A View From Afar: Rethinking the Director's Role in University-Based Family Business Programs

Abstract

This article is the result of a spark that began at the 2002 USASBE Conference. The idea was to collectively rethink the role of the family business center (FBC). Our goal was twofold: to challenge ourselves and the profession to more effectively lead our centers and serve our stakeholders by more clearly identifying the value propositions generally present in family business centers, and to offer a process through which to explicitly communicate these value propositions to the various stakeholders. This is followed by a brief discussion and outline of typical value propositions related to the stakeholder groups.

The practice-driven evolution of family business education

“…While the Kennesaw model proliferated rapidly, Stetson University's Holistic model, established in 2000, uses a slightly different approach. The core focus of this program is on activities geared to meet the needs of students in degree programs (McCann and DeMoss, 2000). Although outreach and research activities are integral to this model, family business students are at its core.…”

Family Businesses’ Openness to External Influence and International Sales: An Empirical Examination

“…Indeed, family business programs offered by universities have increased markedly in the past few years from only a handful of universities participating in the mid-1980s to over 149 programs across 19 countries in the late 1990s (McCann et al 2004). Participation in university programs offer local family businesses the opportunity to gain exposure to current thinking and may make them more aware of international growth potential and opportunities (Okoroafo 1999).…”

“…Over the years, family firms have increased contact with universities in order to improve their exposure to external best practices and alternate business models (McCann 2003;McCann, Hammond, Keyt, Schrank, and Fujiuchi 2004). Indeed, family business programs offered by universities have increased markedly in the past few years from only a handful of universities participating in the mid-1980s to over 149 programs across 19 countries in the late 1990s (McCann et al 2004). Participation in university programs offer local family businesses the opportunity to gain exposure to current thinking and may make them more aware of international growth potential and opportunities (Okoroafo 1999).…”

How Relational Conflict Harms Family Firm Performance: The Mediating Role of Family Social Capital and the Moderating Role of Family Ownership

“…The intensified negative affect acts as an “exacerbator” of the conflict-outcome relationship (Adams & Laursen, 2007 ; Jehn & Bendersky, 2003 ). Finally, family firms with concentrated family ownership can be reluctant to seek help outside of the family circle due to their emotional resistance (McCann et al, 2004 ) and hubristic overestimation of own abilities to resolve the conflicts (Haynes et al, 2015 ). The negative effects of relational conflict on family social capital cannot be effectively mediated by (or be transferred to) nonfamily members who can otherwise diffuse family tensions and reduce family conflicts (Rosecká & Machek, 2021 ).…”