Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore differences between non-family employees of family and non-family firms regarding the perceptions of organizational justice and levels of organizational commitment. Moreover, focusing on non-family employees of family firms, the study assesses the relation between the perceptions of organizational justice and levels of organizational commitment. Finally, the study seeks to understand which dimension of organizational commitment (i.e. affective, continuance, or normative) is more associated with the perceptions of organizational justice of non-family employees working in family firms.

The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 205 Portuguese employees, 98 non-family employees of family firms, and 107 non-family firms' employees, who responded to a questionnaire that included organizational justice and commitment measures. All firms included in the sample are small-sized privately owned companies.

Results show that there are no differences between non-family employees of family and non-family firms regarding the perceptions of organizational justice. However, results reveal that there are significant differences regarding the levels of organizational commitment. Furthermore, it was found that, in family firms, non-family employees' perceptions of organizational justice are positively related to the levels of commitment, especially regarding the affective dimension.

This paper aims to contribute to the literature by addressing two classical organizational aspects, which are yet under-researched in the comparison between family and non-family firms, while pursuing to shed some light on the relationship between the perceptions of organizational justice and levels of organizational commitment of non-family employees working in family firms.

This chapter explores how stress may manifest among non-family member employees, family member employees, and family firm founders in family firms during the startup phases of the organization. Understanding how stress arises in family firm startups has received limited attention to date. Notably absent in the research is the understanding of how stress arises in non-family member employees, which is important to understand as non-family member employees often outnumber family member employees. As stress increases for the non-family member employee due to issues such as role ambiguity and conflict, negative outcomes resultant from this stress may increase the chances of the employee exhibiting withdrawal behaviors. It is suggested these outcomes increase the stress of the family firm entrepreneur and family members by increasing interrole and interpersonal conflicts and negatively impacting decision-making. These effects on the family members may adversely impact the family firm’s chances of performing well, thus decreasing its chances for survival. Recommendations for future research are also made.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of firm size on performance (measured as profits, growth, efficiency and liquidity) differences between family and non‐family small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The samples of 441 family and 473 non‐family firms were divided into four size groups and performance differences analysed for each size group using MANOVA.

The findings indicate that family SMEs perform at least as well as non‐family SMEs. Although the two types of firms shared several similar performance characteristics at the small level, certain differences were evident. Performance differences between family and non‐family SMEs became prominent at the critical growth phase (20‐49 employees), reached an optimum at 50‐99 employees and narrowed again thereafter. For family firms, the benefits of higher gross margins and efficient use of assets began to wane after 100 plus employees but the disadvantages of lower employee performance continued.

The study could be improved by a longitudinal examination of the same firms across various growth stages. Further, the findings may be industry‐specific and not generally applicable.

The findings show that greater resources do not necessary lead to better performance and that non‐family firms could benefit from more efficient use of resources. The findings also confirm that the benefits of the informal system are not sustainable at larger firm sizes and that larger family firms would benefit from improved management of employee performance.

The pattern of performance differences observed between family and non‐family SMEs is unique to the paper. The paper shows that differences in performance between the two types of firms noted in the literature do no hold at all firm sizes.

This study explores the influence of Wasta, informal social network on the retention of non-family talented employees in family-owned SMEs in Jordan. Despite the increased attention received by talent management (TM) in the last decade, limited attention has focused on family-owned-SMEs. This study demonstrates while resource-based view explains how human capital provides sustainable competitive advantage the lack of strategic retention management may lead to losing this competitive advantage.

A multiple case study approach underpinned by a qualitative orientation was utilized to help explore the dynamics of TM practices in greater depth. The authors conducted a series of 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with HR managers, non-family junior and middle managers from six family-owned enterprises.

Evidence showed that family Wasta accelerate employee dissatisfaction among non-family talented individuals and in turn enhances their intention to leave due to organizational injustice and lack of organizational support.

This study could help managers in family-owned organizations enforce the concept of organizational justice by implementing solid performance management systems and talent reviews to strengthen the social exchange with non-family competent employees.

First, this study demonstrates how access to Wasta accelerate the mobility of non-family talented individuals and in turn enhances their intention to leave. Second, this study provides a theoretical and contextual framework to deepen the authors’ understanding of the impact of social networks on strategic retention performance.

In many countries, small and medium-sizes enterprises (SMEs) are primarily responsible for wealth, economic growth, innovation and research and development. In this paper, the authors examine the impact of family ownership and owner involvement on the financial performance of unlisted Finnish SMEs.

This is an empirical paper using a random sample of 1,137 non-listed Finnish SMEs. Through regression analyses and robustness tests, the authors examine the effects of family management, family and employee ownership and involvement.

Using profitability measures, the authors find family-owned and controlled SMEs perform significantly better than non-family firms. The number of family members actively involved in daily business operations bears a significant negative relation to firm performance. In contrast, non-family firms in which owners are actively involved, provide comparable returns to family firms, suggesting that in non-family firms active involvement contributes to performance. The authors find that employee ownership in SMEs does not provide an efficient way to compensate employees since more dispersed ownership does not lead to higher performance.

SME employee ownership does not provide an efficient way to compensate employees since more dispersed ownership does not lead to higher performance.

In the case of Finland, family ownership is an effective organisational structure. As the depth of the COVID pandemic remains uncertain, firms with committed ownership are key to the economic recovery.

The authors approach the family ownership and involvement issue from a different angle. Unlike earlier studies, the authors examine the impact of both family ownership and involvement on the financial performance of privately owned SMEs. This paper helps shed light on the role of family ownership and involvement as a possible explanatory factor of overall economic performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of psychological ownership (both job and organisational based) on extra-role behaviours among family and non-family employees in small overseas Chinese family businesses.

Empirical evidence was drawn from a survey of 80 family owners/managers and non-family employees from 40 small overseas Chinese family businesses from the transport industry in Malaysia. All proposed hypothesis were tested using hierarchical moderated regression analyses.

Job-based psychological ownership was found to significantly predict both types of extra-role behaviours. Organisational-based psychological ownership, however, was only a significant predictor of voice extra-role behaviour. Interestingly enough, no significant moderating effects on the relationships between the two dimensions of psychological ownership and two types of extra-role behaviour were found.

Having a dedicated workforce of both family and non-family employees who are willing to display extra-role behaviours may be considered as an essential component of business success and long-term continuity for many family firms around the world. This particular paper represents one of the few empirical efforts to examine the extra-role behaviours of employees in family firms from emerging economies.

The purpose of this paper is to assess differences between employees of family and non-family firms regarding their perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels. Moreover, focusing on family firms, the authors assess the relation between the employees’ perceptions of employer branding and the psychological contract levels.

The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 165 Portuguese employees, 76 employees of family firms and 89 non-family firms’ employees, who responded to a questionnaire that included employer branding and psychological contract measures. All respondents study in small and medium-sized private companies.

The results confirmed the research hypotheses, suggesting that employees of family companies show higher perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels than employees of non-family companies. Results also reveal that the perceptions of employer branding are positively related to the psychological contract levels of the family firm’s employees.

This paper aims to contribute to the literature by addressing two contemporary organizational aspects yet under-addressed in the comparison between family and non-family firms while pursuing to offer insights on the relationship between the perceptions of employer branding and levels of the psychological contract of employees working in family firms.

O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar diferenças entre colaboradores de empresas familiares e não familiares no que respeita às suas perceções das práticas de employer branding e níveis de contrato psicológico. Além disso, com foco nas empresas familiares, foi avaliada a relação entre as perceções de employer branding dos colaboradores e os níveis de contrato psicológico.

A evidência empírica é baseada numa amostra de 165 trabalhadores portugueses, 76 colaboradores de empresas familiares e 89 de empresas não familiares. Os participantes responderam a um questionário que avaliou as perceções sobre as práticas de employer branding e os níveis de contrato psicológico. Todos os respondentes trabalham em empresas privadas de pequena e média dimensão.

Os resultados confirmaram as hipóteses de investigação, sugerindo que os colaboradores de empresas familiares apresentam perceções de employer branding e níveis de contrato psicológico mais elevados do que os colaboradores de empresas não familiares. Os resultados revelaram ainda que as perceções de employer branding estão positivamente relacionadas com os níveis de contrato psicológico dos colaboradores de empresas familiares.

Este artigo tem como objetivo contribuir para a literatura ao abordar dois aspetos organizacionais contemporâneos ainda pouco estudados na comparação entre empresas familiares e não familiares. Procurando, ainda, que oferecer insights sobre a relação entre as perceções de employer branding e os níveis de contrato psicológico dos colaboradores de empresas familiares.

El propósito de este artículo científico es evaluar las diferencias entre los empleados de empresas familiares y no familiares, con respecto a sus percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico. Además, centrándonos en las empresas familiares, evaluamos la relación entre las percepciones de los empleados sobre las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico.

La muestra de esta pesquisa incluye 165 empleados portugueses, de los cuales 76 son empleados de empresas familiares y 89 son empleados de empresas no familiares. Los participantes respondieron a un cuestionario que evaluaba sus percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico. Todos los encuestados trabajan en pequeñas y medianas empresas privadas.

Los resultados confirmaron las hipótesis de la investigación. Los empleados de empresas familiares muestran una mayor percepción de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico que los empleados de empresas no familiares. Los resultados también revelan que las percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding están relacionadas positivamente con los niveles de contrato psicológico de los empleados de las empresas familiares.

Este artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir a la literatura abordando dos aspectos organizativos contemporáneos, aún poco abordados en la comparación entre empresas familiares y no familiares. Al mismo tiempo, este artículo busca ofrecer ideas sobre la relación entre las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico de los empleados que trabajan en empresas familiares.

Leveraging the mindfulness theory and the social exchange theory, this study examines the influence of perceived leader mindfulness (PLM) on turnover intentions (TOI) of non-family employees (NFEs) working in family firms. The study investigates whether the above relationship is mediated by employee perceptions of leader–member exchange quality (LMX quality) and their affective commitment (AC).

A conceptual framework is proposed that hypothesizes inverse relationship between PLM and TOI, which is posited to be mediated by both LMX quality and AC. The hypotheses are tested through survey data collected from 254 NFEs working in various family-owned businesses in Malaysia. The data analyzed through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicate that PLM has a positive influence on both LMX quality and AC. Moreover, PLM has a strong negative affect on TOI. In terms of results of mediation analysis, it appears that two mediation hypotheses out of four are significant, that is mediating effect of AC between PLM and TOI and LMX quality between PLM and AC. However, the mediating role of LMX quality between PLM and TOI and the sequential mediation hypotheses were both non-significant.

The findings of the study imply is that to ensure retention of qualified and talented NFEs, mindfulness of family firm leaders plays a significant role in ensuring lower TOI. Furthermore, such a goal is better achieved by ensuring that such employees are supported through leadership that leads to their development of better LMX quality and AC towards the organization. The study however is limited, as other potential exogenous variables that may influence TOI were not considered.

Losing employees that join a firm and acquire valuable skills and experience is a significant concern for family firms that are known for discriminating between employees related to the owners and outsiders. This study presents evidence for owners and managers of family firms that by focusing on mindful behavior and working towards developing better LMX quality and AC of NFEs, the organization can reduce TOI of such employees.

This study contributes to the under-researched and fragmented literature on relationships between PLM among NFEs and TOI of such individuals working in family firms. Moreover, this appears to be the first study that investigates mediating roles of and LMX quality and AC among NFEs in the above relationship.

Workplace thriving (WT), self-job crafting (SJC), and workplace belongingness (WB) have been shown to lead to positive outcomes for organizations and their employees. However, there seems to be a dearth of insights into the relationship between the three constructs, and non-existent in the context of non-family employees (NFEs) working in private family firms. Therefore, this study examines whether enabling NFEs to craft their own jobs leads them to reappraise their position in the organization, thus influencing both WB and WT.

Leaning on the conservation of resources (COR) theory and with the support of the self-determination theory (SDT), a set of hypotheses is posited relating the dimensions of SJC (seeking resources, seeking challenges and job-demand reduction) to WT, through WB as a mediator. The hypotheses are tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) by collecting survey data from 256 NFEs working in private family firms in Oman.

The results indicate that all three dimensions of job crafting have a positive influence on WB. In the case of direct effect on WT, only the relationship between seeking challenges and WT was significant. However, the relationships between all 3 dimensions of SJC and WT became significant through WB as mediator.

The implication of this study is that merely empowering non-family employees to craft their own jobs may not lead them to thrive in private family firms. However, if they appraise such empowerment as significant resource-gain that leads them to feel that they belong to the organization, then it is likely to enhance WT.

This study presents evidence for private family firms that by emphasizing on creating a sense of belongingness among their non-family employees, they can create a workplace where such employees can thrive.

Three novel contributions are presented through this research: (1) this appears to be the first study that integrates the COR theory with SDT to enrich the fragmented literature on NFEs in family firms by presenting an integrated framework that links SJC, WB and WT, (2) the study presents nuanced insights into the relationships between the dimensions of SJC and WT and (3) finally, this study provides evidence on the mediating role of WB between dimensions of SJC and WT, which seems to be overlooked in the past.

This research investigates the introduction of accounting practices into small family businesses, based on socioemotional wealth theory.

A multiple-case study was conducted gathering data through interviews and documents (proprietary and public). The sample included six businesses (five Mexican and one American) from different manufacturing and service industries.

It was found that, although owners control the implementation of accounting practices, others (including family employees, non-family employees and external experts) at times propose practices. The owner’s control can be relaxed, or even eliminated, as the result of proposals from some family employees. However, the degree of influence of family employees is not linked to the closeness of the family relationship, but rather to the owners’ perceived competence of the family employee, indicating an interaction between competence and experience on one side, and family ties on the other.

First, the owners chose which documentary data to provide and who was accessible for interviews, potentially biasing findings. Second, the degree of influence family employees can exert might change over time. Third, the study included a limited number of interviews, which can increase the risk of bias. Finally, all firms studied were still managed by the founder. It is possible that small family businesses that have undergone a succession process might incorporate accounting practices differently.

Organizations promoting the implementation of managerial accounting practices should be aware that, in addition to the owner, some family employees and external experts could influence business practices. Accountants already providing accounting services to small family business are also a good source for proposing managerial accounting practices

This study contributes to theory in four ways. First, it expands socioemotional theory to include the perceived competence of the family employee as a potential moderator in the decision-making process. Second, it categorizes the actors who can influence managerial accounting practices in small family businesses. Third, it further refines the role of these actors, based on their degree of influence. Fourth, it proposes a model that describes the introduction of managerial accounting practices in small family business.