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This article provides commentary from well-known family business researchers on what they have learnt about the family business field and tips for the future.

Well-known family business management researchers were contacted in order to provide their feedback on the field of family business management. Their responses were then curated into an article that can help others learn from their advice.

The family business management researchers provided suggestions on how to succeed in the field of family business management and advice for current and future researchers. Thereby helping to advance the field and provide new novel research ideas that can help science as well as practice.

This article is amongst the first to provide verbatim advice from the leading family business management scholars. Thus, providing original and innovative ideas about what is needed in the field of family business management.

This paper aims to draw together three strands of work currently being carried out at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh to take an overview of food in Scotland and on-going local interventions. The provision of “artisan” food, defined here as food that forms part of the established tradition of its local area, usually produced on a relatively small scale, has become prominent in Scotland in recent years and is seen by many as part of a developing food culture that begins to address the Scottish food paradox.

A review of current research that considers artisanal food production and work that researches small and family enterprises was undertaken.

Small business support within the UK and indeed tailored support for businesses owned and managed by families is in a developmental phase at present. While there are numerous sources from which businesses can seek support, there are also acknowledged challenges for businesses in identifying the most appropriate sources of support, and the opportunity cost of engaging with business support agencies remains a serious concern for many. Further, much business support prioritises high-growth businesses, effectively de-prioritizing artisanal food producers.

The development and promotion of appropriate business support systems tailored to artisanal food production is an area that would merit further development.

The value of this piece lies in its blending of two distinct areas of work, considering both the challenges faced by artisanal food producers and recent research in family and smaller enterprises.

Reviews computer software, which provides one medium for nutrition education in schools and among the general public and which is freely available. Some computer packages are distributed by companies and government organizations, while others are distributed via shareware libraries and the Internet. Looks at the development and validation of one such package which was designed and piloted at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh for Master Foods, the division of Mars UK which markets the Uncle Ben’s range of products.

This paper considers a country context where traditional entrepreneurship has not been a major part of the economy and considers current attempts to develop entrepreneurship education (EE) as a part of wider market development.

The authors review the background to the economic development of the Post-Soviet states and link this to existing knowledge around EE. The potential routes by which EE might be developed in Uzbekistan are discussed with a focus upon hospitality and tourism education, leading to the development of a model of the six key aspects of change

The potential for future research is explored, and four aspects are highlighted as areas where partnership working with overseas universities is likely to have substantive benefits. In particular, the development of quality standards and staff development are areas where partnership could have an important influence, whereas barriers within local systems and cultural resistance are likely to benefit less from a partnership approach. Although entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intent are both important, entrepreneurial intent is highlighted given its role in terms of individual responses to country-level initiatives.

Although all four aspects merit further research, this paper ends with a specific suggestion that future research should draw on the theory of planned behaviour to explore entrepreneurial intent.

Uzbekistan is a relatively under-researched area where hospitality and tourism industries are undergoing a period of intense development.

Features the Fast Food Diner software program produced by British Meat and aimed at teachers and pupils studying Food Technology at Levels 3 and 4 of the National Curriculum.

This paper considers the multiple social networks of small family businesses and the dynamic interactions between them. It analyses family, friendship and business networks and the way additional ties within the networks become visible when they are considered together rather than separately.

Semi-structured interviews of thirteen family-owned and managed businesses are used to establish the patterns of networking. A detailed case study is then presented, allowing a deeper qualitative analysis of the interaction of different types of networks.

The findings explore multiple rationalities employed in the networking of family businesses and how different aspects of their individual family, friendship and business networks contribute to business development.

The paper suggests that a multi-rational theoretical perspective of the family, rather than a solely business-related perspective, deepens the understanding of the dynamics of family businesses behavior and that different types of businesses may be influenced to varying degrees by different rationalities.

Business networking tends to be deliberately encouraged by business support agencies, often via the deliberate development of events. A deeper understanding of the manner in which small businesses use and develop networks would enhance the direction and effectiveness of such investment.

Family businesses, especially micro- small- and SME businesses, are often integral to the communities in which they are based. By viewing family businesses within their social space, we acknowledge the importance of the community around them and the integrated nature of family, business and community in rural areas.

The value of this research lies in the proposition that smaller businesses in rural areas are often surrounded by the inter-woven networks of family, business and community.

Discusses the potential uses of computers in the sensory evaluation laboratory. Suggests factors to be taken into consideration when designing a computer system for this application.