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While no two businesses are the same, examples from Edinburgh Pakistani community convenience store owners illustrate business survival strategies developed in response to increased environmental challenges presented by changing consumer behaviour, increased competition and demographic variations. These are related to the individual’s motivation, experience and family business background, and include exiting the sector, gaining recognised qualifications and alternative employment, and involving second and third generations in expanding family business activities. The resulting smaller, but stronger, convenience(c)‐store sector continues to provide opportunities for individual businesses, thus maintaining the economic and social benefits for the ethnic minority community and the wider city population.

The purpose of this paper is to consider multigenerational landed estates in Scotland from a family business perspective. The strategic vision for the business is considered here in terms of the family definition of success, drawing upon aspects of cultural identity, legal and fiscal systems and stewardship theory.

A social-constructivist epistemology framed this study, which considered perceptions of family business strategy, culture and family defined visions of success. Semi-structured interview techniques were utilized to collect primarily qualitative date.

Results indicate that the families shared a very cohesive definition of what constituted the family business and were very aware of the importance of long-term planning in the succession process. The cultural and legal dimension of primogeniture played a defining role in the choice of successors, developed from the belief that the successor is the steward of the family property rather than the “owner” in any personal sense. Key priorities for the family included the training of the heir and the limiting of potential taxation liabilities juxtaposed with the desire to retain family discretion in decision making.

By extending current research to businesses that have been successfully transferred between six or more generations this study offers a unique insight into the requirements for effective succession. This research also offers an insight into the strategic management of a group of “family businesses” where the economic and legislative environment have required families to plan, where smaller family businesses are often able to defer.

Multigenerational estates represent some of the oldest family businesses in Scotland, offering a unique sample group of businesses which have survived through six or more generations. The clarity of strategic vision and the perceived importance of long-term planning offer an insight into the reasons for business longevity.

In a context of technological disruption, companies face a digital imperative to adopt successfully emerging new technologies. While family firms have a huge potential for growth and innovation, they may – due to idiosyncratic but often limited resources, have to address the complex challenges induced by digital technologies introduction. The purpose of this paper is to explore how human and cultural resources influence the formulation and implementation of five French family firms' digital strategy.

Based on a phenomenological epistemology, semi-structured interviews among different generational cohorts of family business owners.

The thematic analysis highlights five main cultural and psychological determinants holding the potential for positive and synergetic outcomes while implementing a digital strategy: the change management nurtured by long-term sustainability, the emotional attachment to the firm, the entrepreneurial legacy influence, the personalised involvement of individual family members and the family owners' central focus on employees.

This paper is one of the first research projects exploring the digital transformation process of family businesses from the perspective of the firm's human capital. The participants of the study reveal idiosyncratic attitudes such as long-term orientation, entrepreneurial bridging and non-economic goals leading to competitive advantages and transgenerational wealth creation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategic approach adopted by the current owners of family-held estates in Scotland to explore the approaches that have led to multigenerational ownership.

A social constructionist epistemology was adopted to consider the manner in which owners of large landed estates perceived the strategic approach adopted by the family and the implementation of that strategy. A purposive sample based on the most senior member of the family currently involved in the ownership of five family estates, was developed, drawing heavily on personal contacts and a pre-existing level of trust between the researcher and the families involved.

All respondents had inherited their primary estate. Some had inherited or developed parallel businesses, or indeed both. All see it as their “duty” to pass the estate on and to act as trustees for the next generation. One of the key recurring themes was that despite the legal structures, all respondents had a strong standpoint that they did not really “own” the primary estate or many of the businesses, but rather felt that they were trustees or stewards for the next generation. This culture of obligation to the next generation defines this group of families and steers their actions with regards to the business and their family relationships.

The limitations to this study lie primarily in the small sample size. Further research would enable a wider sample group to be developed and possibly explain the success in retaining the business within the family. Longitudinal research could also be undertaken to see if the family’s culture changes over time and the impact that this has on the family’s survival rates and in this context the impact that the businesses have on their local economy would merit further exploration.

The originality lies in the sample group, about whom limited research is available. The research presented here draws heavily on personal contacts and a pre-existing level of trust between the researcher and the families involved.

Earlier work examined the factors that affected staff motivation and satisfaction in small food businesses, focusing on staff whose roles did not include overall responsibility for the firm. As part of this work, 38 small food processing and manufacturing companies in Scotland were recruited and data collected using interviews and questionnaires. In order to examine the topic in greater detail and to offer a more complete perspective, the owners and/or managers of the 38 firms were interviewed and the results presented here as a contrast. Results highlighted differences in perception between the owner/managers and those staff who took part in the earlier data collection.

Examines the factors which affect staff motivation and satisfaction in small food businesses. Explores previous theories of motivation. Thirty‐eight small food processing and manufacturing companies in Scotland formed the sample. Interviews and open‐ended semi‐structured questionnaires were employed in the research. Results emphasise the importance of the management style of the owner/manager particularly when it comes to factors such as “lack of appreciation”, “poor communication” and “training”.

Complaints handling is now a marketing tool for retailers. Intense competition within the food retail sector makes it an area for retailers to gain competitive advantage. However, the commitment to complaints handling through employee training is a largely unexplored area. Describes how an in‐depth questionnaire was used to survey UK multiple food retailers regarding the existence of complaints procedures; aspects of training such as prevalence, frequency, hours and methods; and the authority to resolve complaints in relation to employee status. Customer and staff communication, as part of the complaints handling process, was also investigated. Seven retailers took part in the survey and included a cross‐section of retailers (including one of the major multiples), based on number of branches. Reports the results, which showed that all the food retailers had some form of training. However, this varied with employee status. Generally, training was not given frequently in a formal manner, but on an ad hoc basis. Authority to resolve complaints appears to lie still with senior staff, although customer and staff communication facilities appear to exist. Argues that complaints handling can be effective only with appropriate staff training at all levels.

To address the issue of the low take‐up of available ethnic business support the article proposes the composition of a database for Scotland, thereby providing baseline data on minority businesses and hence providing a sampling frame for future research. The database will hold the following information: name and gender of the business owner, sector, location, number of employees as an indicator of company size, generation, the year in which the business was established, as well as the legal form of ownership of businesses.

The database draws from the concept of mixed embeddedness as well as the political agenda of the Scottish Executive for the sector. Data sources used are commercial databases, the Yellow Pages of Scotland, local business registers across Scotland, a telephone survey and personal contact/networking with businesses.

In order to facilitate the composition of a Scottish database of minority businesses, this article has looked at existing theories of minority business support and issues currently considered in the literature. Based on the literature underpinning research on ethnic minority firms, a justification for the proposed database has been developed, which provides a sampling frame in the Scottish context and allows for new approaches to research.

Though 100 per cent coverage of minority businesses in Scotland is a desired target, complete coverage may not be achievable. Some business might simply not be interested in participating in the research and cannot, therefore, be included in the database despite the multi‐facet methodology applied.

By proposing a methodology for composing the database, the article tackles a long‐standing issue in the area of ethnic business research. It is hoped that the database will improve understanding among policy makers and support organisations, in terms of the particular needs of individual businesses. Consequently, the better understanding should account for a more tailored and more attractive support, which, in turn, improves the take‐up of existing mechanisms.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and process of leadership in a mid‐sized, family‐controlled bank in Singapore in order to understand how it grew and developed under family control.

The paper draws on distributed leadership as a theoretical framework in exploring how a major corporate acquisition was conceived and undertaken to advance the bank's growth and development. Data were obtained through structured interviews with managers based on a three‐part discussion protocol following a pre‐interview questionnaire.

An “extended” system of leadership involving different levels of managers is developed that successfully completed the acquisition and produced significant growth from the combined businesses.

Based on a single case, the paper does not claim that the observed phenomena are typical of mid‐sized family‐controlled businesses (FCBs). However, for scholars, the paper suggests how studying leadership practice in such FCBs may produce insights that challenge the popular view of an all‐powerful family leader by substituting a more nuanced perspective of a collaborative leadership system that facilitates entrepreneurial activity down the firm.

For managers, the study suggests how deeply developed collaboration among different levels of managers may produce competitive advantage for FCBs that seek further growth and development.

It is suggested how further research of the growth processes of mid‐sized FCBs may maximize the value of entrepreneurial opportunities for their “extended” family of stakeholders, specifically for their customers with whom FCBs typically enjoy close relations.

The paper fills an empirical gap in the literature on competitive, mid‐sized FCBs by articulating a process in which a unique competency is developed for their ongoing survival as a family‐controlled enterprise.