Despite the worldwide increase in entrepreneurship education offered at universities, so far rese... more Despite the worldwide increase in entrepreneurship education offered at universities, so far researchers have not been able to clearly identify to what extent and under which conditions this type of education contributes to students’ entrepreneurial learning. Building on a human capital theory of learning, we hypothesise that the exposure to entrepreneurship education has an inverted U-shaped relationship with entrepreneurial learning. Initially students learning outcomes increase up to a certain threshold level, but after the saturation point, perceived learning decreases. We also argue that this relationship is moderated by the entrepreneurial experience of the founder, the teaching pedagogy applied at the university and the type of entrepreneurship in a specific country. Our findings resulting from a multi-level analysis on a cross-country sample of 87,961 students strongly confirm our hypotheses. Based on these findings, we formulate recommendations for researchers, educators an...
This study examines the determinants of advisory boards in Dutch family small- and medium-sized e... more This study examines the determinants of advisory boards in Dutch family small- and medium-sized enterprises. Boards of advisors consist of committed people that recurrently provide advice to the family firm’s decision-makers. Using resource-dependence theory, we hypothesize and find empirical support for the positive influence of highly dynamic environments on the presence of an advisory board. Contrary to our expectations, the presence of a board of directors positively influences the likelihood of having an advisory board, suggesting complementarity between these two governance mechanisms. We found no support for a generational effect on advisory board presence.
Middenen kleinbedrijven (MKB’s) in de maakindustrie ervaren dat de concurrentie in hun sector toe... more Middenen kleinbedrijven (MKB’s) in de maakindustrie ervaren dat de concurrentie in hun sector toeneemt en dat winstmarges hierdoor kleiner worden. Om zich te onderscheiden breiden steeds meer MKB’s hun aanbod uit van puur het product naar een combinatie van product en dienstverlening. Ondanks het feit dat deze bedrijven constant op zoek zijn naar mogelijkheden om deze diensten te verbeteren, blijft het voor de meeste lastig om tot succesvolle innovaties te komen en de vruchten te plukken van een strategie met services als speerpunt. Zowel voor individuele MKB’s als voor de versterking van de gehele maakindustrie is het belangrijk dat er meer kennis wordt ontwikkeld over het proces dat MKB’s in staat stelt om tot succesvolle diensteninnovaties te komen. Deze studie wil hieraan bijdragen door te onderzoeken (1) hoe kennismanagement, in de vorm van het kennis absorptievermogen van het MKB, bijdraagt aan betere resultaten op het vlak van diensteninnovatie, en (2) of dit verband sterker ...
Familiebedrijven zijn van vitaal belang voor de Nederlandse economie omwille van hun bijdrage aan... more Familiebedrijven zijn van vitaal belang voor de Nederlandse economie omwille van hun bijdrage aan de economische groei en de werkgelegenheid. Kenmerkend voor een familiebedrijf is de interactie tussen een familie en het bedrijf, waarbij een familie invloed uitoefent op het bedrijfsproces door een vertegenwoordiging in eigendom, management of bestuur. Hierdoor worden niet-economische familie-gerelateerde doelstellingen, zoals het overdragen van het bedrijf binnen de familie, harmonie tussen familieleden en familiale tewerkstelling vaak minstens even belangrijk als de traditionele economische bedrijfsdoelstellingen. In deze publicatie benadruk ik het belang van strategisch ondernemerschap om de continuiteit van het familiebedrijf te beschermen en de groei tot een ondernemende bedrijfsfamilie te bevorderen. Strategisch ondernemerschap omvat voldoende aandacht geven aan het exploiteren van het huidige concurrentieel voordeel en tegelijkertijd strategisch zoeken naar nieuwe marktkansen. ...
PurposeThis study explores how and when intuitive forms of planning can be used in a family firm&... more PurposeThis study explores how and when intuitive forms of planning can be used in a family firm's succession process.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an extended focus group meeting, consisting of individual, group and subgroup discussions with seven highly experienced external family business advisors in the Netherlands to gain a holistic understanding of the succession process and its underlying logic. The study also employs pre- and post-group questionnaires.FindingsThis study reveals that advisors perceive intuitive forms of planning as an integral part of the succession process, with the latter containing both intuitive and formal logic and activities. Both logics are used situationally and flexibly to deal with the uniqueness and unpredictability of the succession process and to build strong relations and manage relational dynamics in business families to address tasks, dilemmas and contingencies.Originality/valueThe succession process is an important part of bus...
A focus on preserving socioemotional wealth may influence entrepreneurial activities in family fi... more A focus on preserving socioemotional wealth may influence entrepreneurial activities in family firms. In this paper, we identify the emotion of empathy in the family CEO as an antecedent of socioemotional wealth creation. We argue that the presence of one or more external directors can have a direct as well as moderating influence on the relationship between CEO's empathy and the salience of socioemotional wealth to the family CEO. Our empirical tests confirm these hypotheses. Several areas of future research are suggested to incorporate empathy and other emotions in family business studies.
This study examines variations across family firms in behavioral board processes. We present a fr... more This study examines variations across family firms in behavioral board processes. We present a framework which clarifies how control on the one hand, and trust as a facilitator of advice on the other, can be employed in a complementary manner by boards in their relationship with the CEO. Building on this framework, we develop hypotheses on the association between family cohesion and these behavioral processes within family firm boards. The empirical results suggest that boards operating under cohesive family bonds to the CEO have a better understanding of those domains where the CEO is trustworthy and of those domains where control is required. Moreover, cohesive family bonds appear to stimulate advice interactions between the board and the CEO. A downside of strong family cohesion seems to be its negative influence on the effectiveness of the control exercised by boards over the family CEO.
International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2014
ABSTRACT In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour... more ABSTRACT In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. We integrate and build on ideas from institutional theory and the behavioural theory of the firm to propose that privately held firms have specific governance needs that 'decouple' formal board structures from actual board behaviour. Following this logic, we expect board structures to vary across countries while board behaviour does not. We test this in a cross-country sample of SMEs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. The empirical results support the proposition that board structures are largely decoupled from actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. Overall, the findings imply that it is possible to coordinate and disseminate board development research and practice across countries despite national differences in formal board structures.
Despite the worldwide increase in entrepreneurship education offered at universities, so far rese... more Despite the worldwide increase in entrepreneurship education offered at universities, so far researchers have not been able to clearly identify to what extent and under which conditions this type of education contributes to students’ entrepreneurial learning. Building on a human capital theory of learning, we hypothesise that the exposure to entrepreneurship education has an inverted U-shaped relationship with entrepreneurial learning. Initially students learning outcomes increase up to a certain threshold level, but after the saturation point, perceived learning decreases. We also argue that this relationship is moderated by the entrepreneurial experience of the founder, the teaching pedagogy applied at the university and the type of entrepreneurship in a specific country. Our findings resulting from a multi-level analysis on a cross-country sample of 87,961 students strongly confirm our hypotheses. Based on these findings, we formulate recommendations for researchers, educators an...
This study examines the determinants of advisory boards in Dutch family small- and medium-sized e... more This study examines the determinants of advisory boards in Dutch family small- and medium-sized enterprises. Boards of advisors consist of committed people that recurrently provide advice to the family firm’s decision-makers. Using resource-dependence theory, we hypothesize and find empirical support for the positive influence of highly dynamic environments on the presence of an advisory board. Contrary to our expectations, the presence of a board of directors positively influences the likelihood of having an advisory board, suggesting complementarity between these two governance mechanisms. We found no support for a generational effect on advisory board presence.
Middenen kleinbedrijven (MKB’s) in de maakindustrie ervaren dat de concurrentie in hun sector toe... more Middenen kleinbedrijven (MKB’s) in de maakindustrie ervaren dat de concurrentie in hun sector toeneemt en dat winstmarges hierdoor kleiner worden. Om zich te onderscheiden breiden steeds meer MKB’s hun aanbod uit van puur het product naar een combinatie van product en dienstverlening. Ondanks het feit dat deze bedrijven constant op zoek zijn naar mogelijkheden om deze diensten te verbeteren, blijft het voor de meeste lastig om tot succesvolle innovaties te komen en de vruchten te plukken van een strategie met services als speerpunt. Zowel voor individuele MKB’s als voor de versterking van de gehele maakindustrie is het belangrijk dat er meer kennis wordt ontwikkeld over het proces dat MKB’s in staat stelt om tot succesvolle diensteninnovaties te komen. Deze studie wil hieraan bijdragen door te onderzoeken (1) hoe kennismanagement, in de vorm van het kennis absorptievermogen van het MKB, bijdraagt aan betere resultaten op het vlak van diensteninnovatie, en (2) of dit verband sterker ...
Familiebedrijven zijn van vitaal belang voor de Nederlandse economie omwille van hun bijdrage aan... more Familiebedrijven zijn van vitaal belang voor de Nederlandse economie omwille van hun bijdrage aan de economische groei en de werkgelegenheid. Kenmerkend voor een familiebedrijf is de interactie tussen een familie en het bedrijf, waarbij een familie invloed uitoefent op het bedrijfsproces door een vertegenwoordiging in eigendom, management of bestuur. Hierdoor worden niet-economische familie-gerelateerde doelstellingen, zoals het overdragen van het bedrijf binnen de familie, harmonie tussen familieleden en familiale tewerkstelling vaak minstens even belangrijk als de traditionele economische bedrijfsdoelstellingen. In deze publicatie benadruk ik het belang van strategisch ondernemerschap om de continuiteit van het familiebedrijf te beschermen en de groei tot een ondernemende bedrijfsfamilie te bevorderen. Strategisch ondernemerschap omvat voldoende aandacht geven aan het exploiteren van het huidige concurrentieel voordeel en tegelijkertijd strategisch zoeken naar nieuwe marktkansen. ...
PurposeThis study explores how and when intuitive forms of planning can be used in a family firm&... more PurposeThis study explores how and when intuitive forms of planning can be used in a family firm's succession process.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an extended focus group meeting, consisting of individual, group and subgroup discussions with seven highly experienced external family business advisors in the Netherlands to gain a holistic understanding of the succession process and its underlying logic. The study also employs pre- and post-group questionnaires.FindingsThis study reveals that advisors perceive intuitive forms of planning as an integral part of the succession process, with the latter containing both intuitive and formal logic and activities. Both logics are used situationally and flexibly to deal with the uniqueness and unpredictability of the succession process and to build strong relations and manage relational dynamics in business families to address tasks, dilemmas and contingencies.Originality/valueThe succession process is an important part of bus...
A focus on preserving socioemotional wealth may influence entrepreneurial activities in family fi... more A focus on preserving socioemotional wealth may influence entrepreneurial activities in family firms. In this paper, we identify the emotion of empathy in the family CEO as an antecedent of socioemotional wealth creation. We argue that the presence of one or more external directors can have a direct as well as moderating influence on the relationship between CEO's empathy and the salience of socioemotional wealth to the family CEO. Our empirical tests confirm these hypotheses. Several areas of future research are suggested to incorporate empathy and other emotions in family business studies.
This study examines variations across family firms in behavioral board processes. We present a fr... more This study examines variations across family firms in behavioral board processes. We present a framework which clarifies how control on the one hand, and trust as a facilitator of advice on the other, can be employed in a complementary manner by boards in their relationship with the CEO. Building on this framework, we develop hypotheses on the association between family cohesion and these behavioral processes within family firm boards. The empirical results suggest that boards operating under cohesive family bonds to the CEO have a better understanding of those domains where the CEO is trustworthy and of those domains where control is required. Moreover, cohesive family bonds appear to stimulate advice interactions between the board and the CEO. A downside of strong family cohesion seems to be its negative influence on the effectiveness of the control exercised by boards over the family CEO.
International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2014
ABSTRACT In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour... more ABSTRACT In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. We integrate and build on ideas from institutional theory and the behavioural theory of the firm to propose that privately held firms have specific governance needs that 'decouple' formal board structures from actual board behaviour. Following this logic, we expect board structures to vary across countries while board behaviour does not. We test this in a cross-country sample of SMEs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. The empirical results support the proposition that board structures are largely decoupled from actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. Overall, the findings imply that it is possible to coordinate and disseminate board development research and practice across countries despite national differences in formal board structures.
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