Profiling Preference for Employment in Family-Owned Firms

Abstract

This article summarizes findings from an exploratory investigation of factors related to preference for employment in family‐owned firms. The sample for the study consists of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in business management classes. Discriminant analysis was used to identify life history and job characteristic variables that distinguish between groups of individuals who expressed a high and low preference for working in a family‐owned firm. Additional findings from the study are summarized, and implications for the management of family firms are discussed.

Charity Begins at Home: Family Firms and Patterns of Community Involvement

“…Upton and Heck (1997) note such a possibility, citing the works of Astrachan (1988), Covin (1994), Davis and Stern (1980), and Harris, Martinez, and Ward (1994). The logic of family presence being linked to philanthropic behavior is straightforward; insofar as family and firm are two distinct entities with two distinct agenda for operation and performance assessment, we expect to observe differences in those firms with greater family presence compared to those with less or none.…”

Innovation in family firms: an empirical analysis linking organizational and managerial innovation to corporate success

“…However, it is assumed that a stake in equity capital is a necessary requirement. From this perspective, family firms are defined as companies in which ownership belongs to one family or is distributed among several Innovation in family firms 267 families and their members, and in which (apart from the entrepreneur) at least one supplemental family member actively participates in the company through his or her collaboration (Covin 1999;Carsrud 2006;Rutherford et al 2006). The will to retain the company in the family on a long-term basis also should be added as a necessary prerequisite, along with the distribution of control among several family members (Sharma et al 1997;Astrachan and Shanker 2003).…”

Exploring the connections among spiritual leadership, altruism, and trust in family businesses

“…This plan is vital for business sustainability (LaChappelle 1997) because family members' business leadership is perceived to be parlous, as a source of conflict among family members (Finney 1999;Covin 1994;Handler 1990). To overcome this conflict, family constitutions that explain each family member's duties, responsibilities, and authority towards the business (Ankara Chamber of Industry 2005), co-leadership (Lansberg 1999), and the socialization of the future leader in the business environment (Garcia-Alvarez et al 2002;Iannarelli 1992) have been suggested.…”

“…Family business literature emphasizes leadership for sustainability (LaChappelle 1997) and contends that the selection of an appropriate leader is also vital to avoid intra-family conflicts (Garcia-Alvarez et al 2002;Covin 1994). An important feature of family business leadership is its strong dependence on mutual trust between the leader and the family members to avoid conflict (Cater 2006).…”