Cognition, emotion and action: persistent sources of parent–offspring paradoxes in the family business

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore inductively the unique paradoxical tensions central to family business (FB) and to analyze how FB's members face these tensions and their implications in the personal and professional realms.Design/methodology/approachA multiple-case study with 11 parent–offspring dyads from Portuguese FBs was conducted putting the focus on the micro-level interactions.FindingsThe slopes of roles and relationality in FBs produces three persistent sets of tensions around cognition, emotion and action. These tensions exist in a paradoxical state, containing potentiality for synergy or trade-off.Originality/valueOur study is the first to empirically demonstrate that paradoxical tensions between parent and offspring are interrelated, by emphasizing the uniqueness of FB as a paradoxical setting and offering insights to negotiating of these singular paradoxes.

Microfoundations in Family Firm Research: A Review and Agenda for Theoretically Driven Future Inquiry

“…In addition, a number of studies took atheoretical approaches to examine the effects of conflict, including its impact on supplier relationship satisfaction and performance (Choi et al, 2008) and gross revenue and perceived success (Olson et al, 2003). Similarly, other studies examined the effects of conflict on family outcomes, including familial and organizational tensions (Cunha et al, 2022) as well as family cohesion and anxiety (Smyrnios et al, 2003). Although the latter study also examined these effects across cultures, neither this nor the other studies on conflict and macro-level outcomes adopted a theoretical perspective.…”

Food for thought: Family Entrepreneurship in four questions

“…The field of family business is traditionally represented as three overlapping systems: the family, the business and the ownership systems (Tagiuri & Davis, 1996). Hybridization (business logic and family logic) carries paradoxical tensions that are particularly salient in key moments such as succession (e Cunha et al, 2021;Radu-Lefebvre & Randerson, 2021). Such tensions have become even more widespread due to the prolongation of lifespan and extension of the duration of the career of the previous generation.…”

“…Entrepreneurial competencies can, and should be, updated via unlearning the family entrepreneurial legacy through the family's reaction to critical incidents (Clinton et al, 2021). Paradoxical tensions due to multiple identities, heightened ambivalent emotions, and subsequent need for emotion management are inherent to any situation in which social systems overlap, but even more so when family is involved (Brundin & Härtel, 2014;e Cunha et al, 2021;Radu-Lefebvre & Randerson, 2020). Researchers have devised governance mechanisms with the aim of giving members of these systems means to understand the complexities of the situation and to set up means to manage their ambivalent emotions and to lessen their cognitive dissonance coming from multiple identities and roles (Labaki & D'Allura, 2021;Randerson & Radu-Lefebvre, 2021).…”

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“…Az érzelmek és a stressz szabályozása A családi vállalkozásokat tárgyaló szakirodalom ritkán foglalkozik az interperszonális érzelemszabályozási folyamatokkal, bár egyes közelmúltban végzett kvalitatív tanulmányok értékes betekintést nyújtottak az utódlási folyamat során előforduló érzelmi munka egyes aspektusaiba (Cunha et al, 2021;Murphy et al, 2019;Radu-Lefebvre & Randerson, 2020). Az érzelemszabályozás szerepe a kapcsolatokban leginkább a konfliktusok kihívása révén válik nyilvánvalóvá.…”