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Call for Papers – European Academy of Management

Family Business in Emerging, Developing, and Transition Economies

Proponents

Basco, R. (Witten/Herdecke University, Germany)

Discua Cruz, A. (Lancaster University, UK)

Jimenez-Seminario, G. (Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile)

Ramachandran, K.  (Indian School of Business, India)

Xin-chun, L. (Sun Yat-sen Business School, China)

Welter, F. (Institut für Mittelstandsforschung, Germany)

To submit your paper to the EURAM 2015 Conference (click here)

Deadline 13^th January 2015

The aim of this special track is to increase understanding about family businesses by focusing on developing, emerging, and transition economies.

Family businesses are ubiquitous, diverse and dominant in the economic landscapes around the world (Howorth, Rose, Hamilton, & Westhead, 2010). The diversity of family business models suggest that we should look closely at the context in which family businesses dwell (Gupta, Levenburg, Moore, Motwani, & Schwarz, 2008) because of the intrinsic relationship among family - family business - context. While family businesses have received increasing attention, the vast majority of research has concentrated on developed economies. This is evident as more than 85% of research findings (qualitative or quantitative) published about family businesses in leading journals in the last three years uses samples from developed countries. This may limit our understanding of family businesses as the contexts in which they operate around the world are varied: some contexts may either foster or prevent family business start-up, some may fuel or hinder existing family business development and the way family businesses are governed and managed, and some may prevent or accelerate their demise. A family's (and firm's) external environmental context (that is, cultural, demographic, economic, educational, legal, and social) can shape family firm formation, diversity, and development (Howorth et al., 2010). Studies on developing, emerging, and transition economies are underrepresented in the family business field[i]

Theorizing about family businesses in general has followed three main paths: borrow and replication, borrow and extending and inverse contribution (Pérez Rodríguez & Basco, 2011). The unit of analysis that most works have focused on has been the family businesses per se (Jansen & Basco, 2014) with little attention to the context. While some recent studies have attempted to focus on cultural aspects, entrepreneurial behavior, applicability of mainstream theories and the external environment to uncover the extent of family firm diversity (e.g. Discua Cruz & Howorth, 2008; Gupta & Levenburg, 2010; Rosa, Howorth, & Discua Cruz, 2014) there is still a timid focus on the dynamic contexts where family businesses operate within developing, emerging and transition economies. There is a need to focus on contextualizing theory (theories in context) and/or theorize about context (theories of context) (Whetten, 2009). Studies that acknowledge and explore the context in which family businesses are embedded into would contribute significantly to the family business field (e.g. Aldrich & Pfeffer, 1976; Welter, 2011) .  

The main goal of the Family Business in Emerging, Developing, and Transition Economies track is to encourage the presentation of studies in such unique contexts related, but not limited, to:

·         Traditional family business research topics (such as succession, management, corporate governance, and ownership among other) but contextualizing the study in emerging, developing and transition economies.

·         The economic and social impact of family businesses in emerging, developing and transition economies.

·         The historical perspective and evolution of family businesses in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

·         The role of government policies in the start-up, development or death of family businesses in emerging, developing and transition economies.

·         The applicability of mainstream theories in understanding family business behavior in emerging, developing and transition economies.

·         Strategies adopted by family businesses to counteract/support economic policies in emerging, developing and transition economies.

·         Family businesses, entrepreneurship, and innovation in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

·         Family business performance (economic and non-economic firm performance aspects) in emerging, developing, and transition economies. 

·         Internationalization of family businesses in emerging, developing, and transition economies. 

·         Comparative studies considering differences and similarities between family businesses in developed and developing countries or among developing countries.

·         Family businesses, family business groups and family elites in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

·         Cultural aspects that frame family and family business values, norms, and ethics positions in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

·         Corruption and family businesses in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

·         The impact of the context on shaping family business management and governance practices in emerging, developing, and transition economies.

We believe that this special track at EURAM (European Academy of Management) will make several contributions to family business research. First, by contextualizing family businesses we may have a better understanding of the diversity of family firms across contexts. Second, by contextualizing borrowed theories (agency theory, institutional theory, etc.), we may validate or contrast mainstream theories highlighted in the family business field. Finally, by theorizing about the effects of context on family businesses we expect to generate the discussions that could lead to a Theory of Context useful for family business studies.

For questions regarding this special track, please contact Rodrigo Basco (bascorodrigo@gmail.com) or Allan Discua Cruz (a.discuacruz@lancaster.ac.uk).

References

Aldrich, H. E., & Pfeffer, J. (1976). Environments of Organizations. Annual Review of Sociology, 2, 79-105.

Discua Cruz, A., & Howorth, C. (2008). Family business in Honduras: Applicability of agency and stewardship theories. In V. Gupta, N. Levenburg, L. Moore, J. Motwani & T. Schwarz (Eds.), Culturally-sensitive models of family business in Latin America (pp. 222-243): Hyderabad: ICFAI University Press.

Gupta, V., & Levenburg, N. (2010). A Thematic Analysis of Cultural Variations in Family Businesses: The CASE Project. Family Business Review, 23(2), 155-169.

Gupta, V., Levenburg, N., Moore, L., Motwani, J., & Schwarz, T. (Eds.). (2008). A Compendium on the Family Business Models Around the World Hyderabad: ICFAI University Press.

Howorth, C., Rose, M., Hamilton, E., & Westhead, P. (2010). Family firm diversity and development: An introduction. International Small Business Journal, 28(5), 437-451.

Jansen, T., & Basco, R. (2014). It´s not the concept, stupid!. What family business research is about. Witten/Herdecke University (Germany). 

Pérez Rodríguez, M. J., & Basco, R. (2011). The Cognitive Legitimacy of the Family Business Field. Family Business Review, 24(4), 322-342.

Rosa, P., Howorth, C., & Discua Cruz, A. (2014). Habitual and portfolio entrepreneurship and the family in business. In L. Melin, M. Nordqvist & P. Sharma (Eds.), The SAGE Family Business Handbook. London: Sage.

Welter, F. (2011). Contextualizing Entrepreneurship-Conceptual Challenges and Ways Forward. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 165-184.

Whetten, D. A. (2009). An Examination of the Interface between Context and Theory Applied to the Study of Chinese Organizations. Management and Organization Review, 5(1), 29-55.