooked in regional intervention policy. That is, while family firms seem to play a significant role in the construction of the European Union, family firms are omitted from public policy beyond direct action related to tax benefits or advice about ownership and management succession. Therefore, the aim of this article is to provoke a debate on the importance of the family business dimension for developing and implementing regional public policy. Specifically, this article addresses the question of whether the family firm matters for regional development and, if so, how the family business dimensions can be included in regional policy strategies. We built our arguments following the regional familiness model and considering that family businesses’ effect on regional development can occur at the firm and regional levels. Our main conclusion is that any public policy intervention should consider the regional familiness characteristics of the regional productive structure because it may boost or hinder regional competitiveness and affect economic growth and development.

Epilogue: The Multiple Embeddedness of Family Firms in the Arab World

In the present day, the term “Arab world” could be related to the geographical area occupied by 22 countries that form the Arab League1 in Africa and the Middle East with a population of 422 million people, more than half of whom are under 30 years old. To be inclusive, beyond the Western stereotype, the Arab world is about Arabs but also about Berbers, Kurds, and Egyptian Coptic Christians, among others. It is about Islam but also about pre-Islam polytheistic religions and other faiths that emerged as monotheist religions in the region. It is about the Arabic language but also about other languages, dialects, and colonial influence across the geography. The Arab world is a mosaic of incredible identities formed by religions, cultures, languages, traditions, faiths, political systems, geographies, history, and artistic expressions. It is also about diasporas dispersed around the world. It is unity through diversity. For the individual navigating this amazing context, identity becomes a paradox of conflict and peace, stability and instability and certainty and uncertainty. However, the glue that ties the building blocks of identity is the family—the family as a nuclear system that carries the past, the present, and the future of social, relational, emotional, and economic expectations.

Family Perspective on Entrepreneurship

Discua Cruz and Basco provide from a holistic perspective a nuanced understanding of the effect of the family on the entrepreneurial dynamics that lead to the creation of new firms and the development of existing firms. The authors highlight three schools of thought: entrepreneurship by families, embedded family entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship across generations, which brings forward the complex interaction among family, entrepreneurship, and established family businesses. The authors employ these schools of thought to explore and map current knowledge on the effect of family on entrepreneurship through three different levels: individual, group, and firm levels. By considering the inextricable connection of family and family business literature with entrepreneurship, the authors highlight previous and novel studies, interpret existing findings, and suggest a future research road map.

The Entrepreneurial Role of Families in Transitional Economies: The Case of Lithuania

Family often becomes the backbone of entrepreneurial activities, offering the entrepreneur a pool of physical, financial, human, and social resources. In this context, the successful coexistence of family and firm contributes to regional economic development. Nevertheless, the interwoven cooperation between the family and entrepreneurship cannot be taken for granted. First, families and entrepreneurship are driven by different logics. Second, both the family and entrepreneurship are shaped by the economic, cultural, and political contexts in which they are embedded. Our intention is to explore the phenomenon of the family and entrepreneurship in the specific context of transitional economies as the environment in which families and firms dwell may affect the birth, development, growth, and mortality of the firm. In an attempt to address this topic, we explore the entrepreneurial role of families in transition economies and propose a conceptual framework that has both theoretical and practical implications.