Conflicts in family firms: state of the art and perspectives for future research

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of the paper is to provide a systematic overview of the literature dealing with business-related conflicts between family members in (their) family firms (FF). On the basis of this focus, the research questions are: Which delimitable topics with regard to contents can be identified in the literature on conflicts in FF? Which findings are available referring to this and how were they generated? Which options can be derived for future research? Design/methodology/approach -The analysis is based on a systematic literature review including articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals from January 1990 to June 2010. Findings -It was found that three distinguishable topical areas can be identified: causes for conflicts in FF; effects of conflicts in FF; and management of conflicts in FF.Research limitations/implications -The small number of contributions calls for further studies with replication studies as a promising option. Due to the specific nature of the conflict dynamic and logic in FF, which can hardly be captured by quantitative studies alone (even with longitudinal designs), a promotion of qualitative studies is advisable, too. In this regard, a systems-theoretical perspective could utilize the capability of this theory and strengthen the theoretical foundation of research on conflicts in FF. Originality/value -This review shows three rather clearly distinguishable research streams and offers options for future research, with a special focus of modern systems theory which conceptualizes conflicts as a special system within the family business system.

Tracing the Roots of Constructive Conflict Management in Family Firms

“…Another stream of research has focused on disentangling the effects of different types of conflict (e.g., Eddleston, Otondo, & Kellermanns, 2008;Danes et al, 2000). Research has confirmed the harmful effect of relational conflict on family firm performance Frank et al, 2011;Nos e, Korunka, Frank, & Danes, 2017). Some factors, like altruism between family members and family cohesion and adaptability (Nos e et al, 2017), have shown a moderating effect in these relationships.…”

“…Although the topic of conflict in family firms has captured the attention of academics from a variety of backgrounds (Smyrnios, Poutziouris, & Goel, 2013), the study of conflict management in family firms is still in an early stage of development (Debicki, Matherne, Kellermanns, & Chrisman, 2009;Frank et al, 2011;Sharma, De Massis, & Gagne, 2014). The theoretical frameworks used are sparse (Frank et al, 2011), and relevant knowledge of the conflict management field has yet to be integrated into the family business field (Caputo et al, 2018).…”

“…Most studies have focused on the causes and effects of conflicts (Frank, Kessler, Nos e, & Suchy, 2011) rather than on the processes involved in conflict management (Kidwell, Kellermanns, & Eddleston, 2012). Thus, current evidence is still insufficient to understand how family firms may constructively manage their conflicts (Deutsch, 2011a(Deutsch, , 2011bTjosvold, Wong, & Feng Chen, 2014).…”

Empreendedorismo Em Empresas Familiares: A Pesquisa Atual E Os Desafios Futuros

“…Entre os tópicos estudados, destacam-se: sucessão (Brockhaus, 2004), famí-lia (Dyer, 2003;Dyer & Dyer, 2009), estratégia (Sharma, Chrisman, & Chua, 1997;Chrisman, Chua, & Sharma, 2005;Astrachan, 2010), administração financeira e desempenho (Mazzi, 2011), governança (Aguilera & Crespi-Cladera, 2012), cultura (Fletcher, Melin, & Gimeno, 2012), conflito (Frank, Kessler, Nosé, & Suchy, 2011), gênero (Jimenez, 2009), valor socioemocional (Berrone, Cruz, & Gomez-Mejia, 2012), familiness (Frank, Lueger, Nosé, & Suchy, 2010) e inovação (De Massis, Frattini, & Lichtenthaler, 2012). Contudo, não foram realizados ainda estudos sistemáticos de revisão da literatura sobre empreendedorismo em empresas familiares.…”

Authoring second-generation entrepreneur and family business stories

“…Conflict resolution plays a major part in the family business literature (see Levison, 1971;Harvey and Evans, 1994;Sorenson, 1999;Davis and Harveston, 1999Eddleston, Otondo and Kellermanns, 2008;and Frank, Kessler, Nose and Suchy, 2011 (Smith, 2006: 57).…”