Pramodita Sharma, Philipp Sieger, Robert S. Nason, Ana Cristina Gonzalez L., Kavil Ramachandran (... more Pramodita Sharma, Philipp Sieger, Robert S. Nason, Ana Cristina Gonzalez L., Kavil Ramachandran (Editors): Exploring transgenerational entrepreneurship: The role of resources and capabilities Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014, 219 pp., GBP 70.00The editors of Exploring Transgenerational Entrepreneurship present a variety of articles on entrepreneurship in family firms focussing on the role of resources and capabilities. Published as first volume in The Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) Series this book attracts not only scholars from the field of family business research but also practitioners and scholars from other management areas.In the first of ten chapters the editors introduce Transgenerational Entrepreneurship (TE) and the role of intangible resources by first giving a literature review. They define TE according to Habbershon, Nordqvist, and Zellweger (2010) as the process where resources and capabilities are used by an enterprising family to create entrepreneurial, financial and socio-emotional value across generations. Intangible resources were chosen as the primary concern of this book as they gain increasing importance in a knowledge-driven economy. It is further explored how the family represents an idiosyncratic context in which imperfecdy imitable resources can be created (Barney, 1991). The authors explain this resource inimitability with unique historical conditions, causal ambiguity and social complexity of family firms. The eight different contributions are summarized at the end of this chapter and an overview is provided (Table 1.1) listing the nature of the resources, the number of investigated family firms and the countries of origin of each article. Differentiating between the internal and external nature of intangible resources provides the basis for structuring the book. The first five articles look at internal intangible resources followed by three chapters focussing more on the external perspective.The first study on eight Colombian family firms investigates the ways how internal virtues manifest themselves through generations. As part of the STEP project 66 interviews were conducted with the purpose of identifying the importance of different virtues for family members. Courage, wisdom, temperance and humanity scored high whereas the two latter virtues changed over time and the others did not. In order to preserve transgenerational potential the authors recommend family firms to cultivate these virtues.The second case study explores professionalization processes undertaken by a nearly 200 years old Spanish family business. Outlined as a teaching case, in-depth interviews with eight family and non-family members were conducted and lead to results that confirm earlier studies (e.g. Sharma, 2004). Gimeno and Parada observed that founders and experienced leaders rely more on intuitive decisions, whereas later generations tend to use analytical tools. The authors stress the need for family businesses to balance their decision-making process.The next single case study from Hong Kong portrays the development of entrepreneurial learning as a main intangible resource. The authors propose a model where entrepreneurial learning moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Finally they suggest a situated learning perspective when investigating TE in future research.In the following two articles from Northern America the internal intangible resources are discussed in terms of their relevance regarding succession. The first case from the United States presents a long-lived family firm in which implicit or tacit knowledge was leveraged to achieve longevity. The detailed investigation starts in the year 1998 looking at tacit knowledge influences on the current stock and influx of new knowledge. The conclusion was drawn that tacit knowledge from outside and inside the family firm should be appropriately leveraged to achieve longevity. …
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
PurposeThe question of crisis resistance and resilience of long-lived family businesses became pa... more PurposeThe question of crisis resistance and resilience of long-lived family businesses became particularly volatile with the beginning of the Corona crisis. In this context the project “Narratives of Survival” was launched focusing on the prevailing narratives to find out how crisis situations have been dealt with and narrated by long-lived German family firms.Design/methodology/approachBased on narrative interviews, the empirical study of transgenerational entrepreneurship was first approached in an open-ended manner. The interview guideline addresses different types of crises and asks about resources, insights, regulations and explanations for the longevity of the family businesses.FindingsIn the qualitative content analysis, 12 guiding narratives were pointed out, providing information about the self-narratives of these entrepreneurial families which revolve around the three themes of self-image, familiarity and strategy.Originality/valueThis study provides information about the...
Dietzfelbinger, Daniel / Thurm, Ralph (Eds.): Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Grundlage einer neuen Wirt... more Dietzfelbinger, Daniel / Thurm, Ralph (Eds.): Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Grundlage einer neuen Wirtschaftsethik dmve Schriftenreihe, folge 12 ISBN 3-87988-818-3, Rainer Hampp Verlag, Munchen und Mering 2004,186 S., euro 22.80 As editors of the book, Daniel Dietzfelbinger and Ralph Thurm examine the question whether sustainable development can or should be used as a basis for business ethics. This was also the main issue discussed at the 10th conference of the German Network of Business Ethics (DNWF.) in April 2003. Like the umbrella organisation, the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) situated in Oslo, the DNWE wants to promote values-based management, ethical leadership and increased awareness of companies' responsibility in society. More than 150 participants attended the conference, which was divided into plenary sessions and four workshop tracks. Dietzfelbinger and Thurm selected 13 articles from the conference for the 12th DNWE publication series with the title "Sus...
How can a family business reduce environmental uncertainty and dependence by developing its busin... more How can a family business reduce environmental uncertainty and dependence by developing its business model, changing the logic of creating and capturing value through its activities? We address this question by exploring the case of Cimber, a Denmark-based family-owned airline, which has developed different business models since its establishment in 1950. We build on resource dependence theory to investigate the actions that Cimber took in this process. We find an important role of the family in balancing internal and external influences, in shaping the scope and complexity of the business model, and in creating specific path dependencies in this process.
Many airline companies are struggling to survive after the industry has been hit hard by several ... more Many airline companies are struggling to survive after the industry has been hit hard by several crises. The reaction of companies is however heterogeneous, with family businesses reacting in a particular way given their inherent characteristics and particular risks. One airline that has went through cycles of expansion and decline is the Danish family-owned Cimber airline. In this paper, we aim to understand how and why Cimber’s business model changed over time. Since its original establishment in 1950 the family-owned airline Cimber experienced many changes. To study the development of their business model, we adopt a qualitative case study approach. The empirical base of the case study is formed by a set of interviews, with previous and current managers and employees, including both family and non-family, conducted in the period 2011-2014, complemented with secondary data, such as annual reports, newspaper articles and industry analyses. Cimber’s business model development can be...
Pramodita Sharma, Philipp Sieger, Robert S. Nason, Ana Cristina Gonzalez L., Kavil Ramachandran (... more Pramodita Sharma, Philipp Sieger, Robert S. Nason, Ana Cristina Gonzalez L., Kavil Ramachandran (Editors): Exploring transgenerational entrepreneurship: The role of resources and capabilities Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014, 219 pp., GBP 70.00The editors of Exploring Transgenerational Entrepreneurship present a variety of articles on entrepreneurship in family firms focussing on the role of resources and capabilities. Published as first volume in The Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) Series this book attracts not only scholars from the field of family business research but also practitioners and scholars from other management areas.In the first of ten chapters the editors introduce Transgenerational Entrepreneurship (TE) and the role of intangible resources by first giving a literature review. They define TE according to Habbershon, Nordqvist, and Zellweger (2010) as the process where resources and capabilities are used by an enterprising family to create entrepreneurial, financial and socio-emotional value across generations. Intangible resources were chosen as the primary concern of this book as they gain increasing importance in a knowledge-driven economy. It is further explored how the family represents an idiosyncratic context in which imperfecdy imitable resources can be created (Barney, 1991). The authors explain this resource inimitability with unique historical conditions, causal ambiguity and social complexity of family firms. The eight different contributions are summarized at the end of this chapter and an overview is provided (Table 1.1) listing the nature of the resources, the number of investigated family firms and the countries of origin of each article. Differentiating between the internal and external nature of intangible resources provides the basis for structuring the book. The first five articles look at internal intangible resources followed by three chapters focussing more on the external perspective.The first study on eight Colombian family firms investigates the ways how internal virtues manifest themselves through generations. As part of the STEP project 66 interviews were conducted with the purpose of identifying the importance of different virtues for family members. Courage, wisdom, temperance and humanity scored high whereas the two latter virtues changed over time and the others did not. In order to preserve transgenerational potential the authors recommend family firms to cultivate these virtues.The second case study explores professionalization processes undertaken by a nearly 200 years old Spanish family business. Outlined as a teaching case, in-depth interviews with eight family and non-family members were conducted and lead to results that confirm earlier studies (e.g. Sharma, 2004). Gimeno and Parada observed that founders and experienced leaders rely more on intuitive decisions, whereas later generations tend to use analytical tools. The authors stress the need for family businesses to balance their decision-making process.The next single case study from Hong Kong portrays the development of entrepreneurial learning as a main intangible resource. The authors propose a model where entrepreneurial learning moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Finally they suggest a situated learning perspective when investigating TE in future research.In the following two articles from Northern America the internal intangible resources are discussed in terms of their relevance regarding succession. The first case from the United States presents a long-lived family firm in which implicit or tacit knowledge was leveraged to achieve longevity. The detailed investigation starts in the year 1998 looking at tacit knowledge influences on the current stock and influx of new knowledge. The conclusion was drawn that tacit knowledge from outside and inside the family firm should be appropriately leveraged to achieve longevity. …
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
PurposeThe question of crisis resistance and resilience of long-lived family businesses became pa... more PurposeThe question of crisis resistance and resilience of long-lived family businesses became particularly volatile with the beginning of the Corona crisis. In this context the project “Narratives of Survival” was launched focusing on the prevailing narratives to find out how crisis situations have been dealt with and narrated by long-lived German family firms.Design/methodology/approachBased on narrative interviews, the empirical study of transgenerational entrepreneurship was first approached in an open-ended manner. The interview guideline addresses different types of crises and asks about resources, insights, regulations and explanations for the longevity of the family businesses.FindingsIn the qualitative content analysis, 12 guiding narratives were pointed out, providing information about the self-narratives of these entrepreneurial families which revolve around the three themes of self-image, familiarity and strategy.Originality/valueThis study provides information about the...
Dietzfelbinger, Daniel / Thurm, Ralph (Eds.): Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Grundlage einer neuen Wirt... more Dietzfelbinger, Daniel / Thurm, Ralph (Eds.): Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Grundlage einer neuen Wirtschaftsethik dmve Schriftenreihe, folge 12 ISBN 3-87988-818-3, Rainer Hampp Verlag, Munchen und Mering 2004,186 S., euro 22.80 As editors of the book, Daniel Dietzfelbinger and Ralph Thurm examine the question whether sustainable development can or should be used as a basis for business ethics. This was also the main issue discussed at the 10th conference of the German Network of Business Ethics (DNWF.) in April 2003. Like the umbrella organisation, the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) situated in Oslo, the DNWE wants to promote values-based management, ethical leadership and increased awareness of companies' responsibility in society. More than 150 participants attended the conference, which was divided into plenary sessions and four workshop tracks. Dietzfelbinger and Thurm selected 13 articles from the conference for the 12th DNWE publication series with the title "Sus...
How can a family business reduce environmental uncertainty and dependence by developing its busin... more How can a family business reduce environmental uncertainty and dependence by developing its business model, changing the logic of creating and capturing value through its activities? We address this question by exploring the case of Cimber, a Denmark-based family-owned airline, which has developed different business models since its establishment in 1950. We build on resource dependence theory to investigate the actions that Cimber took in this process. We find an important role of the family in balancing internal and external influences, in shaping the scope and complexity of the business model, and in creating specific path dependencies in this process.
Many airline companies are struggling to survive after the industry has been hit hard by several ... more Many airline companies are struggling to survive after the industry has been hit hard by several crises. The reaction of companies is however heterogeneous, with family businesses reacting in a particular way given their inherent characteristics and particular risks. One airline that has went through cycles of expansion and decline is the Danish family-owned Cimber airline. In this paper, we aim to understand how and why Cimber’s business model changed over time. Since its original establishment in 1950 the family-owned airline Cimber experienced many changes. To study the development of their business model, we adopt a qualitative case study approach. The empirical base of the case study is formed by a set of interviews, with previous and current managers and employees, including both family and non-family, conducted in the period 2011-2014, complemented with secondary data, such as annual reports, newspaper articles and industry analyses. Cimber’s business model development can be...
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Papers by Britta Boyd