Why does the vast majority of business school research either ignore, or at best, gloss over the role of family in owning or managing business enterprises? This paper addresses this question and contemplates how the gap might be remedied. It begins by reviewing recent definitional work on the family firm in order to chart the parameters of the family business construct. It then proceeds to describe the nature of, and interaction patterns that have evolved between family firms, privately held corporations, faculties of business, and business school researchers seeking job security offered by tenure. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for addressing the family business research lacuna. The first recommendation focuses on rethinking the grounding assumptions that have undergirded much traditional organizational research. The second suggestion deals with methodological issues and recommends the patient nurture of long-term, mutually beneficial linkages with family firms that might facilitate in-depth longitudinal inquiry.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlcornP. B. (1982). Success and survival in the family-owned business.New York: McGraw-Hill.
2.
AmihudY., & LevB. (1981). Risk reduction as a managerial motive for conglomerate mergers.Bell Journal of Economics, 12(2), 605–617.
3.
AronoffC., & WardJ. (1991). Family business sourcebook.Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc.
4.
AstleyW. G. (1985). Administrative science as socially constructed truth.Administrative Science Quarterly, 30, 497–513.
5.
BabbageC. (1832). On the economy of machinery and manufacturers.London: Charles Knight.
6.
BarnardC. (1938). The functions of the executive.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7.
BarnesL. B., & HershonS. (1976). Transferring power in the family business.Harvard Business Review, 54(4), 105–114.
8.
BarneyJ., & HansenM. H. (1994). Trustworthiness as a source of competitive advantage.Strategic Management Journal, 15(Special issue), 175–190.
9.
BarryB. (1975). The development of organization structure in the family firm.Journal of General Management, 3, 42–60.
10.
BeckhardR., & DyerW. G.Jr. (1983). Managing continuity in the family-owned business.Organizational Dynamics, 12(Summer), 5–12.
11.
BeyerJ., ChanoveR. G., & FoxW. B. (1995). The review process and the fates of manuscripts submitted to AMJ.Academy of Management Review, 38(5), 1219–1260.
12.
BouldingK. (1970). Beyond economics: Essays on society, religion and ethics.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
13.
BoyacigillerN. A., & AdlerN. (1991). The parochial dinosaur: Organizational science in a global context.Academy of Management Review, 16(2) 262–290.
14.
BrockhausR. H. (1994). Entrepreneurship and family business research: Comparisons, critique, and lessons.Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 19(1), 25–38.
15.
CampbellD. T., & StanleyJ. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
16.
CarlandJ. W., HoyF., BoultonW. R., & CarlandJ. C. (1984). Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: A conceptualization.Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 354–359.
17.
CarsrudA. L. (1994). Meanderings of a resurrected psychologist or, lessons learned in creating a family business program.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 19(1), 39–48.
18.
ChakravarthyB. S. (1986). Measuring strategic performance.Strategic Management Journal, 7, 437–458.
19.
ChandlerA. D. (1977). The visible hand.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
20.
ChenM., & SmithK. (1987). Samples used in strategic management research.Best paper proceedings: 47th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Athens, GA. 7–11.
21.
ChurchillN. C., & HattenK. (1987). Non-market-based transfers of wealth and power: A research framework for small businesses.American Journal of Small Business, 11(3), 51–64.
22.
ChurchmanC. W. (1970). The client and the model. In StogdillR. M. (Ed.), The process of model-building in the behavioral sciences, pp. 14–30. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
23.
CromieS., StephensonB., & MonteithD. (1995). The management of family firms: An empirical investigation.International Small Business Journal, 13(4), 11–34.
24.
d'AmboiseG., & MuldowneyM. (1988). Management theory for small business: Attempts and requirements.Academy of Management Review, 13(2), 226–240.
25.
DailyC., & DollingerM. (1992). An empirical examination of ownership structure in family and professionally managed firms.Family Business Review, 5(2), 117–136.
26.
DailyC. M., & DollingerM. J. (1993). Alternative methodologies for identifying family- versus nonfamily-managed businesses.Journal of Small Business Management, 3(2), 79–90.
27.
DavisP. (1983). Realizing the potential of the family business.Organizational Dynamics, 12(1), 47–56.
28.
DavisJ., & TagiuriR. (1985). Literature on family-owned business.Washington, DC: U.S. Small Business Administration Contract No. SBA-9202-AER-85.
29.
DeesJ. G., & StarrJ. A. (1992). Entrepreneurship through an ethical lense: Dilemmas and issues for research and practice. In SextonD. L., & SmilorR. (Eds.), The state of entrepreneurship, pp. 89–116. Boston: PWS-Kent.
30.
DessG. G., & RobinsonR. B. (1984). Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately-held firm and conglomerate business unit.Strategic Management Journal, 5, 265–273.
31.
DobsonJ. (1991). Management reputation: An economic solution to the ethics dilemma.Business & Society, 30(1), 13–20.
32.
DonckelsR., & FrölichE. (1991). Are family businesses really different? European experiences from STRATOS.Family Business Review, 4(2), 149–160.
33.
DonnellyR. (1964). The family business.Harvard Business Review, 42(4), 93–105.
34.
DyerW. G. (1986). Cultural change in family firms: Anticipating and managing business and family transitions.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
35.
DyerW. G., & HandlerW. (1994). Entrepreneurship and family business: Exploring the connections.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 19(1), 71–83.
36.
FamaE. F. (1980). Agency problems and the theory of the firm.Journal of Political Economy, 88(21), 288–307.
37.
FayolH. (1930). Administration industrielle et génerale. Paris: 1916 and 1925; English translation by Coubrough (Geneva, 1930); also trans. by Storrs, London: Sir Issac Pitman and Sons, 1949.
38.
FollettM. (1918). The new state: Group organization the solution of popular government.London: Longmans, Green and Co.
39.
FombrunC., & ShanleyM. (1990). What's in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy.Academy of Management Journal, 33(2), 233–258.
40.
FrommE. (1956). The art of loving.New York: Harper.
41.
FukuyamaF. (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity.New York: The Free Press.
42.
GaedekeR. M., & TootelianD. (1976). The Fortune “500” List - An endangered species for academic research.Journal of Business Research, 4(3), 281–288.
43.
GanttH. (1910). Work, wages, and profit.New York: Engineering Magazine Co.
44.
GanttH. (1916). Industrial leadership.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
45.
GanttH. (1919). Organizing for work.New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
46.
GilbrethF. B., & GilbrethL. M. (1917). Applied motion study.New York: Sturgis and Walton Co.
47.
HandlerW. (1989). Methodological issues and considerations in studying family businesses.Family Business Review, 2(3), 257–276.
48.
HandlerW. (1990). Succession in family firms: A mutual role adjustment between entrepreneur and next-generation family members.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 15(1), 37–51.
HoyF., & VerserT. (1994). Emerging business, emerging field: Entrepreneurship and the family firm.Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 19(1), 9–23.
51.
IssacsH. (1975). Idols of the tribe.New York: Harper & Row.
52.
JensenM. C., & MecklingW. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure.Journal of Financial Economics, 3, 305–360.
53.
KaplanA. (1964). The conduct of inquiry: Methodology for behavioral science.San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company.
54.
KerlingerF. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research, 3rd edition.Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
KotkinJ. (1992). Tribes: How race, religion and identity determine success in the new global economy.New York: Random House.
57.
KuhnT. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
58.
LangJ. R., DollingerM. J., & MarinoK. E. (1987). Aggregation bias in decision-making research.Journal of Management, 13(4), 689–702.
59.
LansbergI. (1983). Managing human resources in family firms: The problem of institutional overlap.Organizational Dynamics, 12(1), 39–46.
60.
LansbergI., PerrowE. L., & RogolskyS. (1988). Family business as an emerging field.Family Business Review, 1(1), 1–8.
61.
LevinsonH. (1971). Conflicts that plague family businesses.Harvard Business Review, 49(2), 90–98.
62.
LewynM. (1993a, June 28). Behind the bloody battle in Dart's boardroom.Business Week, 96–98.
63.
LewynM. (1993b, October 25). Don't read all about it.Business Week, 6.
64.
LewynM. (1993c, November 22). This week on The Hafts.Business Week, 96–97.
65.
LewynM. (1995, August 14). Is bankruptcy a new Haft measure?Business Week, 6.
66.
LitzR. (1995). The family firm: Toward definitional clarity.Best paper proceedings: 55th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, 100–104. Madison, WI: Omni Press.
67.
MeadR. (1994). International management: Cross cultural dimensions.Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
68.
MeekC., WoodworthW., & DyerW. G. (1988). Managing by the numbers: Absentee owners and the decline of American industry.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
MintzbergH. (1979a). Organizational power and goals: A skeletal theory. In SchendelD., & HoferC. (Eds.), Strategic management, pp. 64–84. Boston: Little, Brown.
73.
MintzbergH. (1979b). An emerging strategy of “direct” research.Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 582–589.
74.
MoukheiberZ. (1994, September 12). There's going to be one boss.Forbes, 154(6), 82–84.
75.
NorthD. C. (1991). Institutions.The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97–112.
76.
OviattB., & MillerW. D. (1989). Irrelevance, intransigence, and business professors.Academy of Management Executive, 3(4), 304–312.
77.
OwenR. (1857). The life of Robert Owen.Effingham Wilson.
78.
PaineT. (1776, 1986). Common sense.London: Penguin Books.
79.
ParsonsT. (1960). Structure and process in modern societies.Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.
80.
PenroseE. (1959). The theory of the growth of the firm.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
81.
PfefferJ., & SalancikG. (1978). The external control of organizations.New York: Harper & Row.
82.
PorterM. E. (1980). Competitive strategy.New York: The Free Press.
83.
SchumpeterJ. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
84.
SharmaP., ChrismanJ., & ChuaJ. (1995). A review and annotated bibliography of family business studies.Calgary: University of Calgary.
85.
SobolM., & FarrellyG. (1988). Corporate reputation: A function of relative size or financial performance?Review of Business & Economic Research, 24(1), 45–59.
86.
StackhouseJ. (1995). No more drawing boards, please.Report on Business Magazine, 11(7), 48, 50-51.
87.
SternM. H. (1986). Inside the family-held business.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
88.
StinnettN., & DeFrainJ. D. (1985). Secrets of strong families.Boston: Little, Brown.
89.
TaylorF. W. (1903). Shop management.New York: Harper & Row.
90.
TaylorF. W. (1911). The principles of scientific management.New York: Harper & Row.
91.
TootelianD., & GaedekeR. M. (1987). Fortune 500 list revisited 12 years later: Still an endangered species for academic research?Journal of Business Research, 15, 359–363.
92.
TrostelA. O., & NicholsM. L. (1980). Privately-held and publicly-traded companies: A comparison of strategic choices and management processes.Academy of Management Journal, 25(1), 47–62.
93.
VictorB., & CullenJ. B. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates.Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 101–125.
94.
WardJ. (1987). Keeping the family business healthy: How to plan for continued growth, profitability, and family leadership.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
95.
WebbE., CampbellD., SchwartzR., & SechrestL. (1971). Unobtrusive measures: Nonreactive research in the social sciences, 7th edition.Chicago: Rand McNally.
96.
WeberM. (1947). The theory of social and economic organization, trans. by T. Parsons, New York: The Free Press.
97.
WhislerT. L. (1988). The role of the board in the threshold firm.Family Business Review, 1(5), 143–154.
98.
WrenD. (1987). The evolution of management thought.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
99.
YinR. (1989). Case study research: Design and methods.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
