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1 – 6 of 6Gérard Hirigoyen and Sami Basly
The purpose of this paper is to assessthe probable influence of some of the emotional costs and returns expected by owners on their family business sale decision; and examine if…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assessthe probable influence of some of the emotional costs and returns expected by owners on their family business sale decision; and examine if the perceived economic environment during the economic and financial crisis of 2008 had an impact on the intention to sell their family business.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a sample of 69 family businesses responding to a postal questionnaire survey. The empirical study is made up of a descriptive analysis of the factors influencing the intention of a family business sale and an explanatory analysis of the sale intention.
Findings
The desire for family business renewal through family generational succession is the main emotional factor lying behind the decision to continue/sell the business. Furthermore, the financial and economic crisis does not seem to be a factor that accentuates the intention to sell the family business even if firms’ financial performance has declined.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could implement a direct measure of owners’ performance thresholds and explicitly integrate the moderating role of “Perceived economic environment.”
Practical implications
By showing that continuity is a key concern for family business owners, the research invites them to effectively prepare their succession instead of postponing this strategic process given its significance in guaranteeing the survivability of the family business.
Originality/value
Executives who perceived economic conditions as very poor are less likely to consider the sale of the business in the horizon of two years than executives perceiving them as “normal.” The study confirms that in family-owned businesses, for the owner-managers and the active and serene family shareholders, the sale price does not compensate for their emotional regret evaluated through the loss of the family business’ emotional value.
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Caroline Minialai and Gérard Hirigoyen
Intergenerational transmission is a paramount managerial and patrimonial issue. Although planning and governance tools are being developed and spread in business, the handling of…
Abstract
Subject area
Intergenerational transmission is a paramount managerial and patrimonial issue. Although planning and governance tools are being developed and spread in business, the handling of emotions often remains the key to a successful process. It is within the framework of the paternalistic Moroccan society that we are led to question the psychology and emotions of the stakeholders in the transmission of this small services business.
Study level/applicability
Masters students in Family Business, Management Science, Entrepreneurship, Small Business Management.
Case overview
After 19 years of existence, Moroccan Shipping is confronted at the beginning of 2010 to the issue of the sustainability of the family business. The founder directs his affair with an iron fist, and his sons, who were educated abroad, are determined not to get fooled. The father claims he wishes to be relieved from daily operations and handover part of his responsibilities to his second son. At the same time, the youngest doesn't feel like he fits in the present firm's configuration and is ready to quit.
Expected learning outcomes
This case study will lead users to work on several managerial dimensions of small family businesses in emerging economies. At first, the entrepreneur's traits might be highlighted, as they deeply affect the way the succession process may be handled. However, as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) specificity, the Moroccan family system will be taken into consideration to better analyse both the incumbent and the successor behaviours. Management tools may then be discussed to help with the transfer of both power and ownership in family businesses.
Supplementary materials
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Owing to its specificities, the family small and medium enterprise (SME) shows a particular behavior as for the creation, development, sharing, protection and transmission of…
Abstract
Purpose
Owing to its specificities, the family small and medium enterprise (SME) shows a particular behavior as for the creation, development, sharing, protection and transmission of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to study the specificities of the processes of knowledge creation and development in family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a questionnaire, hypotheses of the model were tested. The study is based on 118 firms belonging to various industries. After evaluating the reliability and validity of the items through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the model was tested through structural equation modeling (LISREL).
Findings
The model retained induces the following conclusions. Internationalization knowledge positively influences internationalization degree of the firm. The conservatism of family SME does not directly influence the level of internationalization knowledge. The influence of conservatism on internationalization knowledge is exerted only through the decisional dimension of independence orientation. The independence orientation of family SME, then with its two dimensions simultaneously (decisional and resource independence), does not significantly influence internationalization knowledge. Contrary to decisional independence which influences indirectly the degree of internationalization (through the intermediation of internationalization knowledge), resource independence influences directly the dependant variable. The mediation of internationalization knowledge is thus not totally proven. Social networking positively influences the amount of internationalization knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
A major weakness is the absence of a synchronic approach as the dependent and independent variables are measured at the same moment. A more longitudinal approach would be valuable to analyze the causal relationships between the independent variables and internationalization knowledge and internationalization degree. A second limitation is that the characteristics of the sample may limit the generalizability of the results.
Originality/value
To the author's knowledge, the paper is the first of its kind to examine the knowledge‐based processes in family businesses.
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Performance measurement and evaluation systems cannot be taken as “pure” tools because they are the product of a given society. That is why they take their meanings and their…
Abstract
Performance measurement and evaluation systems cannot be taken as “pure” tools because they are the product of a given society. That is why they take their meanings and their sense from this society. They are particularly linked with corporate governance which is also linked with the contemporary developments of capitalism seen as a political order. That is why performance measurement and evaluations sytems in today’s companies are the production of a social game which has to be understood. Key indicators like shareholder’s value and actors like auditing firms play a specific role which has to be evaluated. This paper will introduce the discussion about these systems (and moreover management tools) as the production of their society from a posture taken from Political Philosophy. They will be evaluated in relation which what is capitalism today (which has to be understood in relation with what it was yesterday). That is why notions like shareholder’s value will be linked with the increasing weight of investments funds and with the systematic search for financial surplus. It will be induced that all these “concrete” notions build a system and are reciprocally re‐enforced. A special mention will be made to auditing firms as a cartel. Corporate governance will, as well as auditing firms, be presented as the concretisation of a new social game.
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Azzeddine Allioui, Badr Habba and Taib Berrada El Azizi
The purpose of this research is to study the financial, family, and cultural incidences on the investment policy of unlisted Moroccan family firms passed on to the second…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to study the financial, family, and cultural incidences on the investment policy of unlisted Moroccan family firms passed on to the second generation or more in times of crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The design is based on an innovative methodological approach of contextualization in times of crisis with 20 unlisted Moroccan family firms, 3 sociologists and 2 researcher-experts in times of crisis.
Findings
This research work gives rise to a result that can be summarized through a logic of combined rationality. Explicitly, in the family business, it is necessary to combine the two effects: financial rationality in times of crisis, and the emotionality that reigns in family logic (everything that is culture, family traditions and psychological backgrounds) to make arbitrations in terms of investments.
Originality/value
Thus, the originality of this research is rooted by a field made up of transmitted Moroccan family firms. The major problems related to the investment of the family firm begin to emerge once there are a multitude of generations involved in the management. This accentuates the family and socio-cultural effects of family reputation and religiosity and the firm's strategic imitation. In this sense, this paper proposes a way forward in the research on family businesses, by integrating family and cultural logics following a hybrid approach that integrates these factors with classical financial logics.
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This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business decisions in family firms, in particular, are not free from family influence in terms of goals and strategies, and the role of women in decision-making processes is of particular interest. Consequently, the role of women entrepreneurs in family firms and their influence on business development requires a more fine-grained analysis of the family dynamic within the family and the business.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on a qualitative study and focuses on the life story narratives of nine women in rural family businesses in rural communities of Småland province in Sweden to empirically examine the decision-making processes. This region is known both for its entrepreneurial culture and traditional gender order. Based on the narrative accounts of women entrepreneurs in family businesses, the data analysis method is thematic, using a Gioia-inspired method.
Findings
The complexity of decision-making in rural family firms is further complicated in part due to a closeness with the rural community. Thus, a typology of three decision-making modes in family firms emerges an informal family-oriented mode, a semistructured family/employee consensus mode and a formal board mode with at least one nonfamily member. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages and strategies that women use to influence decisions within the respective mode are outlined.
Originality/value
This work contributes to the study of women’s agency and its implications in family business and entrepreneurship in the rural context. The study implies that women’s agency shapes the (rural) entrepreneurship context and, likewise, the (rural) entrepreneurship context influences women’s agency. Hence, the author challenges the view of women as only caregivers and sheds light on the practices and processes behind the scenes of entrepreneurial family businesses.
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