Financial risk as a result of trade in foreign currencies is inevitable for firms that are engaged in international trade. However the decision how to manage this risk differs from one firm to another. This difference can be a result of the type of ownership in the individual firm.One of the classifications of the type of firms that have different can be categorized as family firms and non-family firms. Studies have showen that family firms differ in their use of control systems and financial management techniques. The difference is explained by the type of ownership. As a consequence of the differences, family and non-family firms may differe in their decision making with respect to foreign risk management. This thesis compaires the practice of foreign exchange risk management in family and non-family firms.the objective is to asses if family firms and non-family firms differe in their decision making to currency exposure management. The effect of the involvement of family members in the management of currency risk will also be addressed. Finaly, the paper will provide some recommandetions to firms exposed to foreign exchange risk.

<p>Financial risk as a result of trade in foreign currencies is inevitable for firms that are engaged in international trade. However the decision how to manage this risk differs from one firm to another. This difference can be a result of the type of ownership in the individual firm.One of the classifications of the type of firms that have different can be categorized as family firms and non-family firms.</p><p>Studies have showen that family firms differ in their use of control systems and financial management techniques. The difference is explained by the type of ownership. As a consequence of the differences, family and non-family firms may differe in their decision making with respect to foreign risk management.</p><p>This thesis compaires the practice of foreign exchange risk management in family and non-family firms.the objective is to asses if family firms and non-family firms differe in their decision making to currency exposure management. The effect of the involvement of family members in the management of currency risk will also be addressed.</p><p>Finaly, the paper will provide some recommandetions to firms exposed to foreign exchange risk.</p>

Småföretagen kan ses som en viktig del av samhällsekonomin i Sverige då de utgör 98 procent av Sveriges företag. Deras överlevnad kan därför vara betydelsefull, bl.a. som arbetsgivare. Men vilka är då dessa småföretagare: är det möjligt att se dem som jämförbara homogena grupper av individer i homogena branscher? Vi har därför i denna studie undersökt vilka dessa småföretagare är i en homogen bransch som plastindustribranschen och hur småföretagarna verkar i sitt företagande. Studien avgränsades till att endast omfatta företagare från de riktigt små aktiebolagen, mikroföretagen, med 2-9 anställda inom plastindustrin. Urvalet är gjort utifrån företagens medlemskap i Svensk Plastindustriförening (SPIF). Företagarna studerades utifrån sina styrelseuppdrag i urvalets plastindustriföretag. Ledningsskifte kan utgöra en stor och omvälvande förändring för ett litet företag, vanligen familjeföretag, då ofta både ledning och ägare byts. Vi har därför i studien gjort jämförelser mellan tre grupperingar av företag: de som genomfört ledningsskifte, de som troligen kommer att göra ledningsskifte inom en nära framtid och de som troligen inte kommer att göra ledningsskifte inom en nära framtid, för att se om det fanns några skillnader mellan dessa grupper. Dessa tre grupper studerades utifrån olika dimensioner som antal anställda, omsättning, könsfördelning, styrelsepositioner och kön, mikroföretagens ålder, ledningsstruktur, företagarnas ålder, familjeföretagande eller kompanjoner samt multipelt företagande. Det visade sig att det inte förelåg några entydiga skillnader mellan de tre grupperingarna av företag varför vi inte kan se att ledningsskifte har avgörande betydelse för mikroföretag i plastbranschen. Studiens resultat visade att det var svårt att se plastbranschens mikroföretagare som en homogen jämförbar grupp då de var mycket olika i sitt företagande trots vissa likheter. Överraskande många företagare kunde beskrivas som multipla företagare, vilket bidrar till svårigheten att se dem som homogen grupp då de är verksamma inom många olika branscher och verksamheter. Detta föranleder oss att se multipla mikroföretagare som ett område som borde studeras närmare.

Even though family firms play a significant role in the economy, research regarding family firms is relatively new and is still an emerging field of study. Family firms possess specific characteristics distinguishing them from nonfamily firms. Moreover, there are other issues within the family firm research that has not been fully explored, and one of them is management accounting and control. Researchers have suggested that more research is needed on performance measurement focusing on both financial and non-financial information. A tool that includes both financial and non-financial measures is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). As family firms are influenced by its location, the phenomenon known as the spirit of Gnosjö will be taken into consideration throughout the thesis. The aim of this thesis is to explore the usage of the perspectives comprising the BSC in SME family firms operating within the region of Gnosjö. In order to fulfill the purpose, a case study was carried out. The data was collected by conducting interviews. Further, the sampling process resulted in interviewing 13 participants in four companies. The findings show that all four companies use the perspectives comprising the BSC, however, the findings also indicate that the usage is influenced by familiness and the companies’ location. Further, this study confirms that using stewardship theory in family firms is suitable, aligning with previous research, specifically in SME family firms. Finally, we can conclude that formalized management accounting systems are not fully prevalent among the family firms.

Intra-family succession is the transfer of management, leadership and/or control of the business from one family member to another, and has been a core topic in family business research (Debicki, Matherne, Kellermanns, and Chrisman, 2009). Family firm researchers have suggested that family firms have a strong desire toward economic and non-economic goals (Kotlar and De Massis, 2013). However, how these goals fit into the strategic management decision of intra-family succession has not been explored by researchers (Chrisman, Kellermanns, Chan, and Liano, 2010). The purpose of this study is to identify and explain the importance of the goals that small private family firms expect to achieve through intra-family succession that cannot be achieved through non-family succession as “success in strategic management, including the management of intra-family succession, must be measured in terms of goal achievement” (De Massis, Sharma, Chua, and Chrisman, 2012, p. 30). To examine why intra-family succession goals (IFSGs) are important, this study relies on the psychological personality constructs of generativity (concern for guiding and establishing the next generation) and narcissism (an individual’s self-assurance, self-esteem and satisfaction with oneself). The respondents of this study are those family members who make up the dominant coalition (founders, incumbents, and potential successors) of the family firm. Only those firms where the family has the ability to influence firm behavior, and the intention (willingness) for intra-family succession, are included in this study. Qualitative data was collected to identify IFSGs, and these IFSGs are used in the development of the structured questionnaire. Fourteen IFSGs were identified from the qualitative phase of the study. The data collected from the structured questionnaire was subject to various statistical methods. The results suggest that the dominant coalition of small private family firms considered each IFSG as important, and that generativity and narcissism partially explain why these goals are important. The findings suggest that gender and the individual’s role within the dominant coalition influence the hypothesized relationship between IFSGs and generativity, and the IFSG of legacy and narcissism. This research provides several analytical, methodological and theoretical contributions and paves the way for further theoretical and empirical enquiry into intra-family succession of small private family firms.

The aim of this dissertation is analysing the factors which have the direct influence on family business. There are some particular suggestions how to increase the firm's prosperity.

Abstract Background &amp; Problem: Many family firms face a change in ownership in the near future. Acquisitions of family firms can therefore be a solution for the change in ownership. Due to special family firm characteristics, acquisitions of such companies can be complicated. Previous research shows that accountants and CFOs have a positive effect on the firm’s survival and growth. However, the CFOs’ roles in family business acquisitions have not been studied before.    Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore what roles accountants and CFOs have in acquisitions of family firms.   Method: The base of this study is an abductive research approach with a qualitative research strategy. The main method was semi-structured interviews that was complemented with a document study of official documents from websites.    Conclusion: The empirical findings and analysis revealed that the CFOs in family firm acquisitions are important, but the CFOs’ roles in acquirer and acquiree differ. The CFOs in the selling family business is more of a bean counter in the process and provide material. The CFOs in the acquiring group is more of a business partner, conducting analyses and are involved in strategic decisions. The process of acquiring family firms is a special situation for the CFOs in the acquiring group since they need to adapt to the family firms’ informal culture.

Family firms are replete with problems concerning family and business issues but they remain the most dominant form of business worldwide. Decisions about strategy, structure, and goals of the firm play an integral part in the distinction of family firms from nonamily firms (Chrisman, Chua & Sharma, 2005) and these decisions are further complicated in the family firm by the interaction of the family and business systems (Stafford, Duncan, Danes & Winter, 1999). Sharma (2000) and Chrisman and colleagues (2005) call for research of this interaction through the utilization of stakeholder theory because family firms involve a specific array of stakeholders with different stakes and different levels of salience. This dissertation further investigates the interaction of the family and the business in a new and interesting way. This will be the first attempt to investigate the way stakeholders and their salience affects the goals and performance of family firms. The dissertation developed below focuses on the differences that exist among the salience of stakeholders in the family firm. I first develop theory-based hypotheses on a variety of relationships within the family and family firm that will contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of family firms. Second, I describe the research methodology and sample design to be utilized to test the developed hypotheses. I expect my results to not only empirically validate my research questions but to also provide practical and useful information for future research in this area. The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge by empirically testing a framework for stakeholder salience in the family firm as well as assessing how the salience of particular groups affect the performance of family firms.

Background:Top management teams (TMTs) in family firms (FFs) have received limited attention inresearch. They are however argued to play a critical role for FFs. TMTs are also argued to playan important role in is innovation, despite this, while research within TMTs in FFs has gainedan increased interest, there is a gap in the understanding of cohesion within TMTs and how itinfluences innovation. The paper attempts to fill this gap. Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to research how high levels of cohesion in FF TMTs influencesinnovation. Method:The research strategy for this study was qualitative case study. The empirical material used forthe study has been gathered through 5 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with one familyfirm. The method by (Gioia, Corley &amp; Hamilton, 2012) was followed to code the data. Conclusion:The findings were threefold, the first one is that high levels of cohesion put more emphasis ontrust instead of formal power which influences innovation by determining who makes decisions.The second one is that high levels of cohesion results in easier agreements which could causegroupthink. The third is that high levels of cohesion can make companies more inclined to relyon inside knowledge and in turn, focus their attention on exploitative innovations.

Background: The firm’s choice of the optimal financial structure remains an unsolved problem within finance. The reasoning behind family firms’ specific financial structure differs within various research. The GGVV-region is composed of four small municipalities: Gnosjö, Gislaved, Värnamo, and Vaggeryd. This region is seen as the best dynamic counties in all of Sweden, it is also considered the most successful area of the countryside in terms of its economic contribution. Because of these aspects, it is therefore of great importance to investigate the difference of the financial structure within generations of family firms. Purpose: This paper studies whether there is a correlation between the generation in charge of family businesses within the GGVV-region and the financial structure of the businesses. Aim: The aspiration is that this research will be a good addition to the understanding of family businesses in the GGVV-region along their financial policies within different generations running the firm. Method: This study will contain 42 family firms within the GGVV-region defined as family firms through a questionnaire. The financial structure of the first-generation and non-first-generation family firm will be investigated using their debt ratios throughout the years 2015-2019. The testing is performed through Panel Data Model using Random Effects Model, along with descriptive statistics of the data and a Difference-in-Difference test. Conclusion: No significant difference can be found at any level between the 1GFF and the Non-1GFF when it comes to their financial structure.