published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This work focuses on the special problems in the context of drafting the corporate charter and bylaws for American corporations the stocks of which are mainly owned by the members of one family. Although the ownership structure would also allow a partnership organization, there can be good reasons for choosing the corporate structure. Nevertheless, the family owners will want to preserve a partnership-like structure and a maximum amount of ownership influence. However, the three-tiered structure of the corporation (board of directors, officers, and shareholders) and their individual functions are fixed by a "statutory model" that the courts tend to adhere to and that has often been written into positive corporate statutes. / Hence, for each organizational level, this work tries to fathom the permissible deviations from the statutory model in order to maintain and exercise family influence. / Furthermore, the special legal forms provided by the legislators (especially "close corporation status") will be considered. / Because American corporate law is within the province of the state legislators, the work takes a comparative approach. Guided by the criteria of practical applicability and comparative interest, the Model Business Corporation Act as well as the state laws of Delaware, New York, California, and Nevada were selected.

Despite the increasing significance of Chinese family businesses (CFBs) as an important sector in China??s fast-growing economy, family businesses in China have received little research attention in the literature. The aims of this study are two-fold. First, the study examines the current human resource management (HRM) practices of selected family businesses in the country in areas of recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewards. Second, it investigates differences in HRM practices of CFBs between the eastern-coastal and inland regions of the country. From a questionnaire survey of 205 CFBs operating in seven cities in two regions, this study has found that CFBs combine their traditional informal, relationship-based HR practices with western-style HR practices. Furthermore, both univariate and multivariate analyses have demonstrated significant regional differences in HRM, thus supporting the argument that a firm??s HR practices are shaped by institutions in which the firm operates. The findings of this study make important contributions to both research and practice. First, the findings have provided further evidence to the applicability of institutional theory to the explanation of HRM practices. Second, the study has also provided some practical implications for HR managers of firms, both domestic and foreign, in China. However, results of this study need to be interpreted with caution because external validity is sacrificed to an extent given its focus on family businesses, a non-probability sampling method and relatively small sample size. In addition, the cross-sectional approach adopted in the study fails to identify changes in HRM over time. Despite the limitations, however, this study has contributed to the body of knowledge by enhancing our understanding of CFBs in China and their HRM that have been under-researched empirically.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans)--Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İşletme Anabilim Dalı, 2007. / Bibliyografya var.

Project (M.B.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2004. / Theses (Faculty of Business Administration) / Simon Fraser University. MBA-GAWM Program. Senior supervisor: Dr. Peter Klein.

A business needs to be dynamic and adjustable to survive in the ever-changing marketplace in which it operates. The environment is no longer merely the immediate domestic business environment within which the specific business operates but also, with the advent of information technology and globalisation, overseas markets. This is true for all businesses and no less so in respect of family businesses. Balshaw (2003:23) lists the many issues which impede family businesses as, amongst others: Unresolved family and personal issues; Dysfunctional relationships; Poor communication; Lack of commitment; No succession plan or timetable; Inability of the senior generation to relinquish control; No unifying vision or dream in the family; Open conflict; Nonexistent decision-making and governance structures; Lack of transparency and openness; Failure to plan strategically. In addition to this the business must be aware of and react to the changing circumstances in the environment.

The aim of this research was to ascertain the implications and the impact that the succession process would have on the organisational culture of family businesses. In an attempt to answer this, the researcher asked three questions surrounding the succession process and its relationship with organisational culture. The questions related to the extent to which the family business was prepared for change in management; what changes occurred before, during, and immediately after the succession process, and what results these changes had on the organisational culture. Family businesses account for a large proportion of the national and global market activities, and so it is imperative that attention be paid to any problems they may experience. As it is, family businesses have difficulty in successions, with roughly one third of first generation family businesses surviving the succession process. It is the aim of this research to explore the contribution organisational culture has in the large failure rate of succession with family businesses. When successors enter into the organisation, they bring with them different perspectives on managerial issues suggesting that a change in leadership style will occur as a result of a succession. In answering the research questions, the researcher embarked on a two-phase research methodology utilising a quantitative and qualitative process. This triangulation process incorporates a self-administrated survey questionnaire, and six in-depth interviews. The survey questionnaire and interview schedules were structured using a combination of elements obtained from Harris's (1998) and Levinson's (1972). The survey data was analysed using various statistical methods, predominantly a Factor Analysis, where as Abstract iii the interviews were analysed using a theme retrieval process. The two processes were combined to yield the results. The findings of the research conclude that through the introduction of the successor in the change process, a new leadership style is introduced into the business. The new leader changes policies, practices and procedures, which are related to organisational climate and are the tangible aspects of organisational culture. Altering the climate essentially alters the culture, which may result in anxiety within the organisation and lead to tension. If these issues are not addressed, they may result in the demise of family businesses.

Literature suggests that a small number of family businesses are able to make the transition from the founder to other family members with a common reason cited being the lack of planning. This study aims to build understanding of leadership succession in family businesses by focusing on the influence of a founder's family business value set on the succession planning process in Black family-owned businesses. Using the Strauss and Corbin (1990) grounded theory method, this study develops a theory of succession planning of Black familyowned businesses labelled Passing the Spear which is comprised of three stages based on an analysis of 21 qualitative interviews. The Spear was an analogy used to represent both the values of the founder and the family business, thus in Passing the Spear, founders where essentially performing a dual transfer of their values and leadership to the successor. The implementation of the process Passing the Spear was influenced by the family business value set of the founder, which in this study, were labelled as Traditional, Progressive, and Transitional. These value sets were distinguished by their behaviour regarding their choice of successor where founders with a traditional value set exhibited gatekeeping behaviour, while the behaviour of founders with a progressive value set was labelled navigating, and finally, founders with a transitional value set demonstrated behaviour labelled exploring. Furthermore, it was found that after the successor had been chosen, founders appeared to follow a generic succession planning process, however, the ease and timing of implementation was influenced by the family business context, evidence of being proactive and the degree of family business resilience. The process of Passing the Spear comprised of three stages of (a) Showing the spear where the founder's focus is on the induction and socialization of the successor using the strategies of bringing the successor into the family business and managing the family-business interface using relationships; (b) Explaining the spear entailed founders using the strategies of sharing knowledge and teaching the successors about the family business; and ( c) Sharing the spear was where founders focused on empowering the successors by implementing strategies of sharing responsibilities and learning from the successor.The process provides insights into the influence of family business values on the succession planning process and can be useful for founders of Black family-owned businesses in planning for succession in their businesses. In addition, the study provides another perspective of succession planning and offers a contribution to the literature for understanding succession in Black family-owned businesses.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Family businesses are increasing in the western societies. They will continue to play an important role in most economies. There is a growing interest among young people to get involved in family businesses. It is therefore important that issues and factors influencing the behaviour of family businesses be highlighted and understood by those interested in family businesses. This study investigates the dynamics in family businesses and concludes on the issues of remuneration, conflict and succession. The family business is a composition of two complex systems, family and business, with at its lead an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are the "green barets" of our economy, they are the people with guts, who survive on a mixture of unwarranted confidence and blind hope. This study focused on the issues of remuneration, conflict and succession as described in literature. Founders/managers should be sensitive to these issues and the management thereof. The emotions involved in family businesses make them unique compared to other businesses. Businesses that fail to address these issues will experience more problems than businesses which proactively deal with the issues. The results of this research indicate that family business globally experience similar dynamics. It is suggested that founders/managers make an effort to uncover the issues threatening the health of their business and address them. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Familie ondememings is aan die toeneem in die westerse gemeenskappe. Dit het in die verlede en sal soveel te meer in die toekoms 'n belangrike rol vertolk in meeste ekonomië. Daar is 'n toenemende belangstelling onder jong entrepreneurs in familie besighede. Dit is dus belangrik dat die realiteite en faktore wat in familie besighede teenwoordig is, onder entrepreneurs se aandag gebring word sodat hulle nie oningelig is nie. Hierdie studie het juis ten doel om die sake rakende konflik, vergoeding en opvolging na te vors. Familie besighede is die samevoeging van twee komplekse sisteme naamlik familie en besigheid, met 'n entrepeneur aan die stuur van hierdie kombinasie. Entrepreneurs word beskou as die baanbrekers van die ekonomie, hulle beskik oor deursettingsvermoë, geloof en hoop. Hierdie tesis beskou vergoeding, konflik en opvolging vanuit 'n literatuur oogpunt. Dit is van kardinale belang dat stigters/bestuurders van familie besighede sensitief is vir hierdie aspekte en dit bestuur. Die uniekheid van familie besighede stem van die emosies daarbinne af. Besighede wat versuim om aandag aan hierdie dinamika binne familie besighede te gee, kan meer algemene probleme verwag as die besighede wat wel proaktief optree. Hierdie studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat familie besighede oor die wêreld heen soortgelyke probleme ervaar. Daar word voorgestel dat eienaars/stigters/bestuurders daadwerklik aandag gee aan die faktore en realiteite wat die gesondheid van familie besighede bedreig.

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy