CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal
Management Processes in the Family Firm: From “What” to “How”
James J. Chrisman, Mississippi State University and University of Alberta
[email protected]
Jess H. Chua, University of Calgary and Lancaster University
[email protected]
Alfredo De Massis, Lancaster University
[email protected]
Tommaso Minola, University of Bergamo
[email protected]
Silvio Vismara, University of Bergamo and University of Augsburg
[email protected]
Overview
Family firms are characterized by distinctive goals, resources, structures, strategies and
performance (Chrisman et al., 2013). For example, empirical evidence points to the distinctive
nature of family firms in terms of corporate governance (Randoy and Goel 2003),
internationalization (George et al., 2005), entrepreneurship (Zahra et a., 2004), innovation (De
Massis et al., 2013), and financing (Chua et al., 2011). These areas of distinctiveness have been
studied in terms of what family firms do or are able to achieve that are different from what nonfamily firms do or achieve. This dominant approach of studying what characterizes family firm
behavior and to what extent, how much or where family firms are different from non-family firms
has contributed significantly to our understanding of the family form of organization (De Massis et
al., 2012). Currently, however, we know very little about how decisions are made or behaviors are
manifested in family firms because the processes by which family firms produce their
distinctiveness remains understudied.
Recently, family business researchers have come to emphasize that family firms will not produce
behaviors and performance different from those of non-family firms unless the family has the
ability and willingness to act in an idiosyncratic fashion (e.g., De Massis et al., 2014). But even
with power to act unilaterally, the willingness to act in a way that is inconsistent with institutional
norms, and the resources necessary to carry out a chosen plan of action, a family firm may still not
produce distinctive behavior if the firm cannot execute. This means that there will be an important
theoretical gap in our understanding of family firm behavior if family business scholars do not pay
attention to how family firms execute. Furthermore, without understanding the processes by which
family firms plan and implement their strategies it will be difficult to determine to what extent its
performance is a function of idiosyncratic strategies, idiosyncratic structures, or idiosyncratic
processes.
Execution requires resources, capabilities, and the appropriate management processes, by which we
mean how the organization identifies decisions and actions that must be made to resolve issues and
problems; how they set objectives; how and to whom decisions and tasks are delegated; in what
sequence the decisions are made and actions taken; and the accountabilities and deliverables
demanded from each of the persons involved. Considering that the involvement of the controlling
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family will necessarily introduce family dynamics into the organization, the management processes
adopted by family firms may be distinctive as well. Thus, understanding family firm management
processes is very important for both improving our understanding about the distinctiveness of
family business and helping family firms improve their performance and contributions to the
economy.
The purpose of this special issue is to foster studies on how the distinctive/unique interaction
between the business and the family influences the management processes adopted by family firms.
In order to encourage research on this topic, this special issue aims to publish studies that: (i)
present evidence, both quantitative and qualitative, identifying differences in the management
processes adopted by family firms vis-à-vis non-family firms or those adopted by different
configurations of family firms; and (ii) provides rigorously supported explanations about why the
differences exist.
Research topics
We especially welcome papers focusing on but not limited to the following topics:
 Whether, how, and why family members’ relationships and interactions in the family setting
affect management processes in the business setting.
 Whether, how, and why the family’s influence on management processes in the family firm
changes with time, especially as later generations take over.
 Whether, how, and why informal channels of communication among family members affect
communication between family and non-family managers.
 Whether, how and why family firm managers’ performance assessment processes are
different from those of non-family firms.
 Whether, how and why processes used to assess the performance of family managers are
different from those used to assess the performance of non-family managers in the same
firm.
 Whether, how and why the strategic planning processes adopted by family firms are
different from those used in non-family firms.
 Whether, how and why context, culture and institutional settings have different effects on
management processes in family and non-family firms or different types of family firms.
 Whether, how and why management processes emerge, develop, change, or are discarded in
different manner by family and non-family firms or different types of family firms.
 How involvement of non-family owners and/or managers influences the management
processes of family firms.
 The extent to which goals pertaining to the preservation and enhancement of socioemotional
wealth influence the management processes of family firms.
 The sources of heterogeneity of the management processes in family firms and their
influence on performance.
Key dates
The deadline for submission of papers to the special issue is November 30, 2014. The publication of
the special issue is expected by late 2016.
To aid in the development of papers, members of the editorial team will be available at the EIASM
10th Workshop on Family Management Research to be held at the University of Bergamo
(http://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=1022). Submission to this
special issue is not limited to the contributions presented at this conference and acceptance for the
conference does not guarantee acceptance for the special issue.
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Paper submission procedure
Submissions to the special issue should be sent electronically to Silvio Vismara before November
30, 2014 (Email: [email protected]). All submissions will be subject to the standard review
process followed by Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal. All manuscripts
must be original, unpublished works that are not concurrently under review for publication
elsewhere. All submissions should conform to the SBEJ manuscript submission guidelines available
at http://www.springer.com/business+%26+management/business+for+professionals/journal/11187.
References
Chrisman, J. J., Sharma, P., Steier, L. P., & Chua, J. H. (2013). The Influence of Family Goals,
Governance, and Resources on Firm Outcomes. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(6),
1249-1261.
Chua, J. H., Chrisman, J. J., Kellermanns, F., & Wu, Z. (2011). Family involvement and new
venture debt financing. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(4), 472-488.
De Massis, A., Frattini, F., & Lichtenthaler, U. (2013). Research on Technological Innovation in
Family Firms Present Debates and Future Directions. Family Business Review, 26(1), 10-31.
De Massis A., Kotlar J., Chua J.H., Chrisman J.J. (2014). Ability and Willingness as Sufficiency
Conditions for Family-Oriented Particularistic Behavior: Implications for Theory and Empirical
Studies. Journal of Small Business Management, in press. DOI: 10.1111/jsbm.12102.
De Massis, A., Sharma, P., Chua, J. H., & Chrisman, J. J. (2012). Family business studies: An
annotated bibliography. Edward Elgar Publishing.
George, G., Wiklund, J., & Zahra, S. A. (2005). Ownership and the internationalization of small
firms. Journal of Management, 31(2), 210-233.
Randøy, T., & Goel, S. (2003). Ownership structure, founder leadership, and performance in
Norwegian SMEs: implications for financing entrepreneurial opportunities. Journal of Business
Venturing, 18(5), 619-637.
Zahra, S. A., Hayton, J. C., & Salvato, C. (2004). Entrepreneurship in Family vs. Non‐Family
Firms: A Resource‐Based Analysis of the Effect of Organizational Culture. Entrepreneurship
theory and Practice, 28(4), 363-381.
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