Advice-seeking process in family businesses: a qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of seeking advice in family firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory multiple case study design was employed to examine how family firm owners use various sources of advice. The analysis is based on data collected from semi-structured interviews with six Czech family business owners.

Findings

The case study analysis shows that family business owners first seek advice among those family members who work in the family firm. Subsequently, they approach internal or external sources with whom they have a specific relationship (management and key employees, peers and professional associations). Only when these sources do not provide adequate results, external advisors are approached. However, if the advice required a specific knowledge or certification, external advisors may be approached in the first place.

Originality/value

Based on the qualitative data analysis, we developed a model of the advice-seeking process. Since the theoretical “how” of the advising process in family firms is still underresearched, this study presents theoretical extensions as well as practical implications.

Citation

Kubíček, A., Dofkova, L. and Machek, O. (2021), "Advice-seeking process in family businesses: a qualitative study", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-07-2019-0048